2016 Montana Unlimited Ram

mt100gr.

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Joined
Jan 29, 2014
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2,908
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NW MT
I've debated posting this for the last 3 months. This was the most humbling hunt I have enjoyed and posting it on the internet was never a reason for me to do what I do in the mountains. That said, Rokslide has been a great resource for me over the last couple years and I know there is a lot of interest/curiosity/mystery regarding this hunt. Unfortunately, I wont be able to unravel much of that. Anyone who has hunted, hiked, or simply looked into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness can appreciate just how raw this country is and how extremely wild the sheep that live there are.

I returned to the Unlimited districts again this year a day before the season opened. My partner and I were stuck under tarps for the first 3 days of the season last year. September weather at 10k is probably the greatest obstacle for this hunt. This year we had better weather. It took 2 days to find sheep and two sheep were all we found. My ram and a sub legal ram.

I spotted them at daylight on the second day of the season and after a "brisk" hike, we relocated them bedded at 743 yards below us. We sat on them for 4 hours and as the wind started to pick up decided to make a move. We moved down the ridge we were on in an attempt to close the distance but the next time we peeked over to check on the sheep they were feeding away from us. We scrambled to set up the spotting scope and my rifle while I ranged, dialed my scope, and doubled checked environmental data. I am not sure how many times I asked my buddy to confirm that he was 100 percent certain this ram was legal (though I knew he was) but I know for a fact that my words were "are you on him? I am going to take him."

The next words out of my mouth as I rolled over to look back at my buddy were: "What did we just do?!"

My ram dropped to one shot at 614 yards.

From above the drainage we had to cross looked like an easy gravel-bottomed, braided stream. It took 3 hours to cross the ravines and scree to get to him. We were back to where I had initially spotted them a little after dark that day.

We got the "everything" version of the Unlimited's this year. We had a grizzly in camp 2 out of 3 nights, snow, fog, incredibly rough country and very few sheep. However, simply hunting there is a privilege and this year I brought home the trophy of my lifetime. My ram was aged at 8 1/2 years old.

Again, thank you Roksliders and Rokslide for all the mountain hunting camaraderie. There have been a few naysayers regarding this hunt but its like I always tell my partner: "you gotta show up". If you put yourself in a place enough times, eventually it will be the right place and time.

I am currently working on an article for the MT WSF so excuse the short write-up.
 
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Felix40

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Jul 27, 2015
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1,874
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New Mexico
Was this just your second year to do this hunt?! That's an awesome achievement. Going to be a lot of jealous guys out there.
 

weaver

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Feb 25, 2012
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1,203
That is incredible! How many years have you hunted the unlimited units and did you always hunt the same unit? Congratulations!
 

Shrek

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Joined
Jul 17, 2012
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7,069
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Hilliard Florida
Congratulations ! Wow ! There's not a much lower odds and tougher hunt to be had than a Montana unlimited sheep hunt. It's not just a legal ram but a solid ram and a beautiful dark cape. I'd be so proud you couldn't stand to be around me if I were you :) !
 

PNWGATOR

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Oct 14, 2014
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USA
One of, if not, the hardest earned trophies period. Fantastically well done and thank you for sharing your achievement and inspiration. Well, well done.
 
OP
M

mt100gr.

WKR
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
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2,908
Location
NW MT
Thank you for all the kind words.

This was our second year actually hunting the area but when the quest began and we decided we were going to do it we spent almost a year piecing together any information we could find. Everything from hunt records, weather patterns, Sheep behavior and ecology, etc. The research portion of our hunt was more exhausting than the hunt itself. We tried to track down anyone who for whatever reason may have been in there and may have seen a track.

Shrek, it sinks in more each day, even 3 months after the fact. I am proud of everything we did on that hunt but there is also an indescribable feeling of "now what?" Almost like I wasn't mentally prepared for the quest to be over. And it's an eerie feeling for me to know that I may never see another legal ram in there.

I will go back next year to hunt with my partner and will continue until he kills a ram. I would have loved to stay and continue hunting when we were there but we had a heavy enough hike out and had to meet the deadline to check it in. We held up our end of the deal, but after the better part of a day in town and 20-some phone calls it became apparent that none of the biologists or wardens in the area even had a plug they could put in the horns. They don't check in to many sheep there...:)
 

Logan T

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Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
380
Location
Montana
Congrats! I know only 2 people who have killed sheep in the unlimited units. Both book rams, but both hunted for a lot of years before they made it happen. It just so happened that the rams would make book. That is a beautiful sheep.


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Broomd

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Joined
Sep 29, 2014
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4,210
Location
North Idaho
Congrats, for all of the postings and hype about that almost impossible hunt it is really gratifying to see a guy get it done.

Great job.
 
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