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[recurveman]

Thank you! I’m not crazy enough to believe I’ll find a legal ram every time I go in there or even every year but it was encouraging to find one the first time in. Guess it’s beginners luck but I sure enjoyed it. Haha

Beginners luck for sure. Though the one thing I've noticed is the guys that actually go into the field and work at it have more "luck" than the keyboard commando's. We've all had beginners luck and I will always be happy to get the luck on my side when I can. I've had plenty of times where it didn't work out my way too.

Did you see any other sheep? How about deer and elk? Any bears?

 

[arwhntr]

That is awesome geetar! Sounds like an incredibly fun trip.

1 more legal ram than I've seen in the unlimiteds.

 

[buffybr]

Nice pics there geetar.

To me, half of a goat trophy is their long, full winter coat. Your goat pic shows how short a goat's hair is in the summer, and even into September, compared to this goat that I shot in the middle of November.

 

[kad11]

Good for you geetar! Hopefully your HT buddy has a tag this year...

I spent Friday checking an approach and potential glassing point. A high angle snow slope stopped me about 1000 ft below the ridge I wanted to gain. 22ish miles and 5500-6000 ft of gain/loss was definitely a shock to the system!

 

[arwhntr]

Beautiful pics kad11! Crazy that some of that snow will make it into next winter.

 

[JLS]

@kad11 Why not use crampons and ice axe?

 

[kad11]

@kad11 Why not use crampons and ice axe?

I didn't have them with me - next time though.

 

[kad11]

Sweet pics kad! Any game spotted? I'm in about the same boat as you checking a couple approaches. Thanks for sharing

Six goats between two different sets of nanny/ kid groups.

 

[recurveman]

Just got back home to NC from a few days in the Beartooths with a fellow Hunt Talker. As I mentioned before I don’t have a tag this year and this was just a preliminary scouting mission to learn some about the country, see if a southern boy like me could hack the elevation, and see if I could even find a sheep at all before I payed the non-resident tag fee. We went in several miles from the trailhead after driving as far as we possibly could down a “gravel road suitable for passenger cars “. Late in the second afternoon we were there my friend spotted what we thought was a ram up around 10,000 ft. We soon confirmed it was indeed the butt of a ram but he was feeding behind a crest and we could see his horns except for the bases which at about 1/2 a mile according to the GPS seemed large. He soon disappeared behind the hill without giving us a good look at his horns but my friend suspected as well as I that a lone ram was probably a mature one. We kept hoping he’d pop back out and kept scanning back over that way with our optics periodically. In the mean time we found quite a few goats including what looked to me like a really nice billy. It was probably an hour to hour and half later that my friend said “he’s back” and I turned at looked and could see his white butt with my naked eye and quickly got on him with the spotter. It took me only few seconds to turn around and say “that’s a legal ram. “ We watched him for over an hour together and my friend decided to return to camp and leave me up there. Shortly after he left the ram spooked and I thought he may have seen my friend returning to camp but through the spotter I saw the ram running towards me and a coyote running toward the hill he was on. They met at the crest of the hill the coyote passing maybe ten feet from the ram and he freaked out at the sudden unexpected sight of the ram topping the hill and disappeared quickly. In the minutes of fading light that followed the ram walked all the way up the ridge in plain view for me to watch with the spotter and admire him. Unfortunately my camera battery had died a few minutes early when he was still feeding out in the meadow. The ram continued to walk up the ridge and all the way to the back of the meadow and bedded facing away from a cliff behind him. I watched as the light faded and I left him bedded up there and returned to camp. We had found an elusive Unlimited bighorn and I was able to handle the elevation of 10,000 plus feet with no problems so I felt like I had a feeling of success at the goals I set out to accomplish. We never did get to see him again the rest of the trip but those couple hours I watched him definitely hooked me on sheep and sheep hunting. Lord willing I will be back in the Unlimiteds with a tag in 2020 or 2021 and after that till I am successful. I am going with a long term plan to do all the preparation necessary to accomplish my goal and as I have a previously planned elk hunt with my brother next year that may conflict it may be 2021 before I can commit the effort necessary to success and worthy of the non-resident tag fee so I will be doing all I can from now till then to learn and prepare. I am a rookie even to the rookies but I am in this game for the long haul till I punch that tag. Thanks to all who have encouraged me and given me advice and for my friend and fellow hunt talker who I will allow to remain nameless for his own privacy for taking me into his house when I arrived and accompanying me on a several day journey into the Beartooths. I appreciate you all. Attached is a photo of the ram and the best goat I saw. Final count for the trip 1 legal ram and 21 mountain goats.View attachment 111061

So what would have do different now for the hunt since you have done a scouting trip? Was it tougher and rougher? different gear? Train harder? Food, Water issues? camp fires? Trails good? I'm heading in on Sept 7th and hoping to learn a bit from your adventure.

Thanks

 

[Bluffgruff]

Sorry there is a few typos from my auto correct. Should have read over it before I hit send.

You can edit your post if you care to. Hit the dropdown menu to the right of "report"

 

[Cav1]

Geetar's photos came out way better than all my pics and videos, seen here.

 

[Cav1]

You are welcome. I enjoyed seeing that country again after so long and my wife sleeps much better when I go down to Grizzly Central with a partner rather than solo. I'm not sure why since you're obviously faster than me! I got to thinking about it and we actually saw 22 mountain goats total; that one last loner showed up at the very top of the ridge the ram was on, but we were totally focused on him at the time.

I'll be glassing the north end of my district at least once this weekend and those roads haven't demanded the sacrifice of any truck side mirrors yet.

 

[thebearslayer]

Hi all. First time post ever on a hunting forum. I'm happy I found a thread on hunting the unlimited's that's still active. This is my first year going... I'll be driving up from Texas and heading into zone 502. It shouldn't be too cold, right? Lots to be learned I'm sure but you can only learn so much by reading. There comes a point where you just need to go out and do it. Been looking forward to this for a decade.

 

[kansasdad]

Hi all. First time post ever on a hunting forum. I'm happy I found a thread on hunting the unlimited's that's still active. This is my first year going... I'll be driving up from Texas and heading into zone 502 for the first week of November. It shouldn't be too cold, right? Lots to be learned I'm sure but you can only learn so much by reading. There comes a point where you just need to go out and do it. Been looking forward to this for a decade.

At least you won't have to live up to your forum handle (most likely) by going in November. Make sure you check the quota for your zone before heading north, and again before heading into sheep country.

 

[thebearslayer]

At least you won't have to live up to your forum handle (most likely) by going in November. Make sure you check the quota for your zone before heading north, and again before heading into sheep country.

Speaking of my forum handle, what do yall bring for anti-bear devices, if anything? Pepper spray? 240 grain spray? I'm planning on bringing a sidearm but revolvers are heavy. And going that late in the year, would a water filter be totally useless? I'm not sure if everything's going to be frozen solid and it's just going to be a boiling snow type of week. Just trying to figure out where I can cut weight... right now my gear weighs 72 lbs and I'm a little afraid it's going to murder me going up and down those hills.

 

[zpooch]

Yeah you'll want to cut that 72lbs way down. Is that factoring in water?

 

[thebearslayer]

Yeah you'll want to cut that 72lbs way down. Is that factoring in water?

72 lbs considers every piece of equipment I'm planning on hiking in with. Tent, rifle, water, extra clothing layers... all the way down to including my iPhone, headlamp, knife, and game bags. And everything in between. I'd like to get the weight down but I've been through the list dozens of times and I don't see anything else I should take off the list. I could spend a ton of money on all new super-lightweight gear but that isn't in the budget right now.

 

[EYJONAS!]

As far as bears go there's definitely an opportunity to run into one no doubt. I know lots of guys that cut tracks in the snow and see them a time or two but usually they're denning up and not wandering to far. I'd just bring your rifle and keep it in your mind that they're out there.... even in the snow

 

[Bluejeep]

72 lbs considers every piece of equipment I'm planning on hiking in with. Tent, rifle, water, extra clothing layers... all the way down to including my iPhone, headlamp, knife, and game bags. And everything in between. I'd like to get the weight down but I've been through the list dozens of times and I don't see anything else I should take off the list. I could spend a ton of money on all new super-lightweight gear but that isn't in the budget right now.

The best weight to cut is what's around your gut. Some guys could save some serious weight in that area.

Two years ago I was about 90 pounds heavier then I am now. I still hunted and had fun, but now I can go further, longer, and with less pain.

 

[kad11]

72 lbs considers every piece of equipment I'm planning on hiking in with. Tent, rifle, water, extra clothing layers... all the way down to including my iPhone, headlamp, knife, and game bags. And everything in between. I'd like to get the weight down but I've been through the list dozens of times and I don't see anything else I should take off the list. I could spend a ton of money on all new super-lightweight gear but that isn't in the budget right now.

Does that weight include food and winter-specific gear like 4-season tent, snowshoes, crampons, and ice axe? If so, I think that weight is probably reasonable.

I'd plan on using a stove to melt snow (white gas works best; Jetboil works well too if you warm the fuel up inside your jacket) combined with tablets for disinfection.

As already mentioned, I wouldn't plan on packing camp more than a couple miles under typical November conditions.