Utah Mt Goat- Wife has 18 pts & injured back

patientlywaiting · Mar 5, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Mar-05-14 AT 03:47PM (MST)[p]I also posted this in the goat section but I need some info before tomorrow night.

Anyone who's hunted Willard or Beaver area for goats I need to pick your brains.

I've hunted Lone Peak and Box Elder since I was 16 years old and since 1984 helped 10 people kill good billys in both of these units. All these years That my wife has been putting in for goat, I've planned that once she drew I'd just take her up on a Friday night and shoot a big billy within sight of our house in Alpine and be back home on Saturday night.

Now there are two problems with my plan.

The first problem which doesn't worry me as much as the second problem is the number of goats has drastically declined in the Box Elder Unit which is why the DWR has combined it with Lone Peak and Box Elder. The reason this doesn't bother me as much as the second problem is; since instead of waiting until the last week and the billys look like a 300 pound cotton ball and all furred out, I'd just take her up on the first week and shoot the first billy we could find see regardless of the hair length.

The second problem which is a show stopper is she has just discovered a couple of weeks ago that she possibly has a ruptured disk due to some leg pain. And in no way would she be able to take one of my 5000? vertical climb, hikes from hell to get from the trail head to the goats.

So I'm looking at a unit that has much easier access. I've never set foot on the Beaver or the Willard Units but have heard that you can drive a wheeler to the top and hunt down or along the tops.

Any information that anyone would be willing to share will be greatly appreciated. I'm down to the wire and need to decide before 11pm tomorrow night if she'll be hunting or just buy a point.

I plan to post this in General hunting section too if MM will let me so you may see this in both sections of the forum.

Thank you.

"I hate being bi-polar.....Its awesome"

mtnrunner260 · Mar 5, 2014

Never hunted Beaver but Willard has potential to go either way. You can and do see goats from the road all summer long but they do move out when first shots are fired.
If you have time to make the drive on the opener and then lots of weekdays during the hunt you'd get lucky eventually. May not be the best billy.
If surgery can fix the problem and she'll have mobility next year I'd say buy a point honestly. Its a once in a lifetime hunt, do you really want her to be limited to a truck or wheeler for it?

PleaseDear · Mar 5, 2014

First off:

So sorry to read about her bad back issue----that sucks!

If she goes 1st hunt on Willard Billy, before they get pushed down into the crags and cliffs.....she could pretty much harvest without having to walk very far in the 'vertical' category.

HOPEFULLY by the hunt dates in mid-September she has had a remarkable treatments for her bad back and will be good to go!

Robb

PS. My Mrs is already in for 1st hunt on WP and even though she has less points than your Mrs....if they both drew---plenty of help available.

Longbow6360 · Mar 6, 2014

I still have a house down in Perry, Utah. I use to sit on my front porch and watch the goats. I'd come in from Mantua, past Doc Flats and up to Inspiration Point. You're already on top so the hike along the ridgeline is pretty easy. I've seen goats within rifle range drinking down at the little pond in the basin you can see from the point. Take your wife and hike south along the ridge.

For long distance dial 1-800-338-EDGE

cjg_beef · Mar 6, 2014

I hunted the Early Rifle Willard hunt two years ago and had a great time. Goats were pretty much everywhere. You could make the hunt as easy or hard as you wanted. Most of the guys hunting up there were focusing on the trail between Willard Peak and Ben Lomond but everywhere else didn't see much pressure when I was up there. I ended up harvesting a good billy that had really good fur opening day. We found him hanging out in the dark timber so that may have played into him being furred up. All in all I'd recommend the hunt to anyone who is looking for a good hunt with plenty of goats and easy access. FYI I didn't have any time to scout the unit as I was out of state all summer long but I spent a lot of time looking at pictures and video of goats to get an idea of what I was looking for.

Here is a link to the post on my billy.
http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID8/5083.html#.UxjIDF68Svp√

Workman Predator Calls Field Staff
http://www.workmanpredatorcalls.com

patientlywaiting · Mar 6, 2014

Thanks all for the info..

cjg_beef - I just sent you a pm with a few question.s

"I hate being bi-polar.....Its awesome"

big6 · Mar 6, 2014

The Beaver is a great unit with good access. my mom has the same problems from when she broke her back a while ago. she had the Nanny tag right in between the 2 billy hunts. I wished she would have had the early billy hunt one of the billys I was watching is the new state record archery. any way to get back on track if she does go with the beaver let me know and we can help you out. There are lots of goats on the unit in a lot of different places that you can get away from people most of the time and have a great hunt without people pushing them all over the place. I will post up some pictures here in just a minute of my moms goat and the live pics of the big billy if I have them on this computer.

www.hightopoutfitters.com

big6 · Mar 6, 2014

Here are a few pictures of the Nanny that she took opening day.

www.hightopoutfitters.com

patientlywaiting · Mar 6, 2014

THANK YOU

LAST EDITED ON Mar-06-14 AT 11:17PM (MST)[p]Well, nothing like me waiting for the last minute to decide what unit and get her application in before 11pm , but it was in with 8 minutes to spare

Looking at the stats, with 18 goat points she's pretty much guaranteed to be getting a Willard Peak (Early) Mt Goat tag in the mail in the few months.

Its amazing the number of people that have returned PMs, called and emailed with their experiences in these two units since I posted this yesterday. I've been talking to people all day about this, so THANK YOU to everyone with your suggestions and input.

If any of you or yours ever draw a Lone Peak or Box Elder tag let me know and I'll give you everything I've got.

"I hate being bi-polar.....Its awesome"

BillyBoB · Mar 7, 2014

RE: THANK YOU

LAST EDITED ON Mar-07-14 AT 04:32PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Mar-07-14 AT 04:30?PM (MST)

I spend and have spent a ton of time up there. If I can be any help, let me know. The hike from inspiration point is the way to go. You can easily get an atv up there. Even a truck. If I have time, I'll post some pictures I've taken from up there. Ive been within 20 yards of some goats while hiking from the point to Ben Lomond Peak. The herd up on Willard is big. She shouldn't have a hard time on that early hunt. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Good luck!

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"The movement for the conservation of wildlife,
and the conservation of all our natural resources,
are essentially democratic in spirit,purpose and
method."

"We do not intend that our natural resources shall
be exploited by the few against the interests of the
majority. Our aim is to preserve our natural
resources for the public as a whole, for the
average man and the average woman who make
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