My Lucky Year!

[Mule Kick]

Thought I would get this kicked off to maybe help get our minds off mule deer mismanagement and other strange off- season threads Haha!

As a lot of you know, I am the incredibly lucky guy that drew a moose AND a sheep tag in my home state of MT this year. I feel very blessed, but not gonna lie there is some stress as well! My goal is to enjoy the journey as much as possible and make the most of both tags.. and remember it’s not all about a punched tag!

I have never done this type of thread on a hunt but always enjoy following others that do it, so will do my best.. It is as much for me to document and look back on as anything… Also if anyone has input on sheep or moose hunting in general feel free to share it!

I am not going to name the unit numbers but good chance some of you will figure it out pretty quick.. and if you have, or have had either tag I would love to hear from ya Thanks to those who have already PMed me..

I’m going to post scouting pics and probably some other random things about my summer/ fall.. I’m going to Alaska in a few weeks to fish/ vacation. (I know, I should stay at home and scout but my wife and I have had this planned with some friends for quite awhile and I can’t back out now!)
Anyway, hope you enjoy!

 

[Mule Kick]

A week and a half ago I made it out for my first ‘real’ scouting trip for sheep. This is a new unit for me and it has been fun researching everything I can..
and the scenery didn’t disappoint!! What an incredible place. There was still quite a bit of snow up there, and half of the tiny lake we camped at the first night was still iced over!

 

[WBT]

Good luck and thanks for taking us along!

 

[Mule Kick]

I think I will do some introductions here as you will probably be seeing more of these blokes! I am the oldest of 6 kids and as you can see, only 1 sister.(she wasn’t along)
From left- Jeff, Austin,Ethan,me,Eric.

We had a great time hiking, camping and glassing! I’m thankful they all love the outdoors as much as I do and are probably as excited as I am about the tags!

 

[Mule Kick]

Apparently we weren’t hiking fast enough for Austin on the way in so he pumped out some pushups! He wasn’t doing that by day 3 haha!

 

[Mule Kick]

Saw between 30-40 goats! Such amazing animals, can’t imagine shanking a tent over one!

 

[Mule Kick]

And finally some sheep spotted! They were @ 1.5 mile away- just a few ewes/ lambs.
We split up most mornings and evenings to get some different angles..


More ewes down there! Kinda steep here, and I was reminded about some muscles I had forgotten about!

 

[Mule Kick]

I was watching a group of ewes for awhile when I saw one with some bigger horns. He ran behind a cliff and then into some trees where he messed around for about 20 mins before finally coming back out to where I could confirm he was a dink. Oh well, at least they exist!
Meanwhile, Jeff was on a different ridge and saw more sheep including a similar sized ram.

 

[Mule Kick]

Midday we hiked/slid down to the lower lake where we set up camp and did some more fishing, sleeping, and glassing.

 

[Mule Kick]

We watched a group of ewes and lambs above the lake and in the evening I hiked around the lake and up the other side a bit to get a better vantage and spotted ram #3, bedded about 2 miles away! This ended up being all the rams we saw and they were all similar in size.

All together we saw @ 25 sheep, which was more than I dared hope for! So a successful trip in some incredible country!
I will share some more random pics but that summarizes the first scouting trip.

 

[npaden]

Very cool. It is so crazy how you can go years without drawing and then draw two amazing tags in the same year.

 

[Caseknife]

This is going to create some awesome family memories with your brothers. Have fun and enjoy the process, beautiful country.

 

[duckhunt]

This is going to be an epic adventure.

 

[TheTone]

I can’t imagine having two great tags in one year

I’m kind of jealous of getting out with your family like that. I don’t think I’ve hunted with my brother in that last 15 years. I’d probably have to pay him to go at this point

 

[brownbear932008]

Awesome country, I'm really enjoying this.

 

[BlakeA]

Great photos! Beautiful county and awesome memories being made right there...good luck and thanks for sharing!

 

[Mule Kick]

Thanks all! Yeah I feel very blessed!
No one in my family has ever drawn any of the ‘big 3’ and it has been years since any of my other friends that I hunt with have drawn anything.. in a way I feel a little guilty when I think of my Dad and other older people who have way more points than I did!
Nothing I can do about it though and I’m not gonna let the guilt ruin a good thing lol!

 

[Wild Bill]

Good thread. Looking forward to seeing more. Good luck with your hunts this fall!

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

Awesome, looks like a great time!

 

[andrew11]

Awesome pics!! Cant wait to hear how this plays out