Moultrie Mobile
A 2022 Archery Sheep Hunt
Wild Sheep
Contributors to this thread:
fishnride 06-Aug-22
fishnride 06-Aug-22
yooper89 06-Aug-22
Bou'bound 06-Aug-22
t-roy 06-Aug-22
JohnMC 06-Aug-22
fishnride 06-Aug-22
Oryx35 06-Aug-22
Rackmastr 06-Aug-22
fishnride 07-Aug-22
fishnride 07-Aug-22
BULELK1 07-Aug-22
ki-ke 07-Aug-22
fishnride 07-Aug-22
Kurt 07-Aug-22
SBH 07-Aug-22
fishnride 07-Aug-22
ahawkeye 07-Aug-22
Treeline 07-Aug-22
Bearman 07-Aug-22
fishnride 07-Aug-22
Dale06 07-Aug-22
sticksender 07-Aug-22
whipranger 07-Aug-22
fishnride 07-Aug-22
whipranger 07-Aug-22
EmbryOklahoma 07-Aug-22
Bowboy 07-Aug-22
fishnride 07-Aug-22
Bowfinatic 07-Aug-22
fishnride 07-Aug-22
fishnride 07-Aug-22
Jim McNamara 07-Aug-22
Rackmastr 08-Aug-22
Smtn10PT 08-Aug-22
BOWNBIRDHNTR 08-Aug-22
Paul@thefort 08-Aug-22
yooper89 08-Aug-22
Bow Bullet 08-Aug-22
yooper89 08-Aug-22
Bow Bullet 08-Aug-22
maxracx 08-Aug-22
fishnride 08-Aug-22
ahawkeye 08-Aug-22
pronghorn21 08-Aug-22
JDM 08-Aug-22
fishnride 08-Aug-22
fishnride 08-Aug-22
fishnride 08-Aug-22
Ambush 09-Aug-22
Treeline 09-Aug-22
Shiras42 09-Aug-22
fishnride 09-Aug-22
fishnride 10-Aug-22
ki-ke 10-Aug-22
fishnride 10-Aug-22
fishnride 10-Aug-22
t-roy 10-Aug-22
fishnride 10-Aug-22
Ambush 10-Aug-22
fishnride 10-Aug-22
Bowfinatic 10-Aug-22
fishnride 10-Aug-22
Oryx35 10-Aug-22
Shiras42 11-Aug-22
fishnride 11-Aug-22
fishnride 11-Aug-22
fishnride 11-Aug-22
midwest 11-Aug-22
iceman 11-Aug-22
Rock 11-Aug-22
Ambush 11-Aug-22
Bowboy 11-Aug-22
JohnMC 11-Aug-22
longspeak74 11-Aug-22
Schmitty78 11-Aug-22
ND String Puller 11-Aug-22
Treeline 11-Aug-22
deerhunter72 11-Aug-22
ki-ke 11-Aug-22
sticksender 11-Aug-22
Ron Niziolek 11-Aug-22
Paul@thefort 11-Aug-22
Taxidermy man 11-Aug-22
Kodiak 11-Aug-22
BillyD 11-Aug-22
LWood 11-Aug-22
LTG 11 11-Aug-22
Ucsdryder 11-Aug-22
Shiras42 11-Aug-22
EmbryOklahoma 11-Aug-22
HUNT MAN 11-Aug-22
DGW 11-Aug-22
Brun 11-Aug-22
Smtn10PT 11-Aug-22
KB 11-Aug-22
Grasshopper 11-Aug-22
Bowfinatic 11-Aug-22
Bowfinatic 11-Aug-22
SteveB 11-Aug-22
Shug 11-Aug-22
Elauwit 11-Aug-22
Bow Bullet 11-Aug-22
JB 11-Aug-22
Nick Muche 11-Aug-22
Footshooter 11-Aug-22
30338 11-Aug-22
t-roy 11-Aug-22
Kurt 11-Aug-22
Lone Bugle 11-Aug-22
2xLung 11-Aug-22
darktimber 11-Aug-22
pav 12-Aug-22
otcWill 12-Aug-22
2xLung 12-Aug-22
Mathewsphone 12-Aug-22
hdaman 12-Aug-22
Ermine 12-Aug-22
Rgiesey 12-Aug-22
Quinn @work 13-Aug-22
BULELK1 13-Aug-22
Shrewski 13-Aug-22
JEG 13-Aug-22
Buffalo1 13-Aug-22
caribou77 14-Aug-22
BOWNBIRDHNTR 15-Aug-22
ROUGHCOUNTRY 15-Aug-22
Jeff Holchin 15-Aug-22
DanJ 16-Aug-22
fishnride 17-Aug-22
APauls 17-Aug-22
TRnCO 17-Aug-22
tradi-doerr 17-Aug-22
Jordan 17-Aug-22
DonVathome 17-Aug-22
JohnMC 19-Aug-22
tkjwonta 20-Aug-22
zabwelch 20-Aug-22
Rackmastr 23-Aug-22
Iowabowhunter 27-Sep-22
12yards 27-Sep-22
Beav 27-Sep-22
IKE220 27-Sep-22
Straight Shooter 27-Sep-22
wild1 27-Sep-22
Matt 27-Sep-22
goelk 27-Sep-22
Murph 27-Sep-22
Machine 11-Oct-22
fishnride 26-Nov-22
WI Shedhead 26-Nov-22
TREESTANDWOLF 26-Nov-22
Paul@thefort 26-Nov-22
Bentshaft 28-Nov-22
Stoneman 19-Apr-23
Mark Watkins 20-Apr-23
Inshart 28-Jul-23
From: fishnride
06-Aug-22
Let’s get this 2022 season of hunt recaps up and running!

Hunting sheep has been a long term goal and dream of mine. I began applying and sending money away when I first started hunting at 25. There was a few years there that the money was pretty tough to come up with as I was pretty much a ski bum in the mountains, but year in and year out I sent away that cashiers check.

I have switched units to apply for here in Colorado several times but what I have always been looking for is a true backcountry alpine wilderness sheep hunt. I’m in the front range now, but I’ve been applying for the last ten years for a unit near where I used to live and know really well. It’s right up on the Continental Divide and about as high as you can get in the lower 48.

From: fishnride
06-Aug-22
I’ll fast forward to this spring. I was up in Wyoming at the top of a ridge glassing for spring bears. The wind was howling and it was nasty cold. I remembered a tree that I sat under in years past that provided some cover but still allowed for a good view so I hiked up and got under it. I recalled that I was able to get service up there so I took my phone off airplane mode. I’d been out of service for a few days so a bunch of emails came through. I scanned through them and came across a couple groups of emails from CPW. The first group was 3 emails. I started with my daughters…sheep unsuccessful. My sons…sheep unsuccessful. Next was mine. Congratulations, You were successful in drawing your 1st Choice as listed below!!! I couldn’t believe it. 17 years and I finally got my Bighorn Ram tag of my dreams!!

I went totally crazy but there were 3 more emails left to open. First was my daughters… Mt Goat unsuccessful. Then my sons…unsuccessful Mtn Goat. Then mine…once again Congratulations, You were successful in drawing your 1st Choice as listed below. Yep, I drew my goat tag to, but that’s gonna be a story for later in the season.

From: yooper89
06-Aug-22
Looking forward to this. Heading out Monday to hit the sheep mountains. Can’t wait!

From: Bou'bound
06-Aug-22
Good luck

From: t-roy
06-Aug-22
Best of luck on your hunt!

From: JohnMC
06-Aug-22
Been wanting to read this since I saw the teaser on the CO forum.

From: fishnride
06-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
The juvenile rams
fishnride's embedded Photo
The juvenile rams
So the scouting season begins, or so I hoped. I tried to get out in June but was pretty much snowed out of the high country. With my schedule I planned to scout and do overnighters every week from then on. First successful scouting trip was in early July. My first spot I found a good group of sheep, but they were all ewes and lambs. The ewes were near the bottom of the drainage so I thought maybe some rams would be up a little higher. I hiked to the top of the drainage about 3.5 miles into the wilderness but only saw 2 juvenile rams down low. I did get to a saddle overlooking a another more remote drainage and had a quick look with the glass into it before the lightning ran me out. No big rams, but at least I saw some sheep and got a feel for that country.

From: Oryx35
06-Aug-22
I'm looking forward to the recap. I hope to draw my own sheep tag someday.

From: Rackmastr
06-Aug-22
This is going to be good! Looking forward to it.

From: fishnride
07-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
Looking pretty sheepy
fishnride's embedded Photo
Looking pretty sheepy
fishnride's embedded Photo
Almost to a saddle
fishnride's embedded Photo
Almost to a saddle
fishnride's embedded Photo
Looking over into the other drainage
fishnride's embedded Photo
Looking over into the other drainage

From: fishnride
07-Aug-22
I camped at the truck and the next day 4 wheeled into another drainage. It was a long rough rd with some creek crossings and a few technical sections. I aimed for this valley cause it was a couple more miles from that ewe herd. It was probably about 5 miles as the crow flies and on the other side of the ridge. It looked really good but I saw no sheep that day. I was starting to think that I was missing them or maybe not really looking in the right spots.

From: BULELK1
07-Aug-22
Fun times for you

Keep us posted and be safe.

Good luck, Robb

From: ki-ke
07-Aug-22
Congrats on the tags! Looking forward to vicariously enjoying the adventures with you!

From: fishnride
07-Aug-22
I wanted to try to get back into the drainage I saw from the other side of the ridge. Best I could come up with was a 3 mile side hill across 3 peaks. Kind of a pain but if I held altitude I would come into the valley about 1500 feet up the ridge. It took less than 2 hrs and I popped out onto a perfect glassing rock pile. I scanned in the wrong places for the first evening and saw nothing. The next morning the sun shines just right and I started to see sheep. They were far away, somewhere between where I was glassing now and the saddle I looked over about 6 miles away. I couldn’t get great pics and certainly couldn’t judge size but I could tell they were definitely all rams! I counted 13 that day.

From: Kurt
07-Aug-22
Good luck!

From: SBH
07-Aug-22
Incredible country. Thanks for the posts. Will be watching this.

From: fishnride
07-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
Hiking in
fishnride's embedded Photo
Hiking in
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo

From: ahawkeye
07-Aug-22
I don't check Bowsite everyday unless there's something really interesting going on. I'll be checking daily now! As for reference, I have a wife and 3 kids, as soon as I saw this I told my wife "I'll be in the bathroom." Can't wait to see how this goes, good luck!

From: Treeline
07-Aug-22
Spectacular! Love sheep hunts!

From: Bearman
07-Aug-22
Beautiful country! Best of luck.

From: fishnride
07-Aug-22
I was happy I found a good band of rams but figured I would leave these guys here and try another area next week. They had everything they needed in that drainage, food, cover, escape cover and cliffs so I figured they would be there when I got back. I headed home and looked forward to getting back out in a few days.

From: Dale06
07-Aug-22
Good luck. Looks like a very tough terrain.

From: sticksender
07-Aug-22
Following this one!

From: whipranger
07-Aug-22
How did you get another Goat tag when you killed one in 2018. The 5 year waiting period isn’t even up.

From: fishnride
07-Aug-22
Whipranger, that tag in 2018 was a last minute population management hunt so it didn’t burn my points. Lucky I know

From: whipranger
07-Aug-22
Wow that’s awesome. Congrats on second tag as well as ram.

07-Aug-22
Sheep recaps are my favorites! Best of luck!

From: Bowboy
07-Aug-22
Good luck and enjoy the adventure.

From: fishnride
07-Aug-22
So my next trip was delayed a little bit. When I got home my 5 yr old had Covid. I’m exposed to it all the time at work and somehow I never got it until now. I didn’t get it super bad and just sat around for a week but wanted to get back out ASAP. I probably jumped the gun but I was back up on the mountain 6 days later. I felt a little weird and kind of dizzy so tried not to get into too much trouble. I went to a new spot on the other side of the divide that as far as the division says has a summer concentration but all the data shows no sheep has ever been harvested here. It was definitely interesting to me. I got up to sheep country and hung out in this basin for 2 days. It looked really sheepy and I thought I might have heard a couple headbutts but never laid eyes one. The 3rd day I hiked to a ridge overlooking another basin and was able to spot some sheep a few miles away. I only had the 15’s with me and no spotter so I’m still not sure what they were but they were probably a never hunted group of sheep. That trip was a success but I had an overwhelming urge to get back to the basin with those 13 rams and spend some time in there.

07-Aug-22
This is what I have been waiting for Good luck can't wait to follow along

From: fishnride
07-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
The basin
fishnride's embedded Photo
The basin
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo

From: fishnride
07-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo

From: Jim McNamara
07-Aug-22
Nothing like sitting in my recliner while someone much younger does the heavy lifting. That country looks so inviting yet so rugged. Most people will never see such impressive views like you are investigating unless it's in pictures. The grandeur is so much more impressive in person. We hunters are so privileged!! Good luck!

From: Rackmastr
08-Aug-22
That 'basin' sure looks like great sheep country!!!

From: Smtn10PT
08-Aug-22
Off to a great start. Sure looks steep in that basin where the rams are ;)

From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
08-Aug-22
Yes, looking forward to following a good hunt!

From: Paul@thefort
08-Aug-22
This will be one hunt you will NEVER forget. My Colorado successful sheep hunt was in 1997 and I can still remember every second, like it was yesterday. Best of luck, Paul

From: yooper89
08-Aug-22
Killin me right now!

From: Bow Bullet
08-Aug-22
Christian you are supposed to be creating your own sheep story for us. Get off the site and get after it! Hahahaha!!

From: yooper89
08-Aug-22
Leaving in the morning! Family has to come first. I’ll be at camp by afternoon!

From: Bow Bullet
08-Aug-22
Enjoy the adventure and best of luck!

From: maxracx
08-Aug-22
Beautiful country, best of luck!!!

From: fishnride
08-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
So now it’s getting kinda close to season. This was gonna be my last scouting trip and I figured I would make the most of it and try to spike out on a rock ledge overlooking the basin where I spotted the rams. The issue was water. There was no water source that I knew of up there so I had to pack in a couple gallons to be able to stay up there a few days. It got a little heavy, but as I hiked across the mountains on my way in I felt good. After putting in an average of about 15 miles of rough hiking on each trip I really was in the groove. I sidehilled for a couple hrs and found a sweet nook way up in the rocks and made camp. I had a great view of the whole drainage and especially the face where the rams were in the past. I sat and looked through the 15’s and spotter for hrs on end. I was starting to get it figured out where the sheep liked to be. One evening I was able to count 21 rams! They were in scattered small groups of usually around 5 or more and spread out across about a mile. This was awesome and I went to sleep that last night after one amazing sunset.

From: ahawkeye
08-Aug-22
Man that is awesome! I can not wait for this hunt, thank you so much for documenting this experience! Stay safe and good luck!

From: pronghorn21
08-Aug-22
Did you get one?

From: JDM
08-Aug-22
Hope it doesn't rain on you. From what it looks like where your tent is pitched, you'd be cutting holes in your tent to let the water out! Either that or you'd have an 'indoor' swimming pool.

Congrats

From: fishnride
08-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
The rams bedded below me
fishnride's embedded Photo
The rams bedded below me
The next morning was pretty awesome. I got up and glassed first light where I had seen the rams the night before. I watched a band in the distance of about 5 for a while then saw 3 more perched on the rocks above. I was pretty happy with what I saw and was just sitting having a snack when I saw a decent size group bedded in the rocks just below me. This was cool because up to this point I really hadn’t been close enough to Judge size other being able to tell if one was big or not. In this group was a couple nice 3/4 rams, one real good 3/4, some smaller ones, and a real nice 7/8. They got up and feed and did a little head butting and I could see that the 3/4 had a lot of mass and was obviously the nicest ram I had seen yet. He walked around with a commanding presence and the others took note. I watched until they headed into the trees, then I had to hike out.

From: fishnride
08-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
A pretty good size ram
fishnride's embedded Photo
A pretty good size ram
fishnride's embedded Photo
His bases facing away
fishnride's embedded Photo
His bases facing away

From: fishnride
08-Aug-22
I’d been in touch with the other archery hunter the whole scouting season. He seemed like a good guy and it was obvious that he had done his homework to. We compared notes and I told him what I saw. I had only only overwatched the basin and while I was gone he hiked into the valley and glassed from the adjacent mountain. We had a few real good things come out of our time scouting that group of sheep. 1: they weren’t afraid to feed into those patches of willows and small trees closer to tree line in the mornings and evening, which made me think that we might actually be able to pull this off with a bow. 2: he saw even more sheep than me and we knew there were at least 24 rams in this one basin. We talked on the phone for the first time just a few days before season. We went a little Western and just put an X on the map and made a game plan to meet deep in the wilderness at the headwaters of the drainage and hunt together. This was a gamble and could have went a couple different ways but turned out to be a better idea than I could have ever thought. It was time for final preparations, and in a few day I was going Sheep hunting!

From: Ambush
09-Aug-22
It's getting gooder and gooder!!

From: Treeline
09-Aug-22
Excellent recap so far! Looking forward to more!

From: Shiras42
09-Aug-22
Agree with others. We needed one of these! Will keep checking back. Pitter Patter! :)

From: fishnride
09-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
A couple rams getting close to treeline
fishnride's embedded Photo
A couple rams getting close to treeline
fishnride's embedded Photo
Good ram in a huntable spot
fishnride's embedded Photo
Good ram in a huntable spot
So the time had finally come. The truck was packed and so was my pack. I weighed my pack in and came out to 58lbs with 10 days of food, camping supplies, and some luxury items like the teepee and stove. I also packed my 10x binos, 15’s, a big spotter and tripod so that was a sacrifice in weight but I figured worth it.

I headed out early the next morning and hit the trail by about 2pm. It was a perfect cool cloudy day for a hike. About 2 miles in I looked across the valley and saw what was the biggest bear I had seen in years. He was reddish and huge. I watched for a few minutes and continued on. I made it up to our camp spot a couple hrs later as rain started to fall pretty heavy. We camped on the divide side of the basin fairly central to where we had watched sheep. I set up camp pretty fast and hung out in the teepee out of the rain. As the rain picked up I heard a voice say my name. It was the other archery hunter and the first time we had actually met. We stood under a tree and talked for a bit while the rain came to an end. We had just enough time to cross the creek and hike up the other side to do some late scouting. Again, more good news. We saw more rams then we had seen yet. I think we counted about 30 different rams and again they were in mostly huntable positions at dusk. After watching them for weeks we narrowed down a few patches of willows where they seemed to be almost every day. It was awesome to see so many rams. Some were pretty darn good. Quite a few 3/4’s and 3 7/8’s some with good mass. Sheep in this unit live a pretty tough life up on the Continental divide all year. They have a short growing season and probably never really drop below 11,500ft! They might not get as huge as other units but there were some definite good rams. We glassed till dark and only had one more day to kill until season started. Sleep was short and excitement was high.

From: fishnride
10-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
So I’m gonna skip ahead to the eve before the opener. We glassed from the same spot across the canyon and the sun was just right. No joke we spotted 40 sheep, all Rams! We recognized most of the big ones, but there were a few we had never seen. We let the sun set and headed for camp knowing we’d be hunting sheep in the morning!

From: ki-ke
10-Aug-22
Great recap so far!

From: fishnride
10-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
Sheep country from our glassing spot
fishnride's embedded Photo
Sheep country from our glassing spot
fishnride's embedded Photo
View of where the sheep bedded from my hide
fishnride's embedded Photo
View of where the sheep bedded from my hide
fishnride's embedded Photo
Some of the cliffs they hung out in
fishnride's embedded Photo
Some of the cliffs they hung out in
fishnride's embedded Photo
View back across the valley from the hide
fishnride's embedded Photo
View back across the valley from the hide
Well the day had finally come. It was Opening morning. We hiked back across the creek to our spotting location on the other side. We saw a couple different groups of rams near where we left them last night. I saw one group in some brush above treeline and from watching them for week I knew what they would do. I figured they would feed in the brush for maybe 2 more hrs until the sun hits the valley and the thermals switch. I went for it. I stopped at camp and dropped the 15’s and spotter and shed most of my layers. It was mostly straight up, but above camp about 1500ft. I felt real good on the way up and pushed it in about 1hr 15 minutes. When I got to treeline I went into creep mode but as I reached the last bushes I realized I was just a little too late. I was closeer than I had been yet, but still about 175 yards. They already started heading up for the rocks. I had food and water for the whole day so my plan was to just stay put and hunker down in the willows and wait till the evening when they would probably come down. I made a little bench and hung out. I watched rams come and go all morning and afternoon, but the main group was still bedded about 200 yards above me. At least 14 of em.

From: fishnride
10-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
Down valley from the hide as the clouds were building
fishnride's embedded Photo
Down valley from the hide as the clouds were building
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
I planned to hang out all day but Mother Nature had a different plan. The rains came in and started mellow but didn’t stop for hours. I planned on riding it out, but then the lightning came in. I stayed for a while until it just got too frequent and close. Not cool being in the last clump of vegetation and above treeline in a storm like that. I cut my loses and headed down for camp. It was slick the whole way down but I made it in about an hr. I talked to the other hunter back at camp. He stalked another group and said that he got busted with little movement from about 400 yards away! It confirmed our theory that these sheep are skiddish. He said they blew out and went up and over the ridge when they spooked. With a bow. This wasn’t gonna be easy.

From: t-roy
10-Aug-22
Getting better all the time! Keep er coming!

From: fishnride
10-Aug-22
The rain stopped just in time to get a quick spot in right before dark. As I suspected, they were coming down from their beds right to where I was sitting in my hide. I mean they were actually grazing on the willows where I made my little seat! Oh well, hopefully they will be close in the morning.

From: Ambush
10-Aug-22
Ah man! I'm going to be out of service for several days. Maybe put in some overtime on the story telling.

From: fishnride
10-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
A pic from where I stood when I took the shot.
fishnride's embedded Photo
A pic from where I stood when I took the shot.
Next morning we were glassing at daybreak. The rams were right where I had hoped they would be. They were on a grassy knoll just above where I sat yesterday. I made my move and headed on up. Again I felt real good and pushed it super hard. I made it to a landmark where treeline starts to break and the slope gets even steeper in less time than yesterday, maybe an hour. I started to slow creep from here. Everything was still wet so I was really quiet moving up the hill. I really only needed to worry about not rolling rocks and not getting spotted. The thermals were pulling down perfectly and I used little folds to keep my scent out of where I thought they might be. I slowly climbed for about 45 minutes. I was still in the scattered trees when I saw the silhouette of a body. I stopped in my tracks. I didn’t expect to see them this far daown but apparently they fed down as I went up. This was a perfect situation. I stayed focused on the one body that I saw. I had to move slightly to get footing on such steep terrain. I anchored my rear leg on the ground and it was so steep I leaned my left knee against the mountain. I knocked an arrow and still the sheep had no idea I was there. My heart was racing from the climb coupled with the massive adrenaline dump. I pulled back and came to full draw. The whole time I had a view of the vitals through a gap in the trees but couldn’t totally tell the size of the ram. All I heard from everyone before the hunt was to shoot the first legal ram, if I even got a chance, if I’m hunting with a bow. Well he moved to the left to look down the hill. His head moved into an opening as I was at full draw and I looked right at him. He was small. Definitely legal, but maybe like a 5/8 curl. Not mature. I worked all year and did trades so I had almost the whole month off. I told myself I wouldn’t shoot. He never saw me and turned to his right out of view. He was at less then 30 yards. I was still at full draw when another walked from the direction he went to look down though that same opening. He stopped with his head in a perfect opening and he was big! His vitals were in an opening in the trees. I estimated 27 yards and held right behind his muscular front shoulder. The pins were going nuts. I steadied the best I could and let it fly. The arrrow flew true right through the opening in the tree. It felt like a perfect hit! He stood for a second and blew out. About 13 other sheep were standing in the opening right behind where he was. I was so focused that I never even saw them. They stood around a few seconds and took off in the direction he ran. They never knew I was there. I radiod the guys across the valley. And tried to stay put for 30 minutes.

10-Aug-22
WHAT!!! OH YEAH BABY Loving your story

From: fishnride
10-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
I very anxiously waited the 30 minutes. It felt like eternity. The shot felt great. It sounded great. And I definitely saw a hole mid body as he ran. I did a little old school fluorescent flagging and looked for the arrow. I couldn’t find it. I gathers my things and began the hunt for blood. One thing nice up there is all the rocks were grey. I found blood within 10 yards. It picked up pretty quick and I started the trail. I didn’t need to look at the grass, just look for the next rock with blood. He headed north and basically sidehilled across some nasty stuff. I found the front half of my arrow in the trail. The shaft was broke in half and covered in blood. The blood really picked up after that. Another 50 yards later I found the back of the arrow. Bright red blood and bubbles. I was feeling pretty good, but he was headed for some cliffs.

From: Oryx35
10-Aug-22
O man, I'm looking forward to the rest.

From: Shiras42
11-Aug-22
Literally a cliff hanger here...

From: fishnride
11-Aug-22
I followed the track until he left the trees and entered a rocky draw, maybe 150yrds total. The blood became constant. I knew he would be dead somewhere, just not sure where. As I crested over the ridge I came to an avalanche chute . I could see a carpet of red heading down the chute. As I looked closer I saw him laying dead about 400 feet below me in the middle of the chute! I was overcome with emotion. I got on the radio and let the guys know that I found him. They said that they would start heading up the mountain and meet me at the ram. I had to stay put for a while and get my bearings then headed down for the Ram. I probably should have found a different way but I climbed straight down the avalanche chute. It took a little while and I tried not to roll boulders down onto him. As I got to him he had some always desirable ground growage. I knew he was pretty good when I shot but I soon realized he was one of the 3 7/8 curls! It was truly a dream come true and the culmination of tons of prep and scouting. All I wanted to do is put my hands on those horns. When I did, I realized his horn was actually what was anchoring him to a rock and stopping him from going another 300 feet down. I had to wait for the others to get up there but was content just sitting next to him and soaking in the moment. My rough estimate was 7 years old and he was beautiful. When the guys got up there we moved him a little for pics and then carefully dragged him down to a decent spot to butcher. We packed him down the chute to the valley, got a bite to eat and headed for the truck.

From: fishnride
11-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
Look close! When I first saw him
fishnride's embedded Photo
Look close! When I first saw him
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo
Dream come true
fishnride's embedded Photo
Dream come true
fishnride's embedded Photo
fishnride's embedded Photo

From: fishnride
11-Aug-22

fishnride's embedded Photo
Thanks for following
fishnride's embedded Photo
Thanks for following
Thanks for following, and I need to give a special shout out to Dom and Cody. These were younger guys I had just met that without any hesitation hiked up the mountain to help with the animal then hiked a half a sheep each about a 10 mile round trip all the way back to my truck! I can’t thank them enough. There really are still good people out there. I’m heading back up now to try and repay the favor and hopefully help him get his ram.

From: midwest
11-Aug-22
Wow....just a fantastic story and outstanding pics! Thanks so much for bringing it here and congrats on a great archery ram!

Can't wait to hear the goat story!

From: iceman
11-Aug-22
Excellent! Congratulations and thanks for taking us along

From: Rock
11-Aug-22
Congrads, great story and Sheep. I know exactly how you were feeling when you found him, put your hands on him and ground growth, even though it has been 27 years since I did that.

From: Ambush
11-Aug-22
Great prep, great hunt, great outcome, great ram, great story!!

And kudos to you for going back up to help the other guys. Wonderful way to extend your hunt and make memories.

From: Bowboy
11-Aug-22
Congrats and thanks for posting.

From: JohnMC
11-Aug-22
Great sheep! Enjoyed the story. Dom is a good dude.

From: longspeak74
11-Aug-22
Well done!! Great accomplishment!

From: Schmitty78
11-Aug-22
Awesome!! Congrats on a well deserved animal!

11-Aug-22
Congrats Keith! Great hunt and pics. Thanks for sharing the dream with us.

From: Treeline
11-Aug-22
Spectacular ram and excellent recap! Congratulations! Well done!

From: deerhunter72
11-Aug-22
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing. Your pictures are amazing and put you right there. Beautiful country! I always enjoy these ram hunt recaps and I can honestly say that this is the first one to make me actually wish I could do it. Congratulations!

From: ki-ke
11-Aug-22
Fantastic! Prep, planning and ability came together! Amazing how that works! SO much better than reading the edited, condensed version in a magazine. Thanks for sharing!

Congrats on a great Ram!! Also, good on you for going back to assist the other tag holder. Top shelf stuff.

From: sticksender
11-Aug-22
Great job, thanks a bunch for sharing your hunt with us.

From: Ron Niziolek
11-Aug-22
Outstanding! Thanks for letting all of us follow along.

From: Paul@thefort
11-Aug-22
Well Keith, nicely done all around. It is called ,"trail magic" when you find two guys to help you pack out. Some magic is always appreciated while hunting. This will be one hunt that you will never forget and years from now, you will remember every second of it.

my best, Paul

11-Aug-22
Thanks for sharing your story, that's awesome!

From: Kodiak
11-Aug-22
Thrilling just to read it, can't imagine actually being there. Nice!

From: BillyD
11-Aug-22
Congratulations Keith - truly outstanding. Tremendous recap and beautiful ram. Happy for you & thanks for sharing.

From: LWood
11-Aug-22
Congrats, Keith. Fantastic ram and great recap. Thanks for taking us along.

From: LTG 11
11-Aug-22
Great write and a beautiful ram... Thanks for sharing. Congrats.

From: Ucsdryder
11-Aug-22
Dang that was a great read and much needed while we all wait for our seasons to start!!! We need another semi live sheep hunting!!!!!!

Gray Ghost, I think I saw on here that you got a tag?!!! Have you killed yet? How about a semi-live thread to keep us entertained while we wait!!!!!

From: Shiras42
11-Aug-22
Just outstanding all around!

11-Aug-22
Ahhh yes! Congratulations, you surely earned him! Great photos too!

From: HUNT MAN
11-Aug-22
Amazing recap and even better sheep!! Thank you. Hunt

From: DGW
11-Aug-22
Congrats, thanks for sharing your hunt , awesome Ram.

From: Brun
11-Aug-22
Congrats on a great ram and excellent recap. Thanks for bringing us along.

From: Smtn10PT
11-Aug-22
Thanks for taking us along! Congrats on your trophy!

From: KB
11-Aug-22
Congrats Keith!

From: Grasshopper
11-Aug-22
Congrats! Great job!

11-Aug-22
Pretty cool Loved the pics and write-up What I have been hoping to read Congrats on a great ram

11-Aug-22
Pretty cool Loved the pics and write-up What I have been hoping to read Congrats on a great ram

From: SteveB
11-Aug-22
Something most will never do! Congratulations!

From: Shug
11-Aug-22
Great story and great story telling!! Congratulations!!

From: Elauwit
11-Aug-22
Great story and pictures. Congrats!!!!

From: Bow Bullet
11-Aug-22
Beautiful ram Keith! Thanks for sharing your story. Congratulations!!

From: JB
11-Aug-22
Amazing recap! Congrats on a beautiful ram!! Thank you for giving us a hunting story to follow. I love the recaps and this one is a gem! How did your new found friend fare??

From: Nick Muche
11-Aug-22
Pretty awesome! Congrats!

From: Footshooter
11-Aug-22
Congrats, awesome hunt and great write up!

From: 30338
11-Aug-22
After months of scouting and preparing for an archery hunt, it sure is nice to see that success can be achieved. Congrats on a beautiful ram and a well told story.

From: t-roy
11-Aug-22
Excellent storytelling! Congrats on a great ram, and big “Thank You” for taking the time to share it with us!

From: Kurt
11-Aug-22
NICE Ram!!!! Way to scout hard, hunt hard and arrow a dandy!

From: Lone Bugle
11-Aug-22
Congratulations!! Great story, great ram, great memories!! I'll never forget my archery ram.....

From: 2xLung
11-Aug-22
Nothing better! Great job. Was this a S9 ram? Which unit were you in??

From: darktimber
11-Aug-22
Doesn’t get much better! Congrats on a fine Ram and thanks for sharing the story!

From: pav
12-Aug-22
Outstanding! What a great recap and photos! Congrats on a beautiful ram! Well-earned for sure!!!

From: otcWill
12-Aug-22
Well done Sir!! Thanks for taking the time to post

From: 2xLung
12-Aug-22
Nothing better! Great job. Was this a S9 ram? Which unit were you in??

From: Mathewsphone
12-Aug-22
You sure earned it you put the you put the time in for sure

From: hdaman
12-Aug-22
I love the stories that get your heart rate up!

From: Ermine
12-Aug-22
Great job

From: Rgiesey
12-Aug-22
Congrats! Great read.

From: Quinn @work
13-Aug-22
Left you a voicemail Diana.

From: BULELK1
13-Aug-22
That is a Ram-tastic harvest

Congrats man,

Robb

From: Shrewski
13-Aug-22
Fanflippingtastic! Congratulations.

From: JEG
13-Aug-22
Congratulations, thanks for sharing!!

From: Buffalo1
13-Aug-22
Awesome story & a beautiful trophy!!!~ Thanks for sharing the hunt with us !! Congrats !!

From: caribou77
14-Aug-22
Congratulations, great hunt and story. Always appreciate these sheep stories

From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
15-Aug-22
Awesome. Thanks for sharing everything with us!!

From: ROUGHCOUNTRY
15-Aug-22
Great hunt and story, hopefully your new friend kills his sheep and you are able to help him out........post the pics if he gets one!

From: Jeff Holchin
15-Aug-22
Congrats and great job with all that prep, the hunt and especially the storytelling with excellent supporting pics!

From: DanJ
16-Aug-22
Awesome work and beautiful ram! Great story about how you worked with the other hunter and his support on the packout - not much better than that! Hope to hear of how the other hunt works out! Congrats!

From: fishnride
17-Aug-22
Thanks everybody. I couldn’t have asked for a better result and I enjoyed every minute of the whole experience. Something I truly will never forget.

Update on the other guy: I was back up there with him last week and weekend. He got real close to a group of 13 rams. Amazing stalk I got to watch with his Dad from the other side of the valley. He was 18 yards from a 3/4 curl but got busted drawing back.

The rams are acting a little different then they used to. Maybe it’s the season, or maybe it has something to do with me killing the other ram, but they seem to be coming and going from the basin a lot more than before. Basically less predictable and even more skiddish. They seem to be spending more time in real high nasty stuff with no real approach and if they bust, they go straight up and sometimes over the ridge for a few days. I haven’t heard from him in a couple days, but I’m confident he has what it takes to get it done. I wish him the best and wish I could still be up there with him. Keith

From: APauls
17-Aug-22
DUDE! What a story! Congrats. So awesome. really pumped for you. That's so awesome.

From: TRnCO
17-Aug-22
Congrats and thanks for taking the time to share the pics. and story. Well done.

From: tradi-doerr
17-Aug-22
Huge congratulations on a great hunt and Ram! Great story glad you shared it!

From: Jordan
17-Aug-22
Sweet!!! Thanks for sharing!

From: DonVathome
17-Aug-22
Beautiful sheep great job!

From: JohnMC
19-Aug-22
Hearing/seeing some breaking news out of the unit!

From: tkjwonta
20-Aug-22
Nice work Keith, great ram and great story to go along with it. Hope the other bowhunter tags out as well, sounds like both of you did your homework and were prepared for success.

From: zabwelch
20-Aug-22
Awesome recap! Congrats on a great ram!

From: Rackmastr
23-Aug-22
Congrats!!! What a cool hunt and experience!

27-Sep-22
Fantastic story and congrats!

From: 12yards
27-Sep-22
What a fantastic and picturesque hunt! Congrats on your experience and ram!

From: Beav
27-Sep-22
Congrats on getting it done! Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

From: IKE220
27-Sep-22
Congrats on a great hunt and ram! Thank you for sharing. Excellent recap and storytelling!

27-Sep-22
Awesome job, way to put in the work!

From: wild1
27-Sep-22
All good! Congratulations!!

From: Matt
27-Sep-22
Congratulations making memories.

From: goelk
27-Sep-22
Congrats great story

From: Murph
27-Sep-22
Awesome ram great story congrats !!!

From: Machine
11-Oct-22
Great job Keith! Looks like some spots you and I stomped around in our younger days. This is Gati

From: fishnride
26-Nov-22
Heck ya Zac, I appreciate it buddy. The 2 of us definitely covered some ground around there many many years ago. That area has always been special. Hopefully we can do it again someday.

From: WI Shedhead
26-Nov-22
Great hunt great ram!!!! Congrats!!!!!

26-Nov-22
Great Ram Keith and fantastic write up!

Congrats...well done.

From: Paul@thefort
26-Nov-22
Keith, we are blessed to have these great animals here in Colorado to hunt. Yes, sometimes right out the back door. Nice in deed. my best, Paul

From: Bentshaft
28-Nov-22
What an awesome hunt!! !! A big congratulation ! Thanks for sharing it with us.

From: Stoneman
19-Apr-23
Not sure how I missed this but sure glad you reposted it!

Fantastic story and pictures! Sure brings back memories. Nothing like sheep hunting.

Congrats on the well deserved Ram and best of luck to your son this year.

From: Mark Watkins
20-Apr-23
huge congrats on a great hunt, ram and thread!

Brings back lots of sheep hunting memories....Thank you!

Mark

From: Inshart
28-Jul-23
Yeah, I missed this the first time around as well. Epic adventure!

Did the other hunter ever fill his tag?

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