Sheep hunting tips

[bridger]

SHEEP HUNTING TIPS
This thread is meant to fun and informative hopefully it won’t turn into resident/guide outfitter shouting match as a lot of new sheep hunters want information. These are just a few random thoughts I have put together based on my experience and are more common sense than anything else. The list is far from complete and I know a lot of guys will have more tips and that is what this thread is about. Let’s have some fun with it.
Before the Hunt
1) Get in good physical condition—sheep live in steep rough country
2) The calibre of your rifle is not as important as your ability to shoot under some very trying conditions. Practice shooting uphill and downhill at steep angles.
3) Buy the best optics you can afford
4) Buy good boots and break then in before you go—poor boots have ruined many a sheep hunt
5) Good rain gear is a must
6) Prepare yourself mentally. Poor weather and tough hunting conditions require a positive attitude
7) Make a list of equipment you will need and make sure it is in good condition—don’t take things you do not need. If you are back packing this is essential. Horse hunting gives you more options but you still need to plan.
Plan your meals
9) Take a book for those rainy days in camp
10) Before you leave town know how you are going to decide who has first shot when you find rams
11) Determine what your costs are going to be and make sure each member of your hunting party can cover his/her share before you leave.
12) Talk over your hunt plans with your partner in detail so each knows what is expected.
Hunting Tips (in no particular order)
1) Stay off the skyline. It is surprising how far away a ram can spot a sky lined hunter
2) Find a good vantage point and glass the area thoroughly- glass, glass, glass, glass. Many new sheep hunters walk too much and don’t glass enough. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see rams right away. They can be tough to find—so keep looking
3) Camp in a secluded spot and keep noise and movement to a minimum
4) It is important to see rams first if possible. If you are walking along and get busted sit down and don’t move. Often rams will ignore you after awhile if you are quiet and don’t move around. Rams pick up movement from a long distance.
5) Get high rams can be tough to stalk from below.
6) When you find rams be patient and make sure they are in a good position for a stalk. Sometimes you have to wait for hours or a day or so before they are in a position that makes them venerable.
7) Early and late look for rams feeding on south facing grassy slopes. During the day they like to bed in ledges and rougher country that can make spotting them difficult. Rams will also often bed in open shale slides so look for them there as well.
One thing to remember is that rams are where you find them so taking your time and glassing the entire area is important. Do not walk through an area that you haven’t glassed thoroughly.
9) Much has been said of a ram’s eyesight and how far away they spot movement. It is also important to acknowledge a ram’s sense of smell. In my experience more stalks have been blown by wind than anything else. If you make a stalk and the rams are gone don’t panic carefully look around. They may have just moved a short ways to get out of the sun or flies and are still close by.
10) When you are making a stalk proceed with caution and keep an eye out for other sheep that may be moving through the area.
Remember that sheep hunting is supposed to be fun. a lot of hard work but fun and any legal ram taken in fair chase is a great reward for that hard work. bridger

[bigwhiteys]

Great Thread Idea Rich.

10) Before you leave town know how you are going to decide who has first shot when you find rams

We go by the he-who-spots-it has first call... Then there are no issues, no "it's MY ram" or any BS like that. You spot a legal ram, he's yours. Spot a band with 2 or 3 legal rams the guy who spots has first pick.

1) Stay off the skyline. It is surprising how far away a ram can spot a sky lined hunter

Skyline can be many different places on the mountain depending on the angle the sheep may see you from. I think it's important to try and always have an immediate backdrop if you can and use the terrain to your advantage, dips, valleys, rocks, etc...

Find a good vantage point and glass the area thoroughly- glass, glass, glass, glass. Many new sheep hunters walk too much and don’t glass enough. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see rams right away. They can be tough to find—so keep looking

This one can't be emphasized enough. You WILL get bored of glassing and not seeing anything, but thats the game. I've glassed the shit out of a mountain (or so I thought) only to have Willy throw up glasses and spot rams within 5 minutes.

It is important to see rams first if possible. If you are walking along and get busted sit down and don’t move. Often rams will ignore you after awhile if you are quiet and don’t move around. Rams pick up movement from a long distance.

It's not the end of the world either if they see you, so long as they don't run away. If they are watching you, then leave something behind for them to watch. I know space blankets or brightly colored rain jackets have served well for this purpose The rams watch your shiny item while you slink away and make a stalk.

Carl

[whitetailsheds]

For as much as you don't want to skyline yourself, this is exactly some of the first and easiest spotting one can do chasing sheep....scan the skyline. Can be done quickly, repeated often, very easy to spot them if they're up and walking around up there, or even bedded!

[Mugger]

Thanks for posting Bridger, with all your experience I always read your posts a little closer. You to Big Whiteys. Thanks every bit helps.

[willy442]

Great thread idea and should be very valuable to most.

The items posted by Bridger are all good valid points that I agree with fully. A few others are.
1. When glassing for sheep do a quick pan over the most likely places they may be. In the morning and evening on the grassy slopes, and during the warm days try the sky line and where ever you think. Then take your glasses and start on either your right or left and steady your bino's. Look at that circle or field entirely before moving one field over in another direction. Don't always look for "a sheep". More often when they are bedded you will see things that fail to fit in with the natural surroundings. ie; a white strip or patch, something on the black shale that breaks the flow of natural color. Many a spotting scope has been set up on "STONE/ROCK sheep but alot of nothings have also turned out to be rams. Always look for Sheep tracks in the fine black shale going from grass patch to grass patch.( this will indicate if sheep are in the area.) In the early hunts I've often followed tracks across shale with my bino's and found bedded rams where the tracks end.

2. Once sheep are spotted and you are planning a stock. Always pick out land marks and indicators on the mountain of where you want to climb to, where you want to cross over and come in above the group being stocked. Many times when above it is not possible to see enough below you to find rams that you know are there. Get to the right spot (it always looks different from above) and if you can't see them wait.

3. It has been my experiance that when rams come into a basin, if spooked they will try and go out the same way, unless that path is where they have been spooked from. If, with a couple of buddies it is not always a bad idea to set them on the escape path in case you screw up. Rams do get away, even from the pro's.

4. If glassing and you find a ram or young rams laying out on a rock ridge or shelf. Don't be to eager to write them of as little guy's and move on. Many times the little fellas are just sentry's and the matures are laying in the shade fighting flies. I remember a ram with deformed horns on a mountain I hunted lots. That ram lead me to more sheep than one can believe. The Rams on that mountain would never let him join up in the bunch. He always was chased out and would lay 3 to 5 hundred yards away, but always in the vacinity of other sheep. Often I would spot him laying out on a ridge and we would climb up and find a herd of sheep near by that we could not see from the bottom.

5. Most people reading this information will hunt from the tops as they are most likely back packers. When hunting Stone Sheep they are much harder to spot from above than below due to the white being on thier back legs and belly. Time spent glassing is that much more important as well as getting up at first light when they are feeding. Once they bed in the cliffs it becomes a very difficult task.

6. Before you pull the trigger know what you are shooting at. ie; size, age etc. Some pre hunt effort and studying will give you all the required tools.

7. After shooting it's a good idea to sit and let the remainder move off before standing and going down to your kill. Not showing yourself can help the next guy as they won't be as spooky from the 2 legged predator.

Good Luck and if this helps just one hunter take a mature ram instead of a little guy it will be worth it. If anyone has additional qiuestions please send me a pm and I will offer any further assistance that I can.

Bill

[Kody94]

Good thread Bridger. Should be interesting and informative. I hope that this thread will be kept strictly "on topic" by the mods.

I don't have anything to add at first blush, except:

1) Never drop your guard around boiling water, and
2) Take a sattelite phone with you.

Cheers
4Ster

[Wild Images]

Take the time to learn to skin and turn and salt your capes properly so that when the sheep gods smile on you your trophy will be well taken care of.
Sheep capes are a whole lot harder to find than mulies or whitetails.

[ratherbeshooting]

I know this might sound silly but I ALWAYS carry white tyvek-style painters overalls with me. It is amazing how close you can get when you are patient, move slow and look 'somewhat' like another white animal on the hills.

[Jelvis]

I got one .. don't set your tent on a grizzly trail ... lol ...
Jel .. a very important one to remember ..

[proguide66]

I know this might sound silly but I ALWAYS carry white tyvek-style painters overalls with me. It is amazing how close you can get when you are patient, move slow and look 'somewhat' like another white animal on the hills.

good one !......I found that snow camo makes you dissapear in the rocks , used it a few times in aug.

I havent read this whole thread but if your new at it , find an 'area' get comfy and DONT stop glassing...I have sat in one spot glassing the SAME face for 6 hrs...left , looked back and saw 6 rams in the middle of it.

Also , if your in a great area and dont see anything...if you can , give it a few days...let the other guys in surrounding holes stir em up. Every day sheep hunting is a new day in the same spot.....my first hunt of the year I go to the SAME place for at least 5 or 6 days in a row before I go somewhere else...sheep seem to be 'on tour' and show up any given time out of nowhere!!...( I'm no expert in anything but have learned this for myself over the years)