Idaho Bighorn Sheep Hunt

Great pictures and a great ram. I love the Hell's Canyon area.
 
And I thought Idaho didn't have any big rams :). That is a lunker! Congrats!!!
 
I'll give a quick story. My first objective with the tag was to have my boys with me the entire hunt. I arranged the days we hunted to accommodate them.

We hunted 7 days total. On day 2 we saw a group of 7 mature rams together at last light. We were able to judge them as they postured and decided three rams met our objectives. Fast forward with some blown stalks and missing rams, we found one of the rams again on day 7.

My 11 year old and I dumped off the ridge to stalk the ram while my 14 year old and buddy stayed to glass the sheep. An hour later we reach the last point before we get into the nasty stuff in the bottom of the canyon. We stop to glass and find the ram 499 yards away. The ram moves while we're watching and beds at 407 yards. Looking at the terrain, I realize the only shot I will get at the ram is from our current position. We set up and watch the ram lay in the shade.

He finally gets up after an hour. I kill him at 425. After the echo of the shot stops in the canyon I can hear Hunter and Jason whooping high above us. We wait for the top crew and then go to the ram. It takes over an hour breaking brush and then climbing a scree slope through a crack in a cliff. We're all happy at the ram. While breaking him down at last light, we realize I'm the only one with a head lamp.

After a quick counsel, we decide the hike down is too dangerous to pursue in the dark. We sleep on the scree slope in thin emergency blankets. None of us sleep as we lay in the rocks. At first light, we start hiking back to our ridge. We divy up our remaining water and food before the hike. Three and a half hour later we reach the farthest tip of the ridge. I look up the ridge and see the calvary coming! Jason texted our buddy that a ram was down before coming to me yesterday. Brad showed up with his mules to help us pack last night. He spent the night at our camp when we didn't show by 3:00. We drink all his water, two beers he brought and pack the sheep out on his mule.

It was a great hunt. I've created two new sheep hunters. Both boys want to apply for sheep next year.
 
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