Pack animals??

[COUESAZ]

Scott Adams uses Goats. Try and get ahold of him. If your just looking for help to pack gear I would say they are your best bet. My uncle uses them to pack his camp deep into the uenta mountains in Utah. He has a couple that can pack more gear then me. If your looking to pack meat a mule or horse is the way to go. Be very careful buying Mules. A good one is good but a bad one is very bad. And you can not change many mules with the attitude adjustment like you can a horse. But if you can find a good mule it will take you anyplace you point it.

[GotBowAz]

Thank you all for the very valuable information and advise. I sure would hate to buy a mule and have a bad one. Think I could get people to let me test drive one, ha ha ha LOL

 

The goats are sounding like a better idea at the moment but Im not fixed on anything yet. Im going to keep researching and asking questions. So far you guys have helped probably more than you know.

 

Thanks again! keep them coming.

 

GBA

[ready2hunt]

GBA- Glad you asked this question.

 

I like to think of myself as an experienced hunter (experience and success or 2 different things for me haha) but I had no idea people use goats for packing gear/animals in & out. Maybe its because we have always been around horses/mules but after doing some research these things are awesome!!

 

I am always worried about a horse twisting its ankle, being gun shy or having suffienct water but these little billies that I have been reading about are just the coolest thing! My wife and I were talking about buying up a kid or two for our children to raise...I think you gave me the perfect excuse. Great info guys!

[ready2hunt]

Hey Vowell (or anyone) do you know where you can purchase any of these or what breeds are prefered over others? The internet gives info but I would like someones opinon who has used/been around them.

[GotBowAz]

ready2hunt, they are pretty cool little critters and sense I already raise pygmy goats Im all set up for them. I have been looking for the best breeds to buy but they appear to be out of state, or most of them anyway. I am waiting on more info from Vowell as well. maybe his buddy can point me in the right direction and give me first hand experiences on do's and don't"s to know about. I have read that they need to be exercised to keep in shape. otherwise they will just lay down on you on the trail when they get tired. that makes sense and for me is pretty doable.

 

I have been also looking into Lama's but from what I am hearing and reading about they can be pretty high maintenance. I also heard they can spit when they decide to be ornery. Im still doing more research on all options.

 

GBA

[ready2hunt]

Ya let me know what you hear. From all the opinons I had read elsewhere most people lean toward the Alpine or Olberhasis or a mixbreed of the two. Now if I can train them to sniff out a trail like a blood hound then I would have not desire for a dog haha

[muleskinner]

Mountain lions would probably prefer that you use goats. I use mules and never have had any issues with predators. I never leave them unattended after dark. You might want to buy a tracking collar to put on the mule in case he does wander off. I just packed a 6x6 bull elk out of the mountains on my mule. He is 16 hands with big stout legs. I packed both hind quarters and both front shoulders in one trip. Started out of the mountains at 1:00 A.M and got to the truck about 2:30. Mule never missed a step thru some pretty rough country in the dark. A good mule is hard to beat for that kind of work. A bad mule ai'n't worth killin. Might make you wish you were dead! With canvas panniers you can ride in and then pack out. The goat deal is pretty interesting. How many goats would you need to pack 300 lbs of meat out? Of course if things go bad you can always eat your goats...probably taste better than a mule!

[GotBowAz]

Muleskinner, I like your input and I can agree with a few of your comments. I don't think I would leave an animal at camp and go hunt and sense I do nothing but archery hunt the pack animals wont be coming with me from camp. I wonder what a good pack goat taste like, ha ha ha LOL

 

Id be more inclined to pack a comfortable camp and a tree stand in and stash it just prior to the season, then bring whatever pack animal I have back out and hike back in without them. This would primarily be in late December or January so if I got something down i could hang it high in a tree pack out what I could at the time and get my pack animals back in there to get the rest.

 

From what I read a well conditioned pack goat can carry average 50 to 60 pounds.So with an elk it might take 6 goats for one trip. For elk I wont be any deeper than 4 miles so 2 trips wouldn't be too bad. So I'm looking at about 4 goats, I think... Honestly I don't really know so I am looking for solid info from those that do it.

 

To your point though. I cant ride a goat and one trip out with an elk is very appealing to me. However I would still have to make one more trip in to retrieve camp. But even to your admition, getting a bad mule is a nightmare. So how do you know how to pick a good one? I hear mules are extremely expensive also, not to mention vet bills and shoeing. Can you give us an idea what that would run a year along with feed? I had up to 11 pygmy's at one time, down to 4 now. I trimmed their hoofs and gave them wormier and shots myself. I didn't pay 50 bucks a month in feed for all of them and granted they don't eat much but the maintenance isn't too bad. However if the payback was in my mind worth the costs id be tempted to go with a good mule. I just want a good one and to know how to pick them.

 

Oh and one more question for you. How do you train a mule to haul a dead smelly and bloody animal on their back? Is it some wont miss a beat and others got to be around it a lot? Just curious what you have found to be the best method. It would really suck to be way back in and the mule will not get near or have anything to do with a dead anything on its back.

 

I'm still indecisive and I'm learning a lot of good stuff on many different pack animals from different perspectives.

 

Thanks to everyone!

 

GBa

[elkhunter]

Anyone know about burros? BLM were doing an adoptiong thing 2 weeks ago where these burros bout 4-5 ft tall were being given out for $25 each, they were 5-8 years old and being burros they can handle the lack of water/feed in the desert.

[azgutpile]

Anyone know about burros? BLM were doing an adoptiong thing 2 weeks ago where these burros bout 4-5 ft tall were being given out for $25 each, they were 5-8 years old and being burros they can handle the lack of water/feed in the desert.

 

They would probably take off with all of your equipment and blend back into the desert.

[ready2hunt]

We used to have a burro. He was quite the subborn a$$

[rcdinaz]

GotBowAZ Check these links the one at Long Range Hunting is very long but has a tremendous amount of information:

 

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f61/pack-goats-36442/index25.html

 

http://www.purplemountainpackgoats.com/custom.htm

[muleskinner]

If you decide to try a mule, you might contact some of the outfitters in your general area. Around here, some of them are cutting back, and even getting out of the business. If they have a mule for use in their business, then its probably a decent mule. Unless you are ready to spend a good deal of time learning the ropes, and figuring out how to train a mule, you would be better off buying one already trained. You might be surprised at the prices of some pretty good mules, especially with the economy like it is. I would insist on seeing an animal actually do what I plan to do with it, before buying. I rode mine, watched him drag logs, slung a rope around him, etc. before I bought him. He ain't perfect but he gets the job done. Most of the time he has better sense than I do about whats safe and whats not. A good mule will take care of himself and you too. Good luck.

[elkhunter]

Anyone know about burros? BLM were doing an adoptiong thing 2 weeks ago where these burros bout 4-5 ft tall were being given out for $25 each, they were 5-8 years old and being burros they can handle the lack of water/feed in the desert.

 

They would probably take off with all of your equipment and blend back into the desert.

 

Haha, that's why the leading person always has a pistol, in case a burro decides to take off with the equipment!

[southernxpress]

Well I only recently got goats but they have been fun so far. I got them early part of this year and was able to take them on a javelina hunt with very little training and surprisingly they did quite well. I looked at Alpines and Oberhaslis and I have both right now.. so far my favorite is the Oberhasli which are tougher to find around here. I don't always get to get out as much as I like so I'll throw the packs on them in the backyard just to keep them use to them and carrying a little bit of weight. Its kind of a gray area in Mesa, but I don't live on acreage or anything and I just have them in my backyard in a residential neighborhood (no HOA of course). I got the idea from another friend that has a couple of dair goats in his backyard in Mesa as well.

The LaManchas are another good breed to look at, my friend has 2 LaManchas that he uses for packing as well. They are super easy to train.. mine were just regular goats with no training. After a few short sessions in the backyard getting them use to the packs I took them out a few times to the desert for some short hikes and quickly realized they were going to follow me without the need of a lead rope. Its cool because I just load them in the back of my truck (you get funny looks going down the road) and away I go. I put one to the test when we went scouting in August.. I didn't tie him up or anyting and just left him outside the tent all night.. I bet he didn't go 20 yards from the tent (he did continue to graze all night too which i heard as he was standing right next to the tent as he munched on dry leaves). I have my deer hunt this coming weekend and am looking forward to trying out the 3 packers I have now!