Think about it like this, the odds of drawing a tag in the lower 48 as a non-resident in any state for a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are astronomically poor. The chance of seeing a legal ram on public land, far in the mountains, is like “finding a needle in a haystack.” The difficulty of getting close enough to a ram to take a shot with a bow is not so great. Finally, successfully shooting a ram with a bow, finding him, and being successful at getting him back to civilization with no injuries with all the meat in good condition are not in any hunter’s favor either. To put it simply, the more you just keep on trying, the better your odds. Right?
The moment I realized I had drawn a sheep tag, I was taking a water break while digging a trench in a customer’s backyard in the 106-degree heat. I was checking my email and saw the messages I had become accustomed to receiving letting me know that I was unsuccessful in drawing various tags in multiple states. Yet, after reading and refreshing an email from Colorado three times, I couldn’t believe it! I had finally drawn my first- choice archery tag in unit 49 for a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Colorado. I was going to hunt sheep in and around the Royal Gorge. Google “Royal Gorge” and you’ll understand my mix of extreme excitement that I had along with a touch of nervousness. I must say, this caused me a lot of stress from a timing and financial perspective, so I did consider turning it back in after talking with my wife. Yet, after talking to Eric Bachofner at Huntin’ Fool who had also put in for the same tag, I was convinced that I would be a fool to pass up this opportunity.
After talking to three fellow hunters who had hunted the unit in the past, I knew I was in for an extremely difficult hunt. I drove the 600 miles to Canon City, Colorado and arrived on August 28th with a four-wheeler, two electric bikes, and a whole lot of camping and hunting equipment. I was on a time crunch as I only had until September 5th to scout for sheep before the opening day. Nate Helmick, a local who took me under his wing, showed me to my first campsite and got me squared away. A few days later, the local game warden, Zach Holder, helped me with areas to hunt as well along with a local contact I made named Kevin Whitesell who lived near Cotapaxi. I would spend seven days by myself scouting numerous locations in the 500 square mile unit. I scouted several places in the Royal Gorge, such as Radio Power, Baldy Mountain, Fremont Peak, Tunnel Drive Trail, Grand Canyon Hills, Grand Canyon Hills, YMCA Mountain, and Parkdale South. Other locations were in Bighorn Sheep
Canyon, such as Cotopaxi, Palmer Gulch, West McCoy Gulch, Sheep Basin, Baldy Mountain, and Volcano Gulch. I found 10 young, inexperienced, and perhaps easy-going sheep right beside the road, but that was all I had to show for those eight days. The locals informed me that they had been seeing plenty of sheep earlier in the summer but had not seen any in the last month or so. To say I was discouraged would be an understatement. Each day, I just kept on going, grinding, always with the hope of bagging an awesome ram in the forefront of my mind.
Three days before the season opened, I drove to Colorado Springs to pick up my highly accomplished bowhunter friend, Jack Culpepper. He’s the kind of buddy you want on a trip like this – positive, upbeat, patient, in shape, and passionate about bowhunting. We initially decided to make the long trek into an area that could only be accessed by following Grape Creek. We had been told this was a good area to try out first, and after a day and half of backpacking, we arrived in the Wet Mountains area.
While not expecting to see any sign of a human since we were so far away from any roads, we surprisingly bumped into one of the two hunters who had also drawn a tag in the unit. His name was Tyler Baker, and although we were after the same thing, he was so helpful. He and his team of seven guys had been trying to spot sheep all summer for him. Jack and I were not feeling near as prepared as we had thought after understanding the hours and miles these guys had already put in over the last few months. However, since we were in the same spot they were, we knew we had to be doing something right. At any rate, we spent the next three days in places such as The Tights, South Marsh Gulch, Pine Gulch, Isinglass Gulch, Scrapping Ridges, Tanner Peak, and Horseshoe Mountain. Other than a few ewes that we saw a few days before the opening day of the season, we saw nothing else. After hitting it hard for almost four days, we decided to say goodbye to Grape Creek and try our luck elsewhere.
As we were leaving that morning, we decided to briefly glass one last time before we made our way out of the Wet Mountains and much to our astonishment only 100 yards away appeared a group of ewes, lambs, and a few younger rams. I had to pinch myself as I could not believe it! The group had come off the mountain and were now down low and extremely accessible. After playing a game of cat and mouse with one of the ewes, who kept peeking over a ledge trying to blow my cover, I got to within 15 yards of a young ram. I needed to get close to him to make sure he was legal to shoot. I peeked around the corner of a rock ledge and there he was staring at me only 15 yards away. I don’t know who was more surprised, the ram or me! I waited until he turned broadside, and when he had trotted to 40 yards from me, I let it fly. I missed him by shooting low because the adrenaline was seriously pumping through my body. He trotted to 50 yards away but was at a 45-degree angle up a steep mountain, not the easiest mark to hit. I connected on my second shot through a hole in the tree branches, and much to my surprise, the shot was perfect. He only went 25 yards. To make the moment even better, Jack was able to watch the entire show through his binoculars only 100 yards away.
We spent the day with big smiles on our faces while quartering and deboning him, prepping the cape, and eating a tasty sheep supper. The next day, we packed out of Grape Creek, which took us the entire day and was rather grueling. It was a struggle to hike all the meat out on our backs, but we just kept putting one foot in front of the other until we made it to our truck. It took a lot of skill, determination, and especially luck to make this hunt a success. I was so grateful to the Lord for allowing me to have this experience with a good friend and to be in control of all the “luck” that I experienced. Being able to accomplish a lifetime dream of harvesting a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Colorado with a bow was a dream come true and a hunt I will never forget.
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