Got the next few weeks off to scout and hunt all the archery dates. Can't thank both my boss or my wife enough for understanding the need to be up here. Had to work just a little over time in order to get this time off, but I'm here.
Turned in my unit 301 Colorado muzzy antelope tag. Turned in her archery muley tag in an undisclosed unit that has a true monster in. To say that she was excited to hunt that buck in the high country on public land is a vast understatement. This is gonna be her last season with vet school right around the corner.... She gets me. Also don't have time for any elk hunting now and with the rain there's some good UN's up there. Don't tell her but I might sneak a long weekend in to chase bugles when I get back. And I still have my eastern plains archery tag to look forward to.
I'm not gonna lie, I really want a ram. Spent waaaaaaaaaay too much time in s51 for my 2012 ram archery tag and saw 1 ram on public during the entire hunt. Its redemption time. I know, I know, super long odds but a guys gotta dream right? I have the time, motivation and will to get me there, but I'm still gonna have to get lucky. I'm taking this one as it is, a free ram tag. Didn't have to wait half a lifetime or take out a second mortgage to do this so no pressure on this one. Lots of other guys, but Im just young enough to hike away from it all (hopefully), and just old enough to be dangerous.
Anyways, I'm gonna try to post as often as I can. She gets mad that I don't take more pictures so maybe this will force me to. Already took some on the drive up which is waaay out of character for me but I'll attempt to post some up. For all the other guys coming up or are already up let's hear your stories too. This thread is for all of us. Good luck to everybody out there elk, deer, antelope, goat and of course sheep hunting. Sorry if I forgot anyone, but we all know that these are the only species that count right? ;)
Truckie: thanks brother look forward to sending you the good news text!
Here's another one of the beautiful landscape dotting 1-80 in Wyoming. She didn't get the beauty of it all...
With that being said we are always looking for sheep and goat hunting stories to fill our pages. If you have any stories you'd like to submit to us we'd love to hear em. You can pm me here for more details. Come on guys, I'm looking to the bowsite to help me out here!
Also,since I'm the young guy on the board, they all decided that I understand social media the best and will be taking over the social media for the RMBS shortly. So go over to our Facebook page and start following us if you haven't already. There's some really exciting news coming out shortly and that'll be your best bet for keeping up with what's going on. Trust me we WILL make it worth your time.
"To experience fantastic things, you have to put yourself in fantastic places." - Donnie Vincent
Kota, that is one great quote!
Mark
If they are "easy" to find then others have found them so I agree keep looking if you find a shooter that is not easy to find I would camp on him.
My 2 cents.
Check out the big bull mount in the gas station there in Lima
Good luck, Robb
Bigdan: In the sage!?!?! Ill keep my eyes peeled, but like I said before. Enough guys know about that spot it ain't no secret even in the least. Thanks for the tip though.
Uncle mike, glad to see ya join.
Heading to a new spot. Hope there's less people there, not looking to hopeful at this point though. Gonna be a foot race Saturday morning.
I just received this "sheep kit" to capture the lungs with bag, glove, tag etc.....Since you left home early, you may not have received it. You may want to pack a big zip lock bag for the lungs. F&G wants to study them for signs of disease.
RC
Sandbrew
Good luck on the recovery. Pretty cool stuff.
Hit the off shoulder about halfway up and he dove into the cliffs/rock slides. Met up with the 6 other dudes I had met that morning and everyone agreed that given the blood we were seeing and the penetration I got he was toast. Tracked him for 300 yards with great blood. Took a little over an hour to get that far due to how nasty it is. I can't understate how bad it is. The picture doesn't do it justice. Found where he had bed down and we must have bumped him cause the blood was FRESH in his bed. Good amount of blood in his bed and he hosed the hillside down on his way down. Never saw him but very very optimistic about the situation. If he hasn't gone more into the cliffs, and we weren't losing day I feel confident pictures of me and my ram would be plastered here. Just got into town gonna sleep in a BED tonight rather than the durn ground again. The red arrow isn't where he's at, top right of the arrow is though, not where it points. Only thing I'm not happy about is that I have to hike that stupid thing again. Gonna sleep good tonight.
Keep the faith as you will find him today
Good luck, Robb
Sandbrew
Good luck man!
Mike
I am out of here in like an hour/0430 for Wyo bow elk camp----
Soooo, I won't know how this turns out for another 10 days...
I certainly hope this falls in place for you man!!
Good luck, Robb
Are tracking dogs legal in montana? If so it would make sense on a one in a lifetime situation like this.
Are tracking dogs legal in montana? If so it would make sense on a one in a lifetime situation like this.
That is what I was referring to.
Saturday morning was cold and brought snow so it was a late start to the day as I'm either gonna contend with the army or the cold but not both. At about 9 it let up enough to get rolling and roll I did. Got to the top of the mountain and immediately ran into a bunch of sitka guys with a film crew. Turns out the one is the marketing/branding director for sitka and brought the crew. Really great guys. We decide to send a portion of the team one way and I'll hunt with the other portion.
Long story short we ran into other guys and the best laid plans detiorated quickly. I ended up alone busting through the timber to get to where I thought those two rams had been earlier in the week. I was on a mission.
Bigdan has been right about everything but one subject. You can not hike away from everyone. The tenacity of sheep hunters never fails to amaze me. These guys are everywhere, but so are the sheep. I ran into 9 guys on the very top of that mountain and its a minute up there.
Anyways I'm cruising through the timber doing my thing trying to get to my glassing point that I want to look at and I see legs coming through the thick stuff at me. I swear I almost called out to them thinking it was more guys. But since this wasn't no scouting trip and it was live action I held my breath not wanting to scare things off for either myself or whoever was coming through at me.
At about 50 yards I realized that both those dudes had furry four legs and decided that unless they were wearing some silly decoy you'd see jaquamo wearing than they were sheep for sure.
Duck behind two trees and get an arrow loaded as fast as I can. No time to take the pack off, no time to range, no time to do anything but get the hook on the string. Not how this was planned, but you work with what you got.
As soon as I'm ready I look up and he's noticed something ain't right. But we can't see each other very well and all I can tell is that there's two sheep really close. I reason that since I know there are two rams up here on this side it must be them cause the ewes always have more with em. And I know that the larger ram is ALWAYS in the lead. He must have decided all was well in the world cause he took 5-6 more steps.
The first step let me see his head and although it was just a split second I saw enough to put me in kill mode. His second step took him behind a tree and I drew my bow. The other steps got him perfectly broadside and in the clear. Magical. What we all dream of. I knew he was close so I burried the 20 pin low and tight, squeeeeeeeeeeze...
High and tight to the shoulder he rodeos around and heads for the ledges. My first reaction was shit that's high but it still must've caught lungs so he ain't going far. The mental breakdown starts and the shakes hit me so bad I almost couldn't turn my phone on to call the old lady. Give him an hour and eventually the sitka guys turn up and offer to help and you know the rest of that day.
Yesterday, I head back to the scene of the crime in the morning and put a range on where I shot from. I hate to put this out there for all the world to see, but he was only 9-10 yards away. I know I know, slam dunk shot on an animal you never get that way. So I bail off the ledge again and spend the rest of the day trying like hell to track out of that boulder field. Miserable doesn't describe it, but given the situation I ain't quit in just for a few rocks.
Last night I kinda lose the blood in a boxed off sage canyon. Get in there this morning and cannot find him to save my life. Start second guessing the shot and just how low I put that pin. Start to think, maybe this sucker ain't dead. Maybe he made it to the creek he was headed to and got his wound clotted. Maybe I'm never gonna find this ram.
Call a great hunting buddy of mine and talk everything over with him. Even go so far as to say that I'm thinking of packing up my truck Stanley, getting him on the 15 and pointing him south for Colorado. He just laughs and tells me to douche myself. Sure there's a good chance he's still alive, but he ain't well that's for sure. Every time his tracks try to point in any elevation gain he stumbles a step or two, rights himself and continues downhill.
At this point I think he's got himself holed up trying to lick his wounds. He probably made the creek and recharged just enough to hide himself.
Am I angry at myself? Yes. Am I supremely disappointed? Yes. I broke one of my very own cardinal rules of not shooting before I know the range. It was so close I didn't think it mattered, and I was right. At 10 yards it shouldn't have mattered, but I still botched a slam dunk and am in the process of trying to snag the rebound and .make the three pointer.
My legs are incredibly tired. I took some spills up there yesterday that really hurt. Had a big rock that I was on trying to figure out my next move slide out from under me. Normally I'm pretty savvy about just falling on my skinny butt, but this time I peter panned and wasn't thinking happy thoughts. I even threw my bow to catch myself which "thankfully?" Landed on the top limb bolt. Aside from a pretty good dent in the bolt everything looks fine. Gonna shoot it today to make sure.
m currently headed to town to resupply water. Almost out and if I'm gonna make a go at that ram than I'm gonna need everything I got. Gonna stay by the truck today, maybe read a good book and recharge. Gonna check every nook and cranny that guy might have gotten himself into. I know the area now and feel its just a matter of time and persistence.
Have I lost him? For now.... But that broad with the weight issue ain't got nothing to do with this one.
Hopefully you find it but your a lot more optimistic about this situation than I would be. Must be the meat hunter in me.
good luck
michael
Man, best of luck. Been right where you are. I know the feeling. Hope you find it!
It appears general consensus is that he was talking about the same ram in both cases.
Iaintafraidofnotag I'm looking fwd to hearing the rest of this story. I really hope you find your ram!!
So this is The wife :). So the ram he was talking about earlier in the three is the same one he is talking about in detail. He only shot one ram... And is still tracking it in the canyon. He is being very ethical and trying to harvest the ram his initially shot. Hopefully we hear something tonight saying he got it. But again he has only injured one ram.
Nice of em to let the bowhunters get first crack.
Good luck, hope you find him soon. Hope it's you and not someone who'd just claim him. I'd be as worried about that in a hunt like this as much as anything. Keep the spirits up. Hard I know at this point.... but things can change fast. Can only change if you stay with it.
You realize that we will all be hounding you for updates now?...LOL
Which brings up a strange dilemma, on a normal draw hunt a person might punch their tag over this. However since this hunt is all about getting rid of the sheep................
Sandbrew
Maybe when deer tags are a dime a dozen I could see someone saying that but most sheep tags are out of country, once per lifetime, or cost enough to buy a decent house so most hunters are going to frown on the idea of someone out there wounding sheep and moving onto the next.
For me I'd spend my time trying to recover this ram, or if it's still alive finding it and keep trying for him specifically. Even on a hunt where they are all getting killed off there are many other guys on this hunt who shouldn't be cheated out of an opportunity by someone taking or killing more than one
Glad to see he is sticking with it
Michael
things happen sometimes - move on
Since Saturday I have scoured this mountainside. Yesterday, Tuesday, I woke up and decided that since I could glass a lot of where he went from the truck that the heaters would be nice. Right off the bat I spotted 2 ewes, and a ram within 300 yards of the road. Couldn't see the ram really well, but was hopeful that it was mine. Another truck pulled up and began glassing. 20 mins later without being able to fully identify the ram I walked down to the other truck to explain the situation and found two guys asleep. They woke up and I told them I was waiting for these sheep right here to bed for the day and the thermals to stop shifting.
Another group of guys pulled up with 4 in their bunch. The one recognized the truck from this forum and immediately understood what was going on. Looked back and the 2 from the original truck had taken off. One guy drove the other to get above and had come back to watch the show. I walked down to ask what they were doing giving them the benefit of the doubt. The spotter told he they thought I wasn't going after them and that his buddy was putting the stalk on them now.
I lost my little mind. I made it very clear in no uncertain terms of what I thought of their behavior. I'm not gonna lie, it was not my most civilized moment. I let him know what I thought of them and walked off. I was livid.
Got back to the other group with the bowsiter and let them know what was going on. By this time the ram had come out and we were pretty sure it wasn't mine. The bowsiter thought he could head the other guy off and I quickly drove him into position. He made a valiant effort and wasn't able to connect.
Still angry that someone would do that I hiked up the mountain, although my heart wasn't in it all that much. Glassed and glassed to no avail. Getting out I noticed an eagle circling in that way they do when they've found something, so I hiked as fast as I could to see what he was after and he must have flown off.
Got up this morning and ran into the bowsiter again who had gone down the main canyon and arrowed a ewe 40 yards off the road. Very very happy for him. He said he was going to sell the full cape and I suggested donating it to one of the sheep foundations. Either way he earned that ewe regardless of lucking into her. Sometimes it just happens that way.
Spotted some more birds circling the same area this morning and now I'm just sitting on the very top again. Glassing and hoping to spot what those birds are on. If I can't find him today I'm gonna glass in the am and roll south. I consider my tag punched and hope like hell I find him today. I know I promised the wife I wouldn't climb down this rockslide again but this is where the birds are saying so I'll glad go down again if I must. Anyways, thanks for all the encouragement guys. After that fiasco yesterday I was mentally and emotionally drained. Nice to see the support.
Good luck.
Good effort and I hope you find him before you head south!
Back to the story, hope you find him!!!
Are you this Jason Mullaney?
• Mullaney Case: In 2005, a judge ordered Jason Mullaney of Butte to pay more than $23,000 in restitution, perform 1,000 hours of community service during a six-year deferred jail sentence, and give up all hunting privileges in Montana and 20 other states for six years. Mullaney had pled guilty to three felony charges of unlawfully killing 17 deer, five antelope (including a record-book buck), two black bears, and a mountain goat.
Wow imagine loss of hunting for 6 years id be RICH :>
And to you Justin, keep up the good work. I check this every chance I get. Most would have walked away by now.
I was full on pulling for the author until he pulled that crap. So say what you want about me but that is all facts.
I hope the OP found that ram today.
good luck man...
after all "but most sheep tags are out of country, once per lifetime, or cost enough to buy a decent house "
"is that me now? "
Actually yes it sounds very similar to the type of person that would talk to a man about what he was going to do and then ruin it by trying to "beat him to the sheep" so to speak
Hope Justin finds his ram, and hope Jason finds a brain.
Interesting.......
this seems like a local state park deer depredation experience with more people than animals running around hither and yon trying to kill something before the next truck pulls up.
just weird.
ok shooting before legal time, while a crime isn't exactly admitting to killing 17 deer, five antelope (including a record-book buck), two black bears, and a mountain goat.... That's what you admitted to, how many did you get away with?
What are you talking about turning this guy in, what did he do that was illegal?
michael
My thoughts exactly.
What I see is wrong is the fact everyone involved is on a once in a lifetime potentally sheep hunt. How is it one person can harass and potentially rob the opportunity for another and it be justified? How did those hunter know that they were not getting bulled and Justin was trying to kill the sheep himself when they were walking and fair game. I ONLY said anything when Justin threw a fit and lost his cool.
You trying to equate every infraction and every hunter to you is laughable at best. Keep trying to justify it..."it happened a long time ago when you were young"
Just so you know, I'm very near the same age as you, when you were poaching animals I was on my second tour in Iraq, you and I both knew right from wrong back then...
I've hunted with guys like that. Never again. Too many good people to share a camp with.
Stay with it Justin. Going back to where you lost him and starting over may be the thing to do. Good luck.
But I was well within my legal right to assist another legally licensed sheep hunter onto those sheep. If my outburst HAD caused the other hunter to step outta his truck for a western brawl he could have taught me a lesson I wouldn't have soon forgotten. BUT... he would have had to deal with 160 pounds of piiiiissed off Marine. I will handle that situation the same way next time, and if he wants to square off than I asked for it plain and simple and knew what I was getting myself into. I'm a big boy and have taken some licks for my mouth before, but I also know how to give em...
Back to the hunt...
Angways, I talked to my wife and that woman's a hell of a lot smarter than me. She told me that at this point I was just punishing myself to punish myself. I made a horrible mistake by not making the right shot and here I sit twiddling my thumbs.
But I am rolling home with my head high and I don't have to apologize for anything. My only regret is that I didn't take the time to take the ranchers invitation for coffee. My wife knows that I have a soft spot for older women and indulges a little flirtation every now and than. She knows its just me being me.
I met some great guys that I hope to remain friends with and saw some beautiful country. We only get one shot on this planet and I'm trying my best to enjoy it.
I'm going to end the hunting portion of this thread with a quote. Since I'm always solo on these things I end up going through a book every time. It keeps me sane. The owner of the antique store gave me his copy of Lonesome Dove after we talked for about an hour and he found out I had lost mine. Thank you sir.
Our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside. We live in the civilization they created, but within us the wilderness still lingers. What they dreamed, we live, what they lived, we dream.
So does every other human being.
And I apologize and admit when I am wrong.
So do almost NO armchair bowhunters.
Iaintafraidofnotag my hat is off to you. I rank you 10x higher then all the armchair moral police who fume higher moral standards they will ever fulfill. Check your PM Donv OH
To be honest I rarely post here just for that sort of thought process. But, you are right, I am on here for money.
Now that I have a captive audience I would like to ask that some of you become a member of the RMBS or some other sheep foundation. And think about this before you close the thread out and walk away from it...
If you followed this adventure and thought that it was fun to read and made you dream of either future or past sheep hunts than I implore you to join one of the societies/foundations. Regardless of how you feel about how the fish and game handled this situation wild sheep need OUR help. Desperately.
The RMBS, and many others, are completely volunteer and all money go directly towards the conservation of sheep. The RMBS has raised roughly $1.5 million in the last 5 years towards sheep conservation throughout the west.
I have attached a link to our website and would ask that you join. Im going to go so far as to offer the 15th bowsiter to pledge to join on this thread right here, right now, to pay for that bowsiters 1 year of membership. I spoke with Ryan Goodenow, the president of the board, earlier today and he offered to pay me back for the the bowsiter who takes advantage of this.
But, I want to offer that membership fee to the 20th bowsiter to join. This offer is extended to current members that are willing to re-up their membership. Ryan and I debated on whether to set the numbers that high, but I have faith in the men and women that have posted on this thread.
Thank you ladies and gents, going solo on this hunt was very hard emotionally, mentally and obviously physically. Not having someone to help really hurts.
Now let's put more sheep on the mountain and get some more tags in OUR pockets!!!!
Iaintafraidofnotag's Link
I would like to thank you for taking us along. Stuff happens. In all honesty, that ram is likely going to be OK.... till the bang sticks come out.... they are all going at some point.
I think MT has handled this well... so far... and yeah there are going to be some problems, more for some folks than others apparently.... but their options are not holding a hunt, hiring a crew of shooters, maybe from helicopters, and finish off the herd. Which they may have to do anyway but hopefully not to the extent they would have. Saved the state a bunch of money, made some even. Congrats to them for making the best of a bad situation.
Thanks again Justin. happy trails and hope the rest of your year comes together like you want it to.
Frustrated with decades of fruitless application for a bighorn sheep hunting permit? Don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to pay a Canadian sheep outfitter? Then head for Montana in August and hunt wild sheep on your own with an over-the-counter tag.
That’s the promise of a radical proposal by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks that’s out for public comment through July 2. The catch? It’s a big one. Hunters are being recruited to wipe out the sheep herd in the Tendoy Mountains of southwest Montana before pneumonia does it again.
That means not only are mature rams available, but also ewes and even yearling lambs. The Tendoy herd numbers about 40 sheep, and FWP wants them all to be shot by hunters; any survivors will be killed by agents of the department.
The Tendoys are a small, steep mountain range familiar to travelers on Interstate 15 between Butte, Mont., and Idaho Falls, Idaho. They poke up along the Idaho line just west of the interstate. For enthusiasts of wild sheep, they’re familiar for another reason: they are home to a chronically diseased sheep herd.
The herd has been periodically decimated by pneumonia, possibly transferred to the wild sheep by domestic sheep in the mountain’s foothills. The herd has experienced two catastrophic die-offs over the past 25 years, including a 1999 epidemic that nearly wiped out the herd. Though the Tendoy herd has been augmented periodically since 1999, the population hasn’t grown, probably because disease is being carried by some of the surviving sheep.
The department wants to repopulate the Tendoys with healthy bighorns from another area, but before they can do that, they must remove any reservoirs of disease in the existing herd.
That’s where public hunters come in. The department plans to issue unlimited numbers of over-the-counter sheep tags in the hopes that hunters can do the depopulating work. The emergency season’s structure would be similar to the state’s unlimited bighorn license areas, although a harvest quota would not be established in the Tendoys. The season would last as long as needed to depopulate the herd.
So, now’s your chance to hunt one of the iconic big-game species of the West. You might not have a trophy head to show for the experience, but I’m betting bighorn lamb is pretty tasty. 15
Please let's all not dwell on that action and remember what this thread about, sheep conservation. We need to get to 15 new members. Talking about the problem will only continue the problem.
I want to see some good people doing good things. Not be forced to dwell on the bad. Let's get a move on guys and gals. Were talking about beer money for a week here.
Was definitely an interesting read and see the different perspectives of what went on.
actually it never does - you are as far off and wrong as you can be and i doubt you ever figure that out
stickbow
I don't disagree on the level of difficulty -- I shot compounds, crossbows, recurves, longbows and am back to compounds for now -- but its NOT simply and its NOT easy when shooting a compound and there are no gimmee's ....... yes, its way easier than shooting trad but that doesn't mean its easy.
You're also not taking into account the difficulty of the hiking and hunting, the time and money spent on it etc.
This hunt might not have been as extreme as a solo primitive bow hunt for sheep in the Wrangell's .. but its also not a crossbow hunt in a tree house condo with a wet bar over looking 300# of corn
Now that you have replayed that shot no less than a hundred times in your head, do you think that you hit the shoulder blade?....or do you think that you hit him above the spine in the fleshy area?
I will quickly forget the dissenting voice on here but remember your details. Great job with the thread and best of luck with future hunts! Yes, feces occurs.
If it hasn't happened to you yet as a bowhunter, then it will. Its not always about the hand your dealt, but, rather, how you play that hand.
Again, Justin, my hat is off to you!
>>>>-------->
FYI you just added another RMBS member. So there are some small successes from your experience.
Chin up, hope you and Stan arrive home safe.
City- very well could have been above the spine all things considered. Here's a picture of the blood trail. Sorry I didn't post it earlier. And you also happen to be spot on with the babes. I woulda been the best customer earlier this week. I'm drawn to babes with barley pop like a moth to a flame.
Thanks for sharing! Like someone said above, your persistence and ability to tell a good story will be long remembered.
I will quickly forget the poaching blowhard that not only killed a bunch of animals illegally, but also willfully left the meat from those animals to rot. A leopard like that ain't likely to erase his spots......
Thanks again for sharing. Looking into the sheep org now.....
This is exactly why I didn't want to participate in this hunt. The lack of courtesy doesn't surprise me at all. I've had the same thing happen here in Montana during my elk hunts. Cutting people off is a real classy move. (Insert sarcasm) I too have been the recipient of it and it's not cool. I don't blame Justin one bit for getting hot under the collar. Oh well, some folks don't get it and never will.
Regardless, thanks for taking the time to post Justin. Real sorry to hear you didn't recover, but way to persevere, and big kudos to you for your effort. Sounds like you didn't leave anything on the field, and that's something to be proud of no matter what! You sound like the kind of guy that most folks would love to hunt with. Thanks again for taking the time to post and putting your hunt out there for all to see. The honesty is refreshing.
I told u there would be fights up there limited number of sheep easy sheep country glassing from main roads Unlimited tags ,hunters thinking this is there only sheep tag and u are flirting with disaster .
On the afternoon of the first morning, another bow hunter came in behind me and had spotted a half-curl ram further down the ridge feeding by himself. It was so far away, we couldn't even see if it had horns or not but figured it did since it was alone. I was actually closer to the ram initially but the young guy had spotted it first and I let him sneak on the ram. I asked if I could sneak around below the ram in case he spooked it or missed. He agreed and off we went.....
The guy nudged the ram twice but eventually made it to 20 yards off a cliff and flesh wounded the ram right before dark. I was disappointed and wished I would have been the guy standing 20 yards away. Anyhow, I was glad I did the right thing and let him make his stalk. I found 3 muley shed antlers and didn't see another sheep.
I may go back tomorrow with the rifle and sit up high somewhere.
Justin, be proud you were able to come in and scout and get an opportunity notknowing the area. There were lots and lots of hunters running around and you put yourself in the position to be successful, thanks for posting the good and bad.
BULELK1's Link
I know how ya feel as sometimes it happens...
See my link above as I went thru a very similar hunt--Mnt. Goat...
Stay after 'em roughcountry!!
Good luck, Robb
should be a good zoo down there today
We don't talk and intersect about 50-80 yards apart as I'm now angling back towards my truck. I happen to look over my left shoulder and see three sheep up the mountain. One ram, a ewe and a lamb. I had walked right over the top of them earlier and just couldn't see all the way down. Anyhow, I threw my pack down and put the ram in my crosshairs knowing the guy was after them. I looked off my scope and couldn't see the guy on the hillside and held off. Just then, BOOM and they all flew over the ridge.
I did a huge loop at full speed and found the lamb and ewe up the next ridge toward the summit and then see the guy come over looking around. I'm now wondering if he hit the ram. I made it to three hundred yards broadside on the ewe and put her in my cross hairs and just didn't pull for some reason. I guess I wasn't sure if the guy killed the ram or not. They walked over the ridge and I figured I could run up and shoot her at close range. They had other plans and dropped into dark timber. Just then, I hear BOOM again and the guy found his ram and finished him off below where the other two had come up.
I was so pissed as this was the second near death chance I'd had with the half curl ram that I peeked over the edge at the guy checking out his ram and I just headed back to my truck....ugghhh
Good looking ram for a half curl as it was really wide and reminded me of dall sheep horns.
I'm probably done now as their estimated rams have been killed or wounded unless some others from Idaho wander over. I had a fun time chasing them around and I also had a big black bear meet me on the trail at 6:30 a.m. and it was opening day for bear as well. Unfortunately, I'd already killed a small bear this spring.......dang.
Roughcountry, sorry to hear it didn't turn out for ya. At least you got on sheep and had a great time at it!
