In June, I opened my credit card statement and it was a lot higher than I expected. I immediately started looking for fraudulent charges when much to my disbelief, the first charge I noticed was $1,800 from Arizona Game and Fish Department. Knowing that a non-resident deer tag is only $300 and the only other application we submitted was sheep, I called my husband, Chad. The first words out of my mouth were, “I am freaking out!” Chad was instantly panicked. I reassured him everything was fine, explaining the AZGFD charge on my card, and asked, “Does this mean what I think it means?” He agreed this could only me one thing – one of us drew a sheep tag. The only bad news was I had purchased our applications on the same card, leaving us to speculate who drew the tag for several days. It didn’t matter, we knew we were going sheep hunting!
When the results were posted to AZGFD Portals, my phone started blowing up with friends eager to know which one of us drew. I called Chad, and we checked our results together. The word “Drawn” greeted me at the top of my results. It was me! I was in total shock.
The next several months were a blur. Towards the end of September, we flew down to Arizona to participate in the sheep hunting clinic organized by the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society and to sneak in a day of scouting. The clinic provided us with valuable insights, and the stories shared by
2022 tag holders were moving. Exploring the unit, I realized we were in a legit desert. We live about 1,500 miles away near the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Everything is green, and it rains almost 50% of the year. It was so opposite of what we knew, and it didn’t take long to realize that everything in the desert either wants to poke or bite you – cactus, snakes, ticks. This was going to be an adventure! December couldn’t get here fast enough.
My husband and I have hunted most of our lives, but we are not sheep hunters. We made sure to put in the time to go shooting a least once a month and continued trying to gather intel about the unit. Chad talked to Robert Hanneman at Huntin’ Fool, and he offered his knowledge on the unit. We also had some friends who offered to help with scouting. However, as the season approached, we still lacked a solid plan and the anxiety started to build. We contacted Eric Hunt with Arizona Desert Outfitters for some help just a few weeks before the opener. He was happy to help and put together information and photos of rams they had seen the previous year. I immediately had my heart set on one of the rams from the photos, and we started calling him “Uno” because he was our number one ram. I stared at pictures of Uno for the next few weeks, wondering if we would be able to turn him up and what he would look like this year.
The day after Thanksgiving, Chad and my father-in-law, Blain, covered three long days of driving from our home in Washington with trailers and ATVs in tow. They settled in and got right to work. The rest of our group and I flew into Phoenix throughout the week. Our daughters (Reese and Parker), my mother-in-law (Sheri), my parents (Bruce and Dani), and
my brother (Chase) finished out Sheep Camp.
Before my arrival at camp, Chad had already managed to spot several rams. On
my first morning out, we were fortunate to encounter two rams right at daylight, and by that evening, the excitement escalated as we located Uno! We sent photos to Eric, who confirmed it was our target ram. Now, our focus shifted to keeping track of Uno until the opener, which was still three days away. We watched rams from dawn until dusk day after day, and when I would close my eyes at night, that’s all I dreamt about – rams!
The day before the opener, I took the opportunity to shoot my rifle, ensuring that everything was perfectly dialed. We also engaged in a friendly competition to see who could find the best fire agate. I think Chad and Chase were both self-proclaimed “winners.” As the final evening of scouting ended, we put Uno to bed one last time and returned to camp to spend time with the rest of our family. We were distracted with playing with the girls and practicing for Reese’s preschool Christmas program, everyone singing along together. I had many calls and texts from family and friends that evening wishing us luck. Eric called us to check in and go over the morning game plan. Sleep proved elusive that night as my mind was consumed with thoughts of sheep, mostly Uno. I “slept” for maybe three hours total.
I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude when my alarm went off, signaling the start of opening day. Overnight rain and thunderstorms left us uncertain about what to expect for the morning hunt. We left in the dark, hoping to be the first ones to the mountain, but as daylight emerged, we were met with a thick wall of fog. I don’t think I have ever felt so nervous. There was so much anticipation, and now we had to wait some more. When the fog finally lifted, the rams weren’t where we left them and worry started to set in. We decided to split up. Chad and I chose to hike up to a higher vantage point, an area we had glassed from earlier in the week. Meanwhile, my dad and Chase backtracked to make sure we didn’t somehow miss the rams on the way in.
Chad and I got to the top but were still unable to spot them. We moved to the next ridge, but nothing. The next ridge – still nothing. At one point, I noticed movement and raised my binoculars only to discover a fox on his own hunt. My anxiety grew with each passing ridge and no sign of Uno, but we knew he had to be somewhere nearby. We were up for the challenge and smiling regardless because we were hunting sheep! Finally, at what felt like the last ridge, Chad whisper shouted, “Got him!” and relief washed over me. The rams were bedded over 650 yards away, giving us plenty of time to strategize. While waiting for my dad and brother to get caught back up to us, the rams stood up and began feeding. Uno headed in our direction, while the other two rams fed to our right. I decided to get set up so I was ready when the other two members of our crew arrived. However, Uno changed direction and fed straight away from us until he was just outside my comfortable shooting range, prompting us to reconsider our approach. We knew we needed to get closer but also worried we would get too close and spook the rams. We were on to plan B, and as we made our descent to get closer, we lost sight of the rams right as they looked our way. My dad said, “I guess now we will see how smart sheep are.”
Using Palo Verde for cover, we carefully crept into our final position. Seeing us didn’t seem to faze them as Uno was bedded again and well within range this time. As I lay down to get dialed, I landed on a cactus and then another. Ouch! I ranged Uno at 424 yards. Chad confirmed the yardage. I dialed and got settled for the shot. Despite six months of anticipation and the mounting pressure, I somehow felt calm in that moment. I slowly squeezed the trigger and watched my bullet make impact. Uno flew out of his bed! The guys all confirmed it was a solid hit, and Uno went down quickly. In that moment, the flood of emotions overwhelmed me. We all shared hugs and celebrated. We did it! This was our ram.
Next, the real work of breaking down the sheep and getting off the mountain. Chad and I worked together as my dad and Chase hiked out to move the side-by-sides around. By the time they returned, we were ready to load up and make our way down. We all hiked out together, reaching the road right at sunset. It was the perfect end to a perfect day. I had so many people in my corner who played a crucial role in turning this dream into reality. I couldn’t have done this without our families and especially my husband, Chad. I’ll forever be grateful for all their support. That desert will always hold a special place in my heart.
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