2014 Dall Sheep hunt
- Thread starter Bambistew
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big28hunter
Guest
Thanks for sharing! Beautiful pics.
Bambistew
Well-known member
No critters this weekend. Had a chance at a spike bull moose, but couldn't talk myself into it... Screwed up a supper easy stalk and got too close on a medium/large bou and spooked him. For some reason I thought I should get inside 40 yards. Should have just shot him at 150 when I first saw him. Pretty fun watching him rub the velvet off his antlers for 15 minutes.
The boy found a nice shed though, and the dogs had fun, and the best part... I get to do it again next weekend.
The boy found a nice shed though, and the dogs had fun, and the best part... I get to do it again next weekend.
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Bambistew
Well-known member
The next day, our plan was to head up an adjacent drainage to look for the double broomed ram we’d seen earlier, and check out the country. About 2 miles up the drainage, Wyo spots a ram coming around the hillside above us. We quickly scramble for the spotter, but the ram disappeared before we got a solid look. However the consensus was he was legal. How legal, we we’re not sure. The ram bedded on a small nob and we luckily were in a spot that he couldn’t see us or see us approach.
I pulled out the range finder and hit the rock where the ram was thought to be laying. It was about 700 yards… dang. I said, “All we need to do is close the distance by halfway and game over.” He looked like he was in an approachable spot.
Wyo stayed back on the spotter, and AK and I charged up the hill. We concealed ourselves as best we could in a small avalanche chute, and then scrambled up the opposite hillside as the ram. The hill was crazy steep, one of those ones where you slip, it could be bad news. Luckily we had lots of vegetation with solid footing.
Once we got to a spot within range, about 250 yards, I set up a rock and some moss for a rest, then the wait was on.
Now is where we have a differing opinion of events. I was looking at the terrain and recalled mentioning that I wasn’t sure if we could get to the ram if we killed him. I’m pretty sure AK said no problem… might have been Wyo, but I can’t remember. I think we may have been confusing the spot where he would die, vs where he was laying. Where he was laying was in a spot we could reach no problem, but if he continued around the hill the way he was originally going, he was going to get into some NASTY stuff.
We waited, and waited, and waited until our legs fell asleep. We hurriedly rushed up the hill thinking we’d only need a rifle and a knife, leaving out packs at the bottom. I know I was wishing I had my coat, as the wind was howling, and I think AK was in the same mind set. It was one of those days where you freeze to death in the wind, but cook to death in the sun with a coat on.
As I drifted in and out of a teeth catering convulsion, Wyo’s must have sensed we needed our coats, or more likely, he was tired of waiting and missing out on the action. Thankfully he came up to our position, bringing a spotter and coats.
We continued our wait, second guessing ourselves. Had the ram slipped by us, or did he exit out the top of the pinnacle he was sitting on? There was one sliver of rock where he could have got by us undetected… We sat there waiting, hoping, and planning for almost two hours.
The guys were watching the rest of the valley I was constantly scanning the area where the ram was last seen, all the while sitting on the rifle. Then all at once, he appeared in the slide about 15 yards from where we’d last seen him.
I whisper loudly, “there he is!”
One quick look I see a horn tip, that hooks up, he turns and gives me another look head on. The other side is broken, he’s heavy… I make a subconscious call on legality. The previous look that Wyo had, confirmed my assumption… it’s a shooter.
He’s walking to the left, and in about 10 yards he’d be behind a cliff and out of sight and gone up an valance chute into the crags. After the previous deliberations about being able to get to him, if I shot, I didn’t even think about what would happen if I killed him… We’d find a way to get him out.
I settle in on the trigger and let him have it… He was hit, but managed to make it around the avalanche chute and up on the cliffs to the left side of it. Not good. I settled in for another shot and put one in him… finally he had enough and lay down… in the worst possible spot he could. The picture doesn’t show it well, but this is pinnacle about 30’ off the deck. As he lay dying, he wiggled out of view. I prayed he’d fall off the darn cliff.
We had to drop back down the hill we were on and make our way up around the opposite side of the chute. It looked like we could drop in the same way the ram had gone. Roughly an hour later we were in a position to look into the chute and rock where we’d last seen the ram. There was a big pool of blood, but no sheep. We surveyed the cliff, and saw blood smeared down the rocks and in the rocks at the bottom… thank god he’s not still up high.
I picked out a piece of horn and the head of the ram as he lay at the bottom of the cliff.
Now the fun part… how do we get to him and out of the crags? The spot he was in didn’t lend itself to an easy extraction, much less access. He had to come out the bottom, and with the rocks in the chute, it would have to be sans head gear. The head on a sheep is heavy, and tends to get hung up on just about everything. The executive decision was to cut his head off at the shoulder, and tie up his legs to make a ball out of him. That way he could be kicked and would give him the best chance to make it to the snow some 50-60 vertical feet below. It worked perfectly… After some creative mountaineer heroics over the course of about 3 hours by both Wyo and AK, we had the ram at the bottom in a place we could safely work on him. I couldn’t have done it without their help; this ram is as much there as it is mine.
I think we were all much relived once the ram was in camp. Field pictures were not in the cards, understandably under the conditions, and frankly the last thing on my mind. I was grateful that we retrieved the sheep of the mountain without injury.
The ram was 8yo, full curl on the left, broken on the right. 37x13.5. A solid sheep, similar to the ram last year, just a few years younger.
The rest of the week found us chasing ghosts, and a ram we dubbed Stumpy. We covered some new country and saw some nice caribou and moose. Wyo sniffed out a few moose antlers, but none made it home.
I ended up losing about 1/3 of my sheep to a wolverine. Apparently they’re attracted to me. Later that week we were visited by a Trooper and to his satisfaction convinced him of the reason I was down a pile of meat. I think the half eaten game bag helped with my case. Never the less he made a loop in the chopper over the kill sight and was convinced all was on the up and up… The next meat stash was a bit more secure.
I’ll let AKDrifter fill in his part of the hunt. He took a really nice ram on the last day of the trip. We covered some ground, ate a lot of silt in a nasty wind storm, and survived another one. I know I can’t wait to do it all over again.All in all it was a “trip of a lifetime.” The only down side is the rape and pillage being done by the outfitter in this area
I pulled out the range finder and hit the rock where the ram was thought to be laying. It was about 700 yards… dang. I said, “All we need to do is close the distance by halfway and game over.” He looked like he was in an approachable spot.
Wyo stayed back on the spotter, and AK and I charged up the hill. We concealed ourselves as best we could in a small avalanche chute, and then scrambled up the opposite hillside as the ram. The hill was crazy steep, one of those ones where you slip, it could be bad news. Luckily we had lots of vegetation with solid footing.
Once we got to a spot within range, about 250 yards, I set up a rock and some moss for a rest, then the wait was on.
Now is where we have a differing opinion of events.
I was looking at the terrain and recalled mentioning that I wasn’t sure if we could get to the ram if we killed him. I’m pretty sure AK said no problem… might have been Wyo, but I can’t remember. I think we may have been confusing the spot where he would die, vs where he was laying. Where he was laying was in a spot we could reach no problem, but if he continued around the hill the way he was originally going, he was going to get into some NASTY stuff.
We waited, and waited, and waited until our legs fell asleep. We hurriedly rushed up the hill thinking we’d only need a rifle and a knife, leaving out packs at the bottom. I know I was wishing I had my coat, as the wind was howling, and I think AK was in the same mind set. It was one of those days where you freeze to death in the wind, but cook to death in the sun with a coat on.
As I drifted in and out of a teeth catering convulsion, Wyo’s must have sensed we needed our coats, or more likely, he was tired of waiting and missing out on the action. Thankfully he came up to our position, bringing a spotter and coats.
We continued our wait, second guessing ourselves. Had the ram slipped by us, or did he exit out the top of the pinnacle he was sitting on? There was one sliver of rock where he could have got by us undetected… We sat there waiting, hoping, and planning for almost two hours.
The guys were watching the rest of the valley I was constantly scanning the area where the ram was last seen, all the while sitting on the rifle. Then all at once, he appeared in the slide about 15 yards from where we’d last seen him.
I whisper loudly, “there he is!”
One quick look I see a horn tip, that hooks up, he turns and gives me another look head on. The other side is broken, he’s heavy… I make a subconscious call on legality. The previous look that Wyo had, confirmed my assumption… it’s a shooter.
He’s walking to the left, and in about 10 yards he’d be behind a cliff and out of sight and gone up an valance chute into the crags. After the previous deliberations about being able to get to him, if I shot, I didn’t even think about what would happen if I killed him… We’d find a way to get him out.
I settle in on the trigger and let him have it… He was hit, but managed to make it around the avalanche chute and up on the cliffs to the left side of it. Not good. I settled in for another shot and put one in him… finally he had enough and lay down… in the worst possible spot he could. The picture doesn’t show it well, but this is pinnacle about 30’ off the deck. As he lay dying, he wiggled out of view. I prayed he’d fall off the darn cliff.
We had to drop back down the hill we were on and make our way up around the opposite side of the chute. It looked like we could drop in the same way the ram had gone. Roughly an hour later we were in a position to look into the chute and rock where we’d last seen the ram. There was a big pool of blood, but no sheep. We surveyed the cliff, and saw blood smeared down the rocks and in the rocks at the bottom… thank god he’s not still up high.
I picked out a piece of horn and the head of the ram as he lay at the bottom of the cliff.
Now the fun part… how do we get to him and out of the crags? The spot he was in didn’t lend itself to an easy extraction, much less access. He had to come out the bottom, and with the rocks in the chute, it would have to be sans head gear. The head on a sheep is heavy, and tends to get hung up on just about everything. The executive decision was to cut his head off at the shoulder, and tie up his legs to make a ball out of him. That way he could be kicked and would give him the best chance to make it to the snow some 50-60 vertical feet below. It worked perfectly… After some creative mountaineer heroics over the course of about 3 hours by both Wyo and AK, we had the ram at the bottom in a place we could safely work on him. I couldn’t have done it without their help; this ram is as much there as it is mine.
I think we were all much relived once the ram was in camp. Field pictures were not in the cards, understandably under the conditions, and frankly the last thing on my mind. I was grateful that we retrieved the sheep of the mountain without injury.
The ram was 8yo, full curl on the left, broken on the right. 37x13.5. A solid sheep, similar to the ram last year, just a few years younger.
The rest of the week found us chasing ghosts, and a ram we dubbed Stumpy. We covered some new country and saw some nice caribou and moose. Wyo sniffed out a few moose antlers, but none made it home.
I ended up losing about 1/3 of my sheep to a wolverine. Apparently they’re attracted to me. Later that week we were visited by a Trooper and to his satisfaction convinced him of the reason I was down a pile of meat. I think the half eaten game bag helped with my case. Never the less he made a loop in the chopper over the kill sight and was convinced all was on the up and up… The next meat stash was a bit more secure.
I’ll let AKDrifter fill in his part of the hunt. He took a really nice ram on the last day of the trip. We covered some ground, ate a lot of silt in a nasty wind storm, and survived another one. I know I can’t wait to do it all over again.All in all it was a “trip of a lifetime.” The only down side is the rape and pillage being done by the outfitter in this area
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havgunwilltravel
Active member
Fantastic hunt report. Dream stuff right there...you guys nailed it.
I wonder how the outfitter ended up on the rams with his clients.
I wonder how the outfitter ended up on the rams with his clients.
genesis273
Well-known member
Awesome hunt! Congratulations on a beautiful ram!
Phil Tuccillo
New member
Great hunt! good read.
MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
Bambi,
Awesome job, and it sounds like you had some great company as well. It never hurts to take a nice sheep in the process!
Awesome job, and it sounds like you had some great company as well. It never hurts to take a nice sheep in the process!
LuckyMike
Member
Great stuff. Thanks for sharing with us.
MNHunter
Well-known member
Good stuff Bambi! Congrats!
BlakeA
Well-known member
So awesome! Thank you for sharing! Congrats!!
krshntr81
Member
That is an awesome story! Congrats on the ram.
Bambistew
Well-known member
They killed their sheep... along with the next 8+ clients they guided. The words out of the outfitters mouth... our ram count was in double digits this year. Considering how much ground we covered, how many rams we saw and how many they killed... They cleaned it out. We didn't see many up and comers... I won't be going back.
Kaitum
Well-known member
Very nice, congrats! Especially like the anti-meat theft ingenuity.
ihuntelk
Member
Finally...............the rest of the story!
Congrats.
-Cade
Congrats.
-Cade
