I guess I am just now getting into sheep hunting and the sheep hunting cult. I somehow got sidetracked in Africa while the rest of the world was chasing sheep of all types (ibex, urials, argali's, tur and the rest of the 80 so varieties and sub-species). I had not idea that sheep elicited so much thinking, prose, philosophy and essays on it.

Reminds of trout fisherman who are really fisherman and not "catcher-men" like me. They are purists, they like to suffer and then write about their suffering so that the others that suffer can commiserate with them all the while talking in hushed tones about the next big sheep or trip or adventure.

I admire these guys. I especially admire the ones that went before it was cool. Jack O'Connor likely started it with his books and essays in the 1940's and 1950's. Then it was broadened by the "Grand Slam" and now by the "Super Slam" of sheep. The popularity of sheep has risen with the rise of access to great places to hunt around the world. For US hunters, we have access to about 30-40 of the various species (by access, I mean we can import the horns and hides into the US) and can hunt whatever we can afford.

All of this to say that I admire the early pioneers of sheep hunting, the trail-blazers that opened a lot of eyes and doors to what sheep hunting is and where to go.

Jesus Yuren is one of these men. He is a native of Mexico and has written an interesting/funny/somewhat sarcastic and philosophical book on his adventures in sheep hunting. He broke ground in China, Kazakhstan and parts of Russia on his hunts. He also hunted some of the famed estates in Europe and the great areas in Mexico and North America. He tells stories of his hunts with the eyes of someone who is there for fun and adventure and not just horns and inches. He writes about the people, the translators, the drunk guides, the misadventures in China with a style that leads you to want to hunt wit this guy.

He is a bit of purist but he is also there for fun. On several trips he took his wife and usually took one of more of his sons on the trips. He used a variety of rifles and optics. He missed a lot of shots but ascribed to the theory that if there is lead in the air, there is hope. He made impossible shots and missed 50 yard shots. He tells the story of each hit or miss with a sense of humor.

The only downer in this book are the very poor photos. All are in black and white, most are poorly staged and too small to see much. I did not buy the book for the pictures, but they do help tell the story. He even had a photographer on some of the hunts. I would have fired the guy.

Yuren hunted in Russia just after it broke up and Gorbechov was still in power. He navigated his way around fairly easily as he was traveling on a Mexican passport. Bob Kern of the Hunting Consortium did most of his trip planning and opened a lot of doors.

Overall, if you are a sheep hunter or just like a fun series of essays on hunts, you will like this book. He writes well and intersperses his stories with funny clichés and analogies that I found funny.

Aside from the poor pictures, it is worth reading.

I rate this a solid 9 on the dogcat scale and it would be a 10 if not for the pictures.

Enjoy!

One of the better sheep / mountain books out there. I really enjoyed this book and hope that Mr. Yuren would do a book on all of his hunts.

Woodward