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Thread: sheep down!

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    240

    sheep down!

    After 2 years of waiting for our next stone sheep hunt august finally arrived .
    2000kms ahead of us and a float plane ride into the northern reaches of bc .Of course always a lot of fun times had on the drive ,talking about past hunts and stories about guys who couldn't make it (prawn)......... time flies by and we arrive at muncho lake.
    Urs is ready to go 8am so gears in the plane we are off , ahhh another happy landing ,always a few bumpy moments on those float planes .

    As we flew in a few days before the season started we thought it would be a good idea to take a boat to explore the lake and see if we could find some rams on the mountains,being the maiden voyage of the boat ,we both decided to leave the rifles at camp. BIG MISTAKE#1, so we are sitting on the opposite shore line and hear this noise of something ripping things .Fuuu........k bear.
    Into the boat hustle across the lake , paddle in hand running full steam yelling ,bear runs ,but he did manage to chew two gun case up really good and the pistol grip of my rifle . photo)

    Luckily had brought some ammo to rezero riffle and we are good to go .....

    DAY2
    Packs on ready to go 5am , start hike up creek to elevation 7.5 hrs later camp is set and a BP in the tummy. glasses out 1 goat ,2 caribou

    DAY3
    not feeling totally optimistic about the area although it looked great, not much track shit or trails around .put in another 8 hrs searching for sheep on the hills we considered to be in the gravy range for extraction. evening proved to be the best time to see game movement and finally spotted our first sheep , 7 sheep,1 banana ram . with ewes and lamb.

    DAY4 opening day
    Feeling a bit spent from running the tops of mountains we decide to move camp up another 1000 feet in elevation. which proved to be a smart move.We spent most of that day perched like a big billy on the top glassing for hrs in search of some sheep on a close range . finally contact and out comes the doubler for closer inspection .verified rams 6 now my hearts racing thinking this could be the year it all comes together .

    I glance over at my partner and say lets go its only 3 miles in a straight line no problem .he looks back with no answer and finally says don't sheep hunters say to stay and keep looking for sheep one day they'll just appear out of nowhere .I'm like we aren't sheep hunter we are island boys we are always on the move .

    DAY5
    after many hrs of thinking about what might be if we go,, is killing me but , being patience and working my partner over ever so slightly will eventually work , i talk all morning about what we take what we leave behind. lighten those packs to the bare min and go into kill mode . another close ridge walked and the same 7 sheep spotted , walk down sit and glass over at Ram mountain. 5 rams grazing in the afternoon sun .So i really pour it on ,take a look they are just waiting for us see. a hmmm and a haaa and he's in .

    DAY6
    pack up camp and move gear to the head of another valley , lighten the packs to the min and head out , 12 hrs and we are on the mountain , sill tarp up a mountain house into bed early no rushing and making silly mistakes .we careful make a plan for the morning and have one of the shitty sleeps ever , but thats sheep hunting .

    DAY7

    up at first light nice and cool some water and bars to get things started and a snails pace up the mountain like stalking blacktails in the timber on VI .LOL maybe not quite that slow .
    We reach the ridge about 1hr later , a bit nervous for sure pop or heads over the top and start glassing scanning ever little hiding hole possible, nothing spotted .

    we decide to work the ridge very slow ,wind slightly in our favour but the odd change of direction , glasses up sheep , ewe and lamb , hmm then out of nowhere a few small rams and a few more ewes and lambs .
    I'm thinking to myself i hope i wasn't imagining that these sheep were rams .We watch them about ten minutes and they slowly worked their way into the basin . What next. should we wait or move , i was thinking wait partner says move ,OK move

    we have a small conversation about what will happen next if we see the rams and my partner says you spotted them and i wouldn't be here without you so you pick whichever ram you want if they are over the next ridge .Of course thanks pard.....

    So im pussy footing over the next ridge my head nearly,breaks the ridge and relief their here , 9 rams four legals , we both belly crawl into a position and watch the rams to decide which ones to shoot .

    We talk it over several times , i decided almost instantly and the other three were all very close in size , but one stuck out for me which my partner decided on as well .

    Getting ready for the shot range 247 yards dial scope get stone cold . Ready ,YUP ok BANG the 6.5 Creedmoor splatter him dropped instantly , ????? wheres the second bang.( bang) sh......ttt i hit a rock he cries, the rams start to move and then stop,which one is he ,he asks ,third from bottom quartering away bang , hit, but still stand ,i yell out take him again bang, JOB DONE .

    A lot of high fives and some mountain screams . Our rams died within 60yards of each other. it's quite the feeling of accomplishment after many years of hunting to take a ram , mountain high mixed with a lot of adrenaline. what a rush.........

    pics)

    Work starts caping skinning preparing the meat for game bags .loaded up back to the sill tarp setup and we are headed back to our cash of food and supplies to ,,make the journey home .

    after another long day we reach the first stopping point along the river to rest . not many flat spots so we set up just above riverbank
    leave the meat,and horns down along the river to keep cool ,what a night ,thunder and lighting and a lot of rain thank god we decided on the sill tarp.

    DAY8
    second day pack out ,somewhat rested we are up early to start our hike we had to go around three large water falls so up the mountain to safe terrain very steep we had been hiking for about 20 minutes when my partner yells fu.....kkk I've been stung on the nose , quickly we moved to a location away from that area .on about a 60 degree slope he says I'm feeling dizzy. I'm going oh no.
    quickly get him seated his eyes look glazed , I'm thinking is this it? having a satellite phone , but not sure if i could get a signal to call . then he's like i need to lay down , i remove his pack and made up a solution of tylenol and water to put on the sting .he quickly began to shake as it was cold and we were wet from sweating , i removed his upper gear and got my down jacket on him to warm up .
    his breathing seemed somewhat normal, I was thinking he would recover.

    pic)
    it took about 1 1/2 hrs before he was able to hike again .it was another long day of hiking uphill.

    we reached our final leg of our hike where we had a bottle of rum , yummy captain morgan rum slushy with snow.

    DAY9

    http://s1078.photobucket.com/user/da.../sheep%20picks

    full pack day luckily mainly down hill steep slopes and lots of rock walking really took its toll on the feet and legs today, was a push to make it down , Urs arrived on schedule and was quite happy to see we had some nice rams.
    when we arrived at muncho we enjoyed a beer and steak dinner on the deck before making the long journey home.

    DAY10
    a long drive home thru a disaster zone and detours ,my heart goes out to all suffering through this horrible fire .21 hrs later we are on the ferry back on VI

    now just getting ready for sheep #2 as my son has drawn a ram in penticton. hopefully with a little luck he'll shoot his first ram this year and kill #2 for my new 6.5 creedmoor .

    off to a good start special thank you to my partner as this truly was a team accomplishment , thanks buddy.
    Last edited by darkside; 08-13-2017 at 01:51 PM.

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  3. #2
    guest Guest

    Re: sheep down!

    Thanks for the great story ........ Terrific share all round.

    Glad to hear buddy is OK ....... Congrats to you both and ......

    Wow! Congrats to the kid on the Penticton Ram ...... Go get EM Jr.! Good luck to him.

    CT

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    749

    Re: sheep down!

    Nice one, boys! You guys deserved those ones! Too bad about Buddy's hornet sting but thank god things didn't get any worse than they did. A couple weeks until Blacktail season, you've set yourselves off on the right foot for an absolutely amazing season.

    Congrats

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    9,436

    Re: sheep down!

    Great story, maybe a little more adventure than needed! lol...
    beauty rams. maybe one day I will get there...

    I guess the blacktails are a bit safer this September, you guys were up there and not pegging down deer! lol

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    240

    Re: sheep down!

    Quote Originally Posted by 835 View Post
    Great story, maybe a little more adventure than needed! lol...
    beauty rams. maybe one day I will get there...

    I guess the blacktails are a bit safer this September, you guys were up there and not pegging down deer! lol
    always try and fit the odd sheep in the freezer beside the blacktail venny , my focus now is getting ram #2 for jr.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    749

    Re: sheep down!

    Quote Originally Posted by darkside View Post
    always try and fit the odd sheep in the freezer beside the blacktail venny , my focus now is getting ram #2 for jr.
    Your focus should be on repairing that Browning grip! Nothing a blob of fibreglass and some shaping wont fix.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    1,916

    Re: sheep down!

    Congrats on a couple of great looking rams.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Tent city Victoria
    Posts
    3,562

    Re: sheep down!

    Good job guys, awesome rams! Thanks for sharing, glad your buddy was ok

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Victoria
    Posts
    1,261

    Re: sheep down!

    Good thing you waited too long to book your flight into the spot you actually wanted to go lol! Nice work boys, and thanks for the call right after you shot them, I was stoked! Next time maybe some antihistamines for ol Buddy boy?… I hate to think what the outcome may have been had he been stung in the mouth. How many beers for the coordinates? Me and Seth are going next year… Right?….
    JP

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    240

    Re: sheep down!

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Prawn View Post
    Good thing you waited too long to book your flight into the spot you actually wanted to go lol! Nice work boys, and thanks for the call right after you shot them, I was stoked! Next time maybe some antihistamines for ol Buddy boy?… I hate to think what the outcome may have been had he been stung in the mouth. How many beers for the coordinates? Me and Seth are going next year… Right?….
    JP
    anytime you want the map ,its yours. buddy and i are going for dalls if he's up for it.lolhopefully the bees aren't as powerful up there love to get some beers and watch some video of the trip wifes away tomorrow lets make a plan

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