I conclude from the one herd outpacing me that I need to side hill and intercept the animals as they march down into the wind. Soon I smell and hear sheep, I get busted by 3 rams as my plan proves to be semi effective, if I would only SLOW DOWN and let things happen. I try to circle the rams and bump other sheep on the down hill side. I am running into small groups but they are seeing me first. Some are now bedded looking down wind/uphill, smart for sheep bad for me, dang. I tell myself to slow again and again the terrain is changing to mixed rocky outcroppings and grass knolls and bowls with less brush.
I hear sheep and finally I am seeing them first. I slow to elk herd speed three steps and glass, I see lambs and ewes but not the rams I want. I start to think the rams are in bachelor town and I am in eweville. As I move into position to glass further ahead I see movement in my right peripheral vision, a black bodied animal works down the crest of a knoll, side hill and side wind from me. That isn’t a sheep it’s, uh it’s a solo pig. She works down the crest and drops 30 yards away into a small depression; I dash into position down wind, into a nook on the uphill side of her. I slowly peek over the hill she should be just … She is feeding facing back uphill 12 yards away. She looks up and freezes, dang she sees me… I freeze also… I must look like one of the nearby logs because she quickly goes back to feeding. I crouch down check my arrow and rise again, she is rooting still facing me but then slowly she stops and turns to the side, a slight quartering toward shot but mostly broadside, the arrow zips and I see it enter a little high behind her shoulder, she runs and it is hanging by the fletching on the off side for a second then it drops to the grass. Her dash turns up hill for a second then she swings back down and drops over the hill out of site….I go to the arrow it is covered in blood the fletching is soaked, I hit her hard but I see no blood on the grass. I stick the arrow into a log next to where I last saw her. I see Pats truck 1500 yards below and across the hill near a barn where we planned to rendezvous. I turn on my radio and call Pat, I tell him I have a pig down, he says great and that’s when I notice sheep starting to move everywhere. I see rams and ewes together and I can probably see 50 animals spread in groups throughout the open hillside. I see some rams side hill away from the direction where the pig seemed to go so I decide to give the pig a few more minutes to pass. Then with the foolishness only an optimistic hunter can have I decide to try to get close to a ram as I wait. I cross the hill running in the shallow dips and see a herd of eight or so 60 yards up hill to the NW. I bee line for them moving crouched, the rise of the hill and an old fallen tree lets me move into range undetected, I nock another arrow and draw as I crest. 5 sheep stand confused but looking at me, one is a nice ram, my arrow is away, it hits a little high and sticks into his spine, he drops like a sack of potatoes. I run up and send another arrow into his heart lung vitals. I watch as he passes. As always it is hard to see life drain away, his eyes are beautifully lit but I am watching them dim, I wish I could make it go more easily. I stop and kneel next to him when he fades and stroke his thick dread locks he is beautiful, I am stunned.
I come around and remember my pig. The ram is in the open and easy to find, uphill from a small ranch side road. I call Pat on the radio I tell him I have a ram; he says “you have a sheep or a pig which one?” I say “Both, I’m going to go find my Pig” I mark the sheep and walk back towards my arrow in the log, it is probably 150 yards from my sheep, 25 steps from reaching the arrow I see my pig lying dead, she only went 30 yards from where the arrow was, maybe 50 total from impact. I call Pat back and tell him to come out and get me. He says “where are you?” oh yeah he can’t see me I’m camouflaged and the truck is facing the other direction. I tell him to turn around and I wave a blaze orange vest that I keep in my hunting pack. He says he will come out and help me find my animals. Laughing, I tell him no need to search I have both located already; you think he was just a little surprised! The gun hunter has shot a huge ram; they tell me they spotted some rams from the truck then made a small sneak to 60 yards. The ram they took was smaller then one the gunner missed a chance on, albeit his dead animal dwarfs mine. The gunner is a nice guy he seems happier for me then himself. I suspect he had little faith in my bow when we were heading out, plus I only spent 30 minutes riding with our “guide” that morning. I’ll bet you he told my story to his wife as the climax that night. We dragged the animals together for photos they are badly backlit.
I realized after all was done I need to take more pictures, especially ones that help tell the story. Hope you enjoyed the read.
Topic: Goats and Sheep and Pigs Hawaii oh my (full story) (Read 1655 times)
