To the few friends I have here on the ARForum I came home tonight from my combo Pig/Goat hunt with ZERO BOARS!!!

I couldn't pass up these two awesome Trophy Goats...

We dedicated 6 1/2 hrs to "track" several herds that were really on the SPOOK....

The terrain was harsh, wide open lava fields and we were "pegged" many a times by these very cautious herds...

No doubt this has been my greatest hunt ever...

We tracked a few herds for several miles and the challenge was down-right humiliating and debilitating at times however we never did let up...This hunt required the most of me physically than I have ever experienced...I am a much more skillful hunter than I have ever anticipated that I could be because of the nature of this hunt...This was by far the most gut-wrenching, mentally-challenging hunt I've ever experienced....My guide said in 18 yrs of professional guiding this ranked as one of the longest hunts he has ever been on...

I am not sorry that I never even got to the pig-hunting grounds...The Good Lord blessed me with these incredible animals and I hope you will enjoy their photos...

This first one is an old, old BILLIE!!! He's about 8-9 yrs old and past his prime...It was an honor for me to take his LIFE...His horns were sun-burned severely and scarred by the hard-life of the terrain, climate, and the rigors of maintaining dominance for a large portion of his life....He had alot of character and a true old man of the rugged and unforgiving terrain...



This next BILLIE is a PRIZE too...He was in his prime and he was one of the dominant billies in this herd...I worked equally as hard for his LIFE also...He was probably 6-7yrs old and he was large and muscular....When we first spotted him in another herd about 200 yards away he stood out like a Proud Warrior and a Mighty KING... there were several large Billies in this herd, yet he was the largest and the most impressive by far...He swayed his head from side-to-side as they steadily fed toward us as we hunkered down in the open terrain...No, matter how flat as I was trying to lay,,, it seemed like I couldn't lay flat enough upon the jagged lava...The herd came within a 125 yards and I let him have it...I had a lot of time watching him in my scope...He is and probably will be the GREATEST BILLIE I will ever see and ever have the PRIVILEGE of taking in the wild and gruelsome lava fields on the BIG ISLAND of HAWAII...


Today, these two trophies have become in my short hunting career my all-time highs...Thank you for letting me share with you all this LIFE-CHANGING HUNT....

Aloha,

Roland

Sounds like the rewarding hunt of a lifetime. I would say you will have more of them. Hunting grows on you. Congratulations on a fine pair of trophies. Packy

Excellent Rams !!! Sounds like it WAS a tough hunt, But that is what makes them memorable!!!

Yes indeed the lava flows on the Big island are brutal (I have a little experience with this! )........

Congratulations, Ro!! I have had plenty of hog hunts that haven't turned up any hogs, but none that have turned up goats!! Great hunting, great trophies!! You did well!

Aloha Roland!

Congratulations my friend on the billie goat hunt. I know exactly what you are talking about. The rugged terrain of lava and brush is harsh. Up and down...up and down. Trying to keep low. My back was killing me and not to mention I almost lost my wonderful plate lunch. I took my hunt to lightly and didnt prepare for that rough of a hunt. I did not have a 6 hour run however the 1-2 hours we were out made me respect the animal and the terrain of Hawaii. I will do this again. Here is my goat from Oct 19th.

Excellent animals guys I am green with envy of your experience's.

Thank you for the congrats and kind words...

I am definitely only a beginner and a Late-Bloomer at that...

This is only my 3rd hunt ever.... Each hunt has been spaced at 2 month intervals so in six months of hunting I've been bitten by the bug real good!!!

I have great respect and admiration for all of you who participate in this great sport, I'm just sorry I'm a late-bloomer...

But it has been very rewarding and gratifying to experience what many of you have done for so many years...

Aloha,

Ro

Better late than never....... Sorry for the cliche, it just seemed appropriate.......

You've done really well, Ro!

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
Yes indeed the lava flows on the Big island are brutal (I have a little experience with this! )........

I have a few golf balls out there in the lava rock somewhere LoL! Man if you miss a fairway on some of those courses you just watch the ball bounce for a few hundred yards!! GOOODDDBBBYYYYEEE !!!

I wasn't there on vacation!

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
Better late than never....... Sorry for the cliche, it just seemed appropriate.......

You've done really well, Ro!

WW,

I appreciate your ENCOURAGEMENT as always!

Thank you my brother...

Ro

Wassup Bradda Glad to hear youre back safe and sound.

Hows this weather my bradda MEAN eh! Its storming on this side hows down your side?

Well sounds like you had a great hunt and yup as you know the Lava is a killa...LOL!!! Back in high school I used to go up Kona visit family and we would go out and chase down the goats on da lava it was fun but it took its toll on da body

Nice billies you got my bradda right on glad it all worked out for you.

Here's a pic of a billy I got here on Oahu very hard hunt not too much Lava but some very steep country one slip and its a 1,500+ foot one way trip to the bottom



Aloha,
Dom

Aloha Bradda Dom,

Yup, the rain was HEAVY for sure and the roof is leaking...Your guys side must be NUTS...Flash-Floods, wow, its been a long time since this kind stuff on Oahu...

The Goat hunt was awesome...I learned alot as a new-comer to hunting on this trip...It all boiled down to how bad do you want it...Well, its obvious I wanted it pretty bad!!! It was so gratifying and gut-wrenching at the same time...It was tough only because we had watched herds for a long time only to see them run off for another 1/2 mile and then we would have to beat them off at the pass with an end-around...We did this plenty times during the course of the hunt...But we saw some in the herd that was worth pursuing and that's why the hunt lasted so long...

BTW, that Billie you have is a MONSTER TROPHY for Oahu for sure and for our whole state for that matter....

I heard down Makaha-side you gotta work for one goat, steep, steep, steep, steep, steep and loose footing much of the way...Maybe 15 yrs ago I could try, nowadays no can handle so I pass when my friend calls me up...

But that Billie you got is a great accomplishment for sure if people saw the hunting grounds...

Aloha my Bradda and we talk soon and thank you for sharing...I love this stuff...

Ro

Aloha Roland,
Those are nice trophy billies that you can be proud of. Being that you worked so hard for them, you appreciate them all the better.

Dom, that one heck of a billie.

Congratulations to both of you.

Geoff

All,

Nice goats!