By Joe Ferronato
“There is no half way. After his first exposure, a man is either a sheep hunter or he isn’t. He either falls under the spell of sheep hunting and sheep country or he won’t be caught dead on another sheep mountain,” Jack O’Connor, The Bighorn.
A grizzly bear erupted from the alders, knocking the hunting party back and to the ground. It stood, sniffing the air, attempting to see what interrupted its morning feed. Mere feet away with determination to survive, the hunting party stood to confront the beast. No shots were fired, and no one was injured in the close call. Another time, trekking across a glacier and scaling mountain peaks with cane in hand due to knee surgery, and with a guide not well equipped for human interaction, a cold, lonely, and remote death could’ve easily been the outcome, but perseverance led to a trophy and a plane ride home.
Stories of adventure, travel, grit, danger, near misses, impossible shots, and injury are what those sheep mounts told me. As a starry-eyed boy, I often found myself staring at the sheep hanging on my grandpa’s wall. I could not only hear, but I could see the adventures unfold in my young mind. Those stories echoed through my subconscious daily but came to life looking at the mounts. When visiting, I’d sneak into my grandpa’s office to sit and dream of adventures I’d hope to one day call my own. If I was nowhere to be found, I was likely staring up at those phenomenal animals.
My grandpa was stricken with sheep fever and accomplished what few have ever done. He was the 525th person to complete the Grand Slam of North American sheep. I’m sure most of you know of this pinnacle achievement, but for those that don’t: The Grand Slam is successfully killing the two thinhorn sheep, the Dall and Stone’s, and their more southern cousins, the Rocky Mountain bighorn and the desert bighorn.
I’d love to delve into the entirety of my grandfather’s accomplishment, but I’d need to write a book—maybe I will, once he completes the World Slam, which he requires only two more sheep to achieve.
The same fever that has afflicted my grandpa well into his 80s, is a burden I now carry. The thought of accomplishing what he did drives me to set aside what money I have for draws in various states and negate my boy’s college fund to put a deposit on a hunt in the far north. I haven’t done that yet, as my wife still believes in the institution of college—I’m working on changing her mind.
To this day, Grand Slam Club Ovis has only 2269 hunters recorded for achieving the Grand Slam. I’ll be on that list, it’s just figuring out the “how” that is holding me back. With luck, putting in for the draws each year will land me with an opportunity for a Rocky Mountain bighorn; I’m biding my time for the day I get the “successful” draw report—this is the only form of gambling I partake in. It will happen one of these years, but figuring out the other three will be a true struggle.
Back in the day, when sheep numbers were higher, hunts were more obtainable. Sure, I have an opportunity to draw a desert tag, but that will be a long time in the making, and buying a Mexico hunt will likely be the best opportunity. But now, as demand for these hunts has risen above the supply, options are dwindling. If one were to purchase a Dall hunt, $30,000 to $50,000 is the price tag you can expect. Desert sheep hunts cost roughly $60,000 to $100,000, and Stone’s are going for more than $100,000—damn, I wish my boy’s college fund was bigger, maybe I need to choose a more lucrative career.
Though those prices are well out of reach, I’m sure I can find a way to achieve my dream and cure the affliction I proudly carry. A big part is played by conservation groups like the Wild Sheep Foundation. The goal of the organization is to ensure sheep thrive for generations to come, obviously. Beyond keeping sheep on the mountain, the organization also strives to make more sheep hunters. The <1 Club, an affiliate of the Foundation, affords an opportunity for those who have never killed a sheep, winning in this drawing means that you can go on your first sheep hunt. There are also plenty of other drawings throughout the Sheep Show, many friends of mine have become sheep hunters by winning these raffles.
This year at the show, I had high hopes. I didn’t draw a tag, but a friend did—I hate that guy … I’ll be attending the show every year for the foreseeable future to have the best odds, and I appreciate it if none of you assholes showed up. But I guess the Foundation needs support, so go ahead and come next year.
“An outsider who wants to try his luck in sheep country needs either a lot of time or a lot of money,” Jack O’Connor, The Art of Sheep Hunting. Thanks, Jack, at least I have one of those things right now. If you need me, I’ll be watching the stories of my grandpa’s sheep hunts unfold until I can write my own story.
