Backpack Hunt Success

[Quaka Wacka]

Well myself, Chesapeak, Adobewall and a friend of mine from work went on our annual high buck hunt in WA. We went in last Tue and got setup just before dark. It was much like last years trip in; windy, foggy and a bit of rain/sleet and snow. The weather broke the next morning and we saw a few critters, but nothing legal. So we decided to move camp a little further in.

After we set up camp again, Chesapeak caught a glimpse of a nice buck one ridge over from camp. I went up to join him for the rest of the evening, but he never came back out. Just before dark it clouded up and started storming again. When the snow started going sideways we decided it was time to go back to camp. Wed night was a long one. We had two tipi style, silnylon tents that I was sure were going to be ripped to shreds, but to my pleasant surprise they held together. We were guessing the gusts around 50mph or so, but who knows.

The third day was pretty nasty, we were fogged in, in addition to the wind and rain from the night before. Visibility was about 30 yards at best. It made it hard to glass the canyons and benches. And we didin't want to push the deer out of thier routine, so we stayed in camp. We also got a report on the weather band that it was supposed to clear up the next morning, then we'd get hit with another storm the next night. So we made the decision to hunt the next morning then pull out two days early.

I awoke to frozen boots in the morning.:frown: And it was still a bit windy as well. So instead of hitting it early(i.e. I wimped out), I slept till about seven and took my time getting ready. I thawed my boots by the campfire and put warm rocks inside, because putting on warm wet boots seemed like a lot better idea than frozen ones.

Then it was time to do the the hike up the hill to glass the other side of the ridge. Chesapeak and I split up so we had different angles into the mix of trees and open huckleberry/blueberry patches. We both got into position and glassed below us. Nothing. By now it was about 8 and I figured I had missed my oppertunity. I started glassing the far ridge and start picking out deer left and right, bedded in pockets in the brush. They were everywhere. But about a mile away and a days hike.

Rick came over the radio and said that a buck was down below us in the shadows, we couldn't tell if it was legal until it turned its head. He was definatly a shooter. But by the time I got on him, he was back into the brush. Rick could see him, but he was too far. I picked out a small opening the direction the buck was headed, and he was nice enough to step right out into it and stand broadside. It was a steep angle and a tough shot down to the deer but the bullet found the deers spine and gameover for mister deer.





Its by far the biggest buck I've shot, or possibly ever will. Definatly one of my most memorable hunts.

And the best part was I didn't have to carry a bit of meat out.



These guys carried it right up the steep hill, rock ledges and all. This was our first trip with the goats and they did very well. They go up and over anything you can and definatly add a bit of entertainment to the trip.



Thanks again Rick, Dave and Aarron for a great trip.

[GimmeABox]

Nice buck Wood!

[sliverpicker]

Awesome buck Alex, congratulations! Great pics, thanks for sharing!

[huntercgr]

Sounds like an unforgettable trip. CONGRATS

[RidgeRunner]

Great buck and a great story.

[Chug]

Nice deer... great looking area... Con grad's on the deer.

least you would not starv.. could always Tag & eat a goat.

nice job

[ehunter]

Good story and nice pictures congrads your deer he is a good one.

[Limbhanger]

Wow, nice buck, congrats. Sounds like a fun trip even though the weather was miserable at times.

[Got One!]

Hey great buck! That looks like a real fun trip, never heard of goats packing the goods before.

[Ni!]

That's a great buck. I love hearing about those pack in hunts.

[Dave Smith]

you stuck with it when alot of people would've gone home- way to go!

[oregonmuley]

Got to love those goats - nice buck and great story.

[Streaky]

WOW! Nice buck and thanks for the story.

[10Key]

Great story and pics. What elevation were you at?

[RODACTION]

Nice work !!

very nice post too.

[Joe]

Cool to see the pack goats! We're about to have some more Boer kids and I've been contemplating bottle feeeding a couple and training them to pack. How much can those pack? Think they could keep up with horses?

Nice buck!

[MarlinMark]

Cool hunt Alex. Thanks for sharing. I too am curious about the goats. Can you share some details? Who's, where do you keep them, etc. I don't have room at my place but am still listening to details.

Thanks again for taking the time to post your hunt story and pics.

Mark

p.s. That gong is still ringin'.

[Hunt'nFish]

Cool Alex! Nice buck and great report.
Sounds like the goats are working out nicely.
Hunt'Fish

[oregoncritters12]

A huge congrats to ya..I love using those goats to get into untouched ground..Looks like you guys have it figured out.. Keep up the good work..

[JIMBOUY]

Congrats! Well done.............

[Rank Amateur]

Nice buck! Man those goats look like the ticket.

[Chesapeake]

Guys,

Alex is being a bit modest on the shot. It was a poke, and he made it look easy.

The goats, when in shape can cary 40-50 lbs a piece. In the terain we were in, with the cliffs and logs to deal with we loaded the better fit ones at 30# and the lesser fit ones at 20-25#.

"Could they keep up with a horse?" Well that would depend entirely on the terain. They travel at a brisk human walking pace. They can travel through just about everything a person would want to.

[Quaka Wacka]

Originally Posted by 10Key

Great story and pics. What elevation were you at?

The tops of the ridges were 6-7000 feet and the creeks in the bottoms were about 2000. Pretty steep country.

Originally Posted by Joe

Cool to see the pack goats! We're about to have some more Boer kids and I've been contemplating bottle feeeding a couple and training them to pack. How much can those pack? Think they could keep up with horses?

Nice buck!

I'm by no means no expert, you should talk to Santiam (I belive he made DVD on hunting with them), but I'd say the biggest thing is getting goats that want to be near you and don't run from you when you walk up. It sounds simple but it will save you a lot of heartache later. I hear that boers are a little less likely to want to work, but they'd probably do OK.

As far as keeping up with horses, horses or mules wouldn't have gone were we went. If you have a nice stock trail, horses are by far the way to go, but for the rougher terrain the goats will go anywhere you can go. And they will make it look easy. They travel a little slower than I like to travel sometimes, but on the other hand you'll probably see more game by slowing down.

Originally Posted by MarlinMark

Cool hunt Alex. Thanks for sharing. I too am curious about the goats. Can you share some details? Who's, where do you keep them, etc. I don't have room at my place but am still listening to details.

Thanks again for taking the time to post your hunt story and pics.

Mark

p.s. That gong is still ringin'.

Three of the goats are mine and two are co-owned and taken care of by Rick. And you don't need a ton of room. Just a small shelter and place to store hay. Rick keeps his two in an area thats probably 20x50 and its plenty. And I'm glad the gong is working for ya.

[Amahnee]

That's a hunt. Great buck! Congrats.

[adobe wall]

For me, the oldest of the bunch (by far) it was one of the more memorable trips I've ever taken. I really appreciated the invititation and thoroughly enjoyed it- even though I felt like I needed a lung transplant on the way out.

As far as the goats slowing things down- it kept the pack train at a pace I could keep up. Everything that moves, moves at a rate slower than Alex is capable of travelling! He just isn't human.

I will point out that I was assigned the ugliest goat in the herd (mine had no ears) and my goat toted 20 lbs of my gear in. On the way out, the goats were pretty well loaded with meat and goat supplies so that 20 lbs went into my pack. All of our packs weighed between 54 and 56 lbs on the way out except the guy with the 56 lb pack hadn't put his rifle on his back yet.

I was mostly a bad influence on the younger guys- by the end of the trip they had learned many of my very worst southern vulgarities.

The biggest advantages the goats had were that they could scramble up very steep rock faces (I was using handholds to climb) and 5 goats fit in the back of a pickup truck.

There was a lot of very funny stuff in that trip, too. I keep thinking I want to write that tale up from my point of view (an old outta shape redneck) but I may keep it for the book. We laughed a heckuva lot on that trip.

Alex made a very long shot at that deer, but he did it right. Waited out the wind, waited for a broadside shot, even put the bipod on the rifle. Great shot on a very nice buck.

regards, aw

[jaysea]

Great buck! Great country! What an adventure to remember.

[Applegate]

Great story, photo's and buck!
You done good.

[Blktalhunter]

Nice buck Alex. Those goats sure look valuable for a hunt like that.

[Quaka Wacka]

Dave- I think the most spectacular shot was yours. A headshot on a grouse with a wristrocket. I know I was impressed. The first thing I did after we got back was go get a wristrocket and some ammo to practice with.

[Nookie Chaser]

Nice buck Alex. Your gonna have to convince Aarron to buy a non res tag if he keeps going up on that hunt with ya.

[Quaka Wacka]

Aarron had a tag this year. But we still got season left to help him fill it.

[Joe]

Thanks for the info!

[BrianMaguire]

Thats a great buck Congrats!