More goat hunting shenanigans! (NZ)

[Houseplant]

Bush hunting, or as some might describe it, jungle hunting has been a learning curve for me. Navigating the dense bush and steep inclines is difficult enough even without considering the hunting part.  It's hard to walk around quietly and you often don't see an animal until you're very close and then it bolts. Fortunately, we have wild goats which aren't the hardest animal to hunt, but given the environment are a challenge for me at least. 

I have been visiting an area which I have got to know quite well and have been using GPS to plot a trail through the "easier" parts of the forest. Recently, I was back on the trail, found some fresh sign and did some goat calling. To my surprise, I got a response and a young billy was actually making headway towards me. He came within 10 metres and a moment later and he was down. It's taken me half a dozen trips and a few cock-ups to get to this point, so I was pretty pleased!

As usual, I aim to eat what I shoot (with the exception of possums!), so back legs were harvested before making the arduous journey back down the mountain.

After hanging the legs for a couple of days and trimming them up a bit, they looked good enough to eat!

At times, I wonder if we should have settled in another part of New Zealand where the land is more open and deer are plentiful, but then I remind myself that I have forests that I can hunt with any calibre rifle of my choice (.223 or larger) just a 30 minute drive out of town. It could be better, but it could be a lot worse!

[Lloyd90]

Amazing to have access to that on your door step  

[Rob85]

Goat is a meat that I've never tried. Well not that I know of anyway, what would it's flavour be close to? Used to be a Nepalese restaurant close to me that done a lot of it but I never got round to trying their stuff before it closed down.

[Houseplant]

If a young animal, you would think it was lamb, although much less fat. Older animals have a distinctive goat smell/taste. The one in the photo is at the upper size limit for what I would normally take, but beggars can't be choosers! 

[Lloyd90]

19 minutes ago, Rob85 said:

Goat is a meat that I've never tried. Well not that I know of anyway, what would it's flavour be close to? Used to be a Nepalese restaurant close to me that done a lot of it but I never got round to trying their stuff before it closed down.

Go to a Caribbean spot and get yourself some curried goat, it’s lovely. 

11 minutes ago, Houseplant said:

If a young animal, you would think it was lamb, although much less fat. Older animals have a distinctive goat smell/taste. The one in the photo is at the upper size limit for what I would normally take, but beggars can't be choosers! 

I hope you post up what you do with it 👍🏻

[SF Pro]

I was doing a job for a lady one time and she mentioned she saw wild goats everytime she walked her dog on her land near her house. I offered to shoot one butcher it and share the meat and she was disgusted at the thought of eating a goat. The same lady loves travelling and considers herself an expert on cooking so I asked her had she ever had a lamb tagine in Morocco. Of course she said and started telling me about all the spices you need to make an authentic one. I then asked her had she ever seen a lamb in Morocco and as I did her husband spat coffee all over her to compound her misery.

[Rob85]

35 minutes ago, SF Pro said:

I was doing a job for a lady one time and she mentioned she saw wild goats everytime she walked her dog on her land near her house. I offered to shoot one butcher it and share the meat and she was disgusted at the thought of eating a goat. The same lady loves travelling and considers herself an expert on cooking so I asked her had she ever had a lamb tagine in Morocco. Of course she said and started telling me about all the spices you need to make an authentic one. I then asked her had she ever seen a lamb in Morocco and as I did her husband spat coffee all over her to compound her misery.

I read a few books about the British troops in Afghanistan and there's a few occasions where they sit down and share food with the Afghan army as a comrade thing, they always seemed to have some sort of fresh meat and it was always goat or lamb. But nobody could understand how they managed to get or find lamb or goat at a forward operating base...... God alone knows what it was they were eating! Suspicions were it was quite often donkey or whatever animal that was to hand.

[old man]

1 hour ago, Houseplant said:

Bush hunting, or as some might describe it, jungle hunting has been a learning curve for me. Navigating the dense bush and steep inclines is difficult enough even without considering the hunting part.  It's hard to walk around quietly and you often don't see an animal until you're very close and then it bolts. Fortunately, we have wild goats which aren't the hardest animal to hunt, but given the environment are a challenge for me at least. 

I have been visiting an area which I have got to know quite well and have been using GPS to plot a trail through the "easier" parts of the forest. Recently, I was back on the trail, found some fresh sign and did some goat calling. To my surprise, I got a response and a young billy was actually making headway towards me. He came within 10 metres and a moment later and he was down. It's taken me half a dozen trips and a few cock-ups to get to this point, so I was pretty pleased!

As usual, I aim to eat what I shoot (with the exception of possums!), so back legs were harvested before making the arduous journey back down the mountain.

After hanging the legs for a couple of days and trimming them up a bit, they looked good enough to eat!

At times, I wonder if we should have settled in another part of New Zealand where the land is more open and deer are plentiful, but then I remind myself that I have forests that I can hunt with any calibre rifle of my choice (.223 or larger) just a 30 minute drive out of town. It could be better, but it could be a lot worse!

Keep living the dream bud.

Ours seems to fade further away?

Curried goat is superb.

[mel b3]

You've got life well and truly sussed in nz . You have a life that most of us can only dream of . Well done sir 👍👍👍 .

[Houseplant]

Have to agree, Indian and middle eastern flavours do seem to work well with goat.

As for having life sussed, I'll get back to you on that one! Still have to get out of bed and go to work most days, still have to do the shopping, do my bit bringing up our boy etc.  It's not all adventure, but I'm working on it!

[blackbird]

21 hours ago, mel b3 said:

You've got life well and truly sussed in nz . You have a life that most of us can only dream of . Well done sir 👍👍👍 .

Give it time & mankind will #### NZ up like the rest of the world 🤬🤬🤬

[mel b3]

8 hours ago, Houseplant said:

Have to agree, Indian and middle eastern flavours do seem to work well with goat.

As for having life sussed, I'll get back to you on that one! Still have to get out of bed and go to work most days, still have to do the shopping, do my bit bringing up our boy etc.  It's not all adventure, but I'm working on it!

If ever their was a good reason to get up and go to work , your life is it.👍.

Lins lad mentioned the other day , that he might be looking to make a move to NZ when he's finished his current degree . That might just see me buying a passport. 😊

2 minutes ago, blackbird said:

Give it time & mankind will #### NZ up like the rest of the world 🤬🤬🤬

Never a truer word spoken 👍.

[Walker570]

At least today with satelite technology hunting those NZ forests is no so dangerous. I was there in 1990 and they had lost three hunters that year and having been guided through it I can see why.  Some really beautiful countryside out there.  That goat meat looks delicious

Mel.... if you go then give yourselves plenty of time because we had three weeks out there and it was about a third of what we really needed.  This fellah hanging in my loft area still makes my legs ache just looking at it.

[old man]

5 hours ago, mel b3 said:

If ever their was a good reason to get up and go to work , your life is it.👍.

Lins lad mentioned the other day , that he might be looking to make a move to NZ when he's finished his current degree . That might just see me buying a passport. 😊

Never a truer word spoken 👍.

From my short experience the Kiwi's seem to have much more common sense than exhibited here?

Seemed to posess uch more self reliance and less desire to interfere than here for starters?

[Walker570]

From my experience and I have had family out there farming and wine growing since the 50s they also have a work ethic as well BUT can play hard as well. We met some great folks when we visited. Like all countries they have their share of lay abouts and druggies.  I hope it hasn't changed much in the last 30years anyway.

[Houseplant]

14 hours ago, blackbird said:

Give it time & mankind will #### NZ up like the rest of the world 🤬🤬🤬

 

8 hours ago, old man said:

From my short experience the Kiwi's seem to have much more common sense than exhibited here?

Seemed to possess much more self reliance and less desire to interfere than here for starters?

 

8 hours ago, Walker570 said:

From my experience and I have had family out there farming and wine growing since the 50s they also have a work ethic as well BUT can play hard as well. We met some great folks when we visited. Like all countries they have their share of lay abouts and druggies.  I hope it hasn't changed much in the last 30years anyway.

All valid comments. Things are changing very fast. Born and bred Kiwis from rural backgrounds cannot believe what is happening to their country. Gun laws, green movement, political correctness etc. Life is still good, but watch this space!

[Houseplant]

13 hours ago, Walker570 said:

At least today with satelite technology hunting those NZ forests is no so dangerous. I was there in 1990 and they had lost three hunters that year and having been guided through it I can see why. 

Bang on. This environment will kill you. It's no joke. I carry three forms of GPS plus a PLB and enough gear to help me survive a night or two lost in the bush. I've had more close scrapes in my short time in NZ than a lifetime in the UK!

[243deer]

I grew up eating goat on a regular basis, young is good but on the odd occasion we had older meat it was not so bad, better than no meat. I never minded goat's milk either. The tangy soft cheese that was made from the milk was a particular favourite. Useful animals in the UK, goats, especially for clearing overgrown areas, as we have them mostly fenced in. From what I have read the wild ones are not very welcome in NZ. 

[Houseplant]

That's interesting 243deer, was that in the UK?

Goats are high on the eradication list (sadly in my opinion), but then so are deer and pigs (it won't be long before trout are too). Crazy green policies.

[243deer]

I spent most of my formative years on a 5 acre smallholding doing the good life thing before it came on the TV. With a dwindling market and therefore price for wool a goat becomes a more productive animal than a ewe for a smallholder. 

For some reason goat meat has never caught on in the UK although that is changing with different ethnicities arriving, maybe it is just historical as such vast fortunes were made in the 19th century from wool with the by product being lamb

[Houseplant]

Just now, 243deer said:

I spent most of my formative years on a 5 acre smallholding doing the good life thing before it came on the TV. With a dwindling market and therefore price for wool a goat becomes a more productive animal than a ewe for a smallholder. 

Sounds like an interesting start to life!

[London Best]

26 minutes ago, 243deer said:

I spent most of my formative years on a 5 acre smallholding doing the good life thing before it came on the TV. With a dwindling market and therefore price for wool a goat becomes a more productive animal than a ewe for a smallholder. 

For some reason goat meat has never caught on in the UK although that is changing with different ethnicities arriving, maybe it is just historical as such vast fortunes were made in the 19th century from wool with the by product being lamb

Sounds idyllic, what a lucky young lad!

[Walker570]

Yep, I confirm there is no better way to be brought into the world.

[old man]

11 hours ago, Houseplant said:

 

 

All valid comments. Things are changing very fast. Born and bred Kiwis from rural backgrounds cannot believe what is happening to their country. Gun laws, green movement, political correctness etc. Life is still good, but watch this space!

Sadly this loony spread is down to quick easy communications?

I loon can infect the mind of another loon anywhere in the world in seconds?

The main sport of the loons is to use the media to interfere with the lives of others just because they can? Seems to have become a sport?

[Big Mat]

7 hours ago, 243deer said:

I spent most of my formative years on a 5 acre smallholding doing the good life thing before it came on the TV. With a dwindling market and therefore price for wool a goat becomes a more productive animal than a ewe for a smallholder. 

For some reason goat meat has never caught on in the UK although that is changing with different ethnicities arriving, maybe it is just historical as such vast fortunes were made in the 19th century from wool with the by product being lamb

Trouble with goat meat I find, is people automatically think its only good for curry or tastes naff.

Then you've got the cost of production being higher, so the price needs to be higher but then people don't want to pay it. I've got about probably 25-30 to sell as carcasses this year.