A week ago or so during a slack moment I posted some pix of my “Texas Slam” consisting of some of the rams I have taken over the years. I mentioned (in jest) that one of the rams was dispatched with a tire/pistol/chainsaw combo. A couple of posters said they might enjoy that story on another occasion, so since it’s a slow night here it is.

Although I hunt with a bow and pistol, I am basically a rifle looney at heart. However, I do have one trophy hanging on the wall that wasn’t brought down by a bow or firearm. It actually was killed by a Goodyear Wrangler tire mounted on my ford f350.

I was hunting in Rocksprings, Texas at the time. Some years earlier, my brother married into a family of deer hunters (one of the daughters, not the sons). The patriarch of the clan wanted to get my brother on the lease so his grandsons could grow up hunting deer. His sons did not want my brother on the lease, as my brothers’ main focus is making money, not working to improve the lease or hunting. Consequently the “pappa” and the sons were at loggerheads. However, in time they figured out a solution to the problem. They called me and said that they were thinking about inviting me on their lease. However, they wanted me to know up front it wasn't because they liked me. Rather they knew that I loved to hunt and knew that I was well acquainted with Senor Manual Labor. So, they told me if I would carry my “lazy ass” brother, he and I could be on their lease. I've been hunting with them since then. My brother got off one year later. Each year they remind me that they still don't like me but they put up with me because I bring the steaks, cigars and Patron.
Anyway, opening weekend of the 1999 deer season in the Texas hill country was a washout. I don’t remember how many inches it rained but the trip that normally takes six hours took fifteen hours. We started out at six AM and after taking numerous detours and fording several rivers and streams arrived at nine PM. We sure could have used an air boat or hovercraft that day. Anyway it rained so hard that weekend in the Texas hill country that deer hunters were being pulled out of trees with helicopters. Well, I hunted that whole weekend in the rain and cold with no success. On the way out I saw a group of Audad sheep going straight up the side of a hill. I stopped my truck and grabbed my rifle. An easy 200 yard shot at a running target (yeah). As it was cold, wet and rainy, I had the defroster/heater on in my truck, and when I took the rifle out to shoot, of course the scope lens totally fogged up. So, no shot on the Audad. Needless to say I was pissed. I had traveled 350 miles over the course of 15 hours, to get to the lease, gone through water up to my driver’s side window in my new F350. Then I had hunted in the rain and cold for three days and finally when I had the opportunity to take a shot at game, my scope fogged up. Well I threw the rifle back in the truck and took off and was cussing like a sailor. I hadn’t gone up the hill a quarter mile when I felt a bump like I had run over something. As my windshield was still fogged up, I hadn’t seen what had run in front of my truck. I got out and looked back down the hill. I had run over a double curl ram. He was lying there gasping and most likely dying as he had been run over by a 9600 lb truck. However, I hate to see any critter suffer, so I pulled out my Ruger new model Blackhawk in 41 mag. and finished him off, then drug him off to the side of the road. I went back to the truck to get in when a thought struck me. I’d hunted hard for three days and I wasn’t in any mood to go back empty handed. Since he was such a nice ram I decided that I would have him mounted.
I backed the truck up and tried to load him up. However I was by myself and he was heavier than I could lift . As it was getting late, I didn’t want to take the time to cape him out. Well that’s where the chainsaw came in. I grabbed my saw and went to work. Well within two shakes of the proverbial sheeps tale I had him cut in half and loaded in the truck. The ram in the picture below is the only animal I have on my wall that was killed by a truck rather than a pistol, rifle or bow. One of these days I am going to add a backboard and an engraved plate with a piece of tire tread stating that he was killed by a Goodyear Wrangler A/T tire.
I have a good friend from Ireland that has a saying that “ a lie well told will serve as good as the truth anyday”. But if I’m lyin,I’m dyin.
GWB

Well done.

GREAT STORY, GWB!

I was hoping you'd post those details soon. And that incident just goes to prove that you don't even have to bag anything while hunting to have a memorable time.

Of course, it would have been appropriate if you were driving a Ram Charger...

he does have a rather wide-eyed look about him.

Great Ram, and story!