Need help recovering ram

[Brew]

Don't listen to to walks with deer, your doing the right thing. I hope your able to recover the horns. Keep doing what your doing.

[Ron.C]

To the original OP.

I applaud your tenacity and ethics. I had a similar situation a few years back with a goat. After combing some pretty nasty country for three days, I finally found it. I was hunting in Oct, but I still knew immediately that the goat had spoiled. I felt horrible. I cut my tag, boned it out and self reported to the local CO. I self reported because I felt guilty that I had did something wrong by not retrieving the meat before it spoiled, and retrieving the horns.
I recommend if you can, drop a line to your local CO and tell him what you are doing and your intentions to remove the horns if you find your ram.

Good luck. Hope you find him.

[264mag]

2 years ago my son took a 250 yard shot on a massive muley buck. The deer kicked his back legs up, his chest hit the ground and he took off over the hill. The shot was taken at 820 am. We picked up 3 drops of blood about 100 yards from where he stood. Over the course of the next 8 hours we tracked the trail step by step and counted maybe 20 drops of blood and crawled hands and knees until there was no more blood and the tracks merged into a heavy game trail. I came back the next day and searched for another 6 hours.
2 weeks later my daughter and I spotted the deer alive and well. On the last day of the season I jumped him in his bed and killed him. He had a small scar on the top of his neck right above the shoulder. I determined that the bullet hit soft tissue on an upward angle.

I cannot tell you how bad my son felt about this, he was sick to his stomach about leaving this deer behind. After seeing how upset he was, I was bound and determined to find this deer. The Euro mount now hangs on the wall and reminds us all about the responsibility we all have when we pull the trigger.

Dont stop looking for that sheep, maggots or not.

[Ltbullken]

Don't listen to to walks with deer, your doing the right thing. I hope your able to recover the horns. Keep doing what your doing.

Totally agree.

[ajeatoo]

Good post srupp

[bighornbob]

Hey Chris
I know what you are going through and its a sick feeling. I had a similar experience except I knew the ram was dead as I held it in my hands.

This is copied from the Before and After Pictures thread.



Do to some very unlucky events and a small mental breakdown on my part. The ram fell down the mountain a couple of hundred meters. I was able to get to him there (no pics) but once again gravity took its toll and he went another 200-300m down the mountain. I had to come up from the bottom instead of from the top and was unable to find the ram. Scratched and bloodied from a few slips and tumbles and heat stroke setting in (it was 34 degrees celcius that day) I limped home.

Two days later I went back to look for the ram. I found him in a slide and made my way up to him. After chasing a bear off the kill this is what I found.



Not only had the ram been fed on but in the mid 30 temps the meat was actually a medium rare. As you can see the horns actually rotted off the cores. The local bios were shocked that this could happen in two days as was the taxidermist.

This was down at the river once I skinned out the rotting hide and scraped off 1000 maggots (as you can see the brains are melting out of the skull).




I was determined to find this ram as it was unfinished business that needed to be done. Even though I have a way bigger ram on the wall and got no meat from this hunt, I consider this hunt and animal one of my best hunts and memories. And every day when I pick up the "maggot horns" (and I mean every day as our dog is deathly afraid of them and I lay them on the couch to keep the dog off the couch) I am remembered about those few days that went from exhilaration, to literal blood and tears, to exhilaration again despite the maggots.

Keep doing what you are doing, trust me you wont regret it one second regardless if you find him or not and don't let the few losers posting on this thread to deter your effort.

BHB

[ajeatoo]

Wow that's crazy two days in those temps did that!! Great story, love the bit about maggot horns and the pooch. We had a Great Dane - big softy and big baby. I can relate haha!

[Wild one]

To the OP complete respect for doing all in your power to recover the ram

Your mention of no sign this makes me question if your shot was lethal. You maybe looking for a ram that is alive and will survive. It seems like a good chance it's still alive. That said I was not there and I was not part of the search.

With the lack of sign I would not assume the ram is dead but I completely support putting in further effort to confirm it

Too far away to offer help but I hope you find the ram or confirm he is alive

[Bugle M In]

I'd be out there too!
If you the opportunity to go back, do it...
These things happen, and even if you find it, and not much id left, atleast you know where the ram ended up.
It will be an experience that the OP will have, and something that can be shared for all to learn a little more when
this type of thing happens.
I know I have lost 2 elk and 1 deer over the years.
All 3 were hit, 1 elk I never found blood, and never saw ravens all week, so nothing more I could go on.
The deer, I found blood, but as the trailing went on, it dwindled to nothing....again, all week, I never found it, or
ravens to get any clues.
The last Elk, I hit, and screwed it up by not waiting to go in....and chased him away.
Again, the blood trail dissipated to nothing, and in the type of terrain and grasses, no trail to follow.
I spent all week there....but nothing....then on the last night, riding out, I saw ravens that seemed to be flying away
for the evening from across the river....and up the slope of the mountain?? (so the bull went up)
I had to get back home, but did report it....
Hard to say how long it took for that bull to die etc, but I was pretty confident, that it was the bull I had tried to take.
If you hunt long enough, this is going to happen...to most of us anyways.
The more people can share, maybe the less it will happen...or give people some insight at possibilities of where to look.
As for looking, I did the best I could, during those times......but sometimes it is just hard to find them.
And yes, it's at those times I wish I did have a dog.
Good on the OP to go back!

[Walking Buffalo]

Hey Chris
I know what you are going through and its a sick feeling. I had a similar experience except I knew the ram was dead as I held it in my hands.

This is copied from the Before and After Pictures thread.

Do to some very unlucky events and a small mental breakdown on my part. The ram fell down the mountain a couple of hundred meters. I was able to get to him there (no pics) but once again gravity took its toll and he went another 200-300m down the mountain. I had to come up from the bottom instead of from the top and was unable to find the ram. Scratched and bloodied from a few slips and tumbles and heat stroke setting in (it was 34 degrees celcius that day) I limped home.

Two days later I went back to look for the ram. I found him in a slide and made my way up to him. After chasing a bear off the kill this is what I found.

Not only had the ram been fed on but in the mid 30 temps the meat was actually a medium rare. As you can see the horns actually rotted off the cores. The local bios were shocked that this could happen in two days as was the taxidermist.

This was down at the river once I skinned out the rotting hide and scraped off 1000 maggots (as you can see the brains are melting out of the skull).



I was determined to find this ram as it was unfinished business that needed to be done. Even though I have a way bigger ram on the wall and got no meat from this hunt, I consider this hunt and animal one of my best hunts and memories. And every day when I pick up the "maggot horns" (and I mean every day as our dog is deathly afraid of them and I lay them on the couch to keep the dog off the couch) I am remembered about those few days that went from exhilaration, to literal blood and tears, to exhilaration again despite the maggots.

Keep doing what you are doing, trust me you wont regret it one second regardless if you find him or not and don't let the few losers posting on this thread to deter your effort.

BHB

I truly hope that others comprehend what you wrote and learn from it.