Colorado Sheep unit S06

[imoldham]

Well after many years of patiently waiting for a chance to chase Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep it still didn't happen for me lol. But......it did for my wife! She drew a first season rifle tag for Pikes peak 1 of 1 . She is an avid hunter and is very excited about the opportunity (and yes she knows how lucky she is). I guess it kind of offsets her being married to a guy who hasn't won a single thing that I didn't have to pay for in blood sweat and tears in my whole life. Ready for the kicker? My wife is pregnant and will be giving birth to our 4th child 9 weeks before the season! Sounds imposable right? I have 0% doubt that this woman will get er done in style and probably kill a more beautiful ram than me because that has been been the resounding trend so far in our life together.

So with all that being said we have a lot of work to do in the coming months as far as burning boot leather scouting, talking to area biologists, getting familiar with the area and preparing for the season. Just looking for any info from people who may have hunted the unit and or the season we are getting ready for.

Also if there are any nice spots along the trail to pull off and pump breast milk along the way....

 

[Addicting]

Well after many years of patiently waiting for a chance to chase Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep it still didn't happen for me lol. But......it did for my wife! She drew a first season rifle tag for Pikes peak 1 of 1 . She is an avid hunter and is very excited about the opportunity (and yes she knows how lucky she is). I guess it kind of offsets her being married to a guy who hasn't won a single thing that I didn't have to pay for in blood sweat and tears in my whole life. Ready for the kicker? My wife is pregnant and will be giving birth to our 4th child 9 weeks before the season! Sounds imposable right? I have 0% doubt that this woman will get er done in style and probably kill a more beautiful ram than me because that has been been the resounding trend so far in our life together.

So with all that being said we have a lot of work to do in the coming months as far as burning boot leather scouting, talking to area biologists, getting familiar with the area and preparing for the season. Just looking for any info from people who may have hunted the unit and or the season we are getting ready for.

Also if there are any nice spots along the trail to pull off and pump breast milk along the way....

Does you wife know you have this fetish, or your doing on your scouting trip so she doesn’t find out? But atlas, I bet it’s not the weirdest thing that’s been done along side a trail in CO.

Congrats to your wife on the tag.

 

[JC3]

So......your wife is the lucky 3+0 ram tag holder!?!? Tell her congratulations! I am currently working on the PPSC Project and am on the summit every day. The last couple years we have seen some fairly decent rams but no mega giants. I'd be happy to tell you what I know, just shoot me a message.

 

[Gadjet]

Congats to your lucky wife! And good luck!

 

[imoldham]

So......your wife is the lucky 3+0 ram tag holder!?!? Tell her congratulations! I am currently working on the PPSC Project and am on the summit every day. The last couple years we have seen some fairly decent rams but no mega giants. I'd be happy to tell you what I know, just shoot me a message.

Yeah man, she is luckier than I am that's for sure, I am sitting on decades of points and she grabs a tag before me! That's why its a lottery I guess. Who do you work for? I have some buddies that have worked on that job with Encore, but they have been pretty worthless as far as info. We are speaking with the biologists soon. I am just looking for a decent starting point where you have seen them. If there is one place more than the other that would be cool too. Anything helps man. Thanks

 

[JC3]

Yeah man, she is luckier than I am that's for sure, I am sitting on decades of points and she grabs a tag before me! That's why its a lottery I guess. Who do you work for? I have some buddies that have worked on that job with Encore, but they have been pretty worthless as far as info. We are speaking with the biologists soon. I am just looking for a decent starting point where you have seen them. If there is one place more than the other that would be cool too. Anything helps man. Thanks

Hey buddy I sent you a message, reach out to me and I will tell you what I know.

 

[RatRodMike]

Awesome news on your wife's tag. My wife climbed Mt. St. Helens here is Washington about 2 weeks after giving birth to our first. Yep, she pumped all the way. I'm sure that your wife will do great on her hunt.

Can't wait to follow along on your story. I also drew a sheep tag and I'm excited as well. I'll probably lay off the the breast pump though; probably.

Good luck,

Mike

 

[imoldham]

Day 1 Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep: We started of walking in the the base of the south slope of Pikes Peak about 6 miles in and then made our way up the mountain to begin the hunt. We were crossing waterfalls and hiking up the steepest mountain sides I’ve ever been on. As I was feeling so defeated we spotted some ewes (females) and I got excited to finally see some sheep. We looked at them for awhile and then decided it was time to continue on for the Ram and within 380 yards the Ram herd that Ian had been scouting for weeks appeared in front of us. They saw us and we saw them and they decided they weren’t going to let us get a shot off and up the mountain they went. I was devastated. The day ended with 17.6 miles, no Ram and major self doubt#TBC

My Wifes words

 

[imoldham]

 

[imoldham]

Day 2 Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep: After what seemed like the most gruesome day of my physical and mental capabilities we set back out to do a little bit of a different hunt.This time we hunted from the top which seem to me to be the better choice at first until you started walking down the mountain side and with each foot step your toes with jam into your boot so hard that you could feel your toenails peeling off. We found a good glassing spot and again found all the ewes but no rams. We decided to call it a day and get home to give my mama a break and get the kids to their practices#tbc

 

[imoldham]

Day Three Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep: Day three on the mountain and it felt like we had already put on so many miles at this point I think we were at almost 20 miles in two days In 20 hard steep knee buckling back breaking rocks rolling underneath your feet miles. We decided to go back down the car because I had not mustered up the energy to hunt from the bottom again.We went about a mile down the cog and begin to Glass at this point we saw the ewes (AGIAN) And kept glassing till about noon at this point we were getting ready to wrap it up again thinking we just maybe need to tough it out and hunt from the bottom up which is where Ian had been seeing them over the past scouting weeks. Right at about noon Ian spotted a group of use and kept glassing and saw that there were rams laying right to the left of them. This was the first time that I had seen the sheep actually laying down and looking comfortable in their habitat. Ian and I looked at each other and went back-and-forth on if we wanted to make that kind of commitment knowing that at any point they could blow out and we would have to either come back up the slope or down the slope but either way we were committed with or Without a ram. I asked Ian if he feltand at that moment we knew we were about to get into something intense.We packed up started to head down the mountain towards the Rams every step we took was extremely strategic to make sure we stayed out of their line of sight that the wind was right that they couldn’t hear us coming everything had to be just perfect. Took us a little over an hour to get down to where we thought they were and then we began to crawl toward where we felt the Rams were going to be. We got all settled on a rock I set up my gun and we had to use in my scope again the wrong sex. I needed to see the boys.Ian kept glassing and before long in the scrub oak he found the ram horns there were a few of them and at that moment I knew we were going to sit and wait this out I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out but we were going to give it our all because at this point there was no turning around.

 

[imoldham]

Day Three Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep Continued: After looking through the scope for about an hour the larger rams started to veer off to the right out of shooting site which meant there were only two rams left… I knew I wanted to capitalize on the long stalk we had made on the herd but I was running out of options. One of the remaining rams was a good one so I waited for him to step away from the ewes and lambs and lifted the safety and at 330 yards I took a shot. I knew I made contact because I heard it hit the body. After several moments (which felt like forever) we could see he was slowing laying down to take his last breaths. At 3:33pm we were able to get our hands on the most majestic creatures I’ve ever seen! Tag filled on day 3 on America’s Mountain#rockymountainbighornsheep

 

[imoldham]

 

[NVBighorn]

Congratulations to you!!!! Good looking ram and well deserved.

 

[imoldham]

the Aftermath: My Husband and I set upon the task of breaking down this animal and I had to hike half way back up the peak after the shot, to send an sos for a vehicle to be at the bottom to pick us up as our truck was still parked at the summit. We had no-one else but the two of us! We made a game plan to shuttle the meat, head and hide down to the trail and try to do so before dark. ( there was no way that we were going to be able to take the entire animal out with all of our gear hust the two of us........or so we thought) We got to the trail and planned to hang the meat near a creek just before dark. Then we said, lets go another half mile, then another, then another........until finally around midnight After an excruciating 7 mile hike down and out with 5 miles being in the dark on pikes peak where we crossed over a fresh mountain lion kill we were greeted by my dads headlights.

I don't really know how we did it, one step at a time, we both went to a "dark Place" and just kept chugging. I think the motivation of not having to make the walk back in was a large factor for both of us after 30 miles or so in 3 days all on foot. My pack was loaded with a front and a rear quarter, and I carried backstraps and tenderloins in front of my body in a boned out game bag. Plus the rfle, tripod and the rst of my gear, I don't know how heavy it was but believe me it was brutal. My Husband had a front, a rear, the head and hide, the spotting scope, the other tripod and the rest of the meat no question 110-120+. BEASTMODE

OH and dont forget I had a baby 9 weeks ago....You can do hard things!


The Day After the Harvest….The day after is always so interesting! You’re exhausted, excited in awe of what just happened, questioning if you got the biggest one? Was there a better shot? What if I waited one more day? The reels that go through a hunters mind after a harvest are unlike anything else I’ve experienced. Reality sets in of all that still has to be done. Getting the meat cool, going to CPW, taxidermy, and all of the unpacking and washing of the gear. It’s a monumental task that takes a lot of effort and support from my village and I’m forever grateful for everyone who had a part in this Rams story!!!

 

[imoldham]

Breast milk made from Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep for this guy! God Bless

 

[Misguided]

Congrats on a great hunt and a great ram! Thanks for bringing us along.

 

[Mtnhunter1]

Wow! Congratulations on tagging a beautiful ram. Hard work makes for better memories.

 

[LopeHunter]

Definitely some steep stuff. Congrats on sticking with the hunt even when was obvious was not going to be simple nor easy. Also, congrats on the new addition to your family! I have no way to understand the challenge of being in sheep-shape when two months prior you were finishing up nine months of pregnancy. Beast mode!

 

[Bambistew]

Great story and pics! Thanks for sharing. Great ram too!