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- Thread starter BigHornRam
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Drummond33
Member
I am glad I'm not the only one with reservations about that ram. If I shot that my stress would be so high on the packout before checking it in my stomach would be acting like I ate some of @EYJONAS! famous snacks.
BigHornRam
Well-known member
Maybe 3 years old. I wouldn't even think about it. Let them get older.
Cheesehead
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2017
- Messages
- 1,046
Y’all looking passenger side. The legal piece is driver side, obv.
Carl 9.3x62
Well-known member
If it's legal, who cares how big it is. If he's happy with it, great.
BigHornRam
Well-known member
IF it's legal, it is right at legal. Heck of a judgement call to make. Shooting sub legal rams and having them confiscated is the best way to put an end to the unlimited bighorn hunts in Montana. Please consider this when deciding how close to legal you want to push it so can fill your tag.
mtnkid85
Well-known member
Congrats to the fella who took the 500 ram. That one picture isn't flattering but if its legal (which obviously we now know it is) then congrats.
Anyway here's something else to distract the hordes for a while.
Anyway here's something else to distract the hordes for a while.
Cav1
Well-known member
From the time and location of the kill, it may very well have been the same ram geetar and I looked at on the other side of the mountain the previous day. I watched it closely through the Swaro spotter from about 600 yards for 20 minutes and was thoroughly convinced it was indeed pretty close but couldn't possibly quite be legal. I still would have passed on him even if I knew for a fact he was indeed legal, but that's just my own personal opinion and choice.
LopeHunter
Well-known member
Well I'll share a brief synopsis of my excursion and then a short story of how this hunt changed my thoughts on ever going solo hunting in the unlimited units or really any hunt changed my life.
High anticipation was upon me for this season I had plotted and planned so much before going into this trip. There was a chance to meet other fellow hunters there and there was the chance I would be solo too given opportunities and the realities of actually meeting guys that were in there a week ahead of me. Needless to say I ended up solo in a different part of the unit and it wasn't a reality to meet up once I got up there.
A brief overview:
Step 1.
View attachment 194843
On the way in I traverse through a lot of this shit. For about 2k feet up.
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Life up there is great and I enjoy some great camping and eats at the Skytop Cafe. While glassing the tooths.
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Saw some incredible country up there lots of goats and bears no sheep.
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Now here's the humbling part....
Shortly after the goat photo I decide to move camp for the fourth time I want to get a better closer look from a different angle. I load up everything and begin the move. On the descent with my loaded pack I cross a skree/boulder field and with the winds ripping I lose my balance and go down very hard and hear a snap pop from my ankle. A ghostly and haunting familiar feeling of fracturing it from years past...... I'm screaming wondering if I can even put weight on it. Holding my boot I calm myself and try not to panic and think the worst. After about 15 minutes I decide to try and stand up in the rocks. I can walk but not great. My decision to move turned into a I need to get the f$#% outta here. So, very slowly and calculated I make it down the face to a creek bottom I begin to follow it out. It takes me about 3.5 hours to drop the 3k feet to the first major creek crossing which was absolutely horrible to do with a heavy pack and one good leg. I cross it then begin the cross country trek to my pickup crossing small creeks, dead fall, beating through brush thickets I come to the last climb up. I'm really hurting bad at this point I have many moments where I think, I'm just gonna leave my shit and come get it with some friends. I decide hell no, I'm getting myself outta here. At this point I'm about 7hrs in from when I went down. I can only take about 20 steps or so and then I have to sit. The last mile I found somewhat of an old hunting trail cut in, it was a god send without it I don't know if I would've made it that night. It takes me about 9 hours to get back to my vehicle. I was literally dragging my right leg and using my poles and my good let to continue out. It was honestly one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had, it taught me that no matter what or who you think you are in one moment you can be flat "done." So many things can happen up there or anywhere I encourage everyone to find a partner. I've done these trips solo many times 4 and 5 day excursions up there and haven't had any issues.
I'm thankful that my injury really was minor to what could've happened. How everything worked out was truly a blessing after the incident, given I already had my camp packed, routes, logs and rocks placed in areas for support and a small faint trail at the end that took me right to my truck. It was unreal, this isn't a sob story or some look at me deal. This is reality of solo alpine hunting, it's dangerous. I hope people read this and think twice about it. This forum is a great tool to network for hunts and trips, I've met some phenomenal people on here and some are good friends now. I encourage people to do that especially for this hunt.
*a happy little stream, in a happy little mountain scene
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I can't wait to get healed up and back up there, I'm on ice right now and keeping off it, I have a torn tendon and a small fracture on the ball. I'll be up there again soon but it won't be solo ever again.
BTW I'd rather eat Johnsonville summer sausage and puke my guts out for 2 days walking outta there again 100 times over than the trek I just had with a fractured ankle.... that's no lie.
Good luck to everyone out there and be safe
That blows more than that wind. Glad is something you can bounce back from. I got to an age the bounce was not impressive and the old, forgotten injuries started to re-emerge as nagging discomfort. Full steam ahead until the steam has all leaked out!
TrumpkinTheDwarf
Well-known member
It's a legal ram, on the toughest sheep hunt in America... I might not have shot that ram, but the guy gets to stake his claim in the small list of successful UL sheep hunters. That's a pretty exclusive club!From the proud hunter: “His right side was about 3” past the 3/4 curl requirement and his left was right at it. No monster by any means, but the first legal ram I have seen there”
Finally unpacked the bags….
10 days in, 4 solo, 6 with some buddies.
- nothing is achieved quickly. Leading up to the hunt I picked multiple spots of where I would like to camp and where I would like to glass from. Within the first 20 mins of glassing I was watching sheep. Looking back I’m not sure if I should have moved off the sheep but the age class and gender wasn’t lending itself towards a successful hunt. Should I have just followed the herd? maybe but the curiosity of what lied in the next drainage had me wanting more.
- thought I packed fairly conservative, needed to do better. Two of the things you can’t live without if broke or lost and everything else just one of everything.
- smoke didn’t help and one thing I wish I would have game planned for was my camping spots and using the sun, if I was going to wake up and hit an area game plan on the sun helping not hurting. Use everything you can to your advantage.
- maybe some of you guys can tell me but most everywhere I found goats I found sheep, except the sheep were higher than the goats. I think we needed a little bit of weather but never got it.
- leading up to the hunt you can’t mimic the topography but you can mimic the weight, wear the boots and socks you plan on wearing and ruck around weight much higher than what you expect to carry, it should help, adrenaline and adventure will carry you the rest of the way.
- @EYJONAS! Glad to hear you got out ok, was constantly think one wrong move and I would have been in the same boat.
- was fortunate enough to see a Wolverine at about 40 yards which was fantastic.
- ill definitely go back. Cheers men
10 days in, 4 solo, 6 with some buddies.
- nothing is achieved quickly. Leading up to the hunt I picked multiple spots of where I would like to camp and where I would like to glass from. Within the first 20 mins of glassing I was watching sheep. Looking back I’m not sure if I should have moved off the sheep but the age class and gender wasn’t lending itself towards a successful hunt. Should I have just followed the herd? maybe but the curiosity of what lied in the next drainage had me wanting more.
- thought I packed fairly conservative, needed to do better. Two of the things you can’t live without if broke or lost and everything else just one of everything.
- smoke didn’t help and one thing I wish I would have game planned for was my camping spots and using the sun, if I was going to wake up and hit an area game plan on the sun helping not hurting. Use everything you can to your advantage.
- maybe some of you guys can tell me but most everywhere I found goats I found sheep, except the sheep were higher than the goats. I think we needed a little bit of weather but never got it.
- leading up to the hunt you can’t mimic the topography but you can mimic the weight, wear the boots and socks you plan on wearing and ruck around weight much higher than what you expect to carry, it should help, adrenaline and adventure will carry you the rest of the way.
- @EYJONAS! Glad to hear you got out ok, was constantly think one wrong move and I would have been in the same boat.
- was fortunate enough to see a Wolverine at about 40 yards which was fantastic.
- ill definitely go back. Cheers men
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TrumpkinTheDwarf
Well-known member
No kidding! What an experience!
Seems like some are kinda busting the size of the ram harvested well to do one of the hardest hunts in the country and harvest an animal I say congratz if I see a legal ram in the UL units I would take it too, and be dam proud to mount it
Many of us live across the country and have to limit our time hunting other game to just go into the Ul units so hats off to anyone that gets it done
Many of us live across the country and have to limit our time hunting other game to just go into the Ul units so hats off to anyone that gets it done
sacountry
Well-known member
This cracks up every time
Not knocking the accomplishment of a successful hunt- just pointing out the conservation side of it. Short term payoff on a ram for the individual is good, but if every Dick and Mary start punching out 4 year olds that are that close to the legal/illegal line, you can expect a strong push for a regulation change or for this great opportunity that is afforded everyone to quickly evaporate.
Everyone has their own desires- some will show up and call a legal ram good enough, collect their trophy, and go home. Others will place their emphasis on enjoying the incredible country and opportunity. And still others will search for a truly representative ram. Everyone of us should be advocating for these kinds of hunts to continue, not just checking off a bucket list item.
You do you, but please keep in mind that one person's actions in the ULs impact far more people and conservation efforts than you can imagine.
recurveman
Well-known member
try being 50+ years old and pay $1250.00 for the tag plus 4 days of travel time each trip to the UL's. That might change your mind.
Selfishly, I could see how it would. Doesn't change the fact that it's not a long term management practice. If a guy wants to shoot a sheep to say they've shot a sheep, there's plenty of ewe tags in multiple states. Might even cut a day or two off of that 4 day drive...
I get it- we're all a bunch of whiners, yada, yada. No one here (should) expect to see 165" rams being the only thing killed. I know many chiming in have either found success of their own, or made a personal choice to hold off for another ram. Just do the hunt justice and don't put that kind of pressure on the biologist to have to actually measure if the thing you covet so much is legal. Not fair to them, not fair to the sheep. Plain and simple.
Carnage2011
Well-known member
No not at all. You chose to pay it and have the opportunity to hunt. Andrews post was about health of herd, not about your expense.
