Justin.Medcalf
WKR
Thought I would share a recap of my first hunt of the year! I was lucky enough to be invited down to Texas to hunt with Top O Texas outfitters for Barbary Sheep and Javalinas at the end of January. What a great hunt! I went with a group that was only shooting stick bows and would be hunting Ewes only. I have no experience sheep hunting and no experience hunting in Texas so I was not sure what to expect!
We hunted in the Davis mountains outside of Vanhorn Tx and it is true sheep country! Lots of elevation gain everyday and tons of miles covered. I hunted for four days and was lucky enough to kill my two Javalina on the first day and get into sheep on the first day. If you have never hunted Javalina you should they are a worthy stickbow target. The property we hunted is free range and it holds Mule deer, Elk, Audad and Red sheep. Just hiking around it was awesome because of the diverse population of critters. The sheep hunting is spot and stalk which is my preferred way of hunting. I had multiple stalks everyday, I had one great opportunity at 20yds but I wasn't sure if it was a young ram or a Ewe.
The last day is what it came down to and to be honest I felt like I had my opportunity and was gonna be happy with just the experience. Myself and my guide Wes made the long trip from camp up and around a peak called Baracho and located some sheep in a good location for a stalk. As we left the truck to cover the 2 miles to the sheep I had a feeling that today was the day. The sheep that we spotted had been feeding and bedding on the edge of some large boulders that provided great cover for my approach. As we got closer Wes stayed behind and I made my approach to the sheep. It took my about an hour to get within 40 yds of the sheep. Just for refrence these sheep have 10x vision and super good hearing. As I came out below them I saw another band of sheep come over the top of the hill right above them. These sheep were in a spot that would not afford me to close the distance any closer on my intended target but they offered a better stalking location. So I shifted gears and backed out and around to get on top of the new sheep. It took me about 45 minutes of hauling ass to get into position but when I popped out on top it was perfect! I had great wind good cover and 20 sheep below me. I nocked an arrow and calmed myself down or atleast tried to! I slowly worked my way over the crest of the hill and got in position for a shot. The only Ewe that I had a good broadside shot at was outside of my instinctive range normally but as I stared at her picking a spot I became more confident and the green light was on! I had to move my bow around a cactus to get to full draw and as I did the Ewe closest to me picked up my movement and stood up. The whole lot of them was on alert now but it was too late, I hit my anchor and that arrow was gone! As I watched it fly I knew it was good elevation but it was going left. It made solid contact high in the sheeps upper leg and penetrated about 6 inches through and into the body cavity. That onside leg was broke just below the joint and started bleeding like I hit a small artery as well. Not an ideal shot but as I watched her try to follow the other sheep down over the cliff we were next to I could tell she wasnt going to go far. I called Wes and left him a message that I had shot one and started down to the edge of the cliff where I had last seen her.
I spent about a half hour glassing down into the cliffs below me and found her bedded about 75 yds from me. Wes found me and as I pointed her out she stood up and walked 10 yds and bedded again. I was confident that I could come in above her and get another arrow into her so Wes headed back to the truck to go around to the bottom for a better glassing vantage so he could guide me in. Once Wes was down and around He guided me down to her with text messages and pictures until I was right on top of her. I found her bedded next to a rock edge laying facing away. As I shot she moved out of her bed and I missed! I was cussing myself as I reloaded and traversed down the cliff edge following her. She was hurt bad and was not wanting to move far down the benches of loose rock and boulders. As I came over the last crest where I had seen her I found her standing broadside looking up at me. Before I knew it an arrow was on it's way and hit her right in the lungs. As she soaked that one up I reloaded and followed up again into her lungs. That did it and she tipped right over! I could hear Wes yelling from a half mile down the hill and I about cried! As I sat there admiring my sheep and Wes started his climb up to me I fell in love with stickbow hunting all over again. Any critter that we get to kill is a special thing but with a stick bow it makes it even more special.
If you are looking for a great adventure look up Top O Texas on the gram. Scotti and his whole crew are great guys with an awesome hunting opportunity.
We hunted in the Davis mountains outside of Vanhorn Tx and it is true sheep country! Lots of elevation gain everyday and tons of miles covered. I hunted for four days and was lucky enough to kill my two Javalina on the first day and get into sheep on the first day. If you have never hunted Javalina you should they are a worthy stickbow target. The property we hunted is free range and it holds Mule deer, Elk, Audad and Red sheep. Just hiking around it was awesome because of the diverse population of critters. The sheep hunting is spot and stalk which is my preferred way of hunting. I had multiple stalks everyday, I had one great opportunity at 20yds but I wasn't sure if it was a young ram or a Ewe.
The last day is what it came down to and to be honest I felt like I had my opportunity and was gonna be happy with just the experience. Myself and my guide Wes made the long trip from camp up and around a peak called Baracho and located some sheep in a good location for a stalk. As we left the truck to cover the 2 miles to the sheep I had a feeling that today was the day. The sheep that we spotted had been feeding and bedding on the edge of some large boulders that provided great cover for my approach. As we got closer Wes stayed behind and I made my approach to the sheep. It took my about an hour to get within 40 yds of the sheep. Just for refrence these sheep have 10x vision and super good hearing. As I came out below them I saw another band of sheep come over the top of the hill right above them. These sheep were in a spot that would not afford me to close the distance any closer on my intended target but they offered a better stalking location. So I shifted gears and backed out and around to get on top of the new sheep. It took me about 45 minutes of hauling ass to get into position but when I popped out on top it was perfect! I had great wind good cover and 20 sheep below me. I nocked an arrow and calmed myself down or atleast tried to! I slowly worked my way over the crest of the hill and got in position for a shot. The only Ewe that I had a good broadside shot at was outside of my instinctive range normally but as I stared at her picking a spot I became more confident and the green light was on! I had to move my bow around a cactus to get to full draw and as I did the Ewe closest to me picked up my movement and stood up. The whole lot of them was on alert now but it was too late, I hit my anchor and that arrow was gone! As I watched it fly I knew it was good elevation but it was going left. It made solid contact high in the sheeps upper leg and penetrated about 6 inches through and into the body cavity. That onside leg was broke just below the joint and started bleeding like I hit a small artery as well. Not an ideal shot but as I watched her try to follow the other sheep down over the cliff we were next to I could tell she wasnt going to go far. I called Wes and left him a message that I had shot one and started down to the edge of the cliff where I had last seen her.
I spent about a half hour glassing down into the cliffs below me and found her bedded about 75 yds from me. Wes found me and as I pointed her out she stood up and walked 10 yds and bedded again. I was confident that I could come in above her and get another arrow into her so Wes headed back to the truck to go around to the bottom for a better glassing vantage so he could guide me in. Once Wes was down and around He guided me down to her with text messages and pictures until I was right on top of her. I found her bedded next to a rock edge laying facing away. As I shot she moved out of her bed and I missed! I was cussing myself as I reloaded and traversed down the cliff edge following her. She was hurt bad and was not wanting to move far down the benches of loose rock and boulders. As I came over the last crest where I had seen her I found her standing broadside looking up at me. Before I knew it an arrow was on it's way and hit her right in the lungs. As she soaked that one up I reloaded and followed up again into her lungs. That did it and she tipped right over! I could hear Wes yelling from a half mile down the hill and I about cried! As I sat there admiring my sheep and Wes started his climb up to me I fell in love with stickbow hunting all over again. Any critter that we get to kill is a special thing but with a stick bow it makes it even more special.
If you are looking for a great adventure look up Top O Texas on the gram. Scotti and his whole crew are great guys with an awesome hunting opportunity.
