I imagine it was no different for me than it was for other hunters who are drawn to hunt Desert bighorn sheep in Arizona. When the results were posted, I was drawn for my second-choice unit, 37A, first hunt, starting Friday the 13th of November.
I was born in Tucson, Arizona, yet I had never spent any time poking around the Silverbells. Scouting started the middle of October, trying to get acquainted with the unit. I had a lot of help from great friends, such as my brother, Rick Sholl (owner of Camo Cuts), Jim Perkins (owner of Adobe Dental Lab), Kim Poulin (owner of Archery and Optics), Dean Lippert (owner of Lippert Doyle Taxidermy), Jim Lippert, Darrel Lippert, Bill Chavez, Jeff Carstens, Lee Showalter, Ben Brochu (co-owner of Shadow Valley Outfitters), Jeremy Perkins, Donald Behner, Mark Capanear (owner of Capanear Contracting), and Andrew, who came with Ben to lend a hand. Not all could make the opening day, but most did. We scouted in the Pan Quemados, Silverbells, Watermans, Britten Ridge, and Samaniegos and found several rams most of us would be extremely happy to harvest.
On Wednesday before the hunt, I was by myself scouting around Silverbell Catchment # 1, looking at some good rams until 2:30, when my partner, Kim Poulin, called to see how it was going. He asked where I was going to scout in the evening, and I told him I didn’t know. On my way out from the catchment, I decided to head over to the Samaniego Hills where a couple weeks earlier I had caught a glimpse of what I thought was a good ram but had not gone back to look closer. While I headed in, I stopped to glass and instantly spotted a nice ram on a ridge skylined in the waning dusk. I immediately got the spotting scope out and got my “Optics & More” cell phone adapter hooked up to photograph him. I knew right away that he was a beautiful, respectable ram, and I was able to take some great video of him.
Kim showed up at about 5:30 the next morning, and we decided to go back to get a better look at the Samaniego ram. In no time, we had him in our camera lens. We videoed until he wandered over the mountain. At this point, I told Kim, “If I am looking for a 175 ram and this one went 170, what’s five inches? This is a beautiful ram.” (Game and Fish later scored him at 169 5/8".) We then went to the other side of the mountain, glassed him up again, and watched him until 2:30. We left him and made our way over to Britten Ridge to see if we could locate a great ram Jim Lippert and I had seen a week or so earlier. No luck, so we went back to camp. Mark Capaneer and Donald Behner were due to join the adventure.
The next morning, opening day, the remainder of our crew started showing up at about 5:30. After all 12 were present, we had a briefing and sent groups out to find a shooter. Ben took me to the side and said, “If you like the Samaniego ram, then you should go find him! Let the others scout around for what they can find,” so that is what I did.
I took Dean, Kim, Rick, Jim Perkins, Bill, and Jeremy my way so we could spread out to see if we could find “my” ram. We were all still together when we spotted him just after first light. Everyone seemed to like this sheep. We watched him until he went over the top. Dean, Kim, Jim, Jeremy, and I left to go around the mountain while Rick and Bill held their position in case the ram came back over. It took no time to spot him and start our critiquing. He was 1,200 yards away. All thought he was a great ram and that I should go get him.
After about an hour of “Oh man!” and “Great ram!” comments from the guys, I decided I was going to take him. I sent a text to the others and informed them I was going to take the Samaniego ram and they should get over here. Dean, Jeremy, and I started our stalk to close the distance. I got set up in a prone position with a bipod and backpack rest. All the while, Dean was coaching me. “Are you comfortable? You have to be rock steady. Is your elevation adjustment correct?” Everything a great shooting coach should do. The shot was to be 560 yards across the canyon, so I needed all the help I could get. When everything was just right, I told Dean I was going to kill this ram. I was feeling confident in the rifle, which was my wife’s 6.5 Creedmoor. Three weeks prior to my sheep hunt, she bagged a Coues deer at 782 yards. I squeezed the trigger, and Dean said, “You missed”. The ram only startled a few yards and stopped, so I shot again and heard Dean say, “Way behind.” Well, the ram gave me one more shot and again, “Way behind.” This time, he ran over the mountain. If you ever saw a disappointed sheep hunter, it was me right then. I just let a beautiful ram get away.
We came down off the ridge extremely disappointed and worked our way around to the other side. It wasn’t long before we found him bedded down, so I started to set up for yet another shot. Again, my shooting coach, Dean, went through the process. “Are you comfortable? Are you rock steady? Is your elevation correct for a 510-yard shot?” This time as I was dialing the elevation turret, I noticed the windage was off 2 MOA. I told Dean, and he remarked, “No wonder you shot so far behind.”
The windage turret now has black tape wrapped around it so it cannot turn.
After about an hour of waiting, the ram stood up. Dean said, “No shot,” as the ram was facing away.
I repeated, “No shot.”
The ram moved a little to the left, and Dean asked, “No shot?”
I replied, “No shot.”
Finally, the ram turned broadside. I told Dean and Jeremy that I had a shot. I squeezed the trigger, and the ram spun around 180 degrees. Dean was telling me to put in another round, and then just as quick, he told me, “Never mind, he’s down.” I can’t even explain the adrenaline rush at that moment. The whooping and hollering from all the other guys at their various locations could be heard a mile away!
The recovery crew headed over to my location to offer their congratulations. Ben then announced, “We are going to try and get him off the mountain whole!” It didn’t occur to me what whole meant until the seven of us got to the top where my ram was. After taking a ton of pictures, Ben started to load the ram in his pack. Whole! I was thinking Ben was off his rocker, but he and the others lifted the pack on his back and he took off like it was nothing. Jeremy, Mark, Ben, and Andrew took turns carrying this load to the bottom of the mountain. Then we had another photo opportunity with all 12 of us and a beauty of an Arizona Desert bighorn sheep. Brother Rick, the butcher, estimated the weight of my ram to be around 200 pounds.
I feel blessed to have wonderful friends who wanted to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with me. They made this adventure all the more special. Of course, I already have 2 bonus points to start putting in for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. If it takes the same amount of time to get drawn for that hunt as it did for this one, I will only be 86 years old. I hope everyone is still able to go with me.
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