Opportunity hunts are more than that! As a middle-aged guy with middle of the road points, I was convinced it was going to be almost impossible for me to draw and hunt sheep or moose before I was too old (and out of shape) to get up the mountain. Thankfully, I was having that discussion with Matt Schneider of Geneva Park Outfitters, and he encouraged me to apply for the ewe sheep and cow moose hunts in Colorado. I know, I know, all you large horn hunters just rolled your eyes, but for the rest of you, dig in and check out opportunity hunts!
Matt and I agreed that my best strategy was to apply for both the ewe sheep tags and cow moose tags in Colorado for fall 2021 because I had points that were right on the cusp of drawing in 2020. That way, I would hopefully draw one of them. Boy were we surprised when I drew them both.
Matt set us up for both hunts with Todd Clark, who had also taken us on my son’s mountain goat hunt in 2020. The anticipation was awesome! Females or not, I was going to hunt sheep and moose. I wanted to share the fun, so I invited a buddy to come on the sheep hunt, and my son, Ethan, would be able to join me on the second day of the moose hunt.
Todd had spent quite a bit of time on the mountain before we got there, so he had a band of 11 ewes and lambs spotted and their habits identified. We showed up on the afternoon before opening day to find no sheep. We spent over two hours looking for them before we finally found them. It was hot, and all 11 of them, along with 6 mountain goats, were all bedded under one monster pine tree in the shade. I know that some people say mountain goats and sheep don’t like to be together, but we saw them together every day. As the day ended, they all grazed out into their regular turf.
Opening morning, we assumed our spot on the opposite side of the valley and discovered the sheep more than three-quarters of a mile from where we had put them to bed. Over the next seven hours, we watched those sheep and strategized about how we would get to them. They bedded up three different times where we decided we just couldn’t get to them without getting busted. Then the fourth time they bedded, we thought they were on a shelf back far enough that we could approach from below. When we got below them, we saw the lead ewe bedded 2,000 feet straight above us in the perfect place to see the whole valley with us in plain sight. After about 30 minutes of waiting, that lead ewe and half of the band suddenly got up and moved into a gully to pause at a spring. Todd looked at me and said, “I’ll bet the other half will do the same thing. Think we can beat them there?”
We hauled it straight up the hill as fast as this flatlander could go. Just as I got to the last tree before tundra, Todd was motioning that they were coming. I had to let three mountain goats walk through before the sheep, but sure enough, here they came. Todd ranged the lead ewe at 401, but with the angle, I was to shoot it at 350. After the shot, she was down. It was so steep that it took us another 30 minutes just to get to her. And yes, even a ewe can give you Ovis Pyrexia (sheep fever).
Although my moose hunt started on a Friday, I told Todd I was probably going to pass if we got a chance on the first day because I really wanted my son to be with me. The first day, we saw three moose. I passed on a 1 1/2-year-old cow at 45 yards, we saw a monster cow that was about 150 yards on private ground, and we saw a nice bull. Ethan arrived that night, and I was ready to go. It took us until 2 p.m. the next day to see our first moose. We were above 12,000 feet in a bowl, and there wasn’t a tree in sight. I thought Todd was crazy and there was no way there would be a moose up there. However, a bull finally stood up out of the tundra at 800 yards above us, and his cow stood up next. I got set up, but as they skirted the top of the bowl above us, Todd was calling yardages. 565. 525. 501. I just wasn’t comfortable at that distance, so I passed. Todd reminded me that was two passes in two days.
Toward the end of the day, we found a nice marshy spot to set up and a nice cow walked out in the last legal minutes of light. Todd and I were talking and agreed it was a cow, so I pulled the trigger. Imagine our surprise when we got up there to find it was a bull with no horns. The bull was the size of an adult cow. It had tiny nubbins for horns, less than 1" each. The tag was actually for an “antlerless moose,” so this was completely legal and verified at check-in with CDOW. We had Ethan along with Todd’s son, Dillon, to carry quarters out, which was a great idea because they were heavy. Ethan and I got to experience a high-country hunt together.
In a span of five weeks, I got to go both sheep and moose hunting and be successful with each. Thanks a million to Matt for the coaching and Todd for the excellent guiding. Thanks to my bride for being so patient. And thanks to Huntin’ Fool for getting me in the position to experience these incredible hunts.
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