Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Let's talk about sheep...

Just a few years ago my Dad lucked out after applying for a very long time in Montana and drew a sheep tag.

I showed up in Montana about a week before we planned on hunting. Dad came down with a hell of a cold and so I decided to scout while he recovered. I looked over a lot of rams in 5 days of scouting. I took quite a bit of video and also took a lot of pictures. Dad and my Brother showed up to hunt, but Dad was still not feeling that well. We looked around the unit the first day and Dad really had a great time just looking the rams over. We never even took his rifle out of the case that day.

Toward evening we saw a group of rams that I'd photographed a couple days prior. Dad recognized the one ram as one that he'd said he liked the best out of the pictures I took. So, we decided to make a run at those rams the next morning.

Heres some pictures I took while scouting:








Heres the ram that my Dad liked the looks of out of all the rams I found while scouting:



The next morning my Brother, Dad, and I took off. It was pretty obvious right away that Dad was still fighting that damn cold. But, we just kept a slow, but steady pace and found ourselves at the top of the drainage where the group of rams had been living the previous several days. I spotted the rams right away...just as a snow squall started. We moved up the ridge as close as we dared and waited. When the snow stopped the best 2 rams in the bunch seperated out from the rest. We got within about 80 yards of the two rams and Dad was getting a little edgy. I calmed him down and told him to take his time and shoot the one in the front. Dad took his time and at the crack of his pre-64 the ram dropped and slid into the bottom.

Turned out being a real nice ram...even though it doesnt make a bit of difference, his ram ended up scoring 183 and change net.

Wont ever forget that hunt either...





[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/newpictures/websize/IMG_0744.JPG[/img]

Thats about as a good as it gets right there....WOW!!!

Cant argue with that...but I'd sure like to see more long-time applicants get those permits.

Oh, and it would be good to hunt white sheep one more time...maybe someday we can put something together.

I sure like the looks of that country you hunted...amazing place.

Drummond,

How can anyone born with a 'trophy radar' feel pressure? I've seen the pics of the trophies you've taken your clients to and man are they monsters! And I know you don't hunt high fenced, ear tagged animals so you must have some magical juju.

On the sheep, I'm personally a half slammer with both thin horns. Did the Stone first b/c I found a really good deal and it was one you can't draw for. Then did a dall with an outfitter who is now being sued by other hunters and the state of Alaska is looking to revoke his license for misrepresentation. So went to NWT the following year and took the dall there. Lots of good mature dalls in the NWT.

Decided to give the bighorn and desert a rest (more like my checkbook) and see if I couldn't draw one of them. Only have 7 points in each of the states... In the meantime did a Lord Derby Eland and Bongo hunt (twice) and had a great time.

My next plan is to go after marco polo and ibex. Note that I'm still putting in for the draws with hopes of getting drawn. I don't make a pot full of money and almost all of my hunts have been reduced priced hunts (the bongo and eland hunts were the last hunts for the year and man was it ever hot with bugs flying everywhere!).

For the guys that posted pics - thanks! Everyone of them is exceptional.

Thanks for the information, Drum. I knew the pricing for these hunts would be in the $50-60K range but I try to keep up on current pricing if possible. You never know when I might hit the lottery. I can certainly appreciate the pressure that type of money could put on a guide/outfitter. It always amazes me just how much people are willing to spend to hunt the animal of their dreams or desires. Sheep hunters are definitely crazy individuals!

Thanks again.....WOW fellas!

Buzz,

What a great write-up. Nice spotter pics and even better shots of you and your brother and dad. Great way to hunt sheep, and it was a dandy!

I can only hope to do so well.

Regards,

Matt

I started hunting sheep back when the Montana Unlimited tag areas were open from the first of September through the end of November, and many years some of the units did not fill their quotas. Unfortunately, I thought those seasons would last forever, and I didn't hunt them too seriously.

I did, however, get lucky a few years and got my rams. The rams in the Unlimited areas generally are not as large as rams in the limited draw units, but they're still sheep, and it was great hunting them. These Bighorns were all DIY hunts, and most years I went in by myself.




I also did a backpack Dall sheep hunt in the MacKenzie Mountains in Canada's Northwest Territories and lucked out with this 39"+ ram.

Some tough hombres in this bunch.
Great stuff.
Thanks guys.

In 2003 I drew a Colorado archery Ram tag. 2 days before the season my grandfather passed away. I still hit it hard but I know deep down it knocked my hunt back several notches. He was crazy for hunting.

I passed on many smaller guys and missed a chip shot at great ram on the 14th day of the 16 day hunt. Still a lifetime memory for sure. Chances are I will draw another Colorado ram tag before it is over.




The pressure can get to ya on a sheep hunt. Here is my RAM? I definitely DID NOT take enough pictures on that hunt. Don't anyone make the same mistake.

With a stroke of luck my brother moved to Alaska. In 2006 we went but it was a learning experience for sure. We saw rams but nothing we could kill with a bow.

In 2007 we hit it hard. We watched rams come out of the feed to the bedding cliffs at exactly 9:00AM. We watched them all day bedded in the cliff with no way to get to them. When they got up to feed in the evening, we went to bed early and we were at the cliffs the next morning. At almost exactly 9:00am they came through again. I thought the 34 yard shot was good. I went and peaked over the edge without waiting. I was ready with a camera this time.

Happy Sheep hunters.

From this same mountain I had spotted sheep a LONG way away while we were watching the close rams the day before. We couldn't tell if they were Rams or not but they looked to be a in a ram spot. Just 5 white dots on really steep shale hill. With my ram down we headed out after them. It took some packing and a raft to get there. We had to spend 1 1/ 2 days in a tent in the rain waiting to see them again. When it cleared we could tell right away one was legal. My brother hung off those cliffs for several days but he never got a shot.

In 2008 we went back and there was no doubt where we were headed to. When I pulled out the spotter and counted 5 white dots on the same hillside we were off. We spent 3 days or so waiting for the rams to get to a good spot. My brother finally got the shot one evening hanging off a cliff. It was more than a little scary to watch. A huge fog bank rolled in and we waited until the next morning to go look for the ram that had fallen out of sight down a steep chute. The ram had broken about 5 inches off one side since 2007 but no one was complaining. It is one of my all time favorite hero shots for sure.

AWESOME!!!!!

Drummond

With my brothers ram down so fast we still had a ton of time to go looking for more. We found a valley full of rams. So many in fact it was going to be a real problem getting up into them without blowing them all out. It was 10pm or so when I decided to put on the painters suit and start up the hill like a sheep. One painter�s suit on me, and the other one on my pack. In the dim light it actually worked really well. I could see some of the rams look my way once in a while but they never spooked. They kept feeding and some of them were actually butting heads and having fun. I was able to get up the hill a ways and then get in a small depression and keep hiking. I hiked till about 1:00am and realized I couldn't see the pins on my bow sight anymore. So I slept for a couple hours under a small ledge.

As I was waking up at around 4:30am a small ram came and pinned me down for a while. After he left I climbed another � mike or so and started across and above the last place I had seen the rams. Slowly on my rear, crab crawling, get up scoot and sit, up scoot and sit. Suddenly I spotted a bedded ram about 70 yards away below me. Soon I had 6 of them spotted and was only missing the one legal ram. I barely peaked my head higher and noticed he was below me bedded at 37 yards. I couldn�t get up and shoot so I had to wait until he got up.

That one hour or so spent on the hill right with the bedded rams is something I will never forget. Just listening to the creek way below, the occasional rock falling and still being able to notice how quiet it was as there was no wind that morning. I felt like I was a ram! THis picture was taken almost right were they were bedded. A room with a view.



As it turns out I can�t shoot worth a piss sitting flat on my butt when he finally stood up. It took a little more time than you would like, but amazingly I had sheep #2!!!!!

We went again last fall. I was there only to be a sherpa if needed even though I had a tag. I wasn't gonna kill another ram till little brother has 2 We didn't kill any rams but had a great time. Sadly I cannot hit a caribou either at 39 yards. The Grizz was a rush and just being there was almost as good as getting one myself.

well done

Cool...REALLY cool....stuff!

Ingwe

What an awesome thread! Thanks gents...