After winning Wyoming’s 2015 Game and Fish Department Super Tag, Will Russell of Rock Springs, Wyoming, killed what is now officially the second-largest mountain goat in the state’s history.
An avid hunter, Russell had been around goats like this one many times, but was always without a tag.
“I’ve been around goats (while) hunting the last three years, but I’ve never had a tag. I’ve only watched them. This is the first time I could shoot one,” Russell said in the release. “I had a goal to hunt in all three areas and to set a state record.”
Tags for mountain goats in the state of Wyoming are one of the most coveted and difficult tags to draw, but every year the Game and Fish Department raffles off these Super Tags. Russell only needed to purchase one ticket to win the draw among 4,526 other raffle tickets purchased.
Russell took his time backpacking and glassing over the course of several weeks, while joking with his wife about taking a state record goat.
“I could have easily shot some of the first goats I saw. But, I enjoy backpacking, hiking with my wife, and having a good time in life,” said Russell. “I set the goal for a state record as a joke, at first, between my wife and me. I didn’t realize it was going to be that big of a goat until I checked it in with the Game and Fish biologist.”
The mountain goat officially score 50 2/8 inches and was certified by the Boone and Crockett Club. The 2016 tentative draw results for 2016 Wyoming mountain goat licenses will be available beginning in May, while Super Tag raffle tickets are on sale until July 1.
“I’d like to be the first person who congratulates the winner of the mountain goat Super Tag this year. Mountain goats really are the king of the mountain, and you’re in for an outstanding year,” said Russell.