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2011 Season Review
2011 hunting kicked of in Mexico right after the shows with Jim Hens and Tiburon Island Desert Sheep. We all had a blast and a great Ram was the outcome. Jim had a few really close calls on 180+ Sheep with his bow but the stars didn’t align until the end of the hunt when Jim took a beauty 175 with a borrowed rifle. Tyler Johnerson captured all the action in HD and made a sweet video that I hope to add to the web site soon. So real good rams there and I look forward to getting back down there.
Spring, I went to Admiralty Island with Scott Newman again and helped out on his hunts, The first hunt was a bit slow due to a late spring but the bears did eventually show. We took some great boars again and I look forward in going next year. This is a really good hunt with lots of close action!
The Summer was short again this year and by July 13th I was in the NWT again ready to chase some white sheep.
July 15th-24th was a cold , tough first hunt with Bow hunter Dave Ringenburger, TX, We put some miles on our legs on this hunt. Two really close calls, almost letting arrows fly on a beautiful 38+ Ram ( The Heart Ram), and another almost but that’s bow hunting! Dave, it was a pleasure sharing the mountain with a true archer like you. Only if that Grizzly didn’t chase that big boy past us at a little slower speed, EH! I look forward to sharing the Hilleberg hotel with you soon.
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July 25th - August 4th, After a hard humbling first hunt of the season my second hunter was highly accomplished bow hunter Ricardo Longoria, also from Texas. Ricardo and I got amungst 'em right of the bat. In the first 8 days we had over 10 legal rams in bow range. We held out for the one ram I’ve been after for 3 years (I call him the Heart Ram) I previously had 3 clients on him 14 times in bow range. Twice he’s been missed under 30 yards and two times he somehow got his buddy shot! Ricardo and I waited 4 days for this Ram to slip up and let us capitalize, every time he’d play it safe and never gave us that chance to get into bow range. Day 5 we made a play on a lesser full curl ram, not the one we wanted but still a nice Bow ram. At 55 yards Ricardo decided not to shoot him, I think the Heart Ram was still in his mind. Day 7 we decided to try for the heart ram again so we hiked back to the last location we saw him but he was nowhere to be found. We did however find another Ram that quickly made us forget about him and got us really excited. One lone Ram sunning himself 5 miles away was just what we needed. Throughout the day he made his way straight towards us, he crossed the valley floor and up onto the mountains we were on. Was it meant to be? We watched him bed and I kept an eye on him all night. The next day we were on him. 3 times we thought we had him, slam dunk, but... nope he’d change his mind and slip away just out of range. At 6:00 PM we finally found ourselves again at 55 yards. The Bow came back and the arrow flew true. Ricardos Ram is a beauty of a sheep, at 12 years old with lots of character, this is a true archery trophy. Thanks Ricardo for letting me help you with this successful hunt, Look forward to the next one!
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August 9th
Just got back to camp with my 3rd set of hunters Ricco Roccabruna & Kory Kumer. Stan had dropped us off at a remote gravel bar in hopes to take 2 nice Dalls with the two boys from Wyoming. With Loaded packs we headed out. After 4-5 miles we set up camp, had a nice mountain house meal for dinner and headed to bed. What will tomorrow bring? 6:00AM as I rolled out of the bag I quickly noticed four little white dots on the ridge above camp, needless to say I ran for a scope! "Boys I got Rams." After looking them over we knew one or two were shooters. After a quick breakfast we loaded our packs, and were off. By noon we were 550 yards, a closer look we decided to only take one ram and pass on the double on the first day. It was hard to do but with in-shape hunters that can shoot, we were confident we could find some others later for Kory (Ricco won the coin flip). We put the sneak on and at 1:30PM Ricco was bearing down on a beauty at 340 yards from above. One excellent shot and we had one down! Following the photo shoot, 3 good loaded packs and we were back at the tent by 7:00PM for an awesome sheep feast. Day 2, heavy loads back to the strip to hang the meat, cape and horns then we headed the opposite direction in search of some new rams. We hiked all day trying to find a new band of rams. At 12:30AM (midnight) with all 3 of us at about our max and shooting light almost gone I finally spotted 6 rams bedded only 650 yards away. We were in the wide open with nowhere to hide. Thank God for Optifade. With light fading fast we decided to gain a few hundred yards via belly crawl but by the time we were in range the crosshairs were no where to be seen. There was one little cut bank we could get to and spend the night in. It was a cold one. The packs were only 300 yards away but we didn't want to risk getting spotted by 6 weary rams. The Zeiss spotter kept an eye on them all night from 500 yards away. At 6:00AM we were cold and wet but excited for video light to arrive. At 7:00AM the rams rose to feed and gave us a chance to close the distance. A mad dash around a small hill in the valley floor and we were at 240 yards. The two big rams were feeding side by side. One nice 38 with both tips and a tight fancy 39x36ish ram. "Kory, you decide what one you want, both are great sheep." Kory wanted the 38. One well placed shot in the pouring rain and we were 2 for 2 in 3 days. We took photos as the rain let up and then had a well deserved morning-afternoon nap. We decided to hike it back to the strip in hopes Stan could come get us before the weather turned worse. We arrived at the strip again at 4:15AM after another all night affair. We were 3 exhausted boys with big smiles that’s for sure. We made it to the main camp to see the other hunters. Some beauty rams in camp taken by the other hunters as well. It reminds me of the stories I’ve been told about the 60's, back in the hay day. This is an unreal place.
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August 9th - 11th
I have been dreaming of this moment for four years...since the first time I saw a Dall Ram I dreamed of this. With all hunters in camp tagged out, Stan told me he wanted to take me out for a Birthday Ram. On August 9th Dan picked me up a Dall Sheep tag when he took some clients to town. That night Stan and I went out looking for a ram a hunter on the first hunt had wounded but got away. August 10th my birthday we hiked into a long valley and spotted him. He was bedded near the top in the boulders. We planned a stalk and off we went. We were what we thought 50-100 yards from where he had been bedded when I stepped on a loose rock and away it went crashing down the hill. I knew the ram would have heard it so I busted over the ridge frantically looking for him. I was right, he heard me and wasn't asking questions. He was on the run and about 200 yards away, I quickly set down the pack and hit a range with the geovids. The ridge was 400 years. I waited until he stopped. Boom! Down he went. I was sure thankful for my new Gunwerks 7mm. Talk about a paranoid sheep. (I would be also with all the lead he had thrown at him from the other hunters) We took some pictures and packed him out, I want to thank Stan for allowing me to take an awesome Ram in the NWT on my 27th Birthday. What a present! 3/4 the way. Desert sheep here I come!
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August 14th - 23rd
We just completed the 1st stone hunt with a nice stone ram for client Charles Herron of Alabama. Charles hunted 2010 with another outfit but came up short. At the 2011 GSCO Convention he booked this trip. Charles is a diabetic due to a severe logging accident and is very limited on what he can do. We were able to take horses most of the way. Charles along with Blake Patton of Texas (my next hunter who joined us on this hunt) and myself spotted some rams from about 5 miles away, filled with excitement we rode the pony’s closer for a better look from 1,400 yards we determined there was 3 shooters and one was unbelievable! The stalk... tied up the horses on the trail and headed the rest of the way on foot. We followed some game trails in the trees trying to close the distance and at one point I decided to go back up the trail we came down, as I started back up a loud huffing and a blur of massive Grizzly hair bolted off our trail and disappeared. Wow! He had been following our trail for a while. Toes like a Canadian $2 coin and a pad that we measured 8 inches across. That got the heart pumping! We’re back on our rams. 400 yards of slowly sneaking across an avalanche slide in hopes the sheep didn’t catch us below. “We’re in range! Charles, get ready to shot a monster!” After 5 minutes and a steady rest we were ready to shoot. The lead ram was a ram of all rams, a dream ram, the kind Jack O’Connor wrote about, 43” and pushing, in my opinion 175. “Ready, ok, anytime when you’re ready.” I watched through the scope as the gun rang....BOOM. The vapor trail sailed within an inch of his spine, barely a clean miss. “Shoot again, wait for him to stop, you’re just high.” BOOM! “Your just low this time Charles, hold right on”. The ram ran onto the skyline and stopped. It was one of the most amazing sights I’d ever seen.
“SHOOT!” Boom! Another clean miss and he disappeared over the top, never to be seen again. “Charles, shoot that ram down to the right.” Charles reloaded as the other 4 rams started to feed again. “ok when you’re steady, give it to him”. Boom! “You got him, shoot him again” Boom! “Give him another” Boom! All three shots right on the mark and a beautiful 9½ year old ram laid motionless. Its hard for me to write the emotions that followed but Charles definitely had accomplished a life long dream and it showed. I am honored to have been a part of his success and grateful for the time spent on the mountain with such a quality man. I only hope to have the chance to share some more days on the hill with him. A friend forever!
One last note: When I asked Charles if he was bummed that he missed a book ram he replied “that ram deserves to be taken by a hunter that can hunt him down, not by a guy that has to ride a horse to his sheep,” he then said, “I’m more than happy with mine!”
August 23rd - 26th
Blake was pumped to get hunting and after watching Charles take his ram he was more then fired up. Blake was bow hunting Stone Sheep. The first day we hiked 8-9 hours in and spent the night on a windy ridge with little sleep. Day 2 found us on rams by noon, 8 dark rams that we were able to slip into 90 yards and take a close look at. Four rams small, four rams only 7 ½ years old , 0 full curl. The legal requirement in BC says 8 years old or full curl to the bridge of the nose. 4 rams at 7 ½ years old, all nice rams that are low slung are hard to walk away from with a bow hunter after 6 hours of counting rings but if they’re not legal their not legal. We snuck out and moved up the ridge. Not 10 minutes later Blake spotted two more rams in the next basin just below us. I quickly put up the scope and called him legal... Game on! 25 minutes later we were 30 yards and full draw. The full curl walked right below us and a quick sheep call and he stopped “32”. Blake pulled the trigger on his release and the arrow flew true. My rock steady tripod and HD video camera got it all!
The light was fading fast so we set up camp right at the sheep. First thing I woke up and 7 new rams were bedded just over the ridge of the basin only 100 yards from our tent, some awesome up and comers, one black faced ram was a real beauty. A quick AM Photo op and a really long 10 hour pack and we make it to base camp to complete my 2nd Stone hunt of the year. It’s always a pleasure to hunt with a client like Blake, helpful around camp, can hike like a guide and shoots great, not to mention a class act of a guy. I hope Blake and I will be hunting again soon. Short hunt but a sweet hunt.
August 27th - 31st
Blake decided to head home right away giving me the chance to spend some extra time with my wife Heather. Her and I decided to go sheep hunting for me. Heather hadn’t been on a backpack hunt before so this 4-5 days promised to be an eye opener, Hiking the big Rocky Mountains in the fall weather. Heather, my 3 dogs: Sitka, Monti, and the new one Bivy (4 months old at the time), and I loaded up in the truck and head for the hills. By the end of Day 1 we were both exhausted. Side hilling and bushwhacking all day isn’t what you call fun. Day 2 was good but no sheep, only 3 goats & 1 Caribou cow. The sun was out and creek walking was much better. Day 3... FOG.. I had decided that I wanted to go over the top of the mountain and hike out a new valley. That 1st day was the worst and we both didn’t want to go back that way! Four hours straight up through fog, snow, wind, and rain, we reached the summit. The sun peeked through a bit during lunch. Since we hadn’t been there before we didn’t know what the other side was like or if we could even get down. With some coaxing we started down the steep rocky mountain side towards the grass below. At 5:00PM we spotted a nice Billy Goat and took some video and pictures from 198 yards. We snuck back away to not spook the Goat and continued down. There was a small bench below us and as we approached I quickly spotted some rams. Heather was excited, tired, but excited! We watched the band of 5 Rams for 20 minutes getting some great video and I was enjoying the moment on the mountain with my wife doing what I’m obsessed with. I really liked the biggest ram, he’s a wide 8½ year old ram with a gorgeous dark cape. I hadn’t ever shot a stone with a gun and Heather hadn’t seen one shot, so I decided to take him. Heather rolled the camera, the dogs laid and watched and I fed him a Berger at 200 yards. It will be a hunting memory I’ll always remember.
Sept 5th - Sept 14th
ONE SHOT JORGE!
Stone Sheep / Moose hunt with Jorge Medina CA,
1st day of the hunt we spotted one lone Ram above our tent that looked to be a good one, one we needed to get closer to. Jorge , Cody (my other guide) and myself took off! After a 4 hour grind we found ourselves within rifle range of the ram which turned out to be the one he wanted. Jorge Settled in and Cody rolled the camera. One perfectly place shot and the Stone sheep part of the hunt was over , that fast! We quickly took photos and gave our Mystery Ranch pack another big load hoping we could make it back to camp before dark. Phew! what a day!
For the next 8 days we did some new area scouting looking for a Big Canadian Moose for Jorge. A few close calls on bulls either missing one point to be legal or just not quite what we wanted brought us to the last day of the hunt. Instead of scouting new areas I took Jorge into my "PATCH". Within 20 minutes we located a great bull and made the stalk. Jorge settled into my gun (Gunwerks LR1000, 7mm) and I rolled the camera. The Bull was bedded broadside showing all vitals. Boom! one shot Jorge did it again! the bulls head just hit the ground and he never moved a muscle. The video of this shot is probably the best I’ve ever seen. I called for reinforcements ( my parents Dean and Katie of MVP Outfitters) to bring the pony’s and help us pack it back to camp. Great way to end his Sheep/Moose hunt.
A Dream Ram
Right after completing the Stone hunt with Jorge we jumped in the truck and drove home to Southern BC. We arrived the same day as the next hunter Matt Jurad and His Wife Jamie,NV. Matt was hunting Bighorn Sheep with us. Both Matt and Jamie are Young , Fit and Hardworking! we were able to hunt some areas that we don’t get into very often and it paid off!
After 5 Days of hard hunting We found a band of rams like I’d never seen before. A long stalk found us 300 yards above the Rams at a 52 degree angle. Can you say Cliff! We found the big guy and Matt got a solid rest. At 4:00PM the ram gave us the shot we were wanting. The bullet flew true and one quick follow up shot put him down. Talk about excitement!!! We wanted really bad to go see him right away but our camp was the other way and we were cliffed out this way. We decided to go back to camp spend the night and go retrieve him the next morning. The next day found us cliff crawling up down and around. At about 4:00 PM we finally made it to the ram. Sometime them Rams sure live like Goats. Matt couldn't believe the Ram, nor could we, it was the kind of Bighorn Ram you dream of. I’m grateful we were able to help Matt with this part of his Grand Slam Quest.
October 5th - 15th Stone Sheep Hunt. Larry Todd, Ohio
Day 1 - Larry , Shawn, Cody and I hiked into a drainage I always wanted to hunt. We made it to a camp spot just before dark and make a trusty Mountain house set up the tents and crashed.
Day 2 - we woke at daylight had some oatmeal and hurried to the top of the ridge to watch the sun rise on the mountain in front of camp. Just as the sun rose I spotted some fresh tracks in the snow near the top, I followed them in my new Ziess spotter and in no time spotter the 8 Rams that were leaving the tracks. All of us quickly saw that there was a couple nice sheep in the band and we needed to get closer. Off we went back down to camp and continued towards the Band of Rams. 2-3 hours later we were at 88 yards and Larry was rested on my Mystery Ranch pack. BOOM! instantly the ram rolled. The rest of the band just stood there wondering what had happened. We had decided earlier that if there were two good rams then Cody would take one also (double header) Cody had guided hard all year and as part of his wages and our appreciation of him we rewarded him with his first sheep. Cody grabbed the Gunwerks from Larry and took a rest. as the next shooter cleared the other rams Cody fed'em a Berger! Rams Down! Both Larry and Cody were super pumped. My back wasn’t, but 4 of us and 3 MR packs could get it done plus my dog SITKA and his pack. Another 2 day sheep hunt. Don’t get me wrong... We still worked our A** off! "Do What It Takes"
October 15th - Oct 25th
After the Stone hunt once again I put some miles on the Titan, From our camp up north to the one down south its about 15 hours driving. We made it home in 13!
Father and Son team Raymond and Jeremy Rogers of West Virginia are hunting Bighorns with us. Ray and Jeremy had previously killed 4 sheep (2 Dalls and 2 Stones) with me in 7 days of hunting total. Rays Stone was also 170 5/8 SCI and 36 inches, the heaviest Ram killed in the Yukon in 14 years. This hunt is another 10 day backpack hunt. We decided that on this hunt it would be better to split up and give them both a chance at taking a ram. Jeremy hunted with Shawn. We started on one end and planned to meet them in the middle 4/5 days later. On Day 2 We found one legal Ram by its self but Ray wanted me to get ahold of the others Via SAT phone (although I thought he was crazy), I did what he wanted and called Shawn that night after putting the Ram to bed. They were a LONG LONG way away and had also seen a good ram, but wasn’t quite legal (175 class but broomed off just short of full curl), so Dads wishes were to be followed and they started our way! When we woke the next morning the entire valley was fogged in and would be for the next 2 days. Ray and I sat by the fire both wishing we had went and killed the 170 class ram when we saw him. Day 5 the fog was in and out so I walked into the next draw hoping to spot another Ram for Ray. After 3 hours of fog watching I heard 2 quick bangs, Rams! Sounded like more than 2 sheep hitting heads so I waited till a opening in the fog came by. I spotted the sheep and right away saw that one was a shooter. I ran back to the main fire a told Ray I found Rams and one was a good one. Guess what happened next... You got it... Ray wanted to call Jeremy. I soon got a hold of them and we waited for them to hike to us. 4 hours later they arrived and the fog was starting to break nicely. Jeremy and Shawn put the hammer down and climbed a 2 hour hill in 52 minutes and took the Great Ram at 260 yards. Jeremy’s Ram was 9 years old and scored 168 inches and now puts him at 3/4 status!
Shawn, Jeremy , Ray and I hunted hard the rest of the hunt but were unable to find another legal ram. Total we saw 32 rams ( lots nice but just sort of full curl) and over 200 ewes. Not to bad for losing half the hunt to weather.
I know Rays happy that Jeremy got his Ram but i bet he wishes he shot the First one now.
That concluded my regular hunts for the year and all that was left of the guiding season was the BC MINISTERS TAG hunt.
While at the 2010 Wild Sheep Foundation , Hunter JIM HENS of NY purchased the Auction Tag allowing him to hunt anywhere in BC. This tag allows him to hunt Bighorn Sheep, Dall Sheep , Stone Sheep or California Bighorn from July 1 - March 31st. (This is BCs most coveted tag)
Jim decided to hunt with me and try for a Big Stone Sheep with a bow in hand. I spent all season putting this hunt together, talking with other outfitters and setting a good plan in hope to get Jim the Biggest sheep on the mountain. The hunt Start was set for the beginning of November, the start of the Rut. We would be the first one to hunt stone sheep during the rut so we were all very excited. October 28th Shawn and were picked up by Barry Tompkins and headed in to his area where we met the cook Vicki and Barrys family member and a guide Cody. For the next 5 days we scouted pretty hard and looked at a lot of good sheep but nothing like the one we saw NOV 4th. This Ram was what I called the biggest stone I’d ever seen. We didn’t get to close to him but from a long distance away I knew he was one we needed a better look at. Jim was to come in the next day so we left him alone. The first day with Jim we decided to check out a different group of rams to see how they would react to us being around , Sheep in the rut are a bit more tolerant of you than the Aug 1st rams. We spent the day stalking many sheep and collecting awesome video of rutting Stones. Tyler Johnerson (hunt solo ventures) was also along on the hunt to film. Tyler is a very good videographer and Jim hired him get it all on tape. With a lot of time on the hill with sheep on day 1 we figured it was time to go after the big one.
Day 2- We hiked about three hours to where we had seen the Ram days before and look and looked. At about 12:00 noon we found him sunning himself near the top of the mountain. We decided to get a closer look a judge the ram. We were hoping to kill something close to 175 so I wanted to be sure he was good enough to shoot on only day 2. From 700 yards away we studied the magnificent Brute. Tyler and I were both on the same page about this ram. We needed to kill him! With a slow and steady stalk we closed the distance to 225 yards for one last confirm, then it was on! We snuck around the mountain and up the side to the tip top where we were met by several ewes. We slowly moved to where we thought the Ram was bedded below us trying not to spook the other sheep. Suddenly there he was, He had also decided to move to the top and come check out the ewes. Him and 4 other rams stood only 50 yards away but in a tight bunch. Jim drew his bow. “Wait Jim, there’s others in the way” he let down and the big ram moved across the hill lip curling a female then stopped on the skyline to our right. Jim drew again and asked me how far “72, Jim its to far well get closer” he replied “I got this shot!” “No just wait” he let down. “Dude , I got this!” “Ok Jimmy! If you got this, kill him”. He drew back again and settled the pin “72” as he touched it off I saw the arrow arc in the sky for what seemed to be forever, almost felt like slow motion then it hit the mark. WOW!!! The ram took off over the hill and out of sight. We were pumped. Tyler got it all on camera, and Jim made a great shot. What a day! We went and took pictures and packed the ram back to our spike camp. A few drinks to celebrate and most of the night reliving it all. This will be a hunt Ill remember for the rest of my life. Jim’s ram Gross scores 181 3/8 and nets 180 6/8 GREEN and if it holds that it will Shatter the current WORLD RECORD by 6 4/8 inches. Also the ram has 5 inches broomed on one side, which if it had both sides the same it would be 185 and beat the current record by more than 10 inches. This probably put the archery record the same as the rifle one. Unbeatable!
Id like to thank Jim Hens for hunting with me in Mexico in the winter to start a good season and then choosing to hunt this prestigious tag with me, trusting id set it up right and get it done. Id also like to thank Barry at Big 9 for keeping your camp open for us and outfitting this hunt, camp was great and food was awesome. Tyler , Shawn and Cody all worked hard and we pulled it off!!!!
(note: Jim Hens will now have 2 archery sheep WORLD RECORDS. Desert and Stone. Id bet that’s never been done!)
Thanks to all the awesome hunters for the best year we’ve ever had and I look forward to all our hunts together in the future. Have a safe rest of the year and see you at the shows.
Please stop by and say hello at:
Dallas SCI (DSC)
SCI , Las Vegas
Wild Sheep, (WSF) Reno
Grand Slam/ Ovis, Reno
All the best and Happy Hunting,
Dustin Roe , Owner Backcountry BC and Beyond Ltd.
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