None of us ever expect to draw a desert sheep tag. At least those expectations eventually get worn down after a decade or so of applying and receiving rejection notices in every state you are allowed to hunt them. What are the impossible odds of drawing two of the most coveted tags in hunting in the same year?

My story began in 1998 while I was attending the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep convention. That was when I first became fascinated with the wild sheep of North America and left with a burning desire to go sheep hunting. I soon discovered, though, that sheep hunting was very expensive and for a guy of modest means like myself, drawing a tag first was a necessity if I wanted to someday hunt desert sheep. After that show, I decided that I would apply for desert sheep in every state where non-residents were allowed to hunt them. The odds of drawing one of these highly coveted permits are really against you. In fact, I concluded that I probably would never draw in a lifetime of applying, but I decided to apply every year anyway. Over the years I became accustomed to receiving annual rejection notices, but I continued with the routine of applying and building bonus points. When I discovered The “Huntin Fool” newsletter, the application process became much easier, as I let Garth and Jason do the research on what areas to apply for or what areas not to apply for. That subscription is really a lifesaver as they notify you well in advance so you don’t have to worry about missing a deadline or figuring out on your own how to submit an application. Some may think that their subscription price is too expensive, but when compared to the cost of missing one hunting application or worse yet drawing a once-in-a-lifetime tag in a bad area, the “Huntin Fool” is cheap insurance at twice the price!

In the summer of 2004 while driving to a backpacking trip, I received a call from my brother saying that there were a lot of messages for me on his answering machine. He said they all had something to do with sheep and Nevada. I almost drove off the road and crashed. It turns out that my wife and I were building a new house and had not hooked up our new phone yet. The calls were from outfitters offering their services to the lucky few guys that drew a tag to hunt desert bighorns in Nevada. I was so excited; I just could not believe my good fortune. Many of my hunting partners were as excited as I was and offered to go along on the hunt to help me. I already had booked a hunt for caribou and moose in British Columbia and combined with building a new house, knew this was going to be an extraordinarily busy fall.

Three weeks later while checking the draw results for Arizona, I almost had a heart attack when I read the words successful tag #000001 desert bighorn area 41E. I had drawn two of the most difficult tags a hunter can draw in the same year. What a dilemma! So many questions needed answers. Hire an outfitter or not, hunt with my friends, with a bow, or a rifle. After many sleepless nights, I decided that I would try to hunt with my friends without an outfitter for both hunts and that I would try to take at least one of the sheep with a bow. The research for both of these hunts only helped to build the anticipation. I talked to biologists, game wardens, past hunters, and of course Garth Carter who had drawn the same tag in Arizona the year before.

November finally arrived and we headed to the desert of Nevada for the sheep opener. Along for the first hunt were Bob Sherer, Les Hausauer, and Ron Jenkins. Having drawn two Rocky Mountain Bighorn tags in Montana and having taken one with a rifle and one with a bow, I thought I knew enough about bighorn sheep to be successful. After the second day of hunting, we realized that these desert bighorns were a very different animal -from the Rocky Mountain Bighorns of Montana. They had uncanny vision that gave them the ability to see you over half a mile away, even if all you did was stick your eyeball out past the edge of a rock, to say nothing of what happened when you sky-lined yourself on a ridge. We would spot rams from miles away and try to sneak within bow range undetected to get a shot. Every time that I got within range, I would draw my bow out of site and slowly rise up for a shot. Imagine the frustration when every time the sheep would explode at a fast run – even out of a dead sleep. Sometimes they would stop within range, but usually they were in a cluster with the biggest ram in the middle offering no shot.Toward the end of the first week we stumbled onto a new method we named the “stupid idiot” technique because of how it would look if someone were watching us. We would spot the sheep and instead of trying to get within archery range undetected, we would only try to get within 120-150 yards. Staying below the sheep, I would walk out and let them see you, then walk slowly at an angle toward them. Not looking at the sheep, staying below them, and never going right at them, we could sometimes close the distance to within 60 yards. I was able to even get a few shots, but because of the steep angle usually required, I shot high each time failing to account for the extreme effect on the trajectory of the arrow. At the end of the first week, even though we were not successful, we were very confident that we would be the next time.

After a short break at Thanksgiving, we headed back to Arizona for the opening of the Arizona sheep season on December 1st. With our new found confidence in desert sheep hunting we thought we would get a giant ram in Arizona within a couple days and go back to Nevada and get the second ram by the end of the week. We realized painfully that our confidence was really over confidence when it took us 4 days to even -spot a mature ram! The Eagletail Mountains had received a huge amount of rainfall and the desert was incredibly green. This allowed the sheep to disperse and only required a short time of foraging each morning and evening. The sheep were extremely difficult to spot when they were bedded, especially the rams, because they would lay down in the shade of the Palo Verde Trees. By the end of the first week in Arizona, I was humbled and questioning the wisdom of hunting on our own without an outfitter. We did have a couple of opportunities at nice rams, but I was unable to connect when our chances finally came. I was very discouraged when I missed a nice ram that should have been an easy shot. Bob and Ron headed back to Montana, and I went back to Nevada for the last week of the sheep season there.

I was now on my own. All of the other hunters had apparently concluded their hunts, as there were no other camps remaining in the area. At this point, I concluded that drawing two tags in the same year was more of a curse than a blessing. After many hours of reflection, I realized that my enjoyment of this incredible, truly once in a lifetime opportunity was being affected by pressure to succeed. I resolved to enjoy the remainder of the hunts and - do the best I could. Without the assistance of my eagle eyed spotters, I knew these solo hunts would be that much more difficult but this also made me more focused. I practiced shooting my bow in the evening at camp and my confidence increased when I shot the best arrow groups of my life. My first day back in Nevada I saw several groups of rams, but I had no good stalking opportunities. The next day a storm front was blowing through and I seemed to spot sheep everywhere I looked. The- animals were up feeding all day, probably in anticipation of the coming storm. I finally spotted three mature rams in a saddle above a series of cliffs. I was able to remain concealed as I picked my way through the cliffs to within range.

When I peeked over the rocks, the largest of the three was standing just 60 yards distant. A huge surge of adrenaline made my heart leap into overdrive, which then made it necessary to pause for several long minutes while my heartbeat returned to almost normal. After I’d regained my composure, I drew my bow where the rams would be unable to see me doing so. As I eased up into position to shoot, two of the animals spotted me. The ram closest to me, however, had his head down as he fed. That ram didn’t see me. I had one moment only and, luckily, in that moment I could see that the big desert sheep was in a perfect broadside stance. I shot; the ram jumped twice, looked around, wobbled, and laid down. I could scarcely believe what just happened. My Nevada ram was a beautiful heavily broomed 8-year-old ram with 15” bases. Afterward, when I finally made it back to camp, I taped the ram’s horns at 155 inches. Not a giant ram, but in my eyes he could not have been any better.

With my new success, I decided to go back to Arizona immediately instead of in late December like we’d originally planned. Since I’d been successful in Nevada with my bow, I decided it would be great to rifle hunt the more difficult Arizona unit. With any luck, I might get a shot at a nice ram on my own. When I returned to the area, I was surprised to have the area all to myself; both other sheep camps had been vacated. I would be alone again on another desert sheep hunt.

Since I’d be hunting the Eagletail Mountains, which are a designated wilderness area, I’d be traveling on foot. Most of the rams we found were on the other side of the mountain range, more than 5 miles from the nearest road access. The first day I hunted the far southwestern edge of the mountains, which meant traveling over 7 miles from my truck. I saw several bands of sheep, but not any big rams. On the way back while I was making my way through a small pass, I spotted a group of ewes up in a bowl. When I glassed around the ewes, I saw two mature rams off about 200 yards to the side. They were feeding in the shadows of some Sawaro cactus and Palo Verde trees. I closed the distance as much as I could and after several shots with my trusted .300 WSM, the big ram was down. As I made my way up to the sheep he grew bigger and more beautiful. It was a case of ground shrinkage in reverse. He is a gorgeous 8-year-old chocolate brown ram with classic heavy yellow horns. After a couple very long 5 mile packing trips to my truck I taped my Arizona ram at 167 B&C points.

The long drive back to Montana allowed me to reflect and humbly give thanks for the incredible good fortune I experienced on both of these hunts. It took 23 days and over 6000 miles driven. Even though I ended up taking both rams by myself, I could not have done it without the help of my hunting partners, my very understanding wife Christine, and my employers Steve and Jean Schnee. The support I received from all of them makes me realize that I truly am a very lucky man.

Jim Winjum
Schnees Boots