A little help from above

[Danders134]

On Tuesday Nov.3 I buried my dad. After an 8mo. battle with cancer he passed away, peacefully with me by his side. The last couple of months were very stressfull, me being excited to finally get to hunt sheep but also knowing he might not get to see the outcome. I spent 25 days looking for sheep and every time I came home he asked to see the ram. He was born in Lewistown, but actually lived in Suffolk which I drove through every time I went up there.

 

[C Bow]

Dad

I am so sorry you lost your DAD. I will keep you in my prayers.

 

[MThuntr]

Suffolk is a good place to be from and a good place to rest. I'm glad you got to share some sheep hunting stories with him before he passed.

 

[sra61]

Sorry to hear that. I lost my Dad 28 years ago, and I miss him every day. Sorry for your loss.

 

[recon6036]

Sorry for the loss of your dad.

 

[pointingdogsrule]

Sorry to hear that. I lost my Dad 28 years ago, and I miss him every day. Sorry for your loss.

My dad has been gone 25 years and "dad" is on every hunting adventure that I take and sits in the tree with me on every hunt. Sorry for the loss.

good luck to all
the dog

 

[Danders134]

On the weekend of the kids hunt we were walking a big flat when I told my son Brady that I could smell sheep. He said there was one right behind me just down a finger, so I put the big sneak on him and had him at 50 yds but he was only a 3/4 curl. I told Brady to take some pictures of him with his phone, he was able to walk to within 10 yds of this ram and his little buddy before they spooked. The next day Brady was able to take a 3x4 muley so he was happy and on sunday we were driving down ferry rd and saw a small ram. We drove up next to him and Brady got real excited and told me to get out there was a big one just down the draw. I walked to the edge of the rd and it was another 3/4 curl, we continued down to the river to glass then came back up. A gentleman was putting his gun away right where the 2 rams were. I asked him if we could take a look and he asked if I had seen him, why I had passed him up. Turned out Ted was from Bigfork, 70 yrs old and his last weekend to hunt, we helped gut and drag it out for him..hopefully good karma. We also ran into a fellow ht'r (Bugle Em In) who's son harvested a nice ewe.

 

[1_pointer]

I've been in your shoes with my dad. You have my condolences. Keep telling all his stories.

 

[Danders134]

When you draw one of these once-in-a-lifetime tags your first emotion is extreme happiness then the reality sets in. There is an extreme amount of pressure that goes with it, the what ifs.. What if I don't get one, what if I shoot one too small, what if I get weathered out. I did not tell a lot of people that I even drew the tag. I told my wife that I just wanted to enjoy the opportunity to hunt sheep, to experience the breaks again and lastly harvest a sheep that excited me. I was looking for a full curl with a nice chocolate cape. I had a couple of run-ins with a really big ram that not only was full curl but also flared out, missed him!!

 

[JEL]

Sorry about your Dad. I lost mine under similar circumstances 18 years ago. Still miss him terribly. Looking forward to the rest of your story. Thanks for sharing.

 

[MT_elk]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your Dad. I sure hope you're able to get the sheep you're looking for. I am enjoying the story so far. Good luck.

 

[Danders134]

Thurs Nov 5 would have been my dads 80th birthday, it found me stalking a ram that looked promising. I was able to get to within 150yds, but he was bedded on a steep knob that went straight down for another 200yds. I turned around and hiked back to the truck. As I was driving down the ferry rd I saw 2 rams not more than 150 yds from the road. What luck one was 3/4 curl the other was full and fairly heavy..Missed him!! Friday Nov6 missed him again in the same spot, drove to the river and put a target on a fence post one shot dead on.. Went back to where I had seen the sheep on thurs, found them one flat over and decided to try to get closer. One shot from 260yds and I had my ram, I think dad wanted me to have this one..

 

[Oak]

Danders, thanks for sharing your story. Sorry for the loss of your father. That's a dandy ram.

 

[MThuntr]

Now that's a happy ending!!!

 

[genesis273]

I hate to hear that about your dad.
That is a beautiful ram! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Straight Arrow]

Nicely done ... the hunt, the memories, the trophy tribute to your father. I'm sure it will warm your heart for years to come as you admire your ram and remember your dad.

 

[Festus]

Sorry for your loss.
Congrats on a great ram!

 

[Schaaf]

Awesome ram! My condolences to you and your family, but no doubt he was with you throughout the entire process. I respect your opinion on the tag and wanted to enjoy it and not feel the pressure and swaying from outside sources.

 

[fulldraw]

Sorry for the loss of your Dad, I lost my Dad 34 years ago and still think about him most every day. Congrats on the nice ram, I am sure your Dad is very proud.

 

[RobG]

Thanks for sharing.