I didn't want to hijack any other threads by adding pics so, I thought I'd tell my story here.
It all started a few months ago, when a buddy (who's been hunting sheep for 30+ years), told me he was looking for a partner. So, I started working out, dieting, etc., and dropped about 27 pounds. I got one of those kid carrier backpacks and started carrying around my oldest daughter (about 40lbs) around my yard, etc. I've never been on a horse, but we'd planned on taking in horses, to get back to the areas that quads can't go (and I'm allergic to horses).
Fast forward to August, my buddy takes a horseback scouting trip with some other guys into the area, and after, we decide that we don't have enough pack horses or a big enough trailer to haul them. So, we decide to do this hunt with quads, and a lot of hiking.
We went out on the Friday before the opener and set up camp at the staging area, and could barely find a parking spot! I was a little discouraged, as this was my first sheep hunt, and my first trip into this area. I was starting to expect to see hunters at every corner when we got out on the trail, and line ups to shoot a sheep (kinda like the gun counter at Cabela's) It turned out to be better than I'd expected. I think a lot of the traffic was weekend campers, fishermen, quadders, horseback riders, that weren't hunting.
Saturday morning we loaded up all of our gear on the quads, to head out and set up camp out on the trails, to be ready for opening day, and do some scouting. It was a good day on the hills, but didn't see any legal rams. We did see some mountain climbing, saw some amazing scenery and saw some local wildlife (right beside our tent)
Opening morning found us hiking out from camp, down an unassuming trail that we knew would take us to where we wanted to be. But, after following a large set of ram tracks to the base of a couple of mountains, we realized that the heavy Grizzly activity in this spot must've pushed the sheep out, and over the mountain. We hiked to the top of the mountain, and glassed several valleys, seeing nothing. Then, on our way back down the mountain, we realized that a ewe was staring at us, at about 800 yards. We made a stalk on her, in vain, over the mountain top, but she was long gone when we got to the top. The rest of the day we saw more incredible scenery, but no legal rams. A couple groups of smaller rams kept popping up in our travels, but we could tell from close to a mile, that they were too small.
The following day we had decided to climb a different mountain, in a different area, in hopes of finding some rams that were legal. We reached the peak at about 7500', and the view again was amazing.
I had to build a stone monument at the peak, to prove that I was there!
From the peak, I sat just a bit down, so that I wasn't skylined, and glassed several mountain sides and valleys, while my hunting partner walked a bit more, to see over a couple different valleys.
Then, I spotted some sheep on the side of the mountain, a long ways down, in the trees. The problem was, it's sheer shale in all directions down. But, slowly, steadily, we picked our route down, step by step and made it past the worst, steepest sections. This is the point where my camera went back into my backpack and unfortunately forgot to come out!
I had chosen one area, my partner a different area, hoping that we would catch a glimpse of the rams. After a long hike down, I settled into my spot, ate a much needed Clif bar and an orange, some water, and waited. But, I realized that I overshot my goal, and had to hike back up the mountain and over a bit, to be in a better location. Settling into my new spot, I was glassing the area for a while, and heard (what I thought was) my partner coming my way. So, I thought we would be heading back down lower, and I slowly inched my way down, little by little, still hearing (what I thought was his backpack or something hitting trees) After waiting for him to appear through the trees, I realized that I was in the exact spot that I'd seen the rams. Then, he calls me on the radio, telling me that he hadn't been making his way down, and he was watching a group of rams on the side of the mountain above me! I quickly, and quietly scrambled back up the mountain, to the cover of some trees, and saw the rams directly across from me on a different mountainside! I could see all 5 rams perfectly, but my partner could only see about 3 at a time, as we were at different elevations and angles. You don't realize how your heartbeat can affect your vision through bino's until you're staring at a group of rams at over 200 yards, for over an hour, laying awkwardly on the side of a mountain, on rocks...but it does. I went over each ram a million times, ruling out the same 3 every time. Two were close, then way over, then short, then great, then way over, then close....you get the idea. Light was failing me and I finally got the verification that I needed, the light hit him just right and I was confident that he was a good ram. (This is my first sheep hunt, so I wasn't holding out for a full curl ram, if he's legal, and I have an opportunity, I was going to take it) I gave my partner first opportunity to shoot, but from his angle he wasn't sure, so he told me that if I was, to go ahead. He had made his way down a bit, along a dry riverbed, and was directly below the rams. I checked my GPS for the sunset and knew that I had about 20 min left of legal shooting time, so I settled in waiting for my opportunity. If it was meant to be, it would happen, I thought. I had a good steady rest on a tree branch, and didn't take my eyes off of my ram. The color differences between all of them was obvious, and my ram had the heaviest horns, so I knew which one I was going for all of the time. But, a clear shot wasn't there, there was always another sheep either right beside or right behind him. Then, as if it was meant to be, the other sheep moved, and mine turned perfectly broadside, presenting a great shot opportunity. I settled in, and slowly squeezed the trigger on my borrowed Tikka T3 in .270WSM (the borrowed gun is another story since my new rifle had issues last minute)
The ram dropped instantly, and tumbled down the hill, that .270WSM shoots like a laser beam! The other rams ran down the hill, right past my buddy, and back up the other mountainside, right in front of me! Gotta love it when a plan comes together. I grabbed my gear and quickly made my way over and up (vertical shale) to my ram! By the time I had dragged him down the rest of the mountain to the bottom, to a level spot, it was getting dark. (This was the point that I realized I shouldn't have taken my headlight out of my pack to save a bit of weight....but it's ok, I have my trusty mini mag light with me....with 3/4 dead batteries!) Luckily my buddy had a nice LED flashlight with him, and we quickly got to work. We had my ram caped and deboned in probably just over an hour, loaded up, and started our hike back out, obviously a different way that we'd come, since we were now on the opposite side of the mountain we'd climbed. All in all, it was an amazingly lucky chain of events, and getting the ram closer to the bottom than the top of the mountain, was a huge blessing. But, as I'd said, in all the excitement, and failing light, I completely forgot to pull the camera out of my pack. I hope this story didn't drag on too long, once I started typing, I couldn't stop. I'll post some pics once my taxidermist is finished mounting my ram. Thanks for following along.
Firt Big Horn Sheep Hunt
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