My 2012 Manson Ram Story

[eburg127]

I was probably like a lot of other hunters the day the draw results came out, immediately checking them as soon as they were available. Seeing the results, I couldn’t believe I was selected for the Manson sheep tag.  I had been putting in for 12 years, but the thought NEVER crossed my mind that it would actually happen.  I quickly called my brother who didn’t believe me for 45 minutes. Convincing him was tough because he had been putting up with my jokes for 36 years. Once he finally believed me, he was in.  I called my dad who offered up his boat and to be the driver.  My hunting party was now complete.

I went on four scouting trips before the season.  I was nice enough to take the kids “camping” in the area during the summer.  They had fun swimming at 25 mile state park while I glassed across the lake for sheep.  One of the scouting trips was during deer season.  My buddy spotted a buck and since it was the only day I would be out during deer season I figured I would put some meat in the freezer.

We ended up seeing quite a few rams during the actual hunt.  The hardest part was field judging and knowing which ram to take.  Like most hunters, I know what to look for in deer and elk.  Maybe it was the added pressure that this was going to be the only ram that I will ever take in my life.  I wanted to make sure I took the best I could. 

On day two of the hunt, the lake was as smooth as glass so we easily spotted quite a few sheep from the boat.  About midafternoon we were glassing and my dad said he saw some sheep near the top.  Now, my dad isn’t exactly known for having the best eyesight, and his binoculars of choice are not only “low end”, but have seen some better days.  My brother and I couldn’t see them for some time and thought he was seeing things.  You know how it is when someone is trying to tell you where they are seeing animals:  “By the top”, “by that tree”, “do you see that rock?”  Yeah, I see about 1,000 trees and more rocks than that.  We couldn’t believe it when we finally saw two nice looking rams, and we knew we needed to get closer to get a better look.  Making our way up the steep mountain we finally got within 250 yards.  They were nice rams, but I just didn’t know what to expect since it was only day two.  I think my brother thought I was crazy for passing them up.

By day four, we knew I shouldn’t have passed those rams up.  We had seen quite a few rams at that point, and had viewed the video footage of those rams over and over.  The lake was a little rough so we had to glass from across the lake.  My brother was able to relocate the biggest one almost immediately so we loaded back on the boat and got dropped off to put on a stalk.  The ram was with 8 ewes so we had a lot of eyes watching.  We had to change our course a couple of times and ended up getting above all of them.   We got within 100 yards, and were able to video him. One shot later my quest for a bighorn sheep was complete.  I will never forget the feeling I had when I walked up to that beautiful animal.  It was the most emotional hunt I had ever experienced.  The reality of taking a once in a lifetime animal set in, and the only way I can explain it was I was in awe.   It truly was a unique hunt, being able to hunt sheep from a boat on the beautiful Lake Chelan.  We pretty much had the lake to ourselves that time of year and didn’t have 100’s of ski boats on the water.  I enjoyed the hunt even more since it got to do it with my dad and brother.

Thank you to all of the WA wild sheep members that provided me with so much information.  You definitely found a new member!                                                       

[Boss .300 winmag]

Nice storey and beatiful ram. 

[ICEMAN]

Wow, cool story and nice pics!! Congratulations!!!

[lokidog]

Nice animal, good job!

[Brushbuster]

Wow what incredible pics & write-up shared w/ your family. The perfect trip! Thanks for sharing.   

[Alan K]

True hunt of a lifetime! Way to go! 

[firefighter4607]

Nice Ram Congrats!

[dewandgin]

Very Cool story and beautiful ram

[X-Force]

Cool story. Oil experience for sure

[blackveltbowhunter]

Beautiful Ram!! Nice Job!!!

[pendoreilleadventures]

Great write up and a beautiful Ram can you post the video of the hunt?

[ellensburgpo]

Good to hear the story again, beautiful ram.

[carpsniperg2]

Great and thanks for sharing.

[Peloton]

Nice one CC.     -LD

[SkookumHntr]

-What a Hunt!!