LAST EDITED ON Jan-15-12 AT 01:58AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jan-15-12 AT 01:56?AM (MST)
Did a little bit of everything on this hunt. Hunted with a bow, hunted with a gun. Hunted DIY, hunted guided. So about 9:00 yesterday morning I had just finished my 12th blown bow stalk. This was after the previous day of seeing pretty much nothing. I got to 45 yards with the Rick Flair (we called him that because he flared out) ram snoozing in his bed. As I was waiting for a shot, which was not long, he just exploded out of his bed and ran off. He just sensed something was wrong. No hesitation, just gone. That happened too many times to count. I had so many close calls bowhunting these sheep. Almost had it done on my first stalk opening morning. Got to 42 yrds when the wind swirled. Just really tough country to bowhunt.
As I was hiking back to the truck, my brother calls. He was watching another face of the mtn a couple miles away. He basically said "load your damn rifle and get the hell over here asap." After 16 days with the bow, it was time. Family issues were making it hard to be gone from home much longer.
We got there and repositioned for a better look. I quickly sized the group of sheep up through the spotter and made up my mind to kill this ram. Grabbed the .270 and got on the stalk. Through the course of the stalk the sheep moved over a mile and gained a lot of elevation. We tucked into a ravine and closed the distance. At 280 we ran out of cover. I got to a boulder to set up for an uphill shot. After making sure the lead ram was the hoss of the herd, I tried to settle in. I definitely was not confident. I'm not a long range shooter at all. I finally got my rest sorted out and felt good. The sheep were sidehilling above me. A couple loud "baaaaas" got him stopped and BOOM. I was rocked by recoil and had no idea what happened. I got a new round chambered and back in the scope. I was just about to take a running shot when he stopped, wobbled and tipped over. Unreal experience. I wouldn't have done a thing differently. Loved every second of it!
169 2/8 and 7 yrs old according to the biologist.
Big thanks to the crew at San Gorgonio Wilderness Outfitters.
http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos/4657rsz_dsc_0736_(2).jpg
Did a little bit of everything on this hunt. Hunted with a bow, hunted with a gun. Hunted DIY, hunted guided. So about 9:00 yesterday morning I had just finished my 12th blown bow stalk. This was after the previous day of seeing pretty much nothing. I got to 45 yards with the Rick Flair (we called him that because he flared out) ram snoozing in his bed. As I was waiting for a shot, which was not long, he just exploded out of his bed and ran off. He just sensed something was wrong. No hesitation, just gone. That happened too many times to count. I had so many close calls bowhunting these sheep. Almost had it done on my first stalk opening morning. Got to 42 yrds when the wind swirled. Just really tough country to bowhunt.
As I was hiking back to the truck, my brother calls. He was watching another face of the mtn a couple miles away. He basically said "load your damn rifle and get the hell over here asap." After 16 days with the bow, it was time. Family issues were making it hard to be gone from home much longer.
We got there and repositioned for a better look. I quickly sized the group of sheep up through the spotter and made up my mind to kill this ram. Grabbed the .270 and got on the stalk. Through the course of the stalk the sheep moved over a mile and gained a lot of elevation. We tucked into a ravine and closed the distance. At 280 we ran out of cover. I got to a boulder to set up for an uphill shot. After making sure the lead ram was the hoss of the herd, I tried to settle in. I definitely was not confident. I'm not a long range shooter at all. I finally got my rest sorted out and felt good. The sheep were sidehilling above me. A couple loud "baaaaas" got him stopped and BOOM. I was rocked by recoil and had no idea what happened. I got a new round chambered and back in the scope. I was just about to take a running shot when he stopped, wobbled and tipped over. Unreal experience. I wouldn't have done a thing differently. Loved every second of it!
169 2/8 and 7 yrs old according to the biologist.
Big thanks to the crew at San Gorgonio Wilderness Outfitters.
http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos/4657rsz_dsc_0736_(2).jpg
