I was the lucky recipient of a desert bighorn tag down near Tonopah, Nevada. Couldn't believe my luck but I wasn't going to triple check anything either, just in case the powers that be decided they'd given me one by accident . . . I just grabbed my tag and ran with it.
I'm not the greatest story teller but I'll do my best and throw some photos in. Anyone who was along is welcome to add some thoughts and pics of their own.
Having never hunted sheep, and knowing next to nothing about them, I thoroughly enjoyed the learning curve. Old friends and new were patient as they shared a ton of knowledge. When I was finally able to spend a good number of days down scouting it was a blast to put my learning to the test and come up with a couple of contenders. After spending a day and a half looking in a couple of less populated sheep areas, I found an area that had an abundance of sheep. (Photo isn't the best quality but each of those white butts is a sheep)
There was quite a bit of rut activity going on which helped keep them in large groups.
And my favorite ram of the trip.
I passed around several photos of this ram and became pretty certain he was exactly what I thought he was. BIG and OLD. Especially for the unit I was hunting, this ram was everything I could have hoped for. There were a couple other possibles but he became my main focus.
Fast forward to the week before the hunt. Several good friends had cleared their schedules and were able to come along and help out on the hunt. Probably more for the opportunity to hunt sheep than the chance to hang out with me, but I'll take what I can get.
Pulled into camp 5 days early and we spent most of each day keeping tabs on this particular ram. It became apparent quite fast that I wasn't the only tag holder (8 total for the unit) who had seen this ram as others were in the area. We were able to find a couple of other options for shooter rams, but we also confirmed that this particular ram was the main focus of the hunt. As the hunt drew closer and vehicle traffic increased this ram got more and more nervous. A mile away and 1000 feet off the valley floor and he would snap to attention anytime he could see a vehicle.
The day before the opener we could not locate him. We spent the day glassing from several vantage points to no avail until very last light when he was seen in a cliff band before rolling back into the junipers. Opening morning found us glassing from various vantage points hoping to catch a glimpse so that we weren't going up to his haven blind, but with other hunters in the area and a good starting point from the previous night, we climbed up into his home turf. We held tight, glassed, still hunted, and slowly covered his core area throughout the day while friends spotted from below and we just could not turn him up.
An interesting discussion that night as we discussed the options . . . Had he just quit the country that we knew him to frequent? Did we overlook something? Should we do the same thing tomorrow? Chase the second choice ram? Ultimately I made the call to stay on this ram as he was "the one", and we weren't going to settle for another unless we had to.
Day 2 of the season brought a few hours of looking before a good friend turned him up just by chance, on the opposite side of the drainage and with 5 other rams. He had slipped through, possibly during the night but definitely without being seen. After we had him located up in some new country a circuitous stalk was planned to climb up to him and close the distance.
The stalk was everything I could have hoped for. We climbed, without being seen or winded and checked the sheep from an opposite ridge once we were up in their area. We ranged them at 700 yards, closed to 620, then 520 and ultimately 340 where I was able to lay down under a tree while Tyler filmed and execute a great shot.
Some photos of the ram as well as the crew, without whom this sheep hunt would have likely been less successful and certainly less enjoyable.
Pointing out where I shot from.
Can't thank these guys enough. Nor the couple of folks who had already had to return home to tend to other matters.
The biologist who checked the ram in aged him at 9.5 years old. He had only a tooth and a half left and not much fat on his body.
Incredible hunt, friends, and for me, the trophy of a lifetime. This hunt will be hard to top.
I'm not the greatest story teller but I'll do my best and throw some photos in. Anyone who was along is welcome to add some thoughts and pics of their own.
Having never hunted sheep, and knowing next to nothing about them, I thoroughly enjoyed the learning curve. Old friends and new were patient as they shared a ton of knowledge. When I was finally able to spend a good number of days down scouting it was a blast to put my learning to the test and come up with a couple of contenders. After spending a day and a half looking in a couple of less populated sheep areas, I found an area that had an abundance of sheep. (Photo isn't the best quality but each of those white butts is a sheep)
There was quite a bit of rut activity going on which helped keep them in large groups.
And my favorite ram of the trip.
I passed around several photos of this ram and became pretty certain he was exactly what I thought he was. BIG and OLD. Especially for the unit I was hunting, this ram was everything I could have hoped for. There were a couple other possibles but he became my main focus.
Fast forward to the week before the hunt. Several good friends had cleared their schedules and were able to come along and help out on the hunt. Probably more for the opportunity to hunt sheep than the chance to hang out with me, but I'll take what I can get.
Pulled into camp 5 days early and we spent most of each day keeping tabs on this particular ram. It became apparent quite fast that I wasn't the only tag holder (8 total for the unit) who had seen this ram as others were in the area. We were able to find a couple of other options for shooter rams, but we also confirmed that this particular ram was the main focus of the hunt. As the hunt drew closer and vehicle traffic increased this ram got more and more nervous. A mile away and 1000 feet off the valley floor and he would snap to attention anytime he could see a vehicle.
The day before the opener we could not locate him. We spent the day glassing from several vantage points to no avail until very last light when he was seen in a cliff band before rolling back into the junipers. Opening morning found us glassing from various vantage points hoping to catch a glimpse so that we weren't going up to his haven blind, but with other hunters in the area and a good starting point from the previous night, we climbed up into his home turf. We held tight, glassed, still hunted, and slowly covered his core area throughout the day while friends spotted from below and we just could not turn him up.
An interesting discussion that night as we discussed the options . . . Had he just quit the country that we knew him to frequent? Did we overlook something? Should we do the same thing tomorrow? Chase the second choice ram? Ultimately I made the call to stay on this ram as he was "the one", and we weren't going to settle for another unless we had to.
Day 2 of the season brought a few hours of looking before a good friend turned him up just by chance, on the opposite side of the drainage and with 5 other rams. He had slipped through, possibly during the night but definitely without being seen. After we had him located up in some new country a circuitous stalk was planned to climb up to him and close the distance.
The stalk was everything I could have hoped for. We climbed, without being seen or winded and checked the sheep from an opposite ridge once we were up in their area. We ranged them at 700 yards, closed to 620, then 520 and ultimately 340 where I was able to lay down under a tree while Tyler filmed and execute a great shot.
Some photos of the ram as well as the crew, without whom this sheep hunt would have likely been less successful and certainly less enjoyable.
Pointing out where I shot from.
Can't thank these guys enough. Nor the couple of folks who had already had to return home to tend to other matters.
The biologist who checked the ram in aged him at 9.5 years old. He had only a tooth and a half left and not much fat on his body.
Incredible hunt, friends, and for me, the trophy of a lifetime. This hunt will be hard to top.
