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It's finally here!!!!

Well, after 6 hours the rams got up and started feeding. Luckily they came closer to us and when they went behind a small ridge we were able to cut the distance to less than 300 yards. They had no idea we were there and it was shaping up to get interesting. As they fed towards us, the guides were 99.9% sure one of the other rams was 8 and 1/2 years old but it was just too close to call. So it looked like this would be my shot.

The rams fed into some willows and we got set up. First one of the smaller rams fed out. Then, out came the full curl ram. As I aimed the smaller ram stepped in front of him. Then the full curl went back into the willows. More waiting. Finally he stepped out. My guide told me when he turned broadside, to shoot.

Now I know there is no excuse but as I was sitting there waiting for the ram to turn broadside, I could feel a sharp shale rock sticking me in my butt. I had tried several times to reposition but this rock was determined to mess me up. Well, that's my excuse anyway, because my first shot was a complete miss as was my second shot. Luckily my third shot caught the ram right behind the shoulder and he took a couple steps and rolled about 30 yards down the hill.

His 4 buddies didn't know what to do whithout their leader. They stood around just above him for 20 minutes and finally went back to feeding. It was amazing. If there had been another legal ram, we would have had a double for sure. Sorry Justin.

As I walked up to this amazing animal, I had very mixed emotions. It is always difficult for me right after the kill. When it all comes together and you harvest that animal of your dreams, I always feel such respect and appreciation for the life of that animal. As I looked at this beautiful ram, I couldn't help but think of how long I had thought of this exact moment. This will be a moment I will never forget.

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Here is me and my great guide Curtis.

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By the time we got done with pictures it was getting dark. It was going to be a long night. We got the ram caped and quartered and started out.

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It was a long hike out, that's for sure. We finally got back to camp at 3:00 the next morning. Then we just sat around the campfire for over an hour to warm up. It was one of those times you will always remember. We were all exhausted but happy. Especially me.

The next day was rainy and we were stuck in camp. That was all right as we had to take care of the cape and also enjoy some sheep steaks. They were amazing!

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There was a small break in the weather that afternoon and Justin and his guide Ryan flew out for another camp to hunt sheep. It would be 7 days before we would see them.

That night Garrett and his guide got back to camp and Garrett had shot a dandy 55 inch moose with long points. It was a beautiful moose and it made me even more excited to moose hunt.

The next day the weather was worse. We were stuck in camp all day. I was worried that this was not going to be good. Little did I know that this would be that LAST bad weather day we would have. From then on, we had beautiful sunny weather.

Day 5 we awoke to great weather and decided to spike out for the rest of my hunt to look for moose. We loaded up our gear and took off.

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This is where I truly appreciated my Wiggy sleeping bag. I never got cold. It was great.

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Here is the view from our moose mountain.

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We saw moose everyday. We also saw wolves everyday. They are hammering the moose in this area and the outfitter had told us to try to shoot them if we got the chance. I did end up getting some shots at dogs. Some small.

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Some a little bigger.

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Actually, pretty sure my guide got this wolf. We were shooting at long range and I'm just not that lucky.;)
 
We had been seeing what we thought was a good bull for 3 days but he was in a nasty jungle that we just didn't think was penetrable. After waiting for 3 days, I was getting a little antsy and wanted to make a move on him. If we blew it, oh well. Curtis wanted to wait one more day to see if the bull would screw up but he said it was my call. So off we went with about an hour of light left.

We moved into where the bull was and it was even thicker than we thought. We were calling and raking trees and we thought we heard the bull grunt but couldn't be sure. Finally it was apparent we were not going to see the bull in this mess. So we decided to circle around and hopefully at least push the bull into a better area for the next day.

As we came to clearing, I looked above Curtis' head and I could see a GIANT bull moose at the far end of the meadow. I grabbed Curtis' pack and quickly said, "there he is". I pulled up my rifle right as the bull turned to run into the trees. Curtis let out a call and the bull turned for one last look. This would prove his downfall. I squeezed the trigger and heard a thwap and saw the bull drop instantly.

Curtis and I just looked at each other not believing what had just happened. As we crossed the meadow and approached the bull, I was amazed at his size. He was HUGE! At least to me he was. We measured him at 65 inches wide.

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It was going to be another long night but it was worth it. The Northern Lights were incredible that night and it took us until 2:00 AM to get the bull quartered and hung.
 
The next few days were spent packing out the moose and looking for wolves and bears. It was a great way to end a great hunt.

Justin ended up taking a nice ram on the 2nd to last day of his hunt. Unfortunately it didn't leave him enough time to really get after the moose. But, since this was his second trip for sheep (the first being unsuccessful), he was thrilled to be going home with his ram.

Garrett hunted his arse off for the rest of his hunt and just never could find a legal ram. I know it was tough for him to not get a sheep but he gave it his all and has a great moose. I'm sure he'll be back to try again for sheep.

All in all, it was everything I had hoped for times 100. I got to spend 11 days in some of the most beautiful country on the planet and do it with some great friends. I couldn't have asked for more.

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What an excellent trip, with icing of several nice critters. Thanks for sharing the story. That ram and bull are NICE. Congrats!
 
That looks like a great hunt. Lord, I can't go hunting for a weekend and carry that little.
 
congrats AD. nice to be able to fulfill a hunt of a lifetime. especially with excellent critters.
 

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