I just thought I would share with you guys, the ram I took last week here in Idaho! I was the lucky winner of the 2020 Idaho statewide Bighorn raffle tag...and this was the result.

This year the raffle winner was eligible to hunt unit 11 (Hell's Canyon) so there was no question where I was headed. One of my buddy's showed me a couple pics of this ram back in March...so I was pretty excited when I won the tag!

Knowing how difficult of a place Hell's Canyon is...I booked a hunt with Sheep Meadow Outfitters (SMO) sure I was going to need the help. I told em the day I won the tag, this was the ram I wanted.

They located him the evening I arrived in camp...so all was set for the next day. We took a jet boat 20 minutes up river, and at first light we started up the canyon. By 10am we still had not found him...so we all split up looking into different canyons. About 11am a radio call came over...the outfitter found him way up the canyon.

So another grueling climb...a short crawl over the knob and there he was at 225 yards. As I was getting set up for the shot he laid down perfectly broadside, so I shot him in his bed. He got up, tumbled to the bottom of the canyon and it was over!

Yep...the climbing was hard - we probably did 2,500 vertical feet that day, but it was the heat that really made it unbearable. The temp hit 95 in the canyon that day...and with no trees / shade, there's just no way to get out of it. When I saw all the water everyone was carrying...I'm glad I paid attention! That place is brutally hot!

The camp was great, food was great, and without the help of SMO I might still be there melted to the side of the mountain!

He's a huge ram...and the exact one I wanted. He's 10.5 yrs old - 190 4/8" net (green score of course)

Nice ram Aaron.
Congrats!

Looks like two different rams ?
Second pic looks broomed off , first pic looks sharp and clean ?

Nice animal anyway ...

Nice sheep!

That's a stud!!

Well done!

What an incredible ram! Congratulations, now go find a bull to match.

Thanks for sharing.
That’s a great ram. Your 20 mile jet boat ride up the river sounds like a adventure on its own. The USA still has some very special places and habitats.

Amazing ram Aaron! Congratulations. I need you to pick some lottery numbers for me in the next Powerball...

Wonderful

Absolute stud!! Congratulations!

Now that's a ram!

Fantastic ram. Congratulations.

Congratulations Aaron.

What a great ram. I've hunted rams in hot weather, the more help you have the better, just to carry all the water everyone needs!

Sheep hunting is always one of life's greatest adventures, but get a ram like that, just WOW.

I had two friends shoot a desert bighorn here in Nevada a few days ago. The temps were 110+. They got a nice ram, but literally escaped with their lives due to lack of sufficient water, extreme temps and what one of them described as the Bataan Death March back out of the mountains and to their truck. One of them said that he'd never felt so close to death as on this trek. According to him, prayer was a major element of their experience getting back out!

Nice ram!

quote:

Originally posted by Colorado Bob:
That's a stud!!

This is about the only accurate reply as a 190 ram is most definitely a S-T-U-D of a trophy!

Zeke

What a ram! Wonderful!

Aaron,

Well done and then some!

Mark

Proper RAM! Congrats and thanks for sharing with us!

Aaron...outstanding! That climb in those temperatures would be brutal. Us Canadians from the northern areas would just disappear in a puddle of sweat in that heat.

Anyways, beautiful ram. I need a bit of your luck in the draws. Most years I draw squat. Only time I seem to be successful is on draws where there are more tags than applicants.

That is an exceptional ram. Congrats on getting him.
Bruce

very nice! congrats!

Wow nice ram.

That thing has more mass than the Vatican. Wowza!

WOW!

Incredible ram!!! Congrats!