This hunt was an indescribably amazing experience in some jaw-droppingly beautiful country that was as rugged and challenging as it was breathtaking and gorgeous. If you ever have a chance to see or hunt the Missouri River Breaks, or fish on Fort Peck Reservoir, do it - if you have the grit, you won't regret it.
I'll spoil it now by telling you that I ended up filling my ewe tag with the rifle - my hunt was cut short by two days (the first was due to vehicle issues, the last was a gnarly rain forecast which wouldn't matter in most other places, but in the Breaks, the "roads" [read: two-tracks across the prairie] are made of pure clay, so if it rains more than a sprinkle, you're stuck 40 miles back there until it dries out). I planned my hunt so that it overlapped the transition from archery to rifle season, so the first two days I hunted with my bow, then put on two more incredible bow stalks on rifle opening day, then made the decision to break out the boom stick as the weather started to move in. Filling the freezer is my number one goal, and this was going to be my only opportunity to hunt the area and fill the tag, so it's a decision I don't regret.
But from an archery standpoint, I just can't tell you what an awesome opportunity this hunt was. It felt like boot camp for spot-and-stalk. Sheep aren't crepuscular like deer or elk, so they're out and visible all day. The trouble is, they're usually out and visible at the top of some steep cliff, or grazing at the slope where a crumbling cliff face has provided enough foothold for scrub grass and juniper to take hold. The place where most of the sheep were living was called Iron Stake Ridge, and it was a five mile hike in from camp each day before the hunting even started. I put in over 30 miles just getting to the sheep, not counting all the scrambling, traversing, backtracking, and sneaking I did through coulees and around cliff faces. There were many places I stalked to where I was literally placing my feet in sheep tracks, trying not to look down to the bottom of the steep draw below me and think about what one slip would do - bow in one hand, steadying myself with the other. I gained so much knowledge on reading terrain, predicting movements (though sheep are a bit ADD, and don't ever seem to go where you think they're planning to) and got to compound bow range (sub 40yd) on at least 6 different sheep. Please note, that achievement is more of a "nana nana boo boo" to my wheelie-bow friends - I have no desire whatsoever to shoot anything other than my own built stick and string.
So much emphasis is put on trying to draw ram tags, but with the infinitesimal possibility of that ever happening, I would much rather draw a ewe tag every 2-3 years and enjoy the heck out of it. Not to mention, the venison from a bighorn sheep is, hands down and without question, the most delicious meat you will ever put on your plate.
But enough of my yammering. Here's what everyone wants - the pictures! I put the grip-n-grin with the rifle
in the off-topic forum if anyone wants to see it.
Look close for the sheep in this one.
A good hunting buddy is indispensable.
