My wife drew a Mountain Goat tag this year, we scouted a few times, lots of research, agonizing over gear and a plan and it all paid off day 1. After hiking roughly roughly 4 miles and over 4000 vertical feet we entered Goat country. I saw 5 other goats miles away at roughly our same elevation and hoped we picked the right spot. Shortly after she spotted a lone goat about 500 vertical feet above us and a few hundred yards away.
we hiked up to about that elevation and then saw two more goats. 171 yards away and slightly above us but in a extremely difficult spot to retrieve so we opted to wait a bit. I got a bit anxious and said we should try a path I was tracing out with my binos I thought we could make it up. She reluctantly agreed. I dropped most of our gear and only took her rifle my pack frame and cleaning gear and we started the climb.
we hit a very bad spot with shale that I was trying to climb up on all 4s and she told me no way would she be attempting that. After I looked around for an alternate route I turn around to see one of the goats now below us right where we had hiked up. I told her to hustle down and get into this massive boulder field we were in and I?d be right there. I grabbed her pack, got her set up and stable, range was only 53 yards quartering towards us and BOOM she lit that 300 win mag up! The echo around all the vertical rock faces and canyons was amazing.
perfect shot in the shoulder! Goat went downhill about 20 yards and was done.
She had a goat down by 1000 opening morning and packed out and on the road at about 3:00.
