MARV

I'm not much of a story-teller (the reason I don't make many posts) but here goes... With recommendations from a few knowledgable sheep hunters, we started scouting every weekend beginning on Haloween. There were a lot of sheep to be seen, but none were very impressive. We had been told that a 160" sheep was a good and realistic benchmark for that unit, but by the start of the hunt, we had yet to see anything close to that size. On opening morning, friends were scattered all over the mountain range with their eyes glued to their binos. My wife and I hadn't seen anything from our location all morning, but when we went back to the truck to check messages, we had a voice mail saying "better come take a look at this one". It was afternoon by the time we got around to the other side of the mountain range and walked in to the area this particular sheep was hanging out in. Unfortunately, he was tucked back in a little basin and we had to get pretty close (200yds) just to take a look. When my wife saw that sheep she fell in love! He had everything she was looking for... about 9 years old and just enough battle scars to make him look interesting, but not so much that he looked ugly. Those of us on the scene tried to remind her that we still had time to leave him alone for a few days and look around some more if she wanted, but she wasn't interested. "I WANT THAT RAM, I WANT THAT RAM" she kept saying! She was smitten! By now the ram was 350yds away and it was time for action, so she layed down behind the ultra mag, poked a hole in him, and that old ram went to sleep forever. THE END... unless she draws a rocky next year

Here's a pic showing only 1/2 the people that helped on this hunt! Couldn't have done it without friends & family!

She plucked one from 15BW. I am soooo jealous!

Saw one this weekend while bear camping... tried to take it home, but it wasn't very cooperative.

A shortcut that really impressed me was using a ROAD FLARE to light the wood stove in a wall tent. I learned that from a buddy who came down from Utah to hunt. It must get cold in Utah.

That 1st picture is great! Congrats again on the harvest!

Nice bucks! Glad to see you had a good experience on a great ranch!

There are 5-days-worth of stories from this hunt.... and it's still not over.

This is my first coues deer. It was taken in Mexico on a DIY hunt with some good friends this past December.

Wow... and wow some more.

Did you have to give em up??? NO WAY MAN!!! I was not leaving Mexico without those binoculars! The Police were very friendly once they figured out we weren't up to anything shady... and they weren't able to shake us down for anything.

Just a guess... but those horror stories may come from people who were doing something they probably shoudn't have been doing. Last weekend, while on a scouting trip in Mexico with some friends, we had the GREAT pleasure of being pulled over by the local town police. Supposedly, they pulled us over because we were on a ranch road with a history of drug trafficking. After they checked our papers... asked to take my Swarovskis... asked to take my portable radio, they let us go. It was a little nerve-wracking for a while, but once they found out we weren't doing anything wrong, they let us go. Just don't leave your binos on the dash for the whole world to see!!!

my 2 cents, for whatever its worth... The .44 mag is awesome for game but comes in the large, heavy frame. Sometimes I carry it anyway. The .357mag is awesome. It comes in a lighter, medium frame & has enough power to take a lion... if you want to get that close! The .38spl is for personal protection as stated by somebody else. I used to pack one just in case a finishing shot was needed on a deer. The key words here are USED TO. Auto pistols are also for personal protection. If you go with the revolver, you won't regret buying a Smith & Wesson Revolver. Just my opinion, but I hope it helps you decide.

What I've learned of 36B so far: If there isn't a road that goes where I want to, just hop on a smugglers highway.

The camera this picture was taken from belongs to a good friend of mine. It had another picture of a single human with one of these suspicious block-shaped back packs. It also had a picture of a monster buck with 1 1/2" nubs. I figured I better not post the deer picture because everyone would start asking where this sweet hunting spot is!!!! My trail camera was placed within a few miles of this one, but it mysteriously disappeared. I think its at the bottom of a water hole snapping pictures of frogs & turtles. I'll share those pictures if I ever recover it. Its probably time to find a new area.