Mt Gaot with a Contender

Just got home from my Goat hunt in Alaska

I used Lonesome dove outfitters, Dennis Zadra.
Great operation. This hunt is a REAL hunt. No boats, no horses, no way to get there except for a big pack and a grueling hand full of days. My Guide was Bryan Galager.

I chose my 358 JDJ contender with a healthy load of RE 7 and Barnes 180x's. Chronoed this load at 2400 fps+ and about 3/4" groups at 100 yards.

i'll keep it simple...flew to a small coast beach about an hour from Cordova. Set up a decent base camp at 4 pm...then filled our packs with spike gear and climbed til dark...and I do mean climb...cramp ons and ice ax in hand, through waterfalls at times straight vertical...it was incredibly brushy and entangled. Rain fell continually. I was soaked from sweat when I finally got into my bivy

Next morning at light we continued almost 2000 more vertical feet. My watch showed an altitude of just over 3000' after the goat was down. If my wife knew the rocks, cliffs and terrain we went through, im sure she would not be happy.

The shot was 160 yrds. First shot broke the left sholder, goat spun. Second shot broke the right sholder...goat headed for the downhill cliff...got another round in him high above the sholder..then he went over. Hike down and around to him...probably 400'+ down...He was tangled in some big rocks and still alive...had to put one more in the vitals,,,,

I shot as well as I could. the shots were perfect. Exactly where I aimed them. Recovered both sholder bullets in the opposite off sides...both weighed 178 grains....

My conclusion is these Billies are one of the toughest things ive ever hunted. I believe I had enough gun, but more would not be a bad thing.

We got down late that day to base after collecting spike camp. Spent two more days in bad weather before a float plane could pick us up....Mt house and a little whisky and cider were a comfort though.

On a side note. If anyone wants a great gear list for a hunt like this...just pm me. I only carried 37 pounds for a potential 6 day spike out. Everything I used worked as it needed to. The Goat measures 9 7/8 and had 5 3/8 bases...not sure how it will end up, but Im curious if it stacks up well in SCI

A hearty congratulations, and thanks for sharing. I am afraid a hunt like that has passed me by in age. Glad you made it safely.

Congrats on a great hunt -- and great adventure! Those memories will last a lifetime. Well done

Congrats! Post some pics when you get a chance.

I posted some pix in the bragging board

Thanks Guys

Congratulations! That sounds like one heck of a hunt!

Thanks Mark
Great to hear from you....
BTW I liked the last mag I read with your input on the HS and the 50gi

Mt Goat with one of my handguns is definitely a dream hunt. Congratulations!

Awesome hunt - congratulations. What a fantastic handgun trophy.
It is great to see someone else using the 358JDJ Contender. What a great gun. Its my go to gun if the big game shots are 100 yards or more.

Congratulations on getting one of the toughest animals on the planet & you did it with a handgun, great job. I too waited too long, the mountains are too steep now even though there are goats within 50 miles of where I live, might as well be on the moon. In the winter they come right down to the highway to lick salt off the road when the snow plows come by. I love to watch them. Takes a dedicated hunter to tag out on a Mountain Goat, you did good! Some people may not know it but there are some Nannies in the record book.

Dick

Great hunt but with two bad knees and age catching up with me I am like others here who can only live it thru your story. Thanks for sharing.

Absolutely fantastic! A hard earned trophy with any weapon, and stellar with the short gun...

Outstanding! Hearty congratulations!

I enjoyed the hunt details, thanks for sharing! Huge congrats on your success!

Another excellent trophy to your very impressive list of animals taken by handgun.... GOOD FOR YOU....

Way to go! Beautiful animal and the scenery makes it doubly so. Congrats on doing it the hard way .Chrnoed my .358 JDJ Sat. at 2309 fps with Re 7 and a 200 gr Rem.sp. sweet round!

Congrats on a great hunt and billy, I enjoyed the read and the pics.
I am curious if the bullets you recovered had mushroomed much.

I posted a picture of the recovered bullets.

Way to go. Sorta like winning the lottery several times over!

thanks for the great comments and interest guys

Awesome story! Thank you for sharing and congrats!!! The Mountain Goat is my most favorite trophy. Probably no other animal on earth will test you like the the goat can is his high domain.

Congrats on your goat!! I'm getting my gear ready for my Mt. Goat hunt next week.

Aaron

Good luck AAron on your hunt...where you headed

South end of Kodiak. Really looking forward to it. Should be a good time, because I'll be hunting with a good buddy who is also a handgun hunter.

Aaron

Awesome hunt and congratulations on a fine trophy!

Good luck
Keep us posted

congrats!! tough animal!!

Congrats on the mountain goat. Got several preference points with hopes of drawing someday. I agree I will feel like I won the lottery when that time comes.

Congrats. Thanks for sharing. Nothing beats mountain hunting!

Good for you. That's a hunt I haven't done yet. I've been on many Dall Sheep hunts and was able to get another one this year but no goat hunt yet. And yes, you are right about them being tough to kill. I've talked with several goat hunters about just that.