GOING LIVE: NM Barbary Sheep

I

Ivar88

New member
Aug 8, 2017
202
And the newest adventure is underway. It?s 0330 and I am on the road from Minot ND to Clovis NM to meet up with a good buddy to chase OTC barbary. We have been successful in the past so hopefully this 18 hour each way trip brings some good fortune.
Disclosure: I?ve never run a live thread, but I will be sure to updated as I can!
 
Good luck man!
The weather should be good for your trip, so I hope you guys get into some monsters!
Take lots of pics!
 
Made it to southern South Dakota. Needed to pull over for a sammich and a stretch. The weather is looking pretty awesome for the hunt and the way down. Just about our of snow territory.
 
good luck.  i love those road trip hunts.

you doing the 18 non stop?  i drove to Idaho like that..it was unpleasant.

in my youth, it was a cakewalk..and they didnt invent energy drinks yet.
 
You'll hit more snow/cold as you near the Denver area.
I had -12 this morning



Be safe. Roads may be slick in spots
 
cnelk said:
You'll hit more snow/cold as you near the Denver area.
I had -12 this morning



Be safe. Roads may be slick in spots
Click to expand...

I guess I put my foot in my mouth. We are just about out of Nebraska, but there is still snow! It?s a heatwave of 24 degrees though. I?m getting some strange looks for wearing shorts. I also hit a small roadblock in northern Nebraska. My foot got a little heavy.  :dk:
 
haha slow down




Oh and don't worry Daniel.... I ate Cafe Bistro and I am going to the brewery tonight.... I'm warming Clovis up for you.  :dance2:
 
DTP said:
haha slow down




Oh and don't worry Daniel.... I ate Cafe Bistro and I am going to the brewery tonight.... I'm warming Clovis up for you.  :dance2:
Click to expand...

Finally made it to Hereford. A smell I was hoping to never suffer through again, however bittersweet it may be! Ok, folks has anyone ever driven through Kansas? Is there some sort of portal that makes you feel like your in a continuous loop of nothing for 6 hours?

Dan, the plan as of now is La Espiga De Oro for lunch tomorrow. That?s all that really matter to me! Haha.
 
Asking again;  you did it non stop?


Happy you are there. Now eat a green chili cheeseburger. :D
 
Boom said:
Asking again;  you did it non stop?


Happy you are there. Now eat a green chili cheeseburger. :D
Click to expand...

Boom, I did drive straight through! There was one benefit though, one of my best buddies was riding with so we switched every 4 hours! That definitely made things much easier for us.

I had an awesome green chili breakfast burrito, followed by adobada tacos for lunch  and for dinner... GREEN CHILI ELK BURGERS!!!! Already got the baby wipes packed....  :haha:
 
Just hit the road again and headed into the unit. Pending service, I may or may not be able to send some daytime updates. I should be able to get some awesome photos posted tonight though.
 
Alright, do I have a story for you folks. Let me eat some delicious BBQ and then the pics and storiy will follow.
 
Ok, I know that I did a poor job at keeping up with this forum, but it seemed that a ?going live? forum is difficult when you?re constantly reading maps and the fact that I wanted to give a small write up at the end. So let?s get it started:

On the first day, we tested a new area that we have never been in. It offered a very ?sheepy? environment, and was basically one big bowl. It made for fantastic glassing and even in the most difficult areas, the sheep would have been recovered with little effort pending a successful kill. Gaining access to this spot was a little wonky, but we found our way in finally, mid-morning. We hiked in and got set up on an awesome plateau which gave us glassing points of the entire bowl. The drawback, however, was the constant 20mph winds with gusts that push you out of a standstill. Things could obviously be worse, but this wind narrows our ethical distance shots by an impressive amount. We knew that it is possible to get into an ethical range because my first Barbary sheep was taken at 70 yards, and at the wind was different along the bowl, versus on top of this plateau. We glassed for a few hours with no sheep to chase, so we packed out and moved to more of a quick access spot. We had about 2 hours of light left so we got set up and started glassing again. This is a slightly more familiar area where we have been successful in the past. Needless to say, we went home empty handed.

Day two is when the real fun begins. We pick a third but familiar area after weighing the pros and cons, and set the alarm for hours before sunup. Morning comes, we slam some coffee and hit the mountain. We get in to a familial glassing spot, but again the winds make for an interesting morning. That didn?t stop the critters from moving though. Minutes after getting the glass out, one hunter, Jarrett, says ?I got one.? If you?ve ever been in that situation, you know your heart drops to your guts and your brain starts going crazy! He wasn?t wrong, he found one, but it disappeared immediately around a canyon corner. We knew it was early and to keep an eye on that section where the sheep was. An hour or so would pass and then three sheep come out from the same spot that the single disappeared through... and we have three tags... the stars are aligning! These three sheep start making their way towards us, only to stop and turn back. Ok, so ?maybe not this group? we thought.

Time goes by and we consider bailing off of our spot and checking out where these three barbs disappeared too. One last glass... again, Jarrett says ?1, 2, 3, 4? all the way to 9! It took us a split second to figure out what he was doing, but he was literally counting sheep. These things were on a completely different rock face and they were moving fast. Just a reminder, we have three hunters and a tag along fella who acted as a watch out, essentially.

The three of us grab our rifles and hammer down the hill to get set up on where these sheep are going to come through. We have a 45 degree shot to the rock face and the sun is in our faces, washing out scopes more than I would have have liked, but we could see clear enough to make an ethical shot. We discussed what sequence we would use and how we would approach this situation of 9 barbs stacked up tight.

As the sheep made their way around the mountain, Josh and I, each who have successfully harvested a barbary sheep, came to the decision that Jarrett, the 3rd hunter, take the shot because after all he was the one who found both groups that morning. Typically, in our experience when a shot is taken with a group of sheep present, they run a few yards, turn and look for a few seconds. If anything, we would be able to get a clean shot then. They should be more spread out and we can avoid shooting into a group.

Jarrett is scope on animal, 300 yards with a 45 degree incline. He picks out a nice ewe, singled away from the group and says to us ?ready?? HECK YEAH WE ARE! We hear him click his safety off, a slight pause and boom... perfect shot to the heart and she went no more that 5 yards.

This is where we (the other two hunters) forgot to follow the rest of the sheep because we wanted to stay on the one he shot. Luckily, Josh?s little brother was in town and he was the ?watch out.? He followed the sheep and kept Josh and I informed. Once we concluded that Jarretts sheep was dead, Josh and I grabbed our rifles and took off after the rest of the group. Well, we soon realized that we can?t run the canyons as quickly as these sheep. No biggie.

We met back up with Jarrett and sent him up the rock face to collect his harvest. When he came down, he got a lesson in caping and dressing. This is Jarrett?s first rifle kill EVER. He also got his first bow kill and big game kill earlier this fall. It?s that kind of season.

Ok, now it?s the last day and I will refrain from boring you with extreme details and simply say we glassed for a few hours in the morning, and nothing showed its face. That?s when it was time to get BBQ.

Here are my takeaways:

Did I kill a sheep? No
Did I learn something valuable? Yes
Did I help in a successful harvest? Damn right
Did I eat the best BBQ on this planet? No questions asked.

For me, it?s not always about bringing home an animal. It is more about lessons learned and how to become a better hunter for the next time. This hunt was a true DIY hunt. We used strictly our own eyes and feet and based all of our hunts on our research. That is the biggest take away for me. We were successful on our own in an area that most people don?t return to. So, at the end of the day, no I did not fill MY tag, but I helped a young hunter fill his and in most ways that is more important to me.
 
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