My goal for this story is to stress the family aspect. My kids are just reaching the age that they can be more involved, and passing along that tradition is important to me. I’ve been a successful solo hunter, but I intentionally wanted to slow this hunt down to make sure my family got to be as involved as possible. This hunt will always be a special memory to me as it was my first once- in-a-lifetime tag and was the first time in my 30+ successful hunts that I had anyone at my side for a shot.
No moment brings more excitement than the long- anticipated draw results each June. The afternoon results were posted, and my wife, Julie, and I decided we would let our kids read the results to us. We wanted them to share in the excitement, but little did I know how exciting things were about to get. My daughter, Makayla (7), read my wife’s results, and there were no big surprises. Then my oldest son, Kolton (9), went over my results. He calmly looked our way and said, “Hmm, looks like you drew a sheep tag.” I was more shocked than anything! I’d always wanted to go on a sheep hunt, but I never expected that I’d be the one with a tag in my pocket.
My first call was to my sister and brother-in-law, Julie and Zack Justesen, who farm and ranch in the unit I’d drawn in central Oregon. Having grown up in the area, Zack was confident we would see plenty of sheep and have a good chance at finding a solid ram. I knew right away this tag would be a great opportunity to involve my family on the hunt. With mild terrain and only two other hunters with tags, this was the low-pressure hunting situation I’d always dreamed of. It might be interesting as our youngest son, Steven, was just 4, but I wanted this hunt to be a once-in-a-lifetime memory for the whole family.
After packing and planning, we loaded up and were headed for sheep camp. We brought three wall tents and everything we could think of to make camp complete and fun for the kids. My tag was good for nine days, and I had every intention of staying and soaking in the entire season, regardless of when I filled my tag.
Opening morning arrived and couldn’t have been more stunning. We walked over the edge of the ridge by camp and were able to glass several ewes and a young ram. Zack showed up to camp soon after, followed by my good friend, Nick Jefferies. Nick had drawn a similar sheep tag a few years earlier, and I was excited to have his experience at camp. Zack had a few ideas of areas that should hold sheep, and after getting the kids and their gear ready, we were off to explore.
Energy and hopes were high as we spent the majority of the day glassing without seeing any additional sheep. Towards the end of the day, we decided to try a different area. After getting there, Zack and Nick spotted a younger ram on a ridgetop in front of us. The ram appeared out of breath and kept watching downhill. After watching him for a while, I walked a few hundred yards down a ridge to get a better look at the lower country. I reached a rim where I decided I’d sit down, but before I could, I saw a herd of several dozen sheep grazing below me. There were 20+ sheep, and I could see several big rams. I signaled for everyone to come down and for the kids to do their best to be quiet. I set up my spotting scope and started taking videos and pictures, while Nick and Zack started strongly hinting that these weren’t just average rams. It wasn’t easy to hold off as the biggest rams lead the group grazing a little over 400 yards below us. However, I’d waited my whole life for a tag like this and there was something in me that didn’t want it to be over with so soon. We quietly backed out and headed back to camp.
We spent that evening watching the videos and enjoying the energy three young kids bring to a camp. Sunday, we headed to a side canyon near where we had finished opening day. It didn’t take long to spot several new groups of sheep. There was easily 40+ sheep in the different groups with many nice rams. The day flew by as we enjoyed watching the beginning of the rut kicking in, occasionally seeing rams collide. A little before dark, we decided to head back to where the big rams were the night before. This day just kept getting better as the rams were in the same spot and were joined by several dozen other sheep. Again, we watched, videoed, and backed out just before dark. After getting back to camp, we all split up and headed home for a few days.
I headed back over on Tuesday with my youngest son, Steven, and the plan was for everyone to make it to camp by Wednesday night. My hopes of exploring a few new areas were dashed on Wednesday as heavy fog came in and never left. My wife, Julie, kids, and father-in-law, Joe, all made it to camp late that night.
Thursday morning, we loaded up and headed to spot some of the country I had glassed opening morning, but I wanted to go a little further and take a better look into some side canyons. Later, we trailed down a ridge, and as I crossed a rim, a decent ram jumped up 100 yards across from me. He was several years younger than the big rams we had seen the weekend before. After he jogged off, we made our way back up to the top and I decided I wanted to go find those two big rams.
When we got to where the big rams had been, I snuck over the edge to try to locate them. Right away, I knew something was off. The draw had been full of dozens of sheep, but now it was empty and dead quiet. With a little looking, I finally spotted a gut pile below me. That wasn’t exactly what I was hoping to see, but it was the risk I was willing to take to make sure my family got to be with me. Now it was time to adjust and start looking for the surviving big ram.
With all the sheep that had been in the draw, I was convinced we needed to look over the small drainages in the area before moving on. I had Kolton and Makayla get their packs ready for a short hike, and Julie, Joe, and Steven decided to go to a rim beside us and glass. As the kids and I headed down, it didn’t take long to spot a few ewes directly below us. We crept lower, hoping to get a better look. Before we could go far, Joe ran down the ridge and whistled to get our attention. He waved us back up the hill, which could only mean one thing. After climbing back up, Joe and Julie said there were several nice rams just over to the north of us. I crept over to the edge with the kids, and with my binoculars, I could see several nice rams chasing a ewe. After looking at them through my spotting scope, I could tell one was a great ram. The plan was for Joe to stay up with Steven, and Julie and I would take the older kids down a parallel draw to get in closer.
Luckily, the four rams were chasing a hot ewe as we moved down and weren’t exactly paying attention to anything else. I took another look in my spotting scope and liked what I saw. He was 287 yards below us. Ears were plugged, videos rolling, and after a handful of minutes, he finally turned. My shot took him off his feet instantly, and he rolled into a large shale slide.
Having always been a solo hunter, the one thing I have always missed out on is the sharing of success with others. I’ve been with many people as they have gotten animals, but never in all my hunts have I ever had someone at my side when I’ve filled a tag. Nothing can replace the energy and joy of having a friend or family at your side during these amazing moments. Joe cheered from above, and I was able to see the smiles on my family’s faces. It was an incredible moment, one that I will forever cherish.
I’d like to thank everyone who helped make this happen – my family, Zack and Julie, Nick and his wife, Becky, as well as my dad, Dan, for sneaking over to help take down camp. You all made this experience better than I could have hoped for.
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