The revealing of Game and Fish draw results at our house can be as exciting as or better than Christmas morning. My sisters and I had good success during 2016, drawing two elk, two Coues deer, one oryx, and one mule deer tag between all of us. Draw results in 2017 arrived unexpectedly a few days early. We were on Spring Break when my dad received an email that one of us had drawn a Desert bighorn sheep tag on the Missile Range. He quickly logged on to the account and announced that my second to youngest sister, Chloe Jean (CJ), had drawn this tag. CJ was 9 years old at the time.
The next eight months were filled with excitement and preparation. My dad researched outfitters and was able to secure Frontier Outfitting for this once-in-a-lifetime hunting experience. Since the hunt was at a restricted area of the military base, we were required to attend an orientation meeting and be escorted throughout the hunt. The meeting took place the evening before day one of the hunt. There were three hunters and three hunting areas, which were drawn for out of a hat. My sister pulled out number two.
Within 15 minutes of situating spotting scopes, the guide spotted a ram tucked in a rock. After the sun had started to warm things up, that ram along with another one began to roam about 2,000 yards from our glassing point. The heat waves were intense, so we decided to move to the backside of the mountain and set up another glassing point. After glassing for a bit, I fell asleep from the warmth of the sun. Soon after, my dad said that our guide had received a call from our home and we loaded up to drive so we could get cell service. We quickly called my grandma, who was babysitting my youngest sister, and learned that my granddad had been in an accident while shipping cattle. My mom agreed to leave for home to get the baby so my grandma could go to the hospital. We were relieved later to hear that he was going to be OK.
Day two arrived, and after watching three mature rams for a good part of the morning, they began to fight. We held off on a stalk, hoping for a bigger ram since we had six remaining hunting days. Fog and rain set in, making animals scarce.
Leftover fog hugged the mountains on the morning of the fifth day. We all did the best we could to glass but without any success. Anxiety was starting to set in. After eating a cold sandwich, the weather began to clear and we drove a little north to find a glassing spot. Within minutes of glassing, my dad spotted a herd of sheep. Hope was alive when the guide said, “There is a shooter in the bunch.” All of our hearts were pounding, and then the sheep disappeared over a ridge. We tried to follow them, but the evening set in and we were forced to call it a day.
The next day, we were supposed to move to a different area, but with only two hunters left, we were able to get the OK to come back to that spot in the morning. If we didn’t find the herd by lunch, we would have to move to the most difficult hunting area but the area with the biggest rams. he sun was rising on day six as we drove the winding main road to the place we left the prior evening. Low and behold, the herd was exactly where the guides expected them to be. The shot was too far for my sister at about 600 yards, and my dad was not comfortable until we could get closer. We began our stalk up the mountain and were able to get about 300 yards closer. My sister was being lined out on what one was the biggest, the one she needed to aim for. As my dad and sister were meticulously preparing for a perfect shot, the sheep winded us and the guide said, “Now or never girl.” The herd began to move. Without having a perfect setup or much time remaining, my sister set up as well as conditions would allow. The first shot shattered a rock right under the sheep. Another shot went off, this time hitting the sheep, but he didn’t fall. We began to follow the trail of blood. Extremely good blood was being found, but with only a little bit of light left, we were forced off the mountain.
On the morning of day seven, we knew the area we needed to look at and developed a strategy. I stayed with one of the spotters. The others began their tracking adventure through the ruthless cat claw weed. It didn’t take much time to track him down. We were soon taking pictures with my sister’s ram!
My sister had achieved her goal of making her once-in-a- lifetime ram her tenth big game animal at 10 years old. It was a surreal feeling. The hard work and patience had paid off. My dad insisted I pack out half of the meat to ensure I got the full experience. I have hunted since I was 7 and have learned a great deal from my time outdoors with my family. I hope all of my sisters can walk away from their hunting experiences doing the same. This was the most memorable hunting experience I have ever had, not the most fun, but definitely the most memorable.
Thank you to my wonderful dad for sharing his passion for the outdoors with all his girls and to Frontier Outfitting, a superb outfitting company!
New Mexico Sheep
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