This trip was originally planned for September, but schedules got tight between my work and hunting partner, Larry's, so we bumped up our sheep hunt to the first week, just a week before the season opened... We got in 2 days prior to the opener. This was a first for us, as we are lucky to make it in by opening day, let alone have an entire day to "scout"...
My nephew, Jack, graduated from HS this spring, and as a gift I bought him a ticket to come up with the expectation of tagging along on a caribou/sheep/moose/bear hunt with a side of fishing, as luck would have it, the plan changed and it turned into a full on sheep hunt. He wasn't disappointed.
I was far from prepared to go on a sheep hunt on such short notice, and I had to pack for both myself and Jack. A week later, about 10 trips to various stores for provisions and gear, I had two packs loaded and ready. I took my Kifaru Bikini and High Camp 7000, and Jack had my MR 6500... The "head to head" comparison of packs was quite an eye opener as I've never run them head to head on a long trip. The MR, was hands down more comfortable with weight, the ride was better. I'm seriously considering the return.
The day prior to the opener was the start of some miserable weather. Sheep were far and few between, and rams were even scarcer. The rain rolled in and persisted for the next 3 days with intermittent snow showers. I've been pretty lucky the last 4-5 years with weather on a sheep hunt, usually the rain is short lived and we have time to dry out. Not this time, we had soggy feet for about 5 days. one of my fancy new boots leaked, the other did not... but after day 3 even the "dry" boot was thoroughly soaked.
We put on about 8-9 miles the day before the opener, with nothing to really show for it other than a medium sized bou. Our plan was to head into an adjacent drainage and see what we could turn up.
The morning was soggy, with intermittent showers and fog... not great for sheep hunting, but better than not hunting. So off we went. We chugged about 3 miles up the drainage with nothing spotted, but fog and rain. We camped out along the creek near the head of a valley for about 4 hours hoping the fog would lift or a sheep would try to commit suicide. As the rain increased in both volume and horizontal velocity, we decided to call it and started the march back to camp. As we rounded the last ridge on above camp, I spotted a white back below a rock slide about 250 yards above us. We quietly slipped out the spotter and dialed it in on the ram... a small 6yo 3/4 curl... then another ram, and another and another.
Between the driving rain and fog, we were able to make out one of the rams to be broomed on one side, and he appeared a bit heaver than the rest, but he only showed us one side of his head as they fed around the hill, offering only a glimpse of the offside. Seconds, turned to minutes, as we waited for the ram to give us a good look at his other side. I was sure he was age legal, but wanted to make him to be full-curl as well. Larry caught a glimpse of his far horn, and determined that he was broomed on both. A quick look through the spotter to verify, and the rifle was loaded...
The shot was fairly steep up hill, and with no real rest available, so I made a tripod out of 3 trekker poles. Lined up the shot which was a touch over 300 yards and took it. At the report, I asked Larry for a report, he said he didn't see a reaction, or see where I hit. Befuddled, I quickly loaded another round. Just as I was trying to sort the ram out of the group, Larry mentioned that I had hit him, and he was going down. The shot was perfect, entered under the armpit, and exited the front of the shoulder/neck. That 308, is a heck of a sheep killer, thats number 4.
The ram ended up being 9 yo, and broken on both sides. I like the "ugly" ones, as the local guide calls them.
We took him apart and headed back to camp, both happy, and soaked. By far the shortest sheep pack of my career, well almost... we had to pack him another 7 miles back to the strip.
The next week was spent exploring and searching for another ram for Larry. We covered a lot of country, and vertical miles, and had one opportunity but didn't connect with a ram we dubbed 38 Special... we have a date with him again next August. Hope he makes it through the fall/winter.
All in all a great trip once again, and am always grateful that I get to spend time in the mountains with friends and family.
My nephew, Jack, graduated from HS this spring, and as a gift I bought him a ticket to come up with the expectation of tagging along on a caribou/sheep/moose/bear hunt with a side of fishing, as luck would have it, the plan changed and it turned into a full on sheep hunt. He wasn't disappointed.
I was far from prepared to go on a sheep hunt on such short notice, and I had to pack for both myself and Jack. A week later, about 10 trips to various stores for provisions and gear, I had two packs loaded and ready. I took my Kifaru Bikini and High Camp 7000, and Jack had my MR 6500... The "head to head" comparison of packs was quite an eye opener as I've never run them head to head on a long trip. The MR, was hands down more comfortable with weight, the ride was better. I'm seriously considering the return.
The day prior to the opener was the start of some miserable weather. Sheep were far and few between, and rams were even scarcer. The rain rolled in and persisted for the next 3 days with intermittent snow showers. I've been pretty lucky the last 4-5 years with weather on a sheep hunt, usually the rain is short lived and we have time to dry out. Not this time, we had soggy feet for about 5 days. one of my fancy new boots leaked, the other did not... but after day 3 even the "dry" boot was thoroughly soaked.
We put on about 8-9 miles the day before the opener, with nothing to really show for it other than a medium sized bou. Our plan was to head into an adjacent drainage and see what we could turn up.
The morning was soggy, with intermittent showers and fog... not great for sheep hunting, but better than not hunting. So off we went. We chugged about 3 miles up the drainage with nothing spotted, but fog and rain. We camped out along the creek near the head of a valley for about 4 hours hoping the fog would lift or a sheep would try to commit suicide. As the rain increased in both volume and horizontal velocity, we decided to call it and started the march back to camp. As we rounded the last ridge on above camp, I spotted a white back below a rock slide about 250 yards above us. We quietly slipped out the spotter and dialed it in on the ram... a small 6yo 3/4 curl... then another ram, and another and another.
Between the driving rain and fog, we were able to make out one of the rams to be broomed on one side, and he appeared a bit heaver than the rest, but he only showed us one side of his head as they fed around the hill, offering only a glimpse of the offside. Seconds, turned to minutes, as we waited for the ram to give us a good look at his other side. I was sure he was age legal, but wanted to make him to be full-curl as well. Larry caught a glimpse of his far horn, and determined that he was broomed on both. A quick look through the spotter to verify, and the rifle was loaded...
The shot was fairly steep up hill, and with no real rest available, so I made a tripod out of 3 trekker poles. Lined up the shot which was a touch over 300 yards and took it. At the report, I asked Larry for a report, he said he didn't see a reaction, or see where I hit. Befuddled, I quickly loaded another round. Just as I was trying to sort the ram out of the group, Larry mentioned that I had hit him, and he was going down. The shot was perfect, entered under the armpit, and exited the front of the shoulder/neck. That 308, is a heck of a sheep killer, thats number 4.
The ram ended up being 9 yo, and broken on both sides. I like the "ugly" ones, as the local guide calls them.
We took him apart and headed back to camp, both happy, and soaked. By far the shortest sheep pack of my career, well almost... we had to pack him another 7 miles back to the strip.
The next week was spent exploring and searching for another ram for Larry. We covered a lot of country, and vertical miles, and had one opportunity but didn't connect with a ram we dubbed 38 Special... we have a date with him again next August. Hope he makes it through the fall/winter.
All in all a great trip once again, and am always grateful that I get to spend time in the mountains with friends and family.
