Progress of my preparations for my Colorado sheep hunt?

[mritter]

A great lead up like this needs an ending!

 

[Missahba]

It was good reading while it lasted. Hope there isn’t anything tragic involved.

 

[Silvereagle50]

Does anyone know this guys real name or what town he lives in?

 

[Wapiti1]

I shot him a PM a couple of days ago. Heard zip back.

It may remain a mystery forever.

Jeremy

 

[Reburn]

Lets just hope that he bagged one that will qualify for the top 5 records and he is waiting for the final scores back before he says anything...........

 

[Shrek]

I hope he went out and gave it his best and had a great hunt. Success isn’t just measured in dead animals.

 

[RnnHntr]

It has taken me a while to get to this post, partly because of disappointment and partly because I have tried to give it thought so as to help others to learn from my experience. As you have probably already figured out from the first line, I was not successful in finding a legal ram. In fact, in 14 days devoted to the hunt, I did not see a single sheep within the unit. I could have shot goats, moose, elk, deer, and bear, but the sheep eluded me. I did learn several things from this hunt. One of the big take-a ways for me is that I prefer the process of hunting elk, deer, and antelope more than I enjoyed the process of sheep hunting (and by extension, goat hunting). That may be because of the anticipation and expectations I had, but I am not enough of a psychiatrist to know. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the hunt, just not as much as others.

I went out two more weekends after my previous post, but not to the one place where I was pretty sure there would be sheep. That place was where the hunter who had the out-of-state tag took his ram. Why didn’t I go there you ask? Because it was 14 miles one-way with 5,000 feet of climbing to access it. This was an area I scouted before the season, and so I knew how difficult the access was first hand. Also, where the sheep were supposed to be was on the side of a mountain that required the other hunter’s guide to repel into to get his sheep, something the guide told me he would never do again, as sketchy as it was. Mostly I didn't go there because I was hunting alone and I don’t think I could have safely gotten a sheep out of the area by myself without having much of the meat spoil and/or more importantly without hurting or killing myself, something no sheep is worth to me. This makes you wonder at the abilities of sheep and goats to get to some amazing places.

The areas I did hunt the last two weekends of the season were areas where sheep have been killed previous years, including the previous two sheep killed in the unit. Those areas were beautiful and rugged enough, as the pictures in this post will show. Also, the aspen were changing so the scenery was especially epic. To cap off the hunt, I had a dusting of snow on my tent the last morning of my hunt. So, again, I did enjoy the hunt and am thankful for the experience.


This sure looks like sheep country to me.


The way in.


Last year's ram was killed at the head of this valley I camped in.


The outline of my tent in snow.


With scenery like this, no hunt is truly unsuccessful.

As to lessons learned, the single biggest to me is there is a good reason why most sheep hunters have someone else with them. After my having partially been there and done that, those individuals who successfully hunt sheep alone have my deepest respect as hunters. A second lesson is that you cannot scout too much. Third, I hired a guide to help me with the first four days of the season, and for me, it was probably a waste of money. Since I had all of my own gear, knew the area about as well as they did, and am pretty self-sufficient, I would have been better off finding a good companion to hunt with. If you draw a tag, I suggest you honestly weigh your own knowledge and abilities, but if you don’t really think you need a guide, don’t hire one. Spend your money to take time off for scouting trips instead.

As I went through the hunt, I modified and amended some of the gear I was using. These are the things that I used all the way through and that worked great:

• Tarp Tent StratoSpire 1 tent, which was dry comfortable, warm, roomy for one, and fast and easy to set up.
• Seek Outside Lanner Pack. This took some adjustment to get used to and comfortable, but once I figured it out, even fully loaded it was comfortable to carry all day (to the extent that any heavy pack is), worked well with a light load, and held up flawlessly. The only downside of this pack (sort of) is that it has too much room, so you are tempted to fill it.
• MSR Pocket Rocket stove. Lightweight, easy to use, boils water fast (all I used it for), and very compact.
• Nikon Black Range X 4K range finder. Simple, lightweight, and reliable on anything I ranged out to 800-plus yards.

I have spoken enough about my Cooper Back Country, but to sum it up, now that I have gotten it wrung out and cured the weaknesses I have found, it is a solid rifle. However, I would not buy another. At the price point, I would spend a little more and get something like a Rifles Inc. or spend less and get something like the Barrett Fieldcraft.

As to the things that I changed through the hunt. By some careful sorting and consideration, I was able to lighten my load by ten pounds. Some of the things removed or changed were as follows:

• Left all but three of the spare blades for my scalpel Knife at home.
• Got rid of stuff sacks and used my game bags.
• Left one pair of pants and only took the pants I was wearing figuring that my rain pants would work for a second pair if needed.
• Only took one warm shirt instead of two, and changed a few other minor clothing items.
• Carefully went through my first aid kit and asked the question of how much did I really need just for me
• Since water was available and I had a light weight gravity-fed filter, only carried a maximum of 48 ounces of water.
• Switched sleeping bags to an REI Magma, which cut over a pound. The sleeping bag is rated to 30-degrees, but I was quite comfortable at 22-degrees by wearing a beanie, socks, and long johns.
• Switched to a Thermarest Neoair Xtherm sleeping pad. This is an inflatable and was comfortable for side sleeping, and also cut about a pound from my load.
• I replaced the binoculars I lost with a splurge on some Swarovski 10x42 SLCs that I found at a great price. I added a tripod adaptor to these and was amazed at the difference it makes in glassing.
• Added an Alaska Guide Creations Kodiak Cub binocular harness/pack. This is a bit on the heavy side, but is worth it for the convenience and protection it gives stuff. I carry my binoculars, range finder, GPS, phone, camera, a multi-tool, flashlight, and lighter in mine.
• I added an Olympus Tough TG-6 camera to my load. It adds some weight, but the picture quality is better than my phone, and well worth it.
• Traded my 9-ounce Leatherman for a small multi-tool that weighs 2 ounces.
• Resorted my food and redid my meals to maximize calories per ounce.

I now have a light weigh backpacking setup that will serve me well for whatever I fancy in the future.

All this said, would I do it again if I had another tag? Absolutely, but I would do it very differently.

 

[Michael54]

Sounds like an awesome experience nonetheless. Awesome pictures!

 

[Shrek]

Congratulations ! You learned a lot about extreme mountain hunting and yourself. If there were not bitter tag soup the immense satisfaction of tenderloin over a campfire would not be nearly so satisfying. Good hunting !

 

[eamyrick]

Thanks so much for sharing. I have also had some “disappointing” hunts but have to remind myself what a wonderful time I had. It can be tough to swallow especially with all of the success you read about online but I truly believe most folks aren’t successful regularly they just don’t post about it or are shooting animals over AG, feeders, or heavy pre scouting by guides. A true DIY in an unknown place is a real trophy.

 

[Silvereagle50]

I'm sure I can speak for many here in that we all feel some disappointment (not in you, but with you). I think we were all pulling for you (and some of us living through you) in this experience.

I want to thank you for bringing us along on your journey. It has been entertaining and informative. I'm planning a dall sheep hunt for 2021 and have took note of your endeavors in my planning and equipment.

I thought about starting a thread of my planned trip. Its still nearly two years out, so didn't know if anyone would be interested in following along, especially for that long. May still start it as maybe a winter project and kind of a diary thing for myself at least.

Again, thanks for the Journey,

Mike Hutchings
Oklahoma

 

[Glendine]

Incredible thread thanks for the sharing such a personal account of your journey.

Regards,
Glendine.

 

[BAKPAKR]

Thank you for sharing your story. I ate a Bighorn tag several years ago so I can relate to the high after drawing the tag, the anticipation leading up to the hunt, and the disappointment as the season closes. But, based on the updates on your preparations and the report of your actual hunt, you gave it your best and you did have a great hunt, just as Shrek had hoped.

After the sting wears off, I am pretty sure you will, like me, look back and consider yourself fortunate to have just had the opportunity to run around the mountains with a sheep tag in your pocket.

 

[Glendine]

Thank you for sharing your story. I ate a Bighorn tag several years ago so I can relate to the high after drawing the tag, the anticipation leading up to the hunt, and the disappointment as the season closes. But, based on the updates on your preparations and the report of your actual hunt, you gave it your best and you did have a great hunt, just as Shrek had hoped.

After the sting wears off, I am pretty sure you will, like me, look back and consider yourself fortunate to have just had the opportunity to run around the mountains with a sheep tag in your pocket.

Well said Sir.

Regards,
Glendine.

 

[RnnHntr]

The sting of not getting the sheep is pretty mild, because I had a hunting experience that took me into beautiful country and taught me some new things. What does kind of irritate me, is the attitude of the non-resident who did shoot a sheep. I say shoot, rather than hunt because his instructions to his guide were "you find the sheep, I fly in and kill it, we take one or two days" and that is exactly how he took his sheep. The guide did all of the hunting, while the he was just the nut behind the trigger. All he was looking for was something to hang on his trophy room wall and bragging rights. I feel that does a disservice to the animal and the hunt. While I would have been happy to find and kill a ram in the first day or two of my hunt, I still would have wanted it to be a hunt. Further, I will have memories to treasure and feelings that I can take wherever I go from my hunt, all he has is a head on the wall.

 

[Silvereagle50]

The sting of not getting the sheep is pretty mild, because I had a hunting experience that took me into beautiful country and taught me some new things. What does kind of irritate me, is the attitude of the non-resident who did shoot a sheep. I say shoot, rather than hunt because his instructions to his guide were "you find the sheep, I fly in and kill it, we take one or two days" and that is exactly how he took his sheep. The guide did all of the hunting, while the he was just the nut behind the trigger. All he was looking for was something to hang on his trophy room wall and bragging rights. I feel that does a disservice to the animal and the hunt. While I would have been happy to find and kill a ram in the first day or two of my hunt, I still would have wanted it to be a hunt. Further, I will have memories to treasure and feelings that I can take wherever I go from my hunt, all he has is a head on the wall.

Totally agree.
Even though you didn’t get a sheep, you’ll have gotten so much more out of your work and hunt than he could even know.
I for one am proud of your endeavors.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The sting of not getting the sheep is pretty mild, because I had a hunting experience that took me into beautiful country and taught me some new things. What does kind of irritate me, is the attitude of the non-resident who did shoot a sheep. I say shoot, rather than hunt because his instructions to his guide were "you find the sheep, I fly in and kill it, we take one or two days" and that is exactly how he took his sheep. The guide did all of the hunting, while the he was just the nut behind the trigger. All he was looking for was something to hang on his trophy room wall and bragging rights. I feel that does a disservice to the animal and the hunt. While I would have been happy to find and kill a ram in the first day or two of my hunt, I still would have wanted it to be a hunt. Further, I will have memories to treasure and feelings that I can take wherever I go from my hunt, all he has is a head on the wall.

unfortunatly this is very common in sheep hunting. While there are lots of cool guys who put in the work and enjoy the process there’s a lot of guys who basically buy their sheep.

 

[Tanner]

The non-resident has zero social media, forum accounts etc, anywhere to share “bragging rights” or his heads on the wall. He is an accomplished hunter that loves to spend time on the mountain, and lives thousands of miles away from the hunting unit, and that’s a pretty common recipe for hiring a guide to scout. He hunted hard and we had a damn good time, I wouldn’t say any disservice was done to any ram or a good sheep hunt...

 

[treedagain]

A sheep hunt is a hunt, kudos to the hunter braved the hike you chose not to do and filled his tag. i really don't think you can say be bought anything? he paid his dues with a "14 miles one-way with 5,000 feet of climbing to access it" 28 miles of hiking? so you went guided?

 

[OldRussian]

Thanks for sharing your story. Too bad you didn't see any sheep. That was one heck of a long solo hunt. Personally that would be too much time alone with my own thoughts.