king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated - October/November 2007 - Index

started to tell Brian that if the rams
made it to the ridge, it would be all
over with. At the very last instant
before the rams were about to clear
the ridge, we saw the ram take a hit
and then we heard the shot ring out.
The shot spun the ram around and
he headed downhill. I stayed on the
ram with the glasses as he was on the
move. We knew the ram was hit, but
we were not sure if it was fatal. After
going another 150 yards downhill,
the ram laid down. Meanwhile, Troy
and Danny attempted to relocate
him. This was easy for us across the
canyon, but it was not so easy for
them being on the same hillside. It
was so steep that they were having a
difficult time just standing, let alone
trying to be quiet as they tried to
approach the wounded ram. By this
time, we were losing daylight. With
less than one hour of light left, Troy
found the ram, but not before the
ram spotted them and started to head
out. As I watched the ram through
Hunter: Daniel Smith IV ? Location: Utah ? Area: Ute Ouray Indian Reservation ?
Outfitter: X-Treme Outfitters ? Guides: Greg Bird, Troy Justensen, Jeremy Small,
Brian Thomsen ? Date: September 2006 ? Time: evening ? Days scouted: 20+ ?
Days hunted: 1 ? Weather: Hot & dry ? Temperature: 80's ? Moon: 94% waxing
gibbous ? Terrain: Cliffy & broken pines ? Camouflage: King's Mountain Shadow
? Gun: Weatherby ? Caliber: 7mm mag ? Spotting scope: Swarovski ? Binoculars:
Swarovski 15x56 ? Range finder: Leica 1200 ? Pack: Badlands ? Boots: Meindle
the glasses, I saw the ram stumble and
fall as Danny's last shot found its mark.
With this magnificent ram down, there
was little time to celebrate. Darkness
was closing in and it was a long way out
of a canyon that you would rather not
have to navigate in the dark.
Little did we know that an
earlier miss at a ram would be such
a blessing two years later! After the
Boone and Crockett drying time, the
ram officially scored 195 2/8 net and
grossed 197. The ram is the new Utah
State Record Rocky Mountain Bighorn
and the Gold medal award winner at
FNAWS.
We would like to thank the
Ute Ouray Reservation for making
this all possible, and for their
continuing effort into maintaining
and improving their sheep program.
Also, special thanks to Roland
McCook and Jeremy "Kid?
Small for all their hard work and
friendship. Finally, congratulations
to Daniel Smith IV on a truly
awesome sheep! The Smith's are
always a pleasure to hunt with; they
are truly an extraordinary family of
conversationalists and sportsmen!
October/November
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