Montana Bighorns in May

[LuckyMike]

Yesterday I took myself for a hike on the outer face of the Rocky Mountain Front in search of bands of rams at the upper reaches of their winter range before they head back into their summer and fall range. It was a spectacular day with solid sunshine and very little wind an nobody around. Only problem was the 75+ degrees which made digiscoping at higher power pretty tough.




As you can see, the country is spectacular. I found a group of 10-rams at fairly close range and got some reasonably good shots. Note: their winter hair is only partly shed and very faded. That's why they look so scruffy this time of year. Another large group of 30 or so along 10 or 15 in various small groups were much farther away and pictures weren't so great.









The rams in the last two fuzzy pictures were a couple of the best I saw yesterday.

 

[mdunc8]

Very cool. I need to set aside a few days to explore that country.

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Great day on the mountain i would say, really enjoyed those pictures.

 

[Kneetopia]

Thanks, nice pics

 

[HighWildFree]

What is your digiscoping setup, Mike?

 

[Stubaby]

Sweet. Thanks for sharing.

 

[1_pointer]

Great looking country! Thanks for sharing. My wife hates it when I see pics like that. It makes me not fun to be around for a few days as it makes where I leave seem really sucky to me...

Looking forward to seeing any more pics you have!

 

[LuckyMike]

What is your digiscoping setup, Mike?

I use a Zeiss 15-45 power scope with the Zeiss Digiscope Bracket attachment which allows me to swing my camera to the side while I look directly thru scope. My camera is a Sony RX100 which I'm still learning to use. Using a cheap tripod and need to upgrade.

 

[mr_steve]

Mike, how come higher temps is bad for digiscoping? I have never done it and just bought a bracket in hopes of trying it this week.

Great pics though! Thanks for sharing.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Mike, how come higher temps is bad for digiscoping? I have never done it and just bought a bracket in hopes of trying it this week.

Great pics though! Thanks for sharing.

Miraging

 

[----]

Awesome photos Mike, thanks for sharing.

It's amazing to me how many of our bighorns can trace their lineage back to the front.

 

[Festus]

Truly awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Makes watching turkeys and whitetails out my office window seem trivial.
...And just another thread that gets me asking myself 'Why don't I live out West?'

 

[TheJason]

Any day spent in that country is awesome. Any day without wind is even more awesome.

Nice pictures.

 

[Yotkilr]

Awesome pics. Thanks

 

[putm2sleep]

Kickass pics! What a great day!

 

[L. I. Yankee]

Awesome pics of the greatest animal on the continent.......

 

[LuckyMike]

Mike, how come higher temps is bad for digiscoping? I have never done it and just bought a bracket in hopes of trying it this week.

Great pics though! Thanks for sharing.

It's the heat waves. No tonly a problem for digiscoping but also makes it difficult to see good detail at long distance and high power. The higher the power the worse the problem is if the air is heated up.

 

[LuckyMike]

Awesome photos Mike, thanks for sharing.

It's amazing to me how many of our bighorns can trace their lineage back to the front.

This is something that is personally important to me. I've spent some time in the country from Sun River north to Dupuyer Creek off and on since the 1970's. My friend and I used to compare our experiences in the back country with stories of hunting Bighorns in Alberta written by Jack O'Conner.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Beautiful terrain, their coats may be a bit scruffy but what a great way to spend the day. Thanks for sharing!

 

[kiwi hunter]

as ive said before some truly beautifull country out there,,great pics of a great animal,,the only comparable is an argali