Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Yuma Outdoorsman

Cabeza Sheep

Recommended Posts

On 12/6/2022 at 6:00 PM, k-rub said:

I figured I'd share the story of how it went down. It was pretty amazing.

I had the opportunity to hunt desert bighorn sheep in the Cabeza Prieta wilderness of AZ. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget. The Cabeza is rugged, austere and dangerously beautiful. The only thing that really exists out there are the iconic desert bighorn.
This story is filled so many nuanced connections between amazing people. From the moment the original hunter decided to donate the tag to me because he got Covid the hunt was meant to be. People that I didn't know I came from everywhere to help me make this a reality. I literally could not have done this without them. And for that I am forever grateful.

When I hunt, I'm not the person who is always chasing antler length. I always have "the quality of the hunt" in mind. It's about the experience. This experience was among the best. In previous years of hunting I've had hard earned lessons, I've beat my body up and I've learned to deal with the frustration of failure often. On this hunt everything went perfectly. It culminated when I was able to harvest this 10yr old beat up and broken warrior at 220yds off the desert floor. I had prepared myself to climb on my hands and knees up these steep 1000' cliffs to make it happen. Instead it all happened at the bottom. I'm still in disbelief.

The original hunter had 29 year's worth of bonus point for sheep in AZ. I've only been hunting for 4 years so I assumed I'd never hunt sheep. 2 days before the hunt he gets covid and donates his tag to me through Outdoor Experience For All. I was floored and quickly accepted only to find out that 46b west is a wilderness walk in unit. I called the preserve and they granted me access to drive in because of my prosthetic legs. I got out to the area a week after opening with some great dudes helping me. We glassed and saw some good rams over the next few days. On the 4th day we went deep into the unit and spooked3 rams that winded us when we got to the glassing knob. The rams went up a mountain and were not huntable for me. We backed out and drove a ways to a valley to glass. We glassed up those same rams a long ways a way from where they originally were. They ran up a mountain and down the other side then ran over 2 miles across the desert floor to a whole new mountain range. They were laying at the bottom in the sand when we saw them. I made a mile long stalk in to 220yds. Wind was perfect and we dropped into a wash bottom to cover movement. When I got there we couldn't see the big one but the second biggest one was in sight. I was considering taking that ram because he was pretty good but a little younger. Then the bigger on stepped into sight and I was able to take him 20" off the bottom of the desert floor. It was absolutely amazing.

7B941057-8028-4DF6-9482-4D11CA451E84.JPG

DSC05746.JPG

DSC05782.JPG

00972EBD-1561-465A-8291-E48A5EFA9764.JPG

A9DC0826-0735-455D-9BF6-77FDB3148BAF.JPG

DC550E44-DB0C-44B9-8628-9F5A0AAD3804.JPG

VideoCapture_20221202-124632.JPG

VideoCapture_20221202-124807.JPG

Dude that is freaking Awesome, What a hunt, story and Ram. Good for you

 

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That is so awesome! Thanks for the write up and sharing the beautiful photos you took. Sounds like an amazing hunt, and I’m glad it ended in success for you! Way to go!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Totally awesome! Congratulations on a dang good ram glad to see everything worked out for you!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wonderful story, what a blessed hunting experience!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is sooo cool!!!   Congrats

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great hunt. Really incredible how things work out sometimes. Congratulations on a hunt of a lifetime!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×