Outfitter: Wade Lemon Hunting
Guide: Tom Hardee
Area: South San Rafael unit in Utah
Dates 11/15-11/16
Rifle: Browning A-bolt in 300 Win Mag with 2-12 Swarovski
Ammo: 180 grain Hornady factory ammo

I have known Wade for close to 20 years and have hunted with him many times. There has never been a problem other than weather. While Wade is good, he isn't good enough to cure weather issues.

We often spoke of hunting desert big horn. For years, I applied for the single non resident tag. For some reason I stopped and lost all of my preference points. Not much of a chance anyway.

I saw Wade in January. Coincidentally another client was there that had taken a desert big horn the previous year. He had acquired the tag in a FNAWS auction. I made inquiries about the 2010 auction. I decided to bid.

I was going to take my fiance to a ski resort in UT and attend the auction personally. Unfortunately, she had heart surgery the week before. I thought it might be a bit much to put her on a plane. Accordingly, I had Wade bid for me. I remember it well as it was Valentine's Day. Bottom line is that I bought the south tag.

While I am an exercise freak, I was concerned about the hunt. First, I was 54. I could handle that. I was more concerned about a knee injury and a foot injury. I was sure I could deal with the knee injury. However, the podiatrist wanted me off my feet for a while. He told me to quit exercising about 2 weeks before I left. I cut back to walking but didn't stop completely. I didn't know how my foot would do with climbing.

After I returned from Zimbabwe, I contacted Wade to set up dates. It was decided to start the hunt on November 15. I flew Delta to SLC on the 14th and drove from there to a lodge near Ferron UT. This lodge was named Castle Valley Outdoors. It was VERY nice.

I couldn't sleep the first night for a variety of reasons. First and foremost was anticipation. Second was weather. It was bad. High winds, rain and snow. Great.

Day 1 of the hunt:

Tom picked me up at 5:30 AM. We drove off to the desert. It was not a good day weather wise. Intermittent rain and snow. Constant high winds. Not good for pretty much any big game hunting. We saw a grand total of 4 sheep between 5 of us. Personally, I only saw 2. There were tiny moving objects seen through a 60 power spotting scope.

Regardless of the weather, I was having a ball. The desert is absolutely magnificent. It is some of the most stunning country I have seen anywhere in the world and I have traveled the world extensively. The people I was with were real hard core hunters. I was thoroughly enjoying this in spite of the weather. The bad news was that I could not properly check the zero on my rifle due to the wind. I ended up shooting at a rock. They said the rifle was fine after my single shot. Off we went again.

There are a few terrain pictures below. My biggest disappointment is that I didn't take more the first day. Words can't describe this country.
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Day 2 of the hunt:

Tom picked me up at 4:30. We went to a different area. Around 6:30 we climbed to a vantage point about a half mile from the truck. Thanks goodness the wind was not blowing. Immediately we spotted sheep. Actually a lot of sheep. Interestingly there were more rams than ewes. Some really good rams were seen.

I inquired about climbing to the top. Both the guide and the cameraman (both very experienced sheep hunters) thought it would be tough. While I didn't say it, I thought we should climb to the top and hunt down. The rams were moving. Sometimes they would just disappear. I was confident we could make it without scaring all the sheep.

Tom took off on a 4 wheeler and glassed from a different vantage point. He came back and decided we would try for some sheep we had seen. At around 11 AM we took off with packs on.

We walked for over an hour before we really started climbing. When we did start, it was up and down, up and down. I was doing well. My foot hurt some but I was making progress quite well for a 54 year old guy from the flat lands at sea level. Extraordinarily well actually.

We went to where the ram we were looking for was last seen. He was gone. We moved higher and glassed. I spotted one ram on a ridge reasonably close. Too small. We continued to move higher. The cameraman saw a group of sheep on a far off ridge. There were at least 3 rams with some ewes. We decided to get closer. Of course, this meant much more climbing. Off we went.

Unfortunately, about an hour before the wind started again. It was estimated to be 45-50 MPH with higher gusts. I hate the wind. It was hard to stand at times.

We got close enough to take a peek. They were on a face across a canyon from us. We crawled to the edge. They were 326 yards away with a 50 MPH wind blowing. Great. I put my pack on the ridge to use as a rest. In spite of the wind, I had a dead steady rest with my cross hairs on the biggest ram. Unfortunately, there was another sheep behind it. I couldn't shoot. When the sheep moved, I had to move. The rest was no where near as steady but steady enough. I decided to shoot.

At the shot, I slipped off the pack and did not see the result. Tom said I was 1 1/2 feet high! I have hunted a lot. I have shot even more. If I am off that far, I would know it. I didn't think I was off. In the time it took to work the bolt, I decided it was either the wind or the zero of the rifle. I decided to aim low. Real low. Below the body actually. At the shot, they said I hit him! He separated from the other sheep. I hit him again. He was slowly moving off when I gave him the old TX heart shot from about 400 yards. This hit him squarely after me aiming BELOW his testicles. Down he went. I was thrilled.

While I was thrilled, I looked at the face of Tom and Lee (cameraman). They didn't seem happy. I didn't say anything. We climbed down to the ram. I thought about it while climbing. When we got to the sheep I definitely sensed something was wrong. I asked if I had shot the right sheep? Their response was that I shot at the correct sheep the first shot. However, the sheep had scrambled around, I slid off the rest and I had shot the wrong sheep the second time. I advised that I was happy, very happy actually. Wrong sheep or not. Further, if there were any problems I accepted full responsibility for them. They said it was fine, they didn't want me to be unhappy. Trust me I wasn't unhappy. It was one of the more memorable days of my hunting career. They relaxed.

I would add that we had climbed about as far as humanly possible on that mountain. We had covered a lot of ground.

We took pictures and skinned the ram. We took off. We got back to the truck about 7:30 in the dark. I was exhausted.

Please see the sheep pictures below.

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It was a fantastic hunt. The scenery was amazing. I was pleased that my foot held up. The guides were even complimentary on my climbing. I had the presence of mind to alter my aim point after the first shot. That decision was key to getting the sheep.

When I left the guide paid me a compliment that I will not forget. He said he enjoyed hunting with me. He said he used the word hunting because many clients are nothing more than shooters. He said I was a hunter not a shooter. That meant a lot to me.

They did have one observation that I have heard before. It is true. I would like to seek your opinion on this matter. They say my uphill climbing is extraordinary. Downhill with good footing I am fine. However,going downhill in loose rocks, I struggle. I am slow. It is true. How can I correct this?

Thanks to all those who gave gear advice.

I can't figure why we are getting 2 pictures. Sorry.

Congratulations! I hope you get the pics posted soon.

I think things worked for are much more rewarding. Have you shot the rifle at the range since, to see if it was a problem with the scope that was causing it to shoot low?

I'm interested in the answers on the going downhill faster. I am always more cautious going down than up, and have ideas as to why, and don't know how that speed could safely be increased. Unless it is only a semi-controlled descent where you're bordering on falling/sliding? Due to physical problems I doubt I'll ever be able to hunt sheep, but still find it interesting and do dream about a nice big horn or great goat.

Red

DR: Yes, it should be slower down hill. I agree. I am too slow though. It is puzzling because I am fast going uphill.

Thanks for your report. Sounds like you had a great experience.
I'm interested to know what the ramifications are of you having presumably hit another animal.
Are you not obliged to follow this up ? Does this have to be reported to your authorities and what action do they take ? I understand these tags are extremely sort after and expensive. Do they penalise you financially for this incident ?
Just interested to know. Here in Australia we are about to experience much greater control over our game species and it's not difficult to realise that some twat in government will eventually get the idea to put a price on any game to be had on public land.

All I can say is WOW. Great job. Beautiful country.

Larry,

The word Congratulations! just is not enough. Well frikkin done, from the training to the preparation, through the hunt. You have a trophy that is yours forever.

And that ram looks pretty darned good! Post more pics if you can.

Thanks for posting, and again, great hunt.

Love that country......congrats on a great hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

They did have one observation that I have heard before. It is true. I would like to seek your opinion on this matter. They say my uphill climbing is extraordinary. Downhill with good footing I am fine. However,going downhill in loose rocks, I struggle. I am slow. It is true. How can I correct this?

Larry,

We are all built different. Sounds like you have 2 of the 3 hunting terrains wired. Did you use trekking poles? How heavy was your pack? These things make a difference.

The one thing I learned on mountain hunts is balance and agility (I have neither) are very important. Keeping good balance will greatly reduce the strain on your body. Could be you are like me, extremely bright, handsome, funny, but with absolutely no rhythm.

Wouldn't worry about it until your next sheep hunt.... ?

congrats Larry. So glad it turned out so well!

Wow, looks like a great place to hunt ! Another great hunt congrats Larry.

Congrats Larry on a great hunt. Fantastic pics too. Best of Hunting--Mark Hampton

Let me be clear. I absolutely missed the first shot. I thought I clearly indicated I missed the first shot. My second shot was at a different ram. There was no wounded ram.

Congrats Larry on a hunt most of us will only dream of. I hope to draw my desert sheep tag one of these days!

Congrats again!!!

Thanks all.

Jack:

I don't know. I guess about 25-30 pounds including gun. I had the pack, rifle, box of cartridges, vest & sweater, thin light rain jacket, water, apples, camera and a few miscellaneous small things.

I took a pole with me. However, I left it at the truck. It would have helped no doubt.

The loose rocks on a downhill trek are definitely problematic to me. When I hunted ibex in Spain in December, the guide said " Larry, what is wrong with you? You are a beast going up the mountains. You are worse than a grandmother going down." It is true. No one seems to understand why I climb so well going up, yet am so slow on poor footing going down.

I definitely lack confidence on down hill grades with loose rocks. I don't have the best balance with 30 pounds on my back. Plus I come from the flat lands at sea level. No rocks here. It is difficult to prepare.

I will post more pictures later.

Great Job Larry.
Congradulations!!!!!!!!!
W.

More pics.

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Awesome Larry - well done. man i wish to accomplish a hunt like that one day!

Larry,

Congrats. The hunt many of us only dream of!

On the downhill, do you slide or walk? I finally learned to do the slide/walk - like I was skiing only with more adjustments.
Hate walking down mountains. For many reasons. It takes forever to get up the thing and it puts a lot more pressure on the knee joint.

I would say both although the sliding was not intentional.

Great hunt and a great report

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
They did have one observation that I have heard before. It is true. I would like to seek your opinion on this matter. They say my uphill climbing is extraordinary. Downhill with good footing I am fine. However,going downhill in loose rocks, I struggle. I am slow. It is true. How can I correct this?

Thanks to all those who gave gear advice.

I can't figure why we are getting 2 pictures. Sorry.

Larry - Congrats on the sheep! As for the walking, who cares man, you made it didn't you. That's all you can do, your best!

I've guided all kinds of mountain hunts for years, rarely can/does the client go as fast as the guide, especially in rough terrain. But any good guide knows this, and sets the pace accordingly. Often times I go ahead of the client to locate or keep the animal in sight, but nothing can be done til he gets there. So, just do your best and it sounds like you did.

Great job!

THAT my friend IS some ROUGH country.
some scampering 18 yr old "may" run around there,but the rest of us need be very careful in that terrain.
congrats on a great adventure

Thx for sharing. Very nice country and a nice ram.

Larry,

Big congrats on your ram. That is some rough country. Wade does a great job. We've had several clients with him. Top drawer all the way.

Mark

Larry,

I said you would get him. Hard hunting always has its rewards. Being a hunter is what it is all about. From one hunter to another, job well done and you made the shot.

Mike

way to go


Mike

Congrats. Retreever was telling me about your hunt. I start desert bighorn in the Nellis bombing range here near Vegas on Saturday. Hoping to have similar luck in finding a good ram.

Good luck. That is amazing country.

Larry you have the same problem as me going down: the older I get the slower I get going downhill in loose ground and it's because I am more afraid of falling than other's might be.

Larry,

First off. Great hunt!! I dream of sheep all the time.

To your downhill travel. I noticed on your africa video you walk with your feet turned out a fair bit. If you do this going down I can see how your ankles may not be as sturdy causing you to slow more to keep from turning them. You likely aren't even aware of it. If you can find a hil or ravine somewhere to walk down pay attention to how your feet are placed and then intentionally turn them so they are straight when going down and see if that helps at all.

Just a thought.

Again, awesome hunt.

Larry,
Great hunt and pictures, glad you got your ram. I have noticed that my knees are what slow me down when I travel downhill. I can walk uphill and not have problems, but go down and they really slow me down.
Thanks for the story.
Jon

Dear Larry

Well done you are truly a great hunter and luck man.

Hope to see you down under some day.

Regards Mark

Congrats Larry. Success couldn't come to a nicer guy.

Thank you sir.