"Day We Got Our Stone Sheep" Aug 8th 2008 Part 1

Up at 5:45 and had last of the porridge and biscuits.  Started up at 7 and made it to the top in 45 min.  Hid in rock blind and at 9 a Ram came towards us.  It might have been legal but we watched it go by.  Shortly after Bryan saw a Big Ram heading away from us up left of the Limestone Mountain and it bedded down.  Bryan decided to stock up on him.  He was over 3 km away and 5 to 600 ft above us.
With the Midland Radios Vikki kept Bryan aware of the Ram.  At 11 (after the 1 1/2 hr stock) Vikki could see them of them close.   
Bryan was on the bench 35 yards at a 45 degree angle above the resting Ram.   It would sleep for 5 minutes then put it's head up.  Bryan would duck.  When it's horn went down Bryan would peak out again.  They are extremely aware of their surroundings.  He counted the annuli growth rings over and over again.  He watched the Ram for 20 minutes.  Deciding he was going to take this Ram Bryan got up on his elbows and aimed the .30 06 Ruger with Leupold scope.  The next time the Ram looked up Bryan didn't duck.  The second it stood up and looked around down the hill, Bryan knew it was going to run. Bryan shot and then immediately stood up and watched the Ram run over the hill 75 yards and disappear out of sight.  Vikki was watching all this through the Swarovski 20-60 80mm HD Spotting Scope.  The Ram looked at Bryan and ran off and then she heard a low shot.  She's figured Bryan had taken a running shot and she thought.... "You Wait Until It's Up and Running and Then You Shoot".   Vikki watched the Ram heading over the bank and down.... then it crumbled 100 yards down the shale slope.  Well, on the Midland Radios Vikki called "He's Down.... You Got Him!!!! Good shooting!!!..."But why did you wait til he was running away from you to shoot.  Bryan had to explain to her that he'd shot as the Ram was looking at him.  It took that long for the sound to reach Vikki. Sound travels at 700 miles an hour .... we were 3 km or 2 miles apart.

This is looking back at the 3 km walk from the bottom of the Mountain where Bryan was dragging down the Stone Sheep.  It looks like that is grass but the bushes are 4 feet high. Vikki had packed the two pack boards, and her gun and Hannah had her pack also.  

Bryan had gutted it at the top of the hill and then dragged it down the 45 degree slope ( 1/2 km at least to the bottom)  Treacherous ground covered with rock and big boulders in between...a talace slope

He was a real Beauty..  Now the real work begins.