A Most Improbable Mountain Goat

A photo of some of the typical terrain and steep jagged cliffs found in the maroon bells-snowmass wilderness area of colorado, taken while on a mountain goat hunt. With trophy goat at top of peak
Crosshairs On Target- But No Goat Today
a photo of a jagged peak in the maroon bells wilderness area, with a trophy mountain goat standing on top. Taken on a mountain goat hunting trip in colorado
The Infamous “Tank” , Who Lived On To Fight another Day

 

Above is a photograph of “Tank”, as I so affectionately named him. You will have to take my word for it, but this is a mountain goat for the bowhunting record books.

Of course, I would have had to get close enough to kill him first, and the more I hunted him the more the impossibility of that task became evident.

“Tank” did not become big by being slow-witted. I gave up the bow and turned to the rifle, but even that was a tough assignment.

I nearly had him though. He fit bodly in my crosshairs one blue-sky morning, and I wanted badly to pull the trigger. It would have been a long shot at 540 yards, but I had the gun for it and a dead rest to go with it.

In the end, he never walked into a position where he could be recovered after the shot. Such are the frustrations  and tribulations of goat hunting.

Last I saw him he was grazing contentedly with some other trophy contenders, though he made them look small by comparison.

With luck and perseverance another goat hunter may take him next year, but then again, maybe not.

My guess is that he will die of old age long before that ever happens.

Long live “Tank”, the most improbable super goat!

By Michael Patrick McCarty

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