Wyoming Mountain Goat

If hunting a mountain goat is on your bucket list, you might want to give Wyoming a look. With no preference point system for mountain goats, everyone has an equal opportunity to draw a license. However, with the change to the 90/10 split in 2023, license numbers for non-residents were cut in half, making drawing a tag more difficult than in the past.

The state’s mountain goat population is at its lowest numbers in 30 years, especially in unit 2 where goat numbers have declined significantly due to disease. Units 4 and 5 were cut down to type A tags and no longer available because the number of mountain goats has been reduced to basically nothing. This will significantly reduce draw odds, as everyone will be applying for units 1 and 3 in the northwest part of the state. Only two non-resident licenses were issued in 2025.

The application deadline to apply for mountain goat is April 30th, with draw results coming out in early May. Thankfully, this means the $2,767 license fee you must put up to apply will be returned quickly if you are unsuccessful.

Area 1 sits along the Montana border on the north end of the state. Within it resides the Beartooth goat herd, and its population is holding stable. Mature billies are available in this hunt, but plan on spending a lot of time in the field to turn one up. The areas most likely to hold bigger billies within the unit are remote and make for a physically demanding hunt. Some areas can be day hunted if you are not wanting to camp in grizzly country. Turning up a mature goat in the easier-to-access areas is going to be difficult. While there is some wilderness in this unit, most of the goats harvested on this hunt are taken outside of wilderness, making this a great hunt for a self-guided hunter. This country is loaded with grizzly bears, so be cautious when hunting.

Area 2 has been struggling with disease in the last few years, and over 50% of its once-great mountain goat population is gone. Hunters have been struggling to find billies of any size in recent years and reported seeing few nannies and nearly no kids. WGFD gave only one license in 2025 due to the very low population count. It borders unit 67 in Idaho, which is seeing the same thing for goat numbers on that side of the border. Instead of suspending hunting in this unit, WGFD will keep license numbers low until the herd can recover some. If applying for a tag, buyer beware; it could be a very tough hunt. It is unfortunate that disease struck this unit. Prior to this, it had been producing some record book billies and was an extremely fun hunt for any and all hunters lucky enough to draw. An outfitter can be helpful if you are looking for a bigger goat and don’t have time to scout. There have been reports of a few grizzlies in the area, but this hunt is easily a hunter’s best bet if looking to hunt Wyoming goats without encountering a grizzly.

Area 3 is located along the Yellowstone National Park line and borders Montana on the northern end of the unit. This giant unit holds the North Absaroka herd, which is the largest goat herd in Wyoming. The herd is mostly spread out throughout the high country of the north Absaroka Wilderness, which butts up against Yellowstone National Park. Mature billies are getting harder to find especially outside of the wilderness on the type 1 hunt. Hiring an outfitter to access the more remote areas in the unit will provide you with your best chance to find a bigger billy. License numbers have been reduced the past few years, which should help produce better quality for the future. Roughly half of the goats harvested on the type 1 hunt are coming out of the wilderness. Those that are being taken outside of wilderness areas are coming from a small pocket that reside in the Sunlight Basin area. The type 2 hunt confines hunters to the North Fork of the Shoshone River Drainage in the southwest corner of area 3. The area is almost entirely wilderness. WGFD wants to keep mountain goat populations low as the state is trying to keep the goat herd from expanding to the south and into area 5. Turning up a mature billy here is going to be difficult and will take a lot of searching. Area 3 has a high population of grizzly bears.

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