(Note – before reading, please see my first post about this hunt here ).
PROLOGUE
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the health, finances, and physical ability I have that allow me to go on this adventure. Thank you for the safety that has accompanied me so far. Please provide me with strength and good judgment today.
With the weather looking how it is, it looks like today might be my only shot. So… anything you could do to help out would be great.
Amen.
I cringed as I stood up from the bedside and began preparing for the day. I don’t like praying for success on a hunt. I frequently question whether there is a god out there listening at all. And if there is, I’m not sure it’s right to ask him for something so trivial when there are people around the world with real problems and serious concerns.
Though not at the level of many of the real problems and concerns of others, I’ll say that this hunt was an important one for me. I had spent 8 points to draw it, in addition to the cost of a nonresident sheep permit, gas money for what would be nearly 3,000 miles of driving when all was said and done, plus other supplies and incidentals. At the last minute, I’d added a hotel room to that list of expenses. Camping out alone in stormy weather, with lows in the 20s, just didn’t sound appealing when things came right down to it.
It was a lot of time, money, and effort to throw at a ewe tag, but at the end of the day, I guess I’m a sheep nut, and one who would rather go sheep hunting than sit on the sidelines and wait decades for a ram tag that would quite possibly never come.
My first foray into sheep hunting occurred in 2019, when I applied for and drew a ewe tag in Colorado. I was able to harvest a great animal on day 2 of the hunt, right before a huge thunderstorm blew in and blanketed the mountain for the next several days. Here she is.
My only real regret with the Colorado hunt was not having enough fun with it in the moment. Though I look back on that hunt now with great fondness, at the time, I let the pressure of an expensive and uncommon hunt get to me at times. I’d have had some more fun if I had just chilled out a little bit.
My goal going into this ewe hunt was to relax and enjoy it more. However, I was having a hard time doing just that. I was racing the clock and feeling like I was in just a little bit over my head.
I gave my first post about this hunt a fairly arrogant title. I had pictured a fair weather hunt with a friend or two and a pretty good shot at success. This time around, I was feeling decidedly less ready. I would be making this trip alone, gunning for success within a tight window, and all in an area I hadn’t scouted before. I was putting full faith in the advice I’d received on a call from a Montana sheep biologist. I had no doubt he was offering me solid advice, but I also know that sheep are where you find them. Heaven only knew whether there was even a sheep within miles of my chosen destination.
Hey, at least I was here trying. I loaded up the car in the pre-dawn darkness, making sure I had enough food, water, blankets, and warm clothing to survive for a few days if I ended up stuck in the middle of nowhere. Snow from a recent storm was melting, and the whole area was soaked. The roads would probably be horrendous. I started the truck, wondering what I had gotten myself into. I soon ran into fog. How fitting.
As I made the long drive to my chosen destination, I pondered on all the mistakes I had made and the things I’d done wrong when preparing for this hunt. This is the story of the hunt in its entirety – the things I did well, and the silly mistakes I made. I could simply post a few more pictures and call it good, but how valuable would that be? I’m hoping newer or less experienced hunters can read this and learn a thing or two.
Besides that, our poor buddy Marshian deserves a break. My turn to get laughed at.
Here we go…
PROLOGUE
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the health, finances, and physical ability I have that allow me to go on this adventure. Thank you for the safety that has accompanied me so far. Please provide me with strength and good judgment today.
With the weather looking how it is, it looks like today might be my only shot. So… anything you could do to help out would be great.
Amen.
I cringed as I stood up from the bedside and began preparing for the day. I don’t like praying for success on a hunt. I frequently question whether there is a god out there listening at all. And if there is, I’m not sure it’s right to ask him for something so trivial when there are people around the world with real problems and serious concerns.
Though not at the level of many of the real problems and concerns of others, I’ll say that this hunt was an important one for me. I had spent 8 points to draw it, in addition to the cost of a nonresident sheep permit, gas money for what would be nearly 3,000 miles of driving when all was said and done, plus other supplies and incidentals. At the last minute, I’d added a hotel room to that list of expenses. Camping out alone in stormy weather, with lows in the 20s, just didn’t sound appealing when things came right down to it.
It was a lot of time, money, and effort to throw at a ewe tag, but at the end of the day, I guess I’m a sheep nut, and one who would rather go sheep hunting than sit on the sidelines and wait decades for a ram tag that would quite possibly never come.
My first foray into sheep hunting occurred in 2019, when I applied for and drew a ewe tag in Colorado. I was able to harvest a great animal on day 2 of the hunt, right before a huge thunderstorm blew in and blanketed the mountain for the next several days. Here she is.
My only real regret with the Colorado hunt was not having enough fun with it in the moment. Though I look back on that hunt now with great fondness, at the time, I let the pressure of an expensive and uncommon hunt get to me at times. I’d have had some more fun if I had just chilled out a little bit.
My goal going into this ewe hunt was to relax and enjoy it more. However, I was having a hard time doing just that. I was racing the clock and feeling like I was in just a little bit over my head.
I gave my first post about this hunt a fairly arrogant title. I had pictured a fair weather hunt with a friend or two and a pretty good shot at success. This time around, I was feeling decidedly less ready. I would be making this trip alone, gunning for success within a tight window, and all in an area I hadn’t scouted before. I was putting full faith in the advice I’d received on a call from a Montana sheep biologist. I had no doubt he was offering me solid advice, but I also know that sheep are where you find them. Heaven only knew whether there was even a sheep within miles of my chosen destination.
Hey, at least I was here trying. I loaded up the car in the pre-dawn darkness, making sure I had enough food, water, blankets, and warm clothing to survive for a few days if I ended up stuck in the middle of nowhere. Snow from a recent storm was melting, and the whole area was soaked. The roads would probably be horrendous. I started the truck, wondering what I had gotten myself into. I soon ran into fog. How fitting.
As I made the long drive to my chosen destination, I pondered on all the mistakes I had made and the things I’d done wrong when preparing for this hunt. This is the story of the hunt in its entirety – the things I did well, and the silly mistakes I made. I could simply post a few more pictures and call it good, but how valuable would that be? I’m hoping newer or less experienced hunters can read this and learn a thing or two.
Besides that, our poor buddy Marshian deserves a break. My turn to get laughed at.
Here we go…
