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MTN Goat Hunt location

Please tell me the pros and cons of BC vs Alaska Mtn goat hunts. Your opinions on the best OTC goat bow hunting area.

A lot depends upon the type of hunt you prefer. Boat vs horseback vs plane drop vs backpack style hunt. I've only hunted Alaska and Colo mtn goats. I don't really enjoy hunting Alaska coastal goats because it is a nightmare getting to the goats. Lots of rain and cloudy weather to contend with along with devil's club jungles. I love mtn goat hunting so it's worth the challenge and effort. Coastal hunts usually mean a 2 to 3 mile hike from sea level up to around 2,500 to 3,000 feet through super steep and rugged jungle just to get to goat country. There may be the opportunity to hunt late season goats closer to the water but you'll be dealing with horrible weather and ice and snow on the same slopes. All the Alaska hunts I've done were draw units and there aren't many OTC Alaska options available. There may or may not be as many goats available in some of the OTC Alaska goat units? I'm pretty sure you can hunt parts of Kodiak OTC and you may be able to harvest more than 1 billy. There are a lot of goats in different regions on Kodiak. You wouldn't have devils club to deal with there but the weather can be super rough. If you like horseback type hunts BC would be a good option. If looking for B&C potential I would definitely consider BC....although Alaska does have listings. There is likely a chance for world class billies on some of the BC hunts but you may be paying a bit higher price tag for a guided hunt there?

Thanks Jim’s, so on the coastal AK hunts you return to the boat every day. No spike camp when into goats. Is that why the AK hunts are quite a bit less.

I've hunted BC an WY goats. I've never hunted AK for goats but Jims is spot on. If I were to go again it would be BC. Like stated a little more pricey but not that much. I went with Bolen & Lewis. There success rate for bowhunters is almost 100%. You'll get multiple opportunities. If I was to go to AK Lonesome Dove with Dennis.

The weather can be nice or rainy in either place just be prepared. When I went in BC it rained a lot. Hunting goats is a great experience and only a small group of bowhunters have done it.

I hunted south east bc so cant say much vs alaska, but a huge pro would be i had 10 days of sunshine and 0 rain vs a typical goat hunt on the coastal regions

Appreciate it. Keep the info coming guys. Goat and Cape Buff hunts are my 2 remaining dream hunts. Buff is booked so now I need to find a good goat hunt. Never got a good bow shot on last Buff hunt. But have an excuse to go back now. Looking forward to trying goats. Sounds like a tough hunt.

I'll second the Bolen and Lewis, Terrace, BC recommendation. I know a few of their guides/former guides and they are serious bowhunters, as are the owners. Their area produces excellent goats with many of the top P&Y goats from their area.. Flyin (fixed wing only in BC) then backpack hunts.

That said, I have not hunted with B&L. My two goats came out of CO, DIY with a couple more tags left unfilled. I haven't had the urge to go goat hunting here in BC, despite having about 1/2 the goats in North America scattered through the province. Most of the mountain ranges in BC have goats, some going un-hunted due to remoteness and difficult access. Good luck, and as my friend Ambush says, a P&Y World Record goat is here for the taking, you just have to find him and be able to climb to him, shoot him and recover him unbroken.

SE Alaska is mostly OTC registration type hunt. Ketchikan's island has a draw hunt that can be accessed from the road system. All other areas require transport, usually via float plane. Hunting from a boat and climbing from sea-level is not a common way to hunt. Flying into a low or high elevation lake and then backpacking is the standard. SE Ak is known for it's weather, also for it's coastal jungle. Even the Ketchikan hunt can be a tough one. SE Alaska has many Goats in the record books, both B&C and P&Y and many of those come from unit 1A (misty fjords wilderness area) east of Ketchikan. There are not many Guides to choose from and I think the rates are less than the adjacent Coastal BC area. It's a very expensive hunt to conduct.

If you are hunting Alaska coast I would advise backpack and not returning to the boat every night....depending upon the area! It would be difficult to get to goats, get one, and return all in 1 day. Days are long in August/Sept...but not that long. Also, once you trudge up through the jungle 1 time you may not want to do it again! As mentioned by Muskeg landing on a lake would likely be a good option. You'll likely be up higher from the start. It sounds like OTC tags are possible farther south and it would be worth looking into. There are likely lots of untouched areas in SE Alaska that hardly have a goat hunter....it's just dealing with the weather....and possibly the jungle. You may be able to add bear and other species to a goat hunt in BC? Bear and possibly sitka deer may be possible in certain areas in Alaska.

http://forums.bowsite.com/TF/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=457737&forum=13

Very limited goat hunting experience, but I had an excellent bow hunt on Kodiak. There were a lot of goats and travel to there from PA was simple.

I'm not sure why Jims thinks goat tags in Alaska aren't "over the counter". Most of them are. There are some draw tags, but most of the goat hunts are "registration hunts" which are absolutely OTC.

Southeast Alaska is a wonderful place. The world record goat is alive in Misty Fjord, that much is certain. Johnny (muskeg) is one of the only guys that can legally arrange a guided hunt in there. The designated Wilderness in there is almost limitless. It's is enormous and full of goats that die without seeing people.

I didn't say goat units in Alaska are not OTC. I said all the units I have hunted have been draw. There are a couple units on Kodiak close to Kodiak City that are draw and many along the road system on the mainland are draw. There's probably a reason many of the goats in SE Alaska haven't seen a human! It is gorgeous country....especially if you are lucky to hit a day with sun like the one in Muskeg's photos! If your outfitter can land on a lake like the one in Muskeg's photo you will be a lot better off than huffing it through the tangled, devil's club jungle from sea level!

The only OTC Mountain Goat Hunt choice for an American is Alaska. BC is a fully guided $10,000-$20,000 USD hunt. That might narrow your choice.

Alaska NR must be accompanied by a guide or specifically-designated 2nd degree of kindred. So for vast majority, AK are full guided also. Although in many cases the TAGS are OTC so you don't have to draw one.

Apply for some of the hunts in Alaska in December and you'll have results in February. Though all of our areas are draw hunts, we average over 50% draw

I've been on 3 DIY goat hunts in Prince William Sound and I would never consider going back down each day. The first one I went on was a unit that had 25 tags and almost zero kills each year. 2 from 85-92. It took us 2 days to figure how to get into the unit and we still weren't quite there. Up and down daily? Never!

Misery, yes. Wet was almost a constant and low clouds trapped us for days.

That said, once above timberline it was pretty enjoyable once we could see.

I don't know who outfits for those areas so they may not be hunt able for NR's.

Jim nailed it spot on pretty much. British Columbia I want to add is also a great place to have a add on specie is about the only other choice, caribou or moose if you so desire, and when your hunting goats some big bull caribou are taken , good luck sir

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