by Joe A. Guernsey
After receiving a phone call early this Spring from Mr.Rickey of Hunts Bowhunting Ranch, I had finally come to the realization that my search for a giant, pure bred mouflon was coming closer than ever to a dramatic end.
I scheduled my trip to the ranch in DeKalb, Texas, the week of Thanksgiving (the only time I could get away from my archery pro-shop). Upon hearing the news that I was coming to Texas, my relatives were gracious enough to house me for a few days before my hunt. After arriving at the ranch two days later, my daughter and I were greeted by Mr.Rickey and his two sons, Eli and Zach. I knew from that moment that I was in good hands. After settling into the bunk house, Mr.Rickey asked me if I would like to hunt the remainder of that day.After a quick check of my bow, we were off in the truck to get familiar with the ranch and also to see if we could spot the huge mouflon that we talked about on the phone and was said to call the ranch home.
We did get a quick glimpse of him the first afternoon and decided to try a ground blind set to see if we could intercept him that evening. As darkness fell, “the” mouflon, the one we were specifically after, was unfortunately a ‘no show’.
The next morning we had the same game plan: set up in a ground blind, overlooking a green patch, in hopes that he would come in and graze at first light. Time went on in the morning’s hunt with no sign of the big ram. At 9:30am my daughter turned to me and said, “Dad, he didn’t show for his appointment. You better call Mr. Rickey and ty to change tactics.”
I made a quick call and our host came to the blind to see what my plan was going to be. I suggested a spot and stalk hunt. After a few friendly chuckles he explained to me that this would be one of the most difficult things to attempt on a true wild sheep. I assured him that if we could get within 100 yards I could make the shot. He seemed taken aback by my statement, but I explained that being a competitive shooter for many years and a former two-time state champion archer, I was completely confident at “longer-than-average” shot distances. We drove around for a bit and my daughter actually spotted the huge mouflon ram. He was bedded down in shady spot some two hundred yards from us. At first it looked as if this might just be easy. The stalk was on.
I belly crawled the first 150 yds to a small deprssion in the terrain. I thought to myself, “Ok, we are within 50 yds.”
This was going to be too easy…or so I thought.
I quickly found out how sharp eyed and weary mouflon are. I had just begun to rise and he was off. No hesitation, no look back. After several more attempts, to no avail, I told Mr.Rickey it was time for a break.
An hour had passed and we started again. This time we caught him headed to the green patch for a little afernoon browse. Using the trees and a small washed out creek for cover, I had soon closed the distance to 114 yards. The only thing between the mouflon and I was a small patch of grass that was about 2 feet high. I belly crawled at a snail’s pace and was finally lying behind a patch of tall grass. I peered through and he was still there, unaware that I had made my final approach. I ranged him three times to confirm the number…71yds.
As he continued to feed, I removed my quiver, knocked an arrow and gave one last glance. In one motion I stood and came to full draw. I settled the 70 yd pin on him and at the last second before my release, he spotted me. With years and years of practice at this range, I knew that this shot could be made. I settled the pin just to the left side of his mane and started the shot sequence. I continued aiming and pulling through the shot. In an instant the arrow was gone.
I could tell from the moment that the arrow left the string that the shot felt great and a split second later I knew that it had found its mark. The ram jumped straght in the air and made a 20 yard dash. At that point I threw the binoculars up and confirmed that the shot had indeed been on the mark. After another twenty yards, he was down. Within only minutes I was greeted by my daughter and Mr.Rickey who had both watched the entire hunt unfold from a distance!
As he walked up, Mr. Rickey exclaimed that “that was the most incredible thing I have ever seen accomplished with a bow…and the shot was amazing!”
My quest for a world class European mouflon had come to fruition. Thanks again Mr. Rickey Of Hunt’s Bowhunting Ranch for making my daughter and I feel so welcome. We look forward to seeing you again. — Joe A. Guernsey (Klein’s Archery & Outdoor Store Inc.)
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