First. Texas. Archery. Ram. Ever!
Wild Sheep
A HUGE congratulations to Alan McGraw who has taken the very first Texas public land archery desert bighorn sheep!
And what a ram it was!
WARRIOR!!!!
Great job, Alan!
that's fantastic! Congrats to Alan!
Congrats to the guy.
And a real RAM ram from Texas...not a Corsican, "Texas dall" but a real wild sheep.
Yup!
And taken by a super nice and very humble Texas gentleman to boot!
WOW!was this the draw hunt or auction tag?
That's awesome!!!! Congrats to him!
Yes sir. Awesome. Congrats!!!
Bill v
Truly a Ram of a Lifetime, X glad for you! Any details of your hunt? Congrats.
Great ram. That Texas terrain is tough.
Congratulations to the hunter.
I'd never applied for the draw tag, after hearing that bow hunting was not allowed.
sticksender I apply every year in hopes of drawing. I figure if i draw and offer the unit manager 5-10k to let me use my bow he just might LOL
Kyle- Thanks for your kind words. And thanks to everyone else as well. But I can assure you all that there was a tremendous amount of work from a lot of people and organizations that made this hunt possible. The restoration of desert bighorns in Texas is a huge success story in conservation, and really proves the contribution that hunters have to those efforts. To answer one of the questions, this was the 2014 auction tag. Unfortunately, there is no way to bowhunt sheep in Texas on a draw tag. The draw tags are restricted to rifle hunts. This year, there were 13 permits available from the state. Ten of those went to private landowners, 2 were draw hunts, and then one auction tag. So if one wants to bowhunt, it's either buy from a landowner/outfitter, or support whichever conservation organization that the state allows to auction it that year. As for this hunt, it was on Elephant Mountain WMA just a couple of weeks ago. This is a beautiful but rugged property. It was one of the most difficult hunts I've been on. Each day, we were able to get within rifle range of really nice sheep. But the end of a rifle hunt is the beginning of a bowhunt. So we just kept trying. My wife literally walked the soles off her boots on the first day. Finally, on the 4th day, the weather cleared enough for us to locate this sheep early in the morning. We spotted him bedded along the top of the mountain, so raced to get above him. Fortunately for the stalk, the wind was howling, so we were able to get within bow range undetected. After belly crawling the final few yards, I was able to get on my knees behind some grass. His head, horns, and the top of his back were just visible over a rock. When he looked downhill, I drew back, and started rising up on my knees to get over the rock. He turned and looked right at me, but by then it was too late. Because of the strong cross wind, I put my 50 yard pin center mass, and released. Honestly, I thought I had missed him, and my guide wasn't sure either. We ran to the ridge where he ran over, and found him lying not 50 yards away. The slick trick magnum had taken him through both shoulders. I don't mind saying that tears came to my eyes. It was an incredibly special experience. Not only did I get to share it with my wife, who was right behind me, but it was a special moment for the guys from the state as well. Most of them were bowhunters themselves, and were thrilled with the opportunity to try for a sheep with a bow. For it to work out this way was a testament to their skill and hard work! The ram was the first taken on a state WMA, and believed to be only the 4th taken with a bow in Texas.
Wow! Congratulations on a great animal!
Congratulations, Alan. My bucket list hunt for sure. Elephant Mountain is a beautiful place.
Congrats I drew the mule deer hunt several years ago. I came back with just a Javalina. My partner killed a nice old 3x3, the coolest part was me jumping a mountain lion on the gut pile a day later. It really is a nice place to hunt. We glassed sheep on the side of the main mountain. Everyday wished I could go after them. I really don't know why the one guy a year lucky enough to draw that tag can't choose what weapon they want to hunt with. Just maybe your ram will help change that for future hunts. Again congratulations again true trophy in Texas.
RG
Awesome! Congrats on a great ram and accomplishment!
Alan, What an incredible adventure and trophy!!! Hopefully you have started a new trend in having a new potential opportunity for the serious Big Horn Sheep bowhunters of the world to get it done.
Well done!!
Scott Alberda
Wow, congrats!
What a great ram and a great picture. Sounds like you had a great hunt.
Incredible ram....CONGRATS!
RAM-tastic!
Congrats
Good luck, Robb
Congratulation on a fantastic ram!
Congrats. That is a very neat area that you took your ram.
What a great looking ram. Congratulations.
Congratulations on an epic ram!!! Great to see good sheep in Texas.
What an awesome opportunity to display bowhunting and conservation hand in hand. I love seeing this in my home state. Hopefully the draw tags will be allowed for any legal sporting means in the future.
Congratulations!
Great Ram ! Congratulations!
Awesome trophy!!! Congrats!!!
Amazing! What an awesome ram!
What a warrior! Congrats on a great ram.
Awesome!! That is an outstanding sheep!
What a outstanding hunt, congrats...
What a gnarly looking ram....
That's HUGE! Both the accomplishment and the ram! Congrats!
Nice Ram But didn't Rick Duggan kill the first about 8 or 9 years ago? When he finished his super slam.
Rick hunted private land. This was the first taken on state land with a bow. As I said earlier, it's believed to be the 4th taken in the state with a bow. Hopefully we can start expanding those opportunities on the state land. I actually talked to Rick before I acquired the permit. Great guy!
"Nice Ram But didn't Rick Duggan kill the first about 8 or 9 years ago? When he finished his super slam."
Per Alan's post above...
"The ram was the first taken on a state WMA, and believed to be only the 4th taken with a bow in Texas."
So Nva's post wasn't exactly accurate. Not that it takes anything away from a great ram and bowhunting accomplishment.
That old scarred up face adds even more character to an amazing trophy. Congrats
Fantastic! Cool looking ram for sure. Congrats.
My post was accurate. The title of the thread, however, left out the words 'public land' because it wouldn't all fit in the amount of space available.
That's why I specified 'public land' in the post.
Congrats to this hunter on a great Texas ram and modern era first!
These earlier hunters must not have had internet access to Bowsite. ;-)
Deep in the west Texas desert lies a boulder-strewn canyon harboring a trove of ancient art and archeological sites. Alamo Canyon lies some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of El Paso in the vicinity of Fort Hancock, near Diablo Dam on the Rio Grande. Here, generation after generation of native peoples came to camp, hunt, gather and cook wild plants, and tell a bit of their story through art, symbol, and ritual expression.
Alamo Canyon contains at least 16 rock art panels—more than 500 images carved (petroglyphs) or painted (pictographs) on the rocks. Spanning some 4,000 years of cultural history, this artwork forms one of the most extensive and well-preserved rock art sites in Texas. Researchers studying these images have noted that they contain particular styles and symbols prevalent in other areas of the Southwest, pointing to relations and interaction between various contacting cultures.
Throughout the site we find images of animal figures, or zoomorphs. Most of these images appear to represent big-horned game such as deer and mountain sheep. Figures of bear and desert bighorn sheep, two species that only existed here prehistorically, also are depicted in the artwork. Interestingly, no animal appears in isolation on these walls. Some researchers believe this indicates that these different animals were hunted during the same time period.
Very cool, congrats and way to get it done with a bow!!
Great old ram ! Congrats to you !
Congrats! Hopefully your efforts and success will open archery opportunities for others down the road.
Pretty special to say the least.
Those rocks are dial up for sure.....
Very nice ram with a bow congrats
Wow! Heck of a ram, congrats!
Hey chasin....you might want to consider a change to your handle. lol
Elephant Mountain is really an amazing place. The bottom of the mountain is open to the public (except during special events), and there's a road that goes all the way around it. Lots of opportunities to spot sheep up on the side of the mountain, although you definitely need a spotting scope. The top part of the mountain is closed to the public for the protection of the sheep. The public can also come out and hunt quail any time during quail season, and we saw quite a few coveys. SirHunter, we did see quite a few mule deer and javelina. In fact, that's what kept us from getting within bow range of my sheep the evening before. There were so many mule deer between us and him that a closer stalk wasn't possible. They had just captured and relocated 40 deer a couple of weeks earlier. Based on the numbers we saw, they could have done more. We saw numerous herds of javelina as well. My sheep was on the top of the north slope, but had been up top the day before. We also made moves on sheep on the south and east slopes during the week. For those that haven't seen Elephant Mountain, I'll post a few pictures of what it looks like. And I agree, that West Texas desert is awe inspiring. It's basically one big mountain, with a "plateau" on top, ringed by lots of red rock cliffs. Elephant Mountain is not too far from Big Bend National Park, for those wondering.
We were at this point on the first day when my wife's boots fell apart. Thank God one of the guides had electric tape in his backpack!
Once on top of Elephant Mountain, it looks like a totally different eco system.... Lots of grass and rolling hills.
Amazing how well the sheep blend in with the rocks.....
great pics and a cool place!
Congrats Alan.....fantastic ram!!
I recognized you right away after I saw your pic.....it has been a few years for sure!!
ps....this is Kevin from the NWT.
Job well done.
Can anybody tell me why it is called Elephant Mountain
I've wondered the same thing, and forgot to ask the guys who work there. Here's what I found online through Texas State Historical Association: "The mountain is capped by a flat sill of igneous trachyte and was named for its shape, which resembles an elephant's back."
I've looked and looked, and I just don't see it. But I guess someone saw it years ago.....
Reminds me of a small mountain range north of Llano called "Baby Head Mountain." I drive by that mountain all the time, and never could make out the "baby head". Finally I asked someone who lives there to point it out to me. They laughed and said it's not named after a shape. Many years ago, as settlers were moving in, Indians killed a baby and put its head on a stick to scare away the settlers. It's been Baby Head mountain ever since..... Go figure.
Alan, Congrats on a great trophy...and conservation story!!!
Mark
