Is this rocky big enough to shoot on Utah.

R

rachele39

Active Member
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104
I have no basis to judge sheep. Let it walk off hoping for bigger, it’s early and the first mature ram I’ve seen so far. Any of you that know better let me know. Got to within 100 yards and think I counted to 8 if the 4 yr ring is where I thought. Just seemed short even though he’s broomed. Still think I can find him this afternoon again.

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What unit? You said Rocky in the title, but if it is a California subspecies bighorn and depending on the unit, that may be a shooter. Pretty good mass but short
 
Found him again this evening and he was running a ewe, so it’s starting to kick in. I’m no trophy hunter so he ought to stir clear before I give in. I ascribe to the bird in the hand’s worth two in the bush. If he was a little longer he’d be done. It’s just to early, I want to experience More than this.
 
He is a good looking Ram but for that Unit, I might just suggest do a little more hunting before harvesting him.


It's your tag so do what ya feel best about for sure.



Robb
 
I would be interested to see a few more rams from the unit before pulling the trigger. If it was the only ram spotted after 10 days of hard hunting, it would be hard to pass.
Dave
 
Once in a lifetime tag MAYBE I would put the crosshairs in the right spot and BE Happy as a clam when he dropped.
 
This is good stuff! Thank you for including us! I’m hoping you see more rams- especially some older age class rams! Best wishes!
Dave
 
The first ram you posted is a mature ram and you could do worse. He appears to be genetically tight and short and he probably isn't going to get much bigger, even in a few years. From my perspective, mass and age are the benchmarks for sheep and with that in mind he is much better than anything else you have posted.
However, as most others have said, if you have the time, continue to look. It's a once in a lifetime tag and if I were in your shoes, I'd want to make it as much of an adventure as I could.

Best of luck rachele39! We are all rooting for you.
 
Appreciate it a lot. Quite a few people showing up today. Guide services and tag holders from opposite unit. Getting crowded and “competitive” not in a good way!
Couple of the tag holders from my unit I’ve met are cool dudes, doing it diy and a couple from opposite unit as well. Guide service is being a bit of a duche but it’s public land.
A ram from tonight. Seen about 25-30 sheep today but no new rams on my unit.

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Just my daily check in to see how your doing


Ya know the big storm coming in this week end--------->


Robb
 
The last 36 hours has had windstorms, snapping off big limbs and sandblasting vehicles. Cleared up this evening and saw a couple ewes in my unit and a mediocre ram and ewe on the other side of the river in the adjacent unit. Supposed to rain and snow tonight and into tomorrow. Will post how it goes, saw about 30 sheep in my unit Thursday before the weather changed and now they’ve disappeared.
 
A little advice. Them sheep have to come down to the river to drink when its dry elsewhere. When it snows or gets rain they don’t have to come to the river. they will go up on the plateaus so it can get tougher to see them. Just remember that
 
Cool post, Don’t know what potential your unit is but you should be looking for 170 class rams. Those are far from it. Think you need to expand your search if possible, be patient. On my sons hunt we had to weed through the 150-160 class rams daily to get a 170 but it happened. Also in NM but hope your unit has that potential
 
This whole week is suppose to be tough weather wise.



Be safe and don't get your self in a jam, for sure if you are out there Solo



Robb
 
Been on top of the plateaus good part of the day but snow/clouds making it hard to glass sometimes. Plan on hiking another canyon tomorrow on top, it’s supposed to clear up. I’m solo so it’s hard to cover a lot of ground. Got the in reach mini and was cussing it till a figured it out and now the thing is awesome, love it.

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Good luck - you are definitely putting in your time. How much more time do you have to hunt and when does your hunt officially end?
 
It's obvious you are giving it your all rachele39, especially if you are solo. I am also guessing you are starting to feel the pressure of an OAL tag in your pocket. Everyone does!
I'd say make sure you are still having fun and definitely don't get discouraged or hung up on finding the biggest ram in the unit, unless that's your goal.
I doubt there are any 170 rams in your unit so I'd say just find one you like. :)
 
+1 lbh


Plus don't get yourself in the position of trying to find the Ram ya turned down the first day-----on the last day!



Keep the Faith



Robb
 
Bill
Keep at it and stay safe. Don’t be afraid to ask Coby for some help or guidance. He has a lot of knowledge of them sheep and the area. It’s amazing how a hunt like that can be so stressful and have a roller coaster of emotions. When my daughter gets finished with all the pictures and video she took of my hunt I will write a store and post it.
Bill
 
By the way, you were correct on your estimate score if he had not bloomed off 5” off the one side.
Bill
 
November 30th is the closing date???
I think he’s gonna do just fine, whatever he decides...

LIK2HNT,
Can’t wait to see it, I hear it wasn’t to shabby!
 
Appreciate all the encouragement and some great advice fellas. Like2hunt has a heck of a story to tell. You guys are going to love it, talked to the biologist and it’s one of the best rams taken in a long time. As for me, I’ve been swamped the last couple days and not able to post, sorry about that. I’m heading home, tired, beaten up and sore, but with a great big smile and full heart. Got it done exactly as I dreamed it would go. Post when I get home. No giant for me but the biologist said it’s about as good as I could have got in the unit.

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Awesome - glad you got it done on a beautiful ram! Would love to see more pics and hear the story when you get a chance. I have 20 RM sheep points so hope to do this hunt in the coming years!!
 
Way to go Bill, I know you deserve it!
It’s a tough go by yourself, I know first hand... But I think it’s so much more rewarding, on so many levels!!
Congratulations!!!
 
Will write up tomorrow, had to pack up camp, drive to the DFG biologist yesterday to plug the rams horn and check him in. Drive another couple hours to Alpine Utah to High Country Horns Taxidermy to drop off my sheep to get it mounted. Paul Pennie is the taxidermist and if my ram turns out anything like the ones in his shop I’ll be a happy guy.
Will be similar to this mount but he’ll match my terrain, awesome!
Didn’t make it out of Utah last night. Drove the other 500 miles home today, unpacked my gear and still had to find a processor that could take my meat. Usually have to take care of it all myself but my wife is letting me splurge, including a wall pedestal mount. Normally I’d do my best at mounting it myself but I didn’t want to screw this up. Also had to make a stop at the chiropractor. Things aren’t holding up as well as they used to! Took a few minutes tonight to cook up some true Rocky Mountain oysters to share with my daughter and buddies. Have tomorrow off so I’ll get it done. I’m not tech savvy and can’t get pics/videos from this Apple phone to a Samsung tablet so I’ll do my best with just this phone but it’s slow going. Bill

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Glad everything worked out for you. Beautiful ram, congratulations. Heard things got a little busy up there after I left.
Bill
 
I’ll try my best to tell you guys how this all went. Never could get ahold of the biologist prior to going. Left several messages but didn’t want to be bothersome, and I know they have a lot to do and all the basic info is provided if you look for it. All the kill site info, biologist notes on the units, aerial surveys, etc. so I decided early on to try and do this 100% myself . Success or failure, what ever I decide that is, it’s all my fault. For me, this isn’t the type of hunt I could ever afford to buy outright so it meant a lot to be one of the fortunate few that are lucky enough to draw it.
I decided that all I wanted out of this opportunity was to enjoy the whole experience. To have to work for it, to at least find some sheep, to at least get an opportunity on a mature ram, even if I passed it. At least I could know I had my chance and I blew it being greedy. I wanted some video to show my family and remember over the years. And my dream scenario was to get the kill shot on video as well. I think the most important thing for me was to not shoot a ram by the roads. I didn’t want to look at my trophy ram of my lifetime mounted on the wall for the next 25 years and explain to people how I drove up the road with the guide, got out of the truck and legally off the road so I could shoot the ram that they found for me. Then let them do all the work of taking care of it.
Don’t get me wrong, in 20 years I bet I would, and be as proud as I could be. But right now while I’m physically able, I can get off my lazy ass and earn it. So that’s what I tried to do.
I’m having to type this on my phone because my dumb ass can’t figure out how to transfer the pics and videos off this iPhone to android devices and I’m terrified of loosing the content on it. The memory is already full and stopped me from taking any more pics at the end of my hunt! I’ll probably have to do multiple posts.
 
Showed up Oct 30 and the place was packed with campers/ rafters but I was greeted in the road at Swaseys Beach with some ewes and lambs in the road going down to the green river. That 1st week was warm, in the 70’s. Thought this is gonna be too easy, not what I was hoping for. I was right and wrong. Just depended on what you wanted I guess and the weather.

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Started driving the road/trail along the river like everyone else trying to get my bearings and figure out how this sheep hunting works. Honestly I didn’t have a clue how to find sheep except from the biologist notes. Should I be looking early, late, mid day. In the shaded cliffs, sunny sides, the canyons, up on the plateaus, glassing up into the cliffs from the roads where it’s easy or hiking up high and trying to look down on the cliffs? I didn’t have a clue so I tried a little of everything. The road/trails on an atv were the easiest to spot sheep for the most part I think. You can cover so much vs hiking and I could only cover one place at a time. I had to choose wisely where I wanted to be at the right time. The guide services had lots of spotters who kept giving me lines of crap about how their poor grampa, cousin, brother, had a tag usually for the opposite unit and had I seen any rams and where. Most of the sheep along the green river and steep canyons you could spot by eyesight. The distances aren’t too great and they’re used to the year round rafters/hikers, etc. Just glass them after to size them up. You’d usually catch their movement, they blend in so well unless that rump patch was facing you, it was hard to spot them bedded glassing. They could move a foot one way or the other and be hidden by boulders/cliffs. The cliffs are so steep in places, a ram 300 yds up you couldn’t get to it. You’d have to set on it all day or days, waiting to see if they’d get to a place you could recover it. While you’re doing that, the guides come along and set up on the same ram, not cool. The first day or two I bumped into LIK2HNT glassing the first ram posted in this thread. Watched it for several days and almost gave in ( I mean I had the phone scope on it ready to pull the trigger and had it stayed in camera for a couple more seconds I would have been done) and would have been disappointed how it went down. Luckily I talked myself out of it. It was too early and I couldn’t get past it being by the road even though it was in a safe spot for me to recover it many times. A couple days later I actually caught that ram and ewes in the road after watering in the green river and it stood 20 yards off the side of the trail and let me and another pair of hunters in a side by side video them. He was officially X of the list at that point.

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Tried inserting videos and it’s not working for me so this should get easier. I think I can stop the videos and snap pics of pertinent stuff and post that.
 
That 1st week went along pretty well. Spotted and patterned several immature small rams, a 6 yr old ram in a big canyon, the X’d off the list ram for being too friendly and about 20-30 ewes/lambs in various reliable spots that I was hoping a big ram would join as the rut was starting to kick in. At the same time I got to look at rams in the unit across the river. It was getting pretty exciting, then the weather turned and dropped 30 degrees, the winds kicked in and were brutal for a couple days. Got a little rain and snow and everything I had found disappeared. Didn’t see a Single sheep for nearly 2 days and started to get worried. The third day it started to clear up and saw a couple sheep in my unit, a ewe and ram across the river. At that moment some spotters for a guide pulled up in his truck grilling me if I’d seen any rams, where, when, etc. Gave me a different line of crap who they were, they were looking for grandpa or whatever. It was the same place they ran all the sheep off I’d been watching the day they shot one out from under a member on here. My stupid ass filled him in as best I could and out walks this ram and I tell him to turn around that ram just came out on the face Of the cliffs. The next morning 4 trucks, aluminum boats, 6 or 7 guys down by the river bringing up a ram and this guys with them. Same guide service from before, same place.
Anyway, I didn’t want to hassle with that stuff anymore and all the sheep I’d been seeing we’re gone so I set about trying to find them away from the river up top in the cliffs above the plateaus like Horsecorn suggested. I’d already hiked up rattlesnake canyon early on to no avail, and a couple canyons up top and seen one 6 yr old ram. In that canyon I heard 2 rams butting horns but it was in I thought the next canyon over. I had to alternate days of hiking and atv glassing due to the fact that I’m and old pus#y. Anyway, the weather change put it off a few days and that brought me to the day I caught up to my ram which is probably all you wanted to hear about. ? Pics of some of the rams I could get on camera.

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That 1st week went along pretty well. Spotted and patterned several immature small rams, a 6 yr old ram in a big canyon, the X’d off the list ram for being too friendly and about 20-30 ewes/lambs in various reliable spots that I was hoping a big ram would join as the rut was starting to kick in. At the same time I got to look at rams in the unit across the river. It was getting pretty exciting, then the weather turned and dropped 30 degrees, the winds kicked in and were brutal for a couple days. Got a little rain and snow and everything I had found disappeared. Didn’t see a Single sheep for nearly 2 days and started to get worried. The third day it started to clear up and saw a couple sheep in my unit, a ewe and ram across the river. At that moment some spotters for a guide pulled up in his truck grilling me if I’d seen any rams, where, when, etc. Gave me a different line of crap who they were, they were looking for grandpa or whatever. It was the same place they ran all the sheep off I’d been watching the day they shot one out from under a member on here. My stupid ass filled him in as best I could and out walks this ram and I tell him to turn around that ram just came out on the face Of the cliffs. The next morning 4 trucks, aluminum boats, 6 or 7 guys down by the river bringing up a ram and this guys with them. Same guide service from before, same place.
Anyway, I didn’t want to hassle with that stuff anymore and all the sheep I’d been seeing we’re gone so I set about trying to find them away from the river up top in the cliffs above the plateaus like Horsecorn suggested. I’d already hiked up rattlesnake canyon early on to no avail, and a couple canyons up top and seen one 6 yr old ram. In that canyon I heard 2 rams butting horns but it was in I thought the next canyon over. I had to alternate days of hiking and atv glassing due to the fact that I’m and old pus#y. Anyway, the weather change put it off a few days and that brought me to the day I caught up to my ram which is probably all you wanted to hear about. ?
 
Hit the button twice but think I figured out how to shorten a video to post. Eyes are getting blurry looking at this phone screen, will get to my final day as quick as i can.
 
Got up to the canyon I wanted to check out Tuesday morning before sunrise. 20 degrees and supposed to be somewhat sunny and and about 40 degrees for a high. Beautiful day, no wind, perfect. I was afraid to head up any earlier and spook anything off before I could even see it. I had hiked the adjacent canyon and found a small 6 yr old ram on the way up.
That’s exactly what happened again. At sunrise I had made it up thIs new canyon about a mile and a half and spotted a couple ewes feeding. A small 4 yr old ram was trying to work his way in before the ram I shot popped out from behind some boulders and ran him off a distance and secured his ewes. I watched and videoed him a bit. He was in a rough spot but after a few minutes he worked his way out to a rock ledge where I could get to him and bedded down. I new he wasn’t a giant but he was an older ram which was all I had set my mind on.
I was able to get more video and the thought of getting everything I wanted was an easy decision. I was at least 6 miles in a straight line from the green river. 10 miles down one of the trails from the river and another one an half miles from the nearest trail. I had this canyon all to myself, not another person around for miles, great weather, in a place I could get it out of with relative safety, a geat old ram in my eyes. And best of all I could video it so I can relieve it all in the future. Perfect, not many things in life are!
Got lots of video but it’s only letting me load small pieces so I’ll try and post pertinent stuff.

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That pretty much sums up my Utah sheep hunt. Thank you Utah fish and game for the opportunity. Met some great people and a couple pair of old Utah guys that were still hitting it hard when I left and holding out for those giants like LIK2HNT. Wish them the best and hope they find what they’re looking for. Appreciate the opportunity to share my adventure with you and all the encouragement and advice, I needed it. It’s not very often we get these hunting hunting opportunities worthy of sharing. Thank you, Bill.
 
I don’t know if I mentioned the biologist aged aged the ram at 8 years old for those that are interested. Not the biggest I might of found but an old mature ram. He said the other two he’d checked in from the unit were 6 & 7. I don’t imagine he’d score very well and really don’t want to know. Just thankful for the opportunity.
 
I really enjoyed reading your story, congrats on a once in a lifetime ram. Your story telling made me feel like I was right there with you on the hunt. Congrats again!
 
Appreciate the chance to share it, it was my pleasure. Keep putting in guys, I never thought I’d draw it. It was just one of those extras that was worth the cost for a couple months of anticipation and dreams.
Just finished up sheep backstrap tacos/barbecue with family and friends and it was fantastic.
 
There’s only one certainty, that if you’re not in you’ll never get drawn. Cross those fingers and keep trying and take care of your body the best you can. Best of luck to you, I’m still hoping for a mtn goat tag before I die!
 
Congrats on a hunt of a lifetime. Thanks for sharing with us. It was good talking to you up by Nefertiti. My friend had the tag for the other side of the river.
 
Hope he was able to fill his tag or is still out there getting after them. Was lucky to view some rams in that unit, kept my spirits up. A whole other set of challenges for you guys just getting across the river to even start to get after one. Hope to read about it if you guys post a story. Pleasure talking to you. Bill
 
Great story/pics/and video thanks for sharing. I'm in the 20 point range, so someday I hope to have a similar experience. Thanks for taking the time to show us your hunt. Much appreciated.
 
Enjoyed reading your ups/downs as well as your results. Pics and video were cool too. Congrats for being a solo bad-ass.
 

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