My First Sheep Hunt - NV Desert Bighorn

[SoCalhunt88]

Congrats, epic story. Thanks for taking us along.

 

[birdman27]

This ram was perfect in every way! He was an older ram, had broomed off at least one side, and just got me excited when I first laid eyes on him from 1.5 miles away. The only thing that would have made this experience any more perfect would have been having my wife and daughter with me. But even though they weren’t physically there, they were there in spirit and had hiked this mountain a couple times with me.

Now the work was laid out ahead of me. It was getting warm already and there wasn’t any shade nearby. I got to work quartering him up and caping him. Not exactly easily done solo I realized. This was the first time I had ever caped an animal solo. But I got it done.

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First load was two quarters, backstraps and all the neck and side meat. Along with all the other gear I had lugged up the mountain. Second load was the other two quarters and the head and cape. Carrying 80+ pounds in terrain like that was probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done. But I took my time and made it safely back to the truck with all the meat about 5 hours after the shot.

Huge congrats dude. That is a helluva ram and you earned him. You are having a heck of a season!

 

[CPAjeff]

My goodness, what a great ram - huge congrats!

 

[rtraverdavis]

What an incredible hunt and truly beautiful ram. Huge congratulations. I enjoyed the heck out of reading your recap.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Man that's so cool what a great experience! Congrats to you thanks for sharing.

 

[p_ham]

Great ram! It sounds like you got (almost) everything you wanted out of your hunt, you'll be looking back on this one for a long time!

 

[BradA]

Great ram, I don’t know if you scored him or not but he looks to be a book ram. I thought he was going to go 9 years old but either way an awesome ram and thank you for taking us along in your hunt! Congratulations!

 

[eshunt]

Great ram, I don’t know if you scored him or not but he looks to be a book ram. I thought he was going to go 9 years old but either way an awesome ram and thank you for taking us along in your hunt! Congratulations!

NDOW scored him at 168-5/8" gross. Definitely well above average for the unit! And way above my expectations for the hunt. I have no idea how much sheep shrink over the 60 day drying period, but I might get him officially scored once the 60 days are up.

 

[BradA]

NDOW scored him at 168-5/8" gross. Definitely well above average for the unit! And way above my expectations for the hunt. I have no idea how much sheep shrink over the 60 day drying period, but I might get him officially scored once the 60 days are up.

Yeah he definitely will
Make recognition but he may barely shrink below the 168 minimum for all time but you should get him scored.

 

[eshunt]

After drying, the official B&C score came in right at 168-0/8. Squeaked into the all time awards. The person who scored the ram had a bunch of photos of him live on the hoof from last summer too. So was cool to get a few photos of him as well running around with other sheep.

Good luck to all those putting in for sheep tags this year! I know I am now trying to figure out how to get another sheep tag.

 

[littlebighorn]

After drying, the official B&C score came in right at 168-0/8. Squeaked into the all time awards. The person who scored the ram had a bunch of photos of him live on the hoof from last summer too. So was cool to get a few photos of him as well running around with other sheep.

Good luck to all those putting in for sheep tags this year! I know I am now trying to figure out how to get another sheep tag.

The "fever" is contagious and killing a book ram only fuels the fire!
Congratulations again es. I'm glad you got in with all the 0/8ths that you needed. I hate when a ram misses by an eight or two.
Absolutely gorgeous ram!

 

[MaddH]

After drying, the official B&C score came in right at 168-0/8. Squeaked into the all time awards. The person who scored the ram had a bunch of photos of him live on the hoof from last summer too. So was cool to get a few photos of him as well running around with other sheep.

Good luck to all those putting in for sheep tags this year! I know I am now trying to figure out how to get another sheep tag.

That’s frigging awesome. He is definitely a beautiful ram and making Book is even better.

 

[Mtnhunter1]

No matter the score, that's a beautiful ram. Congrats...

 

[Bambistew]

Great ram, he has it all!

I'm impressed it only shrunk that much. All mine seem to shrink about 1.5 inches.

What did they age him at? Looks like a few classic false ring on him.

 

[ThunderNocked]

While spending hours watching the sheep I got to witness something I did not expect to see. The group of sheep were all bedded, in two groups about 10-15 yds apart. Suddenly the lower group of sheep bolt up in a cloud of dust and start looking around. They run up to the group above that have now all stood up as well. Im looking around with the binos thinking a lion or some predator is closing in on them from below.

I quickly realize there is large dark shadow on the hillside and look up to see a giant bird swooping down on the sheep. Looking closer I see it’s a golden eagle. And now all the sheep were in a tight group with the young lambs in the middle.

The eagle circled and swooped in a few times over about a 10 minute period. The entire time the sheep were encircling the smallest and youngest of the group. Finally it sailed off in the thermals and left this group alone.

I had been told by the biologist that golden eagles were one of the main predators for sheep in this unit. So it was amazing to watch it unfold in front of me.

Little encounters like that were the high points of the day. Which I had to remind myself during the lowest of lows when I realized I had missed a shot.

I spent Tuesday morning shooting my rifle and found that something very strange was happening with my rifle/scope. It led to me deciding I needed to head back home and get a different rifle to use.

Eagles are an issue up here too. So crazy you got to see that!

 

[ThunderNocked]

@eshunt WOW!
Just amazing.
I got my first dall sheep on a 9 day hunt this last year after several attempts and countless hours.
But I have wanted a Desert Sheep since seeing them back where I grew up. What an amazing hunt, an amazing write up, a perfect setup and a beautiful Ram. So happy for you and hopefully in the next decade I'll get to join you in shooting such a wonderful creature. What a treat.

Congrats man on the effort, the shot and finding such an amazing ram.
I aged him at 8 from the close side up shot - sounds like after finishing your story that I got him right! And congrats on making book, that is so cool!

 

[eshunt]

Great ram, he has it all!

I'm impressed it only shrunk that much. All mine seem to shrink about 1.5 inches.

What did they age him at? Looks like a few classic false ring on him.

NDOW aged him at 8 from the annuli. They did not pull a tooth to age though.

 

[Csimonds]

Well, I won the lottery and pulled a DBH ram tag in NV. I honestly never thought I would draw one of these tags, at least not with only a handful of points. I have never been on a sheep hunt before so I have a lot to learn. Most of my sheep experience is just looking at them while I'm on other hunting trips, or rafting down desert rivers. This unit is only about 2 hours away from home so I will be able to spend a fair bit of time this summer scouting and learning the area. And I should be able to get several weeks of actual hunting time if needed.

A portion of this hunt is on an Army base, the Hawthorne Army Ammo Depot. I am wondering if anyone on here has been on a sheep hunt and accessed the Army Depot property? I have found some info on getting permission to hike in the area, but all of the forms have strict rules about no weapons. And as the office is closed this weekend, I am looking to talk with anyone that has hunted here previously and what did they have to do to get access for hunting? Or maybe the hassle wasn't worth it and there's plenty of sheep in the accessible portions of the unit that are not on the Army Ammo Depot?

Anyway, I'm super excited to have this opportunity. I want to make the most of this tag and find a respectable ram to hang my tag on. Let me know if you have any suggestions on field judging sheep too. I'll be scouring the interwebs for videos and articles about judging sheep. I am by no means someone that is looking for a certain number, mostly whatever will make me excited and happy. I might never get this opportunity again so I want to really dive into this unit and learn as much as possible.

Army base sheep hunt would be sick!

 

[Ram 12]

What a beautiful ram, "ideal" is right. Thanks for sharing the great adventure!

 

[eshunt]

Got him home from the taxidermist yesterday. It still impresses me at how big their horns are compared to the rest of their head.