Chelan sheep

[hunterednate]

I am the son of the disabled hunter and wanted to say publicly that I really appreciate you taking time away from your hunt to sit with us as we got him on the animal. He was very impressed by you as a hunter and we are confident you will get on the one that you want!

Very cool. Congrats to your dad and rooting for the OP along with you on his hunt.

[cem3434]

I am the son of the disabled hunter and wanted to say publicly that I really appreciate you taking time away from your hunt to sit with us as we got him on the animal. He was very impressed by you as a hunter and we are confident you will get on the one that you want!

Lots of bonus karma points coming the OP's way! 

[Pathfinder101]

Good luck man!  Tagging along for the ride 

[Romulus1297]

Once they go down the cliffs they don’t go very far they just find a spot to take a nap

[Caseknife]

Sounds like you are making the most of a great hunt and definitely have karma on your side, haqve fun and get a good ram.  Hopefully I will get to do that while I still can.

[Huckleberry]

Monday was rather slow. I tried some new ways in. Hiked from the Falls to the cell towers and much of the country in between with only a couple new bands of animals to show for the effort. No shooters and no real reason to check that side of the hill again.

[HikerHunter]

Sounds like you're having a great hunt! tagging along

[Huckleberry]

Tuesday morning I woke up tired and sore. Slow to get out of the sleeping bag I made a cup of coffee and some oatmeal. I was trying to come up with a game plan. Go to the fruit stand and glass or burn boot leather. It was the coolest day yet, I decided I would hike the cliffs one more time and if that doesn't work I'd go glass from across the river.

Sheep country ranged from somewhat gentle grass and sage slopes to relatively extreme rock cliffs and outcrops. It appeared that the rams liked the rocks the most. It was easy to walk above or below them and us not see each other due to the rugged terrain. Many I saw stand for a few minutes then bed down beneath or behind large boulders. Out of site from most glassing angles, and almost impossible to see had they not moved for a minute.

Sheep are funny animals and if in open gentle ground would run if I was spotted. In the rocks they just watched for the most part and didn't move much unless pressured or enough time went by that they started feeling uneasy. I figure I saw perhaps 50 different rams and 120 or so ewes.

My family and hunting partners had important obligations opening weekend. Between salmon derbies and Alaska I was solo. It was OK, I like alone in the cliffs. I didn't put ammo in the gun Saturday due to the heat and my attempt to be selective. Sunday I stuck 2 rounds in the magazine and kept the chamber empty. It cooled off Monday and I was a little more itchy. I had seen some animals and wanted to try hard to find a shooter before Wednesday was over and it started getting warm again. Monday was slow, my attempt at locating something I didn't think many people could find was a brutal 13 hours of wildlife watching minis the sheep. It was almost demoralizing.

Tuesday's cool morning found me climbing rock cliffs, balancing safety and the ability to get an animal out alone, with viewpoints of hidden ledges and canyons. At 8:50 am on one such ledge I stopped to eat a pear and perhaps glass a little while planning my route. As I slipped my pack from my left shoulder the sound of hooves on rocks caught my ear. I turned and no more than 50 or 60 yards uphill was a band of rams. I had seen a group nearby I called half curl's and my first thought was it's them. For some reason I counted sheep and the number didn't add up to any other band I had seen. They started to move uphill and clump. One caught my eye and looked big compared to the others. I don't remember taking the scope covers off and putting them in my pocket. I do remember looking through the glass and thinking I hadn't seen one quite like him yet. Heavy, wide and character. He had the wow factor that everyone talks about. It was cool, early, and for the ground I had covered the last few days, relatively manageable. They clumped, he was the uppermost ram with nothing behind him. There was a perfect gap between the ones below and to his side. I had just shot the rifle on the drive over and had plenty of room to get a bullet in. The .300 thundered and he dropped in his tracks. I waited for movement, he didn't roll, kick, only a single leg went stiff. I was done. On the short walk uphill I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't count rings or make a guess on score. I hadn't seen him from afar and made an epic stalk. I simply shot because it seemed like the thing to do.

I wasn't sure what sheep would go home with me. My goal was that of most sheep hunters. I didn't need the biggest ram in the unit but gray faced, Roman nose, and one I could look at and smile at for the rest of my life. I wanted to know I tried, whether it took two days or two weeks. I was happy with what I saw. 12 hours later at the truck I was relieved to be done packing. My solo Chelan Butte sheep hunt was indeed a once in a lifetime experience. Thank you for the positive thoughts and people I met along the way.

[boneaddict]

FANTASTIC!   Nicely done

[carpsniperg2]

Beautiful ram and congrats on a amazing hunt.

[Pathfinder101]

Fantastic ram!  Congratulations! 

[300rum]

Great Ram.

[CamoDup]

Sounds like an amazing adventure! Thanks for sharing and a big congratulations! 

[hunterednate]

Love how it all came together for you, and your thought process in taking the shot. Congrats on a great ram!

[GOcougsHunter]

Congratulations!