Wyoming Sheep Success!!

dwalton · Sep 4, 2007

Hello all. Just got out from the hills. I killed a dink on opening day.....Of course, I'm kidding. The Hunting Gods definitely smiled me. Justin and Cody found a a bruiser of a ram as we were setting up back pack camp on Aug 31. We watched him until dark, hoping he'd be there opening morning. At day-break we found him in the same basin. We quickly left without breakfast. A 2 mile gut-busting hike ensued. The closest we could get to him was 1000 yards. We tried several different routes, but could not find a way to close the distance without being seen. All day, through wind, rain, and snow we waited for him to move to where we could make a run at him. Finally at 4 p.m. he got up to feed. Only when his ass was towards us did we go from rock pile to rock pile. First we were 900 yards, then 750, and at 600 yards we had to cross a creek bed. If we could get by here, we stood a chance to get to about 400 yards. Halfway across, the ram busted us. It was a stand off. It was now or never. The weather was perfect with no wind, and I had a dead-solid rest. Justin ranged him at 540 yards. I took aim, and hit just low. Now he was 568 and standing broadside again. BOOM! The ram took one step, and began cartwheeling down the mountain. Pandamonium broke out! The three of us were celebrating. I had just finished the Grand Slam!! Justin and Cody went down the mountain to retrieve our packs, and I climbed to my ram. When I got there, the emotions kicked in. I thought back to going on my dad's sheep hunt when I was a kid. My father passed away in 1993, so he never got to see any of my sheep hunts. I knew he was with me at that moment. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I talked out loud to my dad, and thanked him for helping me make the shot. Then happiness took over as I sat at the top of the basin at 12100 feet, and realized I had completed something that appeared to be impossible 9 years ago. I was now a Grand Slammer! Three days days later I still can't believe it.

As for the ram....WOW. It is Justin's second largest ram taken in his 19 years of guiding and outfitting. Just got him measured tonight in Rock Springs. Left horn is 15"X36", right horn is 15"X38 1/4". His score was 177 6/8 SCI. Will post pictures when I get home on Thursday.

264Magnum · Sep 4, 2007

Congrats on the ram and completing your grand slam.
_____________________________
Farmers harvest. Hunters kill

Chesterwyo · Sep 4, 2007

Congratulations on accomplishing somthing very few people can say they have done. Great story and can't wait to see the pics.

joebobhunter4 · Sep 4, 2007

congrats on the slam... im working on it also.
what unit did you hunt in?

kilowatt · Sep 4, 2007

Dave,
Congrats to you on your Grand Slam and the elite group of hunters that have accomplished this feat. By all means send me the pictures and I will post them for you this weekend or sooner.

Brian

lostinOregon · Sep 4, 2007

Congratulations and great story, waiting for the pictures

Rich

Cozmo8 · Sep 4, 2007

RIGHT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats can't wait to see the pictures.

NVBighorn · Sep 4, 2007

Dave,

Congratulations on the sheep and the slam. Very nice. I can only imagine the combination of emotions that you experienced up there on that mountain with your Dad. I'm sure he was there with you. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see pictures.

josh · Sep 4, 2007

www.#####.com Great story and congrats on a great ram

YukonDall · Sep 5, 2007

LAST EDITED ON Sep-05-07 AT 08:09AM (MST)[p] DAVE.......COULD NOT BE HAPPIER FOR YOU!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!! WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE PICS ....YD.

jpine · Sep 5, 2007

Congrads, look forward to the pics!!

kilbuc · Sep 5, 2007

Congrats.......great story and well deserved. Someone was looking over your shoulder.

from the "Heartland of Wyoming"

ColoradoBob · Sep 5, 2007

SWEET-----Conglads---CB

wyoelk · Sep 5, 2007

Conrats. Your excitement in your words is great. Way to go!!!!

Hiker · Sep 5, 2007

Fantastic! Great job.

Hiker

Proverbs 3:5-6

kilowatt · Sep 5, 2007

LAST EDITED ON Sep-05-07 AT 11:40PM (MST)[p]This post is out of sequence but wanted to get it close to the original story from Dave. Took some "brain power" to figure how to get them to .jpg from Dave's e-mail, but got it done.
Really nice Ram there Dave and congrats on the hunt.
Brian
P.S. Guess it didn't work like I wanted it to.

NVBighorn · Sep 5, 2007

Awesome Dave! Beautiful ram.

dwalton · Sep 6, 2007

Thanks for posting the pics, Brian! As you can see, there's no ground shrinkage on this bruiser. I still can hardly believe my good fortune on this hunt! Thanks to all for the kind words.

Dave

FALCON · Sep 6, 2007

HOLY COW!

Sorry for the late kudos. If this completes your slam, what a way to go out!!!!

Great story and pics. I now have sheep fever, and will start dreaming of a slam someday. If your gonna dream, might as well go big!

YukonDall · Sep 6, 2007

GOSH O MIGHTY DAVE......WHAT A BEAUTY OF A RAM....YOU GOT MY BLOOD PUMPIN.....WOW....YD.

Warren · Sep 6, 2007

dwalton,

Congrats on a great ram and also the Grand Slam! What caliber did you use for the hunt?

dwalton · Sep 6, 2007

I shot him with a 300 Weatherby, launching 180 grain x-bullets at about 3200 fps.

littlebighorn · Sep 6, 2007

Dave,
Your ram is a "pig", especially for Wyoming and makes my 160 ram look rather small. But your story is special and made my day. It brought back great memories of my similar experience three years ago. Regardless of the size of one's ram, it is a true once in a lifetime event and surely one I will never forget.
I will be hard pressed to get to your slam status, as my funds are limited, but I will still keep dreaming! Congratulations on a great story and a marvelous ram!

elkantlers · Sep 6, 2007

WOW. That thing is a bruiser.

Do you have any pictures of your other sheep? I would like to see those if you do..

CAelknuts · Sep 7, 2007

Congratulations on an awesome ram, and your Grand Slam! That's a beautiful ram, and some great country you shot him in.

I too would love to see some photos from your other sheep hunts.

Chesterwyo · Sep 8, 2007

Wyoming sheep don't get much bigger than that, congrats. It looks like he took quite a tumble after you shot. Are you doing a lifesize mount?

gonehuntinWY · Sep 23, 2007

Was the outfitter Justin and Cody Wright of Muleshoe Outfitters?? That is a great ram. How could you breathe at 12,000'??? Bullet flight at that elevation is defineitly different - you just can't practice under those conditions of shooting.

dwalton · Sep 23, 2007

Yes, you are correct on my outfitters. Justin and cody were great. I had a blast hunting with them! Hope to hunt with them again sometime.

scree · Sep 23, 2007

Congratulations! What a way to top off your grand slam. That is a far better ram than I saw in that country. What drainage were you in?

dwalton · Sep 24, 2007

Andy,
I believe we were near Peak Lake. This is the only ram, and the only sheep I saw on the entire trip. In fact, Justin glassed the area for 4 days before I got there, and never saw any sheep. Tough country, and not a lot of sheep. Did you tag out on a ram? PM me the details of your hunt, if you'd like.

Dave