1st Time Sheep Hunter Seeking Archery Specific Experience

[JBahr]

This year I drew a Colorado 2nd Season Archery Ram tag and am beyond stoked. Prep is in process... Hiking at least 1K feet of elevation before work 3 days a week and lifting the other 2. Training hikes in my unit and glassing from multiple locations about once a week. I already am seeing good rams, ewes and lambs and seeing some patterns. In my downtime I'm consuming every possible piece of media I can to learn. Books, podcasts, videos, very boring CPW reports from 10 years ago... I feel like I'm missing something! Archery experiences!

There is a serious lack of stories out there from people who have done this with a bow. Successful or not, I'm seeking people here who have done it. I'm really interested in every aspect but I understand how daunting it could feel to describe every facet of their experience, so I'll narrow it down.
- Daily routine... Start low/high? Before dawn?
- Tactics for getting close... Wait till they bed? Get in their path? Sit known trails?
- Gear you feel was must have, gear you brought but never used... I am a gear collector, LOL. I have most everything, I fear I'll take too much!
- Terminal performance of your setup... Shot placement, blood trail, arrow specs.

More background... Trying to avoid unit specific information... But I could backpack in, hike in from roads daily, base camp and spike out from there... Options are endless. 14K -6K feet of elevation in the unit. Sheep Population is strong/numerous. There seem to be sheep close to civilization and others avoiding people and common trails. I have plenty of archery experience, worked in shops for years, shot competitively. Fitness is good and improving.

I really appreciate this site and the wealth of knowledge it is. Many thanks to anyone willing to share their story.

 

[Maxhunter]

I’ve hunted dall sheep twice in AK with nothing to show for it. I killed my WY ram in 2017 (See attached pic). It was one of the best hunts of my life. You’re already getting in shape which imo is most crucial to hike around every day.

Make sure you’re proficient with your bow at a minimum of 60yds. Try and attend some local 3D shoots. You’ll most likely be shooting up or downhill.

The mental aspect of the hunt can be grueling. A lot of guys get burnt out. Always stay positive you never know when it will happen. Good luck and post when you get back.

 

[DuckDogDr]

Tagging in

 

[Blockcaver]

I've arrowed two rams in CO DIY (a long time ago) and completed an archery grand slam and archery super slam. Message me your phone # and we can set up a call if you want.

 

[Bowfinatic]

Have done 2 archery sheep hunts

NWT dall sheep & MT bighorn

NWT
Typically we would walk up the middle chute between mtns and glass constantly. Once we found a target we would get up above them and always stalk them from above

MT
We would glass from up high
Same thing once we found them we would always come from above on stalks

You are most likely going to be shooting at steep angles so practice accordingly. One aspect I would do diff in practice would be to sprint/run around and then when my heart is racing practice your shooting. For me my adrenaline was so amped up for the shot opportunities that was something I didn't prepare enough for. I killed 2 great rams but missed earlier in hunt because of being amped up and rushed my first shots

The tags are so rare and special I think it's natural to be extra amped because shot opportunities are rare and there is a lot of internal pressure to capitalize

Gear
Great boots a must
Tent for NWT
Trekking poles for NWT

Comfortable clothes that you have experience with
Comfortable sleeping bag and thermarest for sleeping
Enough arrows got a little low in nwt

 

[MNKO]

Make sure to dial in your third axis and have a very good angle compensation range finder. Archery sheep hunting is so much fun!