05/11: ANNIVERSARY HUNT
Category: Hunting: Bighorn Sheep
Posted by: ch0p5
October 12th thru 22nd 2007
As with all stories, this one starts with a simple impulse. On April 30th2007 I was in the Driggs Idaho Corner Drug store getting what I hoped to be the summer supply of allergy medicine for my 6th summer in Teton Valley Idaho. While I was waiting for the prescription, I filled out the form for my annual fishing and hunting license combo. Elsie Woulk mentioned that the 30th was the last day for application on controlled hunts so coincidentally I put in for my first lottery try on Big Horn Sheep. No one I know has ever drawn a Sheep Tag in Idaho so I put in for my wife Star at the same time hoping to increase the odds. In early June I stopped as I do every morning to check our P.O. box and found the expected sorry Charlie note from Idaho Fish and Game on Star’s draw request. Strangely there was no note on mine. I figured the mail was just a day late on mine and expected the same in a day or so. We live in Felt Idaho population 52. We get the USA Today guaranteed delivery tomorrow, so a delay in the mail is not a crisis. The next day sure enough the letter from Idaho Fish and Game came for me in exactly the same looking envelop as had been sent to Star. I almost threw the dang thing out without opening it but being a glutton for punishment I opened it expecting to see the reject wording. Imagine my shock and delight when the letter started out with Congratulations….
Once I had told all of my friends and settled down, I began the search for a guide. When I put in, I had done no research on the area and actually selected area 26 because the timing of this late hunt fit better with the work at Huntsman Springs. I am the Development Director at a big new community development in Driggs Idaho and the construction schedule does not wind down till late in the fall. The partners were very supportive on the time off and encouraged me to take advantage of the once in a life time draw. With support from work and from Star I began calling outfitters and found out that high Country Outfitters were the best choice by far. Even other area outfitters recommended the High Country gang. The next weekend I drove the 350 miles from Teton Valley to Fairfield Idaho to meet with George Peter and book the hunt. While we with George in his rustic headquarters West of Sun Valley, I asked Star if she wanted to go. Happily for me, she was very positive about a combo hunt for Sheep and Deer which we booked. George and I were both surprised when she not only said yes to the trip, but wrote out her own check for half the cost. Of course the surprise was over when she quietly said that she could not think of a better way to spend our 4th anniversary which I had totally forgotten……I fear there may be a pay back in my future, which if I am lucky may be another hunt trip……
Tag Drawn.Trip Booked...next came the conditioning which consisted of 3 to 5 treadmill days each week, some diet changes and a commitment to take advantage of the great hiking we enjoy near our home at the foot of the Grand Teton. Lucky for me we live at 6800 feet in elevation. I dropped a few pounds and increased my wind a bit but even a fairly fit 62 year old will have a tough time in the River of No Return Wilderness. There is no terrain more vertical in the state and the big rams do not hang out at the bottom. We would have to go up to have any chance of these tremendous creatures.
(1)
The stage was set and now the work began. I was able to follow through on most of the conditioning and could not wait for the flight in to area 26. My hope was to be able to get in position to see Rams and if I was lucky enough to get a chance to stalk, be in shape to do my job. The way I see it the guide does most of the hunting and the hunter is along for a lifetime adventure and the thrilling experience of hunting North America’s toughest game trophy. My job was to keep up (no easy task), keep quiet and shoot straight if given the opportunity. The flight with our pilot Steve was through some cloud cover and involved looking for a hole in the clouds to clear the highest of the ridges. Star was in the front of the small 4 seat Cessna and I was in the back with our gear. The country was rocky, grey and vertical dropping down thousands of feet to the Salmon River and its many small tributaries. We rolled and weaved through the mountain canyons and descended toward a small landing strip some 60 miles from the nearest road or trail head. The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is the largest mass of land in the lower forty eight without roads. As we circled in, I could make out two strings of horses and mules heading for the small strip. We soon found out that the welcome party was four hunters coming out and the High Country crew ready to get us on our way. After a smooth landing on the gravel strip we spent some time on introductions and watched as the outfitters unpacked deer, elk and gear for the departing group and packed up the gear we had brought. Among this group was Jeremy Haney a 21 year old fire fighter who grew up on a horse ranch in Oklahoma. In the 34 degree grey morning, Jeremy had on a cotton tee shirt and coon skin cap that one of the departing hunters had dared him to wear. When I learned that Jeremy was to be one on our guides, I wondered if my fate was to spend two weeks in the mountains with a hillbilly. It turns out that Jeremy like most of the young wranglers and guides was taking up the challenge of mountain living and working to save some cash for school. What these boys make generally goes to savings since it is pretty hard to spend money when you are in the wilderness for months on end. It was October 12th and Jeremy had been in the wilderness since August. He came out with us at the end of our hunt and went to do some hunting of his own hear his home east of Boise.
George Peter, the outfitter, had told me that besides Jeremy, we would be hunting with an experienced sheep guide Shane Reynolds from Boise. When the gear was nearly packed, a second small plane landed and we met Shane for the first time. This was the time for first impressions and Shane made a good one. Square shouldered, pigeon chested, thin waist and piston legs, Shane was the ultimate walking machine and I found out soon enough a dog nuts sheep man. We would trust our fate to this man for at least ten days and I was impressed by his professional demeanor. On the other hand I would have a lot to do to change Shane’s first impression of the couple he first met on that small air strip. You see my grand father had been a hunt guide and school teacher in Basalt Colorado in the 20’s. I do not hunt in camo, I still have my Trapper Nelson wood frame pack, the gun I shoot best weighs 11.5 lbs and I think we may be the first grey haired old hunter and wife combo that Shane had guided. No high tech here just old school. Shane would later find out that Star was raised without her mother by a father who valued hunting and the outdoors. She has hunted deer since her eighth year and spent two years working cattle in southern Oregon.
(2)
Sleeping on the ground and enduring freezing temperatures is nothing new to my bride. Shane of course did not know any of this until day three or four. His first thought was they brought too much gear (he was right) and he might be in for a tough trip. Shane’s first comment to me after the name exchange was “Are you tough” I was puzzled at first but now remembering how we must have looked to him, it was and appropriate question. I told Shane that I had killed sheep before and thought that I would be as tough as I had to be. He told me that George had a spot that had not seen any pressure and held some good Rams. Shane also told me that I was the guy he would be taking along to harvest a big one. There was a resolve in Shane’s comments and a commitment to making this a fruitful hunt. Later I found out that this was Shane’s 20th sheep hunt with a client and this would be his 15th kill. Most impressive though is the fact that in a mix of Rocky Mountain, Dall, and Desert sheep hunts, Shane has given his clients 100% opportunity under 200 yards from a dead rest..
From the air strip, it was off to the base camp for a quick few minutes to pack food and a small tent for Star and I. Shane and Jeremy planned to sleep on the horse blankets under a tarp. Pedro, a stocky paint horse, was my ride and became a friend as well. High Country has good stock and there would be no outfitter rodeos on this trip. I asked the fellows what they were packing for food and Shane nicely reminded me that we were here to hunt not to eat. The bill of fare would be ready meals, energy bars, oatmeal, coffee, and dry mix gator aid. Shane figured this would be an extension of my efforts to lose weight and was a lot less expensive than the fat farm route. All meals could be prepared on the small whisper lite stove. Jeremy later proved that the stove could be of great assistance in fire starting with snow covered wood. Since it was our anniversary the next day the guides threw in some fresh eggs and a little bacon but in the excitement to get up to our glassing spot to look for sheep, the fry pan was forgotten…fairly essential tool for bacon and eggs. As it turned out Star and I enjoyed the ready meals, canned tuna, bagels, and cheese whiz that became our diet for the next six days. Star had five 4x4 Mule deer opportunities during the sheep hunt but passed because she did not want to shoot until we had a Ram. So there was no back strap for us.
At the end of day one we made camp in a small wooded clearing near a spring at the top of a no name mountain in some of the roughest country in Idaho. This spot was a 30 minute walk from a ridge point that allowed Jeremy, Shane and I to use our optics in search of the Rams on a mountain side some 2 miles across the intervening drainage. Day one spotted nice ram three quarters of the way up the mountain that we were scoping. Day two spotted more rams and shared some fine wine for our anniversary. We had both brought cards and it was special to have that day in these surroundings so far from the world we are more familiar with., day three spotted more Rams and one really nice mature Ram all near the top with cracker jack views of all around them. It was time to get going. The weather had been cold and windy with overcast, light rain and snow. Nice weather compared to the heavy snow and rain to come. By the way when the spotting phase began, Shane again proved to be the fanatic sheep man I referenced at our landing.
(3)
When we set up to glass the object mountain, Shane poured at least 15k of well cared for optics from his pack and did not look up from his spotting task for three days.
I don’t know about you but the spotting scope gets me in the neck. I have to take at least 15 minutes out every hour and stretch out the frozen joints. Shane told Star and I that the guides three P’s are patience, persistence and positivity. Shane and Jeremy score high on all three When the spotting was done we had seen a number of good Rams .I use the “ we” loosely as Jeremy and I were up to a grand total of zero, naught, nada, none and Shane had the rest.
The trip to our higher camp was almost a full day. The terrain was too steep to ride so the horses and mules were led most of the way and camp was made in a saddle about two thirds up the mountain we would be hunting. The walk to water was about two hundred yards straight downhill and there was no noticeable trail in or out of this place. Now that Shane knew that there were good Rams in the area, a no nonsense attitude began to show through. These young men were exactly the ticket for taking Rams. I knew that they would do their job and the only question was if I could do mine. It would not be the wind, sleet, and snow that kept me awake that night, it was the excitement of the hunt. The next morning day four started with a small fire and a good hike up to the middle of the rock canyons that we had spent the previous three days looking over through our spotting scopes. Star gave me a good luck kiss and elected to tend the camp instead of risking any interference to the hunt.(Her nick name is fidgets) At 1pm Shane looked over and gave me the thumbs up…He let me look at a nice size full curl Ram that was broomed on one side. Shane said the good news was we found a shooter and the bad news was he was in one of the worst spots around at the top of a small slide that fed to the creek below and nestled in trees and rock below a bigger rock out cropping. Getting to this Ram would be tough and we could be easily busted because of the loose rocks and steep walls. I had told Shane that I would like a good Ram but did not want anything other than a representative of the species. Other states are historically better producers of the B&C horns. Idaho has a low population of sheep and does not produce the horn size that Colorado and Montana generally claim. After watching the Ram feed and bed for a bit, we decided to give it a try. If the rocks were positioned better on the back side of the outcropping, which we could not see, there might be a 150 yard shot at steep angle. Jeremy stayed in our original position to let us know what happened when it was all over. It was about a mile climb and side hill trek through new snow and over very uneven steep surfaces. We hoped the other Rams we had seen the day before were not going to give away our position as we carefully moved step by step closer to the Shooter. At about 4pm we got close enough to start looking over rock tops. So far I had kept up and kept quiet, big parts of my job. We looked up over what we hoped to be the final rock and could not see where the Ram had previously bedded. During the time it had taken to get into this position, the old battle scared Ram had moved and unfortunately for us he had moved to a spot that gave him a nice view of the old man and young guide in the rocks above. As the Ram beat it down the cliffs, we broke position and tried to close the gap. This was a time that I truly questioned my sanity because the drop offs were over a hundred feet and I was literally rock hoping to try and gain a vantage point.( not normal for 62 year old executives.)
(4)
When the rock hopping was done and I got to a shooting position, the Ram had reached the bottom of the slide (his proven escape route) about 150 yards down in burnt timber and was about to drive up the other side. I had a shot at 150 yards on this moving Ram in the timber and had him clear in the scope for about two seconds. This was not a shot that I was prepared to take on such a beautiful creature. I passed and we were busted big time as the Ram walked over the rocky crevice to the safety of the next canyon where we had been several hours before.
I knew that the odds of shooting a Ram that had been spotted by glassing might be in the 50% category if you had some good luck. I also knew that odds of spotting and hunting a Ram that knew he was being hunted are next to nothing. Remember the positivity? And the threeP’s Well we had plenty of that and I was grateful to have had the chance that I did have. What better experience than hunting the most magnificent of creatures in his own house.
Day five came with more snow and a good send off from Star. We decided to send Jeremy back to the ridge where we were busted the day before and for me and Shane to do some more rock climbing in the next lower canyons where we thought he might have gone. After a lot of bino work in the falling snow to re-aquire the Roman Nosed Battle scarred Ram, Shane again gave me the thumbs up. Instead of clearing out of the county, the old Ram had bedded down in the Canyon that gave him sanctuary the night before. At 11a.m. he was working up the hill feeding and really looking around. This guy was nervous as hell and was taking no chances. He gingerly bedded down about thirty yards below the slope he had disappeared over the night before. We knew he would not be there for long and luckily enough Jeremy was positioned at the top of the ridge that he was on. Shane and I backed out of our spot and moved quickly to Jeremy’s position. Took about and hour. The three of us then made it ever so slowly down the rock ridge back to the rocks we thought were just above the Ram’s last bedded position. It was about 800 yards of descent. I moved to a position behind a rock that might do for a rifle rest and Shane began to poke his head up. Jeremy laid back. In the five days together I had never seen Shane look like this. Cursing lightly in a whisper, all I heard was “he’s not there, we have been had”. Patience and persistence took over and we began to look around. After an agonizing three or four minutes of feeling a bottomless failure, the Ram walked slowly back into the picture from my left. He had been just over the ridge feeding and was now on his way back to bed down. Shane had to show me exactly where he was about 150 yards to my left behind some timber and brush. I raised my old Weatherby 270 mag over the rock and found a steady rest but there was no shot through the brush and trees. The Ram was still jumpy and we knew he could bolt at any moment. I kept on him with the scope and he moved forward slightly giving me about a one foot round hole in the brush that lined up with his right shoulder. Shooting down hill meant the shot through his shoulder would hit the vitals. Shane said wait for him to move from behind the trees and I said I have a shot through the brush. Shane got to “well if you think you…..” boom came the report of the rifle and the old battle scarred Ram dropped dead in a pile by a log that mercifully kept him from a 200 foot fall.
(5)
The emotion over came us all as the Ram was down and each of us had done well on our assigned tasks. When we got to the Ram, Shane let me know that he had purposefully under spoken on the Ram’s size earlier. He did not want me to get any of the jitters associated with record book talk. Charles Russell once said “Meats not Meat till it’s in the pan” and I guess “trophies are‘t trophies till they’re on the ground”.
From a clients perspective there should be three P’s for the guide as well “Professional, Passionate and Prepared”. On the prepared side, the pictures took an hour with two cameras and the Ram repositioned a couple of times. The hunt of a lifetime deserves at least this kind of effort. So to does the soul of the great animal and the wonderful life lived. It took several hours to cape, bone, photograph, pack and gratefully get our tired bodies back to camp. Star had gotten the water and taken care of the stock which was appreciated by all. Sheep ribs over an open fire on a snowy evening were a great treat. I believe this anniversary will be tough to beat but if the stars line up right again who knows…..
Thanks to my lovely wife for sharing the out doors..
Thanks to High Country Outfitter for good stock, good tack and good people.
Thanks to Middle fork Aviation for safe flights
Thanks to the young men like Shane and Jeremy for loving what they do
Thanks to Mother Nature for the great wild places
by Bill Reid
As with all stories, this one starts with a simple impulse. On April 30th2007 I was in the Driggs Idaho Corner Drug store getting what I hoped to be the summer supply of allergy medicine for my 6th summer in Teton Valley Idaho. While I was waiting for the prescription, I filled out the form for my annual fishing and hunting license combo. Elsie Woulk mentioned that the 30th was the last day for application on controlled hunts so coincidentally I put in for my first lottery try on Big Horn Sheep. No one I know has ever drawn a Sheep Tag in Idaho so I put in for my wife Star at the same time hoping to increase the odds. In early June I stopped as I do every morning to check our P.O. box and found the expected sorry Charlie note from Idaho Fish and Game on Star’s draw request. Strangely there was no note on mine. I figured the mail was just a day late on mine and expected the same in a day or so. We live in Felt Idaho population 52. We get the USA Today guaranteed delivery tomorrow, so a delay in the mail is not a crisis. The next day sure enough the letter from Idaho Fish and Game came for me in exactly the same looking envelop as had been sent to Star. I almost threw the dang thing out without opening it but being a glutton for punishment I opened it expecting to see the reject wording. Imagine my shock and delight when the letter started out with Congratulations….
Once I had told all of my friends and settled down, I began the search for a guide. When I put in, I had done no research on the area and actually selected area 26 because the timing of this late hunt fit better with the work at Huntsman Springs. I am the Development Director at a big new community development in Driggs Idaho and the construction schedule does not wind down till late in the fall. The partners were very supportive on the time off and encouraged me to take advantage of the once in a life time draw. With support from work and from Star I began calling outfitters and found out that high Country Outfitters were the best choice by far. Even other area outfitters recommended the High Country gang. The next weekend I drove the 350 miles from Teton Valley to Fairfield Idaho to meet with George Peter and book the hunt. While we with George in his rustic headquarters West of Sun Valley, I asked Star if she wanted to go. Happily for me, she was very positive about a combo hunt for Sheep and Deer which we booked. George and I were both surprised when she not only said yes to the trip, but wrote out her own check for half the cost. Of course the surprise was over when she quietly said that she could not think of a better way to spend our 4th anniversary which I had totally forgotten……I fear there may be a pay back in my future, which if I am lucky may be another hunt trip……
Tag Drawn.Trip Booked...next came the conditioning which consisted of 3 to 5 treadmill days each week, some diet changes and a commitment to take advantage of the great hiking we enjoy near our home at the foot of the Grand Teton. Lucky for me we live at 6800 feet in elevation. I dropped a few pounds and increased my wind a bit but even a fairly fit 62 year old will have a tough time in the River of No Return Wilderness. There is no terrain more vertical in the state and the big rams do not hang out at the bottom. We would have to go up to have any chance of these tremendous creatures.
(1)
The stage was set and now the work began. I was able to follow through on most of the conditioning and could not wait for the flight in to area 26. My hope was to be able to get in position to see Rams and if I was lucky enough to get a chance to stalk, be in shape to do my job. The way I see it the guide does most of the hunting and the hunter is along for a lifetime adventure and the thrilling experience of hunting North America’s toughest game trophy. My job was to keep up (no easy task), keep quiet and shoot straight if given the opportunity. The flight with our pilot Steve was through some cloud cover and involved looking for a hole in the clouds to clear the highest of the ridges. Star was in the front of the small 4 seat Cessna and I was in the back with our gear. The country was rocky, grey and vertical dropping down thousands of feet to the Salmon River and its many small tributaries. We rolled and weaved through the mountain canyons and descended toward a small landing strip some 60 miles from the nearest road or trail head. The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is the largest mass of land in the lower forty eight without roads. As we circled in, I could make out two strings of horses and mules heading for the small strip. We soon found out that the welcome party was four hunters coming out and the High Country crew ready to get us on our way. After a smooth landing on the gravel strip we spent some time on introductions and watched as the outfitters unpacked deer, elk and gear for the departing group and packed up the gear we had brought. Among this group was Jeremy Haney a 21 year old fire fighter who grew up on a horse ranch in Oklahoma. In the 34 degree grey morning, Jeremy had on a cotton tee shirt and coon skin cap that one of the departing hunters had dared him to wear. When I learned that Jeremy was to be one on our guides, I wondered if my fate was to spend two weeks in the mountains with a hillbilly. It turns out that Jeremy like most of the young wranglers and guides was taking up the challenge of mountain living and working to save some cash for school. What these boys make generally goes to savings since it is pretty hard to spend money when you are in the wilderness for months on end. It was October 12th and Jeremy had been in the wilderness since August. He came out with us at the end of our hunt and went to do some hunting of his own hear his home east of Boise.
George Peter, the outfitter, had told me that besides Jeremy, we would be hunting with an experienced sheep guide Shane Reynolds from Boise. When the gear was nearly packed, a second small plane landed and we met Shane for the first time. This was the time for first impressions and Shane made a good one. Square shouldered, pigeon chested, thin waist and piston legs, Shane was the ultimate walking machine and I found out soon enough a dog nuts sheep man. We would trust our fate to this man for at least ten days and I was impressed by his professional demeanor. On the other hand I would have a lot to do to change Shane’s first impression of the couple he first met on that small air strip. You see my grand father had been a hunt guide and school teacher in Basalt Colorado in the 20’s. I do not hunt in camo, I still have my Trapper Nelson wood frame pack, the gun I shoot best weighs 11.5 lbs and I think we may be the first grey haired old hunter and wife combo that Shane had guided. No high tech here just old school. Shane would later find out that Star was raised without her mother by a father who valued hunting and the outdoors. She has hunted deer since her eighth year and spent two years working cattle in southern Oregon.
(2)
Sleeping on the ground and enduring freezing temperatures is nothing new to my bride. Shane of course did not know any of this until day three or four. His first thought was they brought too much gear (he was right) and he might be in for a tough trip. Shane’s first comment to me after the name exchange was “Are you tough” I was puzzled at first but now remembering how we must have looked to him, it was and appropriate question. I told Shane that I had killed sheep before and thought that I would be as tough as I had to be. He told me that George had a spot that had not seen any pressure and held some good Rams. Shane also told me that I was the guy he would be taking along to harvest a big one. There was a resolve in Shane’s comments and a commitment to making this a fruitful hunt. Later I found out that this was Shane’s 20th sheep hunt with a client and this would be his 15th kill. Most impressive though is the fact that in a mix of Rocky Mountain, Dall, and Desert sheep hunts, Shane has given his clients 100% opportunity under 200 yards from a dead rest..
From the air strip, it was off to the base camp for a quick few minutes to pack food and a small tent for Star and I. Shane and Jeremy planned to sleep on the horse blankets under a tarp. Pedro, a stocky paint horse, was my ride and became a friend as well. High Country has good stock and there would be no outfitter rodeos on this trip. I asked the fellows what they were packing for food and Shane nicely reminded me that we were here to hunt not to eat. The bill of fare would be ready meals, energy bars, oatmeal, coffee, and dry mix gator aid. Shane figured this would be an extension of my efforts to lose weight and was a lot less expensive than the fat farm route. All meals could be prepared on the small whisper lite stove. Jeremy later proved that the stove could be of great assistance in fire starting with snow covered wood. Since it was our anniversary the next day the guides threw in some fresh eggs and a little bacon but in the excitement to get up to our glassing spot to look for sheep, the fry pan was forgotten…fairly essential tool for bacon and eggs. As it turned out Star and I enjoyed the ready meals, canned tuna, bagels, and cheese whiz that became our diet for the next six days. Star had five 4x4 Mule deer opportunities during the sheep hunt but passed because she did not want to shoot until we had a Ram. So there was no back strap for us.
At the end of day one we made camp in a small wooded clearing near a spring at the top of a no name mountain in some of the roughest country in Idaho. This spot was a 30 minute walk from a ridge point that allowed Jeremy, Shane and I to use our optics in search of the Rams on a mountain side some 2 miles across the intervening drainage. Day one spotted nice ram three quarters of the way up the mountain that we were scoping. Day two spotted more rams and shared some fine wine for our anniversary. We had both brought cards and it was special to have that day in these surroundings so far from the world we are more familiar with., day three spotted more Rams and one really nice mature Ram all near the top with cracker jack views of all around them. It was time to get going. The weather had been cold and windy with overcast, light rain and snow. Nice weather compared to the heavy snow and rain to come. By the way when the spotting phase began, Shane again proved to be the fanatic sheep man I referenced at our landing.
(3)
When we set up to glass the object mountain, Shane poured at least 15k of well cared for optics from his pack and did not look up from his spotting task for three days.
I don’t know about you but the spotting scope gets me in the neck. I have to take at least 15 minutes out every hour and stretch out the frozen joints. Shane told Star and I that the guides three P’s are patience, persistence and positivity. Shane and Jeremy score high on all three When the spotting was done we had seen a number of good Rams .I use the “ we” loosely as Jeremy and I were up to a grand total of zero, naught, nada, none and Shane had the rest.
The trip to our higher camp was almost a full day. The terrain was too steep to ride so the horses and mules were led most of the way and camp was made in a saddle about two thirds up the mountain we would be hunting. The walk to water was about two hundred yards straight downhill and there was no noticeable trail in or out of this place. Now that Shane knew that there were good Rams in the area, a no nonsense attitude began to show through. These young men were exactly the ticket for taking Rams. I knew that they would do their job and the only question was if I could do mine. It would not be the wind, sleet, and snow that kept me awake that night, it was the excitement of the hunt. The next morning day four started with a small fire and a good hike up to the middle of the rock canyons that we had spent the previous three days looking over through our spotting scopes. Star gave me a good luck kiss and elected to tend the camp instead of risking any interference to the hunt.(Her nick name is fidgets) At 1pm Shane looked over and gave me the thumbs up…He let me look at a nice size full curl Ram that was broomed on one side. Shane said the good news was we found a shooter and the bad news was he was in one of the worst spots around at the top of a small slide that fed to the creek below and nestled in trees and rock below a bigger rock out cropping. Getting to this Ram would be tough and we could be easily busted because of the loose rocks and steep walls. I had told Shane that I would like a good Ram but did not want anything other than a representative of the species. Other states are historically better producers of the B&C horns. Idaho has a low population of sheep and does not produce the horn size that Colorado and Montana generally claim. After watching the Ram feed and bed for a bit, we decided to give it a try. If the rocks were positioned better on the back side of the outcropping, which we could not see, there might be a 150 yard shot at steep angle. Jeremy stayed in our original position to let us know what happened when it was all over. It was about a mile climb and side hill trek through new snow and over very uneven steep surfaces. We hoped the other Rams we had seen the day before were not going to give away our position as we carefully moved step by step closer to the Shooter. At about 4pm we got close enough to start looking over rock tops. So far I had kept up and kept quiet, big parts of my job. We looked up over what we hoped to be the final rock and could not see where the Ram had previously bedded. During the time it had taken to get into this position, the old battle scared Ram had moved and unfortunately for us he had moved to a spot that gave him a nice view of the old man and young guide in the rocks above. As the Ram beat it down the cliffs, we broke position and tried to close the gap. This was a time that I truly questioned my sanity because the drop offs were over a hundred feet and I was literally rock hoping to try and gain a vantage point.( not normal for 62 year old executives.)
(4)
When the rock hopping was done and I got to a shooting position, the Ram had reached the bottom of the slide (his proven escape route) about 150 yards down in burnt timber and was about to drive up the other side. I had a shot at 150 yards on this moving Ram in the timber and had him clear in the scope for about two seconds. This was not a shot that I was prepared to take on such a beautiful creature. I passed and we were busted big time as the Ram walked over the rocky crevice to the safety of the next canyon where we had been several hours before.
I knew that the odds of shooting a Ram that had been spotted by glassing might be in the 50% category if you had some good luck. I also knew that odds of spotting and hunting a Ram that knew he was being hunted are next to nothing. Remember the positivity? And the threeP’s Well we had plenty of that and I was grateful to have had the chance that I did have. What better experience than hunting the most magnificent of creatures in his own house.
Day five came with more snow and a good send off from Star. We decided to send Jeremy back to the ridge where we were busted the day before and for me and Shane to do some more rock climbing in the next lower canyons where we thought he might have gone. After a lot of bino work in the falling snow to re-aquire the Roman Nosed Battle scarred Ram, Shane again gave me the thumbs up. Instead of clearing out of the county, the old Ram had bedded down in the Canyon that gave him sanctuary the night before. At 11a.m. he was working up the hill feeding and really looking around. This guy was nervous as hell and was taking no chances. He gingerly bedded down about thirty yards below the slope he had disappeared over the night before. We knew he would not be there for long and luckily enough Jeremy was positioned at the top of the ridge that he was on. Shane and I backed out of our spot and moved quickly to Jeremy’s position. Took about and hour. The three of us then made it ever so slowly down the rock ridge back to the rocks we thought were just above the Ram’s last bedded position. It was about 800 yards of descent. I moved to a position behind a rock that might do for a rifle rest and Shane began to poke his head up. Jeremy laid back. In the five days together I had never seen Shane look like this. Cursing lightly in a whisper, all I heard was “he’s not there, we have been had”. Patience and persistence took over and we began to look around. After an agonizing three or four minutes of feeling a bottomless failure, the Ram walked slowly back into the picture from my left. He had been just over the ridge feeding and was now on his way back to bed down. Shane had to show me exactly where he was about 150 yards to my left behind some timber and brush. I raised my old Weatherby 270 mag over the rock and found a steady rest but there was no shot through the brush and trees. The Ram was still jumpy and we knew he could bolt at any moment. I kept on him with the scope and he moved forward slightly giving me about a one foot round hole in the brush that lined up with his right shoulder. Shooting down hill meant the shot through his shoulder would hit the vitals. Shane said wait for him to move from behind the trees and I said I have a shot through the brush. Shane got to “well if you think you…..” boom came the report of the rifle and the old battle scarred Ram dropped dead in a pile by a log that mercifully kept him from a 200 foot fall.
(5)
The emotion over came us all as the Ram was down and each of us had done well on our assigned tasks. When we got to the Ram, Shane let me know that he had purposefully under spoken on the Ram’s size earlier. He did not want me to get any of the jitters associated with record book talk. Charles Russell once said “Meats not Meat till it’s in the pan” and I guess “trophies are‘t trophies till they’re on the ground”.
From a clients perspective there should be three P’s for the guide as well “Professional, Passionate and Prepared”. On the prepared side, the pictures took an hour with two cameras and the Ram repositioned a couple of times. The hunt of a lifetime deserves at least this kind of effort. So to does the soul of the great animal and the wonderful life lived. It took several hours to cape, bone, photograph, pack and gratefully get our tired bodies back to camp. Star had gotten the water and taken care of the stock which was appreciated by all. Sheep ribs over an open fire on a snowy evening were a great treat. I believe this anniversary will be tough to beat but if the stars line up right again who knows…..
Thanks to my lovely wife for sharing the out doors..
Thanks to High Country Outfitter for good stock, good tack and good people.
Thanks to Middle fork Aviation for safe flights
Thanks to the young men like Shane and Jeremy for loving what they do
Thanks to Mother Nature for the great wild places
by Bill Reid
27/09: Sheep Hunt '07
Category: Hunting: Bighorn Sheep
Posted by: ch0p5
Sheep Hunt #1:
Sheep hunting has been a challenge this year due to all of the smoke from forest fires. We (Cory and Jess) hunted in the smoke for seven days before finding a ram for our first hunter. He wasn't huge, but we figured he would go about 160 or so. We called Clayton on the Sat Phone and let him know that we had a ram spotted for him and he flew in that evening and we picked him up at the airstrip with the horses. The next morning we went after the ram. George and Kris got accross the canyon to spot the rams and motion directions to us. It didn't take them long to spot sheep and we started our climb. It didn't look bad, but it was definately a pull to get up as high as the sheep. After a few hours of climbing, we finally saw the rams, but it wasn't the ram that we had seen the day before. We were kind of dissapointed because this ram wasn't nearly as big, but Clayton wanted him anyway. I ranged the ram at 366 yards and Clayton made a great shot with his HS .270 Short Mag. After a week of Mountain House dehidrated food, it was heaven to have sheep backstraps that night... we're glad Clayton was willing to share. It's not a huge ram, but Clayton was super happy and he is now down to his Desert Bighorn to complete his Grand Slam. Good luck Clayton, it was a pleasure hunting with you.
Sheep Hunt #2:
After Clayton left, we had about a week of smokey conditions with near zero visibility. On the first day we could actually see, we called our next hunter, Wayne. He has already gotten the other three species of sheep needed for his Grand Slam and this ram would be the last one he needed. We were excited about our prospects and completing his Slam. On the first day of the hunt, we foud a little ram right out of camp that Wayne passed on, then we went five days without seeing a sheep. It was alternately smokey, snowing at almost blizzard conditions and raining. Conditions were terrible! On the afternoon of the fifth day, Kris and Jeremy found some tracks near camp. The next morning, Cory and Wayne followed the tracks while Kris and Jess got to a good glassing spot. At the end of the tracks, Cory spotted a nice ram (165-170). Wayne liked the ram and was going to shoot, but before he could the fog rolled in and the ram was gone when visibility returned. Kris and Jess found two more rams 30 yards below them in the rocks and one of them was HUGE! Around 180! Unfortunately they spooked and we couldn't find them again. Ultimately Wayne ended up going home empty handed. It was a heartbreaker for everybody.
Sheep Hunt #3:
Jess and I flew in to camp with our hunter, Bob Newton on the 29th. We had high hopes of getting the big ram and everyone was excited. The day before we flew in, our second hunter, Wayne had called me and said that when he flew out of camp he had seen a good ram on the ridge just above base camp. Thanks for the tip Wayne. We decided that we would spend the first night at base camp and try to get a look at this ram before we headed up after the big one. Jess and I went different directions to try to get a look at him, but all we saw were a few ewes... oh well, we had bigger fish to fry!
On the second morning we packed the mules and saddled the horses and headed up to sheep camp. Bob is seventy years old and has broken his back a few times so riding a horse is hard on him so he walked the whole way. He is one tough bugger! It's no walk in the park to get up to this camp and he kept right up with the horses without hardly even breathing hard. I hope I'm able to walk like him when I'm his age! We got to camp late that afternoon and after we got set up it was dark. The next morning, we woke to a blizzard and it was blowing so hard we thought the tent would blow over. Needless to say, we were stuck in camp all day. We found out today that not only is Bob tough, but he's funny too.
On the third morning we had great tracking snow and calm winds. Right off the bat, we found ram tracks on the ridge right next to camp and began following them and glassing ahead of us. It didn't take us long to find the sheep a few hundred yards below us feeding up a ridge. I was kind of sick and coughing, so I stayed at the spotting scope to keep track of the rams and Jess and Bob went after them. Talk about stressful having to stay there and watch! There were six rams in the group; two small "Banana Heads", one three-quarter curl, the ram that our last hunter Wayne had a chance at, and the two big rams that Kris and Jess had seen on that hunt. The biggest ram was an absolute monster! With huge, heavy bases, he carries his weight all the way to the end of his broomed off horns. He is a little over full curl, drops below his jaws and flares out pretty well at the end. Great ram! Anyway... I'm up there on the spotting scope drooling over this big ram and waiting for Jess and Bob to get down there when Jess walks into my line of sight through the scope! I can tell he hasn't seen the ram yet and they're right on top of each other! I'm sweating bullets. It seems to take forever, but they finally find the rams all bedded down. The rams were in two groups bedded on the hill, smallest rams on the bottom and the larges rams up higher. The two groups were only yards apart from each other and Jess and Bob were only eighty yards from them. Jess told Bob to shoot the top ram and Bob shot... the highest ram in the bottom group. The three-quarter curl ram. It is a nice ram, but a bit of a disapointment for all of us, especially Bob. He called it an "accidental shooting". At least he took it with a good sense of humor. The rest of the rams just trotted slowly over the ridge.
Bob is now only a Desert Bighorn away from his second Grand Slam and has been on ten sheep hunts. That ram is the biggest ram he has ever seen. Oh well, we still have one more sheep hunter so hopefully we can get him!
Congratulations Bob, and good luck on your Desert ram.
Sheep Hunt #4:
Bill Reide was our fourth hunter and his guides were Shane Reynolds and Jeremy Haney. They glassed hard for three days before they found a ram, but boy, when they did it was a whopper. We think it was one of the rams from the group we had been hunting all season. On the fourth day, they rode horses and hiked to where they had seen the ram. As they slowly hiked over the hill to find him, he spotted them and spooked and then came back for a second look. Bill made a great shot and the rest is history. The ram green-scores 185. One of the largest rams to come out of the middle fork for a long time.
Congratulations Bill.
Sheep hunting has been a challenge this year due to all of the smoke from forest fires. We (Cory and Jess) hunted in the smoke for seven days before finding a ram for our first hunter. He wasn't huge, but we figured he would go about 160 or so. We called Clayton on the Sat Phone and let him know that we had a ram spotted for him and he flew in that evening and we picked him up at the airstrip with the horses. The next morning we went after the ram. George and Kris got accross the canyon to spot the rams and motion directions to us. It didn't take them long to spot sheep and we started our climb. It didn't look bad, but it was definately a pull to get up as high as the sheep. After a few hours of climbing, we finally saw the rams, but it wasn't the ram that we had seen the day before. We were kind of dissapointed because this ram wasn't nearly as big, but Clayton wanted him anyway. I ranged the ram at 366 yards and Clayton made a great shot with his HS .270 Short Mag. After a week of Mountain House dehidrated food, it was heaven to have sheep backstraps that night... we're glad Clayton was willing to share. It's not a huge ram, but Clayton was super happy and he is now down to his Desert Bighorn to complete his Grand Slam. Good luck Clayton, it was a pleasure hunting with you.
Sheep Hunt #2:
After Clayton left, we had about a week of smokey conditions with near zero visibility. On the first day we could actually see, we called our next hunter, Wayne. He has already gotten the other three species of sheep needed for his Grand Slam and this ram would be the last one he needed. We were excited about our prospects and completing his Slam. On the first day of the hunt, we foud a little ram right out of camp that Wayne passed on, then we went five days without seeing a sheep. It was alternately smokey, snowing at almost blizzard conditions and raining. Conditions were terrible! On the afternoon of the fifth day, Kris and Jeremy found some tracks near camp. The next morning, Cory and Wayne followed the tracks while Kris and Jess got to a good glassing spot. At the end of the tracks, Cory spotted a nice ram (165-170). Wayne liked the ram and was going to shoot, but before he could the fog rolled in and the ram was gone when visibility returned. Kris and Jess found two more rams 30 yards below them in the rocks and one of them was HUGE! Around 180! Unfortunately they spooked and we couldn't find them again. Ultimately Wayne ended up going home empty handed. It was a heartbreaker for everybody.
Sheep Hunt #3:
Jess and I flew in to camp with our hunter, Bob Newton on the 29th. We had high hopes of getting the big ram and everyone was excited. The day before we flew in, our second hunter, Wayne had called me and said that when he flew out of camp he had seen a good ram on the ridge just above base camp. Thanks for the tip Wayne. We decided that we would spend the first night at base camp and try to get a look at this ram before we headed up after the big one. Jess and I went different directions to try to get a look at him, but all we saw were a few ewes... oh well, we had bigger fish to fry!
On the second morning we packed the mules and saddled the horses and headed up to sheep camp. Bob is seventy years old and has broken his back a few times so riding a horse is hard on him so he walked the whole way. He is one tough bugger! It's no walk in the park to get up to this camp and he kept right up with the horses without hardly even breathing hard. I hope I'm able to walk like him when I'm his age! We got to camp late that afternoon and after we got set up it was dark. The next morning, we woke to a blizzard and it was blowing so hard we thought the tent would blow over. Needless to say, we were stuck in camp all day. We found out today that not only is Bob tough, but he's funny too.
On the third morning we had great tracking snow and calm winds. Right off the bat, we found ram tracks on the ridge right next to camp and began following them and glassing ahead of us. It didn't take us long to find the sheep a few hundred yards below us feeding up a ridge. I was kind of sick and coughing, so I stayed at the spotting scope to keep track of the rams and Jess and Bob went after them. Talk about stressful having to stay there and watch! There were six rams in the group; two small "Banana Heads", one three-quarter curl, the ram that our last hunter Wayne had a chance at, and the two big rams that Kris and Jess had seen on that hunt. The biggest ram was an absolute monster! With huge, heavy bases, he carries his weight all the way to the end of his broomed off horns. He is a little over full curl, drops below his jaws and flares out pretty well at the end. Great ram! Anyway... I'm up there on the spotting scope drooling over this big ram and waiting for Jess and Bob to get down there when Jess walks into my line of sight through the scope! I can tell he hasn't seen the ram yet and they're right on top of each other! I'm sweating bullets. It seems to take forever, but they finally find the rams all bedded down. The rams were in two groups bedded on the hill, smallest rams on the bottom and the larges rams up higher. The two groups were only yards apart from each other and Jess and Bob were only eighty yards from them. Jess told Bob to shoot the top ram and Bob shot... the highest ram in the bottom group. The three-quarter curl ram. It is a nice ram, but a bit of a disapointment for all of us, especially Bob. He called it an "accidental shooting". At least he took it with a good sense of humor. The rest of the rams just trotted slowly over the ridge.
Bob is now only a Desert Bighorn away from his second Grand Slam and has been on ten sheep hunts. That ram is the biggest ram he has ever seen. Oh well, we still have one more sheep hunter so hopefully we can get him!
Congratulations Bob, and good luck on your Desert ram.
Sheep Hunt #4:
Bill Reide was our fourth hunter and his guides were Shane Reynolds and Jeremy Haney. They glassed hard for three days before they found a ram, but boy, when they did it was a whopper. We think it was one of the rams from the group we had been hunting all season. On the fourth day, they rode horses and hiked to where they had seen the ram. As they slowly hiked over the hill to find him, he spotted them and spooked and then came back for a second look. Bill made a great shot and the rest is history. The ram green-scores 185. One of the largest rams to come out of the middle fork for a long time.
Congratulations Bill.
Category: Hunting: Bighorn Sheep
Posted by: ch0p5
After the yearly bighorn sheep survey that takes place in Unit 26 out of the Taylor Ranch, the Fish and Game has decided to add two new sheep tags to our hunt. This is great news for our hunters. I was recently in the area on a mountain lion hunt and I saw 72 sheep in less than a week. Granted, they are all on the winter range, but it's still a lot of sheep. We saw a number of good rams as well. Things are lookin' good.
If you're interested in a sheep hunt with us, just go to the sheep page on our site and fill out the application form. We'll take care of the application process for you.
If you're interested in a sheep hunt with us, just go to the sheep page on our site and fill out the application form. We'll take care of the application process for you.
Category: Hunting: Bighorn Sheep
Posted by: ch0p5
8/28/06
Fly-in at 8:30 and pack in to RP camp (2 hrs). There were 30 head of elk in camp. We glassed off of the ridges near camp. No sheep.
8/29/06
Glass all day at HIW. Extremely smoky from fires and windy all day. Visibility sucks. Saw a big chocolate bear ealry in the morning. I heard sheep butting heads accross the canyon all day, but we couldn't spot them.
8/30/06
Split up. I went down the ridge from camp and Steve and Allen (our hunter) went down to HIW. I saw a nice buck right below camp and another one lower. Steve and Allen saw another bear off the other side. Heard sheep again, but couldn't see through the smoke.
8/31/06
Packed up and glassed our way down to TR. Up the other side to CCC. No sheep seen.
9/1/06
Glassed HM, LR and off of GK into CC. Saw lots of ewes and lambs. No rams. Heard a pack of wolves howling at the head of the drainage.
9/2/06
I walked up the ridge to a saddle above camp. Jumped a bear on the way up. I glassed back down to camp once I got there and Steve and Allen had "raised the flag" (our signal for a spotted ram). I ran back down and heard shots just after I reached camp. Steve had left me a hand-drawn map, so I grabbed a backpack and went up to find them. I found Allen after about an hour or so and got the story from him. They had found a 3/4 curl ram accross from camp, made a stalk to within 200 yrds and Allen had gotten two shots at him in his bed. The ram got up and walked away over the rocks. When they got to where the ram had been, they found one small spot of blood, but that was it. The ram left no tracks on the rocks and we looked for him all day... lost him. Depressing.
9/3/06
Packed out of that camp and went back down the the main creek. I went through the creek bottom and found a dead ewe. I met up with them at the bottom. We camped down there in a little meadow and took a much needed bath in the creek. Glassed from down there and spotted some ewes.
9/4/06
Packed to the airstrip and picked up Ty (camp help) and some more supplies. Then up PC to camp. Camped at JA's camp. Glassed PC, AR, into RC adn off of GR. Saw a little herd of elk. A few cows, a raghorn bull and a spike. No sheep.
9/5/06
Up to the saddle & glassed off of the HP and Corned Beef. Saw a group of seven monster bucks. Today was the last full day of Allen's hunt.
9/6/06
I took Allen to the airstrip and picked up my next hunter, Jim. In the mean-time, Steve had packed up camp and went to HC. I had never been there and I was off my horse tracking him through the rocks to camp when Steve came running down the trail out of breath. He spotted two rams just 70 yrds off of the trail from us and three, possibly four more rams off of the PC side from HC. Jim and I were on a collision course with them. He told Jim, "You don't have to shoot, shoot the big one!" (The "Big One" was very big!) We snuck 20 or so yards off of the trail and Jim shot before Steve or I had gotten a chance to look the rams over and wouldn't you know it... he shot the smaller of the two. We took care of the ram, caped him and finally got to camp just after midnight. What a day! We had just come off of a super rough hunt and then our second hunter shot his ram on the way to camp with 4-5 other rams spotted. Amazing!
9/7/06
Ty and I packed the ram back to camp, fleshed the hid and cut up the meat. We had a pretty relaxing day. We glassed for fun that afternoon and evening and saw elk and heard a bunch of bugleing bulls.
9/8/06
Packed out and flew out.
Bighorn Sheep hunts over for the year.
Fly-in at 8:30 and pack in to RP camp (2 hrs). There were 30 head of elk in camp. We glassed off of the ridges near camp. No sheep.
8/29/06
Glass all day at HIW. Extremely smoky from fires and windy all day. Visibility sucks. Saw a big chocolate bear ealry in the morning. I heard sheep butting heads accross the canyon all day, but we couldn't spot them.
8/30/06
Split up. I went down the ridge from camp and Steve and Allen (our hunter) went down to HIW. I saw a nice buck right below camp and another one lower. Steve and Allen saw another bear off the other side. Heard sheep again, but couldn't see through the smoke.
8/31/06
Packed up and glassed our way down to TR. Up the other side to CCC. No sheep seen.
9/1/06
Glassed HM, LR and off of GK into CC. Saw lots of ewes and lambs. No rams. Heard a pack of wolves howling at the head of the drainage.
9/2/06
I walked up the ridge to a saddle above camp. Jumped a bear on the way up. I glassed back down to camp once I got there and Steve and Allen had "raised the flag" (our signal for a spotted ram). I ran back down and heard shots just after I reached camp. Steve had left me a hand-drawn map, so I grabbed a backpack and went up to find them. I found Allen after about an hour or so and got the story from him. They had found a 3/4 curl ram accross from camp, made a stalk to within 200 yrds and Allen had gotten two shots at him in his bed. The ram got up and walked away over the rocks. When they got to where the ram had been, they found one small spot of blood, but that was it. The ram left no tracks on the rocks and we looked for him all day... lost him. Depressing.
9/3/06
Packed out of that camp and went back down the the main creek. I went through the creek bottom and found a dead ewe. I met up with them at the bottom. We camped down there in a little meadow and took a much needed bath in the creek. Glassed from down there and spotted some ewes.
9/4/06
Packed to the airstrip and picked up Ty (camp help) and some more supplies. Then up PC to camp. Camped at JA's camp. Glassed PC, AR, into RC adn off of GR. Saw a little herd of elk. A few cows, a raghorn bull and a spike. No sheep.
9/5/06
Up to the saddle & glassed off of the HP and Corned Beef. Saw a group of seven monster bucks. Today was the last full day of Allen's hunt.
9/6/06
I took Allen to the airstrip and picked up my next hunter, Jim. In the mean-time, Steve had packed up camp and went to HC. I had never been there and I was off my horse tracking him through the rocks to camp when Steve came running down the trail out of breath. He spotted two rams just 70 yrds off of the trail from us and three, possibly four more rams off of the PC side from HC. Jim and I were on a collision course with them. He told Jim, "You don't have to shoot, shoot the big one!" (The "Big One" was very big!) We snuck 20 or so yards off of the trail and Jim shot before Steve or I had gotten a chance to look the rams over and wouldn't you know it... he shot the smaller of the two. We took care of the ram, caped him and finally got to camp just after midnight. What a day! We had just come off of a super rough hunt and then our second hunter shot his ram on the way to camp with 4-5 other rams spotted. Amazing!
9/7/06
Ty and I packed the ram back to camp, fleshed the hid and cut up the meat. We had a pretty relaxing day. We glassed for fun that afternoon and evening and saw elk and heard a bunch of bugleing bulls.
9/8/06
Packed out and flew out.
Bighorn Sheep hunts over for the year.
