Idaho Trecker
Well-Known Member
After a call from my brother a year and a half ago asking if we (my dad, brother, and me) wanted to go on an aoudad hunt the day finally came to leave. My dad and I loaded up from north Idaho and headed to meet up with my brother in Nevada. From there we consolidated into one truck and finished the drive to the ranch out of Van Horn Texas. My brother had booked us a hunt with Mike McKinney of WestTexasHunt. I'll say going from record snowfall in north Idaho to 75-80+ degree weather was a real shock!
Upon arriving the night before our hunt was to start we started arranging the cabin and getting ready for the next morning.
The next morning we were positioned above a spring area which theoretically should have better forage (for a desert this meant a few more cactus
basically). After a couple hours I spotted 3 sheep at 1600 yards which turned in to a long hike only to have them disappear when we arrived to a good shooting position. This turned out to be the days highlight.
The next morning we decided to glass the same area in the morning which turned nothing up. From there we hiked up the largest hill (its what they call a mountain in Texas haha). On the way towards the top we jumped an ewe and baby. Once on top of the knob we saw two coyotes that didnt seem to care we were there which were tormenting me! I really wanted to shoot them but my dad and brother weren't as keen on the idea so they got to live. Looking back that was a good decision because we walked around the saddle they had gone towards and there happened to be two javelina rooting around that didnt know we were there. This was way more fun than a coyote!!! My dad opted to let my brother and me take them. I told my brother to take first shot and if I ended up with a shot I would take it after. It worked out perfect because my brother hit his and it fell over and kicked once or twice while mine ran to the top of the ridge and stood there broadside for one second to long and took a 225 eld-m from the 300 SS which was bang-flop. Having never shot one or known much about them it was amazing to see one up close. The hair was just shy of a porcupine and they are solid!!! The teeth were incredibly intimidating. I wouldn't want one to gnaw on me!!! My dad was watching through the bino's and said it was awesome to see the shock wave from the bullet go through the whole body.
From there we took care of them and headed back to the camp to put stuff away and head to a different part of the ranch. We saw some amazing country but no sheep that day. That night two of the guides that were working on a neighboring ranch stopped in to see how we had been doing since it had been slow. They had been watching for 2 days apparently and had watched us also to determine we knew what we were doing but there just weren't the number of sheep on the ranch.
Day 3 we tried another new area and only turned up a small group of mule deer but again saw some great country.
Day 4 started out with my brother spotting an ewe in the far off cliffs so we hightailed it that way to see if there was more of which there wasn't. This hike really put us in some prime looking area that was really beautiful for the desert. It ended up being an all day event.
That night we were able to talk to the owner again and he was under a different impression that there were lots of sheep and we were passing on them which wasn't the case and then things changed rapidly. He allowed us ( there were 5, my brother's neighbor and his friend were hunting) to go north into another of his ranch leases and for two of us to go to the ranch to the west. Since the neighbor had shot his sheep already this left 4 tags. Now we had to decide who was going to get the privilege to go to the ranch to the west which is a more expensive hunt and not DIY normally. Since my brother had put the legwork into planning this trip he was a for sure going to be one to go west and it ended up that I also got to go.
Day 5 started with a little extra enthusiasm with new areas to hunt. My brother and I met with one of their guides who showed us where to start up the mountain. Once on top of the mountain and having done a little glassing we heard a horn honking in the distance. Pulled up the binos and it was the guide and he was waving his hat and wanted us back down. We made record book descent to meet up with him. He had gone to glass an area on his own just to pass some time and had spotted some nice rams. We got back to where the rams were just to see them crest over the top of the box canyon they were in and disappear. A plan was made to go back down the road and come up over another saddle. This was by far the hottest day and probably didnt have quite enough water but it was the last day and had to get it done. Once we crested the saddle we saw the top of the box canyon where they had crested but no sheep. After a minute or two a javelina appeared then another and another on a trail they had made. There ended up being 15 or so that just kept appearing. It was cool watching all of them. Just wish we could have shot more. With no sheep in view we backed down to the offside where we wouldn't be seen and go to the next saddle. From there I crawled up slowly to the sub ridge and spotted a ram bedded in some cliffs at a mere 205 yards. When I got a little more brave to move into view I could see six rams hanging out in the shade of some red cliffs. Eventually two rams stood up and started sparring then two more did the same and after a couple minutes of that the first two came back into view and teamed up pushing the second set of rams that were sparring. It was a lot of fun to watch!!! The time came to shoot when they started to make their way off of the cliffs. I was designated first to shoot. In all the time spent watching them I had sighted down my barrel a couple times to see if it would clear the slope of the ridge we were on. I knew that it was going to be touchy and was fine when they were on the cliffs but I took aim at one further down from the cliffs and that extra downward angle resulted in a dead rock or cactus because I totally botched a 200 yard shot!!!! After that sheep came out from around the cliffs and totaled 15 or so. In the confusion one ram came around the corner and stood where the others had sparred and my brother quickly dropped him with one shot from his 270 wsm and a 140 accubond. After he shot we ran to the next ridge down and the herd of sheep was only 300ish yards away but I had to make certain I had not got one and didnt know it so I did not shoot. From there we ran to my brothers ram and where the one was standing that I had shot at of which there was no dead ram or sign of an injured one. Fortunately the hills are really steep and it was really hot. Even though the sheep had ran up and down 4-5 ridges they were only 590 yards away and thought they were safe enough to take a breather. I'll just tell myself I needed them further away so I could justify carrying the 300 SS, who is no lightweight, for the entire hunt. This time I was setup on a flat bench with no risk of having a relapse of the first shot.
(The little red dot is where they were when I shot)
I picked out a ram that had good chaps on him and I thought decent horns and dialed up the required elevation and touched off the round. I was able to see the impact perfect, in the shoulder, and the dust cloud that came off was impressive. He was able to make the few steps over the ridge but I was still able to see his horns fall and other sheep run past him. We checked out my brothers ram, which was only a few yards from where I had just shot mine from, and then decided to go to mine and take care of since it was the opposite direction of the hike out. We got to my ram and it was clear that the bullet had passed through both shoulders. I am very impressed with the 225 Eld-m and how it has worked for me in the last year or two. It turned out my ram wasn't real big but was a trophy to me to take away from this memorable hunt that was a year and a half in the making. These sheep live up to their reputation of being tough and living in even tougher environments!!!
Our group ended up filling 4 of 5 javelina tags and 4 of 5 sheep tags which was very good if I do say
Long story but my dad was the one who didn't fill either tag but as he said over and over " I'm just happy to be here". It was great to be able to do a hunt like this with my dad and brother. I hope for many more!
I have to give a big shout out to Mike McKinney and his guides that we talked with!!! They were all very accommodating especially since we basically ended up with a semi-guided hunt. Can't say enough about how great they were. If the opportunity comes up I will definitely book another hunt with them.
Upon arriving the night before our hunt was to start we started arranging the cabin and getting ready for the next morning.
The next morning we were positioned above a spring area which theoretically should have better forage (for a desert this meant a few more cactus
basically). After a couple hours I spotted 3 sheep at 1600 yards which turned in to a long hike only to have them disappear when we arrived to a good shooting position. This turned out to be the days highlight.The next morning we decided to glass the same area in the morning which turned nothing up. From there we hiked up the largest hill (its what they call a mountain in Texas haha). On the way towards the top we jumped an ewe and baby. Once on top of the knob we saw two coyotes that didnt seem to care we were there which were tormenting me! I really wanted to shoot them but my dad and brother weren't as keen on the idea so they got to live. Looking back that was a good decision because we walked around the saddle they had gone towards and there happened to be two javelina rooting around that didnt know we were there. This was way more fun than a coyote!!! My dad opted to let my brother and me take them. I told my brother to take first shot and if I ended up with a shot I would take it after. It worked out perfect because my brother hit his and it fell over and kicked once or twice while mine ran to the top of the ridge and stood there broadside for one second to long and took a 225 eld-m from the 300 SS which was bang-flop. Having never shot one or known much about them it was amazing to see one up close. The hair was just shy of a porcupine and they are solid!!! The teeth were incredibly intimidating. I wouldn't want one to gnaw on me!!! My dad was watching through the bino's and said it was awesome to see the shock wave from the bullet go through the whole body.
From there we took care of them and headed back to the camp to put stuff away and head to a different part of the ranch. We saw some amazing country but no sheep that day. That night two of the guides that were working on a neighboring ranch stopped in to see how we had been doing since it had been slow. They had been watching for 2 days apparently and had watched us also to determine we knew what we were doing but there just weren't the number of sheep on the ranch.
Day 3 we tried another new area and only turned up a small group of mule deer but again saw some great country.
Day 4 started out with my brother spotting an ewe in the far off cliffs so we hightailed it that way to see if there was more of which there wasn't
. This hike really put us in some prime looking area that was really beautiful for the desert. It ended up being an all day event.That night we were able to talk to the owner again and he was under a different impression that there were lots of sheep and we were passing on them which wasn't the case and then things changed rapidly. He allowed us ( there were 5, my brother's neighbor and his friend were hunting) to go north into another of his ranch leases and for two of us to go to the ranch to the west. Since the neighbor had shot his sheep already this left 4 tags. Now we had to decide who was going to get the privilege to go to the ranch to the west which is a more expensive hunt and not DIY normally. Since my brother had put the legwork into planning this trip he was a for sure going to be one to go west and it ended up that I also got to go.
Day 5 started with a little extra enthusiasm with new areas to hunt. My brother and I met with one of their guides who showed us where to start up the mountain. Once on top of the mountain and having done a little glassing we heard a horn honking in the distance. Pulled up the binos and it was the guide and he was waving his hat and wanted us back down. We made record book descent to meet up with him. He had gone to glass an area on his own just to pass some time and had spotted some nice rams. We got back to where the rams were just to see them crest over the top of the box canyon they were in and disappear. A plan was made to go back down the road and come up over another saddle. This was by far the hottest day and probably didnt have quite enough water but it was the last day and had to get it done. Once we crested the saddle we saw the top of the box canyon where they had crested but no sheep. After a minute or two a javelina appeared then another and another on a trail they had made. There ended up being 15 or so that just kept appearing. It was cool watching all of them. Just wish we could have shot more. With no sheep in view we backed down to the offside where we wouldn't be seen and go to the next saddle. From there I crawled up slowly to the sub ridge and spotted a ram bedded in some cliffs at a mere 205 yards. When I got a little more brave to move into view I could see six rams hanging out in the shade of some red cliffs. Eventually two rams stood up and started sparring then two more did the same and after a couple minutes of that the first two came back into view and teamed up pushing the second set of rams that were sparring. It was a lot of fun to watch!!! The time came to shoot when they started to make their way off of the cliffs. I was designated first to shoot. In all the time spent watching them I had sighted down my barrel a couple times to see if it would clear the slope of the ridge we were on. I knew that it was going to be touchy and was fine when they were on the cliffs but I took aim at one further down from the cliffs and that extra downward angle resulted in a dead rock or cactus because I totally botched a 200 yard shot!!!!
After that sheep came out from around the cliffs and totaled 15 or so. In the confusion one ram came around the corner and stood where the others had sparred and my brother quickly dropped him with one shot from his 270 wsm and a 140 accubond. After he shot we ran to the next ridge down and the herd of sheep was only 300ish yards away but I had to make certain I had not got one and didnt know it so I did not shoot. From there we ran to my brothers ram and where the one was standing that I had shot at of which there was no dead ram or sign of an injured one. Fortunately the hills are really steep and it was really hot. Even though the sheep had ran up and down 4-5 ridges they were only 590 yards away and thought they were safe enough to take a breather. I'll just tell myself I needed them further away so I could justify carrying the 300 SS, who is no lightweight, for the entire hunt. This time I was setup on a flat bench with no risk of having a relapse of the first shot.(The little red dot is where they were when I shot)
I picked out a ram that had good chaps on him and I thought decent horns and dialed up the required elevation and touched off the round. I was able to see the impact perfect, in the shoulder, and the dust cloud that came off was impressive. He was able to make the few steps over the ridge but I was still able to see his horns fall and other sheep run past him. We checked out my brothers ram, which was only a few yards from where I had just shot mine from, and then decided to go to mine and take care of since it was the opposite direction of the hike out. We got to my ram and it was clear that the bullet had passed through both shoulders. I am very impressed with the 225 Eld-m and how it has worked for me in the last year or two. It turned out my ram wasn't real big but was a trophy to me to take away from this memorable hunt that was a year and a half in the making. These sheep live up to their reputation of being tough and living in even tougher environments!!!
Our group ended up filling 4 of 5 javelina tags and 4 of 5 sheep tags which was very good if I do say
Long story but my dad was the one who didn't fill either tag but as he said over and over " I'm just happy to be here". It was great to be able to do a hunt like this with my dad and brother. I hope for many more!
I have to give a big shout out to Mike McKinney and his guides that we talked with!!! They were all very accommodating especially since we basically ended up with a semi-guided hunt. Can't say enough about how great they were. If the opportunity comes up I will definitely book another hunt with them.
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