MT Bighorn Sheep - Better run for cover
- Thread starter Big Fin
- Start date
Nemont
Well-known member
That is not how I saw this going down at all. Terrible deal.
Nemont
Nemont
elk_hunter
Active member
Oh man...that does make the stomach turn for sure. Dang, how disappointing!
Five rams a mile east, two rams half mile west, and five more to the northwest. Some good ones in the groups, just not sure if they are good enough, given what Vaughn has walked away from.
Heading west to check them out.
Heading west to check them out.
sweetnectar
New member
Vaughn, shoot something. Those rams are solid.
MNHunter
Well-known member
i woulda shot the long one instead of hank the tank....my own personal opionion of course
Horn Seeker
New member
Wow...Hank is a Pig... too bad....
The long one is spectacular.....
The long one is spectacular.....
I hope i'm wrong but i'm with shoots-straight. The blood in the nostrils indicative of a lung shot. Something rotten in denmark. I hope if this was a poaching situation they hang them by the ba!!$
On a side note, I dig that long horned one. He is just way cool. Character does more for me than score
On a side note, I dig that long horned one. He is just way cool. Character does more for me than score
Well, Vaughn still has his tag in his pocket. We saw 35 rams today, and I would guess over a dozen of them would exceed 180. As stupid/lazy as this sounds, I have grown tired of taking pics of these big rams.
FWP wardens came and did the investigation of Hank the Tank today. They found a blood trail leading up from the lower part of the canyon. They concluded he had been shot, either by a hunter who did not follow up his shot, or someone who planned to come back and get him at a later date.
TBone, your observation was right on target. When there is blood in the nose, they attribute that to a lung injury, something I had never thought of, as logical as your statement is. Once they saw that, they went looking for a blood trail and found one. The ram did not appear to travel very far, which would make it hard for me to believe a tagholder would walk away from that kind of ram, without looking very closely, and since it didn't travel far, was probably hit very good. Hmmmmm.
Today was a very long day. Lots of miles and lots of elevation gained and foregiven. Feet are sore, but we are ready for tomorrow.
We did find the really long-horned ram this afternoon. We put a stalk on him and had him and his rams at 146 yards, but they were huddled in a group, and did not present a clear shot. My God, is he ever impressive at that range. Wow.
Good news is that we bumped them out of the drainage, 500 vertical feet up to a bench where we have seen a lot of sheep. That was a little bit before dark. Guess where we will be in the morning?
After Vaughn saw that ram, he stated he would find that ram to be a great conclusion for the weeks of time he has spent up here. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can relocate that band of six rams in the morning, and get a good stalk on them.
Way to tired to type much more. Will try to find a cell connection out in the hills to post updates while hunting, but such service is not very common in an area of this remoteness and topography.
FWP wardens came and did the investigation of Hank the Tank today. They found a blood trail leading up from the lower part of the canyon. They concluded he had been shot, either by a hunter who did not follow up his shot, or someone who planned to come back and get him at a later date.
TBone, your observation was right on target. When there is blood in the nose, they attribute that to a lung injury, something I had never thought of, as logical as your statement is. Once they saw that, they went looking for a blood trail and found one. The ram did not appear to travel very far, which would make it hard for me to believe a tagholder would walk away from that kind of ram, without looking very closely, and since it didn't travel far, was probably hit very good. Hmmmmm.
Today was a very long day. Lots of miles and lots of elevation gained and foregiven. Feet are sore, but we are ready for tomorrow.
We did find the really long-horned ram this afternoon. We put a stalk on him and had him and his rams at 146 yards, but they were huddled in a group, and did not present a clear shot. My God, is he ever impressive at that range. Wow.
Good news is that we bumped them out of the drainage, 500 vertical feet up to a bench where we have seen a lot of sheep. That was a little bit before dark. Guess where we will be in the morning?
After Vaughn saw that ram, he stated he would find that ram to be a great conclusion for the weeks of time he has spent up here. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can relocate that band of six rams in the morning, and get a good stalk on them.
Way to tired to type much more. Will try to find a cell connection out in the hills to post updates while hunting, but such service is not very common in an area of this remoteness and topography.
thecrittergitter
Well-known member
Boy, such a horrible way to see ol Hank the Tank go. I hope whoever pulled that crap has his boat sink in the middle of the missouri...............sure hope someone can put a lead on the guy who did this. I have no patience for a$$HOLES like that. I actually just wrote a statement that is going to put one guy down for good. He shot a 350+ bull and cut just the head off and left the rest. Zach and I ran into the guy while packing Zach's elk off the mountain.
Good luck to Vauhn
Good luck to Vauhn
For those of you who would have shot the long-horned ram, so would have I. And, today, Vaughn shot it. It took two attempts, after the previous attempt of last night.
We found them bedded no more than five hundred yards from where we left them last night. We dropped off the ridge to make a stalk on them. We had about a mile to travel. When we got to where we could see them, they were gone. Vaughn noticed them heading southwest. We waited until they bedded, then climbed out of the bottom, and drove to within a half mile of where we saw them bed down.
Once we walked over to the edge, we could see five rams bedded in the middle, almost unapproachable for a shot, from this angle. It was decided to move east, drop into the deepest drainage, then climb back out in hopes that we would be able to shoot them before they saw us. If they dropped off the ridge to climb back up any of the surrounding ridges, we would have 200 yard shooting in all directions.
Off we went, with cameras in tow. It took the better part of an hour to pick our way down the faces and to the channel we thought would allow us to climb back on the level with the rams. It was some steep stuff, and staying quiet was impossible.
When we got to the channel, we climbed out and to our benefit, the ridge had a slight rise to it, giving us some protection to get a little closer. From our glassing above, we knew that the long guy, who Vaughn called, "Flare.," was farthest east.
We stopped before peaking over the ridge, thinking we may have come out about a hundred yards from the rams. We were south of them, and the wind was blowing east to west, so we were in pretty good shape. Before going any further, we did our pre-flight checklist on the cameras - new tapes, new batteries, audio check on all three mics, cleaned the lenses, and went through the shooting sequence with Vaughn.
Normally, we have two camera guys. In this case, because this hunt popped up at the last minute, only one of them could make it. Fin became camera guy number two. Wow, the pressure was greater than when I am the trigger guy. If you see any bad video in this episode, it is from my camera.
As we neared the rams, we knew we were getting close. Almost too close for filming. The lip below us was steep and I could not locate the rams. As soon as I relaxed, thinking they had somehow blown out, Vaughn pointed to a ram moving straight away. He was all alone,and was a big ram. But, he was heavily broomed on one side, so not Flare.
Low and right, the other four rams dropped out of sight. We raced forward and set up, knowing if they came out of the drainage, we would have 150 yard shooting. They did exactly as planned. And this is when it got really interesting.
Our filming strategy is to have one camera tight on the animal and one camera wide on the shooter. That allows us to get the close up when the animal is hit, and get the shooters reaction, as it happens.
We set up, on the finger of the ridge, with a few small pines in low and in front of us. As the rams came up from the bottom, the pines were in the way of Loren, who was the "tight on the animal" shot. Vaughn was ready to shoot, but we could not get good filming lanes. I had it easy. I was just to Vaughn's right, with the camera rolling on his actions.
Everytime the rams would move, Loren would move to get a clear angle. Then Vaughn would have to move, as the rams were now out of his shooting lane. This continued for over a minute as the rams milled around the opposing ridge, and we tried to coordinate filming and shooting lanes with the movement of the rams. I was sure the rams would bolt and we would cost Vaughn the ram of his dreams.
Finally, Loren gave Vaughn the "take 'em" command. Vaughn was remarkably steady. He held and held and held, until I thought the rams were going to get away. He was waiting for Flare to clear the other rams and present the shot he needed.
Vaughn squeezed his .270, and the smack of a bullet echoed through the drainage. Good hit. The ram staggered and swayed, looking very ill. Vaughn was trying to get another shot, but his gun jammed. First time we have had that happen on an episode. He frantically is trying to remove the bullet that is wedged in the magazine, while we are yelling "Hit him again, hit him again." I am sure our commands were doing nothing to ease Vaughn's concerns.
Finally, he jacked a shell in. The ram was standing broadside on the ridgeline. Vaughn shot again, and the ram dropped instantly. I was sure that he had hit him in the spine. We watched the ram kick and struggle and Vaughn readied for a final shot. About the time Vaughn was ready to shoot, the ram found the energy to rise to his feet, facing straight away from us. He hobbled over the ridge and down to the backside that would take him to the very bottom.
Vaughn cussed himself for not dropping the ram with the first shot. Later inspection would show two direct shoulder hits. As we raced over to the next ridge, Vaughn spotted the ram far below. He worked his way down, and when we got there, the ram was still gasping. A final shot finished him where he was laying. They are one of the toughest critters I have ever seen.
It was now time for a big sigh of relief. I was so happy for Vaughn, and inside, very happy for us, as the extra elements of filming did not ruin this chance at this great ram. Vaughn had hunted for twenty-one days, and this ram was well deserved, after all the bad luck he had encountered with Tank being shot a day or two before he had returned.
I can see why sheep hunting is addictive. For whatever reason, Montana has rams that are mind boggling. Like the SW states have huge elk, the midwest has huge whitetails, the rams of Montana are almost prehistoric. This guy is no exception.
I will post these pictures of one happy hunter. This is probably the most beautiful ram I have ever seen. He will make an impressive mount. He lived in these breaks and coulees, and even though he is a great ram, is probably not the biggest ram Vaughn saw on this hunt. If any of you ask me what unit, I will lie and tell you some other unit, in my attempt to keep my miniscule drawing odds where they are.
Enough of my ramblings. Here are some pics of Vaughn and his ram. A great ram, and a well-deserved ram for a great hunter.
(Excuse Loren's camera imposing on this pic, in the upper right hand corner. Hard to keep those camera guys out of the frame.)
What are the odds that we would stumble into another 195+ ram laying dead in the hills today? About 1 in a million. Well, this is what we found on our way to the trucks. He is a true smoker. I counted ten growth rings. We put him back in the sage and took coordinates for the wardens to come and find him. He has been reported to FWP, and they have picked him up. I am curious to see what he would measure. We will stop by to get Vaughn's sheep plugged tomorrow, and I hope we get the low down on this other dead ram. He has been dead for some time, so who knows what killed him.
Loren holding the ram for a frontal view.
A few other views. Mass and length galore. Too bad a hunter didn't get him.
We found them bedded no more than five hundred yards from where we left them last night. We dropped off the ridge to make a stalk on them. We had about a mile to travel. When we got to where we could see them, they were gone. Vaughn noticed them heading southwest. We waited until they bedded, then climbed out of the bottom, and drove to within a half mile of where we saw them bed down.
Once we walked over to the edge, we could see five rams bedded in the middle, almost unapproachable for a shot, from this angle. It was decided to move east, drop into the deepest drainage, then climb back out in hopes that we would be able to shoot them before they saw us. If they dropped off the ridge to climb back up any of the surrounding ridges, we would have 200 yard shooting in all directions.
Off we went, with cameras in tow. It took the better part of an hour to pick our way down the faces and to the channel we thought would allow us to climb back on the level with the rams. It was some steep stuff, and staying quiet was impossible.
When we got to the channel, we climbed out and to our benefit, the ridge had a slight rise to it, giving us some protection to get a little closer. From our glassing above, we knew that the long guy, who Vaughn called, "Flare.," was farthest east.
We stopped before peaking over the ridge, thinking we may have come out about a hundred yards from the rams. We were south of them, and the wind was blowing east to west, so we were in pretty good shape. Before going any further, we did our pre-flight checklist on the cameras - new tapes, new batteries, audio check on all three mics, cleaned the lenses, and went through the shooting sequence with Vaughn.
Normally, we have two camera guys. In this case, because this hunt popped up at the last minute, only one of them could make it. Fin became camera guy number two. Wow, the pressure was greater than when I am the trigger guy. If you see any bad video in this episode, it is from my camera.
As we neared the rams, we knew we were getting close. Almost too close for filming. The lip below us was steep and I could not locate the rams. As soon as I relaxed, thinking they had somehow blown out, Vaughn pointed to a ram moving straight away. He was all alone,and was a big ram. But, he was heavily broomed on one side, so not Flare.
Low and right, the other four rams dropped out of sight. We raced forward and set up, knowing if they came out of the drainage, we would have 150 yard shooting. They did exactly as planned. And this is when it got really interesting.
Our filming strategy is to have one camera tight on the animal and one camera wide on the shooter. That allows us to get the close up when the animal is hit, and get the shooters reaction, as it happens.
We set up, on the finger of the ridge, with a few small pines in low and in front of us. As the rams came up from the bottom, the pines were in the way of Loren, who was the "tight on the animal" shot. Vaughn was ready to shoot, but we could not get good filming lanes. I had it easy. I was just to Vaughn's right, with the camera rolling on his actions.
Everytime the rams would move, Loren would move to get a clear angle. Then Vaughn would have to move, as the rams were now out of his shooting lane. This continued for over a minute as the rams milled around the opposing ridge, and we tried to coordinate filming and shooting lanes with the movement of the rams. I was sure the rams would bolt and we would cost Vaughn the ram of his dreams.
Finally, Loren gave Vaughn the "take 'em" command. Vaughn was remarkably steady. He held and held and held, until I thought the rams were going to get away. He was waiting for Flare to clear the other rams and present the shot he needed.
Vaughn squeezed his .270, and the smack of a bullet echoed through the drainage. Good hit. The ram staggered and swayed, looking very ill. Vaughn was trying to get another shot, but his gun jammed. First time we have had that happen on an episode. He frantically is trying to remove the bullet that is wedged in the magazine, while we are yelling "Hit him again, hit him again." I am sure our commands were doing nothing to ease Vaughn's concerns.
Finally, he jacked a shell in. The ram was standing broadside on the ridgeline. Vaughn shot again, and the ram dropped instantly. I was sure that he had hit him in the spine. We watched the ram kick and struggle and Vaughn readied for a final shot. About the time Vaughn was ready to shoot, the ram found the energy to rise to his feet, facing straight away from us. He hobbled over the ridge and down to the backside that would take him to the very bottom.
Vaughn cussed himself for not dropping the ram with the first shot. Later inspection would show two direct shoulder hits. As we raced over to the next ridge, Vaughn spotted the ram far below. He worked his way down, and when we got there, the ram was still gasping. A final shot finished him where he was laying. They are one of the toughest critters I have ever seen.
It was now time for a big sigh of relief. I was so happy for Vaughn, and inside, very happy for us, as the extra elements of filming did not ruin this chance at this great ram. Vaughn had hunted for twenty-one days, and this ram was well deserved, after all the bad luck he had encountered with Tank being shot a day or two before he had returned.
I can see why sheep hunting is addictive. For whatever reason, Montana has rams that are mind boggling. Like the SW states have huge elk, the midwest has huge whitetails, the rams of Montana are almost prehistoric. This guy is no exception.
I will post these pictures of one happy hunter. This is probably the most beautiful ram I have ever seen. He will make an impressive mount. He lived in these breaks and coulees, and even though he is a great ram, is probably not the biggest ram Vaughn saw on this hunt. If any of you ask me what unit, I will lie and tell you some other unit, in my attempt to keep my miniscule drawing odds where they are.
Enough of my ramblings. Here are some pics of Vaughn and his ram. A great ram, and a well-deserved ram for a great hunter.
(Excuse Loren's camera imposing on this pic, in the upper right hand corner. Hard to keep those camera guys out of the frame.)
What are the odds that we would stumble into another 195+ ram laying dead in the hills today? About 1 in a million. Well, this is what we found on our way to the trucks. He is a true smoker. I counted ten growth rings. We put him back in the sage and took coordinates for the wardens to come and find him. He has been reported to FWP, and they have picked him up. I am curious to see what he would measure. We will stop by to get Vaughn's sheep plugged tomorrow, and I hope we get the low down on this other dead ram. He has been dead for some time, so who knows what killed him.
Loren holding the ram for a frontal view.
A few other views. Mass and length galore. Too bad a hunter didn't get him.
JoseCuervo
New member
Flare is a pretty looking ram. I like him better than the Tank.
Congrats on what is likely to be one of your best episodes.
Congrats on what is likely to be one of your best episodes.
upper deck
Member
Great job guys. Great looking ram.
csutton7
Active member
awesome--congrats to all, 'specially Vaughn
elk_hunter
Active member
Yes; congrats to you all, especially Vaughn. What a gorgeous, mature sheep.
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