Any Nevada Sheep Tags?

Filled my Nevada Desert Bighorn tag yesterday. Looked over a lot of Rams over the last few months and didn't see anything bigger in my unit so I decided to pull the trigger on this guy. I'm happy with him and happy it's over. Pretty sore from the pack out. He was a big bodied ram and it was steep rocky terrain. So grateful for all the help and support from my friend Lydia. Two ladies getting it done!

DesertBighornSheep1.jpg
DesertBighornSheep.jpg
 
Owyhee said:
Filled my Nevada Desert Bighorn tag yesterday. Looked over a lot of Rams over the last few months and didn't see anything bigger in my unit so I decided to pull the trigger on this guy. I'm happy with him and happy it's over. Pretty sore from the pack out. He was a big bodied ram and it was steep rocky terrain. So grateful for all the help and support from my friend Lydia. Two ladies getting it done!

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Congratulations on a beautiful ram! It is pretty special being able to spend time watching these amazing animals. I'm hooked after my hunt for sure!
 
eshunt said:
Congratulations on a beautiful ram! It is pretty special being able to spend time watching these amazing animals. I'm hooked after my hunt for sure!
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Thank you and I agree. It was awesome watching them and studying their behavior. Will probably move on to photography for them as I will most likely never get another tag. :)
 
Owyhee said:
Filled my Nevada Desert Bighorn tag yesterday. Looked over a lot of Rams over the last few months and didn't see anything bigger in my unit so I decided to pull the trigger on this guy. I'm happy with him and happy it's over. Pretty sore from the pack out. He was a big bodied ram and it was steep rocky terrain. So grateful for all the help and support from my friend Lydia. Two ladies getting it done!

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Congratulations!!! Awesome trophy.
 
Congratulations on a fine NV ram!

Glad you were able to take your time looking over lots of sheep and being able to take it all in enjoying the hunt given the rarity of the tag…

Horniac
 
Wow! You did good! Sheep on the mountain are so special, and when you have a tag in your pocket, it doesn't get any better, except maybe if you are chasing an Elephant! Congratulations, and well done...
 
Horniac said:
Congratulations on a fine NV ram!

Glad you were able to take your time looking over lots of sheep and being able to take it all in enjoying the hunt given the rarity of the tag…

Horniac
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Thanks Horniac. This hunt will definitely be among my favorite memories. :)
 
Owyhee said:
Filled my Nevada Desert Bighorn tag yesterday. Looked over a lot of Rams over the last few months and didn't see anything bigger in my unit so I decided to pull the trigger on this guy. I'm happy with him and happy it's over. Pretty sore from the pack out. He was a big bodied ram and it was steep rocky terrain. So grateful for all the help and support from my friend Lydia. Two ladies getting it done!

View attachment 123951View attachment 123952
Click to expand...
Incredible report Owyhee! For sure that is a special ram. He looks old for a Nevada sheep and he's way better than average!
Congratulations on getting it done and thanks for sharing.
 
Congrats! I am still living on the memories of my wife sheep hunt last year, maybe one day it will be my turn, it sure is a special hunt
 
Well here we go. Long journey to just get to the opener this year. lots If obstacles including heart surgery, foot fracture and the death of my mother at the end of September. These limited my days os scouting quite a bit. Big thanks to littlebighorn and Bruce from Silvergrand for some great info for a newbie sheep hunter.
 
Arrived down to Unit 253 3 days before the season to start scouting. My BIL and nephew were coming the next day and son coming 3 days into the opener. First day out was beautiful but no sheep were seen. Day 2 we split forces and covered high country to low country but No only one small ram was found. Day 3 came and with it 40mph winds with 50mph gusts. Glassing was incredibly hard to do. Finally one lone ram found right before dark, necessitating a closer look come the opener inthe morning
 
Opening morning saw us going up one heck of a”road” to get us close enough to start glassing. Only problem was the 30-40mph winds again, geez just can’t catch a break. Finally my BIL spots 5 ewes and one ram up on top of the world. 155” ish ram but not accessible for this old man. About this time we get a call from a friend who decided to come down at the last minute and he was just north of us and had spotted 11 ewes. Things are looking up.
 
Decided to move to another location but the wind just wouldn’t give us a break and all we could find were burros. I was struggling even when we were seeing sheep , I just couldn’t spit them. Very long day and 30 min before dark 4 rams were spotted with 3 being at least mis 150’s. Looked like a twenty min hike to get where a long(550) yd shot might be possible. Now I’m not a long range shooter and even though the Christensen Arms 28 Nosler is capable I just didn’t feel comfortable with the high winds. Decision was made to back out and come back in the morning.
 
Day 2 arrives and we head back for the rams. The wind has died down and after about 30 min of glassing we find the rams. Unfortunately they were about 200yds from the night before and heading out over the top of the ridge. My heart was broken. Set up out in the valley and BIL spits 4 rams and a ewe on (seemingly) another planet. Well the group decides we need to make a play on these 160+ rams.
 
After my heart attack I decided to change my habits and lost 45lbs. Also started to go to the gym. Maybe all this will help out this 65yr old man with a bad foot get up the hill. So up we go about a mile up canyon. Hmm not doing to bad going up, just not at super speed. Finally get there and they’re at 715 yds. No way I’m going to try that shot. I’ve never even practiced beyond 550 yds. Dang it, back down the hill we go. Back at the truck we had a quick lunch and decided we would move to some “lower” country due to being worn out. Thinking this sheep hunting is going to kill me.
 
Across the way we go and set up to glass the lowlands. My nephew within 10 seconds goes a see a ram. I’m calling bs because I’m thinking he’s just trying to win another milkshake for most rams spotted. I say where and he says about 2 miles out close to where we had spotted some deer while scouting. He says I can see horns so he must be good enough to take a closer look at. So a plan is made and we head out.
 
After what seemed like an eternity we finally got to a spot we could glass him up, Wow !!! He looks great to me, thinking 155-160 but just a beautiful ram. Ok, so now what do we do since it’s uphill all the way ( of course it is others it wouldn’t be sheep hunting) and I’m pretty much out of gas in my tank. Well if I can get the 1/2 mile up the hill we think it would be around a 400 yd shot. Game time .
 
A beautiful draw will hide us from the bedded ram almost all the way up. Dang hard climbing with all the rocks in the gully and my bad foot with terrible balance. My nephew is leading the way and he keeps saying “only another 109yds”, I’m thinking to myself he’s said that like 10 times already. Keep going don’t be a quitter I’m saying to myself . Wishing I had taken a layer off before heading up for sure,
 
The target bush is getting closer and closer and finally we are there and stop just below the crest to catch our (my) breath before peaking up on the hill. Nephew ranges the now standing ram and he’s at 308 yds. Wow, I can do this shot. He sets up the tripod sticks and I ease up into shooting position. Really good rest and “pow” and a whap. All right I say. Nephew says you missed. What the heck ? Reload and shoot, whap again. Once again he says missed. Now the ram is slowly walking which makes no sense, should be hualing butt by now. So crank another round out and whap again. He says missed again. By now I’m not sure what’s going on. But
 
Nephew says I see blood, woo hoo he’s been hit, but still walking away. Put another shell in and whap with nephew shouting “ you just dumped “. I was over come with emotions and was shouting and hugging my nephew. I’m not going to lie, I had tears in my eyes. I never thought I would ever get to hunt these wonderful animals and when I did I wasn’t sure I could over the obstacles to get it done. But here I am on this beautiful little hill in Nevada living the dream
 
And yes all four shot had hit the ram. He was an old warrior and he wasn’t giving up even though he was dead on his feet. my BIL has some really good pics, including me in some of them but he needs to send them to me and he’s on another sheep hunt as we speak. It was a great time with family for sure. Unfortunately my son didn’t get to make it in time. Going elk hunting tomorrow with him though
 
Syncerus1 said:
Having just returned from 7 tough days, I can feel your pain, literally! The success was sweet and you literally have a trophy of a lifetime! Congratulations on keeping on task. We go back in a few weeks for another go, God willing! Beautiful critter...
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Hope you are at least seeing Rams Syncerus.
Rest up and go kill a big one.
 
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LBH, we saw very few mature rams. 3 to be precise. I passed on a 158-160 @ 505 yards, and a beautiful dark colored ram 161-162 @ 400 yards. Hoping to find something like a guy in the field picked up, a true 168-170 dead head... Wow, just wow... he was a spotter for some other hunter and found a ram of a lifetime... wide, flaring, 16" bases... and to top it off he was all of 18 years old... he was told to put it back, take pictures and gps co-ordinates, and report to NDOW.
 
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Certainly a 160 desert is no slouch but I totally understand wanting to keep after it.
16" bases is crazy big for a desert, but the year we helped in that unit a guy took a 168" ram with 16" bases.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop.
 
Syncerus1 said:
Having just returned from 7 tough days, I can feel your pain, literally! The success was sweet and you literally have a trophy of a lifetime! Congratulations on keeping on task. We go back in a few weeks for another go, God willing! Beautiful critter...
Click to expand...
Good luck when you go back. It truly is one incredible hunt. Enjoy the hunt and you’ll know when you see the right one.
 
If any are interested please see my post regarding Part 1 of my Nevada desert Bighorn hunt with some good photos for you to look at, judge, comment, and feel free to offer your thoughts on size and why I'm an idiot and didn't try to seal the deal...

All good things come to those... | 2023 Hunt Adventures

Well, after the better part of four and a half decades, I have hit the lotto. Multiple State Game and Fish lotteries have verified I am, at last, a winner! Quite a shock for a fat, old, cranky man. Notices began pinging the email account in early May. Simultaneously I was forced into a mandatory...
www.monstermuleys.info www.monstermuleys.info
Front 160.JPG
 
Syncerus1 said:
If any are interested please see my post regarding Part 1 of my Nevada desert Bighorn hunt with some good photos for you to look at, judge, comment, and feel free to offer your thoughts on size and why I'm an idiot and didn't try to seal the deal...

All good things come to those... | 2023 Hunt Adventures

Well, after the better part of four and a half decades, I have hit the lotto. Multiple State Game and Fish lotteries have verified I am, at last, a winner! Quite a shock for a fat, old, cranky man. Notices began pinging the email account in early May. Simultaneously I was forced into a mandatory...
www.monstermuleys.info www.monstermuleys.info
View attachment 127452
Click to expand...
Being tag rich can be a burden. It seems you have already used up a lot of mental hunting strength so I'd say just go have fun with whatever you have left. I think there is nothing wrong with the pictured ram here. He has very good base mass and while he's not a giant, he's a very good desert ram. I could see you shooting him or passing him depending on how much hunt you have left in the tank. That said, don't second guess any of it. Just go have fun. Good luck.
 
LBH, thank you for the comment. It's really all about the experience(s), the people, the geography, the weather, and viewing firsthand for moist likely the last time, how much the hunting industry has changed. The public has changed. The game has changed. The technology has changed, some for the good, some for the bad. People don't learn to shoot, they well, just fling lead in the general direction of whatever they are pursuing. I'm definitely old school. I hunt elk nowadays for the meat, more than horns. Sheep is definitely not to be a wasted opportunity, as you well know. The driving is getting longer and more taxing, but if you find the right critter, bang at least you had that opportunity of finding a great one. I always believe you can't kill a really good animal until you find that animal... Hope you had a great Turkey day, and have a very happy Holiday Season with your friends and family!
 
Watching your sheep hunt progress with hopes and great expectations Syncerus. Great pictures so far. Thanks for taking us along for the hunt. I know you’ll leave nothing on the table when it comes to bringing home a big horn. All the best on your current adventure.
 
Syncerus1 said:
LBH, we saw very few mature rams. 3 to be precise. I passed on a 158-160 @ 505 yards, and a beautiful dark colored ram 161-162 @ 400 yards. Hoping to find something like a guy in the field picked up, a true 168-170 dead head... Wow, just wow... he was a spotter for some other hunter and found a ram of a lifetime... wide, flaring, 16" bases... and to top it off he was all of 18 years old... he was told to put it back, take pictures and gps co-ordinates, and report to NDOW.
Click to expand...
They should probably recover that head. Based on what I’ve run across that would be the oldest desert bighorn ever recorded. They pretty much die when they hit 12-13yr old, to reach 14 is almost unheard of and 99% of them will never reach 10-12, especially in NV. Best I can find online is a ewe that was 17 but rams and ewes are totally different on the herd structure. I shot a rocky in CO and the biologist said he was 99% sure he was 14 from his annuli but said he was gonna write down 13 as he said there’s no way anyone would ever believe that a ram would make it to 14.
 
yotebuster17 said:
They should probably recover that head. Based on what I’ve run across that would be the oldest desert bighorn ever recorded. They pretty much die when they hit 12-13yr old, to reach 14 is almost unheard of and 99% of them will never reach 10-12, especially in NV. Best I can find online is a ewe that was 17 but rams and ewes are totally different on the herd structure. I shot a rocky in CO and the biologist said he was 99% sure he was 14 from his annuli but said he was gonna write down 13 as he said there’s no way anyone would ever believe that a ram would make it to 14.
Click to expand...
I think he was saying the kid that found it was 18……surely no one would claim the ram was 18
 
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This hunt starts as anyone else does; getting that credit card hit in May as over 1/3 of the state of Nevada waits impatiently for their tag results. It is one of the most agonizing time any sportsman experiences in a lottery draw system like Nevada. I grew up in a hunting family luckily as my dad (Les Brooks) used to take me chukar hunting along with him at a very young age. Things I will never forget growing up. When I turned 12, getting that deer tag was lottery in itself as there wasn't Junior tags available when I was growing up, so we were thrown into the mix with every other hunter. I was able to successfully tag 2 small mule deer growing up in Battle Mountain. My step dad (Ed Naveran) gave me the Bighorn bug when I was 10 when he drew his first tag for the Mormon Mountains of Southern Nevada as well as a Rocky Mountain Goat that year as well both taken successfully and in the Boone and Crockett club. As I got older, my step dad put me in for Nelson Desert Bighorn to acquire points as I got older. Unfortunately, when I went into the Navy, I lost my points as I did not continue to apply and learned the hard way when it comes to the rules of applying for points. I lost out on approximately 15 points until I realized how the system worked. After 11 more points and impatiently waiting for the elusive Bighorn tag, to my surprise my credit card was finally hit. At that point, it was either an Elk or Bighorn tag, so I was stoked either way. Upon learning that it was a Nelson Bighorn, I was ecstatic! My favorite animal and now an adventure starts. Of course, I knew very little of the area I drew and learned quickly that 283/284 Sheep Range in the Desert Wildlife Refuge was going to be a huge challenge! This summer was booked up with other adventures including my son being married in Georgia. He currently serves in the U.S. Navy on a Helo Squadron in Atsugi, Japan. My first opportunity to scout failed miserably as a remarkable rain storm completely washed everything out Labor Day weekend. That held off any scouting for at least a month as areas were repaired in the refuge. I also was lucky enough draw my first late Mule Deer Buck Tag in area 7 and 091. I was going to take advantage of that as well and came up successful for my first Mule Deer in 24 years! After the deer hunt, it was time to focus purely on the Sheep. Trying to plan around work and help was a challenge as most of my vacation was used up in the summer for all the activities. Once I got my vacation time set, now it was time to scout. I was able to scout for two weekends getting to know the area and found small rams and a few ewes in that time, but was not discouraged yet as I was going to have my uncle Jim Naveran and his buddy Jay as well as my step dad Ed Naveran as my hunting party. The hunt started Thanksgiving Day and we spread out looking at different areas to cover as much ground as possible. This area is extremely difficult with limited access and extreme terrain. First day, only ewes and lambs were found and very little sign of activity in the areas we looked over. Day 2 was much of the same as we covered many miles and rough roads with very little success in finding sheep, but it was our 2nd consecutive day finding sheep. Day 3 glassing and finding some ewes again, but still no rams. We decided to move camp over to the Maynard Hills and try our luck there and we found more ewes than previously, but the outlook was better. Day 4 was more glassing and finally I decided to go on a 4 mile hike to get a better vantage point and find a route to a guzzler that did not require cliff climbs or descents. The wind was miserable in the morning and caused for a little bit of concern while glassing, but wasn't detrimental. There wasn't enough time in the day to continue my climb, so decided to report on it and make a plan for day 5. We regrouped at camp and My uncle Jimmy found a large group of Ewes and 2 small rams which added more enthusiasm as we continued to see more and more sheep each day. My uncle mentioned that we are due to see mature rams with the amount of ewes that were found so far. With the possibility of moving to the southwest part of the unit, we decided to split up and look over the Maynard Hills one more time. So, day 5 turned out to be colder and more windy than the day before, but that did not deter us from glassing hard. My dad and I went north and began glassing over the Maynards once again. We were there for over an hour with light setting in. No luck as I set up out of the wind and set up the spotting scope. My dad moved around to my side as well to get out of the wind. We were seeing nothing at this time, so was getting discouraged once again. I turned and asked if we needed to move south and look at another spot. My dad threw up his binoculars to get the strain out of his eyes from looking through the spotting scope and no sooner he did that, he saw some sheep moving up from the bottoms directly in front of us about 700-800 yards in front. I looked through the scope and saw 1 mature ram. Then 2! There was a 3rd and finally a 4th! I stayed to watch them while my dad goes to look for Jimmy and Jay so they can get a look at them and an idea on which ones to pursue. The Rams were spotted at 0715 November 27. The Rams were out of site so the plan was to use the wind, cut some distance and get to a good position. My uncle and I had the radio's and were guided into where they moved to bed down. We came out right on the perfect spot with very little elevation difference for a shot. With just my uncle and I on the mountain, he proceeded to coach me on staying out of site, getting composure and a great rest to make a shot. The two great rams were easily seen at 250 yards bedded down. I had a great shot at one facing right at me, but just before was to choose one, my uncle whispers to me, "choose whichever one you want, but I really like the one on the right." I told him, "ok, ready Jim!" I touched on the trigger and shot right over top. I was definitely having fever, so I regained composure and hit him on the 2nd shot. 3rd and 4th missed, but they did not move far. Had to reassess the rams and so I took aim one last time and dropped him! Best experience I ever had. My uncle got to see his 49th Ram drop and his second in a week as he helped another group on another hunt. Thank you to my family for the support and patience and Jim, Ed and Jay going on this hunt and making this a chance of a lifetime! 2 animals down in one year was incredible!
 
Battleborn32 said:
View attachment 128420View attachment 128419View attachment 128421
This hunt starts as anyone else does; getting that credit card hit in May as over 1/3 of the state of Nevada waits impatiently for their tag results. It is one of the most agonizing time any sportsman experiences in a lottery draw system like Nevada. I grew up in a hunting family luckily as my dad (Les Brooks) used to take me chukar hunting along with him at a very young age. Things I will never forget growing up. When I turned 12, getting that deer tag was lottery in itself as there wasn't Junior tags available when I was growing up, so we were thrown into the mix with every other hunter. I was able to successfully tag 2 small mule deer growing up in Battle Mountain. My step dad (Ed Naveran) gave me the Bighorn bug when I was 10 when he drew his first tag for the Mormon Mountains of Southern Nevada as well as a Rocky Mountain Goat that year as well both taken successfully and in the Boone and Crockett club. As I got older, my step dad put me in for Nelson Desert Bighorn to acquire points as I got older. Unfortunately, when I went into the Navy, I lost my points as I did not continue to apply and learned the hard way when it comes to the rules of applying for points. I lost out on approximately 15 points until I realized how the system worked. After 11 more points and impatiently waiting for the elusive Bighorn tag, to my surprise my credit card was finally hit. At that point, it was either an Elk or Bighorn tag, so I was stoked either way. Upon learning that it was a Nelson Bighorn, I was ecstatic! My favorite animal and now an adventure starts. Of course, I knew very little of the area I drew and learned quickly that 283/284 Sheep Range in the Desert Wildlife Refuge was going to be a huge challenge! This summer was booked up with other adventures including my son being married in Georgia. He currently serves in the U.S. Navy on a Helo Squadron in Atsugi, Japan. My first opportunity to scout failed miserably as a remarkable rain storm completely washed everything out Labor Day weekend. That held off any scouting for at least a month as areas were repaired in the refuge. I also was lucky enough draw my first late Mule Deer Buck Tag in area 7 and 091. I was going to take advantage of that as well and came up successful for my first Mule Deer in 24 years! After the deer hunt, it was time to focus purely on the Sheep. Trying to plan around work and help was a challenge as most of my vacation was used up in the summer for all the activities. Once I got my vacation time set, now it was time to scout. I was able to scout for two weekends getting to know the area and found small rams and a few ewes in that time, but was not discouraged yet as I was going to have my uncle Jim Naveran and his buddy Jay as well as my step dad Ed Naveran as my hunting party. The hunt started Thanksgiving Day and we spread out looking at different areas to cover as much ground as possible. This area is extremely difficult with limited access and extreme terrain. First day, only ewes and lambs were found and very little sign of activity in the areas we looked over. Day 2 was much of the same as we covered many miles and rough roads with very little success in finding sheep, but it was our 2nd consecutive day finding sheep. Day 3 glassing and finding some ewes again, but still no rams. We decided to move camp over to the Maynard Hills and try our luck there and we found more ewes than previously, but the outlook was better. Day 4 was more glassing and finally I decided to go on a 4 mile hike to get a better vantage point and find a route to a guzzler that did not require cliff climbs or descents. The wind was miserable in the morning and caused for a little bit of concern while glassing, but wasn't detrimental. There wasn't enough time in the day to continue my climb, so decided to report on it and make a plan for day 5. We regrouped at camp and My uncle Jimmy found a large group of Ewes and 2 small rams which added more enthusiasm as we continued to see more and more sheep each day. My uncle mentioned that we are due to see mature rams with the amount of ewes that were found so far. With the possibility of moving to the southwest part of the unit, we decided to split up and look over the Maynard Hills one more time. So, day 5 turned out to be colder and more windy than the day before, but that did not deter us from glassing hard. My dad and I went north and began glassing over the Maynards once again. We were there for over an hour with light setting in. No luck as I set up out of the wind and set up the spotting scope. My dad moved around to my side as well to get out of the wind. We were seeing nothing at this time, so was getting discouraged once again. I turned and asked if we needed to move south and look at another spot. My dad threw up his binoculars to get the strain out of his eyes from looking through the spotting scope and no sooner he did that, he saw some sheep moving up from the bottoms directly in front of us about 700-800 yards in front. I looked through the scope and saw 1 mature ram. Then 2! There was a 3rd and finally a 4th! I stayed to watch them while my dad goes to look for Jimmy and Jay so they can get a look at them and an idea on which ones to pursue. The Rams were spotted at 0715 November 27. The Rams were out of site so the plan was to use the wind, cut some distance and get to a good position. My uncle and I had the radio's and were guided into where they moved to bed down. We came out right on the perfect spot with very little elevation difference for a shot. With just my uncle and I on the mountain, he proceeded to coach me on staying out of site, getting composure and a great rest to make a shot. The two great rams were easily seen at 250 yards bedded down. I had a great shot at one facing right at me, but just before was to choose one, my uncle whispers to me, "choose whichever one you want, but I really like the one on the right." I told him, "ok, ready Jim!" I touched on the trigger and shot right over top. I was definitely having fever, so I regained composure and hit him on the 2nd shot. 3rd and 4th missed, but they did not move far. Had to reassess the rams and so I took aim one last time and dropped him! Best experience I ever had. My uncle got to see his 49th Ram drop and his second in a week as he helped another group on another hunt. Thank you to my family for the support and patience and Jim, Ed and Jay going on this hunt and making this a chance of a lifetime! 2 animals down in one year was incredible!
Click to expand...
Nice ram, congrats
 
Battleborn32 said:
View attachment 128420View attachment 128419View attachment 128421
This hunt starts as anyone else does; getting that credit card hit in May as over 1/3 of the state of Nevada waits impatiently for their tag results. It is one of the most agonizing time any sportsman experiences in a lottery draw system like Nevada. I grew up in a hunting family luckily as my dad (Les Brooks) used to take me chukar hunting along with him at a very young age. Things I will never forget growing up. When I turned 12, getting that deer tag was lottery in itself as there wasn't Junior tags available when I was growing up, so we were thrown into the mix with every other hunter. I was able to successfully tag 2 small mule deer growing up in Battle Mountain. My step dad (Ed Naveran) gave me the Bighorn bug when I was 10 when he drew his first tag for the Mormon Mountains of Southern Nevada as well as a Rocky Mountain Goat that year as well both taken successfully and in the Boone and Crockett club. As I got older, my step dad put me in for Nelson Desert Bighorn to acquire points as I got older. Unfortunately, when I went into the Navy, I lost my points as I did not continue to apply and learned the hard way when it comes to the rules of applying for points. I lost out on approximately 15 points until I realized how the system worked. After 11 more points and impatiently waiting for the elusive Bighorn tag, to my surprise my credit card was finally hit. At that point, it was either an Elk or Bighorn tag, so I was stoked either way. Upon learning that it was a Nelson Bighorn, I was ecstatic! My favorite animal and now an adventure starts. Of course, I knew very little of the area I drew and learned quickly that 283/284 Sheep Range in the Desert Wildlife Refuge was going to be a huge challenge! This summer was booked up with other adventures including my son being married in Georgia. He currently serves in the U.S. Navy on a Helo Squadron in Atsugi, Japan. My first opportunity to scout failed miserably as a remarkable rain storm completely washed everything out Labor Day weekend. That held off any scouting for at least a month as areas were repaired in the refuge. I also was lucky enough draw my first late Mule Deer Buck Tag in area 7 and 091. I was going to take advantage of that as well and came up successful for my first Mule Deer in 24 years! After the deer hunt, it was time to focus purely on the Sheep. Trying to plan around work and help was a challenge as most of my vacation was used up in the summer for all the activities. Once I got my vacation time set, now it was time to scout. I was able to scout for two weekends getting to know the area and found small rams and a few ewes in that time, but was not discouraged yet as I was going to have my uncle Jim Naveran and his buddy Jay as well as my step dad Ed Naveran as my hunting party. The hunt started Thanksgiving Day and we spread out looking at different areas to cover as much ground as possible. This area is extremely difficult with limited access and extreme terrain. First day, only ewes and lambs were found and very little sign of activity in the areas we looked over. Day 2 was much of the same as we covered many miles and rough roads with very little success in finding sheep, but it was our 2nd consecutive day finding sheep. Day 3 glassing and finding some ewes again, but still no rams. We decided to move camp over to the Maynard Hills and try our luck there and we found more ewes than previously, but the outlook was better. Day 4 was more glassing and finally I decided to go on a 4 mile hike to get a better vantage point and find a route to a guzzler that did not require cliff climbs or descents. The wind was miserable in the morning and caused for a little bit of concern while glassing, but wasn't detrimental. There wasn't enough time in the day to continue my climb, so decided to report on it and make a plan for day 5. We regrouped at camp and My uncle Jimmy found a large group of Ewes and 2 small rams which added more enthusiasm as we continued to see more and more sheep each day. My uncle mentioned that we are due to see mature rams with the amount of ewes that were found so far. With the possibility of moving to the southwest part of the unit, we decided to split up and look over the Maynard Hills one more time. So, day 5 turned out to be colder and more windy than the day before, but that did not deter us from glassing hard. My dad and I went north and began glassing over the Maynards once again. We were there for over an hour with light setting in. No luck as I set up out of the wind and set up the spotting scope. My dad moved around to my side as well to get out of the wind. We were seeing nothing at this time, so was getting discouraged once again. I turned and asked if we needed to move south and look at another spot. My dad threw up his binoculars to get the strain out of his eyes from looking through the spotting scope and no sooner he did that, he saw some sheep moving up from the bottoms directly in front of us about 700-800 yards in front. I looked through the scope and saw 1 mature ram. Then 2! There was a 3rd and finally a 4th! I stayed to watch them while my dad goes to look for Jimmy and Jay so they can get a look at them and an idea on which ones to pursue. The Rams were spotted at 0715 November 27. The Rams were out of site so the plan was to use the wind, cut some distance and get to a good position. My uncle and I had the radio's and were guided into where they moved to bed down. We came out right on the perfect spot with very little elevation difference for a shot. With just my uncle and I on the mountain, he proceeded to coach me on staying out of site, getting composure and a great rest to make a shot. The two great rams were easily seen at 250 yards bedded down. I had a great shot at one facing right at me, but just before was to choose one, my uncle whispers to me, "choose whichever one you want, but I really like the one on the right." I told him, "ok, ready Jim!" I touched on the trigger and shot right over top. I was definitely having fever, so I regained composure and hit him on the 2nd shot. 3rd and 4th missed, but they did not move far. Had to reassess the rams and so I took aim one last time and dropped him! Best experience I ever had. My uncle got to see his 49th Ram drop and his second in a week as he helped another group on another hunt. Thank you to my family for the support and patience and Jim, Ed and Jay going on this hunt and making this a chance of a lifetime! 2 animals down in one year was incredible!
Click to expand...
Fantastic Battleborn.
I'm glad you hung in there and found success.
Beautiful ram and great report.
Thanks for sharing.
 

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