This is what I would do if I drew a sheep tag.

[dexnrex]

I did draw a sheep license for the east end of the Missouri Breaks. For 25 years I had dreamed about how the hunt would go down if I ever drew.

The Saturday after the draw I scouted one of the core sheep areas of the district. That first trip I only saw 5 smaller rams but enjoyed hiking in the Breaks in June before the prairie dried out.

My next scouting trip into anther core area produced many ewes and lambs but no mature rams.

On my 4th scouting trip I finally found a mature ram. As my expectations were very high, I enjoyed photographing the ram but did not plan to hunt him.

By my next scouting trip the Breaks had dried out but we were in better shape than western Montana. It was an ererie morning, dead calm and thick smoke from the fires in the west. I saw no sheep on that trip.

 

[dexnrex]

On my last scouting trip I explored another of the core areas in the district. In this area I found many more sheep both rams and ewes. After that trip, the last weekend of August I decided I would hunt this area during the early archery portion of the season.

The night before the opener my son had his first football game of the season 250 miles from home. After getting home from the game at 1:00a.m. I didn’t get out until noon on opening day. My plan was to pack a camp 4 miles in and hunt a through the long Labor weekend. On my way out I stopped to for a breather and glasses into the roughs and spotted a band of rams. It was all I could do to talk myself out of pursuing this ram.



Thanks

 

[Mtnhunter1]

And?

Curious to know how the rest of your sheep hunt went, now that it is November and your story ended opening archery!

Mtnhunter

 

[mtmiller]

This is going to be fun. Excellent.

 

[dexnrex]

Not sure where “Thanks” came from. Struggling a bit doing this on my phone.
I spent my first two hunting trips hunting this area seeing lots of sheep and lots of rams, but nothing I wanted to shoot. This was camp in that area.

View attachment 89463

I was putting on an average of 10 miles a day, hike, glass repeat. The early days of the season were warm but thankfully not hot.

Cooling off the dogs.

 

[fishing4sanity]

After that setup you leave us with smelly feet?! Looking forward to more ........ sheep, not feet.

 

[Mtnhunter1]

Beautiful archery Ram! Congrats! Looking forward in reading the story!!

 

[Wapiti Warrior]

I hunted that same area 8 years ago, by myself and loved it! Did shoot an ok ram with my bow the second week of the season.
Can't wait to hear more of your story, it brings back great memories.
John

 

[dexnrex]

Sunrise from my south camp.
View attachment 89480
Sun set on opening day.
View attachment 89481
By the end of the archery only portion of the season I had not seen a ram I wanted to shoot but I had learned a lot. I hunted the first day of the general season just to get an idea of the pressure from the rifle hunters. I came home that evening. That Sunday afternoon I wanted to spend time with my younger son so we went for an afternoon antelope hunt. He doesn’t really have the hunting bug but I’m working on him. We were moving on a herd when a small buck came up behind us. He was not the buck we were looking for but as my son, wearing the speedgoat hat, proceeded to bring the buck into 45 yds all in plain view I figured I better shoot. He was very excited with the entire process. It was a great afternoon.
View attachment 89484
After that the rains began and I was not able to get back after sheep for 3 weeks.
When I did get back out I hunted an area further north. The first morning I finally spotted the type of ram I was looking for. I was able to close to 92 yds but eventually the rams got up and moved off without a shot opportunity.
View attachment 89485
The evening ended with me almost shooting what I thought was the ram above, but I learned the next morning it was a different ram.
Camp that night.
View attachment 89486
The next morning I ran into the ram I almost shot the previous evening and nearly got a shot again but didn’t. On my way out I glasses where I had last seen the original ram and he was still right there. That’s when I realized I almost shot the wrong ram, twice. The heavier ram was now my target ram. I left on a Monday and was back in on Friday. I found the heavy ram later in the morning and by 1:00 moved in to 163 yds. There was just no way to close any closer until they moved. This was only a day hunt and not even that. I had set 3:00 as the time I had to leave to make my older son’s football game. So at 3:00 I walked way from the rams figuring I would get right back on them in the morning.

 

[dexnrex]

As it turned out I lost the heavy ram for most of a week. I glasses and hiked and glasses and hiked but could not find him. I did find another ram that I pursued to no avail.
View attachment 89487
After another trip in which I spent some time at my south camp I went back in to look for the heavy ram. After struggling to find him again he showed up right under my nose and with another nice ram. Again there was no approach for a bow shot so I waited all day until they got up for the evening, only to have them wind me as I was 25’ straight above them.
View attachment 89488
When they busted they took off and the last I saw them they were heading to private ground. I was deflated. Had I been packing a rifle I would have shot the heavy ram that day. I decided it was time to hang up the bow and bring the rifle. On the way out I spotted the “wrong ram” from my previous hunt. I figured since this was likely my last bowhunt I made a play on him only to have him bust me at 83 yds. So, I had decided to use a rifle. Problem was I’m really not a rifle guy. In the last 25 years I’ve probably shot 4 critters with a rifle. Nothing against it, it’s just not my preferred method. So by midweek I was done sulking over the lost opportunity on the heavy ram and decided I would continue to bowhunt. I couldn’t hunt the following Saturday as my son was playing in a playoff football game, again 250 miles away. So Sunday morning I went back in figuring the “wrong ram” was still in the area. I was just short of my glassing spot when I saw 2 white spots on a rocky ridge about 400 yds out. I put up my binos and saw the small ram I had been seeing in the area and below him was the ram I was looking for. They were bedded as rams often are at first light so I waited for them to get up and feed and move into the shade.
View attachment 89490

 

[dexnrex]

The rams fed over the ridge into the shadow where I figured they would bed. I quickly closed the gap and dumped my pack about 50 yds from the ridge. As I was about to close to the ridge I saw big brown horns coming over the ridge straight back to me. The ram saw me and whirled and I heard the thundering hooves and figured it was over. Then I saw the tops of their horns just over the ridge to the right. They had only run about 50 yds and stopped. I sneaked up to the ridge and as I created they trotted further to the right but stopped at the end of the ridge. I ranged the ram at 56 yds, dropped my rangefinder, drew, split my 50 and 60 yd pins and touched off. My 47 yr old eyes lost the arrow before it stuck but it looked, felt and sounded very good. The rams bolted off the end of the ridge so I ran up to see which way they went. I only saw the smaller ram round a corner in the draw below. I gave it the textbook half hour just to be safe. When I went to the point of impact there was no blood but tracks heading down. I follows the first set I saw but no blood so I figured it was the smaller ram. I went back up and found the second set of track and immediately found blood and a few yds further the blood covered arrow. At that point I knew he hadn’t gone far. I followed a great blood trail another 30 yds and found this.
View attachment 89498

 

[Muskeez]

CONGRATS!! Loved following along! I can't see the pics though, can anyone else?

 

[Carnage2011]

I can’t see the pics in tbe last few posts, but I can in the first couple.

 

[TheJason]

I can’t see the pics in tbe last few posts, but I can in the first couple.

Same. Quit teasing....

 

[Schaaf]

Same. Quit teasing....

The struggle is real

 

[dexnrex]

After a struggle pulling the ram out of the hole I spent the rest of the day taking photos, breaking down the ram and packing him out. It was a beautiful day and I killed him at 8:45 so I had time to slow down and enjoy the entire process.








I found the hunt to be much more difficult than I had anticipated, mainly finding mature rams. I hiked a majority of the sheep habitat in the district over the 22 days I spent scouting and hunting. I learned a lot about sheep habits every time I went out. It sucks that now that I know a little about sheep and how they use their habitat I will likely never be able to hunt sheep again, but I am absolutely greatful for the opportunity to hunt them. It was truly the hunt of a lifetime on the tag of a lifetime.

 

[dexnrex]

Sorry for the issues with the pics. I have no idea why they aren’t coming up or why some of them are sideways. Dang technology.

 

[TheJason]

Great archery ram!

 

[Gerald Martin]

Sounds like an amazing hunt. Congrats on a great ram.

 

[mtmiller]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together for us. Something you will never forget. congrasts