Nevada California Bighorn Adventure

[Marine4life]

Monday, June 19th. 73 days until Sheep season.

I hope all the Dads had a great Father’s Day. The last couple weeks have been busy with not much sheep hunt prep except going through gear, thinking about base camp setup and talking with family to get travel plans arranged. I also talked to another person who was pretty helpful with what to expect with road access and other things to consider in this unit.

I was invited by @realunlucky (Sam Weaver) to participate in his Tipsy Tuesday Rokcast. I joined him and @Tony Trietch to discuss the stress and pressure of drawing a great tag. I always enjoy talking hunting and really appreciated the opportunity to be on the podcast. If you happened to listen you might have heard one of my stressors for a tag like this is getting an injury prior to or during the hunt. Well as I write this update I am sitting here, day 7 now, recovering from a couple ailments.

Just over a week ago, the family and I traveled from Missouri to Boulder, CO for my daughter’s wedding. After the wedding we spent a few days in Estes Park and RMNP on vacation. My physical training was going well and I did a couple good hikes at elevation. However, my poor diet and increased alcohol consumption was likely a major contributor to pneumonia and having a very painful diverticulitis flare up. Luckily I have time to recover but it is a good reminder to stay focused on my diet and health. Focus.

As I let the medications do their thing for the next couple days I am going to do some of the less strenuous tasks for the hunt prep like continuing to shoot my bow and rifle, meal inventory and prep, going over maps and purchasing a couple items I think I might need.

Nevada conducts three sheep seminars for the lucky tag holders and highly encourages us to attend. I was initially thinking of attending the one in Reno because it is closer to my unit, we could see the grandkids, and I could possibly get in a day of scouting. But my wife and I decided to attend the one in Vegas and make a nice weekend out of it for the two of us. Don’t worry, I learned my lesson at the wedding and will keep a better diet and lay off the booze. Anyway, I was told if I did any real scouting with a vehicle with stock tires I would likely need more spares than what comes with the vehicle. Vegas is also a lot less expensive to fly in and stay than Reno. I am really looking forward to attending the seminar on August 3rd.

Thanks for reading.
Mike


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[Stave]

Thanks for sharing your adventure on Rokskide. Do you mind to share what unit you drew? And what the biologist told you about sheep habitat and behavior? I may never draw a sheep tag but I'd still like to learn about them and at least pack in and glass a heard some day. Either way, I'm excited for your whole family. Have fun!!!

 

[Marine4life]

Thanks for sharing your adventure on Rokskide. Do you mind to share what unit you drew? And what the biologist told you about sheep habitat and behavior? I may never draw a sheep tag but I'd still like to learn about them and at least pack in and glass a heard some day. Either way, I'm excited for your whole family. Have fun!!!

Unit 34. Thanks for the recommendation. I included more details about our conversation in the update below.


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[Marine4life]

Friday, June 30th, 62 days until sheep season

I hope everyone has fun plans for Independence Day.
I am feeling much better so my physical training has picked up. I also spent a little more time on the range squeezing off rounds through my 300 WSM and my 243 (less recoil). I need to get more ammo loaded up as I am running low.

One of our members asked some questions about what the biologist and I talked about during our call. I have to say I really enjoyed the conversation with him. I thought I was fairly prepared with my list of questions but was very happy when it turned more into a conversation than Q&A. He obviously has a lot more experience talking to hunters than I do with biologists.

The first thing we talked about was the unit’s sheep herd. I was surprised by his exactness with the population numbers and age breakdown. Apparently there were about 200 sheep in the unit, of which 82 are rams and about 23 of those are 6+years old. In the past three years rams harvested were between 4-9 years old and scored 120-160. He stressed the idea is to kill the older rams because it doesn’t make much sense from an overall population perspective to shoot a 4-5 year old then have a 9 year old die on the mountain. We talked a little about why 4 and 5 year olds rams are harvested. He believes some of the lucky tag holders are old, finally getting the opportunity, and might have mobility challenges. Others are simply happy to shoot a ram.

In reviewing past harvest data I noticed many rams are harvested in October so I asked if he had an opinion on why. He said last few Septembers have been hot and dry so the sheep move less and there have been a lot of wild fires in California which can really hinder glassing across that mountain range. He said with all the moisture this year it should help prevent the fires. We discussed how the moisture might spread the sheep out a bit and they will have more water sources. This unit generally has plenty of natural water sources so the sheep are not as dependent on guzzlers.

We discussed sheep behavior and how it will change throughout the 2 month long season. Apparently there used to be two hunts, each a month long, and tags split. They decided to just combine them to give hunters a longer season and be less effected by weather, water, fires, etc. For much of the season older rams will be in bachelor groups and away from ewes. The rut will start toward the end of October at which time the bachelor group of rams will break up and join the Ewes competing for breeding rights. As exciting as it would be to hunt them in the rut and watch the battles, there is no way I can wait that long.

Much of the range is good sheep habitat and we talked about how the sheep can vary in elevation. My take away from this was they will be where I find them. He did share with me some potential access points to consider and general road conditions throughout the area. This unit has a lot of wilderness and wilderness study areas.

According to the biologist this area has had little impact to disease and they have good predator management. He did make mention about seeing feral horses in the area. If you have done much research on hunting the western states that have feral horses you know the negative impact they have on native wildlife.

One of the more interesting parts of the conversation was about the number and type of people I will run into. First, there is a “Burning Man” Festival down in the southern part of my unit which takes place over Labor Day weekend. Apparently this is a big hippy gathering of self-governing people who like to smoke dope and run around naked - my words not his. I was advised to stay away from the southern part of the unit the first part of the hunt. Google it if you are interested.

Regarding people, he advised me to not get discouraged if I see a lot of people on the mountains. He said some of the tag holders might have 20 or more people helping them out and they will scatter out all over the range looking for rams and for me to be cautious about what they say. For example, they may say they are going after a certain ram but the actual tag holder could be over hours away. This got me thinking. With a hunt like this I really want to make the most of the experience and that doesn’t include having conflict with other hunters. I really don’t want to ruin anyone’s hunt but I don’t want to simply assume and walk away either - if that makes sense. Hopefully a situation never develops where a choice has to be made. It’s a big mountain range for 9 tag holders. We did talk about outfitters in the area and how they tend to operate.

The rest of the conversation was around checking in a ram, hunter survey and when they plan to do their aerial surveys. I have a growing list of additional questions which I will to ask either at the sheep seminar or in a follow up call that he encouraged me to make prior to the season. The bottom line is the NDOW appears to really want every sheep tag holder to be successful. After all, this will probably be a OIL opportunity.

Thanks for reading.
Mike


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[nevadabugle]

Friday, June 30th, 62 days until sheep season

I hope everyone has fun plans for Independence Day.
I am feeling much better so my physical training has picked up. I also spent a little more time on the range squeezing off rounds through my 300 WSM and my 243 (less recoil). I need to get more ammo loaded up as I am running low.

One of our members asked some questions about what the biologist and I talked about during our call. I have to say I really enjoyed the conversation with him. I thought I was fairly prepared with my list of questions but was very happy when it turned more into a conversation than Q&A. He obviously has a lot more experience talking to hunters than I do with biologists.

The first thing we talked about was the unit’s sheep herd. I was surprised by his exactness with the population numbers and age breakdown. Apparently there were about 200 sheep in the unit, of which 82 are rams and about 23 of those are 6+years old. In the past three years rams harvested were between 4-9 years old and scored 120-160. He stressed the idea is to kill the older rams because it doesn’t make much sense from an overall population perspective to shoot a 4-5 year old then have a 9 year old die on the mountain. We talked a little about why 4 and 5 year olds rams are harvested. He believes some of the lucky tag holders are old, finally getting the opportunity, and might have mobility challenges. Others are simply happy to shoot a ram.

In reviewing past harvest data I noticed many rams are harvested in October so I asked if he had an opinion on why. He said last few Septembers have been hot and dry so the sheep move less and there have been a lot of wild fires in California which can really hinder glassing across that mountain range. He said with all the moisture this year it should help prevent the fires. We discussed how the moisture might spread the sheep out a bit and they will have more water sources. This unit generally has plenty of natural water sources so the sheep are not as dependent on guzzlers.

We discussed sheep behavior and how it will change throughout the 2 month long season. Apparently there used to be two hunts, each a month long, and tags split. They decided to just combine them to give hunters a longer season and be less effected by weather, water, fires, etc. For much of the season older rams will be in bachelor groups and away from ewes. The rut will start toward the end of October at which time the bachelor group of rams will break up and join the Ewes competing for breeding rights. As exciting as it would be to hunt them in the rut and watch the battles, there is no way I can wait that long.

Much of the range is good sheep habitat and we talked about how the sheep can vary in elevation. My take away from this was they will be where I find them. He did share with me some potential access points to consider and general road conditions throughout the area. This unit has a lot of wilderness and wilderness study areas.

According to the biologist this area has had little impact to disease and they have good predator management. He did make mention about seeing feral horses in the area. If you have done much research on hunting the western states that have feral horses you know the negative impact they have on native wildlife.

One of the more interesting parts of the conversation was about the number and type of people I will run into. First, there is a “Burning Man” Festival down in the southern part of my unit which takes place over Labor Day weekend. Apparently this is a big hippy gathering of self-governing people who like to smoke dope and run around naked - my words not his. I was advised to stay away from the southern part of the unit the first part of the hunt. Google it if you are interested.

Regarding people, he advised me to not get discouraged if I see a lot of people on the mountains. He said some of the tag holders might have 20 or more people helping them out and they will scatter out all over the range looking for rams and for me to be cautious about what they say. For example, they may say they are going after a certain ram but the actual tag holder could be over hours away. This got me thinking. With a hunt like this I really want to make the most of the experience and that doesn’t include having conflict with other hunters. I really don’t want to ruin anyone’s hunt but I don’t want to simply assume and walk away either - if that makes sense. Hopefully a situation never develops where a choice has to be made. It’s a big mountain range for 9 tag holders. We did talk about outfitters in the area and how they tend to operate.

The rest of the conversation was around checking in a ram, hunter survey and when they plan to do their aerial surveys. I have a growing list of additional questions which I will to ask either at the sheep seminar or in a follow up call that he encouraged me to make prior to the season. The bottom line is the NDOW appears to really want every sheep tag holder to be successful. After all, this will probably be a OIL opportunity.

Thanks for reading.
Mike


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NDOW gets a bad wrap here from lots of locals. But in my opinion most biologists are the most selfless folks out there. Always willing to share info and truly know their resource.

 

[Stave]

Man I am excited for you! I would not be able to wait for the rut to start either!

Thanks for writing up a great post with lots of interesting info. One of the blessings of hunting is really learning the habits and habitats of wild creatures.

I'm glad the biologist was helpful and informative. And yeah, stay away from burning man

 

[Marine4life]

Friday, July 21st, 42 Days until Sheep season

I am in a bit of a lull. Planning is pretty much complete and I am beginning to spread out gear all across the basement. Meals are planned and family travel is arranged. A lot of gear is heading west with me since I will possibly be in the mountains/desert from the end of August until early October. Plus I need tent/cots and stuff for the family.

I have decided to attend the sheep seminar in Las Vegas instead of Reno. It is a bit cheaper and easier to travel direct to Vegas and my wife and I are going to make a little vacation out of the trip. We will be arriving on Wednesday, attend the seminar on Thursday, Aug 3 and will return home on Saturday. We have a reservation at one of the casino/resorts and are going to take in a show and enjoy some time together. It has been a long time since we have spent a few days in Vegas.

Physical conditioning is going good. A few good hikes and many runs should ensure I am ready to climb the hills. It has been very hot and humid here in Missouri so I work up a sweat pounding the pavement. My rifle is dialed in and I have a lot of ammo reloaded. I plan to do some shooting in Nevada the few days prior to the hunt and make sure both the 300 WSM and I are ready to get it done. I have also been shooting my bow daily and it is ready to go for the follow on AZ elk hunt.

My biggest concern right now is the weather. I have been watching the 100+ temps in the area and know if it continues into the opening week of the hunt it will make it tough on us humans. Although I have a lot of time I would really enjoy taking a nice ram when my kids are there so hopefully the first week of the season is a bit cooler than what it has been. Honestly that is more important to me than killing the biggest ram on the mountain.

Thanks for following,
Michael

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[Sierra Hunter]

Did you end up adding to your glass, and what’s your spotting scope situation look like? Some extra glass goes a long way out there. Appreciate the updates

 

[Marine4life]

Did you end up adding to your glass, and what’s your spotting scope situation look like? Some extra glass goes a long way out there. Appreciate the updates

I did update my binos from Sworo 10x42 ELs to 12x42 NL Pures. Got a heck of deal from Cabelas saving me $750 plus free shipping and double points. I have wanted a pair of 12s. I put the outdoorsman stud on them and will use my Promaster tripod and head. The kids will be using a couple vortex and Leupold binos, all 10x42s. My son is the only one who has done a little bit of glassing.

My spotters are Vortex Raxor HD 22-48x65 and a Kowa TSN 554 15-45x55. Obviously not top end spotters but they are going to have to do. Bought the Kowa for backpack hunting and ended up taking it on my dall hunt to Alaska. I was pretty happy with it but Dall’s are obviously much easier to see and I wasn’t counting rings.

I have done some glassing over the years but still have a lot I could learn in this area. I did buy a glassing pad to sit on. I had one I took to AK and the first day on the mountain I stood up and the wind blew it off the cliff.


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[easttex]

You are right to be concerned about the weather. climbing in the desert at 100 degrees is flat out dangerous . Quite a few recreational climbers have been recovered or rescued this year in New Mexico, Arizona and California. Water is golden.

 

[Marine4life]

4 weeks from today I leave Missouri and point the truck and trailer west loaded with camp and gear to do both a sheep and elk hunt. I am fortunate to be retired and able to spend several weeks out west if needed.

On Wednesday my wife and I fly to Vegas to attend the sheep seminar on Thursday. It’s all getting very real.


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[cbeard64]

Good luck!!

I have had a OIL desert sheep tag (AZ) in my pocket also. I can’t give advice on how to do it but I can say please try not to put too much pressure on yourself because of the tag. You are preparing well and have a good mindset. Enjoy the hunt. Don’t overthink things or stress too much. It’s hunting. Just keep plugging and will all come together and work out fine.

 

[Marine4life]

Good luck!!

I have had a OIL desert sheep tag (AZ) in my pocket also. I can’t give advice on how to do it but I can say please try not to put too much pressure on yourself because of the tag. You are preparing well and have a good mindset. Enjoy the hunt. Don’t overthink things or stress too much. It’s hunting. Just keep plugging and will all come together and work out fine.

Thanks much. Great advice.


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[1Akhunter]

Following along, nice read. Best wishes for a fun and successful hunt/adventure!

 

[j_volt]

Great posts, I really enjoyed reading them.

I am also from Missouri, and had an antelope tag on the Sheldon last year during Burning Man. Although I was further north, I received many of the same messages from the biologists.

Good luck, I look forward to following along.

 

[eshunt]

4 weeks from today I leave Missouri and point the truck and trailer west loaded with camp and gear to do both a sheep and elk hunt. I am fortunate to be retired and able to spend several weeks out west if needed.

On Wednesday my wife and I fly to Vegas to attend the sheep seminar on Thursday. It’s all getting very real.


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Bring your binos with you to the sheep seminar. I attended the one in Reno last week. It was a great presentation! And when they took us outside to look at actual sheep horns, they set them up from about 100yds away and had us looking through binos to try and age/score them. Was a cool exercise for those of us that have never had a sheep tag.

Ask a lot of questions. The bios that were present were awesome in discussing and sharing knowledge of sheep with all of us. NDOW really wants sheep hunters to have a successful and enjoyable hunt.

 

[JStol5]

Following! Great story.

 

[Marine4life]

Saturday August 5th, 27 days until Sheep Season

I can believe it is already August. Time is flying and I still have a lot of stuff to do before heading west on August 27th. I got off the plane this morning from Las Vegas returning from the sheep seminar and spending a couple days in Vegas with my wife. The sheep seminar was fun but I wouldn’t say it is a must attend. The best part for me was the judging/aging exercise they did. I learned I am not good at aging rams but I am pretty close with estimating score. The one I thought was 9 years old ram was actually 13, the ram I thought was 6 was only 3. With the way the drought and habitat conditions affect horn growth it was more of a game of trick questions.
I was surprised there were not more sheep tag holders attending. I believe I counted 21 tag holders and there was one other NR there from UT. They do the seminars in 3 locations but I still felt there would be more people attending. For those who are just starting the points game here is a bit of motivation for you - a young lady attending drew a Cali tag as a resident her first year ever applying. Isn’t that exciting? There were also a handful of people who had 20+ points for a desert tag, one having 25 points. One individual will be hunting on his second desert tag drawn in Nevada. Obviously there was plenty of excitement in the room among the hunters. Thanks for NDOW for putting on the seminar and sharing all the helpful information.

I have been watching the mountain range the last few weeks and recently they have been getting some rain. I just hope the high temps drop for the first part of the season or it could make things tough.
Rock on!
Michael


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[Marine4life]

Wednesday August 16, 16 days before Sheep season.
With the other post that is running nuts, PSE somebody, I really haven’t felt like posting. Not because I am afraid of someone hurting my feelings which in reality is probably not hard to do, but more because I have been searching for what this hunt really means to me. Sure I want to post a pic (maybe a hundred) of me with a nice ram and tell all of Rokslide that I was successful. But there is so much more that I want out of this hunt.

When I did my Dall hunt in 2020 I really thought it would be my only sheep hunt - EVER. My wife and I paid for that hunt with money we probably should have spent/invested in other areas, but it was a dream of mine and she supported me all the way. Now I have a second sheep tag, one that I have drawn by beating the odds and a lot of luck. Sure it has cost me some money to keep applying and building points but this is a tag that I, or most of us on Rokslide, simply can’t go out and buy. I want to share the opportunity so others may see they have an opportunity. More importantly I want my family to enjoy this opportunity with me.

The kids are excited. They know going in that it is going to be hot and our wall tent is going to make it a little rougher than having an RV in the Nevada high desert. They don’t know anything about sheep and very little about glassing long hours but at least for the first 4 days of the hunt they will be with their old man doing what he loves and helping him try to fill this amazing tag. We have some great memories hunting together and I want this to be one of the best. I know it will shorten my hunt but I would rather kill a decent ram with them present than the biggest ram on the mountain alone. I have them with me through 9/4 and then they have to get back to work, kids and school. If we are not able to kill a ram, at least we will enjoy our time on the mountains embracing God’s creations. I will be scouting 3 days prior to the season opener so it might be possible to have a good one lined up early in the hunt and with the kids with me.

It’s been a fun journey so far and I appreciate how having a tag like this motivates me to prepare, plan and eventually execute.

I will likely make a post on 8/26 letting everyone know I am headed west. Then we will see how it goes. Regardless, thanks for following and I will be sure to let everyone know how it goes and maybe I will have some pics of me and a nice California Bighorn.

Rock On Rokslide.


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[MountainTracker]

Go out and enjoy the time with your family, enjoy the fact you have a tag in your pocket and you can do whatever you want with it.

I know a bunch of are enjoying reading about the journey to opening day.

I hope you get what you’re looking for.


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