My Last Sheep Hunt – Desert Bighorn Hunt Report – FNAWS Completed!

Hunt Dates – January 22 - 28, 2015. We were the second group of hunters in the area this season. The first group of three big rams from a high fence area. We were the first in the area hunting free range sheep.

Outfitter – Martin Leon’s Candaleria Outfitters – Martin Leon, owner of the outfit and the ranch.

Agent – Neal and Brownlee, Inc. – Jeff Neal and Greg Brownlee – 918 299 3580 or http://www.jeffcnealinc.com/

Game Sought – Desert Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Coues Deer

Game Taken –- Desert Bighorn Sheep (by both hunters), Mule Deer by me and Coues Deer by Bob

Game and Animals Seen – Desert Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Coues Deer, bobcats, coyotes, chipmunks, javelin, chupacabra (big one!)

This is really big country to hunt!




Executive Summary

My hunting partner and I both killed very good sheep. His was twelve years old and mine was tough to estimate due to serious smoothing of the horns, estimated at 10+ years. Bob took his at 140 yards after a killer climb and stalk up the mountains on the second full day of hunting. I took mine on day one after a relatively easy climb and long wait to get a shot. My shot was 120 yards downhill in a very rocky/thorny canyon. The mule deer hunt was a lot tougher due to the large number of monster bucks that were in full rut. I passed on at least five that were monsters from my perspective but the guides said to wait for, “muy grande”. I waited and took a great buck on the fifth day – 6 x 6 with 31” spread and great mass. It was a 100 yard shot just after he mounted a responsive doe. He died with a smile on his face. Bob killed a super Coues deer on day five as well, making a 300 yard shot on a potential B&C buck. Accommodations were in a great ranch house with super food. This was the most comfortable sheep hunt I could imagine.



Background for this hunt

I hate sheep hunting. I hate horses. I do not like to camp out. I am spoiled by Africa. However, I like the challenge of testing myself, even at my age, to see I have still have “it”. Hence, I agreed to join a good friend and frequent hunting partner to go after Desert Bighorn Sheep. My friend is a Jack O’Connor (“Mr. .270”) fan. He has read every book, subscribed to Outdoor Life as a kid and for 60 years has dreamed of hunting Stone Sheep in the Cassier Mountains, the same as Jack O’Connor. We went last fall and killed great Stone Sheep. Now, we were talked into a Desert Bighorn by my agent, Jeff Neal. I told Jeff that I hate sheep hunting and really did not want to go again, even to complete a Grand Slam. He then played the trump card telling Bob and I that Jack O’Connor hunted this area of Sonora in the “Old Man Mountains” for his Desert Sheep over the years. Jeff said he had the best outfitter in the best area for Desert Sheep and Mule Deer. As I found out, he was right. I called Bob and we were all in to do this, much to my hesitancy. I hate sheep hunting, and here I am going again.

Jeff told us about Martin Leon and his family’s ranch northwest of Hermosillo near Caborca, saying it would be the best sheep hunt we could hope for – no horses, no tents, lots of sheep, great food, great guides and a chance at rutting Mule Deer and Coues Deer. Martin has no website and only does six hunts a year as his family are the largest table grape growers in the world, harvesting 14,000,000 pounds of green and red grapes for the supermarkets in the US. Martin, his father and brother are big hunters having been to many places around the world, and in many adventures. Martin’s father survived a bad bush plane crash in Alaska and still hunts in many tough areas. His father has taken more than twenty Desert Sheep.

The Outfitter

You have heard about all of the border drug war issues in Mexico. Some of this has spilled over into other areas of Mexico. I had these concerns for this trip but did enough research to find out that this area is not a problem area. The Sonoran Desert area northwest of Hermosillo all the way to the Sea of Cortez is safe. This is farm country and is known as the asparagus capitol of the world. We saw field after field of asparagus with people picking the crop as we drove four hours from Hermosillo to the ranch. We saw a lot of police and military out and about. There were checkpoints, but it was hassle free and I never had a concern.

The ranch is about 120,000 acres and is just outside of Caborca. The ranch is primarily for hunting but also has a sizeable cattle operation ongoing. Martin’s father bought the ranch many years ago and has been adding to it as adjacent property became available. The area is the core area for Desert Bighorns and they actively work with the authorities in Mexico to set quotas and any habitat improvement ideas. The ranch is loaded with monster mule deer and a sizeable population of Coues Deer as well. We saw 14 legal rams as well as a bunch of seriously big mule deer.

Martin is the overall manager and chief guide on the ranch. He has at least five other men that help out and are good guides. The terrain is unusual. It is very flat in the valley floor with old mountains jutting up in ranges around the ranch. The mountains are not terribly high but are seriously rough climbing due to the rocks and thorn bushes. The flat land between the mountains is the home of the mule deer. They are tough to see due to the dense brush and cactus in the area. This area gets a decent amount of rain each year and is not classic desert. It is much like the terrain around Phoenix or Tucson.

Martin Leon, my hunting partner – Bob , Martin’s father who has hunted everywhere!



The accommodations are excellent. You sleep in a ranch house, have hot/cold water, great food and a couple of ladies that do all the cooking. If you like real Mexican food, you will get plenty here. The ladies doing the cooking made fresh tortillas every day. Tortillas are a staple in the diet here. It was the most comfortable hunt I have been on. This is a hunt to bring your wife to.





Getting there was no big deal. Fly to Hermosillo, clear customs, get your guns checked and out the door. The staff at the airport are used to hunters and are very welcoming. Just smile and have your gun permit and you will be fine with no hassles. This is easier than South Africa. The city itself is big, not too crowded, clean and easy to navigate. The roads are good and there are plenty of places to eat. Honestly, I found Hermosillo nicer than the resort towns that Mexico is known for. We drove four hours to the ranch and were ready to roll.





The Guides

We had very good guides that grew up on the ranch and knew every trail and hiding place. When they are not hunting, they are working on roads, repairing fences, working cattle and doing what ranch hands do. The only oddity was that none of them spoke English. My Spanish is passable but I missed on the running conversation you normally have with a guide about hunting, animals, wives, philosophy and all that. They were all skilled and good at spotting sheep. Better yet, they kept me from pulling the trigger on an average mule deer when a really big one was out there waiting for us to arrive. I really struggled with judging the mule deer as I am used to what we get in Wyoming or New Mexico. These mule deer are big horned and fairly big bodied. I was stunned at the number of big ones we did not even stop to look at.



On the pack outs, the guides did a great job getting off the mountains in the dark carrying sheep horns and meat. I was spooked working down the steep hillsides in the dark and they just trudged on without a worry.



The Agent

Jeff Neal has been a friend for many years and has steered me toward some great hunts. He is honest and knows his business. He stands behind his word and I will continue to work with him. Greg Brownlee was the point man for this hunt and did a great job getting me set up. As usual, I had no surprises on this hunt. Expectations were clearly laid out and met. Jeff and Greg are now partners as Neal and Brownlee, Inc.

Equipment Used

Rifles – Winchester Model 70 upgraded by Hill Country Rifles to their Harvester line with a custom barrel, custom trigger, custom Kevlar stock in .300 Win Mag with Swarovski Z6i 2.5 x 15 x 44 4AI with ballistic turrets. My partner used a Browning Silver Medalion .270 WSM with Leupold VX3 3.5 x 10 x 40.

Ammo – I used Federal Premium .300 WM 180 grain Barnes TSX. My partner used .270 WSM handloads with a 140 grain Accubond bullet.

Optics – I used two pair of binos – Swarovski 15 x 56 SLC for long range spotting. I had a new pair of Leica Geovid HD-R 10 x 42 range-finding binoculars. These were new so I was just getting used to them. They were super and I am now completely spoiled. I like the ranging feature and used it a lot. I did not have a spotting scope. My partner used a pair of Leica 10 x 25 binos and a Leica Spotting scope (not sure of the model) that went to 60x. I am used to using both, so they were what I needed.
The guides each had quality optics as well, something you usually do not see in most hunting operations. Each had Leica or Swarovski binoculars with a couple of guys having spotting scopes.

Boots – Kenetrek Uninsulated Mountain Extreme - http://www.kenetrek.com/. I have used these boots on four hunts and they are excellent. Other than the rifle, I needed these boots to work to have a successful hunt. I highly, highly recommend them.

Packs – none needed, even on the climb. The guides carried water and essentials for the pack out.

Clothing – I really like Sitka gear (www.sitkagear.com ). I wore two types of pants depending on the weather, a merino light shirt, a vest and a jacket on most days. I used the Opti-fade Open camo pattern, but really don’t think camo is needed on this type of hunt. The clothes are water resistant and windproof. You are nuts if you don’t use windproof gear these days. Wind is what makes me the coldest and I don’t buy it if it is not windproof. The pants I chose were the Ascent Pant and the Mountain Pant. The only downer was that the Mountain Pant has a built in belt that you cannot attached anything to.

Sleeping Gear – I slept in a real bed. Eat your heart out you hard nosed sheep hunters.

Gloves – I used Cabela’s Deer Skin uninsulated gloves. These are needed due to the rocks and thorns. Take some but be sure they are durable. The weather was not too cold but I need better gloves for hand climbing up the mountains on sharp rocks.

Gaiters – I should have worn some good ones due to the thorn and rocks. I did not have them and suffered a number of punctures.

Personal Items – Take an anti-inflammatory of some type and a pain killer. You will need them. I like Aleve. Take plenty of baby wipes for use at the latrine and cleaning your hands. If you have a small pad that you can sit on while glassing, take it. Something like a small stadium seating pad or foam as your bottom will get sore sitting on rocks or logs.

Kitchen

The ladies preferred the wood burning stove for anything needing to slow cook. They used this all day. The food was excellent. We had tortillas and a type of refried beans with every meal as this was the norm for the local folks. We had a seafood due to the close proximity to the Sea of Cortez. Outdoor cooking was done on an open hearth grill and a slow cooker called the “Green Egg”. This is a ceramic lined smoker that was made in the shape of an egg. Most barbeque aficionados know all about this cooker but it was new to me.






The Hunt

Rather than do this as a diary, I will break this up by species so you can see we hunted each one.


Desert Bighorn Sheep

Glass. That is what you do to hunt sheep of nearly any type. Glass and glass some more. The good news is that guides and Martin are out on the ranch every day and constantly watching the sheep. We did not spend days and days hoping to see sheep. On the first day, it took a couple of hours to spot two nice rams, one of which I decided to stalk and shoot. The process is that we drove ranch roads to the base of the mountains and glassed looking up. Each range of mountains offered certain vantage points where we could see large areas of the mountain. These sheep are not pushed or hunted hard, so they stayed in a relatively small area.

We spotted rams on two different mountains and decided to stalk the easier of the two as both rams were full curl and trophy quality. Martin said that we wait until the rams bed down in the early afternoon, we mark the spot and make a climb. Usually the rams stay bedded until just before dusk so we had several hours to get up the mountain and locate the dozing ram. We left a couple of guys on the valley floor to aid in guiding us into the spot where the ram was seen bedded down.

We made slow climb up the steep, sharp rocks and got above the ram I hoped to take in a couple of hours. Not a real bad climb, just lots of thorns and sharp rocks to get over. We settled in where the ram was but could not see him. He had risen early from his nap and was just below us behind some rocks. We waited about an hour or so before he showed himself directly below us. Martin confirmed it was a good ram and a shot in the chest and a couple of follow up shots put him down. I was impressed with how small these rams are in terms of body size compared to Stone or Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. This ram was dark chocolate in color and weighed about 150 pounds. The horns were outsized compared to the body. The boss or front of his horns was worn smooth from fighting. A great ram and I am very pleased with him.









Hard to age this sheep due to the condition of his horns –



We saw Bob’s sheep on the far mountain about two miles away. We watched him bed down and decided that he was too far to make the stalk that day. Next day, the guys located him again and started a grueling four hour climb to try and find him bedded. They found the sheep but had to wait a long time for him to stand up. I was hunting mule deer the entire time and kept up with the stalk via radio. About 4pm, the sheep got up and Bob made the shot. The sheep managed to hop around a bit but was finally anchored a little later.

The real fun part just began. After pictures and congrats were handed out, the climb down the mountain was on. Turns out that the way down was not the way they went up, so they were on a new trail/path in the darkness with just a flashlights to help them. It took longer to get down than up and ultimately, a couple of the guides I was with on the mule deer went up the mountain in the darkness to assist in the recovery and to get Bob and Martin off the mountain in one piece. I am not much on climbing up or down in the dark, but this was what had to be done. I was proud and relieved they made it down in the dark. One thing that really helped was the use of a GPS to guide them to the road and where we were located so we could pick them up. Technology is great and this device was very helpful.

Bob is now 75% of the way to his slam. He took a great sheep and it was hard won.







Mule Deer

Mule deer hunting in this area is not a real spot and stalk event. Due to the brush and cactus, the cover was very heavy. We drove ranch roads looking for places the deer crossed the road and for any activity we could spot. We saw a lot of deer, mostly does and young bucks, but crossed the occasional monster (at least in my eyes) that the guides just looked at and drove on. Only once did they get excited about a big buck that I never saw. This buck was about six inches outside his ears on spread and very tall. Unfortunately, I never got him spotted or even a remote chance at a shot.

We used a high rack truck to slow cruise around looking for deer. The guide and I sat on top with the driver being tethered by a string when we wanted him to stop.











I spent three days doing this in the morning and evenings before coming across the buck I shot. We spotted him chasing a doe and then breeding the doe in the thick brush. We got several good looks at his antlers and decided to take him. He was not the monster the guides were looking for but he was the biggest buck I had ever seen. The shot was easy and he went down. This buck had extra points and was more than 30” wide. I do not measure bucks, but Martin estimated him at 210” to 220”. A great buck.







If I were a mule deer addict, I would hunt them in Mexico. This area is known for big mule deer and a hunter will see more deer here than in Colorado or New Mexico. I am not consumed with hunting mule deer, but this would be the place to go if I were.

Coues Deer

Basically the same method as mule deer was used to find the Coues deer. I hunted them briefly without success. Bob spent one long day looking for them and connected on a real good one at 300 yards. The guides spotted the buck and directed Bob to the shot. It is not a “drive-by” shooting, but more of an intense glassing and watching as you drive from vantage point to vantage point.



Observations and Perceived Realities

1. No matter how good of shape you are in or if you are into CrossFit or whatever, the mountains will kick your tail. Climbing stairs or using an elliptical machine will help, but the only way to get in climbing shape is to climb. You will have to climb a lot just to not pass out on the hunting climbs. This was my fifth sheep hunt. I was not in shape not did I did make a good effort to get in decent shape. No excuses and I knew my legs would take a beating due to my lack of conditioning.

2. Make a large part of your conditioning hiking and climbing on uneven ground. There is no flat ground on the mountains, the climbing and descending is treacherous and on very shifty rocks and dirt. Hike on uneven ground a lot.

3. If you are not in shape or have physical limitations, you can still do this hunt. Martin has a lot of sheep and sooner or later one will be in a place you can get to. He had on client on crutches that took a good ram. Further, he has a high fenced area where you can take a sheep. I am not recommending that option but it was interesting to hear him tell me why he created an enclosure for a sheep hunt. In summary, he had a lot of customers who wanted to hunt that way. His high fenced sheep grow horns about 25% bigger than the wild sheep. This is due to diet and lack of predation. The wild sheep were usually 160” +/- on the B&C scale. The fenced sheep went about 180” or more. Same gene pool, same sheep.

4. This is an easy hunt both mentally and physically. This area is loaded with sheep, so you will get one. The accommodations are top notch, the food is excellent and you will not wear yourself out. This should be the last sheep hunt you ever do. Treat yourself and enjoy an easy one.

5. Your most important piece of equipment are your boots. Make 100% certain you can shoot your rifle first, then make 200% certain your boots are broken in and will not fail you. I used Kenetrek mountain boots with no problems.

6. Learn how to shoot. Learn how to shoot at distances beyond what you are used to. Learn how to shoot uphill and downhill. My shot was 35 degrees down angle. I missed my first shot on my Stone sheep hunt at a tough angle. I made sure that I knew what I was doing right and wrong to get better at this skill. On this hunt, I was close enough to not worry about angle. I suggest you shoot several hundred rounds in a variety of positions and angles. You may get only one shot, so do not blow it due to not practicing.

7. These sheep are smaller than the other North American sheep. The horns are big compared to the body. Let Martin or your guides make the call on what is a good sheep. You may have killed a few sheep and know the drill, but these guys have taken hundreds and know what they are looking at.

8. Drink plenty of water. I got dehydrated a couple of times not realizing that I was sweating off a lot of water. I cramped at times due to not having drunk enough water.

9. Take only the equipment the outfitter recommends. He has the experience, so buy what he suggests. This is not a hard hunt so you do not need a duffle bag full of stuff you “might” need.

10. Take and use premium optics. I like Swarovski and Leica. This is no hunt for cheap optics.

11. This is a great area for Mule Deer and Coues Deer. It is not heavily hunted or poached. With perseverance, you will kill a super deer.

After the hunt thoughts –

1. I hate sheep hunting but love to hunt them. They are maddening and challenging. They are supremely gorgeous and downright frustrating. I have made five sheep hunts and swear I will never do it again, but I do. I really do not know why I do this. Ibex is next on my list but I am a little soft on the commitment to do it. Maybe. Maybe Spain and/or Turkey.

2. Desert Sheep hunting is not tough. It can be a scam if you are conned into going on a high fenced hunt. Choose a good outfit and agent to guide you on this. I wanted the real deal as much as possible. The reality in Mexico is that Desert Sheep are a big cash crop and the operators have figured out how to get you there to spend some serious money on this sheep. Go and enjoy but be sure you know how the hunt is to be conducted and what to expect. It is not like a typical sheep hunt in the USA or Canada.

3. The ultimate question is – would I do this hunt again? Well, maybe. It is expensive but fun and well run. I really liked the hunt, the people and the quarry, but there are other hunts I want to experience for the same money I spent here. My next big hunt will be in Ethiopia. However, if you are looking for a good Desert Bighorn Sheep, I doubt you could find a better outfit or area. This is the place to go.

4. Will I hunt sheep again? Not so sure. I think ibex are my next challenge! That is, until someone calls and says, “Hey, you really gotta go do this hunt!” However, I will hang up my sheep boots after that …..maybe.


The Million Dollar Wall!!!

These are horns and skulls they have picked up in the area over the last few seasons. Each skull/horn set represents a lot of money they did not get. Ouch!







Appendix

Bird List
I am an avid birder and added several to my life list on this hunt.

Gambel’s Quail
Roadrunner
Zone-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Kestrel
Mourning Dove
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Mockingbird
Great Blue Heron
Loggerhead Shrike
House Finch
Gila Woodpecker
Vermillion Flycatcher
Ladder-backed Woodpecker

dogcat,

Huge Congrats on a great accomplishment !!!! now what are you going to do?.....perhaps travel a little with a rifle......Thanks for sharing

Chuck

Awesome - congrats on you FNAWS!

Dogcat,

i like your writing and experiences.

if one day i met someone that dislike the mountains like you and going again again i will try to make him friend with you.

congratulation again.

Phil

Medved,
I was born in West Virginia and never saw a flat piece of ground until I was in high school. I swore to avoid mountains and snow the rest of my life, so - where have I lived? Kazakhstan, Wyoming, Colorado, worked in Russia and other cold places. Where to I end up hunting - mountains as well. Go figure.

I hate the hills for a month after a hunt, then decide to go back again "one last time", then end up doing it over and over.

Someone told me I was "nuts", I said, "no, just psychotic".

Anyway, I will be after ibex and hopefully mountain nyala in the future and maybe Fannin sheep.

Congratulations on a great hunt. That mule deer is a stud!

Enjoyed the report and photo's. Thanks for sharing.

Great report again Ross. Fantastic muley!!!!, I would have liked to see the big one.

Great report on a great hunt! Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

Great writeup. Changed my mind a bit about Mexico. I live in AZ and have some shall we say "mixed" feelings, but seems like a first class outfit and no hassles. Interested to see what the cost for a hunt like this is. You said they have no website?

I am sure we will hear another story of your "last" hunt!

Great hunt all around!

I will be updating with more pics later. My hunting buddy has some great ones to add.

Great report, as usual.

Nice sheep.

Congratulations on completing the N.A. Sheep Slam (if one may still call it that). An impressive accomplishment. Well done.

I have long enjoyed reading your hunting adventures and it's easy to see by the thoroughness of your reports how much you love hunting.

Look forward to seeing more pics and awesome accomplishment!!

Now you can understand why I spend as much time there as possible

Excellent report and congratulations

Congrats on the great hunt!

I was in Caborca just a few days before you got there. We hunted a ranch probably not far from you.

You got to love that desert!

The Mexican put and take hunting system really damages my pride in being a hunter. I suppose in this day and age its improper for me to congratulate those hunters who choose to not go the big buck/ram put and take option.

Great report. I love those big sonoran bucks

New pics added of my hunting partner's sheep and massive Coues Deer.

Pretty darn cool man!!!! Huge congrats my friend.

Ross - I am curious, how big was the stone sheep you saw on this hunt?

Huge congrats and what an accomplishment! Great mulie too...

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
Ross - I am curious, how big was the stone sheep you saw on this hunt?

You caught me! Mis-type for sure as I would have to have great eyes and imagination to see a Stone Sheep in Mexico! Corrected on the report and noted!!!
Thanks....

Great report as always, Ross! Enjoyed flying there and back with you guys.

Greg

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
Ross - I am curious, how big was the stone sheep you saw on this hunt?

You caught me! Mis-type for sure as I would have to have great eyes and imagination to see a Stone Sheep in Mexico! Corrected on the report and noted!!!
Thanks....

It was good for a laugh!!

Congrats again man, looks like a tremendous adventure.

Spiral horn slam next in sight!

When I grow up, I want to do whatever it is you do for a living!

Neat hunt and excellent report as always Ross. You describe your trips in such a way that I am able to really appreciate and understand what it would otherwise cost me a hunt to!

Have you done a brown bear hunt yet? If not, might I humbly suggest Kodiak in the spring. It's the only way I'm going to get there!

Congratulations, seems like you had a blast, really glad you enjoyed Sonora!
Those are all great trophies but I am really impressed by the coues deer, thanks for sharing!

quote:

Originally posted by Bill C:
When I grow up, I want to do whatever it is you do for a living!

Neat hunt and excellent report as always Ross. You describe your trips in such a way that I am able to really appreciate and understand what it would otherwise cost me a hunt to!

Have you done a brown bear hunt yet? If not, might I humbly suggest Kodiak in the spring. It's the only way I'm going to get there!

Bill,
I am doing a bear boat hunt this fall at Afognak Island. Should be interesting. I really like the idea of getting a shower at night and sleeping in a bed rather than being wet and cold.
I will submit a report when I go.

That's a great mule deer. Congratulations.

Nicely done Ross.
I hunted Coues deer out of Hermosillo 4 or 5 years ago, nice country down there.

Hunting season getting underway with us in New Zealand now.

One day I'd like to get after a Muley like that.

Gerald,
It was fun and a bit of a rush, but I would take our double on tahr anytime to equal it!

Outstanding report, one of the best on AR. Wish I could afford that exact hunt!

Dogcat, again an excellent hunt report! Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed reading it.

Don't know much about sheep or deer but those sure look impressive. Great report and photos.