# I drew a Wyoming Bighorn Sheep tag!



## wyogoob

After 35 years of applying I finally drew a Wyoming Bighorn Sheep tag; 13 years in the regular draw and then 22 years in the Preference Point system.

The tag is for Area 2 located in the Absaroka Range between Cody and Yellowstone National Park. It has the highest concentration of Grizzly Bears in the lower 48. I will be hunting sometime between September 22nd and Oct 3rd.

.


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## CPAjeff

Congrats on the tag!


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## DallanC

Sounds like a job for the 'Newton.


-DallanC


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## itchytriggerfinger

I'm excited for you. Selfishly I'm looking forward to your stories, tent pictures, recipes of real Rocky Mountain oysters and the fun this tag will bring all of us who haven't been as fortunate to draw such a neat tag.


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## Packout

Ahhhhhh, living the dream. Refreshing! Congrats on the tag and I look forward to the stories.


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## Al Hansen

good luck Goob !


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## stillhunterman

Well hot dog goob! Congrats on the tag, 'bout dang time! Can't imagine it happening to a more deserving feller. All the luck in the world on your preparations and the hunt itself, should be an exhilarating experience my friend!


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## GaryFish

2nd darndest thing I've ever heard! And couldn't happen for a better guy! Super happy for you my Why-O friend. Bison last year, bighorn this year, goat next year? Maybe a grizzly?

Super excited for you! Looking forward to hearing of your grand adventure.


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## longbow

Oh Wow!! That's awesome news. It's a dream hunt that very few in this world will ever get to do. I can't wait to hear how it goes. Good luck Goob. Chuck J

P.S. A lotta grizzlies huh? Do you need a bodyguard? Pleeeeeze.


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## Cazador

So what will be your weapon of choice for this hunt?


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## Clarq

stillhunterman said:


> Can't imagine it happening to a more deserving feller. All the luck in the world on your preparations and the hunt itself, should be an exhilarating experience my friend!


+1

I sure do love it when good, deserving people who have paid their dues are able to get such great tags. I hope to draw such a tag one day, but I expect it will be after decades of trying, if it happens at all.


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## wyogoob

Cazador said:


> So what will be your weapon of choice for this hunt?


I'm not sure.


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## goofy elk

Congrats, enjoy!

Not many Bighorns ever killed with a handgun....


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## wyogoob

stillhunterman said:


> Well hot dog goob! Congrats on the tag, 'bout dang time! Can't imagine it happening to a more deserving feller. All the luck in the world on your preparations and the hunt itself, should be an exhilarating experience my friend!


Thanks. I'll be working out up at the Mirror Lake Highway Training Center, mileposts 28 thru 56.


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## silentstalker

Congrats on a tremendous tag that will provide many memories and some fine table fare!


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## sambo3006

Congratulations wyogoob!!!! 
Take lots of pictures and bring a buddy who knows how to shoot some steady video (and pack meat down hill).


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## MuscleWhitefish

I was up in the Gros Ventre Wilderness this weekend and spotted a grizzly feeding through at 300 yards. It stuck it's nose in the air and caught my scent and high tailed it over the hill. You see you should take me cause Grizzlies can't stand the smell of me. 

Congrats and good luck on the hunt.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Springville Shooter

Let me be the first to say it. Goob getting a sheep tag......cooler than the other side of the pillow. I foresee pictures of sheep-testicle Wellington in our future.------SS


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## wyogoob

*spotting scope?*



Springville Shooter said:


> Let me be the first to say it. Goob getting a sheep tag......cooler than the other side of the pillow. I foresee pictures of sheep-testicle Wellington in our future.------SS


Ah, ha, ha, ho, ho, hee, hee

I'm really jacked up about this whole thing but sooooo out of shape. I'm planning on working out extensively; there will prolly be three, yes three, white-tailed ptarmigan hunting trips before my sheep hunt. I've asked my guide if I could take him and his horses white-tailed ptarmigan hunting a coupla times before my sheep hunt; you know, to get them in shape....He said "What's a white-tailed ptarmigan?"

Man, I'm tellin ya, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don't want to screw it up so I've hired a guide with one of those spotting scope thingies. I'll prolly be using a rifle enamored with iron sights and walnut, or maybe a revolver without a scope, a bow n arrow perhaps; so we're gonna need the spotting scope to see which ram has the biggest nuts before going through all the trouble of putting a sneak on him.

I own a dozen cameras. It will be a tough decision whether to take an ultralight $50 backpacking camera that takes out-of-focus pictures or the big $1000 SLR digital camera that takes out-of-focus pictures.

.


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## goofy elk

wyogoob said:


> I own a dozen cameras. It will be a tough decision whether to take an ultralight $50 backpacking camera that takes out-of-focus pictures or the big $1000 SLR digital camera that takes out-of-focus pictures.
> 
> .


Try the ' Auto focus ' feature on the SLR......................
You might get a clear picture.


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## wyogoob

goofy elk said:


> Try the ' Auto focus ' feature on the SLR......................
> You might get a clear picture.


stop it 

Hey, top of the page!!   

.


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## wyogoob

Another reason I got a guide is those fellas get above a sheep and then go down to get it it. 

DIY sheep hunters for some reason get under the animal and have ta climb straight up to the sheep. That's a ton a work so the DIYers stop and shoot at it from like 1600 yards away. That ain't good for the old Goob.

I've read thousands of stories and watched hundreds of YouTube videos about sheep hunting. One thing is common; no one, with the exception of Teddy Roosevelt, has ever shot at a Bighorn Sheep and missed. So that part will be a big plus, especially if I use my revolver. 

Uh....I gotta get to work, yesterday Mrs Goob asked me "How are you going to pay for all this?"

.


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## wyogoob

I can get 9.5 sides of beef, cut and wrapped, for what it's gonna cost me for my guided sheep hunt.

Anyway, I'm soooo out of shape. I was gonna start working out yesterday morning, but I was turkey hunting. Then in the afternoon just as soon as I put on my sleeveless shirt, headband and $150 sneakers to go out running the wind started to blow.

Today it snowed till about 4:00 pm. The day was not a total loss. I finished the day working out in the kitchen, making burgers and a nice cheesecake.

.


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## GaryFish

wyogoob said:


> I Then in the afternoon just as soon as I put on my sleeveless shirt, headband and $150 sneakers to go out running the wind started to blow.
> 
> .


Sheesh Goob. If a little wind dissuades you, then there will be no exercising ever in WhyHoming.


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## wyogoob

GaryFish said:


> Sheesh Goob. If a little wind dissuades you, then there will be no exercising ever in WhyHoming.


Yeah, yeah I know, that's why I have a long stretch of Adopt-a-Highway in Utah.

Hey, did you see that moon tonight? It's full. You should never over-exert on the day after a full moon. I think it's hard on yer pancreas...or thymus, can't remember.

Doesn't matter, tomorrow's Sunday, Can't work on Sunday. I'll prolly start working out on Monday....unless the winds blowing.

.


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## wyogoob

"what to take" list from the outfitter:


kinda interesting


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## Critter

Sounds almost like a standard list that any and all outfitters put out, but then when you go hunting a standard list is good to have. 

So how many rolls of film are you going to bring for your digital camera? I will have to admit that when I went to Canada I took a extra card for my camera along with the one that was already in it.

About the only place that I see it deviate from other list that I have seen is the extra rifle but when hunting in very rugged terrain I can see where it would come in handy if your main one got damaged somehow. I know on a African hunting forum that I am on a lot of hunters will bring a extra scope for insurance. But then all the outfitters have rifles that you can rent if something happens to your personal one.


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## DallanC

Bring your own beer... wait, is this antelope hunting or sheep hunting?


-DallanC


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## wyogoob

Critter said:


> Sounds almost like a standard list that any and all outfitters put out, but then when you go hunting a standard list is good to have.
> 
> So how many rolls of film are you going to bring for your digital camera? I will have to admit that when I went to Canada I took a extra card for my camera along with the one that was already in it.
> 
> About the only place that I see it deviate from other list that I have seen is the extra rifle but when hunting in very rugged terrain I can see where it would come in handy if your main one got damaged somehow. I know on a African hunting forum that I am on a lot of hunters will bring a extra scope for insurance. But then all the outfitters have rifles that you can rent if something happens to your personal one.


Yeah, having camera film and a "canteen" on the list tells me the guide's been do it for awhile. And good grief, who says I'm using a scope?

Lists like these are OK I guess, especially for old people with bad memories, or people that haven't been on extended trips "way back in there".

My brother and Mrs Goob say I'm doing it wrong. They say "You should charge the outfitter for taking you hunting". 

.


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## Critter

You might be surprised at the number of hunters that would show up at a back country hunt such as this with only their rifle and ammo. 

A friend of mine drew out on a cow bison hunt years ago in Utah and his son hired a outfitter for him. He showed up with no coat wearing tennis shoes. He did manage to shoot his bison on the opening morning while wearing his sons coat and still wearing his white tennis shoes.


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## wyogoob

wyogoob said:


> "what to take" list from the outfitter:


*NO BALLISTIC TIPS!!!*


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## wyogoob

OK, my sheep hunt area is #2, on the North Fork of the Shoshone and the South Fork of the Clark's Fork drainages ..."with the highest concentration of grizzly bears in the lower 48".

I've been working with this guy that's been on over 20 sheep hunts many up where I'm going. Geeze, the stories he can tell. On a one-week sheep hunt he said he seen 16 grizzly bears and "maybe only seen a couple of them twice" I guess they're all up there chowing down, rolling rocks on the mountainside and living on gut piles, fatting up for hibernation.

I was gonna start working out today but I had to spray dandelions in the yard again. geeze

.


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## wyogoob

Working hard on some pre-season training "at elevation".

Vacuumed the entire upstairs today.

.


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## Dunkem

Hah!! I vacuumed AND cleaned the litter box!! (Bax you want a cat?)


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## Hoopermat

I can't wait to read the story of this hunt. It's going to be a good one.


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## DallanC

Have you decided how much alcohol you are taking yet?


-DallanC


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## Springville Shooter

No ballistic tips........what a joke. You worry about the packin' I'll worry about the shootin'.-----SS


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## CPAjeff

What gun(s) did you decide on taking?


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## wyogoob

Springville Shooter said:


> No ballistic tips........what a joke. You worry about the packin' I'll worry about the shootin'.-----SS


No problem with me. I quit using ballistic tips years ago.


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## wyogoob

DallanC said:


> Have you decided how much alcohol you are taking yet?
> 
> -DallanC


I don't drink. I do enough stupid stuff sober.

.


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## wyogoob

*the Thunderboomer*



CPAjeff said:


> What gun(s) did you decide on taking?


Not really. One will probably be the .460 S&W revolver.

.


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## 35whelen

ill be more than a little disappointed if this hunt isn't followed up with a harrowing grizzly story and a rocky mountain oyster recipe


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## wyogoob

Lot of talk about long range shooting here on the UWN, one of Utah's eleven favorite outdoor forums.

Not to be left out of all the long range action, the ole Goob is practicing his long range prowess with everyone's favorite long range Bighorn Sheep firearm, the .460 Smith & Wesson Magnum revolver with a 10.5" barrel and open sights. 

It's a blast...if ya know what I mean. :grin:

.


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## wyogoob

Like I mentioned before I worked with a guy this summer who has been on over 20 bighorn sheep hunts. Boy, the stories that guy can tell. 

He told me:
"There's nothing you can do to get physically prepared for a sheep hunt."

So that's what I'm doing, nothing.

4 more days.


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## DallanC

You have spices and a campfire recipe ready for those hours old tenderloins?


-DallanC


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## Catherder

DallanC said:


> You have spices and a campfire recipe ready for those hours old tenderloins?
> 
> -DallanC


I bet he dines on the Rocky Mountain oysters first. ;-)


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## 35whelen

3 days left?! im excited to hear how it goes. best of luck to you goob


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## wyogoob

wyogoob said:


> Like I mentioned before I worked with a guy this summer who has been on over 20 bighorn sheep hunts. Boy, the stories that guy can tell.
> 
> He told me:
> "There's nothing you can do to get physically prepared for a sheep hunt."
> 
> So that's what I'm doing, nothing.
> 
> ..............


OK, OK, the truth is I've been at the "gym" this week working out:







27 miles of the Mirror Lake Highway - clean

again

.


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## wyogoob

Alrighty then, if sheep hunting requires bending over and picking something up off the ground I'm good to go.

1 more hour. I've been dreaming about this since I was a kid and been putting in for a sheep tag for 34 years.

.


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## DallanC

wyogoob said:


> Alrighty then, if sheep hunting requires bending over and picking something up off the ground I'm good to go.


Hopefully its spent brass :-o



> 1 more hour. I've been dreaming about this since I was a kid and been putting in for a sheep tag for 34 years..


Congratulations on being able to achieve a dream like that. Enjoy it.

-DallanC


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## johnnycake

Have a great hunt!


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## GaryFish

Dallen makes a good point.

Pick up yur empties!


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## Loke

Hey 'goob!!! Did you get one yet?


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## LostLouisianian

GaryFish said:


> Dallen makes a good point.
> 
> Pick up yur empties!


Here...fixed it for ya...."Pick up yur empty"


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## gdog

This is so lame...no update yet? :shock::mrgreen:


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## LostLouisianian

We should start a pool...how many shots to bag the Ram and which gun did he use....I'm saying 1 shot with the Newton...;-)


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## Loke

No shots needed. The ram will see that it's 'goob that is chasing him and will just give up and die.


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## GaryFish

Loke said:


> No shots needed. The ram will see that it's 'goob that is chasing him and will just give up and die.


Story I heard, is that last year on the bison hunt, Goob just pointed his finger at the bison and said "bang" and dropped it in its tracks.


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## LostLouisianian

GaryFish said:


> Story I heard, is that last year on the bison hunt, Goob just pointed his finger at the bison and said "bang" and dropped it in its tracks.


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## johnnycake

We all know he shot it this morning with his 12 gauge.


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## bekins24

I'm gonna bet he used the hand cannon


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## sawsman

op2:

.


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## 35whelen

edge o my seat


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## stillhunterman




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## LostLouisianian

...........................and waiting..............................


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## GaryFish

Must have got something. I could swear I caught a sniff of cooking sheep guts blowing over the mountain from Wyoming last night.


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## Longgun

Fingernails gone...


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## Packout

I wager he shot his ram the first day and is making his guide stay at camp to get his monies worth. He will have photos of dead sheep, dead grouse, dead trout, and maybe a ptarmigan he shoots on the detour home.


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## GaryFish

Packout said:


> I wager he shot his ram the first day and is making his guide stay at camp to get his monies worth. He will have photos of dead sheep, dead grouse, dead trout, and maybe a ptarmigan he shoots on the detour home.


I like the way you're thinking. But if Goob was smart, he shot the ram on day 1, and then had the guides spend the rest of the time picking up trash along the Mirror Lake Highway for him. :grin: And then he'd feed them pickled sheep guts with saute'd ptarmagin ptlivers.


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## CPAjeff

While I am completely antsy to hear about your bighorn hunt, it's just been a long time since you posted a recipe/update on your jerky, curing meats, and all that other stuff that Google responds with "WTF is that?!" when I try a search for it. This delay in your food updates seems ... so ... unnatural.


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## johnnycake

By George I've got it! It's taking so long because Goob is trying to figure out how to have his trophy and still prepare this delicacy:

http://www.food.com/recipe/capozzelli-di-angnelli-italian-lambs-head-376344


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## gdog

Well...it's confirmed....he made it out alive!


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## CPAjeff

johnnycake said:


> By George I've got it! It's taking so long because Goob is trying to figure out how to have his trophy and still prepare this delicacy:
> 
> http://www.food.com/recipe/capozzelli-di-angnelli-italian-lambs-head-376344


I just threw up a little in my mouth.:shock:


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## LostLouisianian

gdog said:


> Well...it's confirmed....he made it out alive!


...............AND ??????????????......................do we have a new recipe for tag soup or is it gutpile stew?


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## johnnycake

gdog said:


> Well...it's confirmed....he made it out alive!


But did the guide...?


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## Critter

gdog said:


> Well...it's confirmed....he made it out alive!


We need pictures or it didn't happen yet.


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## wyogoob

I missed.

under suicide watch now


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## 35whelen

None o that, goob. We are all dying to hear the yarn when you're ready. Not a man here that could've out done you on a week long + trek in the most grizzly choked country of Wyoming.


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## wyogoob

*I missed*

What a trip!! 9 days, 3 different drainages in the North Absaroka Wilderness.

Only seen 3 grizzly bears, none of which were in camp. One was less than 75 yards away. I didn't get a picture of that one, too busy trying to dig my rifle out of my day pack. 

We seen 26 rams in 2 days in the last canyon we hunted. We hunted on the ride out and seen a "shooter" ram with 6 other rams less than 600 yards from the trail. The guide and I put a sneak on them up a gully in some burnt timber and then set up 237 down slope (208 ballistic yards) yards away; a chip shot. The big guy that was laying down cuddled up next to a smaller ram. For about 30 minutes all I could see was the head and horns of the shooter. The guide said it was an 11 to 12 year-old ram. The guide just stood up and kinda walked out in the open. I was on the ram as he stood up, gun rested on a log. I shot and missed and lost the ram with the recoil from the 6.5 Remington Mag. The rams all jumped around and the oddly went to milling around, un-phased some even feeding. The guide found the big ram among all the others with his range-finding Swarovski binoculars and I moved to another log, found the big ram at 275 yards, shot and hit a tree. And that was the end of it. There was no blood.

The ride back to the trailhead was a somber one. There was really no sense in looking for anymore sheep if that's all the better I, or my gun, could shoot.

I have some trouble with short-term memory loss and if I'm stressed it's really bad. So bummed out, I accidently left my guns at the outfitters and won't be able to see if the 6.5 is off zero. To me the gun is a lazer and I reloaded and shot over 200 rounds out of it before the hunt.

The outfitter and his hired hands were great. I have one more day left on my guided hunt and will go back up and do what ever it takes to get it done.

more later


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## johnnycake

You got this Goob!


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## Critter

We have faith in you Goob. 

Take one of your other thunder sticks out to the range and check it's zero and go get that ram. 

One day should be a few hours more than is really needed when you go back.


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## LostLouisianian

Use the Newton Luke


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## wyogoob

LostLouisianian said:


> Use the Newton Luke


Yeah I practiced with the 256 Newton at 200 to 300 yards and felt good with it at 250 yards. The 2nd time I fell off my horse I broke the buttstock on the old Newton so I switched to the 6.5 at the guide's "recommendation".

The 6.5 took a fall propped up in my tent but it was in a heavily padded case. And I fell down in the rocks while putting a sneek on the ram. Put some pretty good dings in the stock but I don't think the scope slammed into the rocks........uh, not as bad as my elbow and knee did anyway.

I probably closed my eyes when I pulled the trigger like I was shooting my 12-gauge slug gun or my 460 S&W. Uh....that's not funny.

.


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## CPAjeff

You are the myth, the man, the legend! I have complete confidence that this thread will be updated with some gorgeous ram whose new home will be on your wall and in your freezer from the next trip in the high country!


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## wyogoob

*Seen 26 rams in 2 days*



Critter said:


> We have faith in you Goob.
> 
> Take one of your other thunder sticks out to the range and check it's zero and go get that ram.
> 
> One day should be a few hours more than is really needed when you go back.


thanks

One day is not enough really. It takes more than 1/2 day to ride into where they are at and, usually, another 1/2 day finding them with binoculars and spotting scopes. Then there's the hike up and the stalk.

We just got lucky with this big ram:
The guide and his wife use a satellite phone. The guide's wife heard from another guide that the guy with the Governor's Sheep Tag missed a big ram and there were 45 rams in the same canyon with it, all close to the trail, and that another hunter in the group got a good one. That group pulled out. She call us on the sat phone, told us the story and the outfitter "booked" the canyon with the Forest Service. The next day we pulled up camp and went up in the canyon that supposedly had 45 rams the next day. We ended up seeing 26 rams in 2 days. wow

The guide has a number of "open" hunt days on his calendar and some of his hunters tag out early leaving more days open for guys like me that need more time. The season goes thru Oct 31.

I think going DIY solo would not be wise. Too many grizzly bears to be going solo.

.


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## Clarq

You've got to remember that you have a reputation. Kids grow up fearing bears. Bears grow up fearing The Goob.

Best wishes. I'm excited to hear how the hunt progresses.


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## Dunkem

You will get him, not a doubt in my mind!


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## wyogoob

*Only seen 3 grizzlies*



Clarq said:


> You've got to remember that you have a reputation. Kids grow up fearing bears. Bears grow up fearing The Goob.
> 
> Best wishes. I'm excited to hear how the hunt progresses.


thank you

I only seen 3 grizzlies, all boars, a good thing.

The biggest grizz was a mile away below the mountain ridge I was perched on, turning over rocks. At one point it laid in a pool of water, I guess to cool off.

The second grizz was a beautiful boar wandering around in a berry-filled burn. It came right towards us less than 75 yards away. I got my camera out and fooled around with it for a little bit and then I put it away when the bear looked like it was going to come down and see us.

The third grizz was cool, out in a grassy/sage hill close to the trailhead. I have a (lousy) picture of it. Wish I would have took a video.

Fresh grizzly sign daily.

.


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## LostLouisianian

That must be some mighty rugged terrain to get dumped twice off of your horse


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## 35whelen

best of luck to you!


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## wyogoob

LostLouisianian said:


> That must be some mighty rugged terrain to get dumped twice off of your horse


One canyon we rode up had over 300 deadfall trees across the trail, so said the guide. We moved a few, cut a few, and rode the horses thru the deadfall timber around most of the snags. 10 horses and mules in this canyon, 4 riders, quite an experience.

.


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## stillhunterman

Holy smokes goob, what a trip! Keep at it, I know you'll give 'er all ya got to get 'er done. Wish I could be a horse fly on yer saddle my friend! Would love to witness your adventure!


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## AF CYN

Ah man, that is too bad. I hope you can get out again and have another opportunity.


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## wyogoob

*Big operation*

The guide set up a camp in advance, far back in the North Fork of the Shoshone River drainage near the border of Yellowstone N.P. We had 14 horses and mules, 2 guides, 1 cowboy, 1 cowgirl/cook, and me. Most of this drainage burnt during the big fires of 1988.

Quite an operation:


What trail?:


I had my own 10x10 tee-pee tent complete with a cot and a stove:


We always drank water fresh from a creek or spring:


.


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## wyogoob

*Scouting in Camp #1*

North Absaroka Wilderness:


A day of scouting before the Sept 1 opener:








I watched a large grizzly do his thing in the meadow below for over an hour from this mountain ridge: 


Found a nice shooter ram with a smaller ram right before dark the night before opening day on the side of this mountain:


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## stillhunterman

Man that is some big country...beautiful!


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## Catherder

Good luck on your last attempt. Can't wait to hear about it.


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## Packout

I feel for you, but so many are cheering you on. Hope in the end you have a ram to go along with all the other memories you've made on the hunt. 

Spend the kids' inheritance and book a couple more days with the guide, on top of your 1 day left. Easy for me to say, but you've earned a couple more days chasing that dream.


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## Critter

That looks like some beautiful country. 

I know how you feel about the trip. When I went on my grizzly hunt in British Colombia I had my guide and two others to cook and wrangle the horses. We rode them 23 miles back into a wilderness area for the hunt and only saw one grizzly a little too far to take a shot on the next to last day of a 10 day hunt.


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## wyogoob

*Good ram in Camp #1*

We heard wolves howling from both sides of the canyon that we were camped in the day before the opener and on opening morning. drats

On opening morning we found the shooter ram and his smaller buddy on the side of the mountain in the pic below. We watched the 2 rams for a long time waiting for them to bed down so we could put a sneak on them but the wolves made them nervous and the rams moved across the mountain and disappeared into Yellowstone NP.


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## CPAjeff

Incredible photos!


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## wyogoob

*Too many wolves*

We hunted that mountain the morning after watching the rams go into the Park. The wolves were still howling away and the rams never came back so we broke camp and rode out. The wolves had won.

Breaking camp is a lot of work. Check out out all the blown down trees, remnants of the big 1988 fires.


There's a trail somewhere :


There are side streams coming off of springs everywhere; lots of gully crossings like this:


I'm not a horse guy and always preferred walking over riding but you do what you gotta do:


Finally in the bottom, the riverbed, with 3 lion hounds in tow. The dogs are getting a workout for the upcoming mountain lion hunts and are great grizzly bear alarms while in camp:


The '88 fires burned very hot. Regrowth has been slow in many places. But I think it's a good thing for sheep hunters making it easier to see the rams at treeline where they often like to hang out. My theory anyway, I know little about Bighorn Sheep:


Almost to the trailhead:


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## Airborne

Amazing pics and story Goob!! Stay at it if you can--best of luck to you!!!:grin:


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## wyogoob

*Setting up Camp #2*

The wolves busted our first hunt so we moved to another canyon. We downsized to 10 horses and mules, a smaller main tent and only 2 dogs. 

This drainage was completely different than the first. There were fewer burn areas, the trail was choked with deadfall trees and grassy meadows were few and far between. This place had deer, elk, mountain goats, sheep, and bears. The weather went south, lots of fog, rain and snow making glassing tough.

The ride in was rough especially for a city-slicker like me. I took very few pics on the way into camp. I was kinda hanging on for dear life as our 10 mountain horses and mules picked their way through the jungle of waist-high downed trees:


Cutting trees on the trail:


This camp was quite a bit smaller than the first camp. I still had the "Executive Suite" though; my own tee-pee tent and wood stove: 


A Baker-style main tent for the main guide. The other 2 guys stayed in 4-season Hilleberg backpacking tents:


We climbed up to a rock turrent on the side of the mountain above camp. Rain and fog hampered glassing:


Hail storm accompanied by some nasty lightning:




When the 3 of us got back to camp that night the wrangler had a big fire going. We warmed up and dried off our clothes. Had sauerkraut and Polish sausage for supper.

Wow, living the dream.

.


----------



## wyogoob

*Hunting Camp #2*

The next morning was clear and cold and we took off on our horses to hunt "up canyon". The trail was a mess, our journey to treeline was noisy:


A pregnant tree?


We encountered a boar grizzly on the way. At one point he was less than 75 yards away coming at us. I missed a great opportunity to get a video, fumbling around with camera settings and my horse. There was bear sign, both black and grizzly bear, all over. Makes sense given the crazy berry crop up there.

By the time we got to treeline the weather had deteriorated. There were some elk in this canyon. We seen 3 good bulls. At the top of the drainage there was a large herd with a bull that was probably 370.

There's a coupla cow elk, part of a herd of about 30, in the picture below:


It was a blustery storm and at one point it was pretty nasty. Between the snow, fog, rain and wind there were only a few windows of good glassing:


That Kuiu camo blends in pretty good:


We walked up to the top of the drainage bucking wind and snow. Here's my guide on a sheer mountain cliff in 30 to 40 mph winds. I stayed back off the cliff hunkered down in a little patch of Krummholz:


The next day was clear and cool. We broke camp and hunted our way out:


Takes a lotta stuff:


A nice spring with good flow was close to camp:


The ride out was scenic but uneventful:




You don't see this very often; me on a horse. You may see me under a horse still in my saddle, or in a rock pile next to a horse...often walking a horse that's carrying elk quarters, but seldom on a horse upright in the saddle:


My neighbor said this picture is Photoshopped :grin::


Well canyon #2 was a blast; Bighorn ewes and lambs, elk, mountain goats, bear, deer, great camp, bad weather, good food, good people and a challenging ride. no wolves

.


----------



## LostLouisianian

Hey Goob, is the Newton repairable or are you going to have to get a new stock for it? :-(


----------



## wyogoob

*Dinged up the 256 Newton*



LostLouisianian said:


> Hey Goob, is the Newton repairable or are you going to have to get a new stock for it? :-(


It's usable, the broken buttstock wrapped up in tape. I haven't decided what to do with it yet. I wanted to use it again for antelope, especially after practicing with it all summer. There's also a nasty cut on the barrel, like you took a chisel to it. Got me on that one

Antelope season is open right now. I have 3 tags, but no Newton. I want to fill one tag with my 44 Mag though.

I'm still on a suicide watch and the family is keeping me away from firearms and sharp instruments.

.


----------



## Dunkem

That is one heck of a hunt!!


----------



## Critter

And here I thought that you would of wrapped up the Newton's stock with wet rawhide and let it dry for a permanent fix.


----------



## wyogoob

I'm not a knot guy but learned some new ones this trip. Those cowboys know all kinds of knots. I had mastered only 3 until this hunt: the Improved Clinch Knot, THE only knot for angling and boating, the Goober Slip Knot, and the Goober Fillet Knot.

The Goober Slip Knot is handy, automatically coming untied in 7 minutes. The Goober Fillet Knot will not come untied without the help of a fillet knife.

.


----------



## katorade

These pictures are making me want to go get lost in the mountains for 7 years. Can't wait for more.


----------



## wyogoob

*Camp #3 - "Rumor has it"*

The guide and his wife use a satellite phone to communicate, run their business on a daily basis. The guide's wife heard from another guide that the guy with the Governor's Sheep Tag missed a big ram and there were 45 rams in the same canyon with it, all close to the trail, and that another hunter in the group got a good one and that group pulled out. She call us on the sat phone, told us the story and the outfitter "booked" the canyon with the Forest Service. So the next day we pulled up camp #2 and went up in the canyon that supposedly had 45 rams. We ended up seeing 26 rams in 2 days. wow

We were going into Camp #3 lean and mean, only 7 horses, no dogs, Mountain House for supper. The outfitters would sleep on the ground. I had a nice backpacking type Tee-Pee tent. Confidence was high.

We crossed the Shoshone River at the trailhead. The Shoshone there is wider than the Green River is anywhere in Wyoming. It was the second biggest river crossing I have made on horseback. The first part of the ride to Camp #3 reminded me of Utah; sand, rocks, junipers, Ponderosa Pines and sagebrush:




We ran into a grizzly bear less than 300 yards away out in the sagebrush steppe. He winded the horses, turned away and took off up the hill. Man that guy could run:


Didn't have to go very far before we started seeing Bighorn Sheep, ewes and lambs first and then rams, all sighted from the trail. The 2 pictures below have sheep in them, trust me:




My first attempt at taking a picture thru a spotting scope:


small rams:


Camp #3: The next morning was clear and cool. From camp you could see a very tall waterfall (top right) up in the top of the drainage:




We hunted, on foot, from our camp to the top of the drainage, glassing at every opportunity along the way:






Gorgeous wild country but no shooter rams. The canyon offered little feed for the 6 horses and we were running out of time. It was day 8 of my 10-day hunt and we would pack up and leave the following day, hunting our way back down the canyon.

.


----------



## willfish4food

What an awesome adventure! I'm loving all the "updates." Beautiful pictures too! I hope you get back out there and get a good one!


----------



## Longgun

Loving the photo's! Thanks SO much for taking us along on this adventure. Most definitely God's country. 

Keep you're chin up Goob. Misses happen to the best of us. 


When does the hunt end? (Sorry if you have already mentioned it, I haven't the time to read every post.)


----------



## swbuckmaster

Keeping my fingers crossed

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


----------



## Clarq

Longgun said:


> Loving the photo's! Thanks SO much for taking us along on this adventure. Most definitely God's country.


+1

It would be cool to hang a sheep mount on my wall one day, but the main reason sheep hunting appeals to me is the adventure aspect. That's some seriously incredible country.

BTW, the season ends October 31. Lots of time left.


----------



## Packout

What a process! I have a hard enough time breaking camp in a 4 man tent next to the truck. 

Did you book the Teddy Roosevelt Safari package? Packers, wranglers, guides, cooks, dogs, etc... A grand adventure. Seriously, a grand adventure.


----------



## Longgun

Clarq said:


> +1
> 
> It would be cool to hang a sheep mount on my wall one day, but the main reason sheep hunting appeals to me is the adventure aspect. That's some seriously incredible country.
> 
> BTW, the season ends October 31. Lots of time left.


Exactly! Next to the sheer beauty of it, that country holds so much history its insane.

Cool, TONS of time to reassess things...


----------



## Longgun

"The farther one gets into the wilderness, the greater is the attraction of its lonely freedom".


----------



## wyogoob

Packout said:


> What a process! I have a hard enough time breaking camp in a 4 man tent next to the truck.
> 
> Did you book the Teddy Roosevelt Safari package? Packers, wranglers, guides, cooks, dogs, etc... A grand adventure. Seriously, a grand adventure.


I think I have the Prince of Monaco package. A grand adventure indeed.

.


----------



## CPAjeff

Goob - this thread is incredible!

I made a decision to buy sheep points in Wyoming every year for the last 10. This thread has just added to the desire to continuing purchasing them - maybe in 20 years, I'll have an adventure like yours!

Keep the updates coming!


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## middlefork

What an adventure no matter how it turns out. But best wishes for a good outcome.
Thanks for sharing.


----------



## wyogoob

*I missed twice*

The morning of the 9th day was clear and cool. There were plenty of sheep between our spike camp and the trailhead. "Rumor had it" there were 45 rams there and we had only seen 26 of them so far. I was upbeat as we broke camp.

We hunted on the ride out, riding some, walking some, and glassing the mountainsides on either side of the trail. The guide was amazing, picking out sheep laying down in the rocks sometimes using only the naked eye finding sheep a half-mile away. About half way down the trail the guide spotted a "shooter" ram with 6 other rams. They were less than 600 yards from the trail in some rocks just above a burn.

One of the rams was a dandy. We tied up the horses and got out the spotting scope. The guide said it was an 11 to 12 year-old ram, "in the high 160s". The ram was laying down in a depression behind a boulder and all one could see was it's head and horns. A younger ram was laying just behind it. 5 other rams were feeding nearby.

The guide and I put on a sneak up a gully in some burnt timber and then set up 237 down slope (208 ballistic yards) yards away; a chip shot. The wind was substantial but generally in our faces. For about 25 minutes all I could see was the head and horns of the big ram.

Our stalk was good, the ram didn't hear me stumble in the rocks and fall down.  The wind was perfect. I could just picture the ram rolling down the mountainside, dead, landing 400 yards from the trail. Geeze, my biggest worry was how I was going to pay the taxidermist. :-|

Finally the guide just stood up and kinda walked out in the open. The ram caught the movement and got up. I was on the ram, gun rested on my rolled-up jacket on a log. I shot and lost the ram with the recoil from the 6.5 Remington Mag. I didn't hear the familiar "***" then the guide said I missed. All the rams jumped, ran around in circles, and then, oddly, went to milling around, un-phased, some even feeding. The guide found the big ram again among all the others with his range-finding Swarovski binoculars and I moved to another log, to another shooting lane. The big ram was quartering to me at 275 yards. I shot again and this time I could hear the "***". The guide said I hit a tree, the "***" was from hitting a branch. After that the rams took off a hundred miles an hour out of sight.

All he has to do is stand up:


Arrow points to the ram's horns:


And that was the end of it. There was no blood. All three of the outfitters watched the ram as I shot and all of them said I missed ....unreal, just unreal.

The ride back to the trailhead was a somber one. There was really no sense in looking for anymore sheep if that's all the better I, or my gun, could shoot. The bluebird day turned cold and windy and it rained before we made it to the traihead. Melancholy had set in; even my horse seemed to be in a bad mood:




I have some trouble with short-term memory loss and if I'm stressed it's really bad. So bummed out, I accidently left my guns at the outfitters and won't be able to see if the 6.5 is off zero. To me the gun is a lazer and I reloaded and shot over 200 rounds out of it before the hunt. The scope is a period 3x9 Redfield Acc-trac same as the M40 the snipers used in Viet Nam and had been reconditioned, made new, just last winter.

The outfitter and his hired hands were great. I have one more day left on my guided hunt and will go back up and do what ever it takes to get it done. The guide schedules "open days" for clients that need them and there's always the chance that other sheep hunters will tag out early and leave some more days open for knuckleheads like me.

.


----------



## johnnycake

Goob, I have the utmost confidence you are going to find a way to be back in sheep country and get another crack at a ram! This is all just extra seasoning for the story and these pictures already prove it is a fantastic tale!


----------



## Longgun

I cant believe how scorched looking some of that country still looks...

Having been in Yellowstone while accomplishing our 50 Miler as a scout troop that year and seeing some of that fire very up close and in our faces, this story, better yet, the photos are really streaming the memories back. The sound of that fire popping through the pines was like thunder cracking in the distance.


----------



## wyogoob

*regrowth is slow*



Longgun said:


> I cant believe how scorched looking some of that country still looks...
> 
> Having been in Yellowstone while accomplishing our 50 Miler as a scout troop that year and seeing some of that fire very up close and in our faces, this story, better yet, the photos are really streaming the memories back. The sound of that fire popping through the pines was like thunder cracking in the distance.


Cool.

I made a few trips in Yellowstone before the big fires of '88. It was normal stuff for a National Park or National Forest, way too much fuel from decades of fire suppression. 15 years after the fire, 2003, a group of us hiked across the Park, basically from northwest to southeast, on an 8-day hike. Some places had burnt so hot there was nothing growing but fireweed; other areas were still dirt and ash. Looked like the surface of the moon. Other places the Lodgepole Pines had regenerated like weeds choking the trails closed in places.

Camp #1 was part of the '88 Yellowstone fires. The burnt areas in Camp #3 were more recent, like 2008 or so. Some of the Yellowstone fires burnt so hot the Lodgepole Pine seeds were ruined and there was little organic material left in the soil for the trees to grow even if they would have germinated.

.


----------



## Critter

I read once about the fires of 88 that they burned so hot that the sand actually turned to glass. They also had a forecast of how many years that it would take before the ground broke up enough where something would grow, but I don't remember just how many that was. But it's going on 30 years now.


----------



## wyogoob

wyogoob said:


> I think I have the Prince of Monaco package. A grand adventure indeed.
> 
> .


Albert, the Prince of Monaco, hunted the North Absarokas with Buffalo Bill Cody in 1913:


Today their camp is known as Camp Monaco:


.


----------



## Loke

Nothing quite like hunting with a tie and top hat.


----------



## Longgun

Id eat all their top hats to have hunted with Bill Cody-


----------



## GaryFish

Goob probably has a recipe for ptarmigan liver cured top hat sausage, with a side of sweaty wool dress coat chittlins.


----------



## Lonetree

I have not been to the the Absarokas since 2011, absolutely amazing place! The sheep were doing really good back then. I never saw a single one myself, but there were tracks in every saddle. One of the guys with us did a side trip to fish and watched over 100 for close to an hour while he was fishing. Definitely lots of grizzly bears, there were track everywhere, and we saw 2 at a distance. On night 5 we set camp just after dark, and woke up the next morning in a meadow full of fresh grizzly bear scat. Thanks for sharing, and good luck!


----------



## longbow

What an exciting hunt! I keep checking this thread hoping for updates. I wish you luck Goob. What a journey this has been already.


----------



## GaryFish

So Goob, is it all over and done? Season over?


----------



## wyogoob

*sheep season ends Oct 31*



GaryFish said:


> So Goob, is it all over and done? Season over?


Oh no.

From post #123 in this thread:
_I have one more day left on my guided hunt and will go back up and do what ever it takes to get it done. The guide schedules "open days" for clients that need them and there's always the chance that other sheep hunters will tag out early and leave some more days open for knuckleheads like me.
_
The season goes thru Oct 31 and I am "on call".

I'd be up there now but I'm not prepared, set up for, a DIY sheep hunt and don't want to hunt alone in an area with that many grizzly bears.

.


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## DallanC

Begs the question, what gun for round 2 will you be taking? Did you get your other guns back from the guide yet?


-DallanC


----------



## gdog

wyogoob said:


> I'd be up there now but I'm not prepared, set up for, a DIY sheep hunt and don't want to hunt alone in an area with that many grizzly bears.
> 
> .


OK...we got this....

goofyelk = obviously head guide

longbow = he's got ya covered with one of those mile long shooting rifles. Hell with the Newton.....I'm thinking his 338 edge should work just fine.

packout = he'll make sure the sheep is caped out correctly for a full body mount. Too much effort to screw that up...plus remember what happened on your moose hunt?

royalaxation = already offered meat packing services...so he'll get us into the back country and get the sheep back out to the road.

cpajeff = obviously this is gonna cost some $$...so maybe he'll do some crowdfunding and keep track of this safari.

Garyfish = just in case we accidentally cross over into the park...we'll need someone to keep the authorities busy while we make our get-away

Airborne = keeping track of everyones cred points during trip.

Goob = main hunter....and obviously cook.

....I'll drive


----------



## wyogoob

DallanC said:


> Begs the question, what gun for round 2 will you be taking? Did you get your other guns back from the guide yet?
> 
> -DallanC


Good question. I wish I had the answer. I would like to use the 256 Newton, but iron sights are frowned upon.  Would like to have the Newton for antelope hunting; see what I could do after reloading and practicing with it all summer.

Maybe I'll try a rifle with a plastic stock the next time.....that's not funny.

I haven't got my guns back yet and I probably won't make the 12-hour round trip up there to get them. I'm dying to shoot the 6.5 Rem Mag though. This is not the first time I ever missed and I'm not blaming the gun. At this point I'm saying I choked.

It's painful.


----------



## wyogoob

gdog said:


> OK...we got this....
> 
> goofyelk = obviously head guide
> 
> longbow = he's got ya covered with one of those mile long shooting rifles. Hell with the Newton.....I'm thinking his 338 edge should work just fine.
> 
> packout = he'll make sure the sheep is caped out correctly for a full body mount. Too much effort to screw that up...plus remember what happened on your moose hunt?
> 
> royalaxation = already offered meat packing services...so he'll get us into the back country and get the sheep back out to the road.
> 
> cpajeff = obviously this is gonna cost some $$...so maybe he'll do some crowdfunding and keep track of this safari.
> 
> Garyfish = just in case we accidentally cross over into the park...we'll need someone to keep the authorities busy while we make our get-away
> 
> Airborne = keeping track of everyones cred points during trip.
> 
> Goob = main hunter....and obviously cook.
> 
> ....I'll drive


That's perfect!

.


----------



## swbuckmaster

wyogoob said:


> That's perfect!
> 
> .


No its not! Last I looked you needed a spotter. I can locate game better then anyone I know.

I'm also probably crazy enough to eat rocky Mountain oysters from the 170" ram your going to get after I find it.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## gdog

swbuckmaster said:


> I can locate game better then anyone I know.
> 
> I'm also probably crazy enough to eat rocky Mountain oysters from the 170" ram your going to get after I find it.


Done...your in...get your stuff ready.


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## bugchuker

I have a .257 you can borrow.


----------



## Clarq

wyogoob said:


> That's perfect!
> 
> .


No, you're still missing one key team member. You've got to bring someone you're willing to trip when an angry grizzly bear charges.

I may as well volunteer for that role. If I don't volunteer, the forum will probably nominate me. Plus, I'd do about anything to go on a Wyoming sheep hunt... including buying those ridiculously expensive points I'll probably never get to use. Going along as bear bait seems more logical than that.


----------



## wyogoob

Clarq said:


> No, you're still missing one key team member. You've got to bring someone you're willing to trip when an angry grizzly bear charges.
> 
> I may as well volunteer for that role. If I don't volunteer, the forum will probably nominate me. Plus, I'd do about anything to go on a Wyoming sheep hunt... including buying those ridiculously expensive points I'll probably never get to use. Going along as bear bait seems more logical than that.


OK, yer in, bear bait.

.


----------



## johnnycake

Seriously, if I had any way of going with you I'd be there in a heart beat.


----------



## NHS

What an awesome thread Goob! You'll get another chance! Hang in there.


----------



## DallanC

"probably" eat them? Heck I used to order them on the menu at Cowboy Grub on foothill drive in SLC. They were good.


-DallanC


----------



## bekins24

Hey you guys are forgetting a photographer. So I'm in for that. I can't say the pictures are going to be great... but.... at least I might have a spot on the team 8)


----------



## Critter

I'm going to go just because I want to go.


----------



## Dunkem

How about a crusty old meat cutter?

(I know Goob cuts all his own, but heck I could help)

Edit; I can fall off a horse with the best of them also!!


----------



## wyogoob

*Jim Shockey missed a big ram too*

I'm watching TV. Jim Shockey missed a huge Kamchatka Snow Sheep in Russia.

Jim said "I was right on and missed. 250 yards, a chip shot"............Later we looked at the footage. The first shot was 10 feet high. The gun was off. After 14 days of rough hunting the gun got knocked off........"

I love Jim Shockey.

.​


----------



## 35whelen

I just watched that too. they have satellite at my weekend and job and all the clients are in bed so I've just been watching outdoor channel all night. 
I watched the conclusion of the hunt a few weekends ago. the hunt ends up lasting like 30 days and jim shoots a brown bear for meat when they run low on food. 
shockey is great. humble guy. wish I knew how to get a hold of him so I can sell him a Cervalces Skeleton for his museum.


----------



## CPAjeff

gdog said:


> OK...we got this....
> 
> goofyelk = obviously head guide
> 
> longbow = he's got ya covered with one of those mile long shooting rifles. Hell with the Newton.....I'm thinking his 338 edge should work just fine.
> 
> packout = he'll make sure the sheep is caped out correctly for a full body mount. Too much effort to screw that up...plus remember what happened on your moose hunt?
> 
> royalaxation = already offered meat packing services...so he'll get us into the back country and get the sheep back out to the road.
> 
> cpajeff = obviously this is gonna cost some $$...so maybe he'll do some crowdfunding and keep track of this safari.
> 
> Garyfish = just in case we accidentally cross over into the park...we'll need someone to keep the authorities busy while we make our get-away
> 
> Airborne = keeping track of everyones cred points during trip.
> 
> Goob = main hunter....and obviously cook.
> 
> ....I'll drive


Gofundme account created. Check.


----------



## Packout

Life-size capeing? Then how is Goob going to use the sack for a coin purse?

Goob better hurry or he will be snowshoeing in... Or does that make the sheep migrate to an easier place to hunt?


----------



## wyogoob

:shock:


----------



## Springville Shooter

Packout said:


> Life-size capeing? Then how is Goob going to use the sack for a coin purse?
> 
> Goob better hurry or he will be snowshoeing in... Or does that make the sheep migrate to an easier place to hunt?


I hear that there's a taxidermist in these parts that can recreate a sheep scrotum from a jackrabbit pelt.......and he can sew!

Have no fear Goob. You can have you're mount, purse, and eat your oysters too.

I'm betting your next shot is right on the spot. Good luck!-----SS


----------



## johnnycake

Ok, I figure if we can get the posse out next week it might be worth risking the divorce to join in. Now how to justify that I should be part of the group....hmmm....Smartass? nevermind, looks like Clarq's in. Use the alaska angle? nope, longbow's got that well covered and how could Los Anchorage ever beat Kodiak anyway? 

I've got it! Goob, I have flushed out intestines before for natural casings and I know that is not just a one man job! So I can either be the sheep-$hitter-cleaner-upper or the camp cheerleader (costume optional if that helps my case). So I fly in Friday, have a duck hunt Saturday and taking my little girl grouse hunting Sunday, so how's a sunday afternoon meet up time in Evinston sound to everybody and we get this show on the road? I know some guys on here have horses/mules, so with enough hands ~$100-200 each, with the odd divorce/separation threat I think we could probably pull this off.


----------



## Clarq

Ouch. Just buy the beer and make enough coot jerky/summer sausage for all of us and we might let you come along.

While the whole bear bait thing would be a nice side effect of my presence, the real advantage to inviting me along is that I'd probably actually be available. I'm not married, so there wouldn't be any threats for divorce, honey-do's, etc. plus I get to hoard all my money for myself. If I was invited along, there's a very high chance I would actually be able to go (as long as I didn't chicken out at the prospect of heading deep into the woods with a bunch of random internet strangers - some of them lawyers O-|-O ). Not like so many others I know who are all for the idea of a good hunting trip until the wife gets in the way.

Not that I'm bitter or anything - but at the moment I have an any bull tag in my pocket and two married friends who bailed on me. I just came back from picking up a cow elk control tag so I can shoot an animal small enough to pack out solo.

Duck season can't arrive soon enough....


----------



## johnnycake

lol, if something got set up for next week I would do some serious "honey please let me take my balls off the shelf" to try to join in!


----------



## bekins24

My wife is currently in law school and I hardly see her anyway so it wouldn't even be that big of a stretch to tell her I was going to be gone. Probably harder to tell my softball buddies I wouldn't be making our games during the week. haha!


----------



## Critter

When I was playing softball it was understood that there were a few things that I didn't do. 

Some of them were: 
No sliding
No diving after a ball
No collisions with other players

And if softball extended into hunting seasons either mine or those that I was going to go on I wouldn't be there.


----------



## wyogoob

*drainage #4*



wyogoob said:


> North Absaroka Wilderness:
> 
> ..............................................................................................
> 
> Found a nice shooter ram with a smaller ram right before dark the night before opening day on the side of this mountain:


The outfitter and another client went back up into this drainage and got the ram that the wolves pushed out on my hunt. I'll see if I can get a picture of it. Its a goodun.

We're ridin' out early tomorrow for another 3 1/2 days. Going up a different drainage, my 4th one.

.


----------



## Clarq

wyogoob said:


> We're ridin' out early tomorrow for another 3 1/2 days. Going up a different drainage, the 4th one.
> 
> .


God speed! I can't wait to hear the tale. And since it's opening day of duck season tomorrow, I guess I can forgive you for neglecting to invite me.


----------



## wyogoob

Clarq said:


> God speed! I can't wait to hear the tale. And since it's opening day of duck season tomorrow, I guess I can forgive you for neglecting to invite me.


good luck


----------



## wyogoob

*4th drainage*

Made an impromptu trip up to the Absarokas for a 4-day sheep hunt. Seen a good number of sheep, lots of ewes and lambs and few good rams that were a long ways away.

Overall the weather was not conducive to glassing for sheep. There was rain and hail, fog, wind, sleet, lightning and thunder, and lots snow. We came out early, came out between two snow storms.

The scenery is pretty nice going up Mormon Creek:


Camp was over 10,000' elevation:


3 drainages come together up above camp; Mormon Creek, Gun Barrel, right, and Grinnell, left:


Got a half day of good glassing in the first day:


Huge country, as remote as it gets in the lower 48:


The weather on the second day deteriorated quickly:


hail


snow


There were ewes and lambs on the mountainside above camp:


above my head:


The guide's wife called on the satellite phone and told us "a major winter storm was coming through the Northern Absarokas", So we quickly broke camp early on the third day and drug the 10 horses and mules through the mud and snow down the mountain.

The drive home was a mess; 200 miles of wind and heavy rain. It was snowing and blowing on South Pass and the driving restrictions were out. So I stayed the night in Lander.

4 days gone and I missed my grandson taking his first Mule Deer. dangit

.


----------



## stillhunterman

Been waiting for this update... dagnabit all to heck goob. But, that was one heck of an adventure, one I would give both jewels to go on, even with the same outcome. Real sorry about missing out on the grandson's muley kill, but I have a hunch there will be more in his/your future! Gonna have to go up next spring and help you with the hiway cleanup, maybe some squirrel stew, and listen to you go on and on about this fantastic adventure... All my best.


----------



## stillhunterman

BTW, 'remote' doesn't seem to do that country justice, holy smokes...:!:


----------



## longbow

Man, what beautiful country!


----------



## Trigger

Thanks for sharing and let us live vicariously through your hunt. I hope you get another chance to go out.


----------



## wyogoob

*Finally checked the rifle out - I choked*

Finally took the time to check out my Model 700 6.5 Remington Mag, the rifle I missed the ram with at 237 yards and 275 yards.

Took it out of the case and threw it over the hood of the truck: 
250 yards - dead on
278 yards - dead on
422 yards - 5 inches left

I choked. It's painful.

Just for the heck of it I shot the old 1916 256 Newton a couple times, iron sights, busted butt stock, fading light at sundown, and no wind:
250 yards - 2 inches left
422 yards - 7 inches left
422 yards - 3 inches low

.


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## stillhunterman

Well, it happens to us all at some point goob, such is the way of the hunter...

Am pretty sure I read somewhere that Bill Cody once missed a buff at 75 yards three times in a row, using his fav Trapdoor Springfield Model 1866 in .50-70... _(O)_

Maybe you should go kill one of those white tailed bird thingies thats worth a bunch of points or sumpin...couldn't hurt!O*--


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## wyogoob

*Old Bill*

So far I've rode 3 different horses up 4 different canyons. I've ridden one horse, Old Bill, twice. Old Bill was a gentle horse but very trippy. The horse tripped on perfectly level ground sometimes like it it had someone wrong with it.

I drew Old Bill on the hunt in the canyon with all the deadfall trees over the trail. We had to go "western" many times thru the deadfall burnt timber to get around the snags. I've done horses all my life but I'm just not a horse guy and would rather walk. Bushwacking thru the timber was dreadfall and the horse fell to his chest a number of times. I fell off Old Bill twice, rolled off the horse with the saddle, to avoid serious injury while two-blocked up against a downed tree. One such occasion my old 256 Newton was slammed on the rocks breaking the butt stock uh...and breaking my fall. :sad:

The guide used Old Bill on the sheep hunt after mine. The horse ended up having torn ligaments in one of it's legs and had to be put down.

R.I.P. Old Bill


.


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## mlob1one

This hunt reminds me of that old country song, "If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all." Sounds like you've been through the ringer. 

Sent from my SPH-L710T using Tapatalk


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## wyogoob

*1970 scope vs 2010 scope*



DallanC said:


> Begs the question, what gun for round 2 will you be taking? Did you get your other guns back from the guide yet?
> 
> -DallanC


I brought the rifles I used on the first trip, including the 6.5 Remington Mag I missed the ram with, back home and shot them like I mentioned in post #170. Both rifles had some rough handling but both shot fine. (Not much is going to go wrong with the iron-sighted 256 Newton rifle)

While I was at it I shot the 300 WSM I carried on the second trip. The gun also got banged around badly, twice the top of the scope bell got whacked hard.

The 300 WSM I carried on that hunt was about 2 feet high at 250 yards!!!!!!!!!!!!! Geeze, glad I didn't have to use it!

The fancy-dancy Leupold scope on the WSM didn't cut it. The tough reconditioned Redfield Accu-Trac on my 1970 6.5 Rem Mag was fine. The 3x9 Low Profile Accu-Trac scope is the same M40 scope the snipers used during the Viet Nam War:


I've spent a good deal of time tuning up the nearly 50-year old 6.5 Rem Mag. At the range the gun was a lazer and it seemed to digest and spit out on-target all the reload recipes I stuck in it. see: http://utahwildlife.net/forum/18-firearms-reloading/149274-6-5-remington-mag-2.html

Good grief it's painful.

.


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## Dunkem

Thats to bad, good looking old horse. Glad you were not hurt on the falls.


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## Packout

Hey Goob, I've had hopes you could have made it back out to hunt sheep again. Do you have plans to hit the mtns before the 31st? Any ram would taste great! Here is to the 6.5 getting a chance at redemption. 

..


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## wyogoob

*leaving on trip #3 soon*



Packout said:


> Hey Goob, I've had hopes you could have made it back out to hunt sheep again. Do you have plans to hit the mtns before the 31st? Any ram would taste great! Here is to the 6.5 getting a chance at redemption.
> 
> ..


thanks

Man, I'm trying to dry out my hunting stuff after the elk hunt. What a mess.

I'm going back up tomorrow or the next day. Sounds like they have over 24" of snow up in sheep country. That's good and bad.

I have no idea what gun I'm taking.

Funny, when I originally booked I chose October 20. Another hunter had some scheduling problems so I took his booking starting September 1. So I'm back to where I want to be, late, when the sheep are moving down.

.


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## CPAjeff

Goob - stay safe and good luck on the upcoming trip!


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## Idratherbehunting

Good luck Goob!


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## swbuckmaster

6.5 gets my vote. Think about how much better the cape will be now

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## gdog

It's coming full circle like we talked about yesterday...you got your late hunt date...time to close this up....so we can go do more important stuff...like shooting some rabbits :shock::grin:


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## johnnycake

Fingers crossed goob! Just don't get all flustered by the thoughts of those delicious sheep oyster'n'ptarmy liver po'boys I'm sure you've got a recipe for! You got this!


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## DallanC

Take all of them. Have a bunch of those african gun bearers on hand to keep handing you different rifles between shots. :mrgreen:

-DallanC


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## LostLouisianian

I hope he doesn't miss again when he shoots at his ram of a lifetime. O*--


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## Dunkem

He won't miss, I actually had a dream about his ram. I know weird huh?


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## LostLouisianian

Dunkem said:


> He won't miss, I actually had a dream about his ram. I know weird huh?


I hope you're right, he deserves to get his ram for sure and we're all pulling for him.


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## Packout

Good you are going back. Seeing as I have to live vicariously through others because I will never hunt sheep, I'd hate to have my vicarious hunt end without another ol' college try. 6.5 still gets my vote-- especially if it is still "on". 

Good luck and relax-- you get to go sheep hunting AGAIN!


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## Clarq

Packout said:


> Good you are going back. Seeing as I have to live vicariously through others because I will never hunt sheep, I'd hate to have my vicarious hunt end without another ol' college try. 6.5 still gets my vote-- especially if it is still "on".
> 
> Good luck and relax-- you get to go sheep hunting AGAIN!


+1 except the part about never hunting sheep. I'm not willing to give up on the idea of having my own sheep hunt someday.

Good luck, be safe, and most importantly, take pictures. :mrgreen: They've all been fantastic.


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## Springville Shooter

Go do it Goob! We're all rooting for you and anxiously awaiting the recipe posts. Best-o-Luck.-----SS


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## GaryFish

Well? How'd this story end?


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## wyogoob

*painful*



GaryFish said:


> Well? How'd this story end?


Painful, for me and the ram.

I'm gonna finish the thread when I get in a good mood; 2026.

.


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## Critter

You're starting to repeat yourself Goob.


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## trackerputnam

Ok I the ram is hurt from falling off a cliff after you shot him!


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## wyogoob

Critter said:


> You're starting to repeat yourself Goob.


Good grief.

I fixed it.

.


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## wyogoob

*lost it*



trackerputnam said:


> Ok I the ram is hurt from falling off a cliff after you shot him!


Uh....it's more like "The ram is hurt after I shot him and he ran up a cliff into the fog out of sight."

.


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## trackerputnam

You are a very bad man Mr Goob!


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## Springville Shooter

Goob, sorry to hear what I assume isn't the outcome that you would have liked on your sheep hunt. Hopefully the positive aspects of the hunt will soon overshadow the things that might not have gone your way. Unfortunately, hunting is a high risk/high reward undertaking. Fortunately, the high rewards greatly outnumber the setbacks. Thousands of good times lay ahead my friend!

Best wishes in your recovery man.-----SS


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## Critter

It's too bad that every hunt can't end with a great trophy, but then I have found out that the hunt itself is a great trophy to take with you. 

One way to get over it is to head over to Africa and have some real fun.


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## wyogoob

*257 Weatherby*



bugchuker said:


> I have a .257 you can borrow.


Thanks. I have a 257 Weatherby too. It's a great gun but I'd rather carry something a little lighter, a little shorter on a sheep hunt. All of my guns are great guns really, each with it's own advantages and limitations. I have no favorites.

The guide and I talked over my "comfortable shooting range" and settled on 250 yards and he said he would try to sneak up closer if possible.

.


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## wyogoob

Kind words SS and Critter.

thanks

.


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## Packout

Gotta disagree with Critter. I mean-- how would you ever ship the meat home?

Well, I guess that means the hunt didn't end with blood? I thought the taste of tag soup from my vicarious sheep hunt tasted better with the photos and adventure you shared. Sorry it didn't end with a true Rock Mtn Oysters dinner...... But still, what an adventure you had. 

..


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## Critter

Packout said:


> Gotta disagree with Critter. I mean-- how would you ever ship the meat home?
> 
> ..


You do a lot of eating while you are over there, it is fantastic.

I would of shipped some meat home but the USDA has some kind of stupid rules where you can't.


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## wyogoob

*Trip #3 - First a road hunting day*

The guide called and said a "comeback" sheep hunter tagged out and it was my turn. "Hurry up, the bad weather has got the sheep moving. They're coming off the mountain" he said.

So the next day I drove up to Cody. I was the last sheep hunter for the outfitter and there was 7 days left of the season. Confidence was high. I was starting to worry about how I was gonna pay the taxidermist.

Here's the "comeback" hunter's sheep:


A nice ram for sure and it had a lot a character, and a considerable amount of damage to the left horn:


I met the comeback sheep hunter, a doctor from Ohio. He missed a nice ram on his regular hunt; 3 shots from 190 to 325 yards. After 13 days of rough high country sheep hunting he tagged his ram not all that far from the road on the horse ride back from a 3-day hunt up in the high country. I was glad for him, glad he got 'er done.

They found the body of a dead ram and took the skull and horns to the Game n Fish to get plugged. I wondered how the ram had died. Maybe some poor sap wounded and lost it. It was a goodun:


The first day hunting for me on this trip was a road hunting day. Some of the sheep were down within a couple miles, or closer, to the road. A good one was taken right off the highway as a matter of fact.

We drove up and down the highway that goes between Yellowstone N.P. and Cody, stopping along the road or on side roads to glass each and every mountainside. We seen a good number of ewes and lambs and a few rams all less than 3/4 curl. My tag was for any ram and I was starting to have 2nd thoughts about some of the small 3/4 curl bighorns we had passed up on the 2 previous hunts.

It was raining....always raining:


Even though we were close to the main highway you had to be "bear aware":


Late in the afternoon we found a herd of sheep on Jim Mountain. One of them was a huge ram. Yeah, we had a plan! Ride out in the morning and set up camp on the other side of Jim Mountain and then ride and climb to the top and ambush the big guy.

Nothing to it.

.


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## wyogoob

*It was a dandy*

The guide and I rode out at day break, three mules in tow. 2 mules with camp, 1 mule with our day packs and trekking poles with room for a big ram on the return trip. Up Jim Creek we went, loaded with high hopes and a plan of attack:

Jim Mountain Palisades a the bottom of Jim Mountain; straight up n down:


The trail up Jim Creek was choked with deadfall burnt timber and we had to go "Western" a dozen times dragging mules and horses around huge chest-high fallen trees.

Jim Creek Falls:


As always we stopped along the way and glassed all. The guide could spot a white butt at 2 miles, just unreal. And we would stop and verify each white butt with binoculars. If the white butt was a mature ram the spotting scope came out.

We didn't have to go very far until we found ewes and lambs on both sides of the canyon. 5 here, 7 there, and then a group of 5 rams. One was a dandy. We watched them most of the day, waiting for the big guy and his buddies to bed down. We waited and waited but they disappeared in an avalanche chute and never came out. Instead of trying to put a sneak on them that late in the day we rode up the canyon to set up camp in a spot that had good horse feed and a spring:

There were fresh elk, deer, sheep, wolf and grizzly tracks in the snow at our camp spot. Kinda cool:


Wolf tracks are about the size of a grapefruit. Really, I'm not making this up:


We had camp set up with just enough time to ride the ridge above camp and take a short hike. There was a herd of about 25 sheep feeding in the meadow above camp, a good sign:

Camp's at the arrow:


It was a long day. Again, hopes were high and we had a (another) plan....to go after that big one we seen on the way in:


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## trackerputnam

Oh Goob, you are just not a nice man!


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## Airborne

This is such a cool thread! This is why I like forums--you get to know folks via the internet and re-live their adventures. Love the pics and story Goob! Better than any hunting magazine article I have read. :grin:


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## middlefork

Goobs excellent adventure! You should make it into a movie.
Good luck!


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## Loke

First a movie, then a cooking show.


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## Mr Muleskinner

Good on ya Goob. Great thread.

Cody is my old stomping grounds. We had a cabin up Green Creek a few miles. I have spent a lot of time on Jim Mountain. We would always stop at my cousins Bob Dohse's Wapiti Lodge for prime rib after coming off of the mountain. The county sheriff is one of my best friends. Incredible country. Makes me homesick again. Great pics.


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## Critter

I can see it now with Sam Elliot playing Goob. 

The only problem that I can see with the movie idea is that it would be longer than War and Peace and have to stretch over the whole year to see it all.

Now for the cooking show I'd call it "Have a Ball With Goob"


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## trackerputnam

I think Goob is to busy to tell the story right now because he just received a bunch of trail cam footage of wolfs in Utah and is trying to authenticate it. I sure he will be back soon to finish the story!


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## Dunkem

I'm not sure I want to here the end of the story:-( I just want to make up a good ending for him!!


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## Longgun

Nearly two weeks since Goobs last journal entry :-( ... Did the wolf with grapfruits for feet get him or what??


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## wyogoob

Longgun said:


> Nearly two weeks since Goobs last journal entry :-( ... Did the wolf with grapfruits for feet get him or what??


Sorry. The longer I wait the more the memories fade......a good thing.

If I talk about the sheep hunt my wife and daughter put me on a suicide watch. I think they're "medicating" my coffee when I start to talk about it.

Let me put it this way: I took a meat cleaver to my tube of *Scope* toothpaste.

OK, OK, I'll take a handful of Mrs Goob's pills and finish the story.

.


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## Dunkem

It took me a minute, but I get the toothpaste thing now.:mrgreen:


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## johnnycake

goob, I'm with you in hating scopes at the moment...maybe not quite as much, but at least a little!


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## Longgun

Ugh... sorry to hear this goob. 


Gotta take the good with the bad in life right? :|


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## wyogoob

The next to the last day a big male grizzly walked into our sheep camp on Jim Creek.

The bear growled at me and said: 'Give me all of your jerky..........................................and your chewing tobacco.'

'Why the big pause?' my guide asked.

The bear shrugged, 'Got me, I was born with them.'

.


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## wyogoob

4 years later it's still painfull. :hurt:


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## wyogoob

I got out my sheep hunting pictures and tried to finish this story....gwad, no way, as-a-matter-of-fact my therapist had to put me back on a suicide watch.

If 2020 was a bighorn sheep hunt this would be it.


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## Packout

It makes me feel old that your sheep excursion occurred over 4 years ago. 

..


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## Critter

wyogoob said:


> I got out my sheep hunting pictures and tried to finish this story....gwad, no way, as-a-matter-of-fact my therapist had to put me back on a suicide watch.
> 
> If 2020 was a bighorn sheep hunt this would be it.


Come on Goob, it can't be no worse than my grizzly hunt.


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## 2full

I feel your pain goob......
I still curl up in a ball and cry every time I think about the early either sex buffalo tag I turned back in, back in 2014.


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