Progress of my preparations for my Colorado sheep hunt?

[RnnHntr]

With my rifle and ammo I will be carrying about 55 pounds. I am hunting with a guide for the first three days of the season, and then on my own for the next three. My thought is to cache my spotting scope and some of the other stuff the guide will have until I am on my own, thus reducing my load by ten pounds or so. If I have to pack out with a sheep on my own I am guessing I will have around 200 pounds of gear, meat, and horns. I plan to split the weight into three loads and stage them down the mountain in three or four mile stages.

 

[Elkfitness]

Rnnhntr

It was great mtg you on the trail list week. Wish you the best of luck in the season!


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[Silvereagle50]

when does this happen? so ready for the pics and final report...

 

[RnnHntr]

I pack in on Monday, September 2, and Tuesday is day one of the season. The season lasts through October 6 so I have some time. However, until I have a sheep on the ground it won’t seem like enough.

 

[Silvereagle50]

Hoping he's successful already. Can't wait for ending writeup

 

[RnnHntr]

Status Report - Sheep 1, Hunters 0. I had hired Flat Tops Wilderness Guides for the first four days of the season, since I wanted sheep lessons. I had expected one guide, but ended up with two; Jimmy Oswald and Tanner Coulter; Tanner and Jimmy are a pleasure to be around. We were all scouring different areas, each of us spending a day glassing a single basin/bowl. After three days between the three of us we had scrutinized nine different bowls. The weather was incredibly hot with temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s at 11,000 feet. The sheep were hiding where it was cooler, likely in the deep timber. Given the lack of sheep, the length of the season, and the fact that I am local, they suggested saving my last couple of days until later in the season after we could locate the sheep, and they would work with me on the hunt. We saw moose, deer, elk, and goats, lots of goats!



These guys and their sisters, nieces, and nephews (16 goats all together) ended up following us around for most of a day and a half.

We have formulated a game plan for moving forward, and Tanner and l will be in different areas next weekend looking for sheep. Jimmy is guiding a goat hunter in another unit, but will join us if they tag out early. If I kill a sheep, they said to get a hold of them and if at all practical, someone would come help me pack it out. If they find sheep, they will contact me and I will meet up with them. Ahhhh, the joys of satellite-based communications; I have a SpotX and they have Delormes.

As to the actual hunt, I thought I was in shape, being an ultra-distance runner, but at 61, I have met my betters in a couple of 20-something mountain guides. One thing I have to say, is that for me, sheep hunting is more mentally and physically challenging than running a 100-mile mountain ultramarathon. I would stand at the bottom of a 700-foot high avalanche chute looking up thinking "I am supposed to climb that carrying 50-pounds of pack, rifle, and assorted other crap?" Jimmy and Tanner would head up it making the climb look easy, and I would be thinking that sheep hunting is about the stupidest thing I have voluntarily done. At one point, we were climbing a slope that was steep enough that while standing, I could touch the ground in front of me with almost no leaning forward. I have to admit to starting to freak out a bit and I had to stop, lean against the slope, and take several calming breaths before I could continue. After reaching the top, I looked down the other side knowing we would have to go down, and it looked almost as bad. I am writing this, so I obviously didn't die, and it probably was not as bad as it looked (probably). We covered quite a bit of ground with our legs and our eyes, and I think my butt may be sorer from sitting and glassing than my legs are from the up and down.

As to the country, it was stunning, as the following photos will attest to.



As to the practical stuff, and organizing myself for next weekend. The first thing I can say is I am SOOOO glad that I spent the money for good boots, and took the time to break them in. If I were limited to one piece of advice from what I have done so far, it would be to buy the best fitting pair of mountaineering boots that you can afford, take the time to break them in, and find a sock system that is comfortable for you. In my opinion, this is not just a comfort issue, but a safety issue. As challenging as some of the climbs and descents were for me, my boots always stayed where I placed my foot, and were reliably rock solid stable. If you don't remember, I am in Lowe Tibet GTX boots with a thin REI silk-like liner sock under Darn Tough hiking socks. The other stand out piece of equipment from this initial trip is my TarpTent Stratospire 1 tent. My Seek Outside Lanner pack worked well, but I still need to play with it to get everything strapped in just right. The pack is comfortable and stable on my back, so it will be a matter of fine-tuning. My sleep system is comfortable, but is unnecessarily heavy. It is one of the areas where I can trim several pounds of weigh, and a new bag and pad may be in the offing this week. The other big weight savings I will be making is just going through all of my stuff and jettisoning a bunch of stuff I really don't need. One thing I found is that I really do not need as much clothing as I brought, and with a little creativity, I can have the same level of clothing warmth and comfort at about two-thirds the weight. The one majorly disappointing piece of equipment I have is my Cooper 92 rifle, which is only about two and a half months old. On day one, the magazine release broke and I had to use duct tape to hold the magazine in. Cooper supposedly sent the replacement parts yesterday, so I should have them early next week. The rifle shoots and handles well, but I don't feel that the quality is what it should be for the price, and this reinforces my feeling that the rifle's Achilles heel is the magazine system. Hopefully, once I fix it, it will stay fixed. I am a fair machinist and have the tools, so I may just see if I can improve the system myself this winter. One piece of equipment that I will be adding is an Alaska Guide Creations (AGC) binocular pouch. I found that trying to organize my binoculars, range finder, camera, and GPS separately was a pain. Jimmy and Tanner both had AGC pouches, and it was obvious that the pouch was a standout way to organize things. I tried Tanners, and found it to be very comfortable and easy to use. The camera I ended up with is the Olympus Tough TG-6, which is dust, shock, and water resistant. One fun thing is that the camera includes a built-in GPS, so it will track and log your location every few minutes, and will tag photos with their location, if the GPS is on. I am happy with the camera so far.

The other item I am buying is a new set of binoculars. I managed to set my Kahles' down at the trail head while loading the truck to head home, and forgot them. When I went back an hour later to see if by any chance they were still there, they were not. Oh well, I found a smoking deal on a set of Swarovski 10x42 SLCs, so I guess it is a good excuse to upgrade. I will be selling a couple of rifles to help cover the cost, but that is less messy than selling a kidney. Anybody looking for a good deal on a Stainless Tikka T3 Lite in .300 WInchester with a Leupold Vari-X III 2.5-8 scope, or a Ruger 77 .458 WInchester that has an integral KDF brake and a Leupold 2.5X compact scope?

I will post an update after next weekend. At the end of this whole series, I will post my final equipment list with details of how stuff performed, and what I changed as the hunt progressed. Wish me luck, and hopefully my next post will include a picture of a dead ram.

 

[realunlucky]

Good luck. Appreciate the stunning photos amazing country is an understatement.

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[Silvereagle50]

Which AGC are you gonna go with?

 

[RnnHntr]

I am going with the AGC Cub Max in Coyote Brown. I went with the Max because the bottom compartment is just the right size for my camera.

 

[Silvereagle50]

I am going with the AGC Cub Max in Coyote Brown. I went with the Max because the bottom compartment is just the right size for my camera.

That’s the one I’ve been looking at too. Thanks. And good luck man. I’m pulling for you.

 

[Corey Paulsen (teamkabob)]

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[Ratbeetle]

Great pictures. I had a great time but unfortunately didn't fill my ewe tag this season. I hope you're successful.

 

[SharkDog]

This is fun write-up. Good Luck.

 

[RnnHntr]

Due to a last-minute family conflict, I was only able to get out one day last weekend, but it did give me the opportunity to search another area of interest. Unfortunately, the only sheep I saw were five ewes grazing along I-70 between Georgetown and Silver Plume, which is well east of my hunting area. I wouldn't describe sheep hunting as fun to me, but it sure is a challenge! On the other hand, those people that know me also know I cannot resist challenges. One difference I found this weekend verses the first week I went out is that I am becoming more comfortable climbing and descending steep open slopes. In order to get up to where I wanted to hunt, I had to climb this avalanche chute, which is 2,000 vertical feet in height.





Once I got to the site, the area looked like what I have been told is "sheepy," but the only sign I saw of sheep was a couple of piles of poop that were at least a month old. This is what I think of as sheepy based on what I have read and been told.



I was also able to glass two basins where sheep were killed in past years, including the basin where last year's 3/4-curl ram was killed.



I still have some ideas about where the sheep might be, and will be spending several days in that area next week.

As to the changes that I have made to my gear, I have removed items that I now believe are not needed for safety or absolute utility, which lightened my pack by about five pounds. I also gave my AGC binocular pack its maiden voyage, and am very happy with it. I added a tripod adaptor for my binoculars, and for me, it makes glassing substantially more efficient and less tiring. My replacement binoculars are also a step up, even though my others were quite good. I continue to pour over my pictures, aerial photos, and maps of the area looking for pockets I have not yet investigated that may hold sheep. If I am still not able to find them next week, I may try hunting closer to their winter areas on the chance that the ewes I did see are an indication that the sheep are hanging out lower than usual.

Wish me luck!

 

[RnnHntr]

I forgot to mention that I was able to fix my rifle. It turns out that the pin holding the magazine latch is just short enough that it can walk out of one side of the trigger guard. I had some drill rod of the correct diameter and made a new pin that is the full width of the front tang on the trigger guard. While I was at it, I also put a stronger latch spring in and it retains the magazine much more reliably than the factory spring, but the magazine still ejects if the latch is purposefully depressed.

 

[Silvereagle50]

I really hated to hear your problems with your rifle. For one reason, I"ve been pulling for you on this ordeal the whole way and didn't like to hear of your issues. Secondly, because I've really wanted to get one for myself. Makes me have second thoughts. Especially since I don't have the tools or ability to fix an issue myself like it sounds like you have.

Now go get your Ram...
'

 

[RnnHntr]

I intend to call Cooper and talk the issues through with whoever their lead gunsmith/rifle designer is, because the issues are easy to fix if they are willing. The concept and ergonomics of the rifle are really nice, but.

 

[RnnHntr]

I am back from my business trip that lasted through last weekend, and I was able to find out that the other hunter who has/had the other tag for the same area as me got his sheep. The irony of it is that it was where I had scouted the week before the season without seeing them. I HATE SHEEP; now it's revenge time! From what the guide who was guiding the hunter told me, there were eight rams in the band, and the sheep only moved about 500 yards after they got the one. The one they got green scored at about 175, and he said there are three other 3/4-curl or better rams left in the group who are about the same. The sheep were hanging out on a cliff face that required the guide to use ropes to access the ram, and he had to rope the sheep down in pieces. He said that it was sketchy enough that he would not do it again. My wife will kill me if I die or am maimed for a sheep, so if they are on a similar ledge, I believe I will watch them to see if they move to a more accessible place. I am going to head into the area on Thursday and can hunt through midday Sunday. If I am not successful, I have three days I can take the following weekend. If I am successful, it will be a tough approximate 11-mile pack out, but nobody said sheep hunting is easy. Anybody have a portable matter transporter that I can borrow, or failing that a few Sherpas?

 

[BAKPAKR]

I have enjoyed the story of your preparations and hunt so far and I am looking forward to a photo of your ram. Good luck!

 

[Shrek]

Business ? Work ? Pfffft ! You have sheep to hunt ! Good hunting !