6 K
08-23-2008, 12:52 AM
O.k. Get closer don't get seen. I gathered up my goodies and moved across the finger I was on and up the draw as far as I could go and still drop down into the drainage. From here I could go either way up toward the rams or carry on with the dayplan. The spotting scope reviled what I had guessed. I was looking at my second legal ram and darn if he wasn't in a nasty spot. Well what now. A friend of mine once told me "I never ask myself how I am going to get up there. Only how am I going to get my animal down from there" so I started with that. This was the same shute I assended two days previous to get right on top. It is a serious grunt especially near the top where the scree is small. I didn't have to go there, the rams were down the ridge from that point and the ground was cobble hopefuly more stable. Below that was morane then glacier, then more morane into the draw below where I was now. I knew that I would have to go half a click further down the basin before I could get back up and over this ridge but that seemed unsignifigant I had been up that section a few times. The fact was this was doable, tough yes but isn't that part of why we hunt these? Then that taunting jerk voice in my head pipes up. "You've been asking God for six years for an opertunity not a gimme but an opertunity at a legal ram and here it is. So are you going to cry off or get at it. Make up your mind! Those curls aren't going to stay there all day" Sometimes I really hate that jerk, I am positive he is at least partly insane.
6:55am The rams are feeding/milling about not moving too fast near a large land mark. I can get within 350yds before breaking cover. There are only two animals in the area and the one I want is easly I.D.able. O.K. I am off, down into the draw fair bit of rock rolling but I got to be a km. away as the crow flies. Cross the morane and out of sight. Up to the glacier driving my polls in hard with each step, angle across to the edge of the cobble bluff. All this took roughly an hour. I had two choises to get up to the point where I would reapear in their field of view. I chose the one that would take me the closest to the last know point. Who knew if they would even still be there. In a few yards I found my polls to be hindering and noisey. I remembered that B.C.billies told me last year " They hear rocks falling all the time but the sound of your carbide tips will betray you" so I stoped and put the polls in the pack. I wanted my rifle in my hands but I needed them to help paw my way up. Everything was loose, rocks fell with every step, most of them all the way back down to the glacier, so I allowed myself no more than four before stopping and reglassing. It had to be through each foot of elevation exposed me to countless posible bedding spotsand it had been nearly 70min since I had last seen them. My land mark was a pyramid shape piece of rock coming out from the main face of the mountian. I could see a most of the way to the bace of that now, still no rams. I decieded to get a range to it and several other points of my surroundings, good thing I did I was estimating 100yds farther than things actually were. Only 270yds to the top of the pryamid, well if he is still around chances are climbing in my favor. A large rock above me looked good and stable as well as high enough to see the entire land mark. After my four steps however, I still needed half that to get there. I glassed around (all clear) and moved to firm footing. I glanced up and at the bace of the prymid standing staring back was the light ram. I caught a glimps of the dark one as he crested the peak and gone. I droped the pack, opened my bypod, went prone and servied the situation. It turned out to be much better than I originally thought. I cold see either side of the pryamid and the face it backed on to he had to come out if I stayed here I would get a shot. I would stay all day if need be. The dark ram didn't go right or left nor did he climb the back face. He did the last thing I expected he came back out to the front and stood broadside. "HOLY POOPSTICK BATMAN HERE WE GO" 260yds broadside steep up hill, no wind, hold dead on and I jerked the trigger hard. Usuallaly I don't use the safety, I don't trust them. When I get this close I carry a round in and bolt part up. But as steep as it was, I needed both hands to crawl up. Thus I flicked the safety on forgot about it in the heat of the moment and was damb glad of it. I flicked it off reaquired the target AND DID IT AGAIN!!!:eek: I actually seen the cross hairs move off the sheep before the recoil. I cant say what I said just then, not because I don't want to put here I just dont remember. I do remember cycling the action fast and reaquireing the now quickly moving target. He was headed up and over again, to whatever little hidey hole he had back there. I found the spot where neck meets shoulders and this time tightened my whole hand I caught a glimps of his left shoulder forward as he disapeared from view. Disapeared yes, but out of control. the real give away was when the light ram stoped and looked alternately at him and me. He moved a little and the looked back at his companion and then fled the scean. 8:26am one and a half hours not bad concidering where I had to go. I watched the undersize leave alone and started my way up to my ram when I heard a sound I didn't want to hear, looking up I saw the dark ram rolling down the pryamid." Stop please stop" he rolled on, again and again I begged and at last he hug up. I poured on the hurry-up then and got to him as quick as I could. He smacked and chipped up his horns a bit, lost a little hair but all in all just added a little charicter. I had my first set of curls and was elated, and gave thanks.
It was after 11:00 by the time I finished taking pics. It is a real chore by your self and when you throw a loose steep slope into it just compounds all the more. At one point he sliped off the little ledge he was on and I had to gut him to get him back on it. not that I couldn't lift him but the slope would not support our combined weight. Then it took some tricky photo setup to hide the hole. By 12:30 I had all I could carry and strolled into camp around 4:30. Back at camp Zoominjr. didn't notice my pack or horns till he was about ten feet away Then it was Hi fives, hand shakes and "no ways!" I won't bore you with the details of the return trip to camp only that it was a hard go. One for the memory books or is that wall. Regardless it pailed in comparison to the pain of the next day when we packed two sheep and camp out to the truck. No kidding My pack was over 100. I hurt good for a long time.
I want to thank B.C.billies for the help and efforts of last year. Also Zoominjr. for sticiking it out and giving me all the time I required to get my opertunity after his was down and done. I know all that nose cleaning and nail trimming must have gotten old fast.
A couple of quick questions for all you
Obviously, I need a taxidermist, any recomondations?
Does the plug put in the horn only go into legal rams or is it a id tag for all sets? If a set were under wouldn't the c.i./c.o.s/M.o.E want to keep tabs on them too?
Third, As I hope you can see the date in the pics is wrong anyone know how to remove it?
6:55am The rams are feeding/milling about not moving too fast near a large land mark. I can get within 350yds before breaking cover. There are only two animals in the area and the one I want is easly I.D.able. O.K. I am off, down into the draw fair bit of rock rolling but I got to be a km. away as the crow flies. Cross the morane and out of sight. Up to the glacier driving my polls in hard with each step, angle across to the edge of the cobble bluff. All this took roughly an hour. I had two choises to get up to the point where I would reapear in their field of view. I chose the one that would take me the closest to the last know point. Who knew if they would even still be there. In a few yards I found my polls to be hindering and noisey. I remembered that B.C.billies told me last year " They hear rocks falling all the time but the sound of your carbide tips will betray you" so I stoped and put the polls in the pack. I wanted my rifle in my hands but I needed them to help paw my way up. Everything was loose, rocks fell with every step, most of them all the way back down to the glacier, so I allowed myself no more than four before stopping and reglassing. It had to be through each foot of elevation exposed me to countless posible bedding spotsand it had been nearly 70min since I had last seen them. My land mark was a pyramid shape piece of rock coming out from the main face of the mountian. I could see a most of the way to the bace of that now, still no rams. I decieded to get a range to it and several other points of my surroundings, good thing I did I was estimating 100yds farther than things actually were. Only 270yds to the top of the pryamid, well if he is still around chances are climbing in my favor. A large rock above me looked good and stable as well as high enough to see the entire land mark. After my four steps however, I still needed half that to get there. I glassed around (all clear) and moved to firm footing. I glanced up and at the bace of the prymid standing staring back was the light ram. I caught a glimps of the dark one as he crested the peak and gone. I droped the pack, opened my bypod, went prone and servied the situation. It turned out to be much better than I originally thought. I cold see either side of the pryamid and the face it backed on to he had to come out if I stayed here I would get a shot. I would stay all day if need be. The dark ram didn't go right or left nor did he climb the back face. He did the last thing I expected he came back out to the front and stood broadside. "HOLY POOPSTICK BATMAN HERE WE GO" 260yds broadside steep up hill, no wind, hold dead on and I jerked the trigger hard. Usuallaly I don't use the safety, I don't trust them. When I get this close I carry a round in and bolt part up. But as steep as it was, I needed both hands to crawl up. Thus I flicked the safety on forgot about it in the heat of the moment and was damb glad of it. I flicked it off reaquired the target AND DID IT AGAIN!!!:eek: I actually seen the cross hairs move off the sheep before the recoil. I cant say what I said just then, not because I don't want to put here I just dont remember. I do remember cycling the action fast and reaquireing the now quickly moving target. He was headed up and over again, to whatever little hidey hole he had back there. I found the spot where neck meets shoulders and this time tightened my whole hand I caught a glimps of his left shoulder forward as he disapeared from view. Disapeared yes, but out of control. the real give away was when the light ram stoped and looked alternately at him and me. He moved a little and the looked back at his companion and then fled the scean. 8:26am one and a half hours not bad concidering where I had to go. I watched the undersize leave alone and started my way up to my ram when I heard a sound I didn't want to hear, looking up I saw the dark ram rolling down the pryamid." Stop please stop" he rolled on, again and again I begged and at last he hug up. I poured on the hurry-up then and got to him as quick as I could. He smacked and chipped up his horns a bit, lost a little hair but all in all just added a little charicter. I had my first set of curls and was elated, and gave thanks.
It was after 11:00 by the time I finished taking pics. It is a real chore by your self and when you throw a loose steep slope into it just compounds all the more. At one point he sliped off the little ledge he was on and I had to gut him to get him back on it. not that I couldn't lift him but the slope would not support our combined weight. Then it took some tricky photo setup to hide the hole. By 12:30 I had all I could carry and strolled into camp around 4:30. Back at camp Zoominjr. didn't notice my pack or horns till he was about ten feet away Then it was Hi fives, hand shakes and "no ways!" I won't bore you with the details of the return trip to camp only that it was a hard go. One for the memory books or is that wall. Regardless it pailed in comparison to the pain of the next day when we packed two sheep and camp out to the truck. No kidding My pack was over 100. I hurt good for a long time.
I want to thank B.C.billies for the help and efforts of last year. Also Zoominjr. for sticiking it out and giving me all the time I required to get my opertunity after his was down and done. I know all that nose cleaning and nail trimming must have gotten old fast.
A couple of quick questions for all you
Obviously, I need a taxidermist, any recomondations?
Does the plug put in the horn only go into legal rams or is it a id tag for all sets? If a set were under wouldn't the c.i./c.o.s/M.o.E want to keep tabs on them too?
Third, As I hope you can see the date in the pics is wrong anyone know how to remove it?