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[Southern Elk]

Welcome Shines. I'm a new resident of Montana and I've really been bit by this sheep bug. I think the only way that I'll ever get to hunt them is if I try one of the unlimited units. I look forward to reading your posts and learning anything you would be willing to share.

 

[theat]

Shines@times,

Yes, Shawn S is still on the job. At least he was last year while I was catching elk for him out of Red Lodge. He was a great help to me when I first became interested in the unlimited hunts. I lucked out and got a ram there eight years ago and I am itching to go back with a tag in my pocket. I have been back a few times helping out friends and once with a goat tag, but it isn't quite the same without an unlimited sheep tag itching to be punched. That looks like a nice ram! Always nice to see and hear about others hunts up in that incredible country.

 

[shines@times]

Thanks Theat!

Shines@times,

Yes, Shawn S is still on the job. At least he was last year while I was catching elk for him out of Red Lodge. He was a great help to me when I first became interested in the unlimited hunts. I lucked out and got a ram there eight years ago and I am itching to go back with a tag in my pocket. I have been back a few times helping out friends and once with a goat tag, but it isn't quite the same without an unlimited sheep tag itching to be punched. That looks like a nice ram! Always nice to see and hear about others hunts up in that incredible country.

In my opinion Shawn is a great guy; and he was a significant help to me in the unlimited units respect as well.

I saw your ram pictures posted here and elsewhere (hf)--nice! He had more length than the one I shot. While I understand that some guys prefer RM rams broomed, I've always been partial to Argali-type heads. Of course, as we all know, any representative ram in the unlimited units is an extraordinary trophy.

Thanks for the welcome Southern Elk! I'll think about what I can impart that might expand upon the (more recent) knowledge already delivered on this fine site--without giving away too much that is. Probably the most salient observation I have, beyond getting fit, learning the country and finding sheep (Duh!) is reiteration of what so many have already stated: I think the key to success is a mindset that will have you persisting until you achieve it. I will also say that one needs to get familiar enough with their gear and their own abilities to feel comfortable and secure in that country and weather. I do have some slides of bivouac camps that might be enlightening on that score.

I'll look for them and try to scan and post tomorrow night.

 

[Aussie_hunter_JD]

Yeah, but unless you drew a goat tag, you'd kind of be wasting your time.
There's a lot better places to hunt other species.
To take the sheep seriously, anything to do with other species would have to be incidental, instead of actually 'hunting' for them. Odds are lower enough without a deer/elk distraction.

I have stumbled into and shot two wolves.
There are some big black bears, but there is not a black bear in North America I would carry on my back for 10-25 miles.

I hear ya mate,

I was thinking though the day I do it (and I will) if it's absolutely dead after a while and I could get tags for something else in there I wouldn't knock it back. A bear to me is a novelty, maybe not on par with sheep but still!

 

[MTGomer]

Shines,

Welcome to the forum, thanks for the comments and fantastic ram!

Looks like you've had some great experiences.

 

[BigHornRam]

Very nice ram Shines. Looking forward to hearing some more of your unlimited stories. A couple of my first visits to the Beartooths when I was a youngster were filmed on slides. Wonder if my parents still have those slides of our summer pack trips around Lonesome Mountain back in the 70's?

So who all is planning on being in Bozeman on March 10? I am!

 

[Carnage2011]

Very nice ram Shines. Looking forward to hearing some more of your unlimited stories. A couple of my first visits to the Beartooths when I was a youngster were filmed on slides. Wonder if my parents still have those slides of our summer pack trips around Lonesome Mountain back in the 70's?

So who all is planning on being in Bozeman on March 10? I am!

What is going on in Bozeman on March 10th? I must have missed it..

 

[BigHornRam]

What is going on in Bozeman on March 10th? I must have missed it..

 

[Carnage2011]

View attachment 79728

Thanks!

 

[C Bow]

Shines, Thanks for sharing and yes I will be back this year and every year till I am dead or my body can't go any more. My wife and I do not have any children and we just lost or Lab of 15 years so God willing I will have more time to work at getting in better shape. I have a lot of people on here to thank for all the advice and help. If you are not over 62 you may not be the oldest hunter up there. I wish you Great Health and thanks for taking someone under your wing.

 

[shines@times]

Shines, Thanks for sharing and yes I will be back this year and every year till I am dead or my body can't go any more. My wife and I do not have any children and we just lost or Lab of 15 years so God willing I will have more time to work at getting in better shape. I have a lot of people on here to thank for all the advice and help. If you are not over 62 you may not be the oldest hunter up there. I wish you Great Health and thanks for taking someone under your wing.

I've got you by a fair margin on the years C Bow; although I can't say at this point that I'll be able to strengthen my knees enough to make it. Time will tell!

 

[shines@times]

Curious as to the districts you have hunted in your unlimited hunts?

I've hunted just one unlimited Hunting District, three different years during the 1980s. Since I'm trying to get in shape to give it another go in the same country*, I'll hold off on elaborating more than that for now. That said, as I mentioned earlier, some of your photos show me that you've been there.

* I've got from now until May to revise my plans--waiting to see what winter survival looks like.

 

[shines@times]

Hey guys,

I didn't get any of the bivouac pictures dug out and scanned today--my 90-year-old mother had a medical issue to deal with.

Instead, I'll post photos I already have on the computer' being careful not to reveal too much background of course!

Here are a couple shots of my ram from different angles, showing him in the very position that he piled up:

View attachment 79756:

View attachment 79755

 

[shines@times]

The rifle in the picture is a Colt Sauer chambered in .300 Weatherby. I handloaded 168gr Nosler Match bullets to about 3200fps (book value - I didn't have a chronograph).

The binoculars are 7x50 Bausch & Lomb waterproof; and are worth every bit of the weight.

 

[shines@times]

I hope posting a YouTube link here doesn't violate any policies. The hunt is not for Rocky Mountain Bighorn and its not in Montana; but it is a solo effort in high mountain country and, in my opinion, a damned impressive accomplishment (before viewing with your kids or grandchildren be aware that the guy drops a couple "F-bombs"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uri9dbDzyc4

 

[shines@times]

MTGomer,

The old illness has definitely relapsed. I'm going over all 15 pages of the thread again this morning to see what I can glean. I noticed something in one of the photos you posted from a May scouting trip. In photo of the low profile tent with snowshoes planted in snow foreground, that tent is an Early Winters Winterlight, is it not?

 

[shines@times]

THE BANG OF HORNS COLLIDING

I am curious; have any other hunters viewing this forum heard the clash of horns when they were actually hunting in the unlimited units? I had that memorable experience once. The wind had died the night before; clouds obscured the terrain; and a thin, steady snow fell all day long. I moved toward the sound for half the day--I figured out a better strategy incorporating bivouacking later on--before I had to turnaround for return to spike camp. I can't tell you how far that sound carried, for I never encountered the rams that were making it.

 

[shines@times]

EYJONAS, your scrawl in the sandy snow is the first graffiti I've ever seen that I really appreciate!

 

[Slick]

Count me in for 2018. Have spent some time up that way for work/play and have seen sheep trails in the talus, scat and have seen ewes and lambs but haven't seen any rams. This fall I'm eating archery elk and headed to the Tooth's.

 

[MTGomer]

THE BANG OF HORNS COLLIDING

I am curious; have any other hunters viewing this forum heard the clash of horns when they were actually hunting in the unlimited units? I had that memorable experience once. The wind had died the night before; clouds obscured the terrain; and a thin, steady snow fell all day long. I moved toward the sound for half the day--I figured out a better strategy incorporating bivouacking later on--before I had to turnaround for return to spike camp. I can't tell you how far that sound carried, for I never encountered the rams that were making it.

I have and even have it on video, taken through a spotting scope. It was of the ram I missed, about two hours before I shot at him, screwing around with his younger compadre.

The tent with the snowshoes is a Hilleberg Nallo 2.