Pack Goats?

Bow6x6 · Oct 10, 2011

How many of you are using pack goats for your hunting trips? I'm thinking of going that route and would like to make some contacts to learn from.

Thanks,

Brad

Coyote_chaser · Oct 10, 2011

I used them in Colorado once, they were great. We rented them from some guy in Tooele.

bowhunter223 · Oct 26, 2011

I think SWBuckmaster on here has them, and has helped with info in the past. www.packgoatforum.com has alot of great info.

Clay Zimmerman (USED to be in Tooele.....think he moved to Evanston, WY??) owns www.highuintapackgoats.com and has been a great help too.
I have been reading for a year or two, but just haven't jumped in yet.....

swbuckmaster · Oct 26, 2011

pm sent

nfh · Oct 26, 2011

LAST EDITED ON Oct-26-11 AT 08:16PM (MST)[p]i wouldnt mind seeing some pictures. i think there pretty cool and find it interesting

Idahoron · Oct 26, 2011

I got mine 18 years ago. I packed out 6 bulls with them and had some fantastic hunts. I helped to write a book called "practical goat packing" I helped with the hunting section. My goat was on the front cover of the book. Ron

mmwb · Oct 26, 2011

I've not read Eddy's book, Idahoron and will have to. The Pack Goat by John Mionczynski, is a great read.

elkmtngear · Oct 27, 2011

A good friend of mine packs goats all the time, he's done it for years now. I'm sure he could answer any questions you might have about it. Here is a link to his Facebook page, you could send him a PM there: Jonathan Forrister

Best of Luck,
Jeff
http://www.elkmtngear.com

huntnrich · Oct 27, 2011

I have pack LLama's, and have packed with them for 20yrs. My only problem is when I go out of state it's such a hazel getting them certified. Does the pack goats need all the vet checks like the LLama's. Last year I took my LLama's to New Mexico, and it cost like $75 per animal to get them there, plus tons of time getting it done. Anyway does curious.

swbuckmaster · Oct 27, 2011

practical goat packing is a great book for someone either looking to get into pack goats or already has them.

There however isn't much on hunting with goats anywhere. This would be a cool book or video in my opinion.

Here is a photo of one of my goats taken last weekend on a cow hunt.

GotBowAz · Oct 27, 2011

I have also thought about going with pack goats. I hunt ,some nasty stuff getting in and out in a wilderness area which is remote and rugged. I think these animals would be my best bet except I keep thinking I will come back to camp from a hunt and find a dead goat to a mountain lion or bear. If I was just hiking with them and staying with them I wouldn't be concerned. SWbuckmaster, or anyone else with pack goats, have you ever had any issues or worry with this? I was thinking about having one goat just carry electric fence wire, battery and small solar panel. Would that be worth it?

GBA

swbuckmaster · Oct 27, 2011

I don't leave them at camp by themselves. They always follow me. If I want to be quiet I just take their packs off. They don't seem to scare game like you would think they would.

ColoradoOak · Oct 27, 2011

Are there any restrictions to where you can use pack goats on federal lands?

swbuckmaster · Oct 27, 2011

Havent seen any goat specific restrictions.

zeddro · Oct 27, 2011

Where can you buy a pack goat? Is there a specific species?

I have used llamas with success, but some of them are super stubborn.

I would love to just buy some goats for myself.

GotBowAz · Oct 27, 2011

Scott, I can see you bringing the goats along on a rifle hunt but are they productive with a bow? I mean wouldn't a deer locate on you because of all the movement or do they work the opposite way and the deer are really curious about them?? I want to use them on elk and deer hunts here. They would be awesome in the really bushy country I hunt to bring in my camp and supply?s but I'm not so sure about having them follow me on a spot and stalk. I assume you take them with you because they could be killed by a cat or bear. If that's the case they might not work for me, chances are they would be a family pet as well and a dead pet goat wouldn't go over too good with my wife.

GBA

swbuckmaster · Oct 27, 2011

I mostly bow hunt. I've had mixed results with them. In the rut a few goats sound and act like deer feeding. Throw in a grunt or two and a few rattles and you have a good live decoy. If the deer see them there not stupid. They will sometimes just look at them and sometimes run off. We have shot a six point bull with a bow with goats standing by our side. I have also just hid behind the goats and walked into a herd of elk durring the rut on a spike bow hunt. The herd bull was 25 yards away. So sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. With a rifle they would be awesome.

swbuckmaster · Oct 27, 2011

I take them because if I walk off without them the start bawling. They would also find away to hang themselves with their rope by the time I got back. I don't tie them up very often. They always come to me when I call their name. They act like a big friendly dog.

GotBowAz · Oct 27, 2011

I like their mannerisms as so would my wife. I bet they are great company on the trail too. I kind of wondered if they would bawl a little when you left them behind but my wife?s pigmy goats stop bawling a few short minutes after your out of sight. I had a dog that did the same thing. He would whine and bark a little for about 5 minutes when left at camp and then shut up. I like the hot wire idea so that you wouldn't have to tie them up. I can sure understand why you wouldn't want to do that. I'm going to continue to research this with actual hunters before I decide. It seems even if I took them hunting with me that they may still have more advantages than disadvantages. Thanks for your input Scott. I may pick your brain some more in the future if you don't mind.

GBA

littlebighorn · Oct 27, 2011

As a dedicated wild sheep hunter, I have to ask if there are not restrictions in sheep country, since domestic goats and sheep carry diseases that can wipe out a wild sheep herd.
Just askin?

ColoradoOak · Oct 27, 2011

littlebighorn, that was my thought when asking as well....

Bow6x6 · Oct 27, 2011

Thanks guys.

swbuckmaster · Oct 27, 2011

LAST EDITED ON Oct-27-11 AT 02:12PM (MST)[p]Everything I've read says wild sheep can only get sick from domestic sheep. Or at least there is no proven facts saying otherwise. A goat sheep comparison is like a dog cat comparison. So if a goat will get a sheep sick then you could say a horse will get a sheep sick. I personally don't care I'll never hunt a sheep and there are no sheep where I hunt. If I there were wild sheep where I hunt I would just check the regulations to see if my goats were allowed. If its not against the law then I will hunt there without to much concern for the wild sheep. But like I said there are no sheep where I hunt and I highly doubt I will ever be in an area where wild sheep are present. I however do check the regulations on where I do hunt and if its against the law I don't hunt there.
?

ColoradoOak · Oct 27, 2011

There is quite a bit of literature out there about potential negative consequences for bighorn sheep when coming in contact with domestic goats. Your attitude of "if it's not illegal, I couldn't care less about the sheep" is a good example of why the Federal land management agencies should maybe take a look at regulating the use of pack goats in occupied bighorn sheep habitat.

For your reading pleasure:

http://www.bighornsheep.org/article_rmrs_gtr209.pdf

http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/articles6/goats_shot_to_spare_sheep_from_e.htm

http://www.cfc.umt.edu/weedgrazing/Brian Jansen.pdf

swbuckmaster · Oct 27, 2011

Thanks for the links. Maybe they should look into it. But like I said it doesn't concern me. I don't hunt there where big horns are and don't plan on it.