Progress of my preparations for my Colorado sheep hunt?

[thinhorn_AK]

Also, you might check out the “great rams”
Series of books, there’s 3 of them. Lots of bighorn stories and pics to get you fired up.

 

[Ariettabob]

The only thing I’m questioning in my own head is the removal of the insoles in your new boots. I did that with my Danners, which I hated until removing the insoles. They felt great...until I put 45lbs on my back and went for a ruck. They tore the bottoms of my feet up, not to a bloody pulp but to the point where even standing hurt. That said, you state you’ve done it before and you appear to think things out well, so I suspect you’ll addressed this.
I’m really enjoying this, thanks.

 

[RnnHntr]

I appreciate the comment about the Tikka, have looked hard at the them, and really like some of their rifles, but their lightweight rifle just doesn't feel comfortable or seem to fit me. I also looked at Sako, Barrett, Kimber, and the Weatherby Ultra Lightweight. A friend also offered to lend me either his Rifles, Inc Strata in .280 AI or a custom lightweight Weatherby in .300 Weatherby. My decision regarding the Cooper ultimately came down to wanting to use a rifle I own, liking the versatility of the .300 Winchester Magnum, being willing to spend for Cooper's quality, and most importantly how the rifle feels in my hands and at the shoulder and how it looks to my eye.

All of that said, I am open to and appreciate all suggestions that might help with this hunt.

 

[RnnHntr]

Everybody think I am crazy taking the insoles out of my shoes and boots, especially a friend who owns a running store. I have a very flat arch, so have done it for about 10 years and the only trouble I have had was with a pair of hiking boots where the nails that helped hold the soles on started to come up through the foot bed. I have done it in my other boots and packed loads much heavier than I should have with no ill to my feet, other body parts yes, but the feet were good.

 

[Jimss]

In regard to sheep rifles....I've harvested 4 rams and at last count around 6 mtn goats with my Sako Finnlight in 300 WSM. For being so lighty weight the 300 WSM barely kicks. I'll be using it again this year on another ram hunt. It's a great caliber for just about any big game critter you throw at it....other than possibly brown bear? It is super light but you can tell it's super well made the first time you put your hands on it. If you can't quite afford a Sako I would likely go with Tikka......not quite as good of quality though!

I do the same thing and strip the insoles that come with my boots. I have horrible feet and need extra padding in rocky sheep country. I also advise buying socks with extra padding in the bottoms of the feet. Thorlos and other socks offer extra padding in different thickness of socks. In the heat of the summer I usually wear lighter socks that still have extra padding.

In regard to S2, I would take a look at as many rams now as possible! I would say most (if not all) of those rams winter along I70.....so what you see now in the lower elevation is what's in your unit. That way you know what the top rams in your unit are. If you have time you may be able to follow them up the snow line to their summer haunts. The CPW harvest reports will give you a good idea on harvest locations.....although now they only give drainages. There is a map company that can give you harvest locations of rams from years past.

I also have a sheep tag this year so if you want to send me a PM we can possibly exchange notes. I've spent a great deal of time in the sheep and goat hills in both Colo and Alaska and would be glad to offer you a bunch of tips on gear, clothes, and other things of interest.

Congrats again on your tag! I would advise spending as much time scouting as you can! Looking back at all my hunts....the scouting trips were just as fun as the actual hunts! Most of the hunts usually didn't last very long. I have a pile of great photos, video, and memories from both scouting and sheep hunts! Good luck!

 

[RnnHntr]

I have gone ahead and purchased a Cooper Back Country in .300 Winchester Magnum and put a Swarovski Z3 3.5-10 scope on it. It is 2-1/2 pounds lighter than my current .300 Winchester Magnum, which equates to two-plus days of food. I shot the Cooper for the first time today doing the barrel break-in routine; it fits me quite well and is very comfortable to shoot. With the clean/shoot routine, it was grouping two inches with the Barnes 165-grain MRX load that the test target showed; three inches with Swift Siroccos: two inches with Hornady SSTs; but three quarters of an inch with Nosler Accubonds. I suspect that with some playing, it will settle into the half-inch group size area. I also selected the Nikon Black RangeX 4k rangefinder, as I like the simplicity. Other purchases include a Vortex Pro GT Tripod, and a SpotX personal locator to keep my wife happy. Once my pack arrives, about the only major piece of gear I will still need is a rain suit, and I will likely go with the Kuiu Chugach top and bottom. I have been viewing the Pronghorn that live in the pastures behind my house with my current spotting scope, and at midday with a mirage going, I can still distinguish the horns at over a mile, so I am thinking it will do for sheep. After wearing them in the office all week, I took my new boots for a rugged, steep four-mile hike on Friday, and they were quite comfortable. I need to add weight in a pack and see how they do. It's late now, but I will try to post some pictures of the rifle and stuff this week. Next weekend, I am going to try and take a day for another scouting trip.

 

[jragsdal]

Subscribed! Can’t wait to follow this!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shrek]

Buy a used Swarovski ATS 65 and use it for the hunt and sell it after and you may lose nothing and certainly less than a two week rental. You would have it for all of your scouting and hunting.

 

[RnnHntr]

Shrek, thank you for the great suggestion, that is not an idea I had considered. The only drawback, if it is one, is that I may decide to keep the scope. I did decide to go ahead on a new tripod, and bought the Vortex Pro GT.

I promised pictures, so here is my Cooper. I have to say, that much as I am a self-admitted gun snob with a strong bias against stainless and plastic, this Cooper is a super nice rifle that feels great in my hands and looks good to my eye. I won't be getting rid of my wood-stocked and blued guns, but from now on I will be more open minded about the alternatives.

I have also worked out my sock system with some trial hikes with my now one-month old Lowe Tibet GTX boots. I am using REI silk liner socks and Darn Tough Marino wool outer socks.

As to progress, I have my sleep system worked out. My trusty North Face Snowfield sleeping bag and Thermarest Trail Pro pad which I have used for a lot of nights. They are a bit heavier than I would like at 4 pounds 13 ounces, but having used them on a couple of occasions for two weeks straight, I know they are comfortable and a comfortable night's sleep is worth the weight. I will be using a Tarptent StratoSpire 1 tent, which is a one-person (or two close friends) shelter that can be used with just the fly or with the tube and liner. It uses trekking poles for poles and weighs just over two pounds complete. I plan to give it several overnight trial runs before the hunt to decide whether to use just the fly, or the complete system. If I go with just the fly, I will make a simple groundcloth from tyvex building cloth. Future posts will provide feedback on the tent.

For a rangefinder, I have purchased the Nikon BlackRangeX 4k. I prefer simple, and it provides what I need; horizontal distance or slope distance, and angle. I have been playing with it off of my deck and it consistently ranges the cattle in the neighbor's pasture at well over 800 yards in all the conditions I have tried it in.

I am inventorying the hunting and camping gear I already have and am using this as an opportunity to upgrade, add, and also purge. A bunch of stuff will be heading to e-bay. I am organizing stuff by category, so as I get stuff together, I will keep reporting.

(Sorry for the small photos, if you click on the attachment below you can see larger versions.)

As I have said before, please keep your comments and suggestions coming.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Shrek, thank you for the great suggestion, that is not an idea I had considered. The only drawback, if it is one, is that I may decide to keep the scope. I did decide to go ahead on a new tripod, and bought the Vortex Pro GT.

I promised pictures, so here is my Cooper. I have to say, that much as I am a self-admitted gun snob with a strong bias against stainless and plastic, this Cooper is a super nice rifle that feels great in my hands and looks good to my eye. I won't be getting rid of my wood-stocked and blued guns, but from now on I will be more open minded about the alternatives.

I have also worked out my sock system with some trial hikes with my now one-month old Lowe Tibet GTX boots. I am using REI silk liner socks and Darn Tough Marino wool outer socks.

As to progress, I have my sleep system worked out. My trusty North Face Snowfield sleeping bag and Thermarest Trail Pro pad which I have used for a lot of nights. They are a bit heavier than I would like at 4 pounds 13 ounces, but having used them on a couple of occasions for two weeks straight, I know they are comfortable and a comfortable night's sleep is worth the weight. I will be using a Tarptent StratoSpire 1 tent, which is a one-person (or two close friends) shelter that can be used with just the fly or with the tube and liner. It uses trekking poles for poles and weighs just over two pounds complete. I plan to give it several overnight trial runs before the hunt to decide whether to use just the fly, or the complete system. If I go with just the fly, I will make a simple groundcloth from tyvex building cloth. Future posts will provide feedback on the tent.

For a rangefinder, I have purchased the Nikon BlackRangeX 4k. I prefer simple, and it provides what I need; horizontal distance or slope distance, and angle. I have been playing with it off of my deck and it consistently ranges the cattle in the neighbor's pasture at well over 800 yards in all the conditions I have tried it in.

I am inventorying the hunting and camping gear I already have and am using this as an opportunity to upgrade, add, and also purge. A bunch of stuff will be heading to e-bay. I am organizing stuff by category, so as I get stuff together, I will keep reporting.

(Sorry for the small photos, if you click on the attachment below you can see larger versions.)

As I have said before, please keep your comments and suggestions coming.

Cool stuff man. Like you I’m upgrading/replacing old gear this year since finances allow it. Last year I had a crappy sleep system....well actually I’ve had it for a lot of years now but didn’t realize how beater my sleep system was until seeing the stuff my buddies had. I was in a leaky 15+ year old marmot adventure racing tent which gave up the ghost in the middle of my sheep hunt, I’d been on a Therm-a-Rest that I got in 2006 and a sleeping bag I’d had since 2002.

It was time for a change so I got a hilleberg allak 2 tent, western mountaineering badger MF bag and an Exped pad, also grabbed a Leica range finder a Swarovski scope for my rifle, kuiu yukon rain gear and getting ready to get a Swarovski spotting scope (and some Simms waders/boots).

 

[5 shot group]

So what's the total weight of your rifle and scope? You mentioned it's 2 ½ pounds lighter then your old setup, but not a final weight

 

[RnnHntr]

The rifle with scope and mounts is 6 pounds, 14 ounces, which for me is about the perfect compromise between weight and shootability. With the longer barrel, the balance is right between the hands, and it points like a good shotgun. I have only done limited shooting with it, but my initial reaction is that though expensive, it is worth the money.

 

[5 shot group]

Thanks for the weight. I figure that's my next gear purchase, as its been the one piece I've been putting off as I have been dialing in everything else the last few years

 

[hoff1ck]

Cool thread. I'll definitely be following along. Was in Colorado a couple weeks ago and spent a morning hiking trying to lay eyes on some sheep with no luck. Probably won't ever get the chance to hunt them being a MI resident, but man they are such cool animals. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[RnnHntr]

I continue to get stuff together and to do research on the area. The snows have put a bit of a different spin on my scouting, as the sheep generally still seem to be in their winter ranges. Some of those areas are still not readily accessible so I have only had a limited view of what may be in the area.

I have continued to shoot the rifle and it seems to be settling down and is now shooting several different bullets into less than one M.O.A. The weakest part of the rifle appears to be the magazine, which has a spring wire follower spring that does not keep the follower as centered fore and aft in the magazine as a conventional flat spring steel one would. I have ordered an extra magazine, but Cooper said there is only about a 50-percent chance it will reliably feed as-is, since each magazine is fitted to an individual rifle. I am reasonably mechanically adept, so will see if I can make it work when it gets here.

As per the appended images, my camp kitchen is together.

It consists of an MSR Pocket Rocket 2 stove with two fuel canisters, a tripod to hold and stabilize it, a double-wall aluminum cup, plastic bowl, MSR aluminum pot with lid, MSR aluminum fry pan, utensils, spatula, and serving spoon. Total weight is 3.55 pounds. If need be, I can trim some weight, but will leave it for now until the actual menu is determined and I can see if anything will not get used.

I had the opportunity to play with a Swarovski ATX 65 and a Vortex Razor 65 mm spotting scope, and to my eye they are not significantly better than my old Nikon 80mm, so it will be making the trip along with my old reliable Kahles 10x42 binoculars. That will keep me from spending several thousand dollars.

I have also gotten all of my clothes together, but have not yet weighed everything, so will report on them next time.

 

[Fettig]

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.

thinhorn_AK, you are correct. I own a Cooper Backcountry and a Tikka T3; both in 300WM. My Tikka is a .5 MOA rifle, wholly reliable and functional. Long and ongoing story short, my Cooper is not. I encourage RnnHntr to keep and use a rifle that he knows, and enjoy that hunt.

 

[RnnHntr]

Since my last post I have gone through and weighed my gear, picked up a pack, done some scouting, and talked to some more folks. It is amazing how fast the weight adds up. I am starting to go back through stuff to see what I can leave out. I have lightened my water filtration weight by going with a Katadyn 3.0-liter gravity filter. I will still carry Potable Aqua tablets as a backup. As to a pack, I went wiith the Seek Outside Lannar with a lid. Since I could, I made the four-hour drive to Grand Junction to pick it up and get fitted. The Seek Outside folks are great, all of their packs and tents are made in-house, and it was fun to meet Pam, the lady who actually made the pack. I will be doing a lot of day and overnight trips with the pack and my gear to work out the kinks in my system. I had time for a brief scout, but did not see any sheep. I did see about a dozen elk and a few deer. I am a member of the Wild Sheep Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society and have found some good resorces by talking to the staff members of those organizations. My daughter is getting marriied at my house in about a week, so I doubt that I will accomplish much sheep-wise until after her wedding. 2-1/2 months until the season does not seem like much time to get my ducks in a row!

 

[OldRussian]

It is fun following along with your progress. This year will be my first delve into sheep country. It has been a spendy endeavour so far.

 

[RnnHntr]

My daughter's wedding is done and it is time to get back into sheep mode. My TarpTent StratoSpire 1 tent arrived this weekend, so I will seam seal it this week and then learn how to set it up. I have gone through and weighed almost all of my gear, and with food and water, my total load all in including the clothes I will have on my back is currently at about 70 pounds. I would like to trim that by 15 pounds, so I am starting to go back through everything to see if I really need it. My mantra will be ounces saved quickly become pounds. I figure 55 pounds all in will be about 42 pounds on my back plus the weight of what I am wearing and my rifle. I will be interested to see how this week's weather has affected sheep movement. I am hoping to take a day this coming weekend to scout. My hope is that it will not have changed their location appreciably.

 

[zpooch]

Yeah 70 is pretty heavy. Under 50 is where you want to be.