Goat hunting time in the Southeast Alaska coastal range

Mountain Goat hunting is underway in the Southeast Alaska coastal range Hans has a few hunts scheduled until Thanksgiving. Alaskan Mountain Goat huntingis a little bit different than Alaska brown bear hunting or Alaskan black bear hunting, mostly because you move from the beach up to the mountains.

In fact, Hans recommends his guided goat hunters to be in decent shape because of the some of the climbing they do on along the coastal range.

“The first part of the season is more for the physical able hunters,” said Hans, your Alaska hunting guide. “You do have to climb up to about 3,500 feet from sea level, so it’s not an easy hunt. Then in the middle of the season when the rut kicks in and the snow level drops getting to the sea level, things get a little easier.”

The “rut” Hans is referring to are billies who are desperate looking for a mate. And, as we all know being humans, men also do stupid things trying to impress their perspective mates.

These goats will get more antsy, move mountain to mountain, get a little bit more curious to find a nanny to call his own. That’s when it’s time to intercept.

“They’re cruising around looking for nannies,” Hans said. “They’re in a rut, so a lot of times in order to check out some other goats they have to come down their side of the mountain and come all the way down toward sea level in order to get up on the other mountain.”

​That’s what happened last year when Hans and his hunters we able to take down three “Boone and Crocket” size goats only around 300-feet above sea level.

“That doesn’t happen every year,” he said. “Some guys have it really easy, other hunts are real knuckle-busters.”

We’ll find out soon how Hans’ Alaskan mountain goat hunts have been going when he heads back to town later on in November. Check back then to see how successful these Alaska big game hunting trips have gone and read first-hand accounts of hunters’ experience.