August 18th: The adventure started at 6:30AM last Friday as I left San Jose for Terrace, B.C. I arrived in Terrace at about 7:00PM and Mike "Spike" Lewis picked me up and took me to the house. We were welcomed with an incredible dinner of fresh caught salmon and crab - a fitting last meal prior to a week's worth of dehydrated meals. That evening Spike, his guide Jason and the hunters focused on packing, checking and double checking our gear. Spike had 2 guides, Gary and Ron, who were already in the bush scouting for their clients. While the weather sunny and warm (great weather for flying), it was literally too warm in some of the areas that lacked snow pack. In these areas, the goats moved down of the high peaks into the brush, making them difficult to find and hunt.
August 19th: After a hearty breakfast, we all headed to our end destinations. All the hunters were flown into alpine lakes which dot the region prior to beginning the arduous climb into goat country. While I was fortunate to be hunting with the outfitter, he told me he would have to spend a good part of the first day managing the logistics of getting all the hunters into their areas. Only after that would he and I be able to start our hunt.
Here are some pictures I took out the plane window on the way in.
The following are a couple of views from our base camp at the lake.
After a fine pork chop breakfast, we packed our gear and 8 days worth of food, hoisted our packs and started up the hill. The mystery of why it took 4 hours to ascend 1,300 feet to get above the brush line was soon solved. Just for kicks, I used my Leupold rangefinder to determine the slope of the hill, and it read 39 degrees - STEEP. Once we made our way up the hill, I figured out the other problem - brush! Not only were we bushwhacking through waist high patches of berries and ferns, we also had to burrow through the occasional stand of brushy trees which were overhead and cross rock chutes. Not only did the foliage make walking difficult, it kept the ground wet and made it virtually impossible to check your foot placement. I could hear Spike "kicking in" with virtually ever step and it soon occurred to me why. On a couple of occasions, I shifted all my weight on the uphill foot only to have it shoot out from underneath me! Needless to say it was slow going.
The following is a picture of me among the typical foliage we encountered on our way up.
After pitching camp, we went about finding water. There was a large snow patch above camp which made just enough water for our needs. We had to dig holes in the path of the running water to collect enough to be useful, but it suited our purpose.
At this point, I was anxious to get hunting, so at about 2:00 we headed east out the ridge to see if we could find the billy tat was hanging above camp. We had been able to glass him a couple of times while hiking up the ridge, but he had worked around the mountain and out of sight. After hiking about 1/2 mile, Spike peeked out off the ridge and spotted the billy bedded just over the lip of one of a series of benches that unfolded beneath us. We dropped our packs, dug out our optics and tried to give him a look over.
I say "tried" because as soon as we settled in, the billy got up, walked up the ridge and started feeding in a small pothole full of water on the ridge. The good news was that he was feeding oblivious to our presence at 200 yards. The bad news is that he didn't lift his head to give us a look at his head gear for almost 10 minutes.
The following is a (blurry) picture of the billy once he decided he was done feeding in the pothole.
I quickly removed the duct tape that I had used to keep from losing arrows in the brush from my lead arrow and nocked it. Happily, I had one Magnus SS Stinger in my quiver which survived my practice regiment, which I hoped to use on a goat.
When I refocused on the goat, I realized that he had walked out and bedded in a snow patch. While the rangefinder indicated the billy was only 50 yards away, the modest cross wind made me uncomfortable with the shot so we elected to wait and watch. After about 10 minutes he got up to feed, and moved in our direction. While this was good, he disappeared in the contour of the hill and I had to inch forward to relocate the goat. We had no cover, so this was a bit nerve wracking. As I eased forward, I located the billy below us and slightly to our left in a swale. He was only 40 yards, but was facing us. Just as I resolved to have to continue to sit and wait, the billy started walking up the hill and toward our right. Before I knew it he popped out from behind the rock outcropping we were using for cover. I hid behind my bow and slowly drew. While I was sure he would catch the movement and spook, he continued to walk. I settled the pin and release (we later determined the distance was roughly 12 yards).
What happened next was a shock to both Spike and myself. Although the goat was close and the shot felt good, we heard the distinctive sound of a gut shot. Following the hit, the goat froze. It was only when I moved to free my second arrow that he spooked. In my haste I hadn't removed the duct tape my second arrow - rookie mistake. Spike and I convened, concerned about the shot placement. While I was quite certain I saw the arrow hit the goat in the shoulder, the sound suggested otherwise (as did the arrow upon recovery).
Spike suggested that we work back up the ridge to gain elevation and see if we could relocate the goat. We hadn't gone 50 yards when Spike spotted him bedded. My rangefinder confirmed the goat had bedded within 90 yards of where he was hit. We glassed him to check for blood but saw none. This was concerning as the billy was only 100 yards above the line separating the open ridge above from the sea of brush below. If we pushed him prematurely, recover could prove difficult. Fortunately, our concern was allayed as the billy tried to stand but could not due to the effects of the arrow. I was able to range the goat at 150 yards and determine I could quickly and quietly sneak to within 40 yards and deliver a second arrow. Although I don’t believe it was needed, the second arrow took him though both lungs and he died almost immediately.
After examination, the first arrow took the billy through the shoulder but exited at the back of the rib cage on the off side. I presume that the first arrow got the onside lung, liver and the stomach. My only explanation for the hit is that the goat turned toward me just prior to shot that and in the heat of battle I had not noticed. Regardless, I was relieved that my eyes had not fooled me and the first shot was effective.
After taking a bunch of photos, we caped, quartered and boned out the goat and headed for camp.
What a great hunt and a great story!
Here are Spike and I heading down. Not sure if you can see, but the yellow dot next to the lake (straight above the left hand edge of Spike's hat brim) was our base camp at the lake.
While I was able to be flown out that night, due to their pilot's schedule Spike couldn't get out until the next morning. All in all, a minor inconvenience.
Although I guess you could ask Spike about his leaking air mattress, which sounded like a life threatening situation? ;-)
Other than some misgivings about having killed out on the first afternoon and missing out on an education on mountain goats (which is solidly on my shoulders and hardly something to complain about), I couldn't have been more pleased with the experience.
Take care and shoot straight!
Good hunting-
Michael
Dave
And you'll realize in time that you did the right thing killing him early, you have nothing to regret. Besides, what's wrong with leaving a little something up on the hill to go back for someday? The anticipation is usually half the fun anyway.
If I wasn't excited enough after waiting almost two years to do this hunt, you have the pump properly primed for me now.
There are two things in my opinion which make Bolen Lewis a top outfit for goats. First, the genetics in their area are second to none. Second, they really understand bowhunting which I do not think can be underestimated.
If you are looking for a trophy goat, their area is second to none. Of the top 50 goats in the P&Y book, BC dominates the list. When I asked Spike where the specific areas where the goats were listed as having been killed, most were in close proxemity to Terrace.
The fact that Allen Bolen killed the world record in their area in 2005, and then that record was broken in 2006 by the neighboring outfitter should speak to their quality.
As far as Stevie Nicks goes, it is a reference to the South Park cartoon where a goat is mistaken for Ms. Nicks.
Tom, one of the hunters in camp by the name of Jody is in the field with Bolen Lewis hoping to take his first goat on what I believe is his 5th or 6th goat hunt. Trust me when I say I am appreciative - but the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. ;-)
CONGRATS to you on your hunt.
Rhett
Sharpstick
Congratulations, Matt.
And thanks for sharing it with us.
Glad you had a great hunt, got a great trophy. THANKS SOOOO MUCH for sharing it with all of us sorry suckers sitting behind our computers
We roughed it out and I believe it was 45 3/8" gross green and 45 2/8" net green. Both horns were 8 7/8" long. Interestingly, he was only 3 1/2 years of age.
Not bad for a one lung guy from California!
Have many a more great bowhunts. BB
Congratulations and thank you for sharing. Sometimes, every once in a while, it goes even better than you imagined, yeah? Perfect. Vegas next?
Just hope you don't have that quick a finish on everything!
;~D
Congrats on a great hunt. The photos of the country are superb!
-Steve
I am glad for you man!
dpd, although this was my first goat hunt and have no basis for comparison, I was really impressed with their outfit. And their trophy quality speaks for itself.
Woody, I am convinced that the goat would have been dead in short order from the first shot. Once I determined that the risk of pushing him was minimal I elected to finish it post haste based on personal ethics.
"How do you feel about BC goat hunts" Should a guy risk it,going with a Canadian outfit?
I hear it's foggy and extrememly dificult to get in bow range in just 10 days.Long,long arduous climbs everyday,up/down...up/down.
Long shot opportunities that I may not be comfortable with.
Oh,and some guys really push you to use the rifle
and,and,the scenery is overrrated and the goats, goats are kinda not really white but yellowish,that may dissappoint me.Can you PM me about what you think sometime....Thanks Mister. lol
Weather is always a cr@p shoot up there, and even though we had excellent weather to hunt in, it was apparently too hot for the goats which tended to make themselves scare by spending part time ihn the brush. I could sit down 3 feet from you in that and you couldn't find me, so hunting them in it is about a non-starter. The fog and rain can ruin a hunt, but the reason their hunts are 10 days is at least in part to ensure a likelihood of enough good weather days to get it done.
Long arduous climbs define goat hunting. These guys don't day hunt the ridges, but rather spike camp on them, which simplifies the walking. You do the hard work once rather than every day. The previous outfitter in that area day hunted the area where we were, which would be for the birds. The hike up to the spike camp was tough, but the walking after we got up on the ridge was not bad at all. With the more moderate terrain an lighter pack, I figured I would "heal" while hunting following the pack in.
Shot opportunties are what they are. Based on a brief discussion with Spike and Allen on this, the "mode" for B&L's archery guys seems to be around 50 yards. My guts is that patience and strategy could have translated these into closer opportunities. By way of example, I passed on my goat at 50 and got a closer shot. The other bowhunter who killed when I was there did so at 38 yards. Their guys have had a number of shots inside of 30 yards with bow, rifle and ML. As such, I think the concern over longer shots is overblown. As you are no doubt aware, good bow shots will often stop stalking when they ahve a shot they can make, rather than trying to close the distance. You should really talk with B&L to get a more balanced perspective on this.
As far as the rifle, I asked Spike to bring it along in case we had a mess we needed to clean up. He left it at the main camp, which was at best case a 3.5 hour round trip hike from where we hunted. Other than that, the topic never came up.
My biggest issue with hunting with a Canadian outfit was having to talk in terms of kilograms per liter, being confused as heck about what a buggy and a touque are and figuring out there damned change. On the flip side, I got a little giggle inside every time Spike said "out" or "about". ;-)
Hope that helps.
I like "house" too. hehehe...
Spike
Well I'm 32 and I don't go 8 7/8 yet!
Michael
Spike
Thanks for sharing.
Yeh, I finally found your new thread! sorry.....
Great shot placement.....
Thanks for sharing, Robb