5yearcoueshunter
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LAST EDITED ON Feb-27-13 AT 05:50PM (MST)[p]Caution... VERY SMALL RAM
This year I wanted to hit it hard and not only try to get my second sheep, but more importantly try to get my Dad his first sheep. We had planned on going for one full week and then probably a couple of weekends. Well unfortunately due to some other weekend plans that came up and had to take priority, we were only able to make it down one time, but at least it was for a full 6 days. The downside of that, was that about 4 out of the 6 days were very tough weather wise. One day we had to stay in camp just to make sure our tent didn't blow away. haha But we still had a fun week out in the hills.
Day 1 Good weather: My Dad and I hiked a couple miles back from the road and started to intensly glass. After a couple of hours, we spotted a herd. It looked to be 2 mature ewes, 3 jueveniles and one very small lamb. Unfortunately, they were about 300 yards on the other side of the private fence. We watched them bed and I was able to get a pic through the binos. They were probably close to 1500 yards away, hence the blurry pic.
We watched them for probably an hour, hoping they would come over to the public. When they did get up, they headed the wrong way. We continued to glass and walk throughout the day. I spotted two more groups of 3 each that day. The first 3 looked like good rams but they too were on the private property and were moving away from the public. The 2nd group were on public but probably more than a mile and we only had an hour left in the day, so we couldn't go after them. Then around shooting time, I jumped a lone Ram probably only 50 yards from me! But he crested the hill before I could get a shot off. He wasn't a big Ram, but I would guess around 20 inches. So even though we didn't get a sheep that day, we had seen quite a few and had high spirits for the next 5 days.
Well, Day 2 and 3 were super windy. We did hunt the entire 2nd day, but never spotted a sheep. Day 3 was just way too windy to even get out of camp. Dust everywhere.
Day 4 was our 2nd good day of weather. My Dad and I made a good hike in and started glassing. I immediately spotted a lone sheep. It was a good Ram. But again, unfortunately it was probably 100 yards into the private property. They sure seemed to know where that fence was this year. lol We watched him crest over the hill farther away. After that we decided to split up for the rest of the day. My Dad really enjoys getting out on his own so he can walk at his own pace. I go too fast for him. haha I got to another hill and set up to glass again. It wasn't long and I spotted 4 sheep. Again, on the private property but these at least were headed towards the public just feeding. These sheep looked like all the same size but I didn't pay too much attention to how big they were because they were so far away. When the sheep reached the fence, they immediately jumped to the public and made their way to some rocky ledges and bedded. I attempted to get my Dad on the radio, but he didn't answer. I'm pretty sure he had it off. So I decided to try to get on these sheep myself.
The only way to get to these sheep was to get on the same hillside as them. There was no canyon to shoot accross. I picked my stalking route and went for it. They were probably close to a 3/4 of a mile away, so it took me about 45 minutes to get over there. The last 300 - 400 yards I had to go super slow trying not to make any sound. When I finally got to where I thought the sheep should be I couldn't find them. I thought they had moved. I had just about given up when I looked under a yucca about 40 yeards below me and saw an ear flick. I took one more step to the side to get a better angle when the sheep lifted his head up. I then realized why I was having a hard time finding them. It looked to be a juevenile sheep with horns maybe 10 inches. I had a decision to make. I've never been much of a trophy hunter, so it wasn't like I was looking for a huge ram but I had hoped to get something a little bigger than that. lol Ultimately I decided to take him as I had made a very cool stalk and I've had such a hard time finding sheep on public land in the last 3 years that he would be a trophy to me. It also crossed my mind that I could spend the last 2 days trying to help my Dad find a sheep. The only shot I had was the neck. I shot off hand and made a perfect shot! The other 3 sheep ran maybe 50 yards and stopped and looked at me. Again, they all looked to be the same size. When I got to my sheep, he turned out to be a Ram. I figured it was a group of juevenile Rams that got kicked out of the herd. After dressing him, I was able to load him whole on my back and make it back to the truck. My Dad met me at dark. He hadn't seen anything. He was sure happy to see I got a sheep and was really looking forward to the tender eating. haha His horns actually turned out to be only 7 inches and we figured he field dressed around 40 - 50 lbs. After getting home, we looked into some data my Dad had from an old Game Department book and we figured my sheep was somewhere between 8 months to a year old.
The next 2 days turned out pretty windy again. Despite that, we did hunt both days. We were able to spot another sheep on public land, but it turned out to be a mature ewe with a tiny lamb. Maybe a week old! Of course we passed on that that one. After those 2 days my Dad was tired and ready to get home. He was satisified with his hunt, even thought he wasn't able to fill his tag. We have already put in for next year though! We both love Barbary hunting. It is addicting!
Congrats to everyone who got sheep this year! Definitely all trophy's in my book!
Thanks,
Travis
This year I wanted to hit it hard and not only try to get my second sheep, but more importantly try to get my Dad his first sheep. We had planned on going for one full week and then probably a couple of weekends. Well unfortunately due to some other weekend plans that came up and had to take priority, we were only able to make it down one time, but at least it was for a full 6 days. The downside of that, was that about 4 out of the 6 days were very tough weather wise. One day we had to stay in camp just to make sure our tent didn't blow away. haha But we still had a fun week out in the hills.
Day 1 Good weather: My Dad and I hiked a couple miles back from the road and started to intensly glass. After a couple of hours, we spotted a herd. It looked to be 2 mature ewes, 3 jueveniles and one very small lamb. Unfortunately, they were about 300 yards on the other side of the private fence. We watched them bed and I was able to get a pic through the binos. They were probably close to 1500 yards away, hence the blurry pic.
We watched them for probably an hour, hoping they would come over to the public. When they did get up, they headed the wrong way. We continued to glass and walk throughout the day. I spotted two more groups of 3 each that day. The first 3 looked like good rams but they too were on the private property and were moving away from the public. The 2nd group were on public but probably more than a mile and we only had an hour left in the day, so we couldn't go after them. Then around shooting time, I jumped a lone Ram probably only 50 yards from me! But he crested the hill before I could get a shot off. He wasn't a big Ram, but I would guess around 20 inches. So even though we didn't get a sheep that day, we had seen quite a few and had high spirits for the next 5 days.
Well, Day 2 and 3 were super windy. We did hunt the entire 2nd day, but never spotted a sheep. Day 3 was just way too windy to even get out of camp. Dust everywhere.
Day 4 was our 2nd good day of weather. My Dad and I made a good hike in and started glassing. I immediately spotted a lone sheep. It was a good Ram. But again, unfortunately it was probably 100 yards into the private property. They sure seemed to know where that fence was this year. lol We watched him crest over the hill farther away. After that we decided to split up for the rest of the day. My Dad really enjoys getting out on his own so he can walk at his own pace. I go too fast for him. haha I got to another hill and set up to glass again. It wasn't long and I spotted 4 sheep. Again, on the private property but these at least were headed towards the public just feeding. These sheep looked like all the same size but I didn't pay too much attention to how big they were because they were so far away. When the sheep reached the fence, they immediately jumped to the public and made their way to some rocky ledges and bedded. I attempted to get my Dad on the radio, but he didn't answer. I'm pretty sure he had it off. So I decided to try to get on these sheep myself.
The only way to get to these sheep was to get on the same hillside as them. There was no canyon to shoot accross. I picked my stalking route and went for it. They were probably close to a 3/4 of a mile away, so it took me about 45 minutes to get over there. The last 300 - 400 yards I had to go super slow trying not to make any sound. When I finally got to where I thought the sheep should be I couldn't find them. I thought they had moved. I had just about given up when I looked under a yucca about 40 yeards below me and saw an ear flick. I took one more step to the side to get a better angle when the sheep lifted his head up. I then realized why I was having a hard time finding them. It looked to be a juevenile sheep with horns maybe 10 inches. I had a decision to make. I've never been much of a trophy hunter, so it wasn't like I was looking for a huge ram but I had hoped to get something a little bigger than that. lol Ultimately I decided to take him as I had made a very cool stalk and I've had such a hard time finding sheep on public land in the last 3 years that he would be a trophy to me. It also crossed my mind that I could spend the last 2 days trying to help my Dad find a sheep. The only shot I had was the neck. I shot off hand and made a perfect shot! The other 3 sheep ran maybe 50 yards and stopped and looked at me. Again, they all looked to be the same size. When I got to my sheep, he turned out to be a Ram. I figured it was a group of juevenile Rams that got kicked out of the herd. After dressing him, I was able to load him whole on my back and make it back to the truck. My Dad met me at dark. He hadn't seen anything. He was sure happy to see I got a sheep and was really looking forward to the tender eating. haha His horns actually turned out to be only 7 inches and we figured he field dressed around 40 - 50 lbs. After getting home, we looked into some data my Dad had from an old Game Department book and we figured my sheep was somewhere between 8 months to a year old.
The next 2 days turned out pretty windy again. Despite that, we did hunt both days. We were able to spot another sheep on public land, but it turned out to be a mature ewe with a tiny lamb. Maybe a week old! Of course we passed on that that one. After those 2 days my Dad was tired and ready to get home. He was satisified with his hunt, even thought he wasn't able to fill his tag. We have already put in for next year though! We both love Barbary hunting. It is addicting!
Congrats to everyone who got sheep this year! Definitely all trophy's in my book!
Thanks,
Travis
