Big Billy or Bust . . . Sizing up Mountain Goats
I’ll preface this by saying that for most hunters pursuing a mountain goat will be the closest Type 2 Fun they will likely encounter. For the hunter what is typically remembered is the adventure and the comradery and in the end anyone who has hunted these majestic beasts would say that any mountain goat harvested would be considered a trophy!
One of the more challenging animals to judge in North America are mountain goats, the other being bears. For most hunters harvesting a mountain goat will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as few likely have these iconic mountain dwellers in their home country, state or province and if they do there is likely no opportunity to purchase an over-the-counter tag to hunt them on a regular basis to become intimate with their physical characteristics and behaviors. Even if you do have goats in your backyard, the formidable terrain they consider home does not lend to a comfortable environment for most humans to navigate, especially for close goat encounters.
My learnings of goats and judging goats has come from 30 years of hunting mountain hunting in the Coastal Mountain Range of British Columbia. A mature later season billy will make a spectacular showpiece in your home but should also be targeted for conservation reasons as older billies will have less impact on the goat population compared to say nannies or younger billies. Genetics and feed are the primary factors affecting the physical characteristics of mountain goats and coastal populations have the ideal combination of both. On average a mature coastal billy ranging between 275 to 300 lbs will often weigh 100 lbs more than goats from the Rocky Mountains and horn length will average an extra inch on coastal goats, say 9.5” as compared to 8.5” on inland goats. Likewise on horn base circumference – on average 5.5” for coastal goats versus 5” for inland goats.
EVALUATING HORN SIZE
You may have heard it referenced that a 10” billy (~50 class B&C goat) correlates to a 40” ram (~170 class B&C) which provides context as to relative trophy size and what benchmark is often set by the hunter looking for an exceptional animal. On both these fronts the horns require decent mass to meet the mark, which we will dive into later. When looking at the North American goat population, a 10” billy is rather lofty, but based upon experience your chances are far greater in harvesting a 10” coastal British Columbia billy than a 40” Stone’s or Dall’s sheep, all other factors being equal.
Now onto evaluating horn size one inch at a time! From 1,000 yards, 500 yards or even 100 yards judging the difference between an 8”, 9” or 10” horn on a billy with any sort of accuracy seems daunting. The key is to use clear anatomical reference points. I have never taken to using the length of the ears compared to the length of the horns (say the ear length is 4.5” and the horn looks to be twice the length of the ears so a 9” horn) as generally I’d be looking at a white ear on a white backdrop whether it be the white cape or a snowy background. I find it challenging to clearly see where the base of the ear starts and where the tip ends, even more so in less-than-ideal conditions that comes with goat hunting.
What I find to be clearly defined and an easy comparison for horn length is the tip of nose to the corner of the eye measurement. This measurement on a typical mature coastal billy is 8”. A decent side profile photo or video through the spotter of the nose and the horn works best. For a quick and dirty estimate enlarge the photo or still on the video screen so the thumb or any finger just fits between the end of the nose and the corner of the eye and then bring this up to the horn profile and see how far beyond this finger width the horn goes. If the finger width is even or just covering the horn length, then it’s roughly an 8” horn. If the horns extends just slightly over the finger (say overage is roughly 1/8 of the finger width) then you’re looking at a 9” horn and if well over the finger width (say the overage is roughly 1/4 of the finger width) then it’s solid 10” goat and will generally meet the criteria for harvesting a “book billy” provided all other factors such as shot distance, retrieval, etc. have been considered. This quick check on horn length can take place in 15 to 20 seconds.
For a more accurate length estimate I use a small piece of paper and hold the edge of paper to the screen photo of the goat’s face profile and with a pen mark the nose tip and corner of the eye. I will also mark ¼ points on the paper include extending one or two ¼ points past the 8” nose to eye measurement. We now have the 0”, 2”, 4”, 6”, 8”, 10” and 12” measurements on the paper. Place the paper edge up to the horn and hold the 0” mark on the base of the horn and follow the paper along the outer curvature of the horn. If the horn goes to or beyond the 10” you’re looking at a great goat. If halfway between the 10” and 12” mark you’re looking at an exceptional 11” goat.
While horn length is a key measurement in the score of a goat, the horn mass is critical to the final score. For scoring purposes circumference measurements are taken at the base, ¼, ½ and ¾ points along the length of the horn so the mass all the way along the horn length is important. Near the tips, are the horns thin or do they have significant thickness to them? In general, the space between the horns at the base assists in estimating the circumference. For comparison small horn bases would be 5” with ~1” space between horn bases, while average bases are 5 4/8” with a 3/4” horn spacing, and large bases are 6” with a 1/2” horn spacing, and exceptional bases that we see in the current and previous world records are 6 4/8” with a 1/4” horn spacing. The bases of these very large horns would essentially look as if they were touching, whereas a very small horn base of 5” will appear to have a gap between the horns large enough to fit another horn base. A decent set of bases will also be larger than the eye socket of a goat which measures at 5”.
EVALUATING AGE CHARACTERISTICS
Horn size is as desirable as age, or at least it should be! Who doesn’t want an old haired up billy goat. Passing on the young billies so they can breed and targeting the old boys isn’t a bad thing for the population. For simplicity I like to divide the age groups into three categories: young, mature and old. For young the age considered is under 4 years, mature being 5 to 10 and old being over 10.
Young billies – the teenagers. While they may start breeding at 3 years of age, they aren’t seriously in the game yet. It is common for young billies that are 2 or 3 years old to be hanging out with nanny and kid groups outside of the rutting season. Their bodies are smaller and less beefy and often the size of a mature nanny. It is common for hunters to mistake an immature billy for a mature nanny as their horns and body can be of similar size. When a young billy is near a mature or old billy their smaller stature is evident. Young billies are characterized by a dished face or a flat nose compared to the Roman (humped) nose of a mature or old billy. The hide is also in mint condition and often cleaner. During the rut the younger billies are less likely to partake in the courtship such as soiling their bodies with a combination of urine and dirt, particularly on the rear flanks.
Mature billies – the prime breeders. Their bodies are fully developed with a muscular front end that appears ominous along with the black daggers sticking out of their head! Aside from the rut season the mature billies will often hang out in bachelor groups of two or more. A couple of years ago I got onto a bachelor group of seven billies aged 5 to 13 which is the largest I’ve seen. It’s always easiest to assess body, horn size and age when you have other mature billies together for comparison. The mature billies will be most active and aggressive during the rut and as mentioned above are often soiled from urinating on the dirt, digging and laying in or casting the dirt onto their hinds.
Old billies – the kings of the mountain. These old boys start to really show their age once past 12 years of age . . . more stationary, slow, methodical movements, droopy, somewhat sad looking face like an old man, poor hide condition (matted and uneven), an appearance of a saddle near their haunches, with swayed back. If an old billy is with younger billies during the rut they will show their dominance by their gestures and the younger ones will move aside.
DON’T OVERLOOK THE OBVIOUS
Spoiler alert! It’s not impossible to count the annuli rings of a goat’s horns to assess age. I only started digiscoping in the last 5 years and it’s been a real game changer for evaluating horn size and age. With high quality, high magnification spotting scopes, digiscoping and by getting close (less than 100 yards) to the billy in favorable weather conditions a hunter can get a decent read of its age from the horn annuli. A summer cape with the shorter hair will aid in field judging the age. Starting from the tip and moving down the horn the first distinct ring will be the second annuli and then approximately 1.5” down the 3rd annual and another 0.5” down the 4th annuli. Going further to the base the rings become progressively tighter and harder to count but under the right conditions it is achievable to locate the 7th or 8th annuli. To effectively count you will likely need to enlarge the photo on the screen.
In order to be competent on making the call “BOONER” or ”BUST” many hunters have had to learn the tips and tricks through years of observing and harvesting more than a handful of goats. Having an experienced mountain goat mentor or guide will go a long way to increasing your ability to field judge that special billy before you decide to cut a tag!
I trust the above will provide some assistance and best wishes on your next mountain goat adventure!