When I started this thread (way back in May) I was hoping to find one or two fellow Campfire hunters, who had hunted Bighorns in or were very familiar with the Laramie unit in Wyoming. To be able to pick the brains of someone with local (and current) knowledge ... getting answers to serious questions, available at the speed-o-light (OK, at the speed of the Inner-net) would be invaluable, for a DIY hunter. As Ken Howell used to say ... “There’s some pretty Fart-Smellers on the CampFire”. I had no idea it would turn into a nearly 5-month odyssey.
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I want to personally thank those who responded with positive suggestions and/or answered specific questions we had. I knew that Chris (even pushing 60), was the real-deal as a hunter and determined to make his sheep-hunt a success ... not some Wanna-be flatlander from New-York-Ciddy, who needed to be pampered and led by the hand, to a Ram (potentially bedded on private property) that he was then told to “Shoot”.

While some of the initial responses to our requests were along the lines of the infamous ... “You can’t get there from here.” ... we simply took that as a warning that: “This wasn’t going to be an easy hunt.” ... and not to brush it off. That the responders just didn’t know our level of dedication and emphasis on pre-hunt preparation wasn’t a concern. To be doing prep simultaneously, for two trophy hunts, whose seasons overlapped and were both over 1,400 miles from home, was a blessing and a handicap. No matter how many Bull Elk, Deer, Bears, Speed-goats, Cougars or Coyotes you have notched on your stock ... Bighorn Rams “are” different ... (and addicting).
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Solving the many riddle(s) of hunting Bighorns, was a little like being a good (experienced) puzzle solver. You know, the box says on the cover, that it has 250 pieces inside and they show a completed photo, of a monster Muley ... The difference here was that there were 1,000 pieces in this puzzle ... there was no photo of a Ram on the cover ... and you had to assemble it ... with all the pieces turned upside down ... then when you think you have it solved, turn it over. If it’s not right ... someone comes in, takes it all apart, shakes the pieces in the box and you start all over again.

I’d especially like to thank wyoelk, Jaguar, WyoCoyoteHunter, Broomd and test1328, for adding important pieces (and content) to the assembling of this puzzle. Their cautions about checker boarded lands, Sheep (Ram) behavior and how it changes with the weather, seasons and the rut, along with other preparations/cautions we needed to heed, were taken to heart. No way would it have been as successful without their inputs. In the early season (1st hunt) Chris and his team spotted 8 rams ... tried to put the hurt on a couple potential shooters and yet were consistently hammered by the poor weather. The weather also caused him to cut-short the second attempt, with his brother ... and yet the lure of taking a Ram (and the fact that he left the travel-trailer over there), drew him back for his solo hunt during Part-3 and a final closure. He recorded 10,700 miles on his trucks odo ... doing the AZ-Elk and 3 Wyoming trips ... but when he’s sitting in the rest home ... the Stories he will be able to tell !
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I was asked to hold back on posting a photo of his ram any earlier, as he was considering doing a 2-hunt (DIY) article for one of the magazines, but has decided to pass. Instead, he’s spending all his spare time, building his own home (DIY of course) and studying the harvest stats, scouting reports and preference-point levels in 7 Western states, so he will know where to apply, for some 2017 tags. Note: He didn’t pick the Laramie-unit this year ... by chance. He has an entire room at his place, dedicated to out-of-state hunting ... what’s hot, how unit harvests are trending, application deadlines, etc.
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Now that the season is over ... it would be nice to know how the Elk Mtn. guides 2nd client did and see any photos of their Rams ... and also learn how many total rams were taken (believe it is 4 ? of the 8 tag-holders) ... (which would be below average ?).

... Silver Bullet

“ It’s dirty ... because I drive-it ! ”