Whaley's Wyoming Bighorn
By Brent Whaley
Brett Richmond and Brent Whaley with Brent’s 167" Ram
This years application year started as all others, with the Wyoming applications being among the first to be filed. I did not have maximum points in Wyoming, but sent in my application hoping to draw in the 25% random draw. On May 2, 2005 I could not believe my eyes as I checked the Wyoming website for draw results; Bighorn Sheep – SUCCESSFUL appeared on my screen.
Immediately, I started reviewing my files for an outfitter, placed a call to Carter’s Hunter Services, and started an exercise routine. My research had identified John Porter, Morning Creek Outfitters, as one of the best outfitters, consistently locating good sheep for his hunters. Jason Carter reinforced my research, telling me John was on their endorsed outfitter’s list and would do a great job. I placed a call to John to discuss the opportunities for a hunt. John said that one benefit he offered was the use of his rifles and advice for shooting; I learned later what this really meant. We discussed the hunt options, but I was amazed when John said he would be fully booked by the end of the week, May 6th. We tentatively agreed to a ten-day hunt starting on September 9th.
John advised that the hunt would occur at elevations between 8,500 and 11,500 feet. I had played college basketball in Montana and knew some serious training was ahead of me to be ready for the hunt. I walked with a pack or rode a stationary bike everyday. My walks ranged from 2 to 6 miles and I added bags of lead to the pack as the summer progressed. My son and daughter, Brock and Shelby, accompanied me on the weekends for the longer hikes.
The time from May to September flew by and it was time to go. I allowed two days to make the drive from my home in Redding, California to John’s home in Cody, Wyoming. Upon arrival the evening of September 8th, I contacted John and he put me in touch with my guide, Brett Richmond. Brett and I met the following day and planned to start the hunt on Saturday. We would meet in the morning and drive to the trailhead; expectations were that we would arrive early enough to take a short side trip to a location where Brett thought we might see a ram.
Saturday dawned clear and cool with a forecast of unsettled weather. Everything went as planned, meeting up at John’s and getting to the trailhead by early afternoon. We left the wrangler with the horses and by two o’clock we were at 11,300 feet, glassing over several drainages. I was glassing a small herd of bedded elk when Brett said, “Rams.” He had located a group of five rams. The rams were bedded in a small basin about 1,200 yards away. The weather had changed to clouds and wind gusting to near 30 miles per hour with occasional snow flurries, which made for poor visibility. Holding the spotting scope still was difficult, even though we were lying on the ground, and the pour light added to the difficulty of getting a solid look at the rams. One of the five rams was 7⁄8 curl. This being the first day out, the weather conditions bad, requiring a close stalk for a good shot, and the rams’ small basin being almost unapproachable, I decided to wait.
That night, back at the trailhead our wrangler was not to be found. We checked with several other camps and were told he had gone back to town with some trail riders. By the time we learned the wrangler’s status, the temperature had dropped, the wind was continuing to blow, snow was starting to fall, it had been dark for 2 hours, and we still did not know why the wrangler left or if he was coming back. Meanwhile, Brett’s scouting partner and fellow guide, Chris Nielsen, arrived at the trailhead and reported that he was on his eleventh day without seeing a ram, a record for him. Several hunters had accepted the option of going home and coming back later when conditions might be better. Learning this information Brett and I decided that we would determine the status of our wrangler and try for the 7⁄8 curl the next day.
The following morning we peered over the saddle into the rams’ basin to see no sheep. About mid-day Brett spotted thirteen different rams on a slope 2 miles away across three drainages. Brett’s spotting abilities are amazing, having been blinded in one eye, I cannot imagine what he would see with both. We chose to concentrate on the group of five rams. We spent the day working the rim of the basin changing the vantage points, never to see the rams. That night back at camp Brett could hardly walk. He took his boot off to reveal a swollen little toe, infected, openly draining with red streaks starting up his foot. We agreed that a trip to the emergency room was in order. I volunteered to stay and tend the horses while Brett left for the hospital. Brett said he would notify John of our situation and someone would be back in the morning.
The storm resumed Sunday night with high winds, rain, and snow. The ceiling was down to about 9,000 feet as I came out of the tent. The inclement weather made the day a loss for hunting. I watered and cared for the horses. Tavis and Kyle, local Forest Service workers, shared a cup of coffee. I prepared some breakfast and waited for someone to return. Jake from Wyoming Wilderness Outfitters arrived with his hunters and offered assistance and conversation while I waited, assuring me that I was with a good outfitter and things would work out.
To my surprise Brett returned at about noon, reporting he had spent the night on an IV in the hospital and the antibiotics had really kicked his infection. The doctor told him that if he had waited another twelve hours to get treatment his hospital stay would have been a lot longer. He needed to take it easy for a while longer and allow the medications to do their work. He had made some calls while in town and heard of a group of rams near our location that were worth a look. John was coming in from another camp to join us in the morning and would be bringing four wheelers to get us up the slick mountain road.
John arrived as scheduled the following morning. The storm had broken up, but I was continually adjusting layers throughout the day. The three of us took the four wheelers to the top of the mountain, stopping periodically to glass and take in the spectacular vistas. Once again Brett said, “Rams,” he was looking at seven rams. This time I could not see the sheep. I took out my GPS and walked in the direction Brett advised, obtaining a bearing on the sheep and set a waypoint on our spotting location. Later the GPS identified the rams were nearly three miles from our spotting location. We got out the maps and determined a route to the rams.
We rode the four wheelers back to the trucks, loaded them on the trailer and drove around to another trailhead. The rams were up the canyon about a mile. We climbed the side of the canyon opposite the rams. I set my GPS to navigate to the spotting waypoint and watched the bearing change as we hiked. When John said, “Rams,” the bearing on the GPS matched the earlier bearing observed at the spotting location. The rams were bedded on a steep shale slide. We set up the spotting scopes and began to judge the rams. There were two good rams in the group; one estimated to be 16"x38" but he did not carry his mass around the curl, the other estimated to be 15 1⁄2"x37" carrying his mass well around the curl. The 15 1⁄2" ram also had a chocolate cape. I liked the 15 1⁄2" ram the best.
While Brett and I were looking at the rams, John had located a dead fir tree and set up a rest. I have shot from many benchrests that were not as solid as this setup. John and Brett had both ranged the distance to the rams with different rangefinders and agreed within one yard. The range was just beyond what I had my rifle setup for. A variable 10 miles per hour wind was blowing down the canyon. Brett had told me earlier that John shot for the U.S. Team and had several records at long range. John offered the use of his custom 6mm-284 complete with a load specific scope elevation knob and high ballistic coefficient bullets. I have great confidence in my rifle along with much success, but accepted John’s offer choosing to eliminate as many variables as possible and heed the advice of an expert. John set up the spotting scope within 3 feet of the rifle behind me. He would watch the vapor trail of the bullet and call the shot corrections if required, I had only read about this practice. We waited for the rams to move from their beds.
We worked our way down the face of the slope we were on, crossed the creek in the bottom and climbed the chute up to the ram. John and Brett got to the ram first. The ram had broken off three plus inches of his right horn. John climbed on up the chute and found the broken piece in the shale. This was indeed my lucky day! We rough scored the ram at 167, hurried pictures, capping, and boning to have the benefit of fading daylight for the descent down the chute. We got back to the trucks about 9:00.
Ray Hatfield, Natures Design Taxidermy, in Cody is mounting this great looking ram. The Bighorn will look great with the Dall and Stone in my office.
I want to thank John Porter for all of his efforts in making my Bighorn hunt a success. His ability to adapt to the conditions with the four wheelers, the use of his rifle, and expert advice, all allowed me to take a great ram. Thanks as well to Jason and Garth Carter and the gang at The Huntin’ Fool for their research and assistance over the years.
I feel very fortunate to have had Brett Richmond for my guide. Brett and I got along great, which always makes the hunting fun. He never stopped amazing me with his ability to spot animals! At a time when other hunters were going home after many days without seeing a ram, we were able to see 25 different rams in three hunting days.
A special thanks to my wife Sheree and family for all the work and support to make this a true hunt of a lifetime.