2012 Unit 15B West sheep hunt

[Don Martin]

Here is a story I wrote for our local newspaper about our sheep hunts this year! Our first hunt was in Game Management Unit 15B West. This unit’s boundaries are west from the Temple Bar road, and north and east off of Highway 93.

 

The unit goes up to Hoover Dam and then swings east along Lake Mead to Temple Bar.

 

It is a big unit, and in the past has produced some of the largest rams in Mohave County.

 

But in the past 10 years, the unit’s sheep population has taken a big dip, and the quality of the rams there has really dropped. Drought and predators are suspected as being the reason for the decline in the sheep population.

 

But for two Arizona sportsmen who beat some tremendous odds in drawing the tags this year in the unit, it would be the opportunity to go on an once-in-a-lifetime hunt.

 

I was going to hunt with Frank Suriano, a 75-year-old sportsman from Scottsdale who was in the best shape for a man his age that I’ve ever hunted with.

 

Assisting on the hunt would be long time friends Gene Chambers (who is 77-years-old) and my friend Jay Chan.

 

Due to the fact I was on that late Westside Kaibab deer hunt that ended Dec. 2, we decided that we would start Suriano’s hunt as soon as I could get back home, take a few days off to recuperate from the back-to-back deer hunts I’d been on, and then head out.

 

As it turned out we started the hunt about a week after the month long season had opened.

 

I thought that maybe the other hunter in the unit Bret Moran, would be done, but I learned that Bret was a very committed bowhunter, and that he hadn’t had much luck.

 

The first few days of our hunt didn’t produce many sightings. The largest ram we did see was wearing a radio collar. Suriano and I agreed that no matter how big or old he was, we were not going to take him and here is why.

 

It costs the department a lot of money to capture and put a radio collar on a sheep, and the data these sheep provide is important to the management of the herd. Though collared sheep are legal to take, we just decided that we would not do it.

 

The third day of the hunt we got a break. A small ram band of four rams actually crossed a wash in front of Chambers and Saki Kogianes, who had came up to help glass.

 

We got some great looks at the rams, and I took a number of photographs of them.

 

There were three mature rams in the group. The best ram had an ear tag that had the number 9 on it. This wide flaring ram looked to be over six years old but he seemed to have small bases.

 

Another ram in the group had ear tag 64.This ram seemed as old as number 9, but he didn’t carry the mass in his horns. Remember this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so you need to be certain before the trigger is pulled or an arrow is released!

 

The third ram in the group was probably a year or two older than the rest, but he had broomed off his horns so short, as to make it easy for us to decide to pass on him.

 

After about 30 minutes I told Suriano that we were going to pass on number 9, that we had a lot more of the unit to look in and I hoped to find an older and hopefully larger ram.

 

But then Mother Nature stepped in. It started to rain, sleet and even snow on the highest peaks in the unit, and the wind- a curse to sheep hunters who depend on being able to glass long distances for sheep, started blowing from 20-30 mph.

 

For three long days we didn’t see even one sheep!

 

It is often said that sheep hunting is a young man’s game, but here on a cold wind swept ridge sat three dedicated sportsmen who ages totaled 214 years!

 

Finally the weather cleared and the sheep started to show back up. Chan was now on board with us and so was another friend of mine from Las Vegas, Kensen Lee who came up for a day to help glass.

 

I decided to split up our team and to try and find the ram band that number 9 was leading. Our searching through the unit had not produced another ram as good as he was, and we decided that number 9 would be a good ram to take, IF we could relocate him.

 

Gunnar Erickson is the wildlife manager for the unit and he told me that the best sheep in the unit would score in the high 140’s to low 150’s. I felt number 9 would be in that range.

 

Lee and I headed up a drainage towards a long finger ridge, while Chan and Suriano went to the west of us and checked out another set of long fingers ridges.

 

Chambers would stay with the truck in the bottom of a wash and would pick us up when the day was done.

 

As it turned out, about noon Lee and I found the ram band. Only this time there were seven rams in it.

 

Number 9 was still leading the group.

 

While initially we spooked them when we walked over a ridge, they ran less than 400 yards and bedded down in a canyon.

 

Now Lee and I had a long 3 ½ hour wait until Chan and Suriano made it over to where the rams were at. Problem was they were several miles away and the hike was going to be a tough one.

 

I took a lot of photos through my spotting scope of the sheep while we waited for our hunter and my friend to get into position. We waited on a cold, windswept ridge before Chan and Suriano finally got into position.

 

However things didn’t go quite as planned. They were only 75 yards away from the ram band and getting ready to shoot when old number 9 spotted a little movement, and off they ran!

 

They ran for over a mile, but Lady Luck and some great binoculars resulted in me being able to relocate them again.

 

It was late afternoon and now Chan and Suriano had another stalk that was over a mile they to go on.

 

Despite being exhausted, things came together right before dark when Chan spotted the rams feeding on the side of a deep draw.

 

Chan got Suriano to within 100 yards of the rams, but Suriano’s shot was too far back and the ram turned and ran down the hill. He stopped at 112 yards and the low light and nerves got the best of Frank as he missed on his second shot.

 

The ram ran a short distance over a ridge and bedded down but fortunately Chan quickly found him.

 

Suriano’s last shot was on the money and his hunt of a lifetime was over.

 

We were worn out so I made a couple of calls for help to get the ram off the mountain. The next morning one of my guides Golden Valley resident Dan Reed showed up, as did my brother Gary and friend Brian Gunnoe. With their help we got old number 9 off the mountain early the next day.

 

Turns out number 9 was a great choice for Suriano to take.

 

At the Region III office of the Arizona Game & Fish Dept. number 9 was aged at 7 years old and scored an impressive 153 1/8 points.

 

G&F records indicate that this is the third largest ram taken in this unit in the last seven years, so he truly was a great trophy!

[trphyhntr]

awesome report. i hunted 15b west back in 2000, had a blast. that ram looks bigger than 153.

 

edit: here is a low quality picture. AZGFD scored it at 162 aged 12 years (srs)

 

[Don Martin]

That is an awesome 15B West ram! Congrats!

 

What kind of bases did he have?

 

Sheep in there now have small bases. 13 to 14 inch are the average.

 

Again great ram!

 

Don Martin

Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

[trphyhntr]

im not sure what his bases were off the top of my head. i believe they were 15's, but i dont recall. thanks, it was a crazy hunt. spent 9 days there, saw 70 rams, had our entire camp stolen, i'll never forget that hunt.

[Don Martin]

You know I remember reading something about that. Did they ever catch the thieves?

 

Don Martin

AWO

[trphyhntr]

You know I remember reading something about that. Did they ever catch the thieves?

 

Don Martin

AWO

no i never heard anything else about it. was a shame.