All About Pocket Knives

Back to kj's goat pictures... Back in the 90's, I was up in Alaska and saw goats way in the distance, up on the sides of the mountains there. Easy to spot, white coats on rock background. Then about 10 yrs ago, I was out at Sturgis during the rally and was visiting Mt. Rushmore and these things were just walking around, tame as could be.

Seeing goats at valley bottom is not common here. I drive the same stretch of road coming and going to my property and in 35+ years i have seen goats there about 6 or 7 times. The goats have a very steep trail at that spot that goes up over 3,000 vertical feet to rocky bluffs and ledges where they spend most of their time. From these bluffs & ledges they can move further into the Selkirk Mountain range and ascend another 3,000' which is about 8,000 feet above sea level and 6300 feet above the valley bottom & Kootenay Lake.
I don't know why these family groups of goats make the long trek down to the bottom at this time of year. No snow in the alpine yet.
kj

johnny twoshoes, It was good to read your story today! You've always written such great stories with descriptions than can felt by the reader! Neat how your mother finally pulled the trigger . Been trying to get Miss Joy to do it for years, no such luck. Like your mother was, once it's on the ground there is no problem but doin' the deed is too much.
I'd love to see a picture of your mother with her next deer, you have shown us several in the past without a problem .
By the way that's a fine lookin' knife you used to autopsy Bambi!
Treefarmer

Okay TreeFarmer, you talked me into it haha.

Here she is with her hubby. He is a great guy and they are perfect for each other! He carries a stag #72 that I gifted him as a wedding present. It's well used and really aging well! My brother uses this Buck to skin the doe out. A Christmas gift from his wife shortly before hey got married.
Hmmm I'm going to have to learn how to rotate these.

Hang in there, Jerryd will fix it for you!
Treefarmer

Yeah, I'm here. Johnny on the spot (no pun intended).

Thanx to Jerry I now have a differant outlook GREAT STORY well told

That is amazing KJ. Do goats do that much? Come down and visit I mean.

Great stuff Caleb!!

Thank to you all for the kind compliments!
Small game comes in on the 15th and I'm already getting psyched for that. My brother is going to take the inline for a walk in the morning and I'll see what I can do about some bushytails around lunch time.

"That is amazing KJ. Do goats do that much? Come down and visit I mean"
steve99f, as i mentioned in the post, in 35 years of driving the same road (maybe 30 times per year) i have seen goats there 6 or 7 times.
So they do not come down to the valley bottom very often. Even in winter they stay up in the snow rather than come down to where snow is either non existent or not deep.
That was a family group. Maybe the ewe brings her kids down to teach them the full extent of their range ?
I don't goat hunt so i don't know much about goat behavior.
kj

I was out in Montana a few years ago ,the mountain goats came down every evening to the river to drink. Their ability to climb and descend was amazing.

I'm just back from a great week of hunting in Northern Maine,one Moose one Bear and one bunch of Grouse

Awesome dogg!! Congrats! Moose = good eating

Dogg - that must have been an incredible week! How much did that moose weigh - I cannot read the scale in the photo? That bear looks pretty substantial too: great photos for sure.

Looks like y'all ain't goin' to starve this winter! Great pictures, thanks for sharing them. One thing I really like about the pictures is the "real look" of the shotguns and the grouse birds, used, not shiny works of art, well used, the real deal!
Now that big ol' moose, he'd make about 10 Florida white tails bucks, maybe more, wow!
What's the deal with the double barreled stand? Surely y'all ain't that crowded in Northern Maine where you have to share a clump of trees in a clear cut . Somebody left a rifle or a shotgun leanin' against the snag under the ladder stands.
Thanks again Gdogg, enjoyed lookin' at the pictures!
Treefarmer

Thanx guys the Moose went 700lbs 38" spread,Bear 345lbs.TF them shotguns don't get babied well used and mechanically fine.the double stands are for the first and second shooter,usually one spots as the tree-line is 400 yards away max shot for this size animal with a 30-06 or a 270.Our Moose was shot at sunset while road-riding in the rain,we had him out of the woods by 11:30 PM a lot of work..

gd, 700 pounds is with head, hide and lower legs still on, right ? Out West we give the weight of the carcass before butchering. I think the moose would be about 500 pounds carcass weight ? (meaning head, hide & lower section of limbs removed, leaving only meat & bones)
As he is still in one piece it suggests you were able to drive up to him and skid out with truck or ATV ? If not you are a STRONG man !!
I have moose hunted in southern B.C. mountains. Moose are not always in the valleys as i have seen them at 6,000 feet. But wherever you get one it almost always is a pack out, one trip because if you go back you will likely meet a grizzly on what you left behind and the results are usually fatal for the hunter.
I envy hunters who can moose hunt and not have to de-bone to pack out. A dead moose is a HEAVY moose. You can pull and push and grunt all you want and the moose doesn't even budge.
But it's worth all the work because most will agree that moose is the best meat of all North American large game.
kj

Looks like a fantastic trip Dogg, congrats to all

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like a heck of a trip Dogg !!!! Congrats on all !!! ___________________Our rifle season for deer opened last Tuesday ( I don't do the stick thing or black-powder ) -- got meat to replenish the freezer, as we ate our last cube steak & hamburger last week**** _____ spike & 4 point Tuesday -- missed ( 2 ) Wednesday -- let a couple of does walk by, then got the cow-horn this morning -- will try again Wednesday -- still warm around these parts, but with the "RUT" coming up soon,some of the bigger deer should start moving during daylight hours?? ----- again, congrats on your success & trip !!! _Monk

PS___ getting to old to do much ""draggin;"" ____so I bought me a Arctic Cat ""toy !!!!

Thanx guys our weight is of a gutted animal our method is in a clear cut which is the worst drag you can't get a four wheeler to it so we have a 10000' steel reinforced rope from Moose to a bull wheel chained to a tree then pulled buy a 4X4 truck with two guys walking with the bull till you reach the road.the bear was a tougher drag off the mountain

Not to mention we had two packs of coydogs skirting us all the way out.

Good job Big Monk! I fully understand your comment about gettin' too old to do much draggin'! That moose draggin' affair that gdogg described made me tired just thinking about it . Your two ought to make some fine venison.
Treefarmer

Great hunt Dogg - nice to see the pictures! Keep at it Monk and Philip - keeps you sharp! I've got a great four days coming up - deep sea fishing on Wednesday out of Morehead City - hopefully boat some Tuna. Then deer hunting and sporting clays on Friday, followed by a pheasant shoot on Saturday. Hopefully I'll remember to get some good photos to post. OH