Archery Bighorn Hunt in Southern Colorado

[Jake.]

Holy crap, we’re a week away from archery opener.
Hi all, my name is Jake (not from State Farm) and I have the lone archery tag for my unit. Not going to post a ton right now but my intention will be to use this thread to provide semi live updates for those interested in following along.
I will share that I’m a lucky recipient of a reissued tag that was turned in. Shout out to the great folks at Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society for making that a possibility!
I got that call in early April and immediately started doing everything I could to familiarize myself with what the hell I just got myself into. A lil background on me, been in CO since 2011, avid hiker, hunter, etc. Married with a 2 yr old daughter and 5 month old son.

Actually, look at the time, I gotta go pick them up from grandma and grandpas. Will pick this up later, excited to share with you guys.
Cheers,
Jake

 

[mdhunter]

Congrats and good luck! Go get’em!

 

[Mudranger1]

Good luck. Looking forward to the story

 

[Bowhunt_406]

Good luck! Following for updates!

 

[Jake.]

April and May presented scouting challenges. I’m lucky to live at the base of the mountain I’ll be hunting, I stare at it every day out the windows. The road up the mountain stayed closed till mid may due to road conditions and more often than not during those months the mountain was socked in. Spent a quite a bit of time hiking the lower elevations of the mountain and venturing up as high as time and conditions would allow. These trips proved to be more physical conditioning rather than actual scouting.
Talked to lots of locals around here, neighbors, fellow church goers, etc. Was able to get a lot of great information about the mountain and where people have been seeing sheep.
Pretty quickly though I realized this was gonna be a very tough hunt, the area I’d be hunting is about 25000 acres and I’m told there’s about 30, maybe 40 sheep up there.
I’m now starting to understand why someone would be crazy enough to turn this tag in. Not me though, in my mid 30s I’m committed.
I started feeling hopeful after my networking efforts. All the data I was gathering was point to rams in one specific area of the mountain, that was the good news. The bad news was that it seemed all the bruiser mature rams were gonna be in this cliffy, thick, steep nonsense that a fella could spend a month straight in and not actually lay eyes on the few rams roaming there (turns out that’s exactly what the archery hunter last year did).

Pics from a hike in early May

 

[Jake.]

June came along and hand in hand, so did the warmer temps that finally made the mountain more manageable to scout.
How nice of a coincidence that the rancher I’ve been buying hay from for my horse also owns the ranch that connects to this wilderness area. Was able to get permission to hop his fence and cut straight into the prime ram area. Being able to do so saved me 4-5 miles of hiking just to get access. Phew, who knew that those hay burners in my backyard would turn out to be so fruitful. (I kid of course, love those guys)
By this time I was able to attend the rendezvous banquet as well as the tag holder meet n greet hosted by RMBS. Met some new and awesome friends from each event which included the rifle tag holder for our unit. Which how crazy is this.. both of us are in our mid 30s, couple of young kids, and we live about 30 min away from each other. (Turns out he and his family become great friends to me and mine). The sheep meet n greet was also my first chance that with the biologist of my unit. He glances at my name tag which has my season and unit listed on it and the first thing he says to me, “well, you got your tag cause I talked the guy who drew it out of hunting it”. I know, absolutely what I wanted to hear I did however thank him for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. He assured me that it was going to be a tough hunt but that at least it would still be a sheep hunt.
That was enough for me.
Back to the sheep. Late may was when I glassed up my first sheep, 3 ewes and two lambs. June is when I start getting into sheep consistently. I’ve been able to find a herd of 23 total, that group of ewes and lambs, a bunch I other ewes and young rams. One of which maaaaaaaybe is legal at half curl (spoiler alert, he ain’t).

 

[Jake.]

Spent some time exploring that ‘prime ram’ area. I can definitely understand why it’s known for the big rams… thick timber, water all over the place, an unlimited amount of little grassy benches to feed off of, it’s ram paradise back there! And understandably so, after many jaunts back there on foot and horseback, with multiple sets of eyes looking around, I still have yet to say I’ve found the/a big mature ram back there. Had 5 trail cams set up on various trails and sign, after 3 1/2 weeks, a couple pics of a doe mule deer.
I decided that I need to spend more time up on top of the mountain and exploring treeline. This yields immediate results. I’m back to seeing bighorns on a regular basis but at first it’s just the ewes and small rams. The same herd but at any given day it fluctuates between 14-22 total.
We close out June and head into July, America, #*^@#* yeah. Turns out my new bud and rifle tag holder is doing some camping up on our mountain, spots two legal rams above treeline, sends me pics. One of those was the pic I attached to the first post. Excitement is building at the prospect of not having to descend into the devils butthole (the cliffy, thick, steep, bullshitty area we thought we were gonna be hunting).

Peep the NAPF hat

 

[kiwi hunter]

Spent some time exploring that ‘prime ram’ area. I can definitely understand why it’s known for the big rams… thick timber, water all over the place, an unlimited amount of little grassy benches to feed off of, it’s ram paradise back there! And understandably so, after many jaunts back there on foot and horseback, with multiple sets of eyes looking around, I still have yet to say I’ve found the/a big mature ram back there. Had 5 trail cams set up on various trails and sign, after 3 1/2 weeks, a couple pics of a doe mule deer.
I decided that I need to spend more time up on top of the mountain and exploring treeline. This yields immediate results. I’m back to seeing bighorns on a regular basis but at first it’s just the ewes and small rams. The same herd but at any given day it fluctuates between 14-22 total.
We close out June and head into July, America, #*^@#* yeah. Turns out my new bud and rifle tag holder is doing some camping up on our mountain, spots two legal rams above treeline, sends me pics. One of those was the pic I attached to the first post. Excitement is building at the prospect of not having to descend into the devils butthole (the cliffy, thick, steep, bullshitty area we thought we were gonna be hunting).

Peep the NAPF hat

Where the girls camp is where the boys turn up

 

[jvanhoy]

Congrats on the tag! Love these kind of threads. Definitely following along. Good luck!

 

[jdf]

Good luck !!!

 

[Bryerific]

Could this be the first sheep hunt in a NAPF hat? Looking forward to this story! Good luck!

 

[Bowhntr4life]

Congrats and good luck! Dream hunt for sure!!

 

[duckhunt]

Congrats, please keep posted.

 

[Valley1320]

Congrats on the tag! Following

 

[Jake.]

Could this be the first sheep hunt in a NAPF hat? Looking forward to this story! Good luck!

I’m putting this ol hat through the ringer that’s for sure

 

[Mata]

View attachment 379546
I’m putting this ol hat through the ringer that’s for sure

That’s what it takes.. “if you want to have something that others don’t have, you must be willing to do things others aren’t willing to do” congrats on the tag

 

[Jake.]

Early to mid July we are seeing this ram who is maaaaybe 3/4 curl pretty consistently. Instead of searching out other rams I decide to focus my time and energy and getting this feller figured out. To this point I’ve only been able to find him early in the morning or right at sunset when he emerges back above treeline to feed through the scree and cliffs. This would have been two weeks ago I went up with the intention of finding this ram and following him all day long.
Got to my glassing spot around 5-5:30 in the morning and located him right away in the same area I’ve been seeing him in the mornings. He was off by himself but near a group of another 14 sheep (couple small rams and a bunch of ewes). I watched them meander the scree to the south until they rounded the ridge out of sight. They were all moving in a group with the legal ram slowly following the group. After they rounded out of sight I started down the trail after them. I ended up cutting through the timber and after clearing some deadfall and noticing some magic mushrooms growing, I had a gut feeling that I needed to gain elevation to try and either get parallel to them or above them. About a mile down the trail I decided to cut up to the top of the ridge gaining about 800-850 feet of elevation in a matter of 450yds. I knew if they continued south as long as I was on top I’d catch where they headed. Sure enough, I get to knob to glass and down below me working through another steep scree field are those sheep lined up single file. I count 12, no sign of the ram. I sit down for a few minutes to catch my breath and contemplate the next move.. did those rams veer up and over?
Did they get up and double back to where they came from?
Did they head down to the treeline?
Did they.. wait, was that..? A rock sliding down the scree.. sounded like below me.. lemme poke my head over.
There they are, three rams, the big one leading the group. Lesson learned, there’s value in sitting still rather than jumping into action, especially when unsure.
The rams were trailing the larger group with about 400 yds between them. They didn’t seem in a hurry and I had a perfect vantage point where I could also keep an eye on neighboring ridges so the pack came off, jerky came out, and behind the glass I sat. This was all around 7am when we settled in, the ewes bedded on a ridge above a patch of timber and the rams fed into the grass. It’s important to note that a pretty trafficked trail is about 200yds below them. A few hours later the rams bedded down on the edge of the grass and scree for bout 30 min, around 9:30a is when I saw the first other hikers out that day. A guy and gal came walking down the trail and stopped just below the rams to watch the ewes, it wouldn’t be until 10 minutes later when the larger ram stood up that the hikers even noticed them. When they did spot them the stopped for even longer to watched the rams. They took some pics and 10 more minutes passed, the ram decided he had enough and started slowly working up the scree to gain some elevation. The hikers moved on down the trail. The other two rams followed him up and they all proceeded to bed down. About another hour passed watching them, journaling my notes, and taking in the beautiful views..I all the sudden heard something that made me question if I had ingested some of those mushrooms I saw earlier.. an Indian flute was playing in the breeze!
I quickly find the source.. in a meadow by the trail behind me was a lady standing on a stump playing a dang Indian flute. What a moment, gotta love public land.

 

[Jake.]

The two smaller rams join back up with the other 12 sheep who are feeding in the grass below and the legal ram had started working up the ridge breaking off to do his own thing it seemed. In the moment I wasn’t sure where he was going to go but that I was on limited time before he rounded the ridge that wrapped around to the other side of the peak. I got everything packed up and on my back and busted ass to where I last saw the ram. I had to cover about a half mile which I was able to do in about 7-8 min (was pretty happy with this considering we’re above 12K in elevation). I drop over the ridge where I last saw the ram, no sign of him other than fresh shit. I spot the group below me, quick pass on the binos to confirm only 14. He must have kept going around. The scree I’m navigating is loose and loud, I want to move quicker than it’s allowing me. I do my best to pick my steps carefully and tread lightly. I glance up as I start rounding the ridge, I catch a glimpse of him.. sheep ass and horns walking straight away from me at 100 yds. I immediately beat feet and head to higher ground with the intent to pop over on top of him as he works his way around the rest of the ridge. I crest the ridgeline and slowly start down the hill which is just stupid steep. I pop my head up and see the tops of his horns and boy are they close. Grab the range finder, 37yds. I duck down out of sight, knowing this is just scouting I decide to see how much I can get away with. If he knows I’m there, he sure doesn’t seem to care. I slip off my pack, range him again, he’s taken a few steps and then turns broadside, 44yds. I grab my trekking pole as my pretend bow, come to draw, find him in my make believe sight, go through my shot sequence, gently squeezed the trigger that wasn’t there.. and then promptly started to feel awfully giddy that if this were during season, an arrow would have just flown.
Then I realize this is probably a good time to start taking pics. As I capture all the moments I can he ends up sauntering down the hill. He finally stops at treeline, 77 yds and stands broadside staring at me for just under two minutes before he trots off to the neighboring ridge.
I ended up spending the rest of the day following him, staying several hundreds of yards away. He certainly didn’t seem bumped by my presence and continued about his merry way. A lil over 6 miles and a few hours later I decided to call it a day when I lost track of him dipping into some timber to cross through a valley to the next peak. My buddy, the rifle tag holder, was camping up there that weekend with his wife and kids. He texted me later that evening saying he was watching that ram working above his camp through a scree field right at dusk. This confirmed my suspicion that he was just making a big loop around the mountain.
Twas a good day.

 

[Jake.]

Also, I don’t consider myself an influencer or someone who has a desire to grow their social media footprint. That said, I do plan on updating the ol IG story as I can to share with friends and fam. If you’re interested it can be found at @j.valencour on the gram.

 

[Khunter]

Good stuff and look forward to following along!

Glad you had a good experience at RMBS Sheep & Goat Hunter Meet & Greet an Rendezvous.

—Kirby