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Old 07-04-2007, 10:37 AM
Stinky Coyote Stinky Coyote is offline
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary
Posts: 5,189
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The problem too Stinky, is that I don't think you appreciate the difficulty in locating a legal ram. They aren't like mule deer does where if you miss or wound one, they'll be another around the next ridge. The last Stone sheep hunt that I was along on, it was day 18 before we spotted a legal ram. This was 18 days of living out of a backpack....enduring some of the most brutal conditions possible. To make a long story less long......we spent 6 hours getting within 370 yards of the ram but couldn't get any closer. So rather than take the high risk shot and watch 18 days or work run away, we waited several more hours until the ram got within 307 yards. Even at that range there was much deliberation as to whether to take the shot.

In the end we killed the ram but most likely because we waited for the shot we did. Sure we could have flung a 600 yard shot at the ram and watched it run away along with 18 days of toil. You might only get one shot at a big ram in your life and I know for me anyhow, I wouldn't be willing to take any shot other than one I was 100% certain was going to connect. I've backed out of basins to return the next day because we couldn't get closer than 400 yards to rams. Once you hunt them for a while, you'll appreciate what a trophy they are and all the work and preparation required to finally kill one.
Thats how i hunt too. You either have the confidence at the time or you don't, bow or gun, varying conditions etc. etc. and if i don't i don't wing it...unless its a coyote or a gopher(if i've missed a coyote i'll keep shooting as long as i can...still haven't scored but aint changing my style...its vermin)....but something other than vermin i take a lot more seriously....i'm a good tracker too but hate it so i feel the 100% before i let it rip too. I'm not telling how far that might be in sheep hunting for me but i will know lots about what i can do under ideal conditions to 500 yrds as it's good practice and good info to have. And i agree that i don't know what sheep hunting is like yet so i'm sure we are all on the same page as i have to feel it 100% or i'm not shooting and hoping for the best...i have no idea what range it will be for each situation but i'll be well practiced to 500 under ideal conditions....will probably never shoot one over 200 yrds though...i like the sure thing much more than my discussions seem to be letting on!
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