San Juan Sheep Success
AGCHAWK
11/12/07 10:22pm
All,
dirtbikercr250 sent me these pics from his Brother-in-law's successful sheep hunt. ENJOY!
CONGRATS to your Brother-in-law!
dirtbikercr250 sent me these pics from his Brother-in-law's successful sheep hunt. ENJOY!
CONGRATS to your Brother-in-law!
14,257
I spent 18 days this fall in the San Rafael looking for a Desert Bighorn ram on a DIY hunt. I started Labor Day weekend, a few weeks before the actual hunt and then most weekends during the hunt. 14 of those days I didn't see a sheep. When I finally figured out how to find the sheep, I looked at 70 sheep in a 4 day period. Found numerous good rams that I couldn't get to or that moved during the hours it took me to hike to where they had been. And I passed on many younger rams. With my hunting companions telling me to Shoot, Shoot. It is Soooooo discouraging to go so many days without seeing a ram. That youa re very tempted to shoot the first ram you actually can get in the cross hairs.
I passed on 5 sheep earlier in the day and finally in later afternoon shot this 10 year old ram. He didn' score very well because he has broomed off so much of his horns. But he is an old warrior. Lots of character. Scared and busted nose, tore ear, chipped off crown of the horns and lambs tip almost totally broomed away.
Also a couple of pictures of the area we hunted.
You're right too, he looks like he's seen his share of scrapes!
Brian
There were several things that helped me improve. The first 7 days in the unit I was not actually hunting. No rifle, I was scouting. The Labor Day Weekend (the first 3 days I was down) I drove around in my truck and ATV, just trying to learn where the roads, trails went. Where I could get my Truck, ATV or horse to a trail head to start hunting.
The next two weekends, I actually started hiking and getting off the beaten path trying to find sheep. So by time I actually started to carry a rifle, I thought I was in areas where it was reasonible to expect to see sheep.
1. Labor day weekend the temps got up to 98*. By Halloween the temps were only getting to 50-60* In the heat the sheep stay in deep shadows and cool canyons. It is really hard to spot them during the heat.
2. The rut started. The rut for bighorn sheep is during November. As we approached Halloween, the rams started to drift back into areas where they bunched up with the ewes. So instead of seeing lone rams, you started to see groups of 5-7 sheep. Groups are easier to see than single.
3. By Halloween, I had eliminated a lot of non-productive country and was focusing on areas where the sheep could and more likely would be found. I had talked to several people who had hunted sheep in previous years and had them show me on the maps where I should be hunting.
4. My spotting skills improved. I have hunted primarily Mule deer and Elk. Sheep hunting is way different. Unlike deer hunting where I might sit and glass for 30 minutes. Sheep hunting requires you sit and glass a spot for 2-3-4 hours before moving on. It was really hard for me to develope the patience to stay put and keep glassing the same spot. Especially when it appeared so Open and Baren. But I was amazed at how many sheep we suddenly we would spot after watching the same hillside for 2 hours. I learned to glass areas 2-3 miles away, not just what I see within shooting distance.
5. My ability to actually see a sheep at distance improved. After you finally see a few sheep, your eyes start to learn what to focus on.
We watched this area for over an hour before this ram turned his white butt towards us and we spotted him. He is only 436 yards away and almost totally blends into the surroundings. Bottom of red line.
AWESOME RAM!! Love the INFO also, very helpful and great stuff. I can completely see what you mean after the pictures.
Love the character of your Ram, something about a big ole Ram that no matter what the size or condition of his horns is a TROPHY in my book.
:thumb
Looks like your brother in law found his ram ok. I wish I would have found this site and your posts sooner. I could have helped you get a ram before the pucker factor of the last day kicked in!
It appears he killed his ram somewhere near Fry Canyon?
It's hard to say but it looks like his ram is somewhere in the 120" range?
Did you guys ever go look at Jacob's chair? Another herd lives in that general area.
Congrats on a job well done. Learning sheep habits and locations is hard to do but so much fun.
I know a little about that south area. Looks like you killed near Chimney canyon up on the flats. There is a good herd in there.
Did you check out Seger's hole and Moroni slopes?
I'm just guessing here but it looks like your ram is in the 135" class? How big were the other ones you passed up?
We did check out Segers Holes and Moroni Slopes, But I didn't find any sheep over there.
We also spent a day at Poor Canyon, over in the Squeeze, Near Goblin Valley, and up on Pride Rock. We saw most off our sheep off Pride rock.
We spotted a nice ram near Buckskin Springs by Goblin Valley. we hiked 90 minutes or so to close the gap, but when we got there the sheep were gone. We scouted around and found the 6 ewes that we had seen with the ram, but the Ram had Poof disappeared..
The other rams I saw the morning that I shot mine, didn't seem to have as much mass. They were single animals. The ram I shot was with 5 ewes and and was running away when we first spotted him. I literally had seconds to evaluate and shoot. My elk hunting instincts kicked in. Single ram=small ram. Ram with harem of ewes = big ram. I never really got a side or front view of before shooting. Hence I never noticd his lamb tips being totally broomed off. I was looking at the back of his head and butt running away. I could see good mass from the back, bang.
As I look at some of the pictures of the nice curls and larger measurements of others sheep. I need to remember there is no shame in harvesting a heavily broomed 10 year old ram. Especially on a DIY hunt.
My only regret is that I now have all this experience and have used up my once in a lifetime hunt. I hope I can talk a buddy into putting in for and hope he draws a tag before I'm too old to ever go again.
What country is that???