How many sheep hunters do we have here? It's something I'd like to do someday, but don't really know anything about it. The species really wouldn't matter to me, I'd just like the experience.

If you wanted to do a sheep hunt in 10-20 years, what would you do? I don't know anything about draw odds or prices so fill me in, although all that will likely change before I get the chance to go in 10 years or so.

Anybody got any pics or stories to share?

I have no experience, but my dream is to take the slam. I guess growing up reading O'Connor did it to me.

But that's far fetched, so the first I want to go after, given a choice, is a Stone, the second a Dall.

Bill

I don't know you but I would guess that the most accessible sheep hunting experience would be Barbary Sheep in Texas.
Then I would go for Mongolia Ibex. This is a world class mountain animal that is a heck of a bargain right now.
Then I would go to Azerbajian for Tur.
Finish the score with a Brooks Range Dall Sheep hunt. Old Sheep hunters never die they just go up and hunt the Brooks Range.

Now the bad part is that all of that hunting would be less than a single Stone Sheep hunt, a single Open Guided Rocky Mountain Sheep hunt in Alberta or much less than a Desert Sheep hunt in Mexico.

Luck or lots of time and money scouting or figuring out the learning curve is connected with the last three.

Sincerely,
Thomas

My goal is to kill one bighorn and one 'thinhorn'.

I've lived my entire life smack dab in the middle of the best bighorn units in the US, so figure one day I'll draw here.

For the thinhorn, I plan on just starting saving, and eventually going to the brooks or yukon for a dall.

Didn't realize we were including other sheep, in that case I guess I AM an experienced sheep hunter since I've taken about eight aoudads (barbary) in the mountains of West Texas.

Bill

I'd also look at the Northwest Territories for Dall Sheep.

For a chance at a "rocky" you will need to start applying for as many permits in as many states as you can each year, build your points and keep your fingers crossed.



My first Dall Sheep hunt(NWT)from 1986. My best friend was along and we connected on these two rams out of the same bunch of eight rams on the count of three from about 150 yards. We were seven miles from camp and ended up spending the night on the mountain hudled around a fire until dawn. Memories of that hunt remain crystal clear after almost 24 years...

Substitute "desert" for rocky and cross your toes along with your fingers. I've hunted sheep, just didn't have the tag. It was definitely an adventure I won't be forgetting, nor the country!!

Myself and a good friend with a ram we guided in one of Montana's "unlimited" units in 2006. A large old ram from one of these units is one of the rarest and most coveted big game trophies in the entire world.



Mike and his ram, taken with a .300 Weatherby from 300 yards.

A good freind with her MT. sheep.....one of my favorite pics..



Ingwe

Helped hunt this ram with a friend back in 1989. Taken with a sheep hunters classic rifle, a pre64 model 70 in .270. This ram scored 179 7/8 B&C.

Never hunted them, but have spent alot of time in their habitat, checking water sources, and making population counts.
My plan is to keep putting in for the better units I'm familar with and pray that the red gods smille on my permit applications. E

Stone Sheep.As far up the Skeena river as you can go.Alot less hunting pressure than hunting the Profit river or other more eastern B.C spots.

Bluedreaux;
Back in the late '80's I hunted the local California Bighorn sheep with a taxidermist friend who's now passed on.

Finally in '90 I bought a tag with my name on it and during the next season in '91 connected with a 7� year old ram.

After years of seeing too many hunters in the regular "sheepy" spots, I'd taken to hunting them in the old growth timber like the mulie bucks who would come into the same area in another month. It was just so breaking daylight as I was pushing up to a ridge I wanted to check out when I spotted this fellow at about 80yds looking at me with another ram behind him as well.

The old BBR '06 that I�d lugged all over 2 provinces was on him almost on it�s own, so I waited until he turned broadside to make sure he was the required 3/4 curl. As he bunched up his hind quarters to run I saw he was legal and I squeezed off a shot.

It turned out there were 3 or maybe 4 other rams with him but I never had a good look at them and initially it crossed my mind I�d muffed the easy shot. I began to pray in overdrive as I approached the spot where he�d been standing and those prayers turned to "Thank You!" as big splashes of blood on the rock appeared, confirming the 180gr Interlock had worked as advertised again.

He�d gone down after a brief run down the mountain, so I again thanked the Lord for helping me out once again and cut my tag. The first trip down, I removed both hinds and packed them and my rifle back to the pickup. When I returned, I caped him for a � mount and boned the rest out.

Incidentally, I ended up doing a European mount of the skull -we were short on funds back then so we sold the cape through the taxidermist buddy for enough to make an extra mortgage payment -yet another blessing.

Since I hunted solo, I had to call my buddy to take a picture when I got it back down the mountain, so please excuse the back of our old '80 Toyota, but it was a very "experienced" mountain truck.


The herd was in a downward slide at that point and even the older rams weren't showing a lot of curl. Please don't take it that I wasn't happy to get one though, that's not the case at all.

As I recall we had to wait 5 years between sheep, but in '96 the local herd was struck with a pasteurella virus that took it from over 500 animals to less than 100. They rightfully suspended the season for us, saying that it would be reinstated when the herd recovered.

Although we now have 2 limited entry lottery draws here, the season has not come back any more than that - a bit of a sore spot with some as you can imagine.

Nowadays, our youngest daughter and I put in annually for the lottery, but thus far we've not been drawn.

Thanks to all who've put up photos of their sheep hunts and I wish all the best luck to you Eric and anyone else who plans to hunt any one of the species of these grand rams.

All the best to you and yours in the upcoming week and stay safe out there Eric.

Regards,
Dwayne

Dwayne---As usual a great story and a nice Ram. I dream of the day I can chase those thru the hills around Lake Chelan. Now that my son is at an age that he will be accompanying on my adventures it will be even more fun.

I put in every year and follow the Sheep and Goats in my favorite country each and every year, I know their habits and have grown fond of their rugged haunts.

They become an obsession. Last year I watched a band for about an hour fight and try to mate a receptive Ewe. I was so entranced I forgot I had my camera...oh well.

Thanks for a great story.

AcesNeights;
Thank you for the kind words sir.

Again I'm going of a bit of foggy memory this afternoon, but I recall at least one transplant of Californias from this very herd - the Vaseaux Herd - that went down into Washington State.

I don't know if the ones at Lake Chelan are distant cousins of that ram or not - but it's fun to suppose perhaps they could be?

By the way that Lake Chelan country is just gorgeous!

Thanks again and I hope you and yours have a good and safe week.

Regards,
Dwayne

The time to go sheep hunting may be NOW. At the B&C convention, we were hearing that the economy was causing stone sheep outfitters to lower their prices.....from around $36k to about $26k. So, if you have around 150 thousand dollars laying around, you should go after your slam.

All this absolutely takes my breath away......glad I already have my Slam on the books.

I don't want to diminish this information in any way. If you have never hunted sheep I can tell you it can & probably will captivate you. It is all I think about. I have only had the opportunity to hunt Mouflon in Texas on exotic game ranches. I can't get enough. It is not as much the size of the trophy that matters as the experience.

I have two Mouflon's & one Dall (which I purchased from an auction). Hunting any sheep is not easy. They can go places you only dream of and do so in seconds. One of the benefits is the ability to ambush them IF they don't know you're there. They don't see so well.

I would suggest you seek a lesser hunt to see if you like it or not. My bad knee limits me severely. THere are all manner of exotic sheep to be hunted in Texas.

I've only guided for rockies but I'd say they see pretty dang good.

My experience is limited to here in three of Wyoming's units. I'd love to get a tag someday but am thankful that I get to go sheep hunting every year.

Everything from the country to the weather to the sheep themselves is awesome. Watching them negotiate the cliffs is incredible.

I've hunted bighorns and dalls. Successful on the Dall and have a bighorn tag this fall for here in CO that I hope to fill. I hunted bighorns for the first time in 94 but was unsuccessful. Sheep hunting is addictive and once you're bitten it's hard to get over. A Dall sheep hunt is the easiest and cheapest way to go for sheep in NA. For bighorns, unless you're wealthy, putting in for different states is the best way to go on for them. Stone and Desert, well, let's just say that that is a rich man's game. There are still places you can apply for a desert bighorn, but the odds are very long. Not an option, at least that I'm aware of, for Stone.

Thanks for the Cali pic and story Dwayne. Very nice ram.
I spent a lot of time workin downm in Cali country but never put any effort in the hunt really. Regret that of course. I almost killed a nice ram on a 1 day hunt in the Marble Range though. Bought a tag cause I was gettin a day off. Drove out to Jesmond and hiked a mile, put up the glasses and was focused on a full curl ram about 400 yards away.
This seemed too easy but I ducked into the trees and crossed over to his side of the valley while still in the timber and made may way 200 yards closer with no issues. It was about then I heard some voices and about a dozen boy scouts singing the ants come marchin two by two reached my ears about the same time as I saw that ram bolt into the timber. I think I would have been spoiled for good if I was able to tag that one but it was a close call for sure.

Heres a couple desert sheep my hunters have killed. Both killed in Sonora out on the coast. Both of these sheep are free range sheep, I've never done a penned sheep hunt, its just not my cup of tea.

First ram pictured nets 168"


This ram is a gagger, nets over 180" and was the first ram we ever killed on that particular ranch



Drummond

huntsonora,
Care to enlighten us as to what these type of desert sheep hunts typically run? Just a ballpark figure will do.
Thanks.

Sheep hunting.........my dream hunt, especially the desert variety, but would jump at the chance to hunt any of them. Thanks a lot Drum, scenar, and others for the fantastic pics!

JG, Thanks!! I'll put some more up....

This was from our base camp on Glacier Lake, NWT.

Check out this bad boy.....195+ B&C..Montana.

Beautiful 10 year old ram we got in the NWT in 1991..

That would be Bighorn sheep tenderloins.....

We spent 3 days trying to get this ram. There were 21 rams in one bunch. They finally worked their way to the far end of the basin where we could approach behind the ridge. We had been out about 8 days and were pretty hungry for meat. After the kill we camped for 3 days in one spot and ate almost half of the ram between us.



The first meal off the ram above..

INCREDIBLE edible pics! I love sheep tenderloin!

The desert sheep taste fantastic, i dont know if it was the taste of the meat, the taste of a successful hunt or just the taste of the relief of that $60,000 gorilla jumping off of my back.

Regardless, one of my favorite memories was sitting around the campfire after killing and packing out a desert sheep on the 8th day of a 10 day hunt and relaxing with an Arturo Fuente Opus X cigar and a Crown Royal on the rocks talking about past experiences and hunts. One of my fondest memories

Drum

I know this is a sheep thread but showing the fringe benefit of a Dall Sheep hunt in the NWT...390" Mountain Caribou.

I had put it down in my original post with the pics but took it out just before I posted it. The cost of these hunts are rediculous, they start around $45k and go up from there. The sheep I posted pictures of were $60k hunts and they were 10 days long. Its one of the reasons I havent guided a desert sheep hunt in 8 years. The pressure is rediculous, the hunters know that its hunting and that certain things are out of my control but for $60k I feel a huge need to make it the trip of a lifetime for whoever books the hunt. Regardless, most of the time you are with somebody that has 3 of the 4 sheep and has saved a lifetime to fufill a dream because they were unable to draw a desert tag in YEARS of applying. It is a humbling experience to be with these guys when they complete their "Slam". Definately a memory I will always cherish

Drum

What we looked like after being in the bush for 60 days without a bath.....I remember when we got back to Watson Lake and got a hotel room we flipped for first shower....laffin! We got cleaned up and went down to the bar and ordered Molson's, two at a time.....each!!

Catching Greyling out of a spring creek that had never been fished. That was some good eating!

a friend that owns another paper in the state assured me if i put in for tags in the area he is familiar with he can get me to the sheep bad knees, bad back and all......so starting next year ill be putting in for sheep......may run into the problem that my buddy dies of old age before i pull a tag though.....dammit.....

For us in Oregon, it's once in a lifetime draw. Odds run the the 400+ to 1 range. That being the case, I'd start saving and head north to Canada or Alaska.

Scenarshooter,

That caribou picture....wow, thats just an incredible bull. I really like sheep hunting, but a mountain caribou like that sure cant be a bad extra animal on a sheep hunt.

I cant believe its been almost 15 years since I hunted dall sheep in the Chugach, but it has been. Any sheep hunt is a very special deal...and I wont ever forget my hunt.

flying in:



We landed the cub here and there were 3 rams on the top of this mountain...2 of them really large rams. After a long night, we hiked up the green ridge just in front of the long thin strip of snow up to the ridgeline. The rams were actually behind the highest point on the ridgeline. We found them bedded in a place that was not possible to get closer than about 700 yards. We waited for about 6 hours for them to get up and feed. They fed down into a saddle and we quickly covered about 400 yards and set up for a 300 yard shot.



I took the ram I liked the best, but it was a tough choice between the two rams as they were both old...and big.



Another look:



We didnt have time to get back to camp so spent the night at the lake in the background. Pretty miserable night, half rain and half snow most of it. We improvised a "tent" out of what we had, which wasnt much:



Packing out the next day...you just have to be there to really appreciate it.



[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/alaskapics/websize/dallpack2.JPG[/img]

Those pics are great guys. Thanks for sharing.

About 5 years ago a good friend of mine called and said he'd drawn a NR sheep tag in Montana. So, myself and another friend of mine from MT agreed to tag along and see what we could find. We found a group of 5 rams with 2 that really caught our attention. One was an ancient ram that was actually killed the next year and was, IIRC, 14 years old. My buddy that had the tag chose this ram, it scored 179 and change net...over 40 on both horns and 10 years old. What a great ram...and a great hunt, classic spot and stalk.



Another look with the 3 of us a great MT ram.



One last look...

Yeah, excellent pics all around, that is some rugged country!

Buzz, That Dall is a stud.....super heavy and long....nice!!

Maybe someday we'll hunt those white rams together...

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...

The backdrop caught my eye. These photos are from the West side of Tazlina Lake and Glacier, right? It's now a L.E. draw area - DS 190. Looks like you went up Klanelneechena Cr. There are a couple of small teardrop lakes on the south side.

I'll be hunting on the other side in less than two weeks. Just need to lose another 5-10 pounds and am starting to increase my training intensity.

Muskegman,

Yep, and Ed T. was my guide...you probably know him, outfitter was Dan Montgomery.

I decided to buy on over the counter 300 district tag in MT this year hopefully in a couple months ill be adding to this thread!

Great pic of you and Wild Bill, Sako/Swift and a 700/22-250 right?

Friend called today, he drew a sheep tag in 482 the lucky bugger...

Dober

No, it's my first time in that area. Actually, it's my first sheep hunt. Never used a guide and I'm going in self-guided with a hunting buddy. Did talk to a 24HCF member who guided my unit for 15 years prior to becoming a draw. There's only 2 NR/guided tags now for the side you hunted.

I applied on both sides of Tazlina Lake/Glacier. The west side was a 2% draw and low tags and east side is a bigger area, 4x as many tags and an 8% draw. I'm a friggin' map-o-holic. Been studying the area since I found out I drew a tag in April. You said your sheep (BTW - nice job) was from the Chugach. Didn't even need Google Earth to figure out were you were.

I've killed several Dall Rams- the first on a solo 20 mile back-in backpack hunt. The second with my girlfriend along- She took hers on our honeymoon the following year - all same place. Last year we attempted a repeat- with our mid-20s younger son along, but the weather, and some other circumstances (but not age! ) beat us down before we could get into the sheep country.

It ain't what it used to be. Originally, this was a walk-in only area, no pack animals allowed, and 30 years ago, we were all alone back there...

Last year, there were two parties of walkers, and a horse-pack guided hunter ahead of us.... all of them successful, dammit....

We killed a young bull caribou on the way back out from our aborted hunt and stalked two other very good bulls after that on the last afternoon of caribou season before F&G closed it down by emergency order, after only 3 days. Quota exceeded!

So there are OTC tags available?

Kind of.
There's unlimited draw quota units.
So it's guaranteed, but you still need to apply.

A friend of mine told me the other day the story of his dad whacking a 180 ram in the unlimited unit he grew up in. Died less than a mile from their house.

Be careful about those unlimited otc big horn permits in Montana. The country is rugged which is doable but you are going to be competing with insiders and locals who know the country extremely well. I have heard that there are some Amish boys who are pretty much making a couple of the unlimited areas into monopolies as the units close after they get their rams.

It is something that you can do if you have lots of time and could spend two weeks scouting before season and pack in there a week before season to get settled and the rams settled before the opening.

Nonresident has about 1500 dollars worth of tags and licenses before you could get started.

Big Rams and Big ram hunters II by Jim Anderson has a whole section on this hunt and you can worm out other information online.

Sincerely,
Thomas

Great pictures and stories guys

If they're still available in ten years that unlimited tag might be just what I need. Taking a month off work would be easier on me than spending a ton of money. For only $3000 / trip I could make it several years in a row too.

Plus in ten years I'll have 17 and 16 year old sons who would make fine Sherpas.

I used up my lifetime allotment of luck when I drew a NM Pecos wilderness hunt the first time I put in for it. It was the most rewarding hunt I have ever been on. My ram wasn't nearly as big as the boys that have been posted on here but I had a great time scouting and hunting up there.

With a hunt like that I'd consider any ram a trophy. The experience of one of these hunts would be amazing, regardless of the outcome.

Is that a desert or a rocky mlaux?
Real pretty sheep either way...

I hope your not hunting there for sheep in 2 weeks, the season doesn't open until August 10th. Not trying to be a dick but DS190 is not in the Tazlina, that's the Carpenter/Wolverine Creek area near the Matanuska and in the Chugach Mountains. Maybe your thinking of DS160?

Sounds like the DCUA, I hunted there last year during the second half of the season for 2 weeks and took a smallish dall ram and a decent 47" moose. Would like to hunt there for caribou but that's a long ways to go for a caribou on foot.

It's a Rocky.

This is my 2009 Brooks Range Dall. We packed (hiked) in 9 miles to to where we set up a spike camp. I harvested mine on the 4th day of hunting. The day I harvested mine, we gained 4600' of elevation less than a mile from camp. That is where the term "sucking air" comes from.

Sheep hunting changes you. There is nothing else like it.


I hope you can find a way to do it before a 10 year wait.

Gorgeous Dall and incredible photo!

Drum

I hope to do it sooner too Yukonal. That's an awesome pic. Good sheep, rifle, happy hunter, and giant mountains in the background.

Yea, it'll be more like two months, not two weeks.

Crud, I have the supplement right here with me. I applied for 190, 160 and 165 in that order.

190 is Carpenter Creek. All those units line up in a row. Brain fart on my part.

.

Which one did you draw?

Like I said earlier, I'm on the opposite side of Tazlina from where the photos were taken. So it's the EAST side of Tazlina over to the Rich Hwy - DS 165. Don't think I fupped duck on that one

Do you know when then send you the actual harvest tag?

bluedreaux:

Outfitted/guided hunts in Canada or Alaska are out of my budget so the one sheep hunt that I did in Colorado will probably be my only sheep hunt. It was memorable because I looked upon it as a once-in-a-lifetime hunt. I hunted for 15 days in some of the most rugged terrain that I have seen and finally connected only 1/2 mile from a highway.

The most difficult part of the experience was drawing the tag which took 11 years.

There were eight rams in the unit and this was the biggest. The photo was taken by the DOW ranger at their headquarters in Salida, when I checked it in with them.



KC

That's awesome KC. Did you do a write up on the hunt you could link?

Wow, I love seeing all these great sheep. I guess I better get in gear and start getting in shape and lining up a Dall hunt.

An Alaskan Dall is my ultimate North American hunt.

This is my 14 yr old step daughter with a California Bighorn she took in Oregon last year. She said it was harder and a lot hotter than she thought it would be. The second pic is of the country we hunted.

I have a sheep hunt planned for next year here in Alberta. Me and a friend will be doing a backpack hunt in the Wilmore. Not expecting to get one the first t ime out,but you never know,it might just happen. Luckily I can still get over the counter tags here,although it is a trophy area so it makes things more difficult. Either way,really looking forward to it.

Amazing sheep. Its unreal that she drew that tag at 14. Now the only thing that sucks is she can never put in for it again. Congrats to her on a once in a lifetime hunt.

Nope. Taylor Highway. They were killing caribou during tailgate breakfasts where we parked - our caribou hunting was 2-5 miles back in. Because of the over quoto harvest (NOT "over-harvest! -thank you Anchorage Daily News!- azzholwes), opening day has been changed from Aug 10 to Sept 1, I believe. It's weeks later, anyway.

Politics and PR - no real impact on the herd dynamics (85 % of the overall 2% harvest was bulls) - the ADF&G biologists gotta mind their careers (I would too)...... The herd may not even follow that migration pattern again- the first time they've done so since the reubuilding started a couple decades back.

bluedreaux:

Here it is.

In 2006, I was lucky enough to draw a bighorn sheep license, after eleven years of applications. I had applied for unit S68, which is bordered by Texas Creek, Salida, Poncha Pass, Hayden Pass and state highway 69. I had hoped to drive to Poncha Pass, which is at 11,000� elevation, and hike into the high country from there. But when I contacted the local game manager, with the Division of Wildlife, she told me that there were no sheep above timberline in the Northern Sangre De Cristo Mountains. They are all down by the Arkansas River, in that unit.

So I scouted the area south of the river between Texas Creek and Coaldale several times that summer. In June I saw six rams at the mouth of Falls Gulch and there was one with lamb tips that had not broken his nose and had no scars on his coat. He is really a beautiful animal and I determined that that was the one that I wanted. There was only one other hunter who had drawn a tag in that unit and the wildlife manager put us in touch with each other. We traded scouting reports and other information throughout the summer.

We hunted together and I thought I had a good idea of where the rams were hanging out and on opening morning we hiked into the area and must have been pretty close to them. I guess that they winded us because while we were glassing from a ridge top, on the west side of [bleep] Gulch, we heard some rocks falling. We couldn�t see the area where we heard the rocks so we changed spots and when we could see the area, eight rams were focused on us, about five hundred yards away, on the east side of the valley. There were four shooters and four smaller rams. Three rams had 5/8 curl horns that were heavily broomed and the one with lamb tips was there too. We were sitting on some rocks surrounded by open ground and we couldn�t exit the rocks without them seeing us leave. We watched them for about an hour and eventually they casually strolled away, up and over a shoulder beyond.

We didn�t see them again for over two weeks. It�s about 1,000 feet from the highway to the top of the highest ridges and we climbed up and down in the dark. This is some of the roughest country that I have seen; steep, rocky and loose. The gullies are generally a series of cliffs choked with brush, so we tried to climb the ridges and slopes when we could. We spent more hours glassing than I can count. Twice we went home to regroup, rest and prepare for another go at it. I returned on a Thursday morning and carried a loaded backpack up the steep slope just west of Cotopaxi. I was prepared to camp on top for five days. When I topped out, I peeked over the last ridge and I could see them casually relaxing in the shade of some pinions about 100 yards away. It was mostly luck after all that time of looking, to finally stumble upon them when they were unaware if my presence.

I spent several minutes composing myself, getting control of my breathing and heart rate. Finally I peeked over the ridge again and picked out the one that I wanted to shoot. Then I slipped my rifle over the rocks and shot the one with lamb tips. It was an easy shot at a stationary target about 100 yards away. All the rams started sprinting away and he tried to follow them uphill for a few steps, then he dropped and rolled back down to where he stood when I shot him. It was an easy scramble from where I shot to where he lay.

After field dressing him, I carried my backpack down to the truck and switched to a frame pack, which I used to haul him out in two pieces. The front half must have weighed over 100 pounds. I stopped more times than I can count and at each stop, I questioned my sanity. By the times that I reached the truck, my legs were rubber and I had to climb that slope again to get the back half.

I took him to the DOW office in Salida where the wildlife officers did the measurements and installed the plug in the horn. That�s where the picture was taken.

It may sound like an easy hunt; half a mile from the highway, only 1,000 feet to climb, a one hundred yard shot at a stationary target. But fifteen days is the longest hunt that I have taken and it was the roughest hunt that I have had because of the miserable terrain.

KC

Good hunt!

Great story,thanks.

That's a great story. Couple of questions...

Did the other hunter get a ram and how long is the season?

bluedreaux:

The season lasts for the entire month of September.

The other hunter did not fill his tag.

KC

Thanks for the stories guys. I want to hunt Bighorns some day before I get too old.

Me too. And Deserts. And Stones. Lucky for another Dall.

I'm gonna have to hit the Lotto.... recruit the kids as packers, subvert the wife ( the easy part - she hates/loves sheep hunting)...

Prolly ain't gonna happen, but dreams come cheap.

Here's my only one. 2005 Alaska DMA. But I'm waiting for the next drawing......... [img:center][/img]


Lord I love any adventure hunt especially sheep hunting.

Here's a couple more pics of the sheep my friend Jim and I took on that hunt.........Here's mine.... [img:center][/img] Here's Jim's... [img:center][/img]

Kennon

I am loving this thread!!!!! Thanks to those contributors. I hope to have a good story to add next fall, as I ahve drawn a Montana tag. I am beyond excited.

Keep the stories and pics coming!

here are my sheep I was 45 on the Dall and 48 on the Stone. Both hunts were flat out ball bustin endurance tests. I'm 53 now and not sure I have another one in me.

If you want to see two fantastic bighorn hunts, there will be one on Outdoor Channel this week - Montana hunt in the Missouri River Breaks. Scenarshooter is very familiar with that hunt.

Another will air the following week. A Colorado bighorn on the Georgetown Unit.

Both are non-guided on public land. If those episodes don't raise the temp of your sheep fever, you are probably immune from such disease.

A couple pics of the rams taken on each episode.

Montana Ram


Colorado Ram

Bigfin,

Which programs will they air on?

On Your Own Adventures - Outdoor Channel.

Johnny, if you don't have the tag yet i'd call F&G and talk to them. I drew a brown bear tag a few years back and they never sent me the tag until I called and asked them about it. You should have received it by now i'm thinking.

Nice Bighorns. Thanks for sharing. The montana ram must have been short on rock hard enough to rub off his lamb tips.

Thanks.

We found this broomed off warrior in the same drainage as the flaring ram with lamb tips was killed.....199 B&C. Evidently wounded and not recovered..

Check out Randys show...its top notch!!

Bigfin,

I just watched the Montana Bighorn hunt, and it was great. To bad "Tank" was poached. I enjoy the show each week. I also do all DIY hunts, except for my Dall in AK, where I'm a non-res.

Keep up the good work.

Kennon

Thanks Rugernut, glad you liked it. Today is the last airing of the MT bighorn, until it repeats again in late September and early December. Starting Wednesday will be the CO bighorn hunt. Two straight weeks of bighorn hunts to help with those of us carrying the disease.

The picture posted by Scenarshooter is him holding "Tank." He was as disappointed as I was when I climbed out of the Breaks and told him the bad news. Scenar was the first guy I met up with and we discussed how to tell Vaughn, knowing he would be sick about this. If I didn't have it on camera and video, I suspect all would have thought I had lost my marbles.

We decided to not tell Vaughn until the cameras were rolling on him, as there is no way to recreate the level of shock that he was going to have. What you saw in the show is how it really happened for Vaughn. And to think he passed that ram three times the week before, while looking for one that was possibly a slightly bigger ram. That is discipline....... or insanity, depending upon how you look at it.

Bad deal, no doubt. I think Scenar came up with 199 6/8 on that ram as he measured it where it died, while waiting for the FWP wardens. Would have been nice to see Tank adorned with the tag of a lucky hunter, rather than become property of FWP.

Dang, that is heart breaking!

Can't wait to see this episode. A friend of mine photographed a ram that looks very similar to this one from the blacktop, when he went back the next day there were birds on a gutpile.

He showed me the pic on the Colorado Bighorn Society website months ago and said at the time that he really thought is was the same ram, hopefully he can watch the episode and figure it out.

S32 is a damn fun unit to hunt sheep in! Some gorgeous country for sure

A real shame what happened to "Tank"

Gorgeous country, no doubt. I suspect this ram was not the one your buddy might have taken pictures of, unless they were at a much lower elevation and further south, the day your buddy took pics.

This was in the northern end of the unit, opposite from Georgetown. Most the people I talked to said you could see rams right from the highway near Georgetown. I don't think that area is open to hunting though, is it?

Not sure how much rams travel, but if you can tell me where your buddy took the pics, I can verify how close or far away it was. Also, this ram is more broomed on the driver's side. I can send you some photos of the other side, and you can compare.

And if you or your buddy draw, I will gladly share all I learned in a week of chasing sheep on that unit. The population must be excellent in that unit, given how many different bands of sheep we saw while scouting and hunting. Looks like CO DOW is doing a great job.

Big thanks to the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society for all their great work in CO. Same for the Wild Sheep Foundation. I hope these episodes cause more people to join those great organizations.

I'm not sure exactly where he took the pics but I'm pretty sure it was between Empire and Berthoud Pass.

I actually guided an archery sheep hunt in S32 last year but would never be against comparing notes as it's huge country.

The area around Georgetown does have a ton of sheep you can see from I-70, the law states that the unit is closed 1/4 mile off of the highways, I have gotten different answers of the exact definition. Some say if you can range the highway from the sheep and your 1/4 mile away then your good, others claim it's a horizontal distance of 1/4 mile but I have to question that as a lot of the really good sheep hunting is within a 1/4 mile but could never be seen from the road because of the vertical climb to get there. Some of the big chutes on Silver Plume are within 1/4 mile and I couldn't imagine that being a closed part of the unit.

Where I spent the vast majority of my time was well off the highway just to avoid any grey areas

I saw it too. I like that On Your Own Adventures anyway, and I particularly liked that episode. Thanks for the heads up guys......and great pics.

Saw this post and thought I'd dig out some of the old pics. I found that I am missing two albums from my move 5 years ago! Got to be in a box somewhere?@?@

Got a little spot that when the snow gets deep I know we can find a ram or two...

Bill's sheep had a 41 inch right and 32 inch left. Netted 184, just a neat old warrior.

Dan's sheep, just a classic ram for Montana, love these sheep.

The Coleman plastic frame, man I thought that was the best thing ever! The Dall sheep is a wolf kill that my brother and I found while staying out in the Wrangells in the winter of 1990. We could get it cut off because it was so damn froze so Greg went back the next day and chapped it off with a hatchet.

The young man with the sheep got to be part of the hunt, was really cool. The second sheep is the biggest net scoring sheep I have been on, just shy of 194, little over 42 on the long horn. We passed him twice and Rusty couldn't say no a third time.

The bottom pic has a monster back in the shadow of the tree, it was shot by a gentlemen the next year and scored just shy of 196. The sheep out front aint half bad either.

Me and my Dad, I was 19 years old, he had drawn a sheep tag and it was my first "real" sheep hunt other than chasing them with a camera. Not a very big ram, learned a lot from that hunt, great memories... all of them. Now to search and find the missing album!

I witnessed that ram when Jim had it scored. Fred King measured it twice as it was only 1/8 inch out of the book, but alas, it didn't make it either time. Jim drew another permit the very next year and he, Jim Barnett and I all drew in 1990...

Mine...






All 3 in 1990...

1990 looks like it was a good year for you fellas.

Was the Rusty that shot that ram in the same line of work as you?

I took a hike the other day off the Albert-Petty cutoff road and came out through Printer's. Took most the day and glassed nearly every hillside and ridgeline I could get a look at. Never once saw a sheep, although I did find a few bears.

Yet more great pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

rl11,
Yep, Rusty is the retired chief of police from Missoula PD. He was a Sgt when I started and we got to be friends and hunting buddies when he drew the sheep tag.
Man, no sheep on that hike? I don't like to hear that at all, should have seen some sheep down in Printers for sure or the head end of Horse for sure. I seen a lot of wolf activity in above the meadows during rifle season, and those rams are pretty easy picking when the snow is deep.
Might have to go check the East Fork and see if they are in on the mineral lick.

I had heard he killed a monster out of there at one point. First picture I've seen and never heard a score til now either.

I would've loved to have been able to run around that country twenty five years ago.

Out of curiosity, is there any huckleberries up around the old lookout?

Never been many berries up there, some over on the other side near the East Fork, spot we have always called Black Mountain. I can remember chasing sheep up there in the 84-85 back when the first couple tags were issued. The real hay days were the late 80's and early 90's. Too many tags were issued for too long, but with that being said I still put in there because it is the backyard and love the area.

Bump for a awesome thread.

holy smokes, badass thread! Here's one ram I hope I can find next year... He's gonna' be big...



Tanner

My younger brother Jim drew a Montana ram permit a few years back, and connected on this dandy.

DA-YUM!

I remember that one. Outstanding!!

Pat, that is a friggin' monster... Congrats to you and your brother.




Tanner

I'm hoping that same permit shows up in my mailbox this year....grin!

Pat,

Can I come watch?

Pat,

How long have you been applying in Montana now? I'm at 35+ years....

This will be my 46th try......now I'm revealing my age!

Come on out! If I draw that permit, you're more than welcome!

Great memories....

I went a few times when I was younger and lived in Alaska.

No matter how much food we flew in, I averaged 14 LBS lost over 10 days year after year. Mrs Walter would MAKE me go sheep hunting....

Getting ready to "Dine Out". Best red meat on the planet....

Killing me here Pat, I'm going stir crazy waiting for the season!

For all you sheep lovers, this is an awesome video... I watch it more than a couple times a month...grin. The sheep being a dandy is icing on the cake.




Tanner

Jeez you guys,,,,,,,,, I didn't get any draws and hadn't been thinking of sheep TOO much,,but now???

Wow. Oh, wow. What a ram!

Okay, I'm already an elk addict. I don't need to be thinking about sheep.

What dreams are made of right there! Would love to have a story on that one! Amazing ram.

28 years applying for Wyoming and 4 years for MT.... maybe one of these days I'll draw a tag.

Share some Pics I've taken from the South and North Fork country by Cody.

North Fork....








South Fork....

North Fork...







And more South Fork...





and my son standing on side of road.. 2010

This is a great thread. May as well add my update.

I lucked into an Arizona desert sheep tag a couple years back. Fortunately I had a lot of vacation time built up and got to the unit with 12 days to look around before the season started. I scouted solo for 9 of the 12 days and found a lot of rams.

I didn't see every ram in the unit, but I bet I saw a vast majority of them.

According to the harvest stats, this particular area hadn't produced a ram for 6-7 years.



I found 17 rams in there, a couple were very nice. This old warrior being one of the better ones.



Another look:



Up until about 3 days before the season started, I was making that ram my #1.

Then I found this group, in another area that had not produced a ram for quite some time.







I changed my mind after a lot of consideration and made the best ram in that group my new #1 choice.

Kept track of them and watched them feed into a big canyon the night before opening day. The next morning within an hour, my buddy and I were within 80 yards of the ram I wanted. A nice 80 yard shot with my 7RM and that was that.

Just walked down and decided not even to touch the ram for a while, just enjoy the moment:

[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/desertram/websize/3-P1260507.jpg[/img]

Finally got around to some grip and grins.

[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/desertram/websize/IMG_0966.JPG[/img]

[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/desertram/websize/IMG_5112.JPG[/img]

[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/desertram/websize/6-P1260518.jpg[/img]

Not sure if this will work

link

Buzz,

For me, the pics and especially you just sitting there taking it in says everything.

Thank you, for the pics, for sharing, and for "doing it right". I think/hope you know what I mean.

I've seen that one a time or two, never gets old.

Great photos Sendero. I almost said "pics" but those are definitely photos.

Wow, you too buzz, that sheep is beautiful.

This ram was from the same valley a week later,, some years it was devoid of sheep. 2 days from closet landing spot and 2 nasty creek crossing, usually hunted it near the end of the season.

I'm at 30 years in 2015. One of the funniest things that I have ever read in a book was in "The Life of The Hunt" when your bride drew a bighorn sheep tag on her first try. I don't remember the exact quote, but it had to do with sulking being prevented by it being a ewe tag.

"She drew a bighorn tag. Luckily, it was her second choice, a ewe permit. I say 'luckily' because if she'd received a ram tag on her first try, I'd have pouted so much she'd have divorced me."

I drew a ewe tag of my own 15 years later, but just added up how many times I've applied for a Montana ram tag now, and it's 40. Still behind Pat by a few....

Eileen did draw a Montana bull moose tag on her first try. I also got to go along as chief guide and packer on that one!

Still makes me laugh. Only someone who has been applying for special tags for decades would understand.

This picture was a gift from the late Duncan Gilchrist. It's the Chadwick ram, and is the world record Stone Sheep. If memory serves me correctly, it was killed in 1936 near the head of the Muskwa River in Northern British Columbia. Both horns are over 50" long.

Cool thread. Lots of nice rams. I have never hunted them but have been lucky enough to see them several times while in Colorado.

1rst one was in 96 we were headed into White River national forest near Merideth. I was riding in the back of the truck and a Full curl and a couple of smaller rams crossed the road right behind us. None of the guys in front seen them and they never believed me.
Then back in 2002 or 03 we were in RMNP and I was glassing a line of snow way off in the distance and a small ram crossed the snow field.

Then last fall me and the wife were on I-70 going into Glenwood and there was about twelve of them right on the side of the road. Could of reached out and touched them. Always a thrill to see them.

Thanks for posting pic of THE ram scenar!!!
This is Martin White from No Dak,, we had a good hunt together!

Sweet photo, looks like that one took a little work. The old photo is in another league though!

Awesome animals. Great stories!

My entire youth was spent dreaming of hunting big game out west, especially sheep! My western big game hunts did not begin until I was out of college and could finally begin to afford the travel/tags to hunt. I am so very grateful for the hunts I have had, and the memories are priceless.

Only one sheep hunt for me so far- I still wake up dreaming of this hunt and the country sheep live in as in my mind there is nothing like it...

{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252
{\fonttbl\f0\fnil\fcharset0 .HelveticaNeueInterface-Regular;}
{\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;\red153\green153\blue153;\red255\green255\blue255;}
\deftab720
\pard\pardeftab720\partightenfactor0

\f0\fs26 \cf2 \cb3 \expnd0\expndtw0\kerning0
\outl0\strokewidth0 \strokec2 \
}

There is NOTHING like sheep country!

I got to help the same buddy out (see way above) with another sheep hunt. Here's the California Bighorn a group and I helped him with. Great week in the So. ID canyon country.

Wow, just takes your breath away. Great pictures again!

Stone ram, taken in BC near the Yukon Territory boundary.

I'll throw in my 2 cents. Only sheep hunt I'll likely ever do, but I sure enjoyed it. Yukon 2013.

Now,
The ram resides in Cody at the Buffalo Bill museum,



And the rifle that Chadwick used, A Mauser in 404 Jeffrey of all things.

Montana rams,

Beautiful photos. It is far more difficult to take a good shot with a camera than a rifle. Very well done, and the animal in the last photo is truly remarkable.

Thank you for sharing.

This California Bighhorn is a product of Oregon's "Once in a lifetime" draw. I had a wonderful hunt in country that most people would never imagine exists in Oregon.

Really a great experience.

Wow. It's a wonder that guy could even hold his head up.

Amazing.

I've begun to put in for that OR draw. The odds are... steep, but it's the only draw in the lower 48 that is actually affordable (to my knowledge) for a non-resident.

[img]http://i827.photobucket.com/al...5/irfubar/IMG_0583_zps7f09e1cc.jpg[/img][img]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz195/irfubar/IMG_0583_zps7f09e1cc.jpg[/img][img]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz195/irfubar/IMG_0578_zpse4d173ef.jpg[/img][img]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz195/irfubar/IMG_0264_zps0528d2cd.jpg[/img]
My California bighorn from Oregon,
[img]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz195/irfubar/IMG_0512.jpg[/img]

Wild Horse? A couple of those rams are incredible!

Fine Oregon Rams you guys,,they always great and different!Here's a 43" X 14 1/2" monster!

^^^^^giant!

I'll draw Colorado one of these days. I'm pretty sure I've shown this albino sheep picture here before from Wyoming:

I didn't think any thread was going to beat BobinNH's deer thread! WOw!

Gents, this thread contains some absolutely beautiful photos as well as some amazing trophies. Thanks to you all for sharing!

And I have to say, I'm going to have to move my Pat Sinclair shrine over just a bit to make room for Waterat - those are a couple of the hugest Dall's I think I've seen.

So here's a few, nothing big, but any sheep's a trophy in my book.

This is my buddy's Dall from the South slope of the Brooks. Pretty heavy and smart! Tried to give us the slip, but Jim caught him with this trusty .243.


Here's mine from that same trip.


And here's a couple from the Delta Control Area in the Alaskan Range. We were over 20 miles back in. I fell is a glacial river on the way out with over 100 lbs on my back. Luckily, my buddy was able to fish me out. 10 miles is soaking wet clothes was not my idea of fun, but I was looking forward to a hot shower!

I had forgotten what a great thread this is.

What do you think the odds of a ram bigger than the Chadwick monster ever being taken?

Zero to none, in my opinion...

I agree with you wholeheartedly. The Chadwick ram may be the greatest hunting trophy of all time.

I certainly agree with Pat, although I'd be interested in the scores from Waterrats just for S&Gs.

I just don't think there is any undiscovered territory like there was when that ram was shot.

I have no clue but the odds of it being taken with a wood-stocked .404 Jeffrey are astronomical.

Tom Soucek photographed this fellow in the NWT about 15 years ago. He's gotta be pretty darn close!

AKbob Martins ram was 174b&c in camp and the 43' ended up at 177 if my memory serves me. I don't either was entered!

Here's my ram from Tok,,he was 39 7/8", that's my buddy and I couldn't get away with calling him 40,,,,,,,

Rat,

Tis a magic number, isn't it. . Don't feel bad, My one and only goat is 9.9999"

Regardless, you are a stud!

Great thread! Some monster rams!

This one is from BC, an older gentleman who was like a mentor to us hunted this ram & never connected, but his buddy killed him the next year. As he was dying of cancer he willed it to my friend, who also died of the same thing several years ago.

RIP Ron Custis



Nevada Rocky deadhead



My Desert

WeaselsRus,
The sheep skull in the tree fork, is that from Pearl peak in the Ruby Mtns?

We watched the only other tagholder in this unit wound this ram, decided to see if he needed help packing meat. He was already gone when we got there. NDOW cited him for wanton waste and confiscated the head & cape.

Good guess! It's now in the Elko Museum. The Indians used to hang the heads that way.

WeaslsRus,
I used to hunt mule deer on that mtn. in the mid 1980's.
No sheep on the mountain at that time. They did a transplant in the Rubys and I understand the sheep migrated to pearl peak. i understand why it's a steep rugged S.O.B.
One day while hunting there I saw a large mulie cross a ridge just below the peak and climbed up there hoping to get a shot. He was gone, and I was so close to the summit I went ahead and climbed to he top.
I was younger and tougher back then!

It's mean mofo alright, we hunt it a couple times each year. The easy part is the drive to the top. Just hunting down to the road wears you down.

Never saw a sheep there, but did see 27 goats once and some great mulies. Most sheep we see are north of Harrison Pass. Both sheep & goats recovering from a dieoff 5 yrs ago.

Did you see the head in the tree before they hauled it off the mountain?

weaslsRus,
I didnt see the skull on the mtn.
I hunted the east side just south of indian creek.
Do you know were on the mtn. the skull was found?

They did indeed. I know of a ring of trees around a spring with three rams heads in them left there likely by Sheepeaters. Big Medicine.

Brad,
That's cool. was that in Idaho?

Here in SW Montana.

Someday I'll draw a tag. I get around sheep quite a bit. Here's a shot I took one evening, and is my favorite. It's an untouched photo in absolutely natural, late-evening light:

That's interesting, I didn't know the sheepeaters were in Mt.?
Learn sumthin new everyday.
I know in the River of no Return country they had plenty of sheep and sheepeaters back in the day.

Seen plenty of sheep around Big Sky, used to be an unlimited unit, now I understand it's a draw unit? how are the odds?

Brad,
Was thinking as good of a backpack hunter as you are have you considered some of the unlimited units in the Beartooths?

Odds aren't especially good.

I have, but it's a race. It's you against the clock and other hunters. That kind of pressure isn't appealing to me, and not how I ever intend to hunt. No trophy is worth that to me. I'd rather just backpack...

It's a race to beat the quota cutoff, plenty of rugged country to get lost in.
Would be surprised if you saw other hunters if you went far enough and high enough?
Could be wrong? haven't hunted sheep there, only deer and elk and generally at the lower elevations.
Also fished some of that country, Beartooths are my favorite mtns.

Here's a ram I found in the spotter a few springs ago. He was down and apparently not able to get up. A friend and I made the 1+ mile hike to him and found that was for certain the case. Called FWP, and the next day they came out, though the ram had died in the meantime. They took him out via snowmachine.

I'm fairly certain some immature male wolves had run him down the mountain and he'd gotten hung up in some barbed wire and cut himself open real good. The autopsy FWP conducted definitely confirmed the barbed wire part, but they weren't willing to speculate on the wolf part. Thing is, I'd watched those wolves try to stalk the group this ram was part of.

Surprising how fragile these animals are, despite the terrain they inhabit.

I believe it "depends" which unit you're hunting. Big thing is per-season scouting and being setup at first light.

Maybe Pat will chime in and share his experience.

Aside, this is a great thread! The photos are outstanding...

Brad,

Your assurance that you'll eventually draw a Montana ram tag is heartening, but this year will be my 40th time applying, and Pat is well ahead of me, even though he's a little younger. After high school I lived in South Dakota and Wyoming for a few years after high school, so couldn't apply as a resident and couldn't afford to as a non-resident.

Then I started college in Missoula, about the time the Rock Creek herd started producing huge rams and became THE place to apply in Montana. I hunted deer and elk in that drainage, and a buddy drew a few ewe tags, and I went along on one of those. After seeing some of those huge rams (one standing on a rock less than 50 feet above us, watching as my buddy field-dressed one of his ewes) I couldn't imagine going after a ram in the unlimited areas, even though I was somewhat familiar with them from backpacking during my high school years in Bozeman.

Looking back on it, maybe I should have started hunting the unlimited areas, but seeing really big rams does tend to spoil you. After college I also spent a lot of time along the Front (where I helped my wife fill a ewe tag 24 years ago) and in the Breaks, and got to know some of those sheep well, and like you had extreme confidence in eventually drawing a tag SOMEWHERE.

I did draw a ewe tag in the Elkhorns a few years ago, and during that hunt saw a bunch of good rams, but the next winter the herd got pneumonia and almost disappeared; there haven't been any tags since. The Rock Creek herd isn't what it used to be either, for the same reason.

Will turn 63 this upcoming hunting season and by now don't regard drawing a Montana bighorn ram tag as essential to existence. It would be nice, but I've hunted everything else on my "life list," both in Montana and elsewhere. Maybe I'll draw a ram tag this year, but somehow doubt it, even with maximum points, because despite being lucky in many aspects of life, drawing special tags ain't one!

I need to try an Unlimited unit one of these years... I'm thinking 2016.

Tanner

JB, I was kind of wondering how spooky big horns really are in Montana? Guessing it's a unit dependent kind of deal?

I know a cowboy from over north of the lake and he says it's no big deal to ride a horse right by them at a pretty close distance.
I've never seen a Breaks sheep so have no idea but from what him and a few other people have mentioned getting close enough for a shot is relatively easy.

Of course finding the best ram in all that country might be a little trickier.


Mountain goats are also another 'tame' critter in certain units as well?

Goats out here aren't to spooky of folks either, apparently.

Some fella ran across one on a trail in the Olympics. The goat wouldn't give way and when the fella pushed the issue, the goat killed him.

In fairness though, I bet he drove a Subaru

Yeah MM, the goat probably did us a favor!

I bet it had an Obama sticker!

Still, getting horned in the guts in front of your family has to suck.

Hi Sam,

I have a slide somewhere in my files taken in the late 1980's, when a buddy and I used to float the Breaks from Judith Landing down to Fred Robinson Bridge during the first week of the deer rifle season. My buddy is aiming his rifle offhand at a BIG ram, maybe 50 yards away, which just stood there looking at us. (Of course, no bighorn was harmed in the taking of the photo.) When I drew my ewe tag in the Elkhorns a few years ago, my stalk up to some nearby cliffs where I'd found a ewe herd took me past six mature rams, bedded on the slope. I passed within less than 150 yards of them and they never stood up.

Could give you a bunch of other examples of the same basic stuff, and they get even dumber during the rut, like the one that stood above us while field-dressing the ewe. When we dragged her back down the mountain (there was snow on the ground and sometimes she dragged us) we ran into about 10 other mature rams, all within 250 yards at most, and the spookiest any of them got was to mill around a little, then stop and stare at us some more.

Except in the unlimited areas, the chance of any individual ram (or even any individual ewe) ever getting shot at is pretty slim, so there's no real reason for them to fear humans.

Great thread guys... didn't catch it the first time around.

If you can stand a few more (can't remember which of these I've posted before).

Top of Atigun pass (taken from the truck):


Just off the highway in Turnigan Arm:





Up a little higher:

One of my favorite AZ desert pics

JB, that's kinda what I was figuring.

That float trip sounds like a lot of fun!



And great pictures from everyone, cool thread.

An Idaho Hell's Canyon ram...

DA-YUM!

I'll give an AMEN!! to that one.

Hell of a sheep, and ya got your boys with you as well!

Oh man...!

WOW!

Congratulations,,,,,that's a hell of a ram!!!

Here's one of me. I was lucky enough to draw a ewe tag in the Latir Wilderness of New Mexico.

50 cal round balls work great!

A few rams from the last 5-6 years.

A 12yo Brooks ram. The wife killed a 7' griz the same morning. I left camp to kill this sheep at 2pm, made it back at 10am the next morning. Told the wife I wasn't coming back without a sheep... or until noon the next day.




My wifes first sheep, 3rd big game animal, also 12yo


A double double... quite a memorable trip. Glaciers, bears, wolverines, and a dislocated shoulder.



Went on a really long walk to find these two.






A couple rams from last year, sheep hunting makes a guy thirsty.

[img]http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/bambistew/2014/bestthingsinlife_zps0d58a63e.jpeg[/img]

Tell us more about that rifle.

Banbistew,,congrats,,you and you wife have some dandy's there!!!

Try to post with the phone.

Got one good ram in four hunts up there. Maybe I'll move back someday.

That is a gnarly old bastard of a ram Vek. What did ADFG age him at, something like 11?

Tanner

11 indeed, 34" x 13.5" on the long side, broomed way back. I put him next to the unbroomed 7yo dink I shot in the same neighborhood the year previous, lined up middle age growth rings, and was able to imagine another 7"+ of horn on the long side had he not broomed. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Fish and game had just spent the longest ten minutes of the guy in front of me's life trying to make his 7yo ram full curl, and succeeding. They acted very relieved and happy to seal a no-brainer. They weren't too certain of the age as he's broomed way back on both sides.

Vek and Bambistew: some damn fine Rams there. Congrats to all and thanks for sharing!

I am glad to find this thread.The originating question was fairly basic about sheep hunting.I have no ultimate goal here, just hope my legs'n lungs will keep carrying me up the stunning sheep country.For anyone that wants or needs to wet their appetite for sheep hunting read Sheep and sheep hunting by Jack O'conner.

Rumor is Alaska is going to permit only next year. Dunno if guides will be "allotted".

If, this is true, I think that the era of average guys being able to hunt any North American wild sheep is about done.

Here in BC, the writing is on the wall, sheep are being increasingly targeted by our growing res hunter population and the GOs are under severe social pressure.

I think that non-res. trophy collecting will soon be VERY severely curtailed here and the high costs of BC and AB sheep hunting will eliminate most from even trying to hunt them here.

Canada's Yukon and NWT will have some hunting, but, even that will be limited by largely public pressure as our society changes; this is just one of those things.

I read that thing, the year after my first sheep hunt. Some good technical stuff in there, but it turned me off O'Conner after he related how he deliberately ass-shot an animal to slow it down until he could come around for a killing shot. That's not "Sportsman". (He did the same on a Mule Deer, If I recall correctly)

Furthermore, I learned more ( and nothing new) about practical sheep hunting on that first solo sheep hunt than I did from the book. Namely- break the "rules" if you have to. Do what the conditions call for, and fug "tradition"..

After an unsuccessful stalk from above (as mandated in book) the first day, I went up the creek-bed from below the second, successfully killing the third biggest ram (a full curl) at 50 feet. The rest, including a 1 1/4 curl, ran up on the slope 150 yards away and watched me butcher out their buddy.

i was and am happy with the kill. i was 18 miles from the truck and i'm not sure i could have packed out anything bigger. That was 40 years ago, and several bigger rams since, but none i'm more proud of.

Amen to that, I've been telling myself for the past three or four years that I'm going to try it at least once in my lifetime. Would love to do it before I turn 30 and either become sensible or turn into a complete pansy.

I'm game when you are!

Looking like next year or 2017 for me, if I can pull it off schedule wise.

Tanner

A couple of mine from past years, no where's near as big as some of the sheep in this thread but I'm happy with them.

First one was taken in the Brooks in '95, measured at 37 3/4" with 14" bases, second one was a DCUA ram taken in 2011 and measured a little over 37" with 13" bases.

Sweet Sheep John! Congrats on many hard earned trophies!

awesome thread.

here is my dad's desert ram from the Old Dad's (CA) 1993

My dall from NWT 2014





a video I did of the hunt here

https://vimeo.com/102747543


Going for stone this August with Gundahoo. Hoping to draw my desert and rocky at some point (got about 10 points in most all states with a point system)

couple other mountain critters

Beautiful animals! What was your caliber and bullet of choice?

.300 WSM 168 gr ttsx

You guy's are working way to hard for your sheep! Only kidding!! Not nearly as much effort as everyone else, but took this Iranian Red Sheep with my 257 Weatherby on an ranch outside of San Antonio.

Very nice...that bottom picture is very well done, cool animal.

This is for LAS,, up the end of the Squirrel and into the basin between it and the Aggie. 2 guides I worked with on a 27hr in between hunters marathon! 1984? Are there even sheep there anymore?