jnobleinaz Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Alright I can start writing now... I feel like I had a ton of bricks taken off my back since sunday at around 2:00 pm. Why you ask, cause I felt intense pressure on myself ever since my dad John Noble Sr had drawn a sheep tag. It was bitter sweet news. The unit he drew, which yours truly had put him in for is one of the hardest in the state to hunt. If you are an older guy it is very very tough. I did not know this till after I talked to a few people. Basically they said good luck with a sigh under their breath. So I started digging and talked to a very gracious guy named Robert Frost who gave me some maps of the unit which he had guided previously and said I wish you the best of luck but it will be very very hard with the age of my dad. I had an archery elk tag this year and my dad had a bull elk tag also but my mind was on this hunt the whole time. I did not write hardly any posts on here for a while cause I was engulfed in thought of how to do something I had never done. But I called a couple friends and asked them if they wanted to come. Steve Bailey and Jim Mullins said they would come. I did not expect Jim to be able to make it since he was guiding an elk hunt that would end the day of the sheep hunt. But Jim said he wanted to go no matter what. My dad and my brother Chard went down to scout 2 weeks before the hunt. I started climbing and glassing and I came close to the first ram and got photos of him. The next day I found 2 more about 1 mile south of our camp. Elk hunt passes by and dad gets a spike we only had 3 days to hunt. Fast forward .. Thursday nov 30th we get to camp and I run out to glass before its dark, while my dad and brother set up camp. I find 3 rams and watch them tear apart a palo verde tree and eat. Next morning I get up and go out to the same spot. My dad and brother arrive at their glassing point. I see 2 more rams at that time and figure we are set for the next day. These rams are solid. that night Jim and Steve arrive under a downpour of rain. It rains all night...... Opening morning found us spread out within the canyon I had scouted. NO rams nothing. It was windy all day long. Never saw a sheep. That night at camp I was frustrated thinking where could they be. The next morning I told Steve that we needed to go 1 more canyon over and check it out. Jim, Chard and my dad went back into our original spot. A 1/2 hour after we set up Steve said I think I see a ram. I looked over and there was 2!! I placed a call to Jim and they they drove over from the other area. On their way we saw 3 more rams so we had 5 that we could see. Our plan now was to have Steve my brother and I keep tabs from across the canyon and have Jim and my dad stalk in. Jim was videoing and it worked out perfect he took it nice and easy with him. I think it was 2 and 1/2 hours or so later when they got to the spot we thought they could see the rams from. Our big problem was a depth perception issue. From our point it looked even across the face but in reality it actually went back into a giant horseshoe. The closest they could get to the rams was 400 yards and we had to wait out for a big one to step out. There was 3 class 4 rams we could see from our spot. So our only option was to wait until one of them stepped out into an opening. Next thing we know is the bigger one comes out of the wash and it was "game on". My dad put one through the ram and we could see he was hit. He moved around a little but had to bed down so Jim and dad went down to another spot with a distance of 300 yards he put him down for good. We started screaming and yelling with excitement. A ram was on the ground. Steve and I gathered our packs and got over to that side of the canyon where we all creeped up to see what was laying on the ground. A stud ram with mass and more mass. In some other units he would be a shooter but for our unit he was for sure a keeper. 32 inch broomed off curls and 15+ bases. His score is 166 and for a 68 year old guy to hike up the stuff he did to get him I am very proud and happy. For the 5 of us it will be a hunt to remember for the rest of our lives. I want to thank Steve and Jim for sharing in my dad's hunt and you just never know when you will pull that tag of truly a "lifetime". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Congrats to your dad, John. A super ram. -TONY Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elpepe25 Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Awesome.........just awesome Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjw2222 Report post Posted December 4, 2007 HOLY SMOKES!!! What a smoker ram congratulations to your dad on a fantastic kill. I love how massive that thing is. it always makes it that much more meaningful when people put the time into a writeup along with stellar pics and your post included both. I especially like the second one of glassing, a great picture in anyones book. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Excellent!! What a neat hunt! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HBU Report post Posted December 4, 2007 That thing is a hammer. Good job. Mabey one day I'll draw a sheep tag. I'm so jellous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZP&Y Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Super nice RAM! Your dad looks 'elated and relieved' That coosefan guy is everywhere ! AzP&Y Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted December 4, 2007 I can't express how awesome it was to finally get to hunt Sheep! The best part was that it was with good friends and we had a blast! I've had the opportunity to hunt with the Noble family on sevaral occasions and they are great people! Papa John did awesome and made some hard shots count like he usually does! With some valuable info, John Jr. followed up and pinned down some incredible rams that were quite a bit larger than the expectations for this hunt, and he knew where these rams may end up after the storm and he was right! The hunt turned out perfect and those boys did an awesome job on whackin' a stud of a ram! Congrats to Papa John and thanks again for lettin' me tag along, i'll never forget it! JIM> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted December 4, 2007 super ram guys!! I dream of drawing a tag someday.. You guys made the most of yours with an AWESOME ram.. congrats!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullwidgeon Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Awesome!!! Bret Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bird Dog Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Good job guys! Thanks for sharing the nice cliff carp photo! 11 points going in to the kitty next time for me and sheep. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Talk about feverish....looking at those pics just made the fever even worse...........nice job guys...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron G. Report post Posted December 4, 2007 What an experience that must have been! Can't wait until I or someone I know gets drawn for sheep. Thanks for sharing the story and photos. Congratulations to John Sr! Ron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Super Ram. Congrates to all of you. There is nothing like going on a sheep hunt. Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
300 ultra mag Report post Posted December 4, 2007 Sounds awesome. Nice ram Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
