Adventure Profiles

O.E. Burke

SPECIES: Fannin Ram OUTFITTER: Mackenzie Mountain Outfitters GUIDE: Jordan Wagner LOCATION: NWT, Canada

An absolutely epic hunt with Jordan Wagner deep in the Mackenzie Mountains. We had gorgeous weather, rain, fog, wind, and the midnight sun ... a complete experience. We spotted this ram in a band of three on the first night over three miles away at the head of the valley. We moved camp to the base of the peak they were on the next day and spent the next two days climbing and glassing trying to relocate them. Finally located the rams, now a band of five, in the late afternoon at 1,700 yards on the next ridge over, and decided this Fannin was the one to pursue. We waited them out for over seven hours before they made their move, of course, not in the direction we were hoping. We decided to get aggressive with them out of sight, and it paid off when we ended up directly above them just shy of 400 yards. My Alterra Arms 6.5prc found its mark and the hunt-of-alifetime was a success. We were awake for 30 hours straight by the time the pack out was complete and were back to our camp, it was absolutely perfect. My first of the four North American Wild shee ...an 11 year old Fannin (Dall’s)! I cannot say enough kind words about Jordan Wagner, an absolute class act and blast to hunt with, and Stan & Helen Stevens and their team at Mackenzie Mountain Outfitters. THANK YOU!!!

ERRATA: The editors at Wild Sheep® would like to express our sincere apologies for featuring Mr. Burke in our fall issue with the wrong profile and story for this beautiful ram. We’d like to say we were so focused on the stunning photo that we missed his profile...and it’s true!

Rick Garzoli

SPECIES: Stone’s Ram OUTFITTER: Stone & Folding Mountain Outfitters GUIDES: Luke Hall and Wranglers James Redekot & Luke Thompson LOCATION: British Columbia, Canada

I could say a lot about this hunt, it tested me physically and mentally! When I was tired, hurting, and sore I would tell myself Holly suffered more with her cancer. Suck it up Bucko, don’t be a wimp, Get’er done! I had an amazing support crew. Luke Hull was my guide and I’ve never seen anyone that could hike/walk like him! Even a heavy pack didn’t slow him down. Wranglers James Redekot and Luke Thompson were a big help, too. They were all very attentive, always asking if I needed anything. They also were a pleasure to be around. I wouldn’t hesitate to share camp with them again! This ram completes my third FNAWS. I’m not sure if there will be more sheep hunting in my future, but I’ve been very fortunate over the years. I’ve met many wonderful people while hunting and attending the WSF Convention. It’s been a big part of my life and I’ve enjoyed every minute!

Bruce Kirkpatrick

SPECIES: Bighorn Sheep OUTFITTER: Geneva Park Outfitters GUIDE: Todd Clark LOCATION: Colorado

I shot this ram on my 35th day of hunting Rocky Mountain bighorns. I made three trips to the Montana Unlimited area and one trip to British Columbia before I drew this tag.

We watched this group of rams from opening morning until the fourth day of the hunt before they got into a position where we could make a play on them. I stalked them in their beds and made a 170-yard frontal shot on the oldest ram in the group. He never left his bed. It was a great hunt with a terrific guide.

This ram completed my FNAWS.

Clay Beard

SPECIES: CA Bighorn OUTFITTER: Amblers Bighorn GUIDES: Dustin Bentall and Scott Mann LOCATION: BC Canada

This ram was taken on the 20th day of a 21-day hunt. We covered lots of country by horseback and climbing. It was a beautiful area and led by a top-notch outfitter and guides who spared no effort. We tracked a group of four rams for many days and stayed with them by camping on the mountain. We never caught up to that group, but located another group of three rams and sealed the deal on a beautiful heavy horned ram with only one day to spare.

Photo: Tim Shinabarger

Cory Smith

SPECIES: Dall’s Ram OUTFITTER: Ultima Thule GUIDE: Donald C. Martin, aka, “Hollywood” LOCATION: Alaska

We located this ram on day three of the hunt. He was in range but in the cliffs and recovery would be all but impossible. We sat on him for nine hours watching/waiting for him to get up and feed. He finally got up but went further into the cliffs. We awoke to fog the next day, but after hunting back to the cliffs we were able to relocate him in the bottom. After a single long, angle-compensated shot, we were able to take my special Dall’s as this completed FNAWS #2. Huge thanks to Don Martin (and Liam) and the whole Ultima Thule gang.

Marcus Gores

SPECIES: Stone’s Sheep OUTFITTER: Golden Bear Outfitters GUIDE: Blake Williams LOCATION: B.C. Canada

I booked this hunt as a last minute option and was wonderfully surprised by the experience. The outfitter/guide and the hunt was fantastic. It took eight days to get my ram and I killed a mountain goat on day 10 of this hunt. The late season and snow on the ground made it a spectacular experience and one I will never forget. Can’t wait to go back and give it a shot with my bow!

Brent Bates

SPECIES: Fannin OUTFITTER: Bonnet Plume GUIDE: Seth Fay LOCATION: Yukon Territory, Canada

We harvested the ram on the second day in the field. The ram had enough black hairs in both the tail and the body to meet the requirements to be considered a Fannin. In addition, we harvested a seven foot grizzly bear. We also had the opportunity to harvest an estimated 380” caribou bull, but chose to pass because I harvested a similar-sized bull on a previous hunt. Chris at BPO is a good outfitter and works hard to make sure his clients have every opportunity to be successful. Seth was great to hunt with, he is very personable and passionate about helping his hunters to have a great experience.

Jim McEnroe

SPECIES: Stone’s Sheep OUTFITTER: Golden Bear Outfitting GUIDES: Ross Milton LOCATION: BC Canada

Editor’s Note: See story on page 86

This was my third North American wild sheep species (I have a Montana Rocky Mountain ram, California bighorn taken in North Dakota, three Dall’s and now a Stone’s), and my wife has just one ram, a desert bighorn from Mexico. So, I guess we now have a Fam Slam!

Shae & Rusty Sandry

SPECIES: Dall’s Sheep OUTFITTER: Arctic Red River Outfitters: LOCATION: NWT

My trip had been postponed since 2020, due to COVID-19. Once we arrived at base camp, reality hit that we were finally going Dall’s sheep hunting. Each of us having a guide, we parted ways from the same airstrip on a 21-day adventure. We put in hard work and determination hunting until the opportunity presented itself on day 10 for Rusty and day 14 for Shae to harvest our rams. It was such an epic, unbelievable trip and an opportunity-of-a-lifetime. We will cherish the memories forever and the people we have met along our journey. We want to extend our thanks to everybody at ARRO on making these dreams come true!

Chad Germann

SPECIES: Altai Ibex OUTFITTER: Zev Hunting GUIDE: Muugii Dorj LOCATION: Mongolia

Keith Atcheson

SPECIES: Stone’s Ram OUTFITTER: Trophy Stone Outfitters GUIDE: Bill Sandulak LOCATION: Yukon, Canada

I booked this hunt in 2019 intending to go in 2020, then Covid hit, and hunters and outfitters missed the 2020 season and most of 2021 sheep season. In August 2022 I was able to go and well worth the wait. We hunted hard, rode horses well over 100 miles, hiked thousands of vertical feet and saw good numbers of sheep and other species. On day 12 we made a wet and windy run on several rams, closing the gap to 250 yards and ended with a beautiful full curl Stone ram. Bill is an experienced and exceptional hunting guide and my wrangler; Andy was with me the whole trip and deserves much credit as well. I took my first ram in Alaska at age 16 and have been blessed and so grateful to hunt many rams since then. 46 years later it feels so good to still be a sheep hunter! Thanks so much to the entire crew at Trophy Stone Outfitters in the Yukon. You are the best!

We had an awesome hunt and got to see a lot of Mongolia as we drove cross country from the Altai Mountains to the Gobi Desert, to Ulaantaatar to the north chasing Altai & Gobi ibex, gazelle and roe deer. The people were very nice and it was very interesting learning about the country and their culture. One of the highlights was stopping at a yurt in the middle of nowhere to ask an old man if we could get some milk from one of his cows to “give to the mountain”. While our guide went with him to get the milk directly from the cow, his wife invited us into their home for tea and bread. I told my hunting buddy David, “most tourists never get this kind of experience and insight into the local people!”

Joe Nobles

SPECIES: Bighorn Sheep OUTFITTER: Self-Guided LOCATION: Colorado

With great thanks to great friends, Mark, Chris and Brandon Campbell, Duane Newton who took vacation time to help me scout, find, stalk and pack out this beautiful old ram. Thanks to my wife Brenda and kids for their support. So many blessings from the Lord! I completed my FNAWS at 12,930 ft. in spectacular sheep country. This was the hardest and most rewarding of my quests. I want to also thank Ralph Miller of Deltana for my Dall’s, Darwin Carey at Scoop Lake for my Stone’s, and Dennis Campbell for helping arrange my desert ram hunt with Uma Purisima. With my FNAWS complete, I will not hunt another ram unless I am supporting family or friend with a tag. Good luck to you in the draws.

When submitting your Adventure Profile, please limit your hunt summary to 200 words or less and include the species taken, your outfitter and guide, and the location of your hunt. Wild Sheep® reserves the right to edit stories to fit space available. Thank you and good luck on your next hunt!

Mike Borel

SPECIES: Vercors Chamois OUTFITTER: Iberhunting, Antonio Teruel GUIDES: Antonio Teruel, Phillippe Simone LOCATION: France

Roz, my wife, and I flew into Nice for some pre-hunt touring and dining, arriving Friday September 16. We enjoyed wonderful weather, fun touring and as expected, superb dining!

On Tuesday we left well before sunrise and with a steep but relatively brief climb, got into a good glassing position that with luck, could also be a good sniper spot. We spotted a number of chamois, but none within stalking range —until one showed up directly across from us. Despite Herculean efforts to establish a solid rest on a steep uphill on my left, as a right hander, I simply couldn’t get it done before the chamois left the area. In the early afternoon we moved spots and glassed further. We saw nine in a group some distance away, but Phillippe wasn’t confident we could get to them yet this day.

Day two was again beautiful and our first glassing point did not produce any options. At ~3:00 we spotted two at 460 yards, but in an area Phillippe said would be impossible for recovery. We enjoyed watching them until they went out of sight. At ~5:00 a lone chamois gave us a glimpse below us at ~200 yards. He stayed just out of sight, or at least a shot opportunity.

At 6:00 he gave us an opportunity and we took it. Chamois down. Thanks to Antonio Teruel, Iberhunting, for a very professional staff, quality preparations and excellent hunt/tour management!

Jesus Viejo Gonzalez

SPECIES: Bukharan Markhor OUTFITTER: Summits of Russia GUIDE: Aleksei LOCATION: Tajikistan

Capra Falconeri Hepteni, without a doubt one of the most coveted mountain trophies. This was one of the toughest hunts I have been on both physically and emotionally. I will start from the end and work myself back to the hunt itself. It was heartbreaking not being able to claim my trophy on the field. The place from where I shot, so I am told, is a place where neither guides or hunter clients has ever gone before, and the place where the trophy fell was only reached two days after with the aid of professional climbing equipment. The bittersweet feeling came from not having an appropriate field picture but also the call I received in the airport before my flight back home notifying me that it was potentially a new world record, something that was carefully confirmed 60 days after by an SCI master measurer that I had flown in from Russia into Tajikistan for that sole purpose.

Long story short, my hunt culminated with a nerve-racking choosing game at about 250 meters. The joy of a wellplaced shot with the bitterness to know that he was only 300 meters away but, in a place, impossible to reach. It was a long way back to camp and the bitterness only left me 48 hours after when I received that phone call in the airport. He was indeed a 14-year-old monarch, and despite the fact that he was broomed off, he was the SCI new world record by a good margin.

Todd Anderson

SPECIES: Desert Sheep OUTFITTER: Amigo’s Guides & Outfitter GUIDE: Nayo Balderrama LOCATION: Sonora, Mexico

My Valentine’s Day desert sheep was truly a gift from my wife. February 2022, I had the opportunity to go on a desert sheep hunt in Sonora Mexico. After 37 years of being married to a hunter, she said it would be my Valentine’s gift from her. I decided to drive to Sonora from Illinois.

After arriving at camp, we set out early the following morning. Around, mid-morning one of the guides spotted a decent ram worth looking at closer. The ram dropped out of sight into a large bowl and we pursued with no sight of the ram.

It was now late in the afternoo and we were all gathering at a saddle point. The day was pretty much over in my mind. Then my guide said one of the others spotted the ram. We hurried closer to the area and spotted him. My guide said he was 460 yards. I took the shot and hit him low in the chest, he hobbled over the crest of the ridge and into the next cut, standing on a flat rock quartering away. He was now at 506 yards. I settled in and sent the bullet through him. He jumped from his perch and never got up again.

When we reached the ram, my guides already had measuring tapes out. Saying “this is a great ram, Boone and Crockett in the 170’s”. It was getting dark so we took a few photos, field dressed him and decided to return in the morning to safely pack him out.

I crossed into Arizona on Friday the 18th, with my ram. Now it was just 1800 miles to my home to the one who married a hunter. She was happy to see me—but ecstatic when she saw the horns of the desert sheep! I thanked her again and told her I never expected such a large specimen, truly a gift—and on February 14th!