GO4STEELHD's 2020 unlimited Ram! Montana Whitetail

[idaho guy]

Nice post 👍 Nicer ram! Wow I did that hunt as a Montana resident almost 30 years ago before I moved to Idaho. I completely understand the difficulty of being successful on those hunts. I ended up with a ram of the it’s legal class you got one of the few trophy class. Well done almost makes me want to do it again almost  if I was a resident I would definitely go again. 

[go4steelhd]

Nice post 👍 Nicer ram! Wow I did that hunt as a Montana resident almost 30 years ago before I moved to Idaho. I completely understand the difficulty of being successful on those hunts. I ended up with a ram of the it’s legal class you got one of the few trophy class. Well done almost makes me want to do it again almost  if I was a resident I would definitely go again. 

That’s awesome!
Was it 1/2 curl or 3/4 curl regulations at that time?  And were they on a quota then?

[Skyvalhunter]

Great write up and pics. My question is why in God's name would you move from MT to Moses lake?

[go4steelhd]

Great write up and pics. My question is why in God's name would you move from MT to Moses lake?

 
When I moved there I planned on being there a year or two and moving away... I stayed 16
As you could imagine I have no regrets of leaving. I have several great friends there, but I’m glad I left

I should update my location

[idaho guy]

Nice post 👍 Nicer ram! Wow I did that hunt as a Montana resident almost 30 years ago before I moved to Idaho. I completely understand the difficulty of being successful on those hunts. I ended up with a ram of the it’s legal class you got one of the few trophy class. Well done almost makes me want to do it again almost  if I was a resident I would definitely go again. 
[/quote

That’s awesome!
Was it 1/2 curl or 3/4 curl regulations at that time?  And were they on a quota then?

 

Legal ram was 3/4 curl. I didn’t think it was ever legal to take less than 3/4 ? Anyways yes it was a quota which was more difficult to keep up with then since there was no cell phones or easy access to a computer etc.  Really only option was to hike back to nearest town and call on land line.

[ctwiggs1]

You're having the year of a lifetime man.  Great job.  Hard work and a ton of preparation is paying off for you!!

[go4steelhd]

Nice post 👍 Nicer ram! Wow I did that hunt as a Montana resident almost 30 years ago before I moved to Idaho. I completely understand the difficulty of being successful on those hunts. I ended up with a ram of the it’s legal class you got one of the few trophy class. Well done almost makes me want to do it again almost  if I was a resident I would definitely go again. 
[/quote

That’s awesome!
Was it 1/2 curl or 3/4 curl regulations at that time?  And were they on a quota then?

 

Legal ram was 3/4 curl. I didn’t think it was ever legal to take less than 3/4 ? Anyways yes it was a quota which was more difficult to keep up with then since there was no cell phones or easy access to a computer etc.  Really only option was to hike back to nearest town and call on land line.

I thought I read in the 80’s/90’s it was 1/2 curl, and I was just curious what the quotas were. I was not sure if they ever had it to where any legal ram could be harvested.

Congratulations on your ram!

[Karl Blanchard]

Big congrats man! That sheep is the trophy of all trophies

[DOUBLELUNG]

Thank you so much for sharing this!  As many on here know, a legal ram in the Montana unlimited areas is the toughest earned trophy in the US!  A DIY record book ram out of there - that's simply amazing.  Hats off to you sir!

[go4steelhd]

Big congrats man! That sheep is the trophy of all trophies

Thank you!
I agree. A Book ram out of the unlimiteds is the pinnacle of my hunting career.

I have not seen a post on it,
Did you go over to Idaho for deer this year?

[Karl Blanchard]

Big congrats man! That sheep is the trophy of all trophies

Thank you!
I agree. A Book ram out of the unlimiteds is the pinnacle of my hunting career.

I have not seen a post on it,
Did you go over to Idaho for deer this year?

kinda. Had a WY bull tag in October so instead of general season I spent 8 days talking to myself in the frank church. Was real dumb but I did turn up a high 80's type buck. Was about 30 seconds away from having him dead when the wolves ran him out from under me. Called wolves back in, got winded and missed a Hail Mary shot.......or two  then I broke my hand, had to have surgery on Oct 9th and have been sitting on my butt waiting for pins to come out.  So basically my season has been like yours minus the hunting and killing stuff 

[Doublelunger]

Congrats! That's one hell of an accomplishment!!

[go4steelhd]

Thank you so much for sharing this!  As many on here know, a legal ram in the Montana unlimited areas is the toughest earned trophy in the US!  A DIY record book ram out of there - that's simply amazing.  Hats off to you sir!

Thank you

I have always said when hunting a trophy animal, you need to put yourself in the right place then you need a little luck.

In the unlimiteds you need a lot of scouting, a lot of time in the field, and a lot of luck!!

[go4steelhd]

Congrats! That's one hell of an accomplishment!!

Thanks Joe!!
This was pretty cool

[go4steelhd]

Next was a deer hunt in Montana. I promised my son who just turned 6 that I would take him out deer hunting for 5 days with only him and I. On our first day we took our side by side out due to muddy roads. We seen 5 or 6 bucks in the morning one of which we probably should have went after, but it was only day one. That afternoon we loaded up and headed to a new area. On the way I seen a nice buck from the highway, since I had a trailer I had to go along ways to get turned around and come back. The buck was gone when we got back. That night found us in an area I have never hunted before. We were about ready to give up on that area when we started seeing deer. We seen 8-10 smaller bucks by the end of the night. The next day the roads were a sheet of ice so I had to change plans on where I was going to hunt. It was very foggy and Icy out. About 10 minutes after shooting light I seen a very nice white tail on block management. I went and singed in to the bma, then came back. With the fog I could only see about 150 yards.I stayed around until the fog broke which was about 2 hours later. The buck was no where to be seen so we went on with our hunt. Then next buck I seen was a very heavy 4x4 that was about 25 inches wide. This buck was about 10 yards off of a BMA when we showed up, but the deer were headed for public land. To stay on public we would have to make about a 2 mile stalk one way. I asked my son if he wanted to go in a long walk and try to get the buck. He said yes! We took our time walking out to the buck  on the way we ran into 4 other smaller bucks. When we got near where the buck was we ran into about 100 antelope and they ran out right where the buck last was. We kept walking and glassing finally I see the buck about 1 to 1 1/2 away and moving quickly away from where the antelope spooked them out of.  Had to make a tuff decision to turn around, my son was already tired of walking and we still had a little over 2 miles to get back to the truck. We headed back and I had to keep things fun to keep my son walking back. ( I had to tell him to act like a four wheeler to keep him going, which worked) we hunted the rest of the day not seeing any other nice bucks. Near the end of shooting light we went and checked on the whitetail, he popped up about 15 minutes before dark but he stayed on private. The next morning I made a plan to sign into the bma the whitetail was on well before light and set up on a vantage point to see where he came out. I spotted him feeding with a few doe’s only about 400 yards from the road. We used a ditch and terrain to get closer. I set up at 430 yards, which was all the closer I could get with out being seen. I set up on the buck and could only see from the white patch on his neck up. A few trucks came by driving fast and it did not alarm the deer. Then while I was waiting for him to feed into the open a truck came up the road real slow. The all bolted to private. We went back out hunting for mule deer again and seen a lot of deer. In one draw we found 5 bucks and 50-75 doe’s