A Crossbow for a Spanish Goat

“Look,” whispered my guide.

A flock of about 20 rams were working around the hillside below us. They varied quite a bit in both color and horn size. Some were truly beautiful trophies. I had a Horton Legend 175HD in my hands with a bolt in place. I was itching to map out a stalk and release on one of the group’s big boys.

I resisted.

As much as I love ram hunting, as much as I could legally nail one of the critters in front of me (if the required stalk panned out), and as much as I was itching to try my new crossbow, I held back. This hunt was for a Spanish goat. I have never hunted goats before and had only ever seen a few. So, we enjoyed watching the rams until they were out of sight on down the watershed.

This hunt was at The Wilderness in Everett, Pennsylvania. It is a large big game preserve with hunting for monster whitetails, elk, boar, bison and exotics like ram, goat, blackbuck and watusi. My family and I had hunted here previously for boar and whitetail. The hunt areas, staff and lodge are first class. Hunts here are top drawer events.

Hunting with a bow since I was barely a teen, I had just gotten my first crossbow. I was not sure if I would like crossbow hunting, but wanted to give it a solid try. The Horton Legend 175HD is a well-built piece of hunting equipment designed with the hunter in mind. Mine came in a kit including the crossbow, bolts, broadheads, quiver, scope and case. After sighting it in, everything boiled down to a winning combination of quarry movements and my own hunting and shooting ability.

The guide and I continued to still hunt. The carpet of leaves was wet and made pussyfooting around easy. The understory was sparse enough to keep noise from brushing against branches non-existant. Likewise, it allowed the animals to see you from a greater distance. Fortunately, the terrain contours allowed for a lot of short, hidden stalks.

About noon, we suddenly spied a lone goat to our right coming out of a small draw. I stalked another 7 yards and braced against a leaning tree trunk. The goat moved in front of me and was angling away. At 30 yards I fined the crosshairs, held my breath and squeezed. The noise of the release melted into the “thunk” of a solid hit, as I saw the bright fletching suddenly appear against the animal’s lower side.

The Spanish goat sped up and ran about 20 yards before falling on its side. It was finished. The shot was perfect. The broadhead hit the lower side just behind the ribs and sliced up and into the heart. It passed completely through.

We were all smiles! There is no greater feeling than the moment a hunt has been successfully completed. I had another trophy. More importantly, the crossbow had proven itself and I was hooked! •