After drawing the Oregon Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep tag with an incredible amount of effort along with a healthy portion of luck (my odds were 56.5%), I had saved the biggest, most difficult tag for last. I wanted to complete my Sheep Slam and my North American 29 Slam in one final shot. The goal was Oregon from the very beginning. We had built a great relationship with the crew at Sheep Mountain Outfitters and had been in touch for nearly a decade with Calvin Halladay, which was key in pursuing the Oregon tag.
Dan Blankenship is from the town where I was raised, Onalaska, Washington, along with Jon Pynch, my hunting partner of nearly 40 years. Jon had built me a fresh rifle for this season. I was packing a Mountain Forged rifle chambered in .300 norma pushing a 215 grain bullet, and we had successfully dropped a dozen big game animals together earlier in the year.
The day we arrived in camp on the upper rim of Hells Canyon, Jon and Matt wanted to double check the rifle before the hunt. Thirty minutes later, they returned, grinning from ear to ear.
“Well?” I said.
“It’s on!” was Jon‘s reply.
“How far?” I asked.
“Baseball size target at 1,250 yards.”
I grinned as my confidence level jumped. Jon’s average group is a breath over one inch at 600 yards.
Just a couple of miles from camp, we had located rams a few days prior and had been glassing them from over 1,000 yards. On the morning of the opener, the sheep were within 500 yards of where we had left them the night before. They were about 1,400 yards out from the upper rim of the canyon. All nine of us picked our way down to close the gap. At 760 yards, we got a closer look but didn’t like the setup. We pulled back and dropped lower into the canyon, making our way to a large outcropping that provided great cover along with a solid shooting position. Jon slid ahead of me over the rock outcropping.
“566 from here,” he hissed.
“That works.”
I’m typically pretty ice cold and calm when it comes to taking a longer shot at big game. However, I won’t kid you. With one of the most coveted sheep tags in the world in my back pocket and minutes away from ending a 29-year quest, I’m pretty sure everybody on the mountain could hear my pulse racing through my veins.
The band of rams was bedded and kept shuffling around. The target ram was huge, well over 40", and heavy. He carried his mass all the way out. After what seemed like an eternity, the ram we had all been waiting for stood up and gave us a clear shot. There must have been 11 cameras rolling behind me. I held high shoulder and squeezed. The ram slammed to the ground as the rest of the group scattered down the canyon. Once the rocks settled and the dust cleared, we could see him. #29, finally!
As we hiked toward him in what felt like slow motion, the question on everyone’s mind was the same. Was he as big as we thought? That question was answered minutes later as we walked up to what we now realized was an absolute giant. It was much bigger than I had anticipated, both body and horns. He was a 10-year-old ram, 42 3/8" long, 16.25" bases, and heavy. We had 100% saved the best for last. This was not only the last of my Sheep Slam but also the finale of my 29 North American species. It was the pinnacle of all the animals taken.
I know the list of guys who have completed this goal is short, but the list of hunters who have completed this with their best friend and hunting partner with them from beginning to end is even shorter. I’m unbelievably fortunate and incredibly grateful. Thank you to each one of you who had a part in getting me to this place. The official B&C score was 197 5/8" gross and 196 5/8" net.
Login