"Out On The Mountain"

      I hope that everyone is enjoying our Western Trophy Hunter Bighorn Journal/ Blog. Thanks to Troy Scott and Southwest Hunting Adventures for his great work. As fellow guides we have always felt it is important to share as much as possible with one another and hunters.

     This past weekend I was "out on the mountain" again in Utah scouting for rams as we make preparations for our guiding season next fall. We have some great hunters booked and definitely look forward to the challenges of finding each one of them a Utah ram that they will proud of. It is always so important that as guides, we make our hunter's "once in a lifetime" experience a memory that they will treasure the rest of their life.

       Although the black gnat hatch was out and those little "no seeum's" darn near ate us alive we still had an incredible scouting trip. We put in some very rugged, tough backpack miles. In two days we saw 10 rams with 5 of them being shooters for Utah. I've attached a pic of one group that has a very nice ram in it. We did locate a brute of an old ram that was even bigger than this but were unable to get a photo of him. I enjoyed every minute of this backpack trip as one of my close hunting buddies from California, Dr. Chuck Jenkins, drove clear up here just to spend a few days out on the desert chasing around with a crazy sheep guide. Those are exactly the kind of special bonds that we establish in our close knit sheep hunting fraternity. Good luck and happy sheep hunting everyone no matter what state you are from!

Randy

HIGH DESERT WILD SHEEP GUIDES

http://www.highdesertwildsheepguides.com/

 

 

170" B&C Kaparowitz Plateau Utah Ram

• Mark Butler had waited his entire life to complete his Full Curl of North American Wild Sheep so when he obtained a tag to hunt a trophy desert ram on the Kaparowitz Plateau Unit in southern Utah he immediately phoned Randy Johnson and Brett Caldwell of HIGH DESERT WILD SHEEP GUIDES. The dog days of summer couldn't  slip by fast enough. However, before Mark knew it he was "out on the mountain" in September looking for a big ram that he and Randy had seen while on a scouting trip in August. Late on the afternoon of the opener the ram was spotted. After a difficult stalk Mark made a great 430 yard shot with his son by his side and dad watching the action through a spotting scope high above the hunters on a rocky rim. Mark's ram scored 170 pts to make his trophy one of the largest to ever be taken on this Utah unit.

184" ram crushes old unit record by 30"

When Derral Crance found out he drew his Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Tag, he figured he had better call the "Scott brothers" of Southwest Hunting Adventures. Knowing that they live in the heart of AZ GMU 44AE sheep country, he knew the SWHA team could provide him with the best odds at taking the largest ram the unit had to offer. Derral also realized that unit 44AE has 4 big mountain ranges, very few sheep, and that killing an exceptional ram in this area would probably be a 'next to impossible' task to tackle on his own. On opening day, Dec.1st 2010,  Derral along with his guide Eric Hunt made the long cautious stalk and pulled the trigger on what would be the second largest general season AZ Desert ram taken in 2010, which also shattered the existing unit Record by a whopping 30 inches! And it couldn't have happened to a nicer man. Thanks Derral for providing us with the opportunity to help out, and congrats to you on your Monster Desert Hammer!

California's Orocopia Mtns. produce 2010-2011 season's largest ram

In January 2011, Michael Silliman decided it would be in his best interest to hire Dry Creek Outfitters to maximize his chances at harvesting a B&C Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Orocopia Mtns, 20 miles southeast of Indio CA. Michael's investment paid off in the first day of hunting with the Dry Creek boys. His ram scores an awesome 177 points, making it the largest ram killed in the Orocopia's in 15 years, in addition to topping the CA charts as the largest Desert Bighorn killed in the Golden State for the 2010-2011 season. The ram is also one of the finest looking Deserts any sheep hunter could imagine, with a near perfect horn conformation and quality. Congrats to you Michael, and thanks for trusting the Dry Creek crew with your Hunt of a Lifetime!