Youngest Sheep Grand Slam

[TimeOnTarget]

Does it piss me off that a sheep hunt is north of 100k? You bet. Shady Journalism? For sure. If I had the money, would my son and I be sheep hunting? Absolutely.

As a father, I like the gist of the story.

The above said, I’m also the guy who refuses to score any big game animal because to me and my small brain it degrades the hunt itself and I feel like I went hunting for the wrong reasons. I’d feel pretty shallow and it’d be embarrassing if I saw my name in a record book somewhere.

 

[3855WIN]

Sure sounds like it and almost a given...not sure about the chocolate mint on the pillow.

I have hunted with enough 10 year old's to know that they can and can't do.

Oh, and for the record, I know what goes on with guided sheep hunts in AK, MT, WY etc. to say I'm disappointed in the process of regarding the "how" 90% of the rams are killed, would be an understatement. That includes my own AK ram.

Here's the deal, Buzz at 25 years old killing a ram that a guide found for me, where essentially all I did was show up with a rifle, at the time seemed like some sort of accomplishment. I packed as much gear as my guide. I caped my own ram. I packed half the meat and the guide packed half. I hauled half of everything to the airstrip. Was a fun time no doubt, glad I did it. But it was a 3-4 day deal. The me of today feels like I short cut the process, I robbed myself of the time I should have spent learning about the country, the sheep, and myself long before I pulled a trigger.

That's a way different deal than my desert hunt, where I spent 17 days solo, set up my own camp, found my own rams, discovered things for myself. I stalked my ram to 80 yards, made one shot with a rifle my dad won in a raffle for $20.

Same with my Rocky hunt in Wyoming, 26 days crawling around the North Fork of the Shoshone, many of those days solo and killing a ram with a mile and half stalk ending in a 100 yard shot with only a couple days left in the season. I didn't feel I short cut a thing and I learned a lot. It was time to kill a ram when I finally pulled the trigger.

What was described in the OL article seemed artificial, lacked the spirit of what I value in hunting, and the process was short cut big-time.

I know the difference, been there, done that...and like I said, why lots of sheep hunting and stories like this leave me feeling uneasy. Feeling uneasy for all kinds of reasons, and that's as far as I'll go.

The reality is that most sheep hunts involve help, paid or not. And very few will add up to your DIY sheep hunts. Kudos to you for getting those hunts done on your own. I remember the Wyoming hunt posted on here. Fun to follow.

 

[Deleted member 18333]

Sure sounds like it and almost a given...not sure about the chocolate mint on the pillow.

I have hunted with enough 10 year old's to know that they can and can't do.

Oh, and for the record, I know what goes on with guided sheep hunts in AK, MT, WY etc. to say I'm disappointed in the process of regarding the "how" 90% of the rams are killed, would be an understatement. That includes my own AK ram.

Here's the deal, Buzz at 25 years old killing a ram that a guide found for me, where essentially all I did was show up with a rifle, at the time seemed like some sort of accomplishment. I packed as much gear as my guide. I caped my own ram. I packed half the meat and the guide packed half. I hauled half of everything to the airstrip. Was a fun time no doubt, glad I did it. But it was a 3-4 day deal. The me of today feels like I short cut the process, I robbed myself of the time I should have spent learning about the country, the sheep, and myself long before I pulled a trigger.

That's a way different deal than my desert hunt, where I spent 17 days solo, set up my own camp, found my own rams, discovered things for myself. I stalked my ram to 80 yards, made one shot with a rifle my dad won in a raffle for $20.

Same with my Rocky hunt in Wyoming, 26 days crawling around the North Fork of the Shoshone, many of those days solo and killing a ram with a mile and half stalk ending in a 100 yard shot with only a couple days left in the season. I didn't feel I short cut a thing and I learned a lot. It was time to kill a ram when I finally pulled the trigger.

What was described in the OL article seemed artificial, lacked the spirit of what I value in hunting, and the process was short cut big-time.

I know the difference, been there, done that...and like I said, why lots of sheep hunting and stories like this leave me feeling uneasy. Feeling uneasy for all kinds of reasons, and that's as far as I'll go.

All this makes sense and I get it. Guided is not the same, for sure. Its the reason why I am currently sitting on 23 Wyo sheep points and only accumulating more. With my job and family its going to have to wait. I want my bighorn hunt to be different than my Dall hunt. I want to be able to spend the time to do all that you spoke of. However, to me, given all that my Dall hunt wasn't doesn't diminish what it was. A hell of a fun adventure.

 

[Hammsolo]

Another thought, How many parents pay big money for their kids to play club sports? Stupidly expensive summer camps?

How's that different?

Good questions. Should kids be in a single sport 366 days a year? No, I’m not stupid…

All three of my daughters accomplished the same thing!View attachment 238485

Gorgeous speed goat what I’m sure is a wonderful daughter!

 

[mmw194287]

Some dentist with a 6-year-old daughter is reading this now and realizing he can beat this girl's record.

Wake me up when a toddler shoots the North American 29 in one season because "it's a family tradition."

 

[Scott85]

One toddler, one rifle, one land.

 

[Hem]

One toddler, one rifle, one land.

So says the dentist.

 

[Nick87]

The ditch digger had to cancel those hunting plans to pay for his kids braces and wisdom teeth removal...

I am literally the ditch digger and that's not happening.

 

[geetar]

The above said, I’m also the guy who refuses to score any big game animal because to me and my small brain it degrades the hunt itself and I feel like I went hunting for the wrong reasons. I’d feel pretty shallow and it’d be embarrassing if I saw my name in a record book somewhere.

I have nothing in the books as I’ve never killed anything of that caliber but isn’t the real point of putting it in the book for record keeping of animals size and age over time and history?

 

[Northwoods]

I’m happy for the kid. She loves to sheep hunt and her dad can afford it. This story definitely solidifies a lot of my thoughts on sheep hunting.

 

[BuzzH]

What if the article was about Joe Schmidty from Colby, North Dakota who barely can support his wife and kid on his construction laborer salary who by stroke of luck with a single $10 ticket won the grand adventure to spend 30 days in the fall doing 4 sheep hunts. He had the option and decided that it would best if his daughter got the opportunity instead and she is only 10 years old. Joe talks with his wife and decides to take all his savings, along with a month off from work, so he can pay for the non-hunter fee with the outfits and go along.

Part of the lottery involves having the hunter get and use a bunch of sponsored gear and a photographer comes along. The sheep foundation as well as OL want to run an article about the hunt.

I'm guessing the article would turn about pretty close to the same type of writing from this author.

Different feelings for anyone?

If you're only spending 30 total days in a fall doing 4 sheep hunts, you're not doing any of them justice, IMO.

I'm sure there's a record on who spent the fewest amount of days getting a grand slam of sheep.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

What if the article was about Joe Schmidty from Colby, North Dakota who barely can support his wife and kid on his construction laborer salary who by stroke of luck with a single $10 ticket won the grand adventure to spend 30 days in the fall doing 4 sheep hunts. He had the option and decided that it would best if his daughter got the opportunity instead and she is only 10 years old. Joe talks with his wife and decides to take all his savings, along with a month off from work, so he can pay for the non-hunter fee with the outfits and go along.

Part of the lottery involves having the hunter get and use a bunch of sponsored gear and a photographer comes along. The sheep foundation as well as OL want to run an article about the hunt.

I'm guessing the article would turn about pretty close to the same type of writing from this author.

Different feelings for anyone?

I was ruminating yesterday during my climb out of our unit at how horn porn/lust has really ruined hunting for so many folks.

My sheep hunt cost me like $100... above the cost of the other two hunts. IMHO that really let me enjoy and live in the moment. Not sure I would have had the same ability to marvel at a mountain, or a sub legal ram if I had $100k or even $10k into the experience.

Seems so many have cheated themselves by focusing on a emblem of a hunt, rather than the hunt. It's like if mountaineers had a tradition of taking a vial of dirt off the top of a mountain they climbed as a memento and then a market cropped up of selling dirt from K2, or taking a helicopter to the top to grab some dirt to put on your mantle.

To me, horns/antlers are this cool tangible piece of the experience that you get to take with you, but they are just that a memento. Really big heads are interesting when people really work hard to obtain them, but at least to me they aren't interesting in-and-of-themselves.

At 10 I would never been able to appreciate the experience of those trips. It's hard to feel gratification if you haven't been humbled.

I think our culture is creating a lot of jaded, unsatisfied people.

Impossible to put myself into the boots of those in the article or those in your hypothetical, but I can't help but think they are cheating themselves. Would be interesting to take a walk with those kids when their 40, see where they are, talk about their relationship with the mountains, and have them reflect on their life experiences.

A good friend when to the Olympics at 16 for mogul skiing, at 37 she doesn't ski anymore other than occasionally with friends there; is no joy in it left for her.

 

[Hammsolo]

I was ruminating yesterday during my climb out of our unit at how horn porn/lust has really ruined hunting for so many folks.

My sheep hunt cost me like $100... above the cost of the other two hunts. IMHO that really let me enjoy and live in the moment. Not sure I would have had the same ability to marvel at a mountain, or a sub legal ram if I had $100k or even $10k into the experience.

Seems so many have cheated themselves by focusing on a emblem of a hunt, rather than the hunt. It's like if mountaineers had a tradition of taking a vial of dirt off the top of a mountain they climbed as a memento and then a market cropped up of selling dirt from K2, or taking a helicopter to the top to grab some dirt to put on your mantle.

To me, horns/antlers are this cool tangible piece of the experience that you get to take with you, but they are just that a memento. Really big heads are interesting when people really work hard to obtain them, but at least to me they aren't interesting in-and-of-themselves.

At 10 I would never been able to appreciate the experience of those trips. It's hard to feel gratification if you haven't been humbled.

I think our culture is creating a lot of jaded, unsatisfied people.

Impossible to put myself into the boots of those in the article or those in your hypothetical, but I can't help but think they are cheating themselves. Would be interesting to take a walk with those kids when their 40, see where they are, talk about their relationship with the mountains, and have them reflect on their life experiences.

A good friend when to the Olympics at 16 for mogul skiing, at 37 she doesn't ski anymore other than occasionally with friends there; is no joy in it left for her.

I think the timing of your hunt @wllm is perfect for us. Wise words my forum friend.

My greatest achievements in life have been hard. I had to earn them through time, my own money, pain, rain, snow… whatever. I overcame. I proved my metal to myself. What achievements do you guys cherish?

One of my favorite sayings is, “Scars are stories.” What are her “scars?” How did she earn it? What tails will she tell?

It’s like buying one of these crazy roided up Iowa farm whitetails. “So I paid the man. We went to the permanent blind. We sat in the comfiest chairs… the feeder spun… The bucks came walking in… The guide pointed at the buck he wanted me to shoot… I shot him…” This is an actual story I was told. It also involved him being offered a deeply discounted rate to shoot a wounded buck because the other bucks would kill it. I’ll ask for pictures.

 

[Hammsolo]

This is the buck i spoke of above. A behemoth, but as he pointed out this buck and all of the others on the video have “trimmed” their points on feeders. My in-law is the taxidermist.

 

[rjthehunter]

Not sure how I missed this one, but I stumbled on the article today.

Couple of things...
1. Huge congrats to her. That's a goal for many people. Pretty cool she was able to get it done at her age.
2. Sheep hunting is expensive. Who cares if her dad bought her tags? If I had the money, I would certainly do it myself, then share the experience with my daughter if she desired to do so.
3. 75% of you probably couldn't deal with the physical nature of a sheep hunt.
4. None were DIY sheep hunts. Discount her success all you want, but she's 13. Not sure what more you expect from her.
5. Some of y'all really hate people with money. It is a horrible look on you. Someone builds up a successful business and hunts and you act like they're bad people because they can afford a hunt you can't. Hunters are supposed to stick together.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Not sure how I missed this one, but I stumbled on the article today.

Couple of things...
1. Huge congrats to her. That's a goal for many people. Pretty cool she was able to get it done at her age.
2. Sheep hunting is expensive. Who cares if her dad bought her tags? If I had the money, I would certainly do it myself, then share the experience with my daughter if she desired to do so.
3. 75% of you probably couldn't deal with the physical nature of a sheep hunt.
4. None were DIY sheep hunts. Discount her success all you want, but she's 13. Not sure what more you expect from her.
5. Some of y'all really hate people with money. It is a horrible look on you. Someone builds up a successful business and hunts and you act like they're bad people because they can afford a hunt you can't. Hunters are supposed to stick together.

Bruh

 

[BuzzH]

Not sure how I missed this one, but I stumbled on the article today.

Couple of things...
1. Huge congrats to her. That's a goal for many people. Pretty cool she was able to get it done at her age.
2. Sheep hunting is expensive. Who cares if her dad bought her tags? If I had the money, I would certainly do it myself, then share the experience with my daughter if she desired to do so.
3. 75% of you probably couldn't deal with the physical nature of a sheep hunt.
4. None were DIY sheep hunts. Discount her success all you want, but she's 13. Not sure what more you expect from her.
5. Some of y'all really hate people with money. It is a horrible look on you. Someone builds up a successful business and hunts and you act like they're bad people because they can afford a hunt you can't. Hunters are supposed to stick together.

What a dumb post.

Well, then you should be fine supporting the Bowmar's, you know we need to stick together.

If this was all hunting was, buying hunts and going guided, I'd become an anti-hunter, sell all my shit and take up golf.

 

[rjthehunter]

What a dumb post.

Well, then you should be fine supporting the Bowmar's, you know we need to stick together.

If this was all hunting was, buying hunts and going guided, I'd become an anti-hunter, sell all my shit and take up golf.

Really? So because I say hunters as a whole need to stop bashing each other. You're able to twist it in your mind into me supporting poachers? Get a grip.

Since we're going to make generalizations, it's fair to say you hate everyone who goes on a guided hunt right?

If sheep hunting is your passion, that's your only way to hunt them often.

I don't even know what to your last paragraph. Don't know where anyone mentioned this being the only kind of hunting?

 

[BuzzH]

Really? So because I say hunters as a whole need to stop bashing each other. You're able to twist it in your mind into me supporting poachers? Get a grip.

Since we're going to make generalizations, it's fair to say you hate everyone who goes on a guided hunt right?

If sheep hunting is your passion, that's your only way to hunt them often.

I don't even know what to your last paragraph. Don't know where anyone mentioned this being the only kind of hunting?

Its an idiotic statement that we need to "stick together"...I completely disagree.

I see things every year, and more often now than anytime I've hunted, that clearly makes me NOT want to "stick together" with lots of the "hunters" out there. I'm not just saying those that bend and break the rules either.

We are too tolerant of others, if anything, too quick to support horrific behaviors within the hunting community.

I also think things like the story in question is not helpful to the idea of conservation. Its pathetic, IMO, that we've allowed a separation in opportunity to this level. That money can allow you to cut the line, jump ahead of others, rather than having to pay your dues. Rather than having to do the REAL work it takes to do things like hunt sheep. People who just apply like everyone else, year after year. People who put out the money, sweat, and time even though they may NEVER get the opportunity.

Not too tough for me to know that the folks doing this kind of work no question DESERVE to hunt sheep over those with just a fat wallet. No question they have a deeper conservation ethic, deeper understanding of the animals, the habitat requirements etc.

I'm tired of stories about 13 year old kids with rich parents cutting the line. I'm tired of money corrupting hunting like everything else in life.

Champion the wealthy taking advantage of the hard work of others all you want. I'll champion those that actually DO the work and be thankful for all those that came before me who didn't expect anything in exchange for their dedication via their time, their efforts, their money, etc.

If the kids parents are such champions of wildlife, why is there no article about their work days building a guzzler, their advocacy, their money they donated without a tag attached?

I'll tell you why...there is no story of that.

I won't "stick together" with this kind of crap, ever.

 

[rjthehunter]

Its an idiotic statement that we need to "stick together"...I completely disagree.

I see things every year, and more often now than anytime I've hunted, that clearly makes me NOT want to "stick together" with lots of the "hunters" out there. I'm not just saying those that bend and break the rules either.

We are too tolerant of others, if anything, too quick to support horrific behaviors within the hunting community.

I also think things like the story in question is not helpful to the idea of conservation. Its pathetic, IMO, that we've allowed a separation in opportunity to this level. That money can allow you to cut the line, jump ahead of others, rather than having to pay your dues. Rather than having to do the REAL work it takes to do things like hunt sheep. People who just apply like everyone else, year after year. People who put out the money, sweat, and time even though they may NEVER get the opportunity.

Not too tough for me to know that the folks doing this kind of work no question DESERVE to hunt sheep over those with just a fat wallet. No question they have a deeper conservation ethic, deeper understanding of the animals, the habitat requirements etc.

I'm tired of stories about 13 year old kids with rich parents cutting the line. I'm tired of money corrupting hunting like everything else in life.

Champion the wealthy taking advantage of the hard work of others all you want. I'll champion those that actually DO the work and be thankful for all those that came before me who didn't expect anything in exchange for their dedication via their time, their efforts, their money, etc.

If the kids parents are such champions of wildlife, why is there no article about their work days building a guzzler, their advocacy, their money they donated without a tag attached?

I'll tell you why...there is no story of that.

I won't "stick together" with this kind of crap, ever.

Unfortunately life isn't fair. Not everyone is equal, and for that reason not everyone can go on any hunt they want. I want to go to Tajikistan and hunt Marco polo. But unfortunately I can't afford it. I'd love to do the big 5 in Africa, but I can't afford it. That doesn't mean I'm going to hate people who can.

Sure I'm envious of their opportunities, but I don't get jealous to the point where I get mad at someone for being successful. I know plenty of successful people, most of them started as average people and ended up being millionaires or even billionaires. Enough money can get you anything. Hunting opportunities are no exception. Think of the millions of dollars put towards conservation from the high dollar tags that are sold.