Big Island hog/goat muzzleloader hunt

[doccherry]

Wife is visiting family on the mainland so I'm supposed to stay close to home otherwise she's afraid I'll go somewhere fun and get into a bunch of trouble and nobody will know that I'm gone and I'll end up in a steep, dark gulley with a broken leg or something and will die of starvation or dehydration and the mongooses will cover my carcass with leaves and nobody will ever find me or maybe I'll just fall asleep somewhere and not wake up and since she's not here watching over me there will be nobody to call the cavalry if I don't return home on time. Anyway, those were her orders and her rationale for ordering me.

So, like all good husbands, I ignored her and went hunting.

I took a muzzleloader to PuuWaawaa, about 20 miles northeast of my home. It's really arid country, with lava fields and tall, dry grass and lots of Kiawe [kee-ah'-vee] trees which, turns out, are mesquite trees. It's the last weekend of muzzleloader pig/goat season, so I wanted to see what was out there, since I've never been down to the lower parts. Goats require $10 tags and pigs are free. I turned off the highway and drove about 1/2 a mile and there is a really fat billy not more than 50 yards off the lava road. Got out, primed Old Betsy, and "BOOM!!!" I tried to take a photo in the field but the batteries were dead. I took the photo at home. In the photo, he's the head on the fence. Dressed him out and began back to the truck and fell on some loose lava, of which there is a billion acres. The rifle took the brunt of the fall and the scope [yep, scopes are legal here and with my up-close eyesight approaching that of Stevie Wonder's, it makes sense] must have gotten a brain concussion. Oh, well. Went another 1/4 mile and there's a whole herd of goats on the lava next to the road. Same thing, only this time after the "BOOM!!!" all the goats were still standing and staring at me. They slowly meandered off. I reloaded, stalked, and "BOOM!!!" All the goats looked at me, became bored with my silly game, and wandered off. Hmmm. Maybe the scope is out of wack. I've got see-thru mounts so the next shot will be with the open sights. Went waaaayy down toward the ocean and found a trail thru the trees with loads of pig sign. Off I go. I get back in about a mile and find no pigs but run smack dab into another herd of goats. I sneak up, aim with the open sights, and fire. "poof." [No capital letters this time and no exclamation marks because all I heard was an effeminate little "poof."] Crap!! The goats take off at Mach II. Something clearly wrong so I hoof back to the truck and field strip the darn smokepole. I can't find anything wrong but I still cleaned the breech plug, the primer holder, and swabbed the barrel. All I can think of is that the powder didn't ignite and the whole shebang---bullet, sabot, and powder---slowly meandered down the barrel after the primer went off and probably landed about 9 inches from my boot. Loaded up again and went back to where the pig sign was. Lots of droppings and rooting and tracks. Hiked back in about 2 miles over some horrible lava flows and by now it's 9:30 AM and getting hot. Bumped into another herd of goats and sneaked within 50 yards. Put the crosshairs on a big nanny and then said to heck with this scope and put the open sights on her shoulder. Fired and all hell broke loose. There must have been 75 goats in the tall grass and they took off in all directions. Waited a moment and walked up to where the nanny was and she was as dead as I pray Osama Bin Laden will be real soon. She's the one hanging on the fence in the photo. My Brittany, Gypsy, can be seen behind the goats.

I field dressed the goat, slung it over my shoulder [that's about 55 pounds gutted] picked up my rifle, and headed back. 1 1/2 hours later I get back to the truck and darn near collapse. What a tough hike with that goat!! The real problem was that its horns kept poking me in the armpit or the neck or the face. There was no way to figure out a comfortable position. I just slung her, walked 200 yards, dumped her, and sat down. Do that about 15 times and you're home.

No pigs, but a ton of sign. Got home and crawled up on the couch with my two pooches and fell asleep. Right now, the goat meat is soaking in ice water with baking soda added. A couple of native hawaiian hunters who also took goats told me to do that for 24 hours prior to freezing the meat. Will report after I've made jerky, stew, and curry. Boy, am I pooped.

Aloha for now.

 

[larrysogla]

Doc,
Congratulations!!! Another very productive Hawaiian hunt. The goats are really nice looking. The horns look very good. I love goat meat. Two thumbs up for you Doc. God Bless, always.

 

[baboltin]

nicely done

 

[Nic Barca]

Wow doc, I was beginning to think something happened to you. Haven't heard any stories of you killin stuff for some time. Good to see you posting again and congrats on your goats.

BTW, nice nanny! she looks old.

 

[scott0san]

Congratulations.

Let us know how they cook up.

 

[beastslayer]

Doc,

Thanks for another good story.

But you never told us why you've been under detention (by the wife?) for so long.

 

[257 wby]

Doc - I gotta know. How in the hell do you prepare the damn goats so they taste half way decent. I buddy of mine has an exotic program going here in Central cal and I have taken a couple of billies, great horns but the meat is pretty stout. I know an old billie is nothing like a young"cabrita". I just do not like to hunt for solely the horns. Even the stankiest old boars can make decent carnitas and an old buck make pretty good jerky and salami.


257 wby

 

[Nic Barca]

marinate them. The toughness is what really bugs me but there is ways around that too.

 

[Uncle Ji]

Aloha Bruce, WHAT $10.00 for a goat tag? First time I ever heard of paying for any tag in the state of Hawaii, and that includes Lana'i Axis Deer (public land) which are free if drawn. Is this $10.00 for each goat or a season stamp? Where do you pick them up, and are they just for Pu'uwa'awa'a? If you have a 4x4 truck MANUKA south of you on the makai side of hwy is choked with goats, and back in the 80s it was free. Driving between Ulupalakua and Kaupo last week I think I counted 50 plus right off the hwy but it was late and didn't feel like gutting a goat after framing a buddy's home. For eating I prefer a young nanny but sometimes you just gotta shoot a nice billy. That baking soda trick is also used here especially for the larger billys helps deodorize and tenderize though my last several goats that was not needed. I like to make chili, and curry with my goat meat usually cut into small cubes then stewed for at least 1.5 hours to tenderize. I think I prefer wild mutton but still not bad if prepared right. Thanks for the great report and photos. I'll let you know when I get a hunt together with my buddies there, a Laupahoehoe pig hunt for old times sake would be great, maybe even during bird season so we can pop a few Kalij, or toms. A hui hou!

 

[Uncle Ji]

PS Bruce- can you provide us more details on your muzzleloader including make, model, scope, projectile, power, load used? I have a 50 caliber Century Centurian inline and a couple boxes of 777 pellets along with .230 250 grain keith style cast bullets and T/C sabots i'm dying to try out.

 

[doccherry]

Uncle Ji:

It's a special muzzleloader/handgun hunt in Puu Waawaa that lasts for three weekends in September. Resident goat tags are 10 bucks each and pigs are free. I used a Thompson Center Black Diamond in 50 caliber, shooting 2 50 grain Pyrodex pellets and 200 grain TC Shockwave Sabots. I had a scope with see-thru rings but the scope failed after I took a nose-dive onto the lava.

I'm going running in about 10 minutes down at the burial grounds just south of Keauhou. I'll see at least 200 goats feeding right above the golf course there and will hear many more in the hills. No hunting [yet] but that population of goats will be a thousand, literally, within a year. Wonder what the homeowners will do then. These goats are eating everything.

I've been warned about Manuka by a local detective and by a retired police officer telling me that if you park your vehicle close to the highway, there is a good chance it will be broken into. Also talking to Jon Sabati, a local TV/hunting personality, I got the impression that Puu Waawaa was the better of the two places to hunt and he also told me that when he hunts Manuka, he always makes the other guy drive since car vandalism is so high.

I cooked a bunch of goat meat last night after soaking it in baking soda. No gamey taste at all but it was a bit tough, kind of like London broil. Not too tough by any means, just a bit chewey. We cooked it adobo style over a bed of Cajun rice. My wife enjoyed it. It has a taste similar to veal but it has a coarser grain to it, sort of like bear. The next time I'll cook it the way my Hawaiian buddies cook it, with lots of fruit juice and ginger and onions and garlic and in a crock pot for about 8 hours. That should be really tender. Overall, I'm quite impressed with the goat meat. What really surprises me is that there is no gamey taste.

There aren't nearly as many goats on public land here as I thought there would be. Puu Waawaa and Manuka hold the greatest populations close to me but Puu Waawaa is controlled and the hunting is very limited. Still, I know Puu Waawaa well now and can absolutely count on getting my two goats in one morning there in the future.

Man, is the hunting here great or what?

No pig stories to tell because most of the pigs have moved upmountain to where there is food that is ripe. Also, since about June, the undergrowth is so thick [even at Laupahoehoe] that you can't really hunt at at all. By November or December the undergrowth will be gone and the pigs will be back. I'll start hunting them again and will post stories and photos.

Aloha.

 

[beastslayer]

Uncle Ji, Nick and Doc,

I recall larrysogla posted a caldereta recipe here specifically for goats. Adobo is good too -- just add some pork fat to it -- but nothing beats caldereta and ice cold San Miguel beer. Caldereta even gets better as a rewarmed leftover as the gravy further seeps into the meat.

 

[larrysogla]

Beastslayer,
Calderetta recipe always was my favorite for goat meat. As a matter of truth, I prefer goat meat over beef when it is done in a Calderetta recipe, mmm-mmmmm-mouth watering(boil the goat meat in pineapple juice, ginger and lots of onions until half tender and then just follow the directions in Mama Sita's ready mixed Calderetta packet and then serve on the table with some steaming hot white rice). Now you just made me crave for goat calderetta that I have to find a Filipino restaurant that have a once a week goat Calderetta special. Oh my goodness this is torture on the palate. God Bless, always(Pagpalain po kayo ng panginoon sa lahat).

 

[foldeminflight]

Aloha doc,
Hey when I'm there in Novemeber will we be able to hunt goat and pigs on days other than birds, ie Mon Tues?

 

[doccherry]

foldeminflight:

Yep. Pigs should be hot by then and the sheep hunting, though tough because of altitude and terrain, should be good. You'll have turkey, francolin, quail, chukar, pheasant, pig, and sheep. There may be some goat opportunities. Keep in touch.

 

[beastslayer]

Thanks larry,

Now you are killing me, larry!

I printed your recipe and my next order of the day is to look for that goat meat in oriental or Latino markets-- and eventually convince my wife it's beef.

Salamat din for the small prayer.

May you have God's blessings too.

Regards,