rlmmatt
Active member
How's it go , and now for the rest of the story, great looking sheep congrats
2017 sheep
- Thread starter Bambistew
- Start date
Schaaf
Well-known member
Oof, he's heavy. Congrats!
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Subscribed..
Bambistew
Well-known member
7mm08mo
Well-known member
Looking forward to the story.
Nameless Range
Well-known member
Can't wait to hear the rest!
jnagel32
Active member
Awesome! Congrats and can't wait to hear the story as well!
Southern Elk
Well-known member
Congrats! Looking forward to reading the story.
duckhunt
Well-known member
Looking forward to the story
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Bambi's recounts are always worth the wait...but;
brownbear932008
Well-known member
I couldn't agree more. It's officially here now.
Bambistew
Well-known member
My friend YellowKnife tagged along with me this year. We returned to an area I've hunted in the past which we've had decent success, but didn't really have high hopes for filling two tags, as the pressure is getting higher each year. We planned on grinding it out for about 12 days if needed and figured we'd find a ram or two to chase.
We touched down at the LZ, no sooner had we unloaded were we confronted by one of the outfitters working the area. They have a camp set up on the strips in the area. The camps suck, as its about a mile to water, but I know why they are there... I've spoken with this one before, and he's a snake. His pard isn't bad, well... at least you can like him, even when he lies to your face.
He walks out with two hunters, we chat a bit. He tells us that these are his two clients, one hunter, and one non-hunter. Younger guy and older guy, figured father/son or something. No big deal. He said his partners clients were due to arrive the next day. Again a hunter/non-hunter combo. Whatever, good for them... Pretty big area with lots of room to roam.
We exchanged pleasantry, told them where we'd be hunting, figuring they'd be in their typical spots. I said there should be plenty of room for all. The guide says... "I sure hope so." There is literally 50 square miles to hunt, or more. You couldn't hunt it all in 3 weeks, and doubt you could find more than 2/3 the rams in that time. Just a weird comment.
It was late evening when we started out, we hiked for a couple hours before setting up camp. We had another 5 hours or more to go before getting to our hunt destination. The weather was typical for sheep hunting, scorching sun, rain, snow, fog, and wind... you name it.
The next day we were half way to our destination, and I spotted the other outfitter/guide about 400 yards off headed back towards the LZ. I couldn't be 100% sure, but who else could it have been? I remarked to YK that is weird I figured he'd be in the main camp, but I suppose his clients must be due in some time today... No plane showed that day. Clue number one Snake guide was full of BS.
We arrive near our base camp, just in time to see a tricked out private cub drop in and land in a sketchy area. We were a bit perplexed as our hunt area just got that much more crowded, and a bit angry that we had to walk 7 hours to the spot they flew to.
Anyway, we spoke with the guys, and made a plan. They were cool, and wished them good luck. They were going to hunt a bit further down stream, and were only looking to fill one tag, of which they tagged out a couple days later...
We proceeded to hunt out our area, little by little, taking our time to find sheep as we worked our way up the drainage. Not many rams, but lots and lots of ewes and lambs. You'd think white sheep would be easy to find, but they are sneaky and bed on points and areas where only their head is exposed from below. They are quite hard to find at times.
Anyway, we made failed stalk on a small ram who was with a group of 5 other small rams. I say failed, mostly because we just couldn't get close enough before it got dark, and there were too many eyeballs watching. While stalking this ram we saw another much nicer ram come from the boonies deep in the canyon, spooked by something/someone. He went as high as he could, before running out of climbable real estate. Apparently they can cliff out, first I'd seen one stop climbing, going up and turning back. He was a long ways off the deck...
We watched him and his buddies for a while before returning to camp.
We touched down at the LZ, no sooner had we unloaded were we confronted by one of the outfitters working the area. They have a camp set up on the strips in the area. The camps suck, as its about a mile to water, but I know why they are there... I've spoken with this one before, and he's a snake. His pard isn't bad, well... at least you can like him, even when he lies to your face.
He walks out with two hunters, we chat a bit. He tells us that these are his two clients, one hunter, and one non-hunter. Younger guy and older guy, figured father/son or something. No big deal. He said his partners clients were due to arrive the next day. Again a hunter/non-hunter combo. Whatever, good for them... Pretty big area with lots of room to roam.
We exchanged pleasantry, told them where we'd be hunting, figuring they'd be in their typical spots. I said there should be plenty of room for all. The guide says... "I sure hope so." There is literally 50 square miles to hunt, or more. You couldn't hunt it all in 3 weeks, and doubt you could find more than 2/3 the rams in that time. Just a weird comment.
It was late evening when we started out, we hiked for a couple hours before setting up camp. We had another 5 hours or more to go before getting to our hunt destination. The weather was typical for sheep hunting, scorching sun, rain, snow, fog, and wind... you name it.
The next day we were half way to our destination, and I spotted the other outfitter/guide about 400 yards off headed back towards the LZ. I couldn't be 100% sure, but who else could it have been? I remarked to YK that is weird I figured he'd be in the main camp, but I suppose his clients must be due in some time today... No plane showed that day. Clue number one Snake guide was full of BS.
We arrive near our base camp, just in time to see a tricked out private cub drop in and land in a sketchy area. We were a bit perplexed as our hunt area just got that much more crowded, and a bit angry that we had to walk 7 hours to the spot they flew to.
Anyway, we spoke with the guys, and made a plan. They were cool, and wished them good luck. They were going to hunt a bit further down stream, and were only looking to fill one tag, of which they tagged out a couple days later...We proceeded to hunt out our area, little by little, taking our time to find sheep as we worked our way up the drainage. Not many rams, but lots and lots of ewes and lambs. You'd think white sheep would be easy to find, but they are sneaky and bed on points and areas where only their head is exposed from below. They are quite hard to find at times.
Anyway, we made failed stalk on a small ram who was with a group of 5 other small rams. I say failed, mostly because we just couldn't get close enough before it got dark, and there were too many eyeballs watching. While stalking this ram we saw another much nicer ram come from the boonies deep in the canyon, spooked by something/someone. He went as high as he could, before running out of climbable real estate. Apparently they can cliff out, first I'd seen one stop climbing, going up and turning back. He was a long ways off the deck...
We watched him and his buddies for a while before returning to camp.
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MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
refresh.....
Bambistew
Well-known member
We spied the big ram that tried to top out the next day, he was still high up in the cliffs, and doubtful he was going to come down anytime soon that day. Knowing there was a small legal ram in the area, but wanting to see some new country, we day tripped it to another drainage.
We spotted some sheep along the way including a tight curled double broomed ram and a few other 4-7yo sub-legal rams. We watched them throughout the day until evening when they got up to feed. The broomer fed over a ridge line out of sight, and we made a plan. The wind sucked, but we figured we'd be ok, as long as we stayed below him/them. Wind was blowing left to right.
It took us about an hour to close the distance and climb to the rams. As we approached a small bench in a small valley, we spied a ram, then another. Both were less than 100 yards. Neither of them was the broomer, but one looked mature 9+, but only broken on one side and not full-curl. The wind switched/swirled and we knew it was just a matter of time before the gig was up. We were pinned down with no options. Finally they winded us and spooked, we saw the broomed ram as they climbed out of the back wall of the valley at 500 yards, but it was too far to shoot. We returned to camp rolling in just after dark.
The next morning dawned with blue(ish) skies, first we'd seen since we flew in. We prepped for the day, and started out. Our camp was tucked against the wall of the canyon, so to see up the side, you had to walk out about 100 yards. I made it about 50 yards and looked up and saw 6 rams feeding above us at about 800 yards and maybe 800' above. We didn't look too hard, but figured it was the same group of rams we'd seen two days before. Odds are there was at least one legal ram, maybe 2 in the group. We scrambled up the hill to get in position. It was still early in the day, and they'd be out feeding for another hour or two.
We were easily able to close the distance to less than 1/2 without being seen. We pulled out the spotter and started sizing them up. The bigger "wall" ram was not with them, but his buddies and the smaller legal ram were. With only one legal ram, and YK not being picky... we set up for the shot. The distance was just under 400, conditions were good, and the shot was true.
We spent the rest of the morning taking care of meat and cape and returned to camp for a quick bite and short nap before heading out again for the evening. Nothing was spotted that evening besides a few small rams and ewes. The plan was to move to another area the next day pending weather. Clouds had rolled in, and rain was eminent...
We spotted some sheep along the way including a tight curled double broomed ram and a few other 4-7yo sub-legal rams. We watched them throughout the day until evening when they got up to feed. The broomer fed over a ridge line out of sight, and we made a plan. The wind sucked, but we figured we'd be ok, as long as we stayed below him/them. Wind was blowing left to right.
It took us about an hour to close the distance and climb to the rams. As we approached a small bench in a small valley, we spied a ram, then another. Both were less than 100 yards. Neither of them was the broomer, but one looked mature 9+, but only broken on one side and not full-curl. The wind switched/swirled and we knew it was just a matter of time before the gig was up. We were pinned down with no options. Finally they winded us and spooked, we saw the broomed ram as they climbed out of the back wall of the valley at 500 yards, but it was too far to shoot. We returned to camp rolling in just after dark.
The next morning dawned with blue(ish) skies, first we'd seen since we flew in. We prepped for the day, and started out. Our camp was tucked against the wall of the canyon, so to see up the side, you had to walk out about 100 yards. I made it about 50 yards and looked up and saw 6 rams feeding above us at about 800 yards and maybe 800' above. We didn't look too hard, but figured it was the same group of rams we'd seen two days before. Odds are there was at least one legal ram, maybe 2 in the group. We scrambled up the hill to get in position. It was still early in the day, and they'd be out feeding for another hour or two.
We were easily able to close the distance to less than 1/2 without being seen. We pulled out the spotter and started sizing them up. The bigger "wall" ram was not with them, but his buddies and the smaller legal ram were. With only one legal ram, and YK not being picky... we set up for the shot. The distance was just under 400, conditions were good, and the shot was true.
We spent the rest of the morning taking care of meat and cape and returned to camp for a quick bite and short nap before heading out again for the evening. Nothing was spotted that evening besides a few small rams and ewes. The plan was to move to another area the next day pending weather. Clouds had rolled in, and rain was eminent...
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Irrelevant
Well-known member
So cool
BOWUNTR
Member
Right on.... Ed F
