Nevada Bighorn Sheep Hunting: A Dream Come True

I wasn’t even supposed to draw this tag, and on top of that, I didn’t even tell my wife I was applying for it. The odds of pulling this tag were that small. All great hunting stories start like this, right? After gathering myself and breaking the news to my wife, I began to plan for the hunt while simultaneously apologizing to her for my trip that would likely be a few weeks long.
 
After breaking the news to my wife that I had drawn the tag of a lifetime with 14 points built up over the years, I began the process of planning for this hunt. Immediately, I was thinking that I would absolutely shoot this thing with a bow and that was it. I reached out to Robert Hanneman, a Huntin’ Fool Advisor, and started to do some research into this particular unit. I started to feel pretty confident that I could do this completely on my own. Robert also introduced me to Joe Mortensen. Joe is the real deal and the humblest man I think I have ever talked to. Over the next couple of months, Joe and I would spend hours on the phone discussing the area and my ability. When I had a sliver of doubt in my mind, Joe was there for me and helped me through this very exciting period of time.
 
I had also engaged with Riley Manzonie of Currant Creek Outfitters. I explained to him my background and how I was really wanting to do this on my own. He was so gracious and told me, “Bill, you and I are the same type of people. I would do the same thing. I’m here for you if you need me.” What a professional!
 
I set off on my two-day trip across the country from my home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Battle Mountain, Nevada. I’m a Ranger qualified retired Army dude and felt pretty well prepared to travel, live, and hunt in that area. Over the next eight days, I lived on that mountain, drove around it, and met a number of awesome folks like Pat and Scott Beckwith who took me in and fed me some awesome food. They shared intelligence with me and were just awesome examples of Nevadans.
 
After hours behind the glass, many mountaintop text messages to Joe, Pat, and Scott, and about a dozen stalks, I almost closed the deal on my hunt getting within 70 yards of a shooter...twice. After the second blown opportunity at a specular sheep, I climbed back up to the top of the mountain, sat down, and cried. This was one of those life lessons only learned the hard way. As a former collegiate wrestler, Ranger qualified Army veteran, and generally successful guy, I found that I was in need of some help. After some calls to my wife and friends, I texted Riley to see if there was any way he and his team could help me fill my tag. What came next is what makes us hunt. It’s not the harvest, but the people we meet along the way. Riley came back to me within 20 minutes and said he could get a guide up to me in two days and would call me up. I was over the moon excited! Turns out that while I was beating the mountain with my boots, Riley and Joe Mortensen were hunting mountain goats in the Ruby Mountains. Small world for sure as we all were interconnected not really knowing it.


 
I received a call from Peio Laughlin and what came next would be the start of an awesome experience and friendship. Peio’s first question to me was, “What class sheep are you looking for?” I replied “Any.” I was just so defeated at that point. These things are tough to hunt! Peio said, “That’s the wrong answer. Don’t shoot anything until I can get up there.”
 
I executed a left face, marched off that mountain, and went into the town of Elko. Over the next two days, I toured around, visited the Museum of Northeast Nevada, visited the Elko Fly Shop, got some great fishing intelligence, and finally visited The Star Hotel. It was during my time at The Star where the town of Elko pulled me in and dubbed me “Pittsburgh Bill.”
 
While at the bar, I ordered a water and was immediately chastised by a cowboy sitting next to me, Randy. After explaining my experience and background so far in Nevada, the whole bar was immediately my new best friends. The lady at the end of the bar has been a Pittsburgh Pirates fan since 1970! Randy and his wife asked me who my guide was, and I told them Peio. Randy told me, “I raised that boy. He is a phenomenal hunter. Not only is he going to get you a sheep, but he’ll also get you the biggest one on the mountain.” The 1,000% confidence from him and The Star owner, Scotty, had me leaving the bar full of hope and confidence. Finally, I got back to the mountain and linked up with Peio. Immediately, we got to hunting. We jump in the back of his ’04 Tacoma with a lift kit made for this terrain. It was then that I realized how much I really was missing out trying to DIY this hunt.
 
Not only did he have the rig to get around, but he also had the optics too. Man, his glass was so good. I think I could tell what religion these sheep were. That day, we were able to glass up a good number of sheep that would have been worth going for in mind, but Peio told me to be patient and “it’s all about the experience.” He did not lie.


 
Over the next few days, we formed a friendship that is very near and dear to my heart. Here was a 27-year-old man who knew his stuff when it came to military history, wrestling, rodeo, hunting, and the list goes on and on. I enjoyed seeing the sheep and antelope, shooting the coyotes, and seeing all of the awesome wildlife my untrained eye was missing. After the second day of this, we glassed up our guy and went to camp where I proceeded to get about two hours of sleep. It was about to come together for me after 12 days of effort.
 
The next morning, Riley and his new guide, Tristan, arrived at camp to go out and chase the sheep with us. We spotted our two candidates and then another one, our shooter, came around the mountain and skylined himself. We knew this was our guy. We circled the mountain to get a closer look and to remove all doubt. After he bedded down, Peio and I made our move around the mountain while Riley and Tristan stayed back and kept an eye on our guy.
 
Shortly afterwards, Peio and I made it to the base of the mountain where we proceeded to climb 2,000 feet in elevation in a quick 45 minutes. I felt like we were running up the mountain, and it was just awesome. Once at the top, we let ourselves settle down a bit, moved the ridge we needed to descend on, and began our final stalk. After about 100 yards, we peered over an enormous rock to see our ram. Peio told me to get up there and be ready to shoot. I had a small window about one-foot wide to shoot through. I saw no horns, no tail…only vitals. We took a small bit of time to better judge the ram and confirmed it. Peio gave me the thumbs up, and after a deep breath and a smooth trigger squeeze, my ram was down. Stoned him.
 
A short while later, Riley and Tristan were up on the mountain with us celebrating with some beverages and a whole lot of gratitude from me. I just could not believe it. My dream of harvesting a bighorn sheep had come true.
 
During this whole adventure, I couldn’t be more grateful for my wife, Riley and Peio, and Joe Mortensen. What a support structure for ol’ “Pittsburgh Bill” to harvest a 160" California bighorn. I am just so grateful.
 
The kicker to this whole story occurred at Peio’s house with his family and friends and all the folks from Elko whom I had never met but somehow knew me. We were all gathered together to celebrate! Just an exceptionally awesome ending to a one-of-a-kind experience.