For most Western Big Game Hunters, season often starts in mid to late spring, refreshing a computer screen or online bank statement to see if the state game agencies have charged you for a tag. For many states and typical species like Elk, Deer and Antelope, a successful box or a charge on the ol’ debit card may be a bit more predictable. When it comes to the big three, chances are muc more slim. Inevitably, year after year, the screen displays a red box or ‘Unsuccessful” and the bank account doesn’t get touched either. I’m often reminded of the scene in Happy Gilmore when the hockey says “Gilmore – Gilmore I called your name didn’t I” – “No, No you didn’t coach” – “ Oh, well better luck next year, hardy har har”.
How It Started
17 years, my Home state of Colorado had said “Better Luck Next Year”. I don’t fault them, it’s a limited resource with high demand. A fella (or Gal) has to know his/her time may never come. This year started out much the same. “Unsuccessful” and “Not chosen” ran rampant in the Johnson home as state after state posted their results. But that all changed on that glorious day in late April when I awoke to find my bank account was missing some Dinero.
I knew instantly what had happened. After 18 years, I was going Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep hunting!! The summer found me scouting every spare second I could find. The unit I drew was a resident only area and only offered two archery tags. Through a mutual acquaintance I was able to get in touch with the other tag holder. A good guy and it seemed we’d get along well, a huge blessing on a tag like this where we’d certainly be chasing the same sheep. The unit has a small resident herd, which is why the tags are so limited and archery only. We’d be hunting the same group of rams and mutual respect from a fellow avid hunter would go a long way in ensuring we both had good hunts.
The unit is not what you might typically think of when you think of sheep country. These rams mostly lived on a high mountain sage plateau and the valleys above the crags and rocks of a smaller mountain river. Every prior tag holder I talked to said the county was open and the sheep where always switched on. In fact only 3 of the last 8 hunters had been successful per the CPW statistics page. Drawing the tag was just part of the battle.
I won’t drag on about the scouting trips and full hunt, this isn’t a novel. But I want to relay two stories, two stalks from the hunt that can hopefully glean some insight on spot and stalk hunting. I can promise you, my time spot and stalk hunting Antlope, Mule Deer and Elk would all come back to aid me in my likely once in a life-time sheep hunt.
Stalk 1
We'll start on day two after a failed attempt on day one. After a couple hours of glassing, my cousin and good hunting buddy turned up the rams on the far East side of the area I’d seen them all summer. My son and I hustled over from the west side to meet up and make a plan. They were bedded in the open sage, a couple of hundred yards below the crest of a gently rolling ridge about a 1000 yards away. I circled around behind the crest of the ridge which allowed me to move freely and quickly, continually using my puffer to check the wind. There was a cross fence we’d identified as a landmark and the rams where bedded approx. 150 yds off the fence line just over the rise. So I knew approx. 150 yds before I hit the fence line, I was in line and it was time to slow down and put my sneak on.
If you’ve spent anytime around me at all, you know one of my favorite sayings is “Aggressive Patients”. There’s a time to be aggressive and a time to be patient. Moving along the back side of the crest was time to be aggressive, now as I made my way over the crest it was time for patients. Two steps and glass through the tops of the sage brush looking for any signs of the rams. Two steps – Glass, two steps – glass, two steps – BINGO! Right below me 175 yards all 15 of the rams were bedded.
After some study I decided I wasn’t going to be able to get any closer. I backed out, moved up the ridge 200 yards and tried coming in from a different angle. My wind direction was now a bit better and I needed to try something different. As luck would have it, a large sage, bigger than any of the rest, sat between me and the rams. I was able to get approx. 20 yds from the bush in pretty sort fashion with some hunched over duck walking. The bush appeared to be close to my self-imposed max shooting distance. I hands and knees crawled taking 45 minutes to move those 20 yds. When one would stand up or look around, I’d stop dead in my spot no matter how twisted I might be and waited until he returned. Then would start to crawl again.
Once at the large sage, the last piece of any sort of vegetation between me and the rams, I posted up. Rams stood and laid down several times, of which I was able to get a good range on with my range finder, but never one of the top rams stood, until……
When he stood, he was facing straight my way, I froze. Be a bush, be a bush, be a bush was my mantra as he slowly fed directly towards me. After he came about 15 yards, I moved as slowly as I could to peer around the bush to get a range. Clicked my range finder, then slunk back behind the bush to hook up my release and get ready to draw. When I peered back up through the tops of the bush, he was staring straight at me. I was pegged and there wasn’t anything I could do. Slowly one by one the sheep all stood up staring at the misshapen bush. And then, as critters do, they rocket shipped out of the country. This was going to be harder than I thought. Two days in, two blown stalks.
Stalk Part 2
Fast forward 8 days, a couple more failed attempts, some 4h fair obligations with the kids and I was back in action. But I hadn’t been able to find the rams I glassed at last light the night before. From 6:45 am to 3:00 in the afternoon I had scoured the country, no signs of the anywhere. Then, all of a sudden, they were just there, in the open, not 50 yards from where I had hiked that morning. To this day, I still have no idea where they were hiding.
I was at least two hours from them, running solo this trip I didn’t have anyone to keep watch on them and make sure they stayed tucked into bed. So I took off and looped around the canyon as quick as I could, took the side by side down the spur road on the opposite side, and bailed out for the mile “aggressive” hike in hopes they had stayed in place.
I didn’t love my wind. I was coming from above and the wind was blowing from my left to right. Not great, not terrible. As I peered every so slowly into the little ravine where they had been, I was relieved to see the shimmer of horns. But once again, out in the open with little chance of getting within archery range.
I circled to the west, watching my wind ever so close, thinking that they would likely move West once they started moving. They didn’t. In fact, they went straight North down the little ravine. I started to trail them on the west side, “cheating the wind”. I thought “as long as I can stay behind them, my wind will be Okay enough”. I went maybe 50 yards then stopped myself.
Just the year before, working on an archery pronghorn hunt for my son, we’d made a pact. No lazy stalks. Every time we’d try to cheat the wind ‘just a little bit’ or get through this one little opening without being seen, we’d get busted. Every single time. So, we made a promise to do it the right way, every time, No Lazy Stalks.
No Lazy Stalks I thought. So I backed out, way out. Back around the top and onto the east side of the ravine where my wind was perfect and the lip of the little canyon offered more protection. I dropped my pack and step by slow step, peered over the edge. Suddenly one of the younger rams appeared just 20 or 30 yards under the rim of the ravine, but about 150 yds down the ridge from me. I backed out once more and made a quick circle around to where I’d seen the young ram.
Again, two steps – glass, two steps glass, two steps – BINGO. The back of the rams horns looked like anvils as he lay bedded facing away just over the rise. The other four rams to his left. I hunched down out of sight to make a plan. Two quick steps to my left put a large boulder between me and the rams, allowing me to very slowly sneak forward just enough to clear the rise with an arrow.
I slowly peered around the boulder, the larger ram still bedded looking away and was able to get a range. Arrow nocked all I had to do was wait for him to stand up. It wasn’t long, a minute or two and he started to put weight on his front feet. I hit full draw before he was on his feet. As he stood he twisted away and was now standing very sharply quartering away. As I was having the inner dialogue deciding if there was enough room to slip one in the gap, he and another ram got curious. He flipped completely the opposite direction to my left, looking straight up at me………………. But standing broadside. Already at full draw, leveled and pin on the spot, it didn’t take long for the arrow to be set loose.
The arrow just plain disappeared, so I threw up my binoculars as the group ran across the opposite side. A red spot was growing right behind the shoulder of the ram, right where it was supposed to be. This was good! This was really happening!. Not 120 yards and less than 30 seconds later, the ram was laying expired on the opposite hill side. My life long dream of harvesting a big horn sheep had just happened. I literally was at a loss for words, it was something I’d dreamed of for a very long time and something I’m sure to never forget.
Spot and stalk hunting can be incredibly fun and rewarding, it can make you want to quit hunting too. This hunt reminded me a lot of spot and stalk antelope hunting in open sage country. It’s hard, it’s trying, the quarry is very keen on anything around them and you have to fail many times so that once, just once is all it takes, to succeed.
Key Take Aways
Spotting from a distance can save a lot of time and energy and help avoid spooking game. Spend time watching, whether it be an above timeline hillside for mule deer, sage flats for antelope, or mountain valleys for elk. If possible, wait for the game to lay down before making your move.
Watch the wind; With practically all big game, if they smell you, it’s game over. Plan your approach to account for the wind direction and maybe wait until the air warms up and is more consistent if you're able.
No Lazy Stalks; If you can’t get the wind right or have don’t the right cover back out. Either try again or wait for the critters to move. If you push it you’re almost sure to blow the animals out, not getting a chance today and perhaps ruining your chances of finding them again tomorrow.
For tips on gear that might help in your spot and stalk hunting see this post on 6 pieces of essential gear
Ryan Johnson has spent his entire life in the Colorado Rockies. He’s hunted elk, mule deer, pronghorn and many other critters with bow and rifle from the very beginning is now sharing his experiences, success’ and failures for new and experienced hunters alike to enjoy and learn from.
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