2 for 3

Just started flinging arrows about, maybe 3 months under the belt so far and had 3 armed walk-abouts.

Before I have a go at deer I thought I'd better practise all the skills on something not so valuable.... goats.

First mission was 5hrs away over easter...... a total failure as we tromped around the wrong valley only to see a whole bunch on the next ridge on the way out.... too knackered to put the extra effort in. It was a long drive just to walk about in the pines and blackberry for 6 hrs. ah well....

Closer to home I managed to score a private farm block that has a bit of a goat problem. A really nice property with good access, pretty much spot and stalk from the ridges down into the valleys and hill/cliff faces running down to the sea...... super fun.
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First day was 3 good stalks, first 2 were failures with alot of climbing about and a couple of lost arrows. 3rd stalk and I'd quickly learnt from my mistakes and made it priorty to not be seen, even if it meant doing a big detour to get behind a ridge or traversing behind a stand of gourse or manuka. It paid off.

Managed to get within 15m of a heard, they had no idea I was there until the arrow flew. Even then the only one that knew something was up was the one I hit.
Not the best angle for my first kill..... a front on shot, but I hit it at the base of its throat and it went down for good after a minute. Whould have prefered it to be a bit quicker but you learn I guess.
Was a long walk back but I'm aiming to eat everyhting I shoot otherwise I wont take the shot, so it was butchery 101 and the legs and straps came out with me.

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Next weekend was mission number 2 and Rob came with me. We hiked a decent valley for pretty much the whole day, plenty of goats about. We tag teamed a bunch taking a ridge each and stalked up on them. I detoured again crawling through a maze of goat/sheep trails in the scrub before I came out above and upwind (sent doesnt seem to worry goats!?). I let Rob know where I was and waited untill they crossed my path. Again they had no idea I was there and 2 big old billies wandered across the face about 25m infront of me. I drew and waited, then a younger one was in my sight so I let rip. Whack.

3 steps, one bleat and it was pretty much dead before it hit the floor. Very happy with how that one went, couldnt have been cleaner with a total through and through shot in the heart. Unfortunately it was a rock that stopped the arrow going too far and the shaft exploded into 3 bits, broadhead was selveagble though so not a total loss...... (getting expensive! 1 head and 3 carbon shafts gone sofar... about $70? )

Thought we'd dress the whole animal this time, but messed it up at the end, so ended up just taking the legs and straps again..... lucky we're not practising venison.
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Will see If I can get a double next time and fill the freezer..... kids are loving goat meat which is a bonus ;)

Awesome stuff. Well done

Yeah, good stalk mate, how you made it through all that scrub without making noise is beyond me.

...but... $70 is pretty expensive goat meat when you look at it isn't it?
Haha. It's all fun.

yeah is an expensive bt of meat when you loose a whole arrow.... still its too fun much to worry about little things like that ;)

Good stuff!

Had a spare afternoon up my sleve over the weekend so I shot over to the spot again to do a solo hunt.

After all the wind and rain during the week the stinkies were all out soaking up the sun and feeding big time. I parked up and popped up over a ridge just off the road to scope out where they were hiding, and saw a bunch hanging out just below me about 200m away..... to easy!

Ran back to car, geared up and one of the farm hands pulled up saying there was another big bunch just down the road too.... it was all on!

I stuck with the first bunch I saw and stalked up on them. A nice wee nanny was the closest right up by the fence line to that one was first on the hit list. Popped back over the ridge and down wind from them and stalked a long to where I guessed they were. Popped over the ridge to get a squizz and I was bang on 20m way. First shot smack in the right spot and it was down within about 10m. The rest of the heard had no idea what was going on but got very curious about what happened to 'whitey'..... so they all came over for a look. duh.

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Picked out another nanny from the curious bunch and let rip at about 35m, a good hit but this one shot off into the scrub. I tracked the trail and I found it about 50m in manuka.

I only had 2 broadheads for this shoot and both shots were through and throughs. One arrow was lost, another recovered. Stupid goats decided to still hang around after all this action and I thought ok lets have a go at one of the big old hairy smelly billies shooting down hill and across the valley with my last arrow, the shot was high and I missed, my last arrow had gone bye bye. Day over.

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It was probably just as well as I took while gutting, skinning the first one so I could fully break it down, leaving me only 10mins of sun light left to deal with the second..... so it was a quick legs and backstrap with no messing around..... my new Western Cutlery skinning knife got christened and I'd sharpend it til it was razor sharp, it made a huge difference and made the whole job so much easier (its alsojust about took the top of my thumb off.... oops)
Attachment 36492

Kitchen fridge is now full (not ideal), so I'm sorting out an old fridge for garage, will be my meat hanging/aging fridge. Roasted up, minced and slow cooked some of the ealier kills and it was really nice, will experiment with a bit more aging but Its surprisingly good.

So next on the list is to get a bunch of new broad heads..... might stock up a bit I think, and to get a fricken range finder! Stalking in close is ok and it makes for a sure shot, but shooting up/down hill or across a dip/valley and my estimates go way out.

Very nice, good effort there.

For shooting up or down, have a look at a youtube video from National Sport Shooters Federation (NSSF). He does a very good job of explaining why for shots at angles you need to aim lower. I imagine the same would apply to arrows...

well done young man.

well done and beautiful looking country

Should probably renamed the thread...... 5 for 4.

Headed out to the block again over the weekend. Took Rob with me again hoping he'd be able to score his first goat.

He did..... I'm sure he'll talk about it soon ;)

Had one of the best stalks I've had so far while Rob was after his Billy.
I spotted a mob but they were in an awkard spot with 3 Billys on the knob of a ridge that gave them a perfect view point of all the aproaches down wind and cross wind. After a bit of the sneaky spy on them I had a plan. Was to head back wher I came from about about 700m, drop down to the next valley below the ridge (up wind) and cut around to the opposite side from where I was spying on them. This wee gut had some small scrub along the ridge that I might be able use as cover to get closer.

Plan was going well until I was stopped by a snort..... doh! I'd cut back too low and bumped them.... froze and nice and slow I backed away witht eh whole mob giving me the stink eye.

OK plan B. I headed back up to the top of the ridge keeping out of sight. and headed down a very shallow gut on the opposite side from where I got busted. cover was sparse but I used the camo to good effect and slid down keep very low until I got a bush between their sightline and me. I used that to getin closer, slid a bit more then up to another bush by now I was about 30m from them and they were all focused looking over where I was 15mins ago snorting away.
I slid down another 5m to a big rock and settled behind it picking out the one thats number was up. A nice caremel coloured nanny looked like a good eater but she was partially behind some scrub, then a young Billy poped up on a rock to get a better look around..... bad move matey. Full broad side and the borrwed broadhead hit its mark at full force from about 18m. Straight through and it kept going indo the opposite bank. The Goat on the other hand didn't go anywhere near as far. It dropped off rock took a step then fell and rolled down the hill a few meters dead, all in full view.... couldnt believe how fast it went down 125gr broadheads are mean, only a bullet to the head would have been quicker I reckon.

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The rest of the mob did the usual.... standing there just looking, probably thinking 'hey whats Andy doing flopping on the ground like that.... hey get up Andy'. Enough time for a second shot this time miss Caramel.

It all looked good on the draw and release but for some reason the shot was off.... then I saw the branch with a big chunk out of it. Arrows don't like branches it seems.

Anyway, 3 good hunts at 3 different spots in one day and I was knackered probably just as well I didn't have to deal with 2 animals. Its a super fun spot, we're very lucky to get out there.

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Last time out with @chris-b he got one and I didn't. So I was super keen to do it this time.

As we drove in a goat got up and trotted over a knob it was perched. Parking 50m from where we last saw it I walked slowly up after it. I crawled over the knob (not quite as rude as it sounds) expecting the Billy to be gone but it was only about 10m away with it's head hidden behind a bit of scrub. Perfect. I drew, took time to aim and thwack! I hit it and it started running off blood running down it's leg. After a hundred metres and it not going dropping I decided to give it a follow up arrow. Using the scrub for cover I was able to close the distance to about 15m with a really tight quartering away shot. A slightly off shot saw my arrow right up it's arse which pretty much dropped it on the spot. Not a great way to go.

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I'd like to give you a bit of backstory. Both my father and grandfather were both freezing workers with dad working for MAF as a meat inspector. A couple of months ago dad gave me granddad's old working knife and this was the 1st time I've had a chance to use it. Now I've broken down animals before but the've been hanging in a shed with a nice clean bench to put the meat on, so this should be the same right? No.

I really did 'butcher' that meat (not in a good way) Granddad was probably turning in his grave. As I stupidly tried to butcher it on the side of the hill I'd get half way through a cut and the animal would start sliding downhill or trying to roll away. I did eventually get the back-straps and hind legs for mince. I know billys aren't great for eating but I wanted to at least take some of the meat.

When I made it to the top I found Chris at the top with his little white Billy. While he gutted his goat I went to retrieve one of my arrows. My new PINK and blue fletched arrows stand SO MUCH BETTER than the orange ones I had previously which made it a short job in finding them.

The later stalk was really fun with me getting within 10-20m of a couple of different groups of goats.
I didn't end up taking one as I wanted one of the better meat animals in the group and could get past the old billys.

Highlights of the trip:
1st goat with a bow.
Getting close to so many goats (not the smell though).
Chris trying to throw the remains of his goat over the side of the hill.
Chris finding an arrow he had lost on the other side of the valley while glassing.

Yeeah I forgot to mention those 2 bits.... lucky you weren't videoing that aborted carcus toss (tripped on a bush, I went over bank in to the scrub, the goat didn't)

And spotting a lost arrow from the weekend before from across the valley with the bino's ..... BONUS!

Great stories guys, what's the eating like?

Great story guys, kills & meat, you cant beat that!!!!!!

I haven't eaten mine, it went straight into my chest freezer.
I know Chris has cooked up quite a bit of his. His kids love it!

Been testing out the aging length... have had a couple roasted hind legs aged 6 days. Everyone thought it was lamb with a floral hint, I reckon its pretty close but with a wee bit of gamey flavour. Lamb tastes fatty to me now.

I've only shot/eaten young goats sofar maybe 1-2 years old. Next one I think I'll gut/skin and bring back the whole thing then try to age it a bit longer now I have a dedicated fridge for it in the garage. No signs of bad stuff happening upto 6 days so I think I might push the aging out to 7-9 days.... can only get better eh?

Good eating so far.....

Hind legs roasted = good. smaller size than lamb but similar taste, Latest goats have had a bit of fat layer on them so that heps in the roasting.
Backstraps made into jerky = really good, it only last a day or so.... evryone scoffs it down fast
Front legs, wait til it relaxes then bone out and mince = best burger patties I've had, will see how it goes in lasagnia goes tonight.

I guess there's also the traditional Curry if its a really gnarly old one

Enjoyable read thanks for that, keep the thread going :P

On Sunday @chris-b and I headed out to get some more goats.

Last time Chris and I were out I laughed when he fell over trying to throw his goat over the bank, so I was due a bit of karma which took the form of me tripping right in front of him and landing hands first on some gorse. 'That's why you need gloves!' he said smugly looking at his own ones. Fair enough. I had bought the same ones as his earlier in the week and were quite keen to wear them until my wife read the disclaimer to me:

Attachment 37138
Chris assured me that he already has two children and that is enough.

After a few hours of getting just within shooting distance of a couple of different groups of goats but not sealing the deal we crossed over the creek to hunt on the otherside of the valley.
I went up to the top of this spur and Chris down the gut to the left of it.
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As I got near the top I left my bag and very quickly got busted by a little white billy. He must not have known what I was as he watched me sit still for a couple of minutes then went on eating. I came out of cover bow drawn and took a quick shot which missed and they ran off. I nocked another arrow and sidled slowly down the spur when a black and white nanny walked out and stopped about 20m in front of me. I quickly aimed and shot, the arrow hitting the perfect spot and the goat was off.

I knocked another arrow and continued sidling down the spur when I found the massive blood-trail and then my arrow completely crimson from broad-head to nock (confirming a good shot). 10m after that my nanny had collapsed under some scrub already dead. I'd only shot a billy before so I was grateful with the lack of that billy goat stink. I walked back to uphill to get my bag so I could start butchering.

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On the way back down a cheeky caramel coloured kid comes in to the clearing. It's just stands there wondering whats going on giving me plenty of time to aim and go through my mental checklist: Flat ground, feet parallel to the target, hand holding bow relaxed and my trigger knuckle anchored nicely below my ear. The arrow flies heading for that perfect spot, hits a branch and veers up and totally missing, the arrow gone somewhere in the gully below. The cheeky caramel kids lives for another day!

So I headed back down to move my goat somewhere flatter to butcher. See, I have learnt (a little) since last time. Chris turned up and gave a couple of pointers which were really helpful. I wanted to take the whole animal out so I could hang it in my shed but ended taking 3 legs off (one was a bit of a mess), backstraps and the tenderloins. I really took my time and was rewarded with a much better job than last time.

Yep, another fun day out. Except this one was hard work and a real test for the bung knee...

All the animals were very skitish after being nailed by a couple of rifle hunters the day before, so stalking in close enough to get a shot was very tricky. It was a day where in hindsight running the percentages before hand would have made life easier.... wind direction, approach, stalking cover, locating and even sun played a big part, if we got one wrong they bolted 50/50 wasn't good enough. The sun was an interesting one, it was low with a lot of glare, come at them with the sun at your back and they couldn't see you..... (much).

Anyway, after chasing down a few mobs, me bumping a few and a couple of missed shots (on target but low....need a fricken rangefinder guessing sux),we found ourselves at the bottom of steep gully with gnarly bluffs and rock gorges..... goat land.
Attachment 37142
Spotting the next move.

We stalked the fence line (not that there was much of a fence, just a few poles) but the nanny mob we'd spotted earlier had moved on. What we did find was plenty of pig sign (next mission)..... so it was back to an earlier mob that we bumped and hoped they'd settled down. We split up and Rob's story covers his adventures.
Attachment 37143
The 'not fence' fence line.

I cut back and sidled along in the direction we'd seen a mob earlier. After quietly smashing my way through gorse, Manuka and other scrub I hear munching sounds..... a bunch of young nannies were on 5m in front of me. I froze and slowly dropped.... unfortunately I was in the open with zero cover. I was really relying one the wind (good direction) and the camo on this one. I slowly settled in to a position where I could draw properly, nocked a n arrow and waited for one to move into clear sight. After what seemed like and age and mild foot cramp one abled across nibbling gorse tips, I draw and it saw the movement turning from broad side to front on..... I'd shot one like this before and it wasn't the cleanest angle so I waited to for it to turn for a better angle….. the Monster isn't a bow you want to hold at full draw for too long. Anyway, it spooked and headed off. I went after them and then ran into the rest of the mob 8-12 of them.... finally stalked into a good position and shot..... (on target but low....need a fricken rangefinder guessing sux).... off they went.

Followed the trail through the Manuka and scrub but was getting a bit close to where Rob was so I pulled the pin and caught up with him and his animal.
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Off with his head.

I decided to have one last look down the valley into the gorge on the way back and up the other side. Quietly sidling along I saw some movement on the other side, a young caramel billy was heading down to a crossing point. I snuck a long and got into position with a clear shot but shaded by a small bush. I could see the goat looking but it just couldn't seem me (stalking lesson # 2 for the day, position yourself in the shade not in direct sunlight if you can). I drew and tracked it as it moved crossed about 30m from me on the opposite bank, as soon as it was in a clearing I let loose. Whack, straight through and into the bank. A small bleet and it ran about 15m before going down.

Butchering was a job in the tight and steep terrain but at least I din't have a far to carry it as Rob did. After I got the legs and straps I hauled the caracas up away from the stream and started my trek back...... what a mission. Near vertical slippery tight Manuka for a leg burning few hundred meters straight up, eventually I broke into a clearing and an animal track about half way up the ridge so the going got (slightly) easier.... I saw more very fresh pig sign so I nocked another arrow just incase I ran into a deaf one that couldn't hear my weasing and puffing.

In all it was a really fun hunt and we felt we really earnt it this time both in the terrain, the stalking and the fact the the animals were super skittish. Any sound, movement or smell they didn't wait around, they bolted. We both commented that with rifles we could have taken out at least a half dozen each, probably more. But its the close stalking that we like, the odds definately aren't in our favour out there but getting better skills and some luck will help push things our way.

We did spot a massive billy early in the day.... unfortunately he was out of bounds on a neighbouring ridge about 200m away. We estimated tip to tip would have been close to 100cm. Honestly he was HUGE... will have to keep an eye out for that gnarly old bugger.

This hunt was also a bit of a test on knee which held out really well, sports tape rocks! Next hunt might have to be over in deer land.... thanks Dan ;)

Thanks:thumbsup:

I thought I got a photo of Chris stalking but it didn't turn out well (My fault, not his - haha).

Thumbs up for the new blaze beanie :thumbsup: You really stand out now.

First time back to the goat spot in a while, and after chasing deer and not gettting any the freezer was getting low. So I went all out and did a full day.

Morning stalk was stuffed up by a 180 wind change which put me well out of positon, so I headed back for lunch and kicked off again with the wind in my face. While I waited I let them bed down for a bit, get hungry and start moving about a bit.
I ninja'd down the hill to where I'd seen 3-4 earlier in the day, sneaky sneaky. Heard a few twig snaps then some flapping ears... definately goats. Snuck down a small gut on my ass to stay out of sight and got within 20m. But I was totally blocked in by gorse and onga onga, only way out was back up the hill which I wasn't gonna do as I'd now be in full view of them. So I settled in to a position where I wouldn't cramp up, boot sides cutting tiny foot hold on the face of a clay slip.... and waited.

10-15mins later they started to move across below me, still hidden by scrub and shit..... then I got a sight of fur about 15m away through small 20cm gap in the branches, was it enough? yep.
I came to full draw, brought the bow up, then leaned out past a gorse bush while not loosing my toe holds, lined up the sight through the bushed aimed and let fly. Whack!
Off it went in a scramble to the right 10m then came back left to its mates just below where it started gurgling and coughing. thats as far as it got. complete lung pass-through and it was down before it knew what was happening. a perfect eater which I dressed and dragged it back to a shady spot cool.
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It was only 1pm and I still had a leave pass for the day so I planned the next wee walk.

Down the valley with the wind in my face, wasn't expecting much as I'd already bagged one, but as I made my way down to the valley floor 500m below I began to see a few. After going on hands and knees through the trails in the gorse and manuka I spotted one down on the stream flats.... hmmmm. looked good. The I spotted 3 more. ok this is good. I was across from them and fully secluded in the manuka and had a shooting ally through the trees lined up.
Ranged at 35m and downhill which ended up being about 31m (love the new rangefinder!) lined up a 1yr kid. whack it went down arrow passed through and burried in the ground. Mum looking very concerned wandered over to see what jr was doing having absolutely no idea what was going on. I was so well hidden she didn't even know I was there, I drew again and let fly. Mum took the hit, bolted a meters across the stream and then she was down now too.

3 down and the freezer was looking in better condtion.

I wasn't gonna carry these 2 out whole so I did the legs and straps and hiked the hill. It was a bit of a mission, hot, sunny and no water so by the time I got to the top I was feeling it a bit... one foot after the other...

managed to try out the new hanging fridge.... worked a treat. can really dial in tha aging with temp and humidity.
Test the back straps on the bbq after 2 days aging. was still a bit chewy.
4 days, getting better.
7 days, melt in your mouth tender.

Now everyone in the house prefers goat to lamb!

Another good weekend stroll. Weather was SHITE, 20-30knt NW that brought in a glaggy wet mist, then it swithced to a freezing cold drizzly Souhterly half way through the day.

Rob and I started off in what we thrrught was the general direction of the forest. We could only see about 40m, we found the rangefinders were pretty much useless in fog... just refused to work. Good to know.
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Gearing up and trying to figure out where we were..... pretty disorientating.

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Ok over this ridge?

We hit the forest and started to stalk maybe 150m apart heading into the wind... very spooky but very cool in the pines with fog.
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Rob down the hill from me
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spooky

Being super quiet was pretty easy on the damp needles. After about 30mins of quiet creeping I spotted movement. A bedded young billy. I froze as it got up turned around and faced quater off from me.... "shit this is too easy". then it took a step further and sat down. damn.

Ok now the proper ninja stalk was on, keeping out of view behind logs or trees, couching or on hands and knees I managed to clse the distance to about 16ish meters without them seeing me. I ranged. Too mich misty fog so no reading, and the bugger was still sitting. I went to move for a better angle then I saw his mate next to him. Ok Now I was pinned.... slowly inched my way back to the tree and reevaluated. I could have had a go but the shot was an iffy angle and there was a bunch of branches in the way.
The i saw Rob to my right crawling in about 30m from them. He had a good lane through the trees, so I gave him the thumbs up. He waited a few minutes until the closest one stood an thwack a clean through and through.

It was super cool to watch from a side angle and the stalk in made it even better.

Both the goats bolted and we began the track. After about 20mins we managed to circle round and cut them off, I waited in ambush as Rob pushed them towards me and I finished it off at 10m as it ran past me.... no idea I was there. A good team effort on the hunt and the butchering.
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We found a nice grassy patch to cut it up with no pine needles messing things up.

After that Robs coldy-flu thing kicked in another notch so he pulled the pin.

I still had no meat so I headed over to the old faithful spot. Within a few minutes I'd spotted 3 big billies on the opposite ridge... doable but the weather was closing in and I was getting tired. Billy taste like burnt tyre anyway...... so I passed.

Went a bit further and spotted a couple about 100m below the ridge I was on. One looked like a good eater so I went for it. Wind was good again and I stalked in... more like crawled in along the animal paths under the gorse and scubby stuff. I'd lost sight of the taget for a bit so I slowly had a peak about. Shit, it was on the other side of the bush I was behind only 3-4m away. FAIL!!! There was no way could get a shot from there, if I moved to get a shot I'd be up wind, if I went back down wind he'd be looking right at me.hmmmmm....
I drew back and stepped sidways slowly to get around the bush, I could see fur but not what I needed to aim for. then bam, it saw me and bolted taking another 3 with it straight down the valley and up the otherside about 500m away before I could do anyhting. Damn they can cover some ground. Ok that was blown.

Next spot down by the coast on the cliffs. I hadn't been there since my very first hunt and I was surprised how good it was. I also had a Navy ship anchored 300m offshore watching me no doubt.

I spotted a mob below me on a small flat, stalked in, belly crawled behind a low berm to get to a bush and kneeled. range was 32m on a slight down hill. None of them had spotted me yet so I picked the best looking eater, a 1-2 year old in mid mob. Wind was now howling across left to right. I sighted my broadheads (waaaaaay different to my feild tips) so i knew I was straight. I aimed a wee bit left for wind drift and let loose. The wind down lower was ALOT more than I thought and the shot visibly difted right as it clsed in but still hit the vitals and went clean through. The animal just stood there not knowing what had happened. I initally thought I'd missed then I saw the blood start gushing.... a few steps and it was down. The other goats still hadn't seen me and it wasn't until I stood up that the ran...... all with the Navy watching (probably on paua poaching patrol)

Dressed on the spot and carried back, then skinned. Now have a whole animal in the hanging fridge, next is to make a charcoal BBQ Argentinean stays.

So, it was pretty foggy when we turned up. The range finder and camera only just able to pick Chris out at 20 metres. Our theory was to drop some altitude and head into the pines to get some visibility and shelter from the weather. In the pines we split up. My walk was pretty uneventful and I was strolling over to where I expected Chris to be when some movement caught my eye. I slowed down and watched what turned out to be him stalking in on something unseen by me.

A where's Wally of sorts. Can you see him?
Attachment 42583

After watching for a while and he not taking a shot I crept forward on hands and knees to see what was going on. From my angle I could see 2 young goats bedded down against a tree and I had a shot open. I got his attention and the nod to take the shot which ended up a bit far back in the ribcage exiting though the guts.

After giving it a bit of time we found it still alive. A bit of a stalk ending with both of us putting arrows into it to finish it off.

Attachment 42584

After a bit of backyard butchery I hung the meat in a tree and we went looking for more.

Chris stalking in on a goat that mysteriously vanished.
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I headed home after this and Chris stayed on...

loving the stories fellas good shit keep it up!!!
loving the gloves more though i must say :thumbsup:

Haha @madmaori it saves trying to get that lingering goat stench off your hands.

Been eating quite a bit of goat recently:
Goat curry, primo Jamie Oliver burger paddies and made some game stock for soups and braising.
Tonight we're having a Steve Rinella recipe: Bone-in Blade Roast with Root veges.

Only got a couple of backstraps and one leg left in the freezer.
Might have to go out again soon @chris-b

On Saturday @chris-b and I went out for some more goats. The initial walk in wasn't bad and within minutes we saw the first goats of the day.
Chris and I stalked into shooting distance without being seen. Both our first shots missed but I was able to get another arrow knocked and on it's way.
I hit the target perfectly stopping it in it's tracks and then it conveniently fell off the ledge above and onto the track in front of us.

Attachment 55330

Chris went for a bit of a walk while I hung and started gutting my animal but fortunately arrived in time to see me knick the guts and make a proper mess.
I had intended to take the whole animal home to hang but with mess of it all I just took the 4 legs and the backsteaks.

To retrieve the arrows I approached from the top and had to climb through a bunch of tight gorse.
They had seemed unreachable from the track below but when I finally made it close to the spot I saw Chris carrying them along the track below, go figure.

As we continued on uphill we spotted another couple of small ones and started the stalk into about 25m.
Chris said they might be too small but I sort of encouraged him. Chris managed to get the black and when we caught up to it I nearly caught the other with my hands.
Closer we saw they were quite small, skinned the carcass looked more like an abnormally large hare than a goat.

Attachment 55328

We did some glassing but didn't really find any more *convenient ones
Attachment 55329

*Ones we didn't have to crawl though the gorse above to get to.