Sorry for teasing. About my shooting equipment, I got a very nice Brackenbury Drifter from Fletcher several years ago (thanks again Rick, I love that bow), with 51# and 61# limbs. I almost always use the 61# limbs, but about a month before my hunt I somehow hurt my shoulder and couldn't even draw the bow. I gave it a 2 week rest, saw my doctor and got some anti-inflamatory meds and put on the 51# limbs. They shot the Goldtip carbon arrows and 125 grain Woodsmans well - I should have stuck with them, but several days before I left for Colorado, I switched back to the heavier limbs, heavier arrows and 160 grain Woodsmans (with adapters). I am not a very good shot, needing a lot of practice - I usually carry a judo-tipped arrow in the quiver to stump shoot but in the high country there are nothing but rocksa to shoot at. I took along a Block-type target and shot it a little when I would come out to the truck, but ultimately this lack of practice would cost me in my one good shot opportunity.....
One more thing about my decision to hunt a basin and try to ambush a sheep, instead of the more traditional sheep hunting methods. This probably wouldn't work for rams, and if I was in better shape, I would have walked more. But I got this idea when on the sheep count with Janet George when she pointed out some old "rock sheep fences/walls and blinds" and explained how they would push the sheep into these funnels for a kill.......
Steve O has a photo of an indian rock blind in his sheep hunting thread. I was fascinated the more I learned about these structures (Janet sent several research papers on the subject), where they built a system of stone fences/walls to force the sheep to bottlenecks, and killed as many as possible. Check out this stone wall, which comes to a point in a saddle between 2 mountains....
I spent several hours on 2 different days examining these areas. At one point where the stone wall came to a point in the saddle, there were 3 clearly seen rock blinds uphill of the point, and one located right at the point. This is a typical rock blind....
It was situated where the animals would crest the saddle only 20-30 yards away, and would hopefully be surprised by the natives with either bows or atlatls. My imagination worked overtime, thinking of the group hunts that had transpired here over the centuries - wish I could go back in time. It appeared that there were numerous modifications and additions to the main walls/fences.
This one was unusual in that wood was used for both the wall and the blind - so it was used not that long ago....
Anyway, my thinking was that killing a sheep with my bow near these old rock fences, using an ambush, would be fun. Yes, I know, I'm weird, but that is what I was thinking. I guess going all out in primitive archery, with a wood selfbow, cane arrows, flint head, etc. would have more meaning here - maybe some day.....
Hunt stories tomorrow, I promise......
Topic: Join me for a bighorn ewe bowhunt (pics) (Read 9330 times)
