Sheep Hunt Reports
Wild Sheep
Would enjoy seeing any hunt reports or success pics from 2016 sheep hunts. Sheep season is well into it's 3rd week in the NWT, Colorado seasons opened yesterday, and Stone Sheep hunting is now underway in BC. Anyone with some news to report, please feel free to post here!
I don't think Colorado opens until this Saturday.....
Yeah you're right Lone Bugle. They opened on Aug 1st last year, but now I see that this year it's the 6th. First Saturday of the month is the opening day. Only one that opened yesterday was the Culebra Ranch hunt.
There was a monster Dall taken in the Yukon. It was the Kluane National Park tag taken with Dickson Outfitters
I've seen a few NWT dalls taken already on social media. I also know 2 bowsiters who are in BC chasing stones as we speak..fingers crossed.
I anxiously await the results of the two bowsiters chasing Stones. Guessing we will get a FULL report from them sometime in the next couple weeks.
Here is the ram I spoke about
Won't be long! Two sheep hunts this fall, finally! Good luck to everyone, looking forward to everyone's reports.
Holy smokes!!!!! That is a beast!
What a dandy Dall !
Thanks for sharing PA-----
Good luck, Robb
Wow! What a giant. Same here, Nick. I'm headed up there on Sunday. Can't wait!
Hes got it all ! Congrats to the hunters!
Jeff Demaske was the hunter. Many know Jeff as a big ram killer and purchaser of many auction tags. I believe he was trying to get into or might already be a member of the 700 club
Dustin Roe from Backcountry BC and Beyond texted me pics on July 20th of a nice Dall from Nahanni Butte. Not my pics, so I will not post.
Wow, that is an insane ram.
No word on Mark and Bill yet, but I hope to hear the MINUTE they have service.
Is Bill P hunting with Mark?
Yes Tom...I tried to make it a "threesome" but Dustin couldn't get another tag. :(
The three musketeers! Can't wait to hear the report. GOOD LUCK BOYS
Here is the ram I spoke about
...that is an amazing...amazing...ram.......wow......
I got lucky opening evening on a DIY BC stone ram. 10 yr old 35", 152" P&Y green score. Six years, 8 back pack hunts and 64 hunting days to get it done.....the good fortune of being a BC resident. Sore from the pack out but elated with the ram!
Congrats Kurt...How about a photo or two?
Kurt! I'm smiling ear to ear man! Way to go!!
Congratulations Kurt!I would love to hear the story. Mike
My dad shot this stone with his bow a few days ago
Congrats to bowfin's dad! Dandy Stone ram! Also that Dall is a giant.....unbelievable sheep.
Thanks for the congrats on my ram! Much appreciated. Maybe this winter when Inget the time I will do a bit of a hunt run down. Building a house right now and have to get back to work (before the next hunts!)
Wow that Dall is the Holy Grail...wow...wow
The stone a beauty too...looks like he took a tumble
Yeah he went of a 200ft vertical cliff then tumbled another 1000ft
Bowfin My Mountian goat was about to do double that and "stuck" in the only place a on the whole mountain the yard wide filled in mine after a 100 yard tumble or he would have been a wad of hairy hamburger...Thank you old Miner!!!
Is the giant Dall a bow kill? Must be close to a new P&Y record when he dries if he is! He certainly has mass and length.
Kurt I think that's the one Jeff Demaske shot. I don't think he bow hunts. I saw Jan at a RMBS board meeting last week and she said it was high 170s but didn't know how long it was. A cranker by anyone's standards.
Great rams! I always guess high on the thinhorns. Just goes to show the mass measurements are such a big part of a ram's score.
Hard to imagine a better looking Dall.....
A good buddy killed a dandy in S32 today. I'll get a pic on here
Toby D's S32 ram from today. Spot n stalk with his teenage son watching. Really a cool story
Wow, grats to everyone so far. Kurt, that's a hell of an achievement.
Congratulations to the successful sheep hunters out there! Wishin I was out there myself...
Awesome Dall for sure!
Congratulations to your dad, bowfinatic! Great looking Stone!
Kurt needs to post some pic's and a story! I know he is up to his tail with building a new house, but he could at least start the story... Definitely a lot to be learned there!
Nesser, hope Toby puts his story out as well. Great looking heavy, broomed off ram!
Good luck to the rest of the guys out there still chasing them down!
Awesome ram Kurt and congrats on sticking to it!! Sure has the mass. Shaping up to be a premium year for you.
See you in a few weeks to chase some horns with a different curl.
Oh the memories of chasing bow Ram in S-32....
Good luck, Robb
Great ram, I've heard of 2 nice ram killed in S49 this week.
Congrats to all. Keep the reports and pictures coming!
I think Kurt is muskox hunting at this time.
Stone's Sheep....2016......Round II
10 day backpack hunt in BC.....covered 49.5 miles in 10 days, Moved camp everyday to be able to glass new mountains early and late each day.
74 sheep spotted of which 11 were Rams of which 0 were legal.
Practiced my stalking on mountain goats..6,21 and27 yards.
Once again the breathtaking beauty of the BC wilderness is calling for the next round.
Kurt (and everyone else)......a huge congrats! Hopefully I don't need another 6 rounds:)!
Mark
Stones - 2016!
As Mark said we were on sheep but couldn't find a legal ram. I saw many rams just not the one we needed. I did get a chance to stalk a ram that we were undecided on which turned out to be a 7 year old and SO very close to full curl. Still amazing to get to ~40 yards on such a beautiful animal.
Terrain was typical sheep country and the bugs were terrible - so yes we were suffering but loving every minute.
I can't explain why we go through all of this and are ready to return the minute we get back to civilization.
Congrats to all the successful sheep hunters I'm sure there will be more.
MarkW & BillP, thanks for the update. With your guys' positive mental approach, I can see success coming in the near future!
Nice 32 Ram great character on the horns would like to see more picture of that tough guy
Mark and Bill: Sorry to hear that the legal rams were scarce again. You guys will do it and when you do it will be all that SWEETER. Mark we will go 2 for 2 in Canmore. I just need to get into sheep shape!
Mark and Bill, would love to hear the story and see some pics even though we know the ending. The scenery had to be worth the trip.
Bill and I had dinner in Whitehorse with the Dickson Outfitter guide that guided the huge ram in Kluane.
He said LOTS of nice rams in there!
Sticksender, thanks...the irony of being positive when you are beating up your body each and every day!!!
Mad Trapper....you got it..Canmore, here we come!
huntmaster, I'm out of touch for the week, so will try and post up some...the mountain scenery of BC is nothing short of breathtaking for sure! Maybe Bill can post some up...
Mark
Hey Guys - My S32 ram from last week.
There are typically 2 ways to hunt sheep in S32, spot them from I-70 or hike back in. After sitting on the frontage road of I-70 several times over the summer and not liking all the road noise and people everywhere, my son and I decided we would rather hike back into several drainages and basins for my sheep.
Tuesday morning was our 3rd hunt. The other 2 days / evenings we were ran off the mountain from lightning. Seeing only 4 rams (nothing big)
We got up 3:30 am, drove and 4 wheeled until 5:20 am, and then hiked up into our basin getting there about 6:45. I was light but the sun was not hitting the basin. We sat down and started to glass, a few minutes later I heard a rock rolling and I looked back at my son and asked him if he had kick the rock… he said no. We went 25 yards further up and I saw the band of rams on the other side of the drainage from us. (218 yards away)
We went down to the bottom of the drainage and back up the other side to the last trees before the rams. (110 yards away) My son sat down and I started to stalk and belly crawl over and up towards the rams.
When I was 50 yards out the big ram came around a boulder the same time I did and he saw me (or thought he saw something) I was already laying on my belly and behind a small 2 ft tall pine tree. He watched me for the next 2 hours and only took his eyes off me twice to do a fake grab a bit to eat and try and get me to move. The other four rams fed around and bedded down during this time.
After two hours I put my head down on the tundra just to give me neck a break, I looked back up and he was gone… I grab by bow, got up on my knees and leaned around the small tree to see my ram quartering away from me. I drew back, he looked over at me, I settled my pin and released my arrow… I never saw my arrow fly and didn't hear it hit him or the boulders around him, he took off running. I looked through my binos and saw a small grey hole in his side… I thought please let that be my arrows entry hole. He ran 50 yards, stopped, got the jello legs and turned around and came crashing down the rock field toward me and expired right in front of us! I was filled with emotion, let out a big holler and looked behind me to see a huge grin on my son's face - he was sitting there watching the whole think! It was great to have such an experience with my son.
Great story . Congrats to both of you on a memory of a lifetime . Hunt
He has lots of chips and missing pieces of horn… lots of great character.
Well done Toby! Congratulations!
Congrats on the S32 ram. Love the character in his horns. Did you get an age on him?
Toby, Great bighorn! Looks like an old warrior that won many battles. Congratulations!
I really enjoyed bowhunting sheep in S-32, and drove thru it everyday going to work for 32 years. My last tag was in 1999.
Kurt
Congrats on a great ram. He was definitely an old warrior from the looks of it. Did you get any video by chance?
DOW aged him at 9-1/2 years
This is a photo I took when we first saw them
mossy, grats on a great hunt. Incredible.
Toby, very nice indeed. Paul
Congrats on a very nice Ram, well done!
Toby, a HUGE congrats on a great ram!!!
A frontal!
Mark
Fantastic! Good luck to those yet to chase. (And those who will "re-chase";)
Congreats on that S32 ram!! I have been wanting that tag for a long time. lol
Congrats!!!! I hope that I live long enough to draw a tag for that hunt.
Congrats on a great trophy and so awesome that you were able to share it with your son!
A few pictures of the scenery. Awesome country!
Cool pics Bill! Looks like you have Mark inside the pack?
Which Hilleburg is the brown one?
I think Mark would have been lighter to pack than all the crap I did have in there Cory.
Nick I can't remember the model on that tent but I will try to get it for you. It was a good tent - reasonably light and quite a bit of room for one person. No vestibule but there was enough room for me, my bow and my pack inside.
Nick I believe it was the Unna.
Nice pics Bill!
Congrats to all the sheep hunters on great experiences
I wish I was in Bill's pack....I'd have seen 3 more sheep than I did!
I used a Hilly Suolo (single with a small vestibule) and loved it.
I Billy, you look really bad a$$ in that combo Sitka/Kuiu outfit:). The essence of sheep style!
Mark
I had to bring that fanatic hoodie just to lessen the grief from Dustin. Its pretty much the only Sitka gear I own but I do like it. When Sitka needs me to abuse some of their gear and sends me a few pieces I'll think about changing....
I do have a few ideas on their Nomad duffel. If any of you Sitka people are listening PM me.
Toby, congrats on your ram! That story got me excited! So cool your son was there.
Great reading and pix fella's.
Thanks for sharing
Old S-32 warrior right there.
Congrats
Good luck, Robb
Congratulations and great story! Sharing with your son is a great bonus.
Bowfinatic, is your Dad Paul Kamps from MI (I assume so)?
If so we hunted Tuchodi last year and he killed a great last day ram there as well!
Mark
Another ram hit the dirt in 32
Good stuff, guys. Thanks for the stories.
My WY hunt starts on Sept. 1, so it won't be long now!
Really great story and pics, thanks! And congrats!
At the risk of getting blasted for the rifle kill, I'll share a few pics of my AK dall sheep from last week. It may be a rifle kill, but I'm damn proud of it.
Holy sheep sh*T!
Congrats Jared on a great ram!!!
Mark
Congrats Jared! He's a great ram. Long tips and nice flair outward.
You know what's wrong with that kill? Nothing. Congrats!
Post the story for us, please.
yea, would love to hear the story!
Mark
Congrats again Jared! I was able to hold these horns in my hand when I met him at airport. They are really big!
Kyle,
Hope too see some success photos from you're WY hunt. Suppose to be cool the next couple days.
Good luck!
Awesome Dall, Iceman! Congratulations! +1 KSCowboy
Beautiful Ram...sorry to all but I ever get on a Dall hunt I am packing a rifle day one...so no apologies needed here...
Thanks so much, guys. This was my 2nd hunt for a dall, which made it even sweeter when it all came together.
I haven't even looked at the pictures I took with my "real" camera yet. These were a few that I took with my phone.
Craig,
It's 31 in Pinedale this morning, which is 4,000' - 5,000' lower than where we'll be hunting. I'll be bringing warmer clothes than I'd planned to originally.
Congrats Jared! Awesome ram!!
Good luck in WY Kyle....keep us posted!
Mark
Dang nice Ram iceman.
Did you catch him crossing from one mountain to the other mountain down in the valley?
Good luck, Robb
Thanks, Robb.
You guessed it. That's exactly what happened. He was in a band of 6 rams. I couldn't believe it when we first spotted them as low as they were, then when they got into the river bottom, I was really shocked.
Jared
Beautiful ram iceman! Congratulations!
Myself and a friend of mine put a tape on the horns this weekend. Scored him at 158 5/8" gross.
I'm a happy camper!!
Congrats! A great ram for sure with a lifetime of memories!
Mark
Hell of a Ram Jared!!! Congrats my friend! Now send me and Lee and Greg some Damn Luck!!
I'm trying!!!! Y'all just need the weather to give you a break.
Dang Kyle........that's one heck of a ram..... Tell us more!
Mark
My Hell Kyle!!!!
That is one dandy of a Wyoming Ram!
Congrats
Good luck, Robb
Short summary, with more to follow.
WY Unit 23 has got to be the most physically demanding sheep unit anywhere. Everything is seemingly straight up and down and there are no valley floors, just more steep high granite mountains. It's also all above 10,000.' I was at 11,500' when I shot the ram, so the oxygen was a bit lacking.
I shot the ram about 11:30 on Friday. It took us almost two hours to get to a place where we could climb up to him after circling around and down. Then it was :30 up a REALLY steep slope to get to him, :60 for photos, dressing and getting him on the packs, followed by :30 down.
From there it took us another 4:00 to hike down to a horse trail where we would be met by a packer with four pack mules/horses and three saddle horses. (Thank God for satellite phones!)
That hike down was brutal! Long stretches of HUGE boulder fields to negotiate ('HUGE' meaning the size of the boulders themselves, not just the size of the fields), followed by very steep grassy downgrades in the timber where staying upright and on your feet was almost impossible!
The good news is the packer arrived at the rendezvous point almost the very second we did and he had two six-packs of great craft beer (on ice, no less), plus a pint of Pendleton bourbon and a flask of Macallan single malt scotch, along with some snacks!
Yes, we celebrated!
Then it was a 3:30 ride to the trail head and another 1:30 drive back to Pinedale, where I checked into a hotel well after 3:00 AM.
I got to sleep by 4:00 AM and got up about 6:30. Got the ram checked by 10:10, then drove ten and a half hours home.
Yes, I was shot!
Great hunt, great crew, great WY ram!
Nicely done. Can't figure why you took it so easy though.
James, one of the crew, taking a break on the way down.
Jake Franklin, my guide, along with the helpers, James and Nate, were the hardest working and best crew I've ever experienced. Simply awesome.
Congratulations on a great hunt, Kyle.
Great Rams gents. Kyle, I will get that bottle of wine out to you this week. That is a perfect Wyoming ram!
Thanks!
I'd forgotten all about that, my friend!
Great Ram beautiful drop horn
Beautiful ram Kyle! Congrats!
You guys are making me look bad, hell all I've got are scenery pics and "small rams as close as 28 yards" stories! Oh, and a bunch of sore muscles...
Awesome thread and congrats to everyone! Just to do these hunts takes guts. No doubt you'll get it done next time Mark. Congrats Jared! Heck of a ram buddy.
Congrats Kyle! Beautiful scenery and ram!
Congrats Kyle! Beautiful hard-won ram!
After I'd tagged out and we'd started the trek down the mountain, I remembered my trip to Cheyenne early last year when I flew back to testify against a bill in the WY legislature that would have cut the non-resident sheep tag allocation in half.
Fortunately, after I and a few others testified that morning, the committee voted to kill the bill. If the bill had passed, my chances of drawing the tag would have be cut in half and this hunt might never had happened.
Karma, perhaps?
One of the guys that's on the fire dept with me took a nice ram off the purgatory ranch down by la junta CO. It's a rifle kill and not my pic to post so I won't but it was sure cool to see one of my brothers take an animal like that.
Congrats Kyle, nice ram! Just catching up via the wifi here at the hotel in Norman Wells. Will try to post some details on my hunt in a few days.
Fubar racin, would sure love to see the pics of that S61 ram.
Sticksender the world of Bowsite awaits your story, don't make me spill the beans! Thanks for dinner and safe travels my friend!
2016 Colorado S57, sorry for the poor pics but I was hunting solo that day!
Yeah Greg I'm drinking beer in Houston patiently waiting your story that Tim and I will have to type for u if u don't hurry! Lol like he said really appreciate dinner last nite and really feel blessed to have the chance to hunt with you and Tim . I really looked up to guys like y'all.
Nice job Keith, very nice!
Congrats Keith!
Lee & Tim, hey the pleasure was all mine, I promise you. Got back home to find our cable internet modem had been fried by a lightning strike last week. Once I get some internet service I'll for sure post up a report.
Congrats Keith...way to go!!!
Greg, we only have so much patience my friend:)!
Mark
Kyle,
Your Wyoming ram is a stud. Congrats!
Good for you Keith.
Congrats
Good luck, Robb
Had a great day in the Montana mountains Sunday 9/25/16 I drew my Ram tag on year #30. Although it is a rifle kill, I'm super happy to have a nice Bighorn to my credit.
Nice one Deflatem. Congrats.
Awesome Ram! Congrats Rex!
Got a text via Delorme Inreach yesterday...this thread is not done for the year..yet
Rumor has it one of the posters above has a Stone sheep harvest to report!
I saw pics of a stone and someone looked familar....
Awesome! Who was the lucky Bowsiter?? I bet the weather was miserable in northern BC this time of year.
I heard legendary guide Kent McKenzie was part of the show and Mark Watkins support was integral to the hunt!
Just get on with it Bill. I got places to go....
After our unsuccessful hunt early in the year, Dustin called and invited Mark and I back for a second go. The hunt was vastly different than our first - ATV's instead of planes and the weather was brutal!
We set up a base camp and had to wait a day for the weather to clear. Once we could see we set off - Mark East and I went West. We had just started climbing when my guide Kent noticed a white spot a mile or so away down low on a ridge line to the north. The spotting scope revealed a ram that warranted a closer look. We tried multiple angles but due to the weather we couldn't determine if he was legal or not.
We hunted this ram for basically 4 days and a lot of miles. It all came together with a 26 yard shot - yes a sheep at 26 - that looked great but wasn't. The ram went far further than hoped. Fortunately, after what can only be described as a nightmare, everything worked out.
As I mentioned above, the weather was terrible. Snow, wind and freezing temperatures had us considering how sane we were.
Congrats on your success. Great coloring on the cape of your ram!
Bill great ram! Looks like it may a little cold during your hunt.
Congrats again, Bill. Hell of an accomplishment! Way to stick it out..well earned trophy!
Bill, congrats on a great Stone! Glad you got one on the second try this year. The late season long-haired cape combined with the pre-rut neck swell sure make him look....well like a ram (and a lot different look than an August 1 ram like I shot).
He looks old, what did the bio age him at?
Kurt
Kurt he was 11 years old. He appeared to be healthy but was missing many of his teeth. An old warrior for sure - horns were broomed, chipped and cracked. Not the highest scoring stone but I couldn't be happier!
Craig it was extremely cold. Lots of snow and wind up high. If I am ever fortunate enough to do a late season hunt like this again I will rethink my gear choices for sure. That being said - what an experience!
Congrats Bill! Beautiful ram! Love the snow covered photos!
What were the Temps like and what gear would you change?
Bliz6, Congrats on your ram. Incredible accomplishment!!
I'll never forget Dustin's words as he read them off the In Reach...."Bill shot a ram today!!!"
I still get "the chills" even as I write this in the warm confines of my office in MN ten days later!
We high fived and celebrated Bill and Kent making it happen on this late season Stone's Ram 15 miles away with our Mountain House!
So incredibly happy for you Bill as I know firsthand the two brutal hunts you endured mentally and physically to take your great ram!
Success could not have happened to a better person...I'm honored to have shared two trips together chasing our dreams in the wilderness of BC!!!
Mark
Scott I would bring more heavy weight down clothing for starters. I had some down with me that was lighter and it just didn't cut it while we were glassing. While hiking I was fine but as I mentioned above we watched this ram for days. I did a lot of pacing when I could get out of sight.
I would also consider lightly insulated boots. I generally prefer no insulation because while hiking I don't want my feet to sweat. On this hunt 400 grams or so may have been the right balance.
Mark it was one hell of an adventure. I can still remember the mixed emotions the afternoon we met you as I was coming down with my ram and you and Dustin were headed into that "hole from hell". I am positive we would both have a ram if not for the weather that completely messed you up for days.
Can't wait to share another campfire soon. I guess that should read campfire, freezing temperatures, howling wind, grizzly tracks outside the tent, tipped trailers, ice on everything, etc, etc....
Would you gentlemen say that you preferred the early hunt(when it comes to the chances of killing a sheep) or the late hunt. It was my experience that the later hunt provided more opportunity for harvest. Wonder what your thoughts were. Your input may help future hunters when considering booking for Stones.
Congratulations. A late season long haired ram is the trophy of a lifetime.
Ned, A great question.
In terms of numbers of legal rams on the first hunt (August 1-10), Bill and I saw a combined 0 legal rams...we each backpacked about 50 miles 4-15 miles apart.
On the second hunt (September 25-October 5), Bill and I saw a combined 3 legal rams (and possible 2 more)...we combined covered about the same 100 miles, once again being 4-20 miles apart for the most part.
I think Kurt on a previous post had provided input that he has always seen more sheep (and maybe rams) on the later hunts.
With the later hunt (at least on our dates), we had about 4 less hours of daylight per day and had fog/falling snow reducing visibilities on at least 5 out of our 10 day hunt.
With the earlier hunt, you have (depending on where you hunt) an advantage of hunting rams that are totally relaxed and haven't seen a human for a long time (if ever).
The rut is/was a non factor on both of our hunts.
In summary, I really liked what we experienced in the late hunt, just wished we would have had better weather:)!
Maybe early/mid September would be "the ideal" time frame?
One heck of an adventure either way!!!
Mark
I preferred the later hunt as well. I think all the time frames have advantages and disadvantages. Some random thoughts below in no particular order.
Early the weather is generally better although mosquitos can be annoying. Probably more chances to lose hunting days due to weather on the late hunts.
It was COLD on our late hunt - some people probably wouldn't want to deal with it given a choice. Also, temperatures like this combined with wind and snow can be dangerous - always something to consider.
We saw more rams on the late hunt as Mark mentioned but that could have been the time frame, location, weather, etc.
Late hunts limit your ability to fly in as lakes can be frozen.
Harder to shoot with multiple layers of clothing on during late hunts. With sheep the shots can be at the outer edge of many hunters comfort range. Bulky clothing complicates everything.
Probably less resident pressure during the later seasons as most residents have moved on from sheep hunting and are chasing moose. Depending on where you are hunting this may or may not be an issue.
Most of all go do it! The mountains of northern Canada/Alaska are some of the most majestic places on earth. Early or late you will return with memories that you will carry to your grave.
All very good points. With the money being charged I would strongly consider time frames prior to booking. With your experiences, mine, and hearing of others, I would book later. The only reason that I would book early is if a prior arrangement was made to be able to return later in the year if not successful during the initial time frame. I say this because in order to shoot a sheep, you need to see and locate them in order to kill them. I simply saw more sheep later. It sounds like this is consistent with others findings as well. Hope for clear weather later, the cold will be there no matter what most likely. lol
Congrats bill! Jared called me earlier and told me your story! All I can say is wow!
Good info about the later hunts! Although, a 2 for 1 would be twice the fun!
CONGRATS BILL!! Persistence pays.
Bill,
Awesome ram, congrats.
This is not me and I don't know this guy, but I thought some of you would like to see this ram. I assume it is a rifle kill, but its HUGE.
Unreal! That looks like a marco polo ram!
Oh my....
Looks like a bit "Chadwick ram like!"
Congrats to the hunter!!!
Mark
Sat on this ram for days as sheep numbers are low and I didn't want to "re-locate" sheep.
3 days later waiting him out.
Enough waiting, 9 days without a stalk to my name, it was time, I'm off. I was alone, so I took a photo through the scope, and drew my plan.
Man, I have to cross this?
6 hours later, waiting, waiting, 24 yards I get my chance. I can't believe it just happened. My first stalk. My second Colorado Ram is down. And boy did he go down!
12 years old, I believe I may have seen my last Rocky Mountain Bighorn hunt and that's ok.
That's just amazing!!. Sign of a true predator! Wait and watch! Than strike!! I have always been so impressed with your skills! Congrats ! Hunt
Great Ram Caz. What a beauty! Congrats! You are a killer.
Awesome! Your the man Chad!
Good for you Chad!!
What a dandy Ram
Congrats
Good luck, Robb
Congrats Caz on a great ram!!!
The patience and stealth of a cat!!!
Mark
Great ram. Congrats Chad!
Great ram Caz. Great hunt...Congrats
Congrats on a great ram!!
Good luck Canmore hunters!!! The golden horseshoe will be present to help all involved!!
9 days waiting.....that is awesome stuff right there.
Caz, that is one hell of a ram, congrats!
Congrats Caz!! Well done!
Jaw-dropping ram and hunt Chad, congratulations!
Very happy for you man.
Nice CO ram!!!!!! Great to arrow one! Are they rutting hard?
Wow. Great job Caz. Congrats. Such patience and persistence and then the skills to know when it's a green light and pull it off...... pretty cool.....
Congrats to all the sheep hunters. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Tom.... you been preparing like Jake with walk in freezers in your skivvies???? =D Good luck man.
Awesome ram. Such rugged country. Had no doubts you would get it done. Killer.
Thanks Guys. Didn't get many good photos as I was worried about being in those cliffs in the dark. It was my first time in there, and the last thing I wanted was to be up there in the dark. It was a long ways out.
Wow Caz! Congrats! Awesome ram! Sandbrew
Simply outstanding......well done!!
Now, I anxiously await a Canmore report or two...I've heard rumors...;)
Rumors?? I need to get back in cell phone coverage....
I've heard rumors too.....:)
WOW, that was incredible, congrats!
I feel better now that I have heard rumors out of Canmore!
Who was hunting up there? Foss boys?
I think they might be more than rumors, Kota
Hopefully there will be a couple of very good stories from Canmore
Grats Cazador! Fantastic!
C'mon Mark...Get done with the honey do's and start posting...
Yeah Mark!
I guess three sheep hunts in one year makes a guy appreciate his family :)
Good work on both accounts Mark!
Canmore 2016...Hard to believe, but it is game time...The opportunity to hunt the hallowed Canadian Rockies for Bighorns...in the rut!!!
Mark
My favorite picture of the entire hunt! The A Team! Mad Trapper (Tom Edgington,), my guide, Michael Simpson and Tom's guide Tee Jensen....What a blast we had hunting sheep...(.now that is an oxymoron if there ever was one)!
We all four hiked up at first light and stopped to glass. I spotted a ram and a ewe about 3/4 of a mile away. Tee put the spotter on him and within a minute declared him a legal ram! They were travelling at a pretty good walking pace across the rocky/snowy face of the mountain. They were on a bit of a mission...but to where? Across a ridgeline out of sight they go...only to come back into our basin and into sight within about 5 minutes....whew!
Michael quickly hatches a plan...Mark and I will go high, Tom and Tee will sit tight covering the potential low route. This allows us to cover about a 200 yard swath of the mountainside and the two cliff bands that he felt the ram may take if he continues on his current trajectory.
Michael says to me, "Grab your bow, lets go!" We have pack boots on ( expecting a long day on the mountain top) with crampons for traction. Michael takes off like a goat up through the rocks and steep slick mountainside....I'm doing my best to keep up.... struggling to keep the crampons on but without them I'd end up on a driverless bobsled ride down the mountain!
Mark
It is now a footrace:
-Can we guess correctly the route the ram will take...IF he comes through?
-Will we get there in time?
Mark
No way I can stay with a 24 year old Alberta mountain goat, but I'm "givin' 'er" I keep looking for the potential ram (not in sight) and at Michael for any instruction as his vantage point was a bit higher than mine.
I see him pointing his finger...I look in the direction he is pointing and see nothing. I look at him again and he is pointing now with more authority. I look up, almost straight above me and there standing on top of the cliffs is the most beautiful Bighorn Ram I've ever seen....surveying the alpine basin he calls home...all to the background of a crystal clear blue sky!
Quickly, I nock an arrow and range the ram. In my head I'm thinking "45 yards" The range finder kicks out 33 at 32 degree uphill angle....OK....makes sense. As I draw back, my footing gives way in light of the steep snow covered slope, so I drop to my left knee and dig in my right crampon. The ram disappeared on top of the cliff.
Moments later, he magically reappears (thank you Lord!)....I draw back, and release aiming up into the front arm pit with the intent of driving the arrow up and through his chest cavity..should be able to catch both lungs.
The ram heads up the mountain for about 15 yards (per Michael) and then staggers and heads back down and dives off the 60 foot cliff. I hear him hit the mountainside at the bottom of the cliff and watch him go by me end over end about 20 yards from me at something near Mach... 250 yards later he comes to rest in a spruce thicket.
Tom and Tee are 400 yards below us and have just watched the entire series of events! They erupt like a couple of high school cheerleaders under the Friday Night lights...
Michael get to the ram first (surprise, surprise)....and declares all is good and in one piece!!!
(We drug him out of the spruce thicket for this pic)
Mark
The arrow flew true and remained intact, unbroken and fully embedded in the ram other than a bit of fletch sticking out and the tip of the broadhead......
Mark
That's awesome...congrats Mark
Congratulations Mark! Halfway there. ...hopefully 3/4 before spring!
Heck yeah!! What a hunt. Congrats Mark!
Love it...Congrats again Mark!
Awesome Mark!! Congrats again!!
Mark wow congrats! Beautiful ram and a great shot. Happy for ya!
The weight of a heavy pack with the pungent smell of rutting Bighorn and the crisp, clean alpine air of Alberta!!!!
Mark
A bit of perspective:
-This was one year and one day after the passing of my Father in Law Tom.....a great friend, pilot, businessman and Mentor. 26 months ago, while Tom was battling cancer, I ask him if it was Ok if he would "pilot my arrows?" He smiled and said, "of course!"
After my ram came to rest.....an incredibly emotional moment thinking of the many components that came together for this all to happen at once.....34 days of sheep hunting (Stone's) since I had previously released an arrow.
It doesn't always happen this way, but pretty sure Tom was there guiding my arrow with a big smile on his face!!!
I am one lucky bowhunter!
Mark
What a hunt and adventure !! Way to go Mark !
CONGRATS Buddy! Well earned!!
Congrats again Mr. Watkins! Well done
Grats! Great hunt and story
Damn nice Ram!
Congrats
Good luck, Robb
Congrats on a well deserved ram! Awesome job Mark!!!
Great story, shot, and Ram! Nobody deserves it more than you buddy. Well done sir!
Mark, Congratulations! Great shot and ram! Kurt
Awesome animal Mr. Watkins!!!
I got a phone call from Tom Edgington a couple days ago as I was driving home Arizona. He hasn't seen a ram since the day that Mark killed his.....Tom seems to believe that the weather may actually be too nice......and that they need more cold and more snow to get the rams moving into the area where they are. I told him that he was going to see another ram before the end of his hunt, and that he needed to keep a positive attitude. I also told him to keep visualizing such a ram, and to keep going through his pre-shot mental checklist, so he is essentially on auto-pilot when it DOES happen.
Thanks for the update Jake. I was wondering how it was going for Tom. Hopefully things happen for him.
Thanks Jake. I've been wondering how he's doing.
I've been talking with Tee (Tom) twice a day on the In Reach...high winds and snow yesterday made for miserable spotting conditions... No Rams seen. Michael has been out hiking into other basins glassing and scouting for them...
They need a couple feet of snow and cold to get the sheep moving...
Mark
Some tremendous trophies here, congrats guys! Want to wish everyone with a winter sheep hunt the best of luck!
Great job! Congrats Mark! Must feel awesome, such a well earned animal, lots of sheep days and no sheep, then happens in what seems an instant. Pretty cool.
Get em Tom! U can du et!
Blake Patton, guided by Dustin Roe is hunting bighorns with the Simpsons right now as well.....I've been talking with these guys daily. Same story for these guys....
Michael, Tee and Dustin are three of the absolute best sheep guides on earth (I've hunted with all three). These guys are passionate, hard working, eagle eyed sheep hunting machines with proven track records!!!
Mark
Talked to Tee (Tom Edgington) and Dustin (Blake Patton) in the past 12 hours...It is cold (5F) in the mountains this AM but no new measurable snow to speak of. Some small rams encounters but no legal rams...
Including today....3 more days!
Say your "sheephunters prayers" for these guys as it is down to crunch time in some brutal conditions!!!
Mark
Congratulations on your ram, Mark. A well earned trophy for you to say the least!
Jared
Mark, any updates from Dustin? I shot him a text a few days back but haven't heard from him. You are right, Dustin is a heck of a sheep guide.
Well done, Mark!
Congratulations for sure!
any more updates on anyone
Blake and I struck out. I never saw a legal ram in bow range after Mark killed his. 26 days (over two hunts) in Canmore and haven't got to draw my bow. The good thing about this recent hunt was that the temperatures were milder. I believe that it was only getting into the low single digits (F) at night. Still made you not want to get out of the sleeping bag. Canmore is certainly a special place, but at least for me, it is the toughest hunt that I have done so far. I believe Tom Miranda said the same thing on his video of his Canmore hunt.
To add to the update, in talking with Alan McGraw who hunted basically the same time frame with Guinns in Canmore, it was the same story...never got to draw his bow.
Mark
Tall mountains, cold weather, lack of sheep, unpunched tags, etc can lead to discouragement. However, I hope it inspires you to continue the pursuit. Hang in there gents. Never give up!!
Playing off what loesshill says.........keep at it and you will get your ram. Enjoy the pursuit, beautiful country, physical hardships, wind, snow, rain, fogged in days in the tent, etc. When success finally arrives it will be even sweeter! This is coming from a sheep hunter that hunted over 60 days/5 seasons for my first Bighorn, over 60 days/6 seasons for my Stone (but just eight days for the Desert and 11 for the second Bighorn). Luckily there was little monetary pain involved as mine were DIY, except for an unsuccessful/ "cheap" Alaska Dall hunt with Shankster.
Stickflicker has a sheep tag and I am certain he will hunt with his bow. Can't wait for the results. His season is the entire month of December.
Tough hunt Tom. Congrats on a heck of an adventure though! I imagine it's an amazing place.
But losesshill X2...... you're a guy who picks it up where he left off and starts it again. I prefer "persistent" and "committed" over "stubborn" or "hard headed". =D
Tough break Tom. The ones I remember with the most detail and fondness are the tough ones. 21 days in Mexico and all I kept thinking was that I thought the hard part about hunting Mexico was paying for it. I hunted unsuccessfully for 21 days in Alberta and considered it the best hunt I was ever on. My outfitter buddy thought I was nuts. I went back several years later and was successful on day 20. Told him "this" is now the best hunt I have ever been on. Hang in there It will happen.
Babe Ruth could've been a sheep hunter.........Hopefully the stars will align the next time.
Kurt, you are not the first to be burned by him. Please post an outfitter review on here. I almost bid on a donated hunt of his at FNAWS in 2013. A couple of very reputable guides, talked me out of it--I still buy them beers as a thank you. He does a good job of keeping his name clean online but there is a lot of dirt out there on him. I know a guy who got a B&C moose and a full-curl ram on one hunt and still wouldn't recommend that outfit.
Kscowboy, the Dall hunt was 19 plus years ago. Bowonly and I got burned but not as bad as some have. But that is a story for another time. Certainly soured me on outfitters for quite a while though. And at the time His references checked out as two friends had an awesome Bowhunt with him the previous year.
Great job, Mark!
Great story as well!
Congratulations!
Mark- Congrats on a great ram. And thanks to you for all those words of encouragement as the days of my hunt in Canmore started piling up..... Kyle had lots of great words, too. After 22 days and not seeing a legal ram, it was tough to stay "in the game." But we did.... day after day. There's absolutely nothing to complain about. The guides were great. The outfitter was great. The area was great. And it was probably the most beautiful area I've ever hunted. It was just one of those things. No one can control the weather, and no one can control the animals. If they could.....well, count me out because then it wouldn't be a hunt. In the end, it was one heck of an adventure. And I just hunted the same spot as Fred Bear! How does it get any better than that? Can't wait until the next one. Alan
Congrats on a great ram. Thanks for sharing!
Congrats again Mark!!! Super jealous! Simply awesome!
Bow the first five days ,not many sightings gave in. was a great hunt great animal
Beautiful ram....congrats Jeff!
Very special Mark! A huge congrats on a beautiful animal, a true trophy.
Congrats to all successful sheep hunters!
Boone59,
Have you had any of the meat yet? I am envious!!
not yet, soon though curious to what a desert taste like. Camp
A huge congrats Jeff!!! Love the spotting scope pic!!!
I always take spotting scope pics of each ram we are going after.....the "before and after" as I always seem to think each stalk is "the one" and going to end up with a dead ram:)
Mark
My desert tasted very good, right up there with the best game meats I've had.
My desert tasted very good, right up there with the best game meats I've had.
The ram I just killed is horrible. The meat is so strong I couldn't stand the taste in my mouth hours later.
Cazador,
That is really unfortunate. On Tom Edgington's (Mad Trapper) sheep hunt, we had a local hotel kitchen cook the backstraps from Tom's ram. Probably the single finest meal that I have ever eaten in Mexico.....and I have been to Five Star affairs....yet they simply don't compare.
Guys,
Congratulations on all these great sheep hunts! It seems like more Bowsiters have sheep tags this year than normal, or maybe I'm just more aware of it this years since I finally had one. Thanks for sharing. I haven't tried the meat from mine yet, I hope it's a better experience than Cazador's.
I thought for sure we would start seeing more Az. & Nv. Desert Rams by now--------->
Good luck, Robb
It would be surprising to me if the number of lucky, once in a lifetime tag holders in AZ NV who opt to hunt with a bow equals 1%. Most will use a firearm when it actually comes down to it.
Guess I was a 1% 'er when I drew a NV desert sheep back in '91! Proud of it too!
