THE OROCOPIA HAMMER by Micheal Silliman

I was fortunate to draw a desert bighorn sheep tag

in California for the 2010/2011 hunting season. I

had been applying since the inception of California’s

program. I am not a rich man, but I could afford

some 20 years of application fees for another hunting

opportunity. I am also not a sheep hunter, how

could I be? Throughout my life though, I have been

a do-it-yourself kinda guy.

Click on the CAWSF  link for the rest of Micheal's awesome story!

Drinking At The local Watering Hole

As the weather heats up the scouting continues! When the warm weather turns to "HOT" and I mean hotter than blue blazes it's next to impossible to glass effectivly from the heat waves. That doesn't stop the SWHA Team from staying on top of the action. We're either setting or checking camera's at the local ram watering holes. As you can see above, this ram is coming in for a night cap. I guess the theory of wild sheep being day time creatures is just an urban legend.

FYI you can click on the images for a larger veiw.

"California Special"

The Dry Creek crew is at it again. With two Auction hunts lined up and a few more added units to hunt sheep in The Golden State this year. Tim and Cliff are pounding the hills preparing for another banner year of sheep hunting. Things are already looking good for the Dry Creek Boys.

Up close and personal

The other day the Scott brothers were out poking around in the hills about ten minutes from Trav's house and ran into this group of rams.  These photo's were taken well within bow range.

"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!