Thread: Goat hunting in a rainforest like a ninja!

Dry conditions left me frustrated on my last goat hunt. Every footstep through dried leaves was painfully noisy. I spooked two animals and came away with nothing. Usual caveat, I know goats can be easy to hunt, but these animals are heavily culled on surrounding private land and are easily spooked, plus in Northland, the entire forest floor is covered in detritus and the bush is dense, so moving quietly is challenging.

Following advice I received on this forum, I decided to try again during a few days of heavy rain. I also slowed right down and was careful with my footsteps.

Although the bush provided reasonable cover from the rain, everything was wet and I made an early decision to wear a waterproof layer. Normally, I hate hunting in waterproofs, but the jacket kept me warm. Since I planned to move slowly and wait it out in likely spots, I think this was the right decision.



It wasn't long before I found some fresh tracks and came across a small mob of goats which were spread out.



I only moved when there was a gust of wind or downpour of rain and got remarkably close. This was necessary to get a clear shot in the dense bush. At one point, I could have reached out and grabbed a goat. They had no idea I was there. Real ninja stuff (in my mind anyway!). I had animals all around me and selected the youngest for a headshot with a subsonic round at 2 metres. Trigger pulled and down it went.



The other animals disappeared as quietly as I had approached them. I would have taken another if I had the chance, but no drama as mission accomplished.

As usual, full respect given to the animal. It was skinned and gutted and carried out whole in my pikau which was sent to me by another forum member. I'm always amazed at how much you can get in these bags.





A short and successful goat hunt through following good advice. Thank you.