11½-YEAR-OLDS

As I sit on the East bank of the Columbia glassing several big rams across the river, a kid walks up to me and asks if I would like to hear about his ideal ram. This type of intro can strike fear in the heart of a sheep guide, but I say, “sure Jake, what are you thinking?” Jake Murphy, age 11½, tells me he would prefer hunting the oldest ram we can find, one that has the fewest years to contribute to the genetics and health of the overall herd. He goes on to say that he really likes beat-up rams with plenty of chips and notches in their horns. It would also make him happy if the ram had something in addition to his age that indicated he did not have as long to live as other rams, maybe a limp or some other injury that was holding him back.

While whipping my head around in disbelief to study the young man who was telling me this, nearly knocking my spotting scope and tripod to the ground in the process, I mention that we happen to be watching a ram that exactly fits his description. He is the oldest ram we’ve seen in the past 7 months, heavy and with a massive chip down to the core on one horn. I explain that while he is very big, the damage to his horns means that he is probably only the fourth or fifth-best scoring rams in the area. It is probable that we’ll see several rams who score better than him both that day and the next. Jake responds, “Oh scoring doesn’t matter.

I cannot remember the last time my dad scored something. I would like to go after that old chipped-up ram who doesn’t score as well.“

This is going to be a really different experience I tell myself. I’ve been outfitting and guiding bighorn sheep hunts in the western states for 30 years and have never had the first 10 minutes in the field unfold quite like this. Jake’s stature in my eyes suddenly jumps far above his 11½-year-old frame. That evening, I discuss the option of going after the beat-up old ram with Jake’s father, Seth Murphy. After Seth makes it clear that he shares his son’s mindset, we decide to pursue the old ram in the morning.

Did I mention that this was the Washington state auction tag hunt, a huge undertaking, and that after seven months of scouting, filming, and studying, we have chosen not to go after the best-scoring ram? Or the second-best scoring ram, or even the third-best scoring ram?

This old, chipped ram is smart. He hides away from 95% of the other rams and when spooked, he sprints along, down cliffs, over five-foot boulders, through burned deadfalls, at a speed that leaves younger, healthy rams in the dust, all the while limping on or even dragging one useless rear leg.

We put on two long stalks that day and the next, moving higher up the mountain through steep approaches. Jake is a champ at putting his head down and climbing relentlessly. We lose the ram once and then find him again on the second day. Once in position, Jake must wait three hours for the ram to rise out of his bed and into a better position for taking a shot. Once he does, Jake is ready, and the old ram goes down. While caping and quartering the ram to pack him out, we find a huge abscess on his rear hip. It’s an old injury that has left his hip socket somewhat deformed. His teeth are nearly gone, and one eye even looks odd. Clearly, he has very little time left to live. We age the ram at 11½ years. I watch the pride in our 11½-year-old hunter’s eye and listen to his comments about how much like an old warrior the 11 ½-year- old ram looks. I listen to his remarks about how the ram’s existing injuries would likely have taken him down that winter anyway. From a biological perspective, I point out that he was the best ram to harvest.

The very next ram hunt I would guide was for a long-time friend and client. We hunted in Oregon and would end up taking the new California bighorn world record with a score of 191. You might think that this experience could not be topped and would serve as the pinnacle of a hunting guide’s career. I am a close friend of that hunter, and greatly respect the opportunity to guide him on that amazing hunt. It was a huge accomplishment for both of us to be together at that special time.

To be honest, though, the hunt that carries just as much meaning for me is the Washington state hunt in which the 11½-year-old hunterconservationist, Jake Murphy, shot the old, chipped 11½-year-old ram. Thank you, Jake, for sharing your perspective on sheep hunting with me. Your attitude will benefit the future of wildlife management and conservation. If more people in the next generation share this point of view, we can be assured that wild sheep herds will expand and thrive for many years to come. WS