ND Bighorn Sheep September 2004 By Jeremy Rodgers
In early summer I nearly did cartwheels when my aunt's husband, Mark, called me and told me I drew a once-in-a-lifetime ND sheep tag. The odds were approxamately 1 in 3,300 and I can't even apply for the tag ever again. Needless to say I was excited.
I got a chance to scout twice before the season opened. In June I made a weekend trip to the unit south of Medora with my cousin, Adam. We located a herd of ewes and small rams, but no legal rams with the required 3/4 curl. We also talked to some friendly ranchers and oil field workers that were very helpful. On September 5th, my wife and our son vacationed in Medora for the weekend. We scouted Friday evening and saw one ewe on the golf course just south of town. Saturday I looked over many plateaus and cliffs all day and only saw the one herd of ewes and smaller rams again.
Thursday, September 23 I went to the mandatory meeting at the ND Game and Fish headquarters in Dickenson. The three of us hunters at the meeting were briefed on the general location of the animals, areas closed to hunting due to transplanting, and how to collect the necessary samples upon harvesting a ram. In the evening, I went scouting and thought that I had located the rams that I was looking for. I was told by the locals that there was a herd in this area, but these animals were about a mile away and I couldn't be sure that they weren't mule deer.
The next day, I hunted by driving every road I could find, spotting likely areas, and walking nearby ridges. I found one 4 1/2 year old ram with a herd of ewes near the golf course, but I left him and continued to look for the herd of eight rams that were supposedly in the area. I say "in the area" loosely as I calculated the number of legal rams I had to hunt and size of their range within the unit. The biologist later told me there were seven or eight legal rams within my unit and they move around within approxamately 100 square miles. Covering all that ground seemed overwhelming so I started talking to more people in the area.
On Saturday, September 25th, my aunt's husband, Mark, joined me for the day and we looked all day and talked to numerous people, but we only saw the one herd of ewes near the golf course. After two days of hard hunting I was getting frustrated and worn out fro hiking in the sun and 80 degree heat.
On Sunday my dad joined me. I walked all morning to cover a mile-long ridge where the herd of rams had been spotted within the last week. Around 12pm I was determined to find the rams, I was now at the road where my dad was supposed to pick me up at 1pm. After waiting too long I talked to a local rancher who said that in the past she had often seen sheep about a mile east on her so-called "No Name Plateau". I hiked for an hour and finally got up high enough to see four rams laying on the highest point 3/4 mile to my south. I tried to get within rifle range for five hours and gave up They kept spotting me and moving to keep an eye on me, bit I could never get a clean shot on one. I had been out of water for many hours and I was out of energy. I spotted my dad's truck two miles away and walked to it. I got some water and food while we regrouped and made a plan. We hoped they would continue North in the same direction to feed and drop down for water, so we looked for roads in that area. We found them just before sunset and while my dad spotted for me, I shot the largest of the group at about 250 yards. The three other rams were a small 2 1/2 year old and two others that were both 4 1/2 year olds, but not as large as mine. In retrospect, I should have taken one of the older, but smaller rams. They were almost as big and this would have allowed my sheep to possibly reach trophy size as he was already off to a great start. None the less, he was beautiful.
After some high-fives and pictures, my dad and I wrapped the sheep in a canvas game bag and tried to carry him back to the truck. He was too heavy to carry, so we dragged him back to the truck. We called the sheep biologist, Brett Weidman, and we agreed to bring the sheep to the Game & Fish headquarters so I could process it and Brett could take the needed samples. We weighed the sheep at 250 lbs. and scored him at 142. Then, my dad and I skinned and boned the great animal. I kept the cape on ice until I got home before getting a full-body mount that's proudly displayed in my home. This was truly a hunt of a lifetime and I can only hope to hunt sheep again in another state.
I owe Harold Hugelen a special "Thank You". He is a local rancher and owner of the Trapper's Kettle restuarants in Belfield and Williston. He and his wife were kind enough to keep me updated on the location of sheep south of Medora and put up with my weekly phone calls before the season opened. During this hunt, I learned to write down the date and location of animal sightings. It turns out that the herd of rams that I was after, hung out for a month on Hugelan's road only to split up and go two seperate directions a week before the season. Different people had seen the two herds, but on different days and in different locations. Only after putting it all together did it all make sense. I also learned to never run out of water when it's hot. During this trip I made the mistake of having a pack with external water bottles with pop tops on them. Early on the final day of the hunt I snagged a barbed wire fence with one bottle loosing all the water. I soon drank the other bottle with the heat and anticipation of being picked up midday on the road. That one won't be easily forgotten, as I got so dry and thirsty that I had a sore throat for two weeks afterwards.
Equipment: Browning A-Bolt 30-06, 168 gr. Winchester ammo, Nikon 8x40, Bushnell rangefinder, Rocky boots
I got a chance to scout twice before the season opened. In June I made a weekend trip to the unit south of Medora with my cousin, Adam. We located a herd of ewes and small rams, but no legal rams with the required 3/4 curl. We also talked to some friendly ranchers and oil field workers that were very helpful. On September 5th, my wife and our son vacationed in Medora for the weekend. We scouted Friday evening and saw one ewe on the golf course just south of town. Saturday I looked over many plateaus and cliffs all day and only saw the one herd of ewes and smaller rams again.
Thursday, September 23 I went to the mandatory meeting at the ND Game and Fish headquarters in Dickenson. The three of us hunters at the meeting were briefed on the general location of the animals, areas closed to hunting due to transplanting, and how to collect the necessary samples upon harvesting a ram. In the evening, I went scouting and thought that I had located the rams that I was looking for. I was told by the locals that there was a herd in this area, but these animals were about a mile away and I couldn't be sure that they weren't mule deer.
The next day, I hunted by driving every road I could find, spotting likely areas, and walking nearby ridges. I found one 4 1/2 year old ram with a herd of ewes near the golf course, but I left him and continued to look for the herd of eight rams that were supposedly in the area. I say "in the area" loosely as I calculated the number of legal rams I had to hunt and size of their range within the unit. The biologist later told me there were seven or eight legal rams within my unit and they move around within approxamately 100 square miles. Covering all that ground seemed overwhelming so I started talking to more people in the area.
On Saturday, September 25th, my aunt's husband, Mark, joined me for the day and we looked all day and talked to numerous people, but we only saw the one herd of ewes near the golf course. After two days of hard hunting I was getting frustrated and worn out fro hiking in the sun and 80 degree heat.
On Sunday my dad joined me. I walked all morning to cover a mile-long ridge where the herd of rams had been spotted within the last week. Around 12pm I was determined to find the rams, I was now at the road where my dad was supposed to pick me up at 1pm. After waiting too long I talked to a local rancher who said that in the past she had often seen sheep about a mile east on her so-called "No Name Plateau". I hiked for an hour and finally got up high enough to see four rams laying on the highest point 3/4 mile to my south. I tried to get within rifle range for five hours and gave up They kept spotting me and moving to keep an eye on me, bit I could never get a clean shot on one. I had been out of water for many hours and I was out of energy. I spotted my dad's truck two miles away and walked to it. I got some water and food while we regrouped and made a plan. We hoped they would continue North in the same direction to feed and drop down for water, so we looked for roads in that area. We found them just before sunset and while my dad spotted for me, I shot the largest of the group at about 250 yards. The three other rams were a small 2 1/2 year old and two others that were both 4 1/2 year olds, but not as large as mine. In retrospect, I should have taken one of the older, but smaller rams. They were almost as big and this would have allowed my sheep to possibly reach trophy size as he was already off to a great start. None the less, he was beautiful.
After some high-fives and pictures, my dad and I wrapped the sheep in a canvas game bag and tried to carry him back to the truck. He was too heavy to carry, so we dragged him back to the truck. We called the sheep biologist, Brett Weidman, and we agreed to bring the sheep to the Game & Fish headquarters so I could process it and Brett could take the needed samples. We weighed the sheep at 250 lbs. and scored him at 142. Then, my dad and I skinned and boned the great animal. I kept the cape on ice until I got home before getting a full-body mount that's proudly displayed in my home. This was truly a hunt of a lifetime and I can only hope to hunt sheep again in another state.
I owe Harold Hugelen a special "Thank You". He is a local rancher and owner of the Trapper's Kettle restuarants in Belfield and Williston. He and his wife were kind enough to keep me updated on the location of sheep south of Medora and put up with my weekly phone calls before the season opened. During this hunt, I learned to write down the date and location of animal sightings. It turns out that the herd of rams that I was after, hung out for a month on Hugelan's road only to split up and go two seperate directions a week before the season. Different people had seen the two herds, but on different days and in different locations. Only after putting it all together did it all make sense. I also learned to never run out of water when it's hot. During this trip I made the mistake of having a pack with external water bottles with pop tops on them. Early on the final day of the hunt I snagged a barbed wire fence with one bottle loosing all the water. I soon drank the other bottle with the heat and anticipation of being picked up midday on the road. That one won't be easily forgotten, as I got so dry and thirsty that I had a sore throat for two weeks afterwards.
Equipment: Browning A-Bolt 30-06, 168 gr. Winchester ammo, Nikon 8x40, Bushnell rangefinder, Rocky boots
 |
 |
