Thanks Chuck ! I had 19 wonderful days in rocks, sand and cliffs west of Lake Powell in southern Utah. I hunted solo for the 1st 10 days covered many miles both on foot and optically and saw only one small ram. Then paired up with an old friend for 5 more days and found what may be the Ram I finally killed. Vaughn and I spent 2.5 days camped within a 1200 yards of this ram but never had a way to get closer. I finally tried a stalk as we were now out of water but ran out of cover and blew the Ram out of the canyon. The last 4 days of the season I was joined again by Vaughn and Brian Bingham and once again covered lots of ground. On the last day of the season this ram moved into a canyon that offered little cover but it was now 4th and goal so we went for it. 800 yards from the sheep I ran out of cover once again and made myself a Gillie suit from the vegetation I was laying in and crawled across the slick rock straight at the ram. when I was 500 yards from the ram I managed to find a route through a cliff face, dropped out of sight and closed the distance to 350 yards. I took the shot, prone, wrapped up in the sling and shot him once with my wife's 6.5-06 and a 120gr TSX. Truly a grand experience and worth every moment of the 16 years of rejected applications.
Now I'm looking for half blind, toothless, feeble old Dall Ram to complete what was once just a dream.
As I read your account of the hunt, I couldn't help thinking of how so much sweat, discomfort, stress, disappointment, endurance, ingenuity and exultation can fit in one paragraph. Congrats on a great ram D'Arcy !
Wow. Nice ram. I'm in the middle of a sheep hunt here outside of Las Vegas, but this torrential downpour of rain we're having is killing me! Hopefully it ends tomorrow so we can see to glass again.
Congratulations on an incredible trophy. Your description of the hunt sounds like it was about as incredible of an adventure as you could ask for. Very well done in all regards.
Posts: 3855 | Location: California | Registered: 01 January 2009
This is outstanding genuine impressive landscape! The pics are Very nice one gets an impression of the range distances...forgive me on picking up on details but you Managed the 350yards with a 6x scope?
While we we use larger magnification these days on the very small chamois in Europe in the past the standard was 6x42/36....
Posts: 701 | Location: Germany | Registered: 24 February 2006
The last time I painted the ram with the range-finder he was actually 358 yards and was feeding away from me and since he took another half dozen steps before he turned broadside he was likely just over 360 yards. The scope is a 25 year old 6x Leupold with a std Duplex reticle. A ram is pretty large target even at 350 plus yards with a vital area being about the size of a standard piece of writing paper. The next time you're at your range turn your scope up or down to 6x and shoot at the same size piece of paper. I'd wager you'd do just fine if you where shooting prone as I was. I held what appeared to be about 3" to 4" over his back and hit him dead center in a vertical sense between his brisket and his back. He dropped so fast I never saw in fall while in recoil. This rifle is now fitted with it's 3rd barrel, while my wife and I don't shoot as much as we used to I am very familiar with what I can do with that rifle on a good day and under good conditions. The 6x was not a limiting factor for this particular shot, only my pulse rate which was off the chart for a while. I had plenty of time, trusted the equipment and shot only when I was sure of the outcome. If you shoot everything build you either become a passable shot or a very poor liar. Thanks for the kind comments.
What a great story, D'Arcy, and good pics, too. Though you've revealed it generously, I reckon there'd still be a book in it if you could be bothered (cf 'Krag the Kootenay Ram', 'The Old Man and the Sea' - and they didn't have pictures).
- Paul
Posts: 4961 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 31 March 2009
The only problem I had with this hunt is the withdrawal. I miss the heat, the sand and the croak of Ravens. During the summer I purchased a set of keen Boots and had them coming apart at the seams before the end of the hunt. I retired my 25 year old Lowe Expedition pack and picked up a lighter and more comfortable Osprey Argon 85. I did blow the bottom out of the hydration sack which I'm sure I over loaded way to many times. I used a tent one day with Brian next to Lake Powell thinking we might have to battle some bugs that night but it was not the case. The rest of the time I carried a Bivy sack and a tarp, finally ditching the tarp. I carried a set of Classic Zeiss 7x42's for the start of the hunt, later swapping these for my Zeiss 10x40 Classics. The best glass I carried was a pair of 10-15 Leica Duavids mounted on a Med Ht Outdoorsman tripod and found these perfect for this hunt and used them for 95% of the glassing. Lastly I carried a "Baby Lecia" instead of the larger 77-mm Lecia.
I used a canister Jet Boil and consumed my fair share of Mountain House meals that were supplemented with Sardines and designer packaged Tuna. I broke up the Mt House monotony with salami, tortillas, cheese and dried fruit. The nights were long when the moon was full and dawn was a welcome sight. Star-bucks Instant coffee was greatly appreciated as light crept into the desert. As I stated before I was joined later on in the hunt by Vaughn Handenflet and Brian Bingham. While hunting solo does have a special appeal to me having these friends along was wonderful. It also made carrying the ram out of the country in one trip damn nice. I was battling a pair of protesting knees and the team effort didn't end until we reached the truck just as the light began to fade.
What would I do different gear wise ? Really nothing. I wish I could have found a size 8 Boonie hat but have yet to find one large enough to fit my mellon. Water was always an issue, I carried a pump for 5 days and then just went to chemical tabs. Vaughn pulled a beer or two out of his pack more than once and I must admit even warm it was plenty wet.
I drew my first sheep tag in Colorado when I was 21. I spent the summer scouting every weekend and then quit my job 33 days before the hunt to devote that month completely in the Avalanche Creek area of Colorado looking for rams, 29 straight days in fact. I killed a great ram, the biggest I had found and the largest killed in that unit for many years on the opening day of that season. I was then lucky enough to meet Pete & Johanne Koser and was fortunate enough to take a great Fannin ram with them in the Yukon not to many years ago. I knew if I ever drew a tag in Utah I wanted to do it the same way I had in Colorado. While I couldn't quit my job this time or spend 50 plus days scouting I couldn't have been happier with the outcome. I only hope others get the opportunity as I have.
yes he came off the Dirty Devil. He found him on day 8 and we saw about 12 sheep total. Mostly Ewes.I love my mountains in Montana but the deserts now have a have a special place in my heart. I couldn;t hunt later in the season so hunted from October 1 to the 8th.
Posts: 253 | Location: Corvallis,montana | Registered: 10 January 2011
I've only read and re-read this hunting story about 10 times and still can't get my fill. Well done! I love the story and the photos! THANKS FOR SHARING IT WITH US!
I've had the great pleasure to do this hunt 3 times for myself, my wife and my daughter. I will never forget the experiences! (soon my son will hunt them also)
This is the real deal. I couldn't see one thing in D'Arcy's account that was embellished. These hunts are TOUGH and full of ups and downs. There is nothing quite like a desert sheep hunt in Ut. Congratulations on a great Utah desert ram!
My friend from Montana had a fabulous hunt and took a great ram in the same unit that my daughter hunted. Congratulations to him as well!
What a story. Camping with just minimal gear - do you have to worry about spiders, scorpions, snakes or other potentially dangerous critters? (Forgive my ignorance - born and raised east of the Mississippi.
Posts: 870 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 17 March 2003
Zeke why not post some pics from the hunts you did ? I'm amazed that some many people have enjoyed this thread.
Doublegun I did see one Tarantula on the first morning, we had breakfast together. There are many scorpions but I never saw one hunting. Never saw a snake but did see many lizards early on. For the first 9 days I never saw a mammal, only ravens, wrens and lizards.
D'Arcy, I was actually going to add some photos along with my original post but I need to work on "photo posting skill set". I mastered (lol) it on another site but have yet to do it here. My wife hunted in N. San Jaun, me in lockhart and daughter in the Dirty Devil.... just north of you. I have spent some time on the "rock" but never from the west side. Maybe when/if my son draws that unit I'll send up a flare for some unit pointers. He made application in the tough-to-draw unit this year. Again D'Arcy, fabulous report both by word and photo! My Montana friend (whatever he calls himself on this site) posted up more great photos and shared his great hunt with us all. Thanks, Zeke
Chet My first sheep, a Bighorn was shot with a Ruger # 1 7x57 at just over 100 yards, the second was a Fannin and killed with a Legend 270 at just under 200 yards. Based on the previous two sheep hunts I felt I would be pretty well served with a Classic G33/40 chambered for 257 Roberts. This rifle loaded and scope was under 8lbs and shot as well it handled. I carried this rifle for the first 15 days of the hunt. It did however have minor design flaw and this was the Skeleton Butt plate. It seemed like I was always looking for a soft place to set the rifle on while I was glassing. I also fell on my face a number of times taking the rifle with me into the rocks. The only soft spot you can find in southern Utah is sand and often even this is hard to locate.
As the hunt progressed It became apparent that any shot I would likely get would be at or beyond 300 yards. Many of the areas I hunted I could have shot a ram and it would have taken me days to recover the rotting carcass. With this in mind on my last trip I left the Roberts at home and chose my wife's Ruger-77. Other than pillar bedding, free floating and a trigger job it is hardly a custom rig other than it now wheres it's 3rd barrel. It started life as 257 Roberts and was chambered for the same on barrel # 2. Both were shot out in past 25 years. It's now chambered to 6.5-06. It no doubt allowed more foot pounds of energy beyond 300 yards by a considerable margin was extremely accurate and tipped the scale at 8lbs loaded. Nick named old meat in the pot it has an impressive list of victims.
Making the decision to change rifles was based on my first 15 days in the field. In the final analysis it was smart move, I like smart moves. When it came time to press the trigger the ram was just over 360 yards and could have been much further. Over the years I have used many different rifles some Classic's, some Legends and even an occasional factory rifle.
Smart move! With sheep hunting, including all the time behind the glass, the rifle sits in the rocks for most of the time. There are no soft grassy spots on which to lay the rifle while hunting desert sheep in Utah. It either lies on the rocks or sits on the rocks making a rubber butt pad necessary IMO. I'm pretty easy on rifles but if you spend a week or 3 in the desert the rifle will show some "love" marks. Zeke
I havent been on here in a while but had to look at this thread again. Zeke you have to post pics of your daughters ram. That ram was on my mind for my whole hunt. I'll be at the expo in SLC this year and at the full curl. trying to find out about any rams from either unit this fall but can't find any info.
Posts: 253 | Location: Corvallis,montana | Registered: 10 January 2011
In the picture where the tee shirt with "Far Out Expeditions" shows up, it looks like your boots are tied together at the heels. Maybe try a pair of Whites boots? (The makers of Whites smokejumpers that most forest fire fighters wear)
Posts: 3804 | Location: san angelo tx | Registered: 18 November 2009
