I’ve been hunting sheep for 5 years now. Never knew anyone else who hunted sheep. Was just an itch I had to scratch. In my first two seasons of sheep hunting I spent 5days total. First year I found out my first sheep hunting partner did not have what it takes to live out of a backpack. Second year I went solo for a couple nights. After three days of pounding winds I think the weather and loneliness of the mountain drove an inexperienced sheep hunter down. The next year I found this old Billy goat (Rob) with low sheep hunting experience that wanted to give sheep hunting a good go. I took him up the next year with me. He found out fast how out of shape he was in, and that there are not enough calories in cup a soup to live on while packing and hiking every day.
Over the next two years Rob and I upgraded our gear and sharpened are knowledge of sheep hunting. We went out pre scouting before the season opened. Day 1 of this year’s 7 day hunt we hit the road early for one of the most northern ranges in Alberta. After a 7 hour drive we backpacked in for most of the day till we hit the first bowl. Pitched the tipi by a rocky stream that runs through the first bowl we hit. That evening we watch a great Billy pick away at the forage of his steep domain.
The next day after glassing over the first bowl we decided to push a little farther back to where our target area was. The pack to the next bowl was steep down through shin tangle and tight pine growth old and new. The area we choose to call base camp for couple days gave us advantage points to view into 5 different bowls.
After two days of not seeing any sheep the plan was to spine the mountain. We loaded up with ten liters of water to last us a couple days on top of the mountain. After a long 2000 foot climb up the spine we hit a long steep ridge that ran to most of the bowls. We bivied out and dropped packs against a big flat boulder just 100 feet below the top of the mountain. Early that evening we seen a beautiful set of Grizzly cubs and a sow. The cubs color was an awesome silver color. I also spotted a bunch of ewes and a small band of young rams that evening.
The next morning I spotted a band of seven rams. From 2 km away we could tell that two rams in the band where close to being legal. Moved down of the mountain ridge to a spot where we watched them bed down. After making a game plan we made haste down a steep creek draw. Steep water falls cliffed us out close to the bottom where the mountain flattened out to the bowl. We had to side hill through the thick timber to get to the bottom of the bowl. Once into the bowl the sheep had moved to a higher vantage point on the mountain. This gave them a view of the whole area we had to go through to get to them. After 1 km of crab crawling through washouts and using small trees and brush to hide our figures we finally put a steep edge of the upper bowl between us and the band. I made it up the 100 foot climb to the upper bowl in minutes do to the adrenaline pulsing threw my body. Tucked behind a perfectly placed large bolder on the plateaus ridge line and pulled out the spotter and by this time the sheep had started to feed down towards us. After glassing the rams for over at least an hour, we deemed the one ram legal. Rob ranged the ram at 280 yards. Lying prone in the rocks I squeezed one round of out of my 7mm rem mag cracking the ram behind the front shoulder. Chambering a follow up shot I could see the ram tip over 40 yards from the initial shot.
That night I was ecstatic about taking my first ram. Extremely exhausted from a 5 hour stalk and then deboning and packing the ram off the mountain to where we bivy out. We Roasted up sheep tenderloin on the fire and drank the rest of our whisky. We pounded 14km out the next day. Can’t thank my hunting partner enough. I am definitely married to the guy now till we can take down a ram for him.
Over the next two years Rob and I upgraded our gear and sharpened are knowledge of sheep hunting. We went out pre scouting before the season opened. Day 1 of this year’s 7 day hunt we hit the road early for one of the most northern ranges in Alberta. After a 7 hour drive we backpacked in for most of the day till we hit the first bowl. Pitched the tipi by a rocky stream that runs through the first bowl we hit. That evening we watch a great Billy pick away at the forage of his steep domain.
The next day after glassing over the first bowl we decided to push a little farther back to where our target area was. The pack to the next bowl was steep down through shin tangle and tight pine growth old and new. The area we choose to call base camp for couple days gave us advantage points to view into 5 different bowls.
After two days of not seeing any sheep the plan was to spine the mountain. We loaded up with ten liters of water to last us a couple days on top of the mountain. After a long 2000 foot climb up the spine we hit a long steep ridge that ran to most of the bowls. We bivied out and dropped packs against a big flat boulder just 100 feet below the top of the mountain. Early that evening we seen a beautiful set of Grizzly cubs and a sow. The cubs color was an awesome silver color. I also spotted a bunch of ewes and a small band of young rams that evening.
The next morning I spotted a band of seven rams. From 2 km away we could tell that two rams in the band where close to being legal. Moved down of the mountain ridge to a spot where we watched them bed down. After making a game plan we made haste down a steep creek draw. Steep water falls cliffed us out close to the bottom where the mountain flattened out to the bowl. We had to side hill through the thick timber to get to the bottom of the bowl. Once into the bowl the sheep had moved to a higher vantage point on the mountain. This gave them a view of the whole area we had to go through to get to them. After 1 km of crab crawling through washouts and using small trees and brush to hide our figures we finally put a steep edge of the upper bowl between us and the band. I made it up the 100 foot climb to the upper bowl in minutes do to the adrenaline pulsing threw my body. Tucked behind a perfectly placed large bolder on the plateaus ridge line and pulled out the spotter and by this time the sheep had started to feed down towards us. After glassing the rams for over at least an hour, we deemed the one ram legal. Rob ranged the ram at 280 yards. Lying prone in the rocks I squeezed one round of out of my 7mm rem mag cracking the ram behind the front shoulder. Chambering a follow up shot I could see the ram tip over 40 yards from the initial shot.
That night I was ecstatic about taking my first ram. Extremely exhausted from a 5 hour stalk and then deboning and packing the ram off the mountain to where we bivy out. We Roasted up sheep tenderloin on the fire and drank the rest of our whisky. We pounded 14km out the next day. Can’t thank my hunting partner enough. I am definitely married to the guy now till we can take down a ram for him.
