Arizona desert sheep tag!!!

[Lv2hnt]

2 days later, another n-i-c-e ram was killed in hunt unit just east of mine ...



That same afternoon, a good friend of mine hunting a couple hundred miles away tagged out on a beautiful ram that scored right at 172 in.!





Seeing pics of those 2 rams, I was stoked that night back at camp ...

 

[Lv2hnt]

After spending Friday going into Yuma to get my truck's brakes worked on and some laundry done, Sat. morning a couple guys from the Sheep society and I boogied to the other side of the mountain range . Set up our optics and found sheep --- a couple ewes up feeding and 2 red-horned rams ...

Larger ram bedded ...



We watched the 2 rams, seizing up the larger one (a r-e-a-l-l-y pretty red-horned ram). The smaller ram had been up feeding when suddenly he was on the move, the larger ram following close behind ..



We followed them in our glass as they bailed off the far mountain until we lost them behind the lower ridge in front of us. Turned out they then went away from us --- bummer!!!

 

[Nawlins]

this is a good one.

 

[Lv2hnt]

Fast forward a couple more days --- a long-time friend traveled down to help me glass for a few days (he's 3/4-way to his sheep grand slam). The first morning we set up to glass just west of & below where the 4 Amigos had been seen the week before.

Immediately a ram was spotted just before it walked through the lower saddle on the left and out of sight. Again, nothing but rocks ...



We decided to make our way up to the saddle hoping to catch the ram bedded on the other side out of the wind, maybe even joined up with his ram buddies. No rams on the other side when we got there, so we figured why not side-hill across top of that cut to check into the next one.

View attachment 39794

As we made our way across the top of the cut, we found tracks where our ram had joined up with at least 2 more rams. We hoped our scent wouldn't betray us as we moved laterally.

View down to desert floor as we continued on ...

 

[Lv2hnt]

It was starting to get more vertical. We realized we'd finally got to a spot where a decision needed to be made --- our safety was coming into play. Wayne hoofed it up to check things out above us --- hey, he's 15 years younger ;-)

 

[Lv2hnt]

Looking straight across while waiting. Got a text that we wouldn't be going any farther ...

Okay, so enough of this insanity!



Happy I hadn't broken my neck!

 

[Lv2hnt]

The next morning found us on the desert floor fighting the wind! It didn't take us long to decide to move to where we could glass a more sheltered part of the mountain. Wouldn't you know it, we ended up where we couldn't receive texts (not entirely unusual in some parts of the unit), and I hadn't let the other guys know where we were (doh!). Murphy moved into the picture. After having watched a really nice ram for well over an hour, the Sheep Society guys finally got a text through to us --- "Get your butts here!"

Ram had moved up cut to the left of this one. It was now mid-day ---- we scrambled to get our stuff together (threw some sandwiches together and shouldered our pack frames). Our target: the shaded saddle just left of center in the pic ...

 

[Lv2hnt]

We finally reached our objective (I was hurting the first bit after our mountaineering hike the day before). Another sneaky ram, a shooter for sure --- somehow he had slipped out the back door without anyone seeing him vacate the area. When will it come together?

1st pic: view to cut the ram "should" have been in ...

2nd pic: view to south from where we ended up, showing some of the gnarly terrain ...

 

[kiwi hunter]

holding my breath

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Love the way those mountains rise up out of the desert floor..sounds like you should just fly camp in one of those little saddles and wait for a ram to trip over the tent ropes..

 

[Lv2hnt]

Sunday morning, Dec. 15 (1/2-way through the season) ---

Another beautiful sunrise started our day ...



This a prior afternoon pic of our optics line-up that morning ...

 

[Lv2hnt]

This is what we were glassing that morning, but from a slightly higher vantage point ...



After glassing until the sun's angle made it difficult see through the glass, 3 guys from the Sheep Society picked up their optics and moved about 1/2 mile down the ridge to our right. It wasn't very long afterwards that I got a text: "Ram band spotted!"

My buddy Rex and I were there in a flash. Things were lined up as I sat down behind a spotting scope to see 5 rams, 1 feeding and 4 bedded, on the green ridge 1/2-way up the mountain in the foreground in the pic above.

There was no hesitation as we buzzed around my truck gathering up stuff for a stalk: packs? check; binos? check; rifle (with shells)? check.

My buddy Rex and I bailed off the ridge we were on, down across the desert floor towards the base of the mountain 1 and 1/4 miles away. Half-way there, 4 UTVs came buzzing up the wash. Normally I'd be pissed, but this morning it wasn't really a bad thing as the rams' attention was redirected towards the snowbirds machines.

We proceeded undetected and made it to the base of the mountain out of sight of the rams. We tip-toed up through the rocks of the small basin 1 ridge to the right of the deep shadow below the green ridge.

The view back towards where we left my truck parked on the ridge forming the long dark shadow below...

 

[Lv2hnt]

I set my rifle down and dropped my pack, not sure what would come next. I edged my way around a rock outcropping and, boom, there they were on a finger only 300 yards away, slightly above us. 1 ram was up feeding, 4 were still bedded --- all unaware of our presence hidden below them.

I slipped back to where Rex was sitting. We cussed and discussed the situation --- 3 of the rams were definitely not shooters; 1 ram with red horns was close but needed at least another year to grow; the 5th ram was a mature sheep. I radioed the guys below -- there was no question which ram I should be looking at. We sat there for a good 1/2 hour, waiting for them to get up. I was calm and continued to think through everything.

Finally, the larger ram was the 1st to stand, broadside. My rifle was in my hands, crosshairs settled on his shoulder, safety off and finger on the trigger. Then something totally unexpected happened --- I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on an undisturbed ram 300 yards away. I sat there for probably a minute, looking at the ram centered in my rifle scope. He then stretched and relieved himself, all while I dealt with a multitude of thoughts racing through my brain. Rex was going crazy! I can't imagine what the guys below were saying.



Finally, all the rams were on their feet and followed the largest ram over the ridge and out of sight into a cut. I radioed the guys down below: "I guess that's over, huh?" A simple reply: "Yep."

Spot rams were bedded, just to left of dark spot centered on ridge ...



The sheep I passed on was a mature ram (160-class), no doubt about it. At that moment, I just couldn't see myself looking at him on my wall for the next 20 years. Bottom line, it came down to horn configuration more than anything else. I was the o-n-l-y one thinking that thought though, believe me.

Season was 1/2 over ...

 

[Lv2hnt]

I was emotionally spent after passing on the ram. We made our way back to camp --- Rex needed to head back home to Phoenix. I took a shower, then headed out for an evening glassing session.

As I was driving, my phone suddenly updated incoming texts --- a day of activity in sheep country!

A local desert sheep fan had glassed up a lone ram about a mile from the ram I passed earlier in the day. We actually hadn't met yet, but he'd been given my phone number earlier by a mutual friend. Unfortunately, a couple hours had passed since he'd originally sent me these pics ...





There wasn't any way I could get back to the area and make a stalk before we lost daylight. Not having cell service you can count out on out on this military gunnery range stinks! Tough luck again ...

Then I also received notice that the other tag holder for my hunt unit had been on a stalk the same time I had put a move on the 5 rams. The difference --- he killed a ram!



Congrats, David --- I know you busted your butt and truly earned your ram! Lots of character, and the first ram I've seen that smiled for the camera ...

Moonrise that evening --- I was going to sleep soundly that night ...

 

[Big Fin]

I'm really liking this story. Looking forward to more.

 

[Buck Fever]

Great write up, can't wait for the ending, so hurry up already!!

 

[rmyoung1]

C'mon, man!!!! You're gonna draw another sheep tag before you finish this story. You're killing us here.

 

[Lv2hnt]

More sheep were spotted the following week in various areas of the mountain range. Some were rams, just nothing large enough to put a stalk on. Until ... Sunday, Dec. 22 ---

Remember these mountains? Yep, the same ones where I passed on the ram the previous weekend ...



Approx. a dozen sheep were spotted scattered above the shortest shadowy cut (centered in the pic), 1/3 of the way below the tallest peak. And there were rams! A group of 3 caught our attention --- could the largest actually be the one I had passed on? The conversation hedged on: "maybe."

At that point even the Border Patrol was pulling for our success ...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uebmrdniNkM

 

[Lv2hnt]

A 95mm objective on a Swarovski spotting scope (not mine) is the bomb! Thanks for the good eyes so many times, Don!







2 miles away, and U-P there!

 

[mdunc8]

I give up...