Following a hike up the mountain, we encountered the herd at about 450 yards. Not a shot I really want to take even in good circumstances, and on top of that, the wind was howling. We would need to get closer. We backed out and came in another way, losing a bit of elevation and getting us a little more out of the wind.
"320 yards."
"Ok." I sat down and set up for the shot. The herd had spotted us by this point, and they were getting nervous.
The herd was bigger than we thought when we spotted them from the road. 20 animals at least.
"Oh man, there are some stomper rams in this group!"
"Ok, which ones are ewes?"
Isolating a ewe in a nervous and tightly-bunched herd was not as straightforward of a task as I would have hoped. They began heading away from us and would soon be out of sight.
Luckily, I caught a break. I noticed two sheep heading in a different direction than the rest of the herd. They were headed toward the bottom of the canyon and appeared to want to tuck away into the shade and stay put.
"Look at those two down low. Those look like ewes."
It took a moment for my guide to key in on them. The first one went behind some trees before he could get a look. The second stopped in a shady spot and stood broadside.
We looked it over until we were satisfied that it was a legal animal for my permit. I did my best to steady my breath and stop shaking. When all felt right, I squeezed the trigger. At the shot, my target animal jumped down to the bottom of the ravine and out of sight. A split second later, three sheep jumped out of the bottom and headed up the hill and out of sight behind a neighboring ridge. They didn't show any signs of being hit.
Ok. I guess there were more down there than we realized. My hope was that there was now a dead sheep in the bottom and three more on the run. My worry is that there were three sheep there to start, and I had missed.
Two of the sheep reappeared on the ridge they disappeared behind, a little bit closer than they had been before.
"I don't know man, that one on the right looks just like the one you shot at."
"Yeah, she does. It kind of looks like a miss at this point."
"One way to find out."
"Yeah, let's go take a look.
She was in the shade of these trees when I took the shot.
With as few trees as there are out in that country, it wasn't hard to get right to the spot she was standing.
We discovered the point where my bullet made contact with the ground. It was evident that my bullet had struck and fragmented a rock.
We didn't find blood, hair, or any evidence of a hit at the site. It appeared to be a miss.
"320 yards."
"Ok." I sat down and set up for the shot. The herd had spotted us by this point, and they were getting nervous.
The herd was bigger than we thought when we spotted them from the road. 20 animals at least.
"Oh man, there are some stomper rams in this group!"
"Ok, which ones are ewes?"
Isolating a ewe in a nervous and tightly-bunched herd was not as straightforward of a task as I would have hoped. They began heading away from us and would soon be out of sight.
Luckily, I caught a break. I noticed two sheep heading in a different direction than the rest of the herd. They were headed toward the bottom of the canyon and appeared to want to tuck away into the shade and stay put.
"Look at those two down low. Those look like ewes."
It took a moment for my guide to key in on them. The first one went behind some trees before he could get a look. The second stopped in a shady spot and stood broadside.
We looked it over until we were satisfied that it was a legal animal for my permit. I did my best to steady my breath and stop shaking. When all felt right, I squeezed the trigger. At the shot, my target animal jumped down to the bottom of the ravine and out of sight. A split second later, three sheep jumped out of the bottom and headed up the hill and out of sight behind a neighboring ridge. They didn't show any signs of being hit.
Ok. I guess there were more down there than we realized. My hope was that there was now a dead sheep in the bottom and three more on the run. My worry is that there were three sheep there to start, and I had missed.
Two of the sheep reappeared on the ridge they disappeared behind, a little bit closer than they had been before.
"I don't know man, that one on the right looks just like the one you shot at."
"Yeah, she does. It kind of looks like a miss at this point."
"One way to find out."
"Yeah, let's go take a look.
She was in the shade of these trees when I took the shot.
With as few trees as there are out in that country, it wasn't hard to get right to the spot she was standing.
We discovered the point where my bullet made contact with the ground. It was evident that my bullet had struck and fragmented a rock.
We didn't find blood, hair, or any evidence of a hit at the site. It appeared to be a miss.
