Western Hunting Journal, Premiere Issue whj001_premiere | Page 54
The author with his California
bighorn sheep.
equipment or your knowledge
of the area you’re going to hunt,
the calendar becomes a tick-
ing clock and the second hand
ticks louder and faster as open-
ing day approaches.
In my case, I felt like I was
behind the proverbial 8 Ball as
soon as I learned I was drawn.
I was in decent physical shape,
but not in the condition one
needs to be in to hunt bighorn
sheep in the steep, rocky can-
yons where they live. I immedi-
ately met with a trainer at my
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WESTERN HUNTING JOURNAL
gym and he created a program
that focused on strengthening
my legs and core. Along with
lifting weights, I started run-
ning more regularly and climb-
ing stairs with a weighted back-
pack. A casual shooter at best, I
started going to the range more
often. It was imperative that I
was comfortable with my rifle
and scope.
After doing a lot of research
I found out that I was woefully
unprepared in the equipment
department. That changed al-
most overnight. I purchased
a new rifle (Kimber Hunter
in a 6.5 Creedmoor), added a
new scope (SigSauer Whiskey
5 3x15x50), new binoculars
(SigSauer Zulu9 11x45), a new
spotting scope (Leupold, Kenai
2 25x60x80) and a new range-
finder (SigSauer Kilo 2200MR).
And stocked up on ammunition
(Hornady Precision Hunter 143
grain ELD-X).
While being able to climb
mountains, shoot well, and hav-
ing the necessary equipment, it
all means nothing if you don’t
know where to hunt. Scouting
is paramount to success. This
is where Kevin Madison proved
to be my most valuable asset.
Kevin, WHJ’s Shooting Editor,
is a veteran of five bighorn
sheep hunts including his own.
I was coincidentally drawn for
the same unit that Kevin drew
three years prior. And even
more of a coincidence, Doug
Moncrief was drawn for the
same unit in 2016. Doug is the
father of Travis Moncrief, WHJ’s