Like so many others, I started my quest for Desert bighorn sheep 35+ years ago, applying year after year. However, that all changed in 2020 when I checked my online bank account. That’s the first sign of drawing a tag as credit cards get hit with the tag fee as soon as your application is drawn for a hunt. It showed a charge from AZGFD in the amount for a bighorn sheep tag. At that moment, I knew it was on!
I called my friend of over 40 years, Bighorn Bob Kyhn, and shared the awesome news. Those that know Bob know that he lives and breathes Desert bighorns in the Arizona desert. Bob was just as excited as I was. He notified his friend and fellow sheep nut Tim Downs. Both Bob and Tim were encouraging, optimistic, and believed that I would be able to harvest a trophy ram. Not having the tag in my possession, I could only hope it would be true. What if it was a mistake? Sure enough, a few days later, I checked the AZGFD Portal and there it was. My account showed I had drawn a Desert bighorn tag for unit 22S. My first choice. I finally knew for sure I would be hunting Desert bighorn.
All the planning began. New boots, new Swarovski binos, new walking sticks, reloading, shooting, etc. As everybody knows, 2020 threw the whole world into a mess. The next hurdle was for me to stay healthy. Don’t get Covid-19. Don’t get hurt. Don’t do anything that could jeopardize my being able to hunt.
I was learning as much as I could about Desert bighorns and spending as much time as possible scouting. The bighorn sheep community is a special group of people, and Bob Kyhn is certainly in the middle of it. Bob and Tim were calling their friends and gathering information about the other hunters in my unit and the neighboring units who had drawn tags and offering whatever help was possible. It turned out that Tim and Bob are friends with the guides of Sundowner Guide Service (Larry Johnson and R.J. Rush) who were guiding their friend, Rob Douglas, who drew a tag in a neighboring unit. Throughout the months leading up to opening day, we all were enjoying our time scouting and everyone was cooperating and sharing information just like we were one big team with two tag holders. This interaction had it seem like I was part of two sheep hunts at the same time, Rob’s and mine.
I shared with everyone that I have a quest to harvest the Arizona Big Ten game animals and needed to take a 162" ram or better. Bob and Tim helped me believe that it was certainly possible and put together a list of five potential rams that they knew of that should all be well over the 162" mark. Just to add to my already high stress level over the hunt, this past summer, the unit suffered an extensive wildfire that burnt most of it. I recall that I was at work and my phone was vibrating. The caller I.D. showed AZGFD. All kinds of thoughts were racing through my mind. After my heart started working again, I answered, thinking only the worst. What a relief as it was AZGFD letting me know that they had worked out a deal with the Forest Service to give five hunting party members and me access into hunt unit 22 South that had been closed to public access since the massive wildfire in early summer. All prepared and full of anxiety, it was finally time to hunt!
The opening morning arrived. At first light, we were heading out onto the lake and ran into our now friend, Rob Douglas, and his hunting team. We touched base about the opening day game plans and wished each other luck. Each group headed out, and the glassing began for any of our five target rams. Later opening morning, we noticed Rob Douglas and his team glassing at a big “shooter” ram on a steep mountain bluff. Rob told his team he wanted to hunt the ram, so off they went heading up the steep slope with heavy packs, walking sticks, rifle on his shoulder, hoping to get a good stalk and shot on his big ram. We found ourselves enjoying watching Rob’s hunt unfold. I was excited that I got to experience Rob and his team pursue the ram. After Rob and R.J. disappeared into the mountains, our team moved on to attempt to locate a ram in our unit for me. At the end of the day, we had learned a couple of things. One, Rob had taken the big ram he was after. Two, my getting one was not a sure thing as we had not seen any of the rams on our list.
The next few days had us hunting hard, searching for any of the five target rams that were on the hit list. Rob and R.J., having completed their hunt, even joined our effort. We saw plenty of decent and up and coming rams, yet none were the five trophy rams we knew were there and would help me towards my AZ Big Ten list. My emotions were all over the place. Thirty-five years of waiting and the “what if” questions were creeping in. Maybe I should just take a mature ram. I’m sure I was driving Bob and Tim crazy, yet they were positive and kept chasing the demons away. Everyone was confident we had time and it would all come together.
On the morning of the fifth day, the team agreed we should change things up and look over areas we had passed up. What a great decision. It was barely light enough to see when two ewes were glassed up. Nothing unusual as we had seen plenty of sheep over the days. Then, it all came together. There he was, a stud ram. A shooter ram. The ram Bob and Tim had named “Dent,” and one of our five target rams. I received a shot of adrenaline that would last the next couple of days.
We wasted no time getting set up for a stalk and a shot at this once-in-a-lifetime ram. It was all so surreal. Almost without a word, everyone was in action. Rob and R.J. kept the glasses on him, and Bob set up to take video. All were helping me attempt to stay calm. The next thing I can recall is Tim positioning his backpack for me to use as a rest, talking me through everything, and encouraging me to stay calm and relaxed. As if on cue, R.J. spoke softly, “He’s 190 yards out.” The ram turned and did a 180 spin and started looking our way. I knew the demons were about to creep back in my mind, and my heart was racing. I heard someone say, “Take your time.” The ram was still standing in the same spot. I had a clear shot. Boom! Tim yelled, “He’s hit!” The ram ran uphill about 30 yards, turned left, and down he went.
Reality still hadn’t sunk in as we climbed up the steep hill to get to him. There he lay. Only a hunter would know the emotions that were running through my veins at that moment. I was in shock. I was speechless. All those years of waiting and wondering if I would ever draw a tag and if I would be successful were over now. At that moment, I felt a burden lifted from me as I had harvested a trophy bighorn sheep ram, made memories with everyone on the team, and experienced cold mornings and glassing for hours. The best part was sharing a lifetime hunt with my longtime friend, Bob Kyhn. Never in my life would I think I would harvest the second largest draw tag bighorn sheep ram in the state of Arizona for the year 2020.
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