Share your sheep tales/photos of the past.

[Crossfire]

Still a long way to go till sheep season. Lets hear your best (or worst) story and or photos of Northern BC sheep hunting. Nobody's looking for any secrets, spots or tips etc., just neat stuff to look at, dream about and enjoy.

[hunter#1_300]

heres mine :)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=46514&highlight=stone+success

[BromBones]

My sheep hunting tales are always pretty much the same - 0 for 5 so far! Always get into rams, but they're either not legal, full curl 7 year olds, or just plain ol' small. One of these times that big old broomed off ram will be in my scope.

Always a good time/good memories though! Look forward to the next one.

[bruin]

My sheep tales of NBC are pretty short. I guided one hunt there while going to post sec. I had an older fellow and we hunted hard for 14 days. We found one band of sheep with a legal ram. But he didn't have the legs to get to where we needed to go. The closest we got was 1 mile.
I've never had the chance to hunt stones for myself. I keep thinking that I will hike from the highway in October but it never seems to happen.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa67/bruin_photo/IMG_0218-1.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa67/bruin_photo/IMG_0216.jpg

[kennyj]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=25668&highlight=Tatshinshini+dall+sheep

[Caribou_lou]

Took my first stone back in 2007. He was a shallow curl, well above bridge of nose and was 10 years old. It was my first so I wasn't looking for the biggest. Hope to back there again this season. It was a tough hunt but in the end it is worth every step. 37 inch curl.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af161/Caribou04/Hunting/Family156-2.jpg
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af161/Caribou04/Hunting/Family151.jpg

[yama49]

Took my first stone back in 2007. He was a shallow curl, well above bridge of nose and was 10 years old. It was my first so I wasn't looking for the biggest. Hope to back there again this season. It was a tough hunt but in the end it is worth every step.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af161/Caribou04/Hunting/Family156-2.jpg
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af161/Caribou04/Hunting/Family151.jpg

Very nice ram, congrats

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Here's a cut and paste from 2005.

"We packed in on the July 28th and bumped into 4 rams just before we made it to our first camp spot. There were 2 legal sheep in the group with one decent ram along with one of those "non-typical" freaks with a big heavy Banana one one side and the other horn flared right out almost growing back into his face. We were able to get a good look and video them at less than 100yds before the one good ram fed out and pinned us down. We froze but then a huge hail storm hit and soaked us so we had to stand up and get into our rain gear spooking the rams out of the country. We spent a couple of days in the front range but then packed further to another camp. http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...gAnch=imgAnch1 (http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h281/StoneSheep/?action=view&current=Cap0016MPG.flv&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch1)

I climbed up to one peak and looked over to see ewes and lambs in the basin next door and then spotted 8 5&6 yr old rams coming over a saddle into the basin I was perched over. They all balled up on a snow patch directly below me and began performing some sort of "Ram Ritual". They formed a circle head to tail and began licking each other's backs. They then turned and reared up facing off with a partner and faked head butting. They then turned around and did it again with the partner behind them. The rams repeated this a few times then they started to make contact. They looked like a bunch of Olympic synchronized swimmers! (and I left my video camera in the tent ). Soon I spotted a big bull moose in the same basin in the alpine. I continued glassing and spotted something dark crossing a huge scree slope above the ewes and lambs angling downward but away from the ewes. I grabbed the spotter and discovered it to be a lone black wolf very slowly stalking another group of 6 ewes and lambs. He was above them and closing the distance ever so slowly. He got to within 100yds and bolted down on them. The sheep scattered as he quickly halved the distance! There were not any cliffs around for refuge but they all disappeared out of site before I found out what happened!! (again no video ). I'm pretty sure the big bad wolf had lamb for lunch that day.


Over the course of the 14 days we saw ~180 ewes and lambs, ~35 rams(most 5&6 yr olds), ~30 goats and4 bull moose. We covered enough ground to make last years hunt look like a walk in stanley park. With poor decision making and missing the proper horse trails we easily put on more than 110 kms http://www.huntshoot.com/forums/images/smilies/redface.gif ..and that is only the horizontal portion of our packing off the map. Not exactly the hunt we had planned!!

By the time we made it back to the front range we were both wiped. After bailing out early last yr, I knew that there was no way in hell that I was giving up yet. I pounded the ridges peaking into adjacent basins only finding small rams for my efforts.
There was one last area that I had to look over in hopes of catching up to the ram from day one. So after the morning rains subsided I headed out solo on Aug 7th. I got two hours away from camp when I looked back to where I had just came down a large rock slide and soon spotted something dark. It turned out to be a grizzly that was following me. He was still 700yds behind me so I got out the video camera for a quick clip before I got ready for an encounter. I scurried up to a ridge top to have a good vantage spot. A rain storm quickly approached so I put on my rain gear and hunkered down. I wasn't moving from my perch no matter what.
The storm came and passed with no sign of the grizzly. He must have turned around and gone the other way. Fine by me!
I soon began to climb what my partner has deemed "The Tower"-a hunk of granite that is the highest point around. It is "almost" impossible to climb but there are two leg-burning routes to the top. I made it to the top without incident but quickly had to put my rain gear on again as another "skin-ripping" storm approached. I had no refuge to hide from the storm on top of this ridge so I just had to tough it out. Many times I thought "Just head back to camp" but I couldn't cave to the weather. Not this year...........

After the storm the weather wasn't too bad so I snuck over the backside of the Tower onto a huge pinnacle that dropped straight down 500 vertical feet. When I got close to the edge I spotted two rams bedded 500 yds down to the left. Yes, I thought. My persistence paid off!! I got out the spotter only to discover that they were both small rams. Pissed off, I put the spotting scope away and got up to leave. I was about to put on my pack when I figured I had better look closer. I walked out to the edge of the drop and leaned over as far as I dared. There I could see a larger ram tucked back against the edge of the granite!!
I took off my rain gear and started looking for a route to get to a closer pinnacle above the rams. Many times I got to the edge only to discover I couldn't see them all the while trying not to knock rocks down. Finally I picked the right hunk off granite and spotted the rams now feeding directly below me. I got out the spotting scope and had to hang on to it tightly. There he was!!!! It was the ram from day one!! There was no question as he had a uniquely splintered left horn. It was a good thing because from this angle there was no way I could tell for sure that he broke the bridge of his nose.
The range finder said 211 yards and almost all of it was vertical.
I slowly chambered a round and eased close to the edge. I was about to squeeze the trigger when I peeked down the side of the barrel only to discover that it was not clear of the granite. I slowly eased closer hanging on tightly with my toes. It was close to 500 feet straight down :shock:. When the ram was quartering away I slowly squeezed the trigger and the rams scattered at the shot. The ram took off on 3 legs but soon stopped offering me his other shoulder. I squeezed off another round and he began to tumble down the steep hill eventually stopping in a clump of buck brush!!!!!! Yes!!!
I backtracked to retrieve my pack but soon discovered that every chute I tried to go down I got cliff-ed out. Up and down the MT I went over and over but to no avail!! I couldn't get to my Ram!! Finally, I decided I had to make a dash for camp before I got caught up there in the dark.

I arrived back at camp before dark but found my partner nervously pacing with his rifle shouldered(and a little bit looped!). The grizzly that was following me decided to pay him a visit in the afternoon after the storm. My partner, Jann, was reading in the tent and fell asleep. He climbed out of the tent and was slowly waking up when he noticed a dark object on a small hill across the meadow near camp. He grabbed his binos and saw the bear standing on his hind legs looking at him. He quickly grabbed his rifle from the tent and bolted over to his pack to get extra ammo(he only had 4 rounds in a holder on his stock of his SINGLE SHOT Ruger #1 (7mm mag). He climbed a small hill behind the tent and watched the bear quickly jogging towards him. He yelled at the bear and got his att'n but he only came faster......full speed http://www.huntshoot.com/forums/images/smilies/eek.gif !! When he was ~150 yds out he fired a warning shot but this was ignored by the bear still coming full speed!!! As quickly as he could he reloaded(single shot remember) but this time the warnings were over and a well placed shot brought the bear down!!!

His nerves were so bad he decided to get into the "celebration" whisky that he had brought along(there wasn't a single drop left for me!! http://www.huntshoot.com/forums/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif ) .

The next day we headed out to retrieve my ram. We were able to get to him but there was no way we could go back up the same way(we had a couple of 8 foot drops) but finally I was able to touch him after 3 1/2 hours.
He is no monster but he was what I was looking for in my first stone-upper 30"s , a nice horn configuration-nice cape".

Can't believe it is coming to 5 yrs ago this Aug.

SSS

[bridger]

pretty ram my son has one almost identical!






Took my first stone back in 2007. He was a shallow curl, well above bridge of nose and was 10 years old. It was my first so I wasn't looking for the biggest. Hope to back there again this season. It was a tough hunt but in the end it is worth every step. 37 inch curl.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af161/Caribou04/Hunting/Family156-2.jpg
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af161/Caribou04/Hunting/Family151.jpg

[Crossfire]

Great stories everyone. I appreciate you sharing them. Stone Sheep Steve - what ever became of the grizzly? I've often wondered what I would do in the same situation. No doubt start shooting to kill as well!

[dutchie]

This one was a REAL cranker!

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=40606&highlight=grizzly

dutchie

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Great stories everyone. I appreciate you sharing them. Stone Sheep Steve - what ever became of the grizzly? I've often wondered what I would do in the same situation. No doubt start shooting to kill as well!

I imagine he went back into the food chain. Reported it to the CO as soon as we got out.



SSS

[bridger]

here are a few pics that some of you may have seen before but its a long time til sheep season.



my last dall ram and our guides

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Copy_2_of_Copy_of_DSCN0102.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17635&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)






http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/rich_john_tophand_sheep.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17699&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)







http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/jon_and_richards_creek_ram.jpeg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17449&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)









http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/rich_and_richards_creek_ram2.jpeg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17451&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)







http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/richardscreek94-8.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17454&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)

[Bear Chaser]

here are a few pics that some of you may have seen before but its a long time til sheep season.



my last dall ram and our guides

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Copy_2_of_Copy_of_DSCN0102.JPG (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17635&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)






http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/rich_john_tophand_sheep.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17699&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)







http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/jon_and_richards_creek_ram.jpeg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17449&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)









http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/rich_and_richards_creek_ram2.jpeg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17451&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)







http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/richardscreek94-8.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17454&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=10914)


Who's that young skinny guy in the middle of the second picture?

[bridger]

that's me! lol