Progress of my preparations for my Colorado sheep hunt?

[RnnHntr]

Since I drew my first sheep tag and am a rank newbie to sheep hunting, I was wondering if it would be helpful/interesting to others if I started a thread and posted a summary of my preparations and progress towards the hunt, and then post a wrap-up after, whether I am successful or not?

 

[Ratbeetle]

Go for it. I've got a ewe tag for s32 this year. I'd like to follow along and compare notes.

 

[boco7]

From the perspective of a hopeful sheep hunter I’m interested in following your thread! Best of luck


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[Silver]

It would be great to follow along - I'm getting ready for year 3 of figuring this whole game out, and even though BC thin horn isn't Co Bighorns theres probably lots we can learn!

Congrats on getting the tag

 

[Ariettabob]

Have at it. I look forward to following along.

 

[realunlucky]

Subscribed

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[Back Country Hunter 2]

Do it!

 

[wytx]

I've got about 10 lbs to loose and lungs that burn. You'd think living at 7220 ft I would have a good start, not so, lots of work to do .
First miles put in today around the neighborhood. Lots of steps in my future.
Thankfully my area is not high attitude but is rough and rugged.

 

[zpooch]

Lots of work for me as well I think

 

[Ratbeetle]

Lots of work for me as well I think

At least you guys can train. I just had back surgery and can't lift anything over 15lbs for 5 more weeks! And no bending, twisting or basically anything fun. I'll be playing catch up.

 

[zpooch]

I have to try to not push too hard. I have had both my ACLs done about 15 years ago. I tend to work myself too much and then they act up

 

[RnnHntr]

Okay, so here goes a quick summary of things so far. I received my notice that I drew on May 3, and read it about five time to make sure I read it correctly. Then I checked my credit card and there was the charge, so I know it was not a cruel joke. I am 60 year old and have done some hiking, fishing, trail running, and ptarmigan hunting in the area, so already know it a bit. I have done a fair amount of mountain hunting, but no sheep hunting. I am an ultra runner and still compete in 50-mile races, though my wife will no longer let me run 100s (she does not want to go to jail, a long shaggy dog story), so I am in starting sheep shape. I am contemplating a morph of DYI and guided. I plan to scout and plan like it is a solo DYI hunt and if I can find a suitable one, potentially use a guide who will supplement my scouting and act as a hunting partner for the actual hunt. I have two suitable rifles, a .280 Remington Ruger No. 1 and a .300 Winchester Magnum that a friend built for me, though this seems like a great excuse to get either a Kimber Mountain Ascent in .280 AI or a Cooper Back County in .300 Winchester Magnum. To date I have downloaded and printed all of the topographic maps for the area (the advantage of working for a company with in-house engineering), and purchased a National Geographic trail map for the area, which is a wilderness area. I have been in touch with the guy who had the tag last year (Thank You Rokslide forums), as well as an outfitter, and several other folks who know the area. What I have been told is that the two most critical pieces of gear are boots and a good pack. I needed new boots and have EE feet so after much research chose the Lowe Tibet GTX, which are on my feet as I type this. I also have narrowed pack choices down to the Seek Outside Lanner or Goshawk. My wife and I are planning a weekend in Grand Junction and will be making a trip to the Seek Outside factory to decide which pack to purchase and for fitting. I have started going through all of my gear to see what else I either need, or want an excuse to buy. The area is just over an hour from my office. My plan is to do lots of scouting, even if it is throwing on my trail running shoes and running pack after work and doing some short fast scouts. I have done some road scouting, since the sheep are still low with the snow, and have seen some legal rams, which gives me hope. I am starting to annotate my maps with the information I have so far, including the data source and date of the information. I am also trying to find everything that I can read about Colorado Bighorn Sheep biology, and about sheep hunting, which is fun and interesting. If you have book recommendations, please pass them on. My family is probably already tired of hearing about sheep and sheep hunting, but I feel like a teenager getting ready for a first date. I will try to post to this about once a week, so stay tuned.

 

[jray5740]

Which unit did you draw? May help get you info from past hunters/locals/etc... here if you tell us your area!

 

[chasewild]

We need pictures.

 

[RnnHntr]

The area is S-2, Eagle's Nest Wilderness Area, and the image below is a lousy cell phone picture of some Rams posing on some rocks.

 

[eamyrick]

This is awesome. Please keep it up.

 

[Ariettabob]

Your family might get tired of the sheep talk, but we won’t. Keep it coming.

 

[Will_TXHunter]

Thanks for sharing RnnHunter and please keep us updated as the preparations continue. I have 4 points for CO sheep and haven't actually applied yet, other than to buy points so this is getting me more jazzed to start actually applying some year soon.

You mention Seek Outside and I am running their Unaweep pack at 3.9 lbs and really like it. It will be a sheep hauler for your should you decide to go without the guide.

It looks like unit S2 Eagles Nest is showing a herd of 50 sheep. I have no idea how that ranks with other units but with those animals spread out over 466 sq. miles, congrats on getting pictures of them sir. That's awesome.

Keep the sheep talk coming - I won't get sick of it either.

 

[RnnHntr]

So, here is a partial update. My sheep tag arrived in today's mail, so I now know this is truly real.

I have found a licensed guide who is willing to help me the way I want to be helped. He will help me with scouting and hunt with me the first four days of the season. After day four I will be on my own. I found out when the out-of-state hunter will be in the area. His time will slightly overlap mine if I do not shoot a sheep in the first five days, but he will be out after the second week.

Since my current two suitable rifles weigh right around 9 pounds, I have decided to get a lightweight rifle, so I will be selling a bunch of other firearms (and maybe a kidney) to pay for it. I have decided on the Cooper 92 Back Country in .300 Winchester Magnum, topped with a Swarovski Z3 3.5-10 in Warne Mountain Tech rings. This combo should save me a couple of pounds; the equivalent of about two days of food.

I have been wearing my Lowe boots around the house, and today I wore them to work. The first day around the house I questioned whether they would work, but then I did what I do with most shoes and boots, and pulled out the insoles. Without the insoles they are comfortable to wear all day. The ankles are a bit stiff, but that should remedy itself with wear. Overall, they fell lighter on my feet than I expected, and I think they will work nicely. I bought them at REI, so if something goes south with them, I can return them.

I am planning to take a trip to Seek Outside for my pack the weekend of June 1, and can hardly wait. The one piece of advice I have gotten from other hunters who are otherwise fit is to put weight in the pack and start doing a lot of mountain hiking.

I am inventorying the gear I already own, and trying to decide what I really need verses want that I lack. I am starting a spreadsheet to track everything on and will be sharing that in a later post. So far, I am thinking a new range finder, a better tripod, and a set of lightweight hunting rain gear are in the cards (I guess I can't sell the other kidney). I am good on binoculars with the set of Kahles 10x42s that I already have, I have a couple of good lightweight stoves and kitchen stuff. I am good on basic clothes, knives, water systems, etc. I have game bags and a one-man coffin-size tent, but would love a set of the Tag game bags and a bit larger tent, but those items will have to wait on the budget. Among other things, I am doing a lot of research on gear and really trying to evaluate what I will use longer-term, verses for this hunt only. My current spotting scope is a Nikon Prostaff 20-60x80, which is fine at lower magnifications, but it seems to fade out at the high powers, at least when looking at paper targets. I would like a better spotting scope, but found a place from which I can rent a Swarovski 20-60x65 HD Spotting Scope with tripod for $20/day with a seven day minimum. The alternate is to buy a Vortex Razor HD 27-60X85 angled, which will set me back around $1500. I would love to be able to put the Vortex next to my current Nikon to see what I would gain.

I am on the hunt for books on sheep and sheep hunting, as well. So far, I have Bert Gildart's book, Mountain Monarchs Bighorn Sheep and the 1983 Bighorn Society's A Guide to Sheep Hunting in Colorado.

Next update in a week or so.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

So, here is a partial update. My sheep tag arrived in today's mail, so I now know this is truly real.
View attachment 101235
I have found a licensed guide who is willing to help me the way I want to be helped. He will help me with scouting and hunt with me the first four days of the season. After day four I will be on my own. I found out when the out-of-state hunter will be in the area. His time will slightly overlap mine if I do not shoot a sheep in the first five days, but he will be out after the second week.

Since my current two suitable rifles weigh right around 9 pounds, I have decided to get a lightweight rifle, so I will be selling a bunch of other firearms (and maybe a kidney) to pay for it. I have decided on the Cooper 92 Back Country in .300 Winchester Magnum, topped with a Swarovski Z3 3.5-10 in Warne Mountain Tech rings. This combo should save me a couple of pounds; the equivalent of about two days of food.

I have been wearing my Lowe boots around the house, and today I wore them to work. The first day around the house I questioned whether they would work, but then I did what I do with most shoes and boots, and pulled out the insoles. Without the insoles they are comfortable to wear all day. The ankles are a bit stiff, but that should remedy itself with wear. Overall, they fell lighter on my feet than I expected, and I think they will work nicely. I bought them at REI, so if something goes south with them, I can return them.

I am planning to take a trip to Seek Outside for my pack the weekend of June 1, and can hardly wait. The one piece of advice I have gotten from other hunters who are otherwise fit is to put weight in the pack and start doing a lot of mountain hiking.

I am inventorying the gear I already own, and trying to decide what I really need verses want that I lack. I am starting a spreadsheet to track everything on and will be sharing that in a later post. So far, I am thinking a new range finder, a better tripod, and a set of lightweight hunting rain gear are in the cards (I guess I can't sell the other kidney). I am good on binoculars with the set of Kahles 10x42s that I already have, I have a couple of good lightweight stoves and kitchen stuff. I am good on basic clothes, knives, water systems, etc. I have game bags and a one-man coffin-size tent, but would love a set of the Tag game bags and a bit larger tent, but those items will have to wait on the budget. Among other things, I am doing a lot of research on gear and really trying to evaluate what I will use longer-term, verses for this hunt only. My current spotting scope is a Nikon Prostaff 20-60x80, which is fine at lower magnifications, but it seems to fade out at the high powers, at least when looking at paper targets. I would like a better spotting scope, but found a place from which I can rent a Swarovski 20-60x65 HD Spotting Scope with tripod for $20/day with a seven day minimum. The alternate is to buy a Vortex Razor HD 27-60X85 angled, which will set me back around $1500. I would love to be able to put the Vortex next to my current Nikon to see what I would gain.

I am on the hunt for books on sheep and sheep hunting, as well. So far, I have Bert Gildart's book, Mountain Monarchs Bighorn Sheep and the 1983 Bighorn Society's A Guide to Sheep Hunting in Colorado.

Next update in a week or so.

I’ve never been that “buy a tikka” guy but in this case, if you got a tikka rather than the cooper backcountry you’d save ~ 1800.00 and not give up anything in the weight/accuracy/reliability department and you’d have that much extra cash for a tent or whatever else you wanted to buy....maybe that new spotting scope you’re drooling over.

Just saying.