S44 Ram

Hard to put into words a sheep hunt- I could write a book about the whole experience, but this is the short and skinny of it.

10 years applying
Scouted 12 days 60+ miles hiking
Countless hours researching maps, gear, consulting with hunters/guides/game wardens/biologists.
Backpacked with my brother 7 days, 50+ miles through sun, rain, sleet, snow, fog, and heavy wind.
My brother spotted him with another ram at a mile away and he watched the entire stalk unfold through a spotting scope- I cannot thank him enough for spotting them.
My brother noticed this ram had a hitch in his gate. The butcher showed us where the left rear leg previously was broken and mended. Video shows pretty clearly he couldn't bend his left rear leg.

Many lows and highs- one hell of a hunt. One of my favorite parts was big game hunting in full camo with a rifle. Hardest part was the mental challenge with heavy emphasis on the stress of success due to the rarity of the tag.


Two of the basins we glassed frequently. Top picture shows a couple areas where we spotted sheep (in the rocky outcroppings on the ridgeline in the center, and just below the band of white rock in the center amphitheater)


Basalt Mountain cliffs with endless scrub oak.


Morning of the day of the harvest overlooking camp. Tracks in the snow showed sheep had moved through the area that night, including a mountain lion and bear.

Then the fog moved in for five hours.


After a mile stalk, closing the last 300 yards crawling through scrub oak, at sunset I shot from this spot to the base of the large white cliffs in the middle. 305 yards, 30-06 165gr Hornady SST, behind the shoulders.


Colorado Parks and Rec aged him 13 years.



Special thanks to my family- this hunt could not have happened without their help and support.
Special thanks to Matt Yamashita, the warden for the area- he is a solid guy and very helpful. He has genuine interest in the success of his sheep hunters.
Special thanks also to Cliff Gray from Flat Tops Wilderness Outfitters- his is a straight up awesome guy. Even though things didn't work out to have him go on this hunt, he showed unbelievable character in helping deal with the bureaucratic "swamp" of the USFS. I would use him as a guide on any other hunt without hesitation.

That's a great ram. Congrats!

Congrats! Dandy ram.

Great hard-earned beauty!!

That's a fine ram and it sounds like you did it right. I believe every sheep hunt should include lots of scouting, planning and hard work in order to really experience the whole sheep adventure. I may be going out on a limb but I'd bet this isn't your last?

Congrats ddsSHEEPHUNTER!

What a great story... congratulations on one hell of a well earned ram??

Fantastic write up!
Fantastic story!
And a well deserved Ram!! Way to go.

Well done!

My buddy Justin got a dandy on the bow hunt in S44 this year.

congrats

Robb

Very Cool!! Hard work, great scenery, a beautiful ram. What could be better?!?!

That's a great ram! Congratulations!
I believe I met you at the sheep orientation. Are you from Silt?

Thank you for the congrats! You are right on about a desire to go after more sheep- the hunt is certainly one of a kind. Hard part is the opportunities are few and far between- just spent the last few days looking at applying for other states- one thing is certain, if you don't put your name in the ring you will never go.

Sorry, from Thornton. Congrats on your ram as well! That is an awesome broomed ram you took- looks like you took him at sunset as well?

Thank you for the congrats! I spent some time with one of Justin?s buddies on the sheep count- a standup guy. I had been texting/emailing Justin prior to after his hunt- it was awesome he wrapped it up opening day. I don't think the other four archers or rifle hunter faired as well... tough unit with all the scrub oak and cover...

Oops , wrong guy. Thanks for the compliment . I killed my ram at 3:30 and got to him right before dark . Congrats again on taking a beautiful ram! Sounds like you had a great hunt.

That's a great, and well earned ram! Congrats!

Something interesting-

On opening morning my brother and I worked up to a ridge to overlook two basins. Clouds soon began to move in from the west for a morning shower. I settled in under a large pine tree to get out of the rain and began to glass a ridge to the west about 1.5mi away. Instantly I pick out sheep through the falling rain. I called my brother over and we get out the spotting scopes and see six rams working north through the cliffs. We were stoked we were seeing rams on opening morning. We were quite a ways away and were trying to figure if we should watch and see where they bed, or make a move on them. Over the years I have learned to become a more patient hunter, but in this case we decided to get closer and see if there was something in the category of a first day ram. So we blazed down this ridge, across the valley floor, and up through heavy scrub oak to the next ridge, all the while the rain is pouring down. As we worked up the ravine below where we last saw the sheep I looked back at my brother and I could tell he was not enjoying this- cold, soaked to the bone from sweat under our rain gear, and out of breath. We cut up a ridge through scrub oak and downed timber to look across to see if the sheep were still in the cliffs or bedded. Fortunately it stopped raining and the sun came out just as we relocated the rams on top of the cliffs still heading north. They were all 3/4 curl, but two were beyond it with some mass- needing a closer look and possibly worthy of taking the first day. We decided for my brother to stay there with eyes on while I worked up the ravine below to circle in behind or ahead of them. Behind the cliffs it was flat with dark timber and a little bit of aspen right up to the edge of the cliffs. So I went in slow ahead of them, but the wind was blowing right their direction; so I circled back to get in behind them, again the wind blowing in their direction; I tried directly at them, same thing with the wind; I tried this tactic many times with wind just blowing all over; finally I worked back to the north ahead of them and the wind seemed to be a little better. By this point it was the afternoon and I figured they must have bedded, so I was going to wait them out. As I was sitting, the freaking wind just kept swirling, and the distance of any shot on top of the cliffs was going to be very close- 50-80 yards at most due to the cover. So I made small adjustments in position trying to get the wind better. When I finally made it to a decent spot I heard the scrambling of hooves and I knew they busted. So I quickly flanked to a small rise and saw sheep. I pulled up my rifle, safety off, broadside shot on a ram at 80 yards, but they were piled up on each other tighter than a snare drum- I couldn't take a good shot. So they busted and ran south through the cliffs and into hells country. I radioed my brother and he saw them go over a mile down off the cliff ridge through nasty blow down, boulders, and scrub oak- no way we could make another play. I was annoyed to say the least because the damn wind was playing hard. As I hiked down to my brother I stopped in the ravine below the cliffs and curiously ranged 365 compensated. I get to my brother and he tells me that after I left in the morning to work behind them, all six rams came to the cliffs edge for 15 minutes, with the smaller ones butting heads- he took video of them all standing up there. We headed back to camp and relocated them- the next days were filled with more encounters and crazy weather. I was frustrated as I could have avoided the whole frustrating climb and stalk if I just waited below.

So a couple weeks after the season I finally watched some of the video by my brother. Video of that morning shows six rams of varying ages just standing and chewing their cud. I was enjoying looking at the varying ram lengths and sizes, when one of the large ones takes a step to reposition. I notice his left rear leg doesn't bend- I re-watched it several times. Then I checked it with the video of the ram I harvested six days later, and it had the same stiff left leg. Same ram, six days apart- it makes sense but just an unexpected and pleasant surprise after the hunt.

365 yards to the top of the cliffs


Another pic


A cool pic with the red lamp, moon rising

Tremendous!

GREAT ram and write up.....cant wait to see the 2 rams you tag this year. grandpa and grandson sheep hunt, it should be epic

+1 tree---

What a fall for them!

Robb

LAST EDITED ON May-14-18 AT 04:00PM (MST)[p]>GREAT ram and write up.....cant wait
>to see the 2 rams
>you tag this year. grandpa
>and grandson sheep hunt, it
>should be epic

Thanks treed! My hunt was a special one. The pic I attached is of the only ram I spotted during all the days of scouting. This ram was spotted on the sheep count in August and I took video and pics of the ram from about 800yds. This may sound crazy, but I was watching the video last November and this ram also had a lame left rear leg- it wouldn't stand on it, and placed very little pressure on it while walking! I was dumbfounded! Seeing as the horns were almost identical to the ram I took, plus the lame left rear leg- I am convinced it was the same ram that I harvested in October.



Robb- this ram was just north of where your buddy took his during archery in Taylor basin.

I am looking forward to fall. My nephew and father have sheep on the brain right now... makes me laugh as that was where I was a year ago. I will definitely post up about their hunts... it would be great if they both fill their tags- regardless we will certainly make a good run at it and just enjoy the challenge.

Cheers- Dave

LAST EDITED ON May-24-18 AT 11:44AM (MST)[p]Hey Dave,
Best of luck to you, your nephew and grand pa!
Oh, congrats on a helluva ram last year!

Doug