1997--A FANTASTIC PERSONAL HUNTING SEASON!!
WYOMING BIGHORN SHEEP
30-INCH WYOMING WHITETAIL
MONTANA WHITETAIL DEER
IDAHO MULE DEER
WYOMING BIGHORN SHEEP!
WHAT A FANTASTIC RAM!! This was without a doubt one of the greatest hunts I've ever been on. I feel so fortunate that I was drawn for one of the coveted bighorn sheep permits in Wyoming. I'm grateful that the state of Wyoming sets aside a generous allocation of bighorn sheep permits to nonresidents. Even though I had applied for many years, I know of several people in Wyoming who have applied for as many as 35 years, and have yet to draw a permit. I apply every year in 5-7 states for sheep permits. What a surprise to learn that I had drawn for the '97 sheep season. Sheep country is like no other. All the sheep we found were between 9-12,000 feet in elevation. A real buster for my sea level lungs! Due to the fact I hunted late in the season, we had to deal with adverse weather. The winds blew, the snow fell, and the clouds covered the ridge tops. Several hunting days were lost due to the elements. Finally, on the first day that the skies cleared and the winds subsided, we spotted this ram bedded with a couple of his buddies by 9:00 a.m. I was in position and took my shot at 4:00 p.m.! This was after having ridden my horse for 3 1/2 hours to get above them, and work my way down on them from above. Most of all, I'm glad to have been able to hunt this sheep on my own. Well.......not totally on my own. I couldn't have done it without the help of numerous friends who live in Wyoming. Boone & Crockett for bighorn sheep is 180 pts. This ram scores 173 pts. His horn lengths are 37" x 36". And he has 16" bases!! Almost unheard of for Wyoming bighorn sheep! To say I was elated would be an understatement! I wonder if I'll live long enough for my luck to hold out in the desert bighorn sheep drawings I apply for? We'll see..........................................
Wyoming Sheep Country and My Trusty Quarterhorse.......... Levi
30-INCH WIDE WYOMING WHITETAIL DEER!
A 30-INCH WIDE WHITETAIL DEER?? Seeing is believing! Before leaving Alaska for my deer hunt in Wyoming, I had secured permission from various land owners to hunt in excess of 200,000 acres! I narrowed my interest down to 3 different ranches that seemed to hold some real potential. The day I arrived in Wyoming, I went to the first ranch, and found this deer. Since it was a private ranch, and I was the only one hunting, I took the gamble that I could pass on this buck the first time I saw him. I was 80 yards from him, and decided to take a picture of him through my spotting scope. Considering I just held my point-and-shoot camera up to the eyepiece on the scope, the picture came out pretty good. There were 2 other ranches I wanted to look at before I committed to which deer I'd try to hunt. The next day I went to another ranch, but did not see any bucks of the same quality as the buck above. The 3rd place I wanted to visit could not accommodate me as planned, so I returned to the first ranch with the intention of putting the moves on the above deer. Of course, I was hoping and praying that I could find him again. As luck would have it, I was able to spot this buck coming out of his bedding area at 3:00 p.m. He immediately started kicking does out in front of him searching for a receptive doe. He found one, and the chase was on. I moved four different times before I felt like I was in a promising position to get a shot at this buck. At 4:30 p.m., he was broadside at 80 yards! I made a clean, one-shot kill with my 50-caliber muzzleloader! What a buck!! His outside, cheater to cheater spread is 30 inches! His inside main beam spread is 25 inches! His main beams are 25 inches long! And his bases are 7 INCHES IN CIRCUMFERENCE!! I'm thankful for the great hospitality extended to me by numerous Wyoming ranchers. With good hunting areas increasingly more and more difficult to find, it's refreshing that there are still land owners who will let you hunt................without expecting an arm and a $$$.
MONTANA WHITETAIL WITH THE MUZZLELOADER!
For the second year in a row, I've ventured to Montana to hunt with my good friend and outfitter, DOUG GARDNER, POWDER RIVER OUTFITTERS, BOX 678, BROADUS, MT, 59317, 406-427-5721. If you want to go on a great deer hunt, contact Doug! Doug leases in excess of 900,000 ACRES OF PRIVATE RANCHES! And the quality of deer hunting is great. In '96, I took a beautiful 5-point mule deer (western count). This was after having missed an estimated 30-inch buck the day before. This year, I showed up in Doug's camp at 3:00 a.m. After having stepped on Doug's skinny little son, Miles, I found my way to my bunk. Sleep didn't last long, as we all woke at 4:30 a.m. By 3:00 p.m. the same day, I had taken this whitetail buck with my 50-caliber muzzleloader. The great part about hunting with Doug is you can hunt either mule deer or whitetail deer. I actually turned down a fine 27-inch wide mule deer the same day that I shot this buck. I wanted to make it "the year of the whitetail". I hadn't shot a whitetail since 1981. Doug has some real good whitetails on his ranches. The evening I returned with this 130 point class buck, Doug had located a 150 point class buck the same morning. He was going to steer me towards that buck, had I not already connected with this one. It's not unusual to see 200+ deer a day with Doug, with 20% of them being bucks. This is a great hunt for any age or physically challenged hunter. I plan on going back!
$1500.00 IDAHO 2-POINT MULE DEER!
As much as I try to S-P-R-E-A-D this buck across the page, he just don't get any bigger. Course, I knew what I was shooting when I shot him. I finished up my FANTASTIC '97 SEASON in the state of Idaho. I hunt there every year with the muzzleloader. It's the only state I'm assured of a chance to hunt. All other states I have to apply for, and be drawn for, in order to hunt. There's a couple of reasons I took this little guy. The first................to see if I could make a 3-state sweep, taking a deer in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.........ALL WITH THE MUZZLELOADER! Well, I did. The second..........I haven't taken a deer in Idaho since 1992! That's why I call him my $1500 2-point. That's what I have in licenses and tags since the last time I shot a deer in Idaho. Of course, that's not counting the unused elk tags......but that's another story. I didn't see a quality buck in Idaho all season. The all-important snowfall didn't come in time to do the hunting any good. That's hunting! I'll still be back!
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