Sheep Shorts

Photo: Duncan Gilcrest

by Jed A. Brown

For years I believed I had a solid lead on a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep tag in New Mexico, but when that tag fell through I was blessed to find an even better tag! Once that tag was locked down not a day passed that I didn’t dream about my hunt for my fourth North American wild sheep. To have the opportunity to complete my FNAWS in Montana, a state known for massive rams was a privilege. The outfitter/guides Brendan Burns and Justin Fourcolors are so knowledgeable about their hunting area and the sheep that live there. Like most sheep hunting outfits, they manage for age. I had seen photos of rams that would certainly make me a very happy hunter. One ram really had my focus, but when it was time for the hunt another massive ram materialized and it was determined he was even older than my “target” ram. Brendan told me if we could find both sheep, it would be hunter’s choice as to which ram to pursue, but I could tell he really wanted e to shoot the older ram. As the saying goes, “Don’t guide the guide”. When Brendan picked me up at the airport in Great Falls I told him my focus had changed to the massive older ram. Luck was on my side. When we arrived at the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation we found the older ram first. One look through my binoculars convinced me I needed to pursue this ram until he was mine.

When the moment of truth finally came and we crawled into position, the ram was bedded directly across a canyon from us at 200 yards at the same elevation. I set my 6.5-284 on its bipod, laid prone and waited for him to get out of his bed. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he was bedded facing our way. It seemed right. For minutes I could see one eye looking our way from behind a pine tree— when I saw two eyes both staring directly our way I knew he could get up at any moment. There had been some discussion about shooting him in his bed, but that conversation quickly ended when the ram stood up. Brendan and I knew the ram could bolt at any second as he raised from his bed, so I had already told Brendan that when the ram stood the rifle would go off almost immediately...it did! Brendan, Justin and I all heard the hit, the ram spun and took off behind the hill he had been bedded on. Anytime an animal doesn’t go directly down, doubt can enter one’s mind. I certainly didn’t need doubt on my FNAWS ram, but I started to question my shot placement given the sheep’s slight angled body position. The walk around the mountain down the canyon and up the other side took only about 15-20 minutes, but it felt like hours. We checked fingers on the backside of the mountain as we hiked to the position where the ram had been bedded 20 minutes earlier. As we approached that location we could see the ram had traveled about 50-60 yards away and was lying on his side. And then it hit me...my FNAWS was done! My quest for the four wild sheep of North America had been accomplished! I am not the kind of hunter who openly celebrates after a successful hunt that finishes with a harvested animal. I often have a surreal feeling come over me with a range of emotions—appreciation for the experience, gratitude to those people that made the hunt possible, accomplishments for taking an animal, etc. All these emotions were there with me this fateful late afternoon in Montana. WS