On June 7, 2023, I received a letter from Regina Vu, Desert Bighorn Sheep Coordinator at California Department of Fish and Wildlife, notifying me that I had been drawn for a coveted tag – Desert bighorn sheep hunt 510, the Newberry/ Rodman and Ord Mountains. I immediately texted my good friend, Jerry Lowery in Reno, an experienced sheep hunter and guide, and asked if he would like to assist me on the hunt. He said of course, and we made plans to attend the mandatory Desert sheep hunter orientation at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area in Davis, California on August 12, 2023. The orientation is put on jointly by California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Restoration, California Chapter Wild Sheep Foundation, and the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep.
It has been said that the hardest thing in Desert sheep hunting is getting a tag, I can attest to that as it took me 36 years of applying in California to be drawn. Over that time, things had changed and drawing the tag was not the only challenge. At 77 years old and wheelchair-bound, the odds of harvesting a Desert bighorn ram were certainly against me. Every year, I would research the best area with a chance to harvest a ram considering my condition. In 2019, I read about the Newberry/Rodman and Ord unit in the Huntin’ Fool magazine. I started putting in for hunt 510, and five years later, I drew a tag.
Although I went to the orientation less than optimistic about the likelihood of harvesting a ram, I was encouraged by the incentive I received from other hunters, outfitters, and Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel. One hunter, Richard Sawaske, introduced himself and said that he would be scouting the unit prior to the season and would share with me what he saw. He would do everything he could do to help me, so the hunt was on!
The season ran from December 2, 2023 through February 4, 2024. We decided to skip the opener because of appointments I had with the VA in December and family commitments Jerry had, so we planned the hunt for the first week in January. The closer we got to the hunt date, the more excited I became. Then, just days before the season opener, Jerry called to let me know he had torn his rotator cuff in his left shoulder. With the pending surgery and recovery time, he would not be able to assist me on the hunt. The news was devastating, I did not know what to do. I had no way of getting down to the hunting unit or getting around once there.
After much thought, I decided that in the best interest of the Department’s conservation effort for Desert sheep management I would turn my tag in to be reissued. After talking to Lai Saechao at the License and Revenue Branch, I put my sheep tag in the mail. That same day, I got a call from Jerry telling me he got a call from James Hamilton with Freedom Hunters Organization and that he wanted to talk to me. That afternoon, James called me to explain that Freedom Hunters sponsors hunts for disabled veterans and that I had been selected. Unbeknownst to me, Jerry had applied my hunt for consideration, and he asked if I could get the tag back. I spoke with Anthony Pace at Freedom Hunters Organization, and he confirmed that they would be sponsoring my hunt and that James would be assisting me on the hunt. I could not believe the generosity and timing and immediately called Lai to let her know the good news. She said she would return the tag as soon as she received it and would help me with the Mobility-Impaired Disabled Persons Motor Vehicle license, which is required to shoot from a motorized vehicle. She was incredibly supportive and helpful.
The day after Christmas, I received a call from Cliff St. Martin of Dry Creek Outfitters. He had heard of my dilemma from Richard Sawaske. Cliff mentioned that Dry Creek Outfitters would like to volunteer their services. I was overwhelmed that the premier California outfitter for Desert bighorn sheep wanted to volunteer to help on my hunt. It was truly a late Christmas present. James and I decided on the second week in January for the hunt, but emergency surgery on my left foot in December and the release from my doctor pushed the hunt back to the last week in January.
January 25th finally arrived, and James picked me up at my home. We arrived with enough daylight to head south to Dry Creek Outfitters’ camp in the hunt area. We were introduced to the Dry Creek team and other avid sheep hunters who had volunteered to help on the hunt. We all had a wholesome dinner and agreed to meet at camp the next morning at 7:00 a.m.
Daylight broke with the desert covered with heavy frost and wind gusts of nine miles per hour coming out of the north. After meeting at camp, we all headed out to various locations in the hunting area. At around noon, a good ram was spotted halfway up a mountain our group was glassing, but he was quite the distance away. After conversing with the group, James said we were going to see if we could get me close enough to get a shot. I was thinking 150 yards or so, but boy was I wrong. There were no roads, so James and the DCO crew literally pulled and pushed me in my wheelchair across the desert while trying to keep out of sight of the ram. Two and a half hours later, we were within shooting range of where the ram was last seen. We waited for him to reappear in the cluster of rocks in which he had vanished.
It was getting late in the afternoon when he was spotted above where we thought he would be about 450 yards away. I had a short window of opportunity for a shot. He was moving up to the crest of the ridge and stopped looking away from me at a slight angle, providing me with an opportunity to shoot. I aimed, held on his right shoulder, and squeezed off a round. At the report of the shot, the ram bolted and turned right and ran north across the face of the mountain. He never stopped to give me an opportunity for a second shot and disappeared into some rocks where he was last seen. We glassed the area until dark.
The next morning, four men were dispatched to the location where he was when I shot and two men searched the area where he was last seen. The rest of us continued to glass the surrounding areas in search of the ram. We scoured the topography on foot and by glassing in search of the ram but to no avail.
On day three, we continued to look for any sign of the first day ram in the morning with no sightings. In the afternoon, we separated to various locations to glass for sheep. About mid-afternoon, Clay DeValle and Carl Erquiaga spotted two rams, one high on the mountain and one below some cliffs close to the valley floor. Upon arriving at their location, as luck would have it, we discovered that there was an old two-track road that crossed the desert floor and up the other side of the ravine that the ram was feeding. Casey Nick slowly maneuvered the UTV up the two-track towards where the ram was. When we finally reached a point where we thought we were across from where the ram was last seen, we realized we were above him. We quickly turned around and stopped the UTV within 350 yards of the ram. Incredibly, he did not spook and bedded down facing away from us. I struggled to get him in my riflescope sight as the half windshield on the UTV prevented me from holding low enough to get the ram in my crosshairs. Cliff and Casey kept an eye on the ram while James quickly helped me out of the UTV and into my wheelchair. We set up the tripod with the backup rifle, and I zeroed in on the ram. He was 347 yards out. He stood up, turned right, and provided me with a broadside shot. I settled on his vitals and squeezed the trigger. The ram lunged and expired at the bottom of the ravine. I felt a sense of redemption with the shot.
On our way home, we met up with Ana Selberg with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to inspect the ram and plug the horns. She aged the ram at 11 years, a gnarly old desert warrior. I could not be happier with my once-in-a-lifetime trophy.
A big thank you to Anthony Pace and James Hamilton with Freedom Hunters Organization for sponsoring and assisting me on the hunt. Thanks to Cliff St. Martin and the Dry Creek Outfitters crew – Johnston St. Martin, Caden St. Martin, Casey Nick, Clay DeValle, and Matt Divine – to avid sheep hunters Richard Sawaske, Carl Erquiaga, Jef Bugni, and Carlos Gallinger, the guru of California Desert sheep and their habitat, who all volunteered their time and expertise in making this “against all odds” hunt a dream come true for a grateful veteran.
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