One of the greatest experience of my life in the Cabeza Prieta

K-rub

FNG
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Messages
7
had the opportunity to hunt desert bighorn sheep in the Cabeza Prieta wilderness of AZ. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget. The Cabeza is rugged, austere and dangerously beautiful. The only thing that really exists out there are the iconic desert bighorn.
This story is filled so many nuanced connections between amazing people. From the moment the original hunter decided to donate the tag to me because he got Covid the hunt was meant to be. People that I didn't know I came from everywhere to help me make this a reality. I literally could not have done this without them. And for that I am forever grateful.

When I hunt, I'm not the person who is always chasing antler length. I always have "the quality of the hunt" in mind. It's about the experience. This experience was among the best. In previous years of hunting I've had hard earned lessons, I've beat my body up and I've learned to deal with the frustration of failure often. On this hunt everything went perfectly. It culminated when I was able to harvest this 10yr old beat up and broken warrior at 220yds off the desert floor. I had prepared myself to climb on my hands and knees up these steep 1000' cliffs to make it happen. Instead it all happened at the bottom. I'm still in disbelief.
 

Attachments

  • DC550E44-DB0C-44B9-8628-9F5A0AAD3804.JPG
    DC550E44-DB0C-44B9-8628-9F5A0AAD3804.JPG
    242.9 KB · Views: 264
  • A9DC0826-0735-455D-9BF6-77FDB3148BAF.JPG
    A9DC0826-0735-455D-9BF6-77FDB3148BAF.JPG
    169.8 KB · Views: 268
  • 7B941057-8028-4DF6-9482-4D11CA451E84.JPG
    7B941057-8028-4DF6-9482-4D11CA451E84.JPG
    149.1 KB · Views: 262
  • 00972EBD-1561-465A-8291-E48A5EFA9764.JPG
    00972EBD-1561-465A-8291-E48A5EFA9764.JPG
    150.5 KB · Views: 261
  • DSC05746.JPG
    DSC05746.JPG
    1,008 KB · Views: 249
  • DSC05782.JPG
    DSC05782.JPG
    289.6 KB · Views: 243
  • VideoCapture_20221202-124807.JPG
    VideoCapture_20221202-124807.JPG
    208.8 KB · Views: 224
  • VideoCapture_20221202-124632 2.JPG
    VideoCapture_20221202-124632 2.JPG
    199.2 KB · Views: 246
OP
K

K-rub

FNG
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Messages
7
That’s amazing, congrats!

I’d love to hear more of the story if you ever feel like writing it out.
So the original hunter had 29 year's worth of bonus point for sheep in AZ. I've only been hunting for 4 years so I assumed I'd never hunt sheep. 2 days before the hunt he gets covid and donates his tag to me through Outdoor Experience For All. I was floored and quickly accepted only to find out that 46b west is a wilderness walk in unit. I called the preserve and they granted me access to drive in because of my prosthetic legs. I got out to the area a week after opening with some great dudes helping me. We glassed and saw some good rams over the next few days. On the 4th day we went deep into the unit and spooked3 rams that winded us when we got to the glassing knob. The rams went up a mountain and were not huntable for me. We backed out and drove a ways to a valley to glass. We glassed up those same rams a long ways a way from where they originally were. They ran up a mountain and down the other side then ran over 2 miles across the desert floor to a whole new mountain range. They were laying at the bottom in the sand when we saw them. I made a mile long stalk in to 220yds. When I got there we couldn't see the big one but the second biggest one was in sight. I was considering taking that ram because he was pretty good but a little younger. Then the bigger on stepped into sight and I was able to take him 20" off the bottom of the desert floor. It was absolutely amazing.
 

eddielasvegas

WKR & Chairman of the Rokslide Welcoming Committee
Classified Approved
Joined
Feb 2, 2020
Messages
3,718
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
Congrats to you and your team!

What a fantastic hunt story and the ram just shows so much of it's life in how it looks.


Eddie
 

BBob

WKR
Joined
Jun 29, 2020
Messages
4,500
Location
Southern AZ
Awesome! The Cabeza is indeed a unique and special place and I’m glad you were able to experience it. Taking a ram out of there is icing on the cake 😀
 

GSPHUNTER

WKR
Joined
Jun 30, 2020
Messages
4,600
Great, I can see where that would fall into greatest experience category. Nice animal.
 

keller

WKR
Joined
Oct 30, 2017
Messages
669
Location
wi
Congrats! What an awesome story! Some times things just come together!
 

schmalzy

WKR
Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Messages
1,582
Awesome pictures. Pumped for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

adamkolesar

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 9, 2019
Messages
252
Location
Adirondacks
Character doesn't even begin to describe that ram! What an animal. Congrats on making it happen and sharing the experience.
 
Top