S
scree
Guest
Here is the promised update on my WY area 8-23 sheep hunt. As some of you know I attempted to do this hunt DIY. That did not work out due to the WY law requiring nonresidents to have either a resident guide or a licensed outfitter. I simply could not find an available resident. I ended up working a ton of over-time and hired Eric Kershner of Black Diamond Outfitting.
Having already been lucky enough to harvest a California Bighorn with a rifle, I really wanted to do this hunt with a bow. The second day of bow hunting I found a large crack in both limbs of my bow. The previous day/night we had some really nasty weather with freezing rain. I think I had some invisible fractures in the limbs and when moisture got in them and froze they cracked wide open. My dream of harvesting a ram with a bow was instantly crushed.
We did some scouting and went back down the Mtn for a few nights. On the 28th of Aug we returned to the same area to scout some more and wait for the rifle opener. On the 3 day of the season I passed on a smallish 145-150 class ram at 30 yds (I was really wishing I had my bow).
We hunted for 3 more days and then came out for more food. The following day we went to a new area, in area 8 this time (we had been in 23). After 2.5 days of seeing nothing and I mean nothing I had given up hope. Eric and I talked about me coming back for the last week of the season. We decided to pull the plug and hunt our way out. As we headed back to camp, checking drainages as we went, I happened to look at the next mountain over. Lo and Behold there he was with two smaller rams. About 1000 feet down the mountain, 800 back up the next, down the ridge and a 112 yard shot later. My mental status made a very quick turn around.
He is 8 years old and scores about 155 1/2. He has five inches boomed off on his right side. He is the third best ram we saw. The second best was close to his size but had scabies or something and had big patches of hair missing, we never even tried for him. This was a physically tough; hunt mostly over 11,000 feet but it was even more mentally challenging.
Having already been lucky enough to harvest a California Bighorn with a rifle, I really wanted to do this hunt with a bow. The second day of bow hunting I found a large crack in both limbs of my bow. The previous day/night we had some really nasty weather with freezing rain. I think I had some invisible fractures in the limbs and when moisture got in them and froze they cracked wide open. My dream of harvesting a ram with a bow was instantly crushed.
We did some scouting and went back down the Mtn for a few nights. On the 28th of Aug we returned to the same area to scout some more and wait for the rifle opener. On the 3 day of the season I passed on a smallish 145-150 class ram at 30 yds (I was really wishing I had my bow).
We hunted for 3 more days and then came out for more food. The following day we went to a new area, in area 8 this time (we had been in 23). After 2.5 days of seeing nothing and I mean nothing I had given up hope. Eric and I talked about me coming back for the last week of the season. We decided to pull the plug and hunt our way out. As we headed back to camp, checking drainages as we went, I happened to look at the next mountain over. Lo and Behold there he was with two smaller rams. About 1000 feet down the mountain, 800 back up the next, down the ridge and a 112 yard shot later. My mental status made a very quick turn around.
He is 8 years old and scores about 155 1/2. He has five inches boomed off on his right side. He is the third best ram we saw. The second best was close to his size but had scabies or something and had big patches of hair missing, we never even tried for him. This was a physically tough; hunt mostly over 11,000 feet but it was even more mentally challenging.
