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Nevada Big Horned Sheep
Hunt This hunt was done completely on my own. I took one of my long time hunting buddies with me for companionship, another set of eyes, and help packing him out. Early in the decision making process regarding possibly hiring a guide, I decided it would be more rewarding to do it myself, and MUCH cheaper. I researched which hunt units have produced the best Rams through the past 12 years, and then made scouting trips to narrow down my options. I visited 6 different mountain Ranges all over the state and looked at over 500 sheep in the process. My partner is also a gunsmith, and I had him work my rifle over. He pillar bedded the stock, cut a muzzle brake on it, and replaced the optics with a Nikon 5.5-16X 44mm. I then worked up a hand load for it and then put several hundred rounds through it until I was satisfied I could reach out at least 500 yards comfortably for an ethical kill shot. My plan was to start my hunt on the Bare Mountain Range down near Beatty, NV for the first week of the 4-week season. If I did not find a good Ram there, I would move to Mt. Jefferson just a little north of Tonopah, NV, and if that failed to produce I would move to the McCullough Range a little south of Las Vegas. I took this Ram on the second morning of the season at around 11am in Chuckwalla Canyon on the Bare Mountain Range. We first spotted him with three other Rams at 260 yards. There were two other Rams in this group that were also B&C animals, so we looked at them through the Spotting Scope for probably 30 minutes before deciding to get closer for a solid decision on which one to take. We stalked them to about only 70 yards amazingly enough, and took this one because he was the best in the bunch. There was actually an older and bigger Ram in the group, but he had broken off the bottom third of one of his horns ruining what would have otherwise been a higher scoring head. |
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© Copyright: Ronald Machado - 2002
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