Cameron Hanes - Keep Hammering Collective - KHC 212 - B.C. Stone Sheep Hunt Recap

Episode Date: August 31, 2026

Join Cam and James for a conversation about Cam’s recent Stone Sheep Hunt in British Columbia. They’ll cover troubles in traveling, the kill shot, hardships of hunting the mountains for 15 days and how it’s changed their faith, and more!  Follow along: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronrhanes Twitter: https://twitter.com/cameronhanes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camhanes/ Website: https://www.cameronhanes.com Timestamps: 00:00:00 – A Rough Start to the Hunt: Travel & Hiking 00:13:41 – Week 1: 10 Sheep, Mosquitos from Hell, &  00:21:22 – Day 7: 32 Yards from a 9 Year Old Ram 00:27:14 – The Colosseum: Back to Square One 00:35:54 – Kurt’s Faith & Certainty 00:39:38 – Day 15: The 59 Yard Kill Shot 00:45:55 – Sacrifice, Precision Planning, & Unknown Problems During Hunting 00:53:37 – The Old Man and the Sea 00:58:06 – Fred Bear Country & the Fellowship of the Hunt 01:59:03 – More Than Just a Hunt & Getting Baptized 01:06:04 – James’ Predictions on the Hunt 01:11:11 – Messages From Home 01:13:34 – Championing Hunt Stories for Future Generations 01:14:55 – Comparing Worth vs Success 01:18:22 – Remembering Roy Roth 01:22:59 – James’s Effort and Dedication to his Work & Fitness 01:27:19 – Final Thoughts & Shoutout to Reg Collingwood Thank you to our sponsors: Black Rifle Coffee: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ Use code KEEPHAMMERING for 10% your order Montana Knife Company: https://www.montanaknifecompany.com/ Use code CAM for 10% off  LMNT: Visit https://drinklmnt.com/cam for a free sample pack with any purchase Sig Sauer: https://www.sigsauer.com/ use code CAM10 for 10% off optics MTN OPS Supplements: https://mtnops.com/ Use code CAM for 20% off & Free Shipping ALP: https://alppouch.com/ use code CAM for 10% off your first order

Every step I take, I move my truth. Every time they tell me stop I use. Every comment hate that makes my fuel gather up my energy and boom. I hear them talking, saying the way that I move it's so reckless. That is a part of my mind I've been blessed with. Giving my blood so I am relentless. So this is the northern BC stone sheep, archery stone sheep recap. The much anticipated.

How about that? Yeah, that's good. So that's where we're at. Here's what I found out. Huntingstone sheep with the bow turns out it's pretty hard. Not quite as easy as we thought it was going to be. Oh my goodness.

Yeah. I mean, and props to Kurt. Kurt McGee, the most positive, just nicest, which I guess he has a always been but as far as what we know he's his nicest most positive but a little delusional i will say because how it started off which is fine i like to be delusional too and uh it's it's better to be delusional than like a pessimistic dumbfok yeah but he did set me up for failure

because he said stone sheep day one rocky mountain goat day two wolf day three And so I'm like, this place must be freaking tits. It's like the normal, must be like the normal high fence places I go. Hunting in a zoo. So just kidding. I don't hunt high fence. So that was a joke. I know the people that some people listen to this aren't really hunters or don't really get the hunting lingo.

And they might think that, oh, you kill all these big bowls or all the stuff because it's a high fence place or some people maybe not even heard of it. doesn't matter. I would never hunt. I would never kill an elk or any of this stuff in a high fence. Fair chase, wild big game is all I ever hunt. That said, this sheep hunt was the next level of wild fair chase. How about that? Yeah. I mean, I don't think there was a fence within 100 miles. And I'm talking about not a high fence. I'm talking about a any fence, a shitty old trap fence from 1800s. Probably more than a hunt.

I mean, unless it was like one of the hunting camps that had horses. Yeah, like a horse, like a, yeah, like a corral.

Electric fence or a corral. Yeah. But other than that, no, there's not shit out there. This wild, rough country. Yeah.

And lots of it. I mean, standing up on one of those peaks and looking out at the expanse was like, yeah. I mean, the amount of country

back there is ridiculous. And also you'd think like if you could see mountain after mountain after mountain, you'd be like, man, we should build a glass sheep on all these. Is that what it was? Is that what happened? It is tough to find sheep. Yeah. I mean, so yeah, it's a lot of country, a lot of big country.

And there are sheep, but man, you got to work. Yeah. Dude, you got to work so hard. And like it was, it was probably three or four times harder than I thought it was going to be. And I thought it was going to be hard. Yeah. But it was brutal. It was brutal.

So it was like such a wake up call. Well, to start it off like first, even to get out. So it was like flying to Smithers, you know. Three flights. Yeah. I mean, that was lost my bow, but whatever. took two bows just in case. Then a long-ass drive.

I don't want to say how far because people are going to get their pro-tractor out to hear where we are. Long-ass drive to get to another bush plane, which we got weather in for opening day, so it was delayed. And this is not delayed like flight, 2644 is delayed?

No, this is just like you look outside. It's pouring rain and the float plane's not going anywhere. I mean, it was more than that, because it was like we took off. And then we hit that wall of clouds and we were like, yeah, not happening. Turn around. Came back, hung out and waited till the next day. And finally we got out full in anticipation.

If you're lacing up boots before sunrise, loading up a pack, stepping into the garage gym, or logging miles while the world's still quiet, you don't need soft fuel. You need something built for a rebellion. discipline kind. Black Rifle Coffee didn't discover grit in 2026. They were founded on it. Built by veterans who understand early mornings, quiet courage, and doing hard reps, nobody applauds. The ready to drink cold brew is made for motion. Just black. Clean, direct, no nonsense. Vanilla, smooth, bold, still all business. Throw it in your truck, your range bag, your pack. It's ready when you are. And when the season demands more, grab Grapex or Wild Frost from Black Rifle Energy,

zero sugar, 200 milligrams of caffeine, no crash, no compromise. This isn't about trends, it's about renewal. Raising your bar. New season, sharper edge. Find Black Rifle Coffee at Walmart, Target, Kroger, your local Black Rifle Coffee shop or online at Black Rifle Coffee.com. And use code, keep hammering for 10% off. your purchase. Fuel the rebellion and keep hammering. When you're deep in the back country and everything

depends on your gear, your knife can't be the weak link. That's why I teamed up with Montana Knife Company to build the keep hammering packout. What matters to me in all things is performance. The packout is built to do one thing really well, break down animals efficiently. The blade shape gives you control and skinning, the steel holds an edge and it's light enough that you don't think twice about carrying it all day. When you're tired, cold, and working on an animal miles from the truck, simple and reliable are everything. Montana Knife Company is American-made, and that matters to me. I know Josh Smith personally, and he doesn't cut corners. He cares about quality, doing things right way, and about building products here in the USA that actually perform in the field.

That's why I trust this knife. If you want to check it out, head to montananife company.com. Right now, podcast listeners, get 10% off any knife with code CAM 10. C-A-M-10. To keep hammering pack out. Built for the backcountry, built to work. Oh, but before that, it turned out, and this is what was interesting. There was a bunch of things about this hunt along the way like this. But you had told a story before this happened about it was the, it's the old Chinese proverb of the man.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? The blessing. The blessing. Blessing or curse. Yeah. I can't call it. Yeah.

And so we had to turn around. Our flight came back in. We couldn't go in and it turned out to be a blessing. Yeah. Because Kurt, his throat swelled shut in camp and he had to rush to the emergency room. He could not swallow. She had to put his head back and could not swallow and his throat was getting smaller or like inside his throat, like where his tonsils are, was, I don't know what was going to happen. So basically it was going to be, if we would have got out on sketch,

schedule if that weather would have been there, we would have been packed in in the middle of nowhere and the plane couldn't come because then the weather came with his throat. So I'm like, I had accepted the fact that I would have had to do a tracheotomy. Yeah. And I don't know shit about anything. Shit about Shinaola. So but that's what it was going to be because if he couldn't breathe or swallow and that airway gets you got to open the airway somehow anyway took him west took him to two in the morning to this little medical facility and they're able to lance whatever he was in there and he was fine yeah i remember he was sitting on his cot and he's like oh we got a problem and then he's like could someone look in here and i went over there to look turned on my flashlight and i was

expecting just like something kind of red and irritated in the back of his throat yeah it was bad And I tried not to react so I didn't freak him out, but like there was only a tiny little hole in the back of his throat for air to go by. Yeah. It was like not looking good. Yeah, you might want to go to the emergency room. So that was, so the Chinese proverb is, I told the story about like all these horses ran down to this Chinese, or farm in China, I guess. and I think the villagers or somebody there at the farm said, oh, man, look at these horses.

You got free horses. What a blessing. The Chinese farmer said, maybe. Maybe it's a blessing. Maybe it's cursed. Don't know. Then his son is riding on the horse, falls off the horse, breaks his leg. And then somebody says, man, these horses are a curse.

Your son broke his leg. And, you know, isn't that terrible? And he's like, well, I don't know. Maybe blessing, maybe cursed, don't know. Then the army came. They needed, they wanted his son to go fighting the war, but he had a broken leg. So it turned out the broken leg was actually a blessing because he didn't have to go off to war. So it's how you look at these things.

Like in the moment, you don't know. Is this a blessing or a curse? So we wanted to get out. We couldn't get out. It was a blessing because it would have been very bad for Kurt. And for us to try to deal with that and for trying to take care of them, I don't know what would happen. But so it turned out it was a blessing.

Yep. Then we finally did get out. out and the pack in was not a blessing. Quick little 5K. Oh, yeah. So that was another, I think Kurt told us it's going to be three miles. Right. We had to have a discussion, a little powwow, a family powwow to all get on the same page of how we are measuring distances.

Yeah. Is it as a crow flies or is it actual on the boot or boots on the ground walking? Because maybe as a crow flies, it was it was still wrong but it was closer right it was probably like six miles as a but walking the way we walked i don't even know how many was i think we had 10 at the end of the day so maybe nine and we were soaked and beat to shit how was that walking and your heel was had a hole in it already yeah so we get there and first of all every step you take in this country is like there's not one single footstep that's like that is solid money no no like

every step you take here like in town there's not one like that no it's like slipping tundra like soaking up all your strength and and step high stepping or tearing through brush brush just ripping at your packs and your my bow and just tearing it stuff the entire way because there's no trail. So for 10 miles, where it's just resistance and friction the whole time. And also then we had,

I don't know, 17, how, 14 creek crossings. Yeah, but 70 pounds probably. I mean, Kurt probably had 100 and some. We had 70, maybe, I don't know about 80, but anyway, for 10 miles

going up, packing your whole camp, yeah, felt that. I bet realistically, my pack was somewhere in the 60s poundage wise. Yeah. I mean, maybe low, like 61 or 60, usually you're like, oh, my pack was 100 pounds.

Yeah. You weigh it and it's like 30. Right. Oh. But it was rough. And yeah, I opened up the back of my right heel in the first two miles maybe. Yeah. Yeah, it was bad. It was rough. And, yeah, so, but we were excited.

Yeah. So we got up there, you know, know, fell in the creek a million times because that the, the rocks get, I don't even know what the, what the product they put on those rocks to make, it says slippery. But God, we would ask over tea kettle a number of times. Kurt caught you by your underwear. It ripped me across the creek. Yeah. So yeah, just a disclaimer. Kurt is like a monster. of a human. I don't know. I think he, I told him, I said, if you ever lifted weights, you maybe could have been an Olympic weight lifter. Yeah. Because he is so strong. Yeah, he's just a beast. And just a freak. Yeah. And just, yeah, it's just so tough. But so that's the, the kind of the side story. We get up there

and here's the first week. We ran every ridge, every finger, every rim rock, every, everywhere, every inch looking for sheep, saw 10 sheep in a week covered 50-some miles, all with weight, and there's only two young Rams. And we saw those 10 sheep a couple different times. About five times, miles apart. Yeah. Yeah.

So they were, our, the theory was, and I don't, I'm trusting Kurt on this, but is it. that there was no older Rams in there to kind of set the tone or like show this like where they're supposed to be feeding. It's one one key aspect to why you need old, old animals back there. And in old Rams, I think just kind of set the tone and just like a sense of structure it feels like for those, you know, eight, nine, 10 year old Rams. And without that it seemed like the, uh, they were kind of lost.

the sheep. But anyway, the point is, we covered a lot of country, had pretty much every mosquito in the universe on this range with us. So we were able to share a lot of time with them. Yeah, here's the thing. You're grinding. So, okay, if the hiking isn't bad enough, you know, you're going to sit down and take a break.

You can't because you sit down and you are pummeled by thousands, tens of thousands of mosquitoes. Yeah. It was heinous. It was so bad. At first, like, when we were hiking up, I was like, I think I'm going to go crazy. Yeah. I mean, relentless.

It's tough. I know you said you've had one hunt where they've been worse, but for me, that was as bad as I've ever seen them. That was, me and Roy did a float trip up above, like, kind of Prudo Bay way the hell up there on the hall road. But we did a 40-mile float for Caribou. and dude worst mosquitoes I mean they were terrible

where we were just in BC but it was I know I told you this I said I know you probably won't believe this but I've seen it worse

and it's it's maddening but where you got to like dive in your tent underneath as fast as you can and close it um yeah

those things are just they will yeah they're obsessed yeah um but yeah So like you said, we spent that first week.

I think, like you said, covered 50 miles, if not more. And it was frustrating. Yeah. It was really hard to stay optimistic. And that's, I mean, Kurt, of course, never wavered in that. No. First week was just like, yeah, it's going to happen. We're going to find them.

And we looked, it seemed like in that range, you know, we won't be able to show this. But we get back to the lake and it was like, look up and we had stood on top of every single point and then some that you couldn't even see and it was like we looked at it all we covered that entire range yeah and um so but that's you know i have talked to people about stone sheep hunting since we've been back and i told them you know we were there three weeks and it took me 15 days to get a shot and a lot of them said that's not too bad so i mean and kurt was kind of saying that that first week where we weren't seeing the shooter he was just like hey this is just kind of a normal stone sheep hunt i mean there are there are hunts where um and we weren't on one like

this but where you'll see more rams and they'll be like three different bands of rams maybe on one stretch like we hunted that entire week and you could pick through them and they might be like 140 inch, maybe 150 inch, kind of a class down from, we were wanting something very special, old, big ram. And if a lot of times if you're going after a ram like that, they will be off away from like the big numbers kind of doing their own thing. Those old rams, they know how to stay alive. And so they're kind of loners.

And so we knew that we weren't going to see the big numbers, but maybe we could find a diamond in the rough. Yeah. And we rolled the dice there. It was, I mean, we could easily found like a 12 or 13, not easily found, but potentially found a 12 or 13 new a ram and maybe it would have been close to world. Who knows? Right.

I mean, that's like the dream is like, you don't know what you're going to find. You're taking a shot. And we gave it our best. And there wasn't one there. No. So we were like, well, let's head over the next range over. And so that's what we did. and kind of retooled, packed all, that packing out was, you'd think it would be easier.

But when we were going to go to the next range, we had to pack our whole camp all the way out and down. And you'd think downhill, oh, this is going to be nice. Brutal. Yeah. And for those of you that don't know, it turns out hiking a bunch of miles every day with weight still, actually isn't good for healing a blister. What? In fact, it actually might open up one on your other foot.

So, yeah, that was, I deserve two purple hearts for that. But yeah, so we decided to move. You're a damn hero. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, so we decided to head over to the next range over. And that was, we're still on the lake. But we could not pack up to where, I think it was foggy and cloudy and rainy that first.

So we set up the tent, set up the stove, and thought we thought we were going to have to wait it out until Wednesday. Do you remember that? It was going to be like four days before we got weather. And we're going to be like, we're going to be stuck here until Wednesday. And this was, I don't know what this was Saturday or something. Saturday night. Yeah. But turns out like I think right, maybe it was, I mean, you saw the ram. Right when we got there, there was a small little break in the clock. Yeah. And I decided to sit down and just look and, and, Yeah, look through the spotting scope and you're like, I see sheep. And like, we hadn't seen a big ram for a week. Right? We've been looking and first time you sat down. I mean, obviously he's way up there from the lake. But we had a target.

Yeah. Yeah, I remember you were like, no, you don't. That was sick, dude. And then we got some good phone scope of them too. Yeah. And the spirits, the energy just changed so quick. It was like everybody was fresh again and we were just ready to go. I know.

But, and then the weather ended up breaking. So I think we, did we go up the next morning? No, we waited one full day. One day. Yeah, so we waited all of Sunday. Okay. And then the weather broke Monday. Monday we went out.

Yeah, so we just wanted to get up there. And even if we got wet going up, we wanted to get camp set up up there to we're on, we're on the, up on the sheet mountain because it's, it's hours to get from the lake. Well, what we'd say is anytime we were going to go anywhere, Like if you just looked like across a little thing and said, oh, I want to get to that ridge, three hours. And it might look like it's 400 yards away. It's going to take you three hours. This country is huge and rugged and unforgiving.

But so we took off and it took hours and hours. But we could see as we went around kind of trying to get the wind right, trying to see what the sheep were doing. But we could see those Rams the whole time. And so we were pumped. We ended up circling all the way around, all the way of the backside, and came up on top. And then that first pack up, which hardly ever happens because it's so far, we were hunting that night. Yeah. And should have had them killed.

Yeah. I mean, we got caught in a rainstorm right there, pitched a tent quickly. But then that storm broke. And that was kind of the story the whole time is the afternoon, a weather system would move in. Yeah. And the temperature would drop by 15 degrees and you'd get soaked. Right when everything was getting dry, you'd get soaked. Yeah.

And we had that break and we decided to try and take advantage of it. Yeah. Had a small little chance. Oh, man. I was like, we're sitting there watching the Rams and, you know, Kurt, we kind of waited and Kurt was sneaking around and he's like, oh, he saw him. And so then I went and I was like, okay, let me check out what it looks like. I looked and I said, I said, dude, I said, I said, I can.

can be down almost in bow range in five minutes. Yeah. I said, I can use this contour, this country right here, and I can be right there, right where they're going to come out in five minutes. And so you went up with Kurt to film up from up high with the spotting scope. Wes went with me, Wes Yoder. I don't think they introduced him on this, but he's a friend from Colorado that we've hunted together and killed bowls and stuff in Colorado.

So he was also running a camera. So he went with me down there. And I was just like smiling. We get down there and I'm just like, how this is like so sick. You know, this is day seven or eight of the hunt so far. And here comes this big ram. And like the two big Rams, one was nine to one I wanted or the only one I was going to hunt. And the other one was eight.

So I wasn't going to hunt the eight-year-old. because the thought was that the nine-year-old, at that age, there's a chance they might not survive the winner. And so if I would kill the eight-year-old, the nine-year-old doesn't survive the winter, then again, just like that other place, there's no old ram to structure the behavior. So I'm like, okay, it's got to be the nine-year-old.

That's got to be what's good for these sheep here. Got to go after the old one only. But they were with a five-year-old too, and the five-year-old was sort of serving century up there on the rock. But I wasn't too worried about it because the old Rams got up, started heading right to me, wind was going up, it was perfect. And I kind of scurried down and West was in tow. And I got down to this little knob.

And I'm like, I could see the five-year-old. And I'm like, these giant Rams are right here, right over this knob. And so I look, try to go to the left. left and looked and I'm like no not there and I went to the right and I'm like there he was the giant nine-year-old and I range 32 yards I'm like oh my god this is a slam dunk so I come back I put my turn my my dial to 32 and I look up and that five-year-old's looking at me do this but the old Rams can't see me because I'm behind the knob the five-year-old was a little higher on the hill and I kind of like ranged but I was so focused on the old ram and I came back and I didn't really tuck in like I needed to. I don't even know. I thought I could just, I thought these sheep would give me a little more time, but not at 32 yards. Right. Not above them looking down. They don't like that. That's so close. And so by the time I got my, my dialed, dialed to 32 and got my release on, started to come to full draw.

that five-year-old stomped and was looking at me and took off and took the the big ramps. And I'm just like, I mean, being 32 yards from, you know, a giant stone sheep does not happen very often.

And it is so hard to make it happen. And I screwed it up. Yeah, I was looking, you know, through my camera and I saw you, after they busted, I saw you obviously. upset and I looked to Kurt and I said did they just bust him and he goes no I think a a whistle dog just got him and I said oh okay and then Kurt's you know in his binoes and he looks and he's like

they busted him and then Kurt does not cuss yeah but he just goes shit shit shit and then runs up he's like I got to go see where they're going yeah and I was like if Kurt's cussing which shit isn't really a cuss word but right it's not good and I was like oh man I don't think I realized how not good that was at the time because that was my first stock in this new on this new in this new country and I'm like oh this is going to be shit there's rams everywhere first stock of the whole trip got 32 yards on my first stock I can get I can get close to these animals I know how to get close to you know I've been bohunting a long time and I usually judge my bohunts on how often I'm within bow range of animals so my first one I'm like got right in in this can be not gravy but i'm like i'm i'm confident well that confident confidence went by the wayside pretty quick because yeah they those rams disappeared disappeared into nothing element was created by former research biochemist rob wolf and has enough sodium potassium and magnesium to move the needle and get you feeling and performing your best

plus it has zero sugar, artificial colors, or other dodgy ingredients to derail your low-carb lifestyle. That's why Element is my go-to electrolyte drink and trusted by many of the world's leading health experts and athletes, including Team USA weightlifting, coaches, health practitioners, and teams across professional collegiate and high school sports leagues. You're also guaranteed to find an element flavor you love. Try fan favorite citrus salt or raspberry salt, get spicy with mango chili or mixed chocolate salt into your morning coffee for a mean mocha. Element is offering listeners at the podcast a free element sample pack with any purchase at www.w. DrinkLMNT.com backslash cam. Also try new element sparkling, a bold 16 ounce can of sparkling electrolyte water.

One of the hardest parts of hunting is glassing big country to find animals you know are there. That's why I run Sig-Sour Zulu imaging stabilizing binoculars when I'm covering a lot of ground and need to see everything. These binoes are a complete game changer. After long climbs, when your heart rates up and your hands aren't steady, shaky glass makes it hard to stay locked in. With image stabilization, everything settles down. You can slow the process, really pick apart the country, and catch movement you normally miss. I've found more animals and saved a ton of time because of these binos.

I actually just talked about how impressive this technology is on the most recent episode of the Joe Rogan experience. Once you use stabilized glass, it's hard to go back. It gives you a real advantage when you're hunting big open terrain. And here's the rare part. Optics companies almost never offer discounts, but Sig is giving listeners of this podcast 10% off. Just use code cam at checkout. So if you're serious about glassing and want the same edge I've had the past couple of seasons,

head to sigsour.com. Grab a pair of Zulu Binoes and use code cam for 10% off. Sigsour Zulu binoculars. Seymour, miss less, keep hammering. Yeah. And we spent the next, was it three or four days? I don't know, covering every inch of that country, though. Right back to square one like we were in the first range,

looking for any little glimmer of hope that we would find him. Yeah. And we there, so I don't think we ever saw the five-year-old again. You took a picture of him. Oh, yeah, yeah. But we, okay, so we saw him again. But then there was two other Rams. Yeah, younger Rams.

Yeah, that linked up. And we spotted them a couple times. Yeah. So we knew we were doing something right. We were in sheep still. Yeah. But we couldn't find where the big Rams went. Yeah.

We're like, because the big Rams never knew I was there. It was only the five-year-olds. So I'm like, if they never smelled me, never saw me, how spook could they be? Right. Well, there's a reason they get old. Yeah. Because they went miles. And it took days to find them.

We looked at all this country, found these other sheep, and we're just like, where the heck are these big ramps? And we were going to split up and check like really low to see if they just dropped down. And then West is going to take a spotting scope. Right after we all split up, West had the spotting scope out and looked miles across this country and found the two big Rams. They went all the way out this ridge, all the way around, and we're in this like inaccessible like goat rock. So steep, it was like a stadium you could not approach from anywhere. They're in the middle of that. Yeah, we called it the Coliseum.

Coliseum, yeah. Which was a perfect name for it. Yeah. And I mean, the evening that he actually spotted them was a good one because you again were, what did you arrange that Younger Ram, 56 yards? Yeah. They fed right down past it. That was awesome.

Yeah, that was sick. I mean. So we got great, great footage there. Young Ram, just kind of cool interaction. We wouldn't have got that if we wouldn't have been looking for those sheep. So it just worked out. But West found them. So then, okay, so we knew where they were.

They were miles away. Now we had, you know, days to come up with the plan. How are we going to get within Bow Range? Because, again, this is, I only bow hunt. Yes, you can use a rifle. Everyone does. But I wasn't. So to get within Bow Range is a whole other set of challenges.

And we were looking. And these sheep were, They knew they were safe where they were. Nobody could get to them. There's a lot of predators here, a lot of grizzlies up on every ridge. We saw, or we didn't see the grizzlies. We saw tracks. Wolves.

It's, you know, there's a lot of predators there. So they know how to stay alive. And where they were, we were trying to get tricky, get creative. Maybe we could come around here, drop down here. Maybe we could wait for them here, ambush them here. And I think the key to all of it was, and we tried to approach one. and just too sketchy, so steep. And it was just like somebody's gonna die.

We could not get over there. And so we had to back out. And then we just decided, and again, I think, I think we talked about this on maybe Reg's podcast, but West brought it up, I think it was West that brought it up, but he said, what if our survival depended on killing that ram? And because sometimes with hunting, you just kind of, oh, I can make something happen.

And you're just kind of like you're overconfident in your ability and you're shortchanging the animal's ability to stay alive. And you're just like, oh, I can, oh, yeah, I can sneak around here, stay in the shadows, drop down, bow range, smoke them. Well, there's usually a lot of little things you're missing when you make decisions like that. So we decided if our survival depended on getting this ram killed, we're going to make sure everything is perfect. So we analyzed and analyzed and sat and watched and watched and watched for hours to see what these Rams are doing just to make sure our plan was bulletproof. We weren't

going to go in there and blow them out again because it took us four days to find them. So who knows where they'd go the next time to more nasty country and, you know, maybe we couldn't even get there. So finally, the Rams were kind of coming back to where I had spooked them. wanted to after four or five days they're kind of working back that way and then they're then we're like man they're going to be right back in our country we got to be careful when we get up in the morning so we don't just stumble out of the tent spooker yeah and uh turns out finally on day 15 uh they were probably within rifle range of the tent yeah we we opened up the the the flight or the tent door and the curtains curtains steps out there and

And there they were. No, he didn't step out. He looked out. You don't step out. Didn't he just look at the spotting scope out? No, at first he was sitting outside the tent. Oh. Yeah, because Wes was out there pissing.

Yeah. And so they're up on the hill kind of working our way. And so we hid in the tent because we're like, God, are they going to see this tent? Well, they can't see us walking around. Anyway, they started to head back to like, the safety of the Coliseum, but they stopped short. So we're like, okay, we don't think they're gonna go all the way back because that's miles back.

So we thought they'd backtrack a little bit. And once they disappeared, we went up on the ridge, slowly started easing that way. You had dry heaved. Too much fudge sludge. And yeah, God, that was nasty. So rich that freaking whatever. that meal was.

Yeah. Chocolate on chocolate, mud pie. Mud pie in your shorts. Yeah. So we get up there and I can't explain. I mean, the film will show this, but before we took off in the morning, I still can't get over this. But Kurt's faith is like so strong.

He's such, and so is West, just the strongest, most faithful, Christians and just good people. But we did a lot of praying. We did a lot of read a lot of James. John. John in the Bible. Yeah, like 10 or 11 chapters of John, didn't we? So it was incredible. But that morning before we took off, once the sheep kind of disappeared, we said a prayer or curse at a prayer. And he said something in the prayer that was different because all the other prayers, it was just like, you know, if it's your will lord um you know we pray the arrow flies true you know if it's not we hope to learn lessons that you're part on us type thing you know not just not assuming that it's all coming down to like oh if we if we're good Christians and we pray for success we'll have it right and

that's not how it works so we didn't we weren't doing that we just want we just want to do our best right we're not trying to if we're not supposed to kill didn't we're not supposed to kill But that morning, Kurt said a prayer, and he said something like, I don't want to, something like, how did he word it? He said he had thanked Jesus for this harvest. Yeah, he goes, thank you, Lord, for this harvest, for the harvest today. Yeah. It's like, it was done. It was done.

We were getting the harvest. He thanked the Lord for the harvest we were going to get. And there was no question whether we're going to get it or not. It was we're getting it. We're thanking you for it. And I was just like, that's a lot different. There's a big difference in being hopeful or being faithful or being faithful or accepting whatever may happen. and thinking for success.

Those are two completely different things. And so he thanked the Lord for the success that we were going to experience that day and thank you for providing the ram for us. Yeah. And I was just like, how is he so confident? It gives me chills thinking about because he also said he had a vision.

And it ended in you and him scooting on your butts down a grass and rock slope. for an hour in onto this ram and and and maybe this is hindsight but thinking about it it that it was different you're right it was different it was like the words he spoke with were it's not that he was confident he was sure yeah no it was certain yeah it was certain there's no doubt yeah he said and like but he said that the whole time on the hunt he said oh he goes buddy he goes it's already been written yeah this has already been written We're going to kill a ram.

He goes, it's, he goes, I have no doubt. And so he was saying stuff like that, but not praying. Yeah. And that was just kind of like, guys say that. And I'm like, wow, he's very confident. But then when he, you know, he prayed and solidified it there, I'm like, okay, this is, this is different. And then he said he had that vision about us sliding down on our butts.

And we get, so we work around, we get up there, we see the Rams, they're kind of bedded, down in the open, but there's a little bit of contour. I saw a little bit of a break. There's a little ridge. I'm like, I don't need much. That might be enough. So we drop down, wind's coming up. Very, very slow peeking over those.

The Rams have, you know, their eyesight's like eight times of power of ours. So they're basically looking through binoculars at all times. And also 360 degrees. Their eyes sit out of their heads so they can see behind them. So you, if you think you go slow, you got to go like 10 times slower. It's like not even, I can't even explain how slow you need to go. But that's what it takes if you're going to get within Bow Range of a big stone ramp. So we snuck down there like bow on my, yeah, we were sliding just like this like his vision.

And look and then, you know, I kind of went in front of him and I was just easy and easy and easing. finally i look i say i could see the base of the horns like okay so i set my bow go come up with the range finder boom 75 yards and i just turned to kurt or he like i lean back like this he leans forward i said i go 75 and he's like can you make that shot and uh i'm like man it's I mean, the wind's coming up. I haven't shot. Like, you've been up there for weeks, right? I shoot every day, but you can up there.

And I, like, look at the situation and I said, well, I said, I'd rather drop back behind this ridge. There's green grass right there. You see that green grass? I said, from right there, I said, I think I can shoot that ram. It would be 50 yards. We're in the 50s. And so that's a big difference from 75. Yeah.

And so he said, okay. If you think he can do it. He goes, can't get downwind. I said, no. And I did the wind checker. I said, the wind's screaming up. I said, I think we're good. So I back out, get all the way down.

And then I get to that green grass very slow. And I look up range 59. And I'm like, they're both bedded, kind of quartering up the hill. I could take a shot at 59. And I had a window. And I'm just like a bedded ram of 59 in the wind. I realized I made a. target out of the drop the air drop bag and I was hitting high so I'm like okay I got to hold low

because I'm hitting high at this elevation um wind's gonna push it right to left so I got to hold to the right so I'm trying to calculate all this and I'm like and do I want to try to get this little window on this bedded ram so I told I just leaned back to curtain I said I'm not shooting until he stands and uh so I sit in there 59 waiting and uh I like look at the like there was like a little tiny rock, not even, you couldn't even say it. It's like a little rise of rock, maybe five inches. But I'm like, I could use those five inches. I can lay down and scoot two more yards. I thought I could get to 57 because I was at 59. And 57 is a higher percentage shot than 59 because I always think in my head, I'm psycho about numbers. Every inch, my percentage goes up

on lethality. So I get scoot, scoot, scoot, range 57. And when I do that, I look, the plane had flown over, which I didn't even hear.

You guys told me this, but I was so focused on the ram, but the ram heard the plane, and he got up. And then he got up, and I was kind of caught, like, with my bow half up,

and he looks like this, and he sees me up on the ridge. And I'm just like, are you going to, is this going to happen again? Am I going to spook this freaking ram again after eight days from the first time? So I should have killed him on day seven. This is day 15.

Eight days to get to this point. He looks up there and I'm just frozen. I'm just like, oh God, please no, please no. And he's standing there looking at me, looking at me,

looking at me. And for some reason, he turns his head. And I draw back. And I think I'm like on one hip. I think my legs out. I'm like on one hip like this. And I'm sitting here at 57 and I hold to the right because the wind's coming up the hill.

And I hold a little low. And then he turns and he kind of quarter. Then he turns back and he kind of quarters to me because he's looking at me again. And then I'm like, I got to go right behind the shoulder. I thought I'd get this long liver guts. but right when I shot as arrow was flying he turned a little bit more and then it hit further back

came out here and freaking the faucet was turned on dude it opened him up I caught both I think both from moral arteries where they split and it was like a waterfall of blood nothing I've ever seen

and he didn't go anywhere yeah I mean in the film obviously I think we'll just let that moment speak for itself but for people listening it's uh I mean you shoot Wes is like hit him again hit him again and then you said yeah I uh and I just kind of stood up and Kurt's like get down get down and I just turn around and I'm like he's done he's done I said that's for moral I mean he wasn't going anywhere

there was no no extra shooting that needed to happen no getting down Yeah. It was over. It's a rap. I mean, whatever video or shot you've had yourself where you hit an animal and there's a lot of blood, multiply it.

I mean, this was like, it really was like turning a bath faucet on. Yeah. It was wild. It was nuts. And it was like, and then, okay, so I don't know how to explain this, but I'll try.

In that moment where I thought I was going to spook him again, and I thought about all the same, sacrifice you, Wes, Kurt, Esther, Kurt's wife, his kids, his all the dreams, all the talk we had about this, this, he's, you know, he wants to be an outfitter. He is an outfitter, but he wants to, he's got big dreams. And like, I'm sitting there with this opportunity. He's never, he's never taken an archery hunter and that got a stone. So it's like, this would be his first one. We work so hard for 15 days of just miserable sacrifice and just giving everything we have. And then the thought, the stress I had that I was going to screw that up.

And I almost did. And I was just like, it was weighing on me so I could barely function on that hunt because I'm like, this is going to come down to one shot. I'm going to get what I don't know what kind of shot it's going to be. It's going to be an 80-yard shot. Is it going to be a walking shot? I got to stop them. Is it going to be a bedded shot?

Is it going to be 40 yards in the wind? And I'm like going through all these scenarios. And so here I am with the shot. And I'm like, this is my shot on one hip at 57 yards with him looking at me. That is stressful. But I put that pin there and, you know, whatever. My arrow took him out. That's all I know.

Was it a double long? No, it wasn't. This episode is brought to you by Mountain Ops, a brand I've trusted for years to fuel my training, power me through the backcountry, and help me recover strong so I can do it all again the next day. Whether I'm deep in the mountains on a hunt or pushing hard during a workout, Mountain Ops has been a constant part of my routine. I worked closely with the team of Mountain Ops to create a full line of products that match the way I train and live every day.

We call it the keep hammering line. And it's built to help you show up strong physically and mentally, no matter. what your goals are. Need a boost before a tough workout or a long hike. The pre-workout delivers clean, sustained energy and endurance to help you go the distance. Want to recover faster and reduce soreness? Our BCAs are designed to help your muscles bounce back and stay strong for the next challenge. And when it's time to refuel, they keep hammering protein packs 23 grams of high quality protein per serving. No failures, just real fuel your body needs. These are the same products I use every single day, whether I'm training in the gym or chasing elk through the high country.

So if you're ready to step up your performance and recovery, head to Mountainops.com, use code cam, and you get 20% off your order. That's Mountainops.com code cam for 20% off. Mountainops. Conquer More. Warning, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. No corporate playbook, just a brand that does its own thing and doesn't apologize for it.

That's what got my attention. It's tobacco-free, comes in enough flavors that everyone on the crew finds one that actually like. And four strength levels, 3, 6, 9, and 12 milligrams, so it fits you, not the other way around. Tuck one in, go run, go hunt, go put in the work. That's Alp. Head to Alpouch.com and use code can for 10% off your first order. So when you were having all those thoughts, did they ever quiet? Like, was it when you came to full draw?

or was there ever a point before you shot that it was like, you know, no matter what you had dreamed of or thought of or worst case scenario or best case scenario, it didn't matter because the moment was now. Yeah, it was, okay, so I don't get stressed out during hunts. I mean, usually I don't. I, like even when we were going down there, me, Wes and Kurt, we were going down and we're behind the ridge

before I'd got within 75 yards, but we we like the situation right and I just said I looked at him I said guys I said this is what we're meant to be do this is what we're supposed to be doing right here this what we're doing is what we're destined to do I said how amazing is this and I've I've so relaxed but then so I'm relaxed I'm like yeah I can make that shot this that I think I can make it from here I feel better I've you know made a lot of shots like this. But when the animal, when it starts to unravel like from the perfect, like you want the quartering away, looking opposite, you're back here. They have no clue. You got all the time

in the world. You level up and just squeeze. That's what everybody wants. You don't want the, I'm not really ready and he's staring at me. Now he's turning. Is he going to run? Yeah. That's when it starts to be like, God, I got to make something happen right here. So, and a lot times people rush that shot and i was trying not to rush it i was very intentional on where i was holding it just with the angle i knew i had a a small window um with him quartering to me but then it even closed further and then what i what i can attribute the kill to is a big sharp broadhead a perfectly tuned arrow they got tons of penetration through you know a lot of big muscle stuff back here and hit bone and everything else but cut for moral arteries. That doesn't happen without a perfectly set up

bow and perfectly tuned arrow. And I'll even go one step further on how much I think about this stuff is right before I did my final stock, I took my first two arrows out of the quiver and I spun them both, spun them both. And I took the one that spun more perfect to kill them with. So I'm thinking about, I'm not assuming anything. I'm like, no, these arrows have been. in my quiver for 15 days. I've fallen a lot if one's screwed up or splintered or bent because it can happen. If something happened and like I spin it and wobble and that would have cost me that animal. Right. Then that's on me. So I'm like, no, I'm going to have the exact perfect arrow and I knew that my first two were my best. So the one, the one that was number one arrow,

it was still number one by just double checked. But I just know, that's my mindset, is this whole whole thing is coming down to one hunt. Yeah, I have five arrows in this quiver, but the first one's all that matters, and it better be perfect. And so with that, with that, that was the case. And while my shot, like, I've killed, you know, I've killed a lot of animals with good shots.

I've lost some animals with shots that looked, looked really good and you can't, like you hit a shoulder blade and like you're an inch forward and you hit a shoulder blade and get no penetration on a bull. That bull's not dying, but you lost them and you were inches off. So I've been had my heart ripped out losing a bowl that it caught the shoulder blade and he didn't die, but I didn't kill him for only being a couple inches one way or another and then every once in a while I'm like a foot a two feet off and the ram goes 36 yards and dies so is it fair I don't know that's just the way it goes that's hunting yeah I mean what I the other thing I kind of looking back I can enjoy it now but because you know these were the

only Rams that we had seen it really was you versus one animal I mean we were on one animal that entire time. Yeah. And I don't know why I didn't think about it out there, but one of my favorite stories is the old man in the sea. Yeah. And now that I've been back, I've kind of assimilated the stories. And it's like, you know, you were saying,

I won't leave. Yeah. You know, someone's gonna either have to tell me to leave or I'm going to be out here until I'm walking off this mountain with this ram. Yeah. And that reminds me, I mean, that is the old man in the sea. That's the story, right?

Yeah, that was what I told you guys. I said, because you kind of had the night before, I don't know, if I wasn't, I was probably irritated, but whatever. It's like you said something. We were talking about something like, do we need to go to another area? What if we can't find these Rams? Something like that. I can't remember what it was. But I just told you guys, I said, I go, listen, I will never leave this hunt without, I'm not quitting.

I will not quit. So I said, I don't know who's staying. What's going? I told you, I said, I don't expect you to stay here for a month. I said, but I am not leaving until this is done or I'm done. Or I said, when does the season end? And he's like October 15th. And I'm like, well, we got a while there.

And so, yeah, I get obsessed and it's the only reason why, you know, I mean, for a long time, I hadn't eaten a tag since 2009 and Elkhutmy and Roy did in Wyoming. And that was the only unfilled tag I'd had for years. and it's because of that attitude in a sense that I've not filled like a lion tag, I think, with dogs and that, I can't really do anything about that. But there's a reason why all those tags get filled

is because if that's the only option, that's the only option. Yeah. And I just don't, I am going to be there until it happens. Yeah. So, and you guys were like, I don't know what you're thinking. but I was thinking, you know, in my head, I'm thinking, okay, yeah, he said, he said I could go home, but I was like, I'm invested. Yeah. And I was like, I don't, I don't want to have to go through the decision of I had the chance to go home and now I'm on day 35 and I'm still here. Yeah. But there's,

there's just no way I could have walked away from it. It was too transformative to, too, too important to me by that point, you know? Yeah. And so it was like, yeah, that, that, that was, would suck to have to stay that long, but I'm also going to have to see it through it. And by that point, my batteries would have been dead. I'd have been, I don't know, I'd have just been there for the long for the ride. But yeah, yeah, I mean, we were all invested, though. I mean, I don't think anybody wants, nobody's wanting to leave. Yeah. I mean, Kurt had another hunt coming up, like, he's on it right now on the 24th. And he's like coming up with plans, like, maybe I could have Esther, his wife take him.

And we could, you know, so it just needed, we needed a break. because we had been working so hard. And then it's like, you know, I was going through it mentally. And then you're like, you're so isolated. So you start having all these thoughts. So then I was like thinking about all the things I wish I would have told my family

that I never do because we're so distracted by regular life. So I'm like texting these heartfelt messages. And like, because my heart really changed up there. And it was, it just, I just can't think clearly down here with all the distractions and all the shit. going on and the stuff that we do,

but up in the mountains for that long, it's so pure, my heart's so pure, my brain's so clear. So the love and what I feel about people is very powerful and I just felt like if there's ever time to share it, it's now. Because, I mean, we could easily fail back there and you could easily die about a million times on something that in that sheep country.

And so what if I had these things that I wish I would have said and I didn't and because it wasn't like good timing or I was on a hunt. So I'm like, I was going through quite a bit of that which I think kind of happens on long hunts for most people. But then also, you know, we had talked a lot

about Fred Bear and like trying to honor his legacy because he hunted that same country. And you know, as I said in my post the other day, but I got fired by. other camo company. So I think I've been, I mean, I've been sponsored by

Real Tree, mossy oak, Sitka, origin, and I'm not with any of them. And they're still, I think they're still in business, most of them.

So is, is a problem me or them? But anyway, so I'm like, I'm going to be Fred Bear. I'm going to wear plaid. And I want to kill a giant ram. He killed the world record

in 1957, scored 158 and an 8th. Same country. We went to the cabin he slept in. And, you know, we've read Fred Bear's field notes. You can listen to the podcast, but hear his stories and his tales. And it was so just like, like I said, soul enriching to know that I was hunting the same country as Fred Bear.

And he killed a giant ram. And I was trying to do the same thing. And just. Having the holding out hopes of that was pretty cool. Yeah, we had a conversation that was like, you know, when you're worn down and You know, you feel like your luck or whatever we want to call it is run out or you're having a tough go is like You have no option but to face the truth of whatever these distractions in regular life have been keeping from you And and when it's just you and your thoughts, there's no running.

No. There's no escaping. there's no more lying to yourself and it's like your only option is to finally think through all the things you've been putting off yeah and and what's tough about it is it's tough but i think it's a good thing is like you don't have immediate access to fix the problem so you can't just you know uh i mean you can send a message but you can't call somebody or you can't look something up or whatever it is or or find some escape or some excuse and so you're left with this basically responsibility yeah it's like this is on me these things are on me i don't know how this

person feels or how this event really happened for other people but for me i know i can fix how i feel about it and kurt i mean for for me especially we would do our classic jokes or talk about something that happened in my life that i just make jokes about because it's the best way to cope and you know he would chuckle and then he'd sit for a second and then he'd ask a question and it was like oh man yeah yeah yeah i mean he just got straight to my heart and i told eric this i said you know i've never met somebody and you talk about roy like this but you know i've met a lot of religious people that i respect and look up to i've never met somebody that so much lives it as he believes it i mean he just lives it And how can you not respect that and listen to the words that he says?

And that's basically what the 15 days were for me is just listening. I couldn't help but think I'd been stuck in a tent for 15 days with a guy like this. Here's your answer. You want answers? You want your doubts to be to be calmed? All right. Here's a guy for 15 days. Yeah.

Listen to him. And also like you know how many people you can spend 15 days in the same tent with? Like not very many. Very few. Before you'd go crazy and be like, like I fucking hate this guy. And we, we never felt that way.

No. It was, it was nuts. It was just like, it was never hard. Yeah. I mean, the hunting was hard.

Yeah. But the situation wasn't hard. And the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,

the, the, was incredible. And, uh, you know, I'll just say it here is, we were talking so much about faith and, and,

and, being Christians and what that means and reading the Bible that even like a week before I killed I said I'm going to get baptized in this lake and uh because I just felt like I felt a change and then the more we talked you were feeling the same way and like you just explained how Kurt could just speak to you and he's got something yeah I don't know it's the holy spirit is what it is but um So after I killed the ram in the most idealic setting and the most in the most beautiful country I've been in, you know, recently we got baptized in the lake.

And how many people do you think have the opportunity to be baptized in the place that changed their heart so much? No, I know. It's incredible. Yeah, it was amazing. So yeah, it's just like, and that wasn't, I wasn't on like a high from the ram. As you know, I said that way before.

And so this hunt was like, yeah, it's probably my greatest bow hunting trophy, but it's so much more than that. And like as we talked about, we don't get rewarded. Like I used to go on hunts and I used to say, oh, I've worked too hard to fail. And like, I'm taking all the credit. And it's just like, no, it's not about me. I mean, yes, I work hard, but that's not a gift. I created, that's a gift I was given to have this focus and this obsession and this work ethic to chase a dream.

That was, that's been a blessing on me. That's allowed me to pursue all these things, but that's not me, that's a blessing from God. Yeah. And so I can't sit here and say, I did this, I did, no, I didn't do it. I did what I was supposed to do. I've been gifted with whatever, whatever skills that make me good in the mountains,

but that's not me, that's like the creator. And so once I got away from like, hey, like celebrate me, celebrate me, it just feels, I just feel different and better. Yeah, it's funny, you know, you had said you wanted to be baptized in the lake, but I hadn't really said that I wanted to be. I was thinking it, but even after all these signs, after all these answers, was that morning when you were going to get baptized i said okay give me one more give me one more sign that i'm supposed to get baptized then you get baptized and come out of the water and i was like i'm

going to say anything and kirk comes over and walks out of the water and he just sitting there standing over me and staring and he goes well there's my sign yeah said i'm in let's do it god it was so amazing dude yeah it was i mean something i will remember for the rest of my life for sure yeah I can't, I can't begin to put into words what those 15 days, well, really 22 days, but specifically those 15, 15 days mean to me as a person. I mean, I just don't think you can get that anywhere else. And you can never replicate that, you know? That's, that's truly a once in a lifetime occurrence of those people, those conditions working that hard together. Yeah. You know? No, you can't, you can't simulate that again. And, and for me, it's like,

you know this past year i've trained so hard and so also to have the fitness to at least be able to hang in there it's like i wouldn't have been able to do that before and so i wouldn't have been able to have that full experience without that either and so all these things coming together it really was just the pinnacle yeah it was perfect it's incredible yeah and then yeah just everything about it but um yeah what's your thought did you think it was going to happen Hmm. In hindsight, of course, I'd like to say yes. But also those that night before we had that conversation you talked about, I had decided in my head that that I was married to the process, that I was there to capture the story. And if I wanted to capture something that was different

and hard and gritty, then I better be prepared to go through the story. the motions of whatever that looked like. And so I was no longer attached to the success, the success of killing. Yeah. I was just attached to whatever it was gonna take for the film to mean something, you know? And so I guess in that case, then I didn't,

I had no prediction for what was gonna happen. I certainly didn't think it was gonna happen the next morning. Right. I mean, not after what we had been through. I know. You know, for the 14 days prior. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, And even that morning when they were, you know, right outside the tent and then they moved back around where we couldn't see them. I figured gone all the way back around, we're going to go see him in the Coliseum. And then we'll start from from zero again. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. And it's funny because this has happened so many other times.

It's like all of a sudden it just all comes together. Yeah. I don't understand how that works. But. Yeah. And also for, but for it to all come together, there's a million different little decisions. And it's just like you'd make one of those wrong. Yeah.

I mean, that's what's so hard. We could easily been, you know, three or four days getting home, all this and no sheep. Yeah. You know, and like all that effort, all that. Because most people, I mean, I've talked to a lot of people have been like, oh, I've been on 10 stone sheep hunts I never killed. Been on five never killed. Been on three never killed. Yeah, I mean, it's just, it's really hard.

Low percentage success, that's with a rifle even. Yeah. So with a bow, you know, they say Brendan Burns told me this stat. He's with Kew, but he said, four times more people have been to space than have killed a stone sheep with the bow. So, yeah, it's just, that's how hard it is. Hardly anybody has done it. Yeah. I mean, we can talk about, you know, once we got them broken down and back to camp and

clean all the meat off. But I do want to talk about this. And I know I've told you this, but you said something down at the lake when we were enjoying the sheep meat that for whatever reason has really struck me. And I think it's just a testament to how we can take things for granted. But you said, this little moment right here, this simple little moment, took a lot of sacrifice and hard work. And I think there's so many things in day-to-day life.

I mean, everything. Your entire life boils down to each little moment, as simple as it could be. And so how could you so easily just brush that off? Right. You know, when in reality, it was a lot of sacrifice. It was a lot of hard work just to have a simple little moment of enjoying sheep meat by the lake with three other guys. Yeah. It was and we like it was so special hiking out with loaded down.

I thought it was going to be a lot easier again. God. But loaded down with camp and the sheep. And again, Kurt had way more than we did. But it took us what six hours to get out of there. Yeah. And everybody was hurting. Oh, God, it was brutal.

So we had some, we had some death marches. But yeah, I just, I can't believe we pulled it off. I can't believe the ram is such a magnificent specimen. He's, I mean, he's old and giant and beautiful and dark. And we were in Fred Bear country, dressed like Fred Bear. And we did it as a team. And just like, I'll never forget it. I just want this, I want to share this with people that can appreciate moments and hunts like this and experiences like this.

I want the film to capture all these emotions and all the thoughts and feelings that we've talked about here. And I want people to feel that when they watch it. And I have high hopes because, man, we laid it out there. There's no acting. There's no fluff. It's as real and gritty as it gets. and I think it's going to make an incredible adventure film. Yeah, I hope so.

I have some other questions I want to ask you about that weren't necessarily like timeline necessary. But we were out there for 15 days. Like I said, 22 days for me, door to door, 21 for you. What were the messages like you were getting from people from back home? Oh, they just were like, kind of trying to hype me up because I was just like so I think I was frustrated where I think I said I had the ram at 32 yards and blew it. So then it was just like, oh, it's just, you know, control the controllables.

And, you know, it's just a matter of time. And, you know, just trying to be supportive. Right. Basically. You know, because we were talking while we're out there and it's like, obviously the Odyssey just came out. and Odysseus was gone for whatever it was, 20 or 30 years, you know? And it's like people were hearing little rumors about your whispers. And no, that's from the war on Troy.

Yeah. I was just wondering if, you know. Right. Yeah. No, I was like, well, that, like, being frustrated because I should have had him killed and didn't in day seven. And then my heartfelt messages, they were probably thinking, what is, what is this guy going through?

But I'm serious. You go through a lot. Oh, yeah. This is like a mental, physical, spiritual test every, every ounce, every day, all day. So yeah, I was going through a lot. So I was getting messages like that. But one that I just always go back to is, so I sent, Wes said, what's the goal with the film? Is that what he said?

Yeah. So let me see. Yeah. So he says, at some point, I want to know what you're trying to build for film content. I'll be able to get some B-roll from somewhere out. Oh, yeah, whatever. Anyway, he talked about like, what's the goal? And I said, I go, yeah, B-roll is perfect.

I said, I just want to make the most epic bo-hunting film ever in the history of bow-hunting. That's all. So I'm going to send you that. Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, that was a goal. But, and that's, I don't know if we did it, but we'll see. We'll see.

We're definitely going to find out. Yeah. All right. Another one was, and Tanner had mentioned this in a text to you, but in our world now, all these quick-hitting social media clips, everything's made to go viral. Yeah. What?

Do you think there's some responsibility to champion stories and adventures like this for future generations? I mean, just like we are reading Fred Bear. Yeah. And that's like, man, what a number. adventure. Yeah. You know, I mean, yeah, I mean, there has to be stories from today that inspire future generations, you know, somebody has to do it. Yeah, I mean, I saw a lot of comments because I talked a lot about Fred Bear and a lot of people said that, you know, currently I've

inspired them because I talked about how Fred inspired, you know, my generation or like probably the one before. But yeah, so like the more good stuff we're putting out, the more real, authentic films, you're going to impact people. I mean, I don't want to make fluff stuff that people watch and they forget about, as you know. I want to make stuff that moves people. And if we do that, yeah, I think there's going to be a legacy to it and a last team. It's going to be around a while. You know, we talked about on the last shit talkers, but like Mark Dowdell's mindset about he doesn't attach his worth to success. Yeah. Was there any point out there that you were like?

Yeah, of course. Yeah. No, I'm not perfect. Yeah, I was like questioning, am I even good at bow hunting? I mean, have I been a fraud for 40 years? Because I'm like, I don't know what to, I don't know. what to do. I don't know

because when you're hunting one animal, it's not like if I'm hunting an elk, if I mess up on a bull, I can probably find another bowl. If you mess up on the oldest ram on the mountain, you're not finding another oldest ram on the mountain. That's the one. So when that was the only goal,

that feels, I mean, we can't find them for days. It's just like, I don't know if this can happen. I don't know if I'm good enough. I don't know if I have what it takes. I don't know. You know, am I, do I want to quit already?

Am I, I, I'm two weeks into this. And I say I'm never leaving unless I quit. But then there's moments where everybody is just like everyone, there's like some weird thought that comes in the back of your head about, fuck. Is this the one? Yeah. I mean,

it's so expensive. is so hard and most people don't succeed on it. So why am I thinking that I'm not better than anybody? I'm not the best. I can easily waste a hundred grand on this sheep hunt and go home with nothing. That happens all the time, especially when you choose to do with the bow. So I'm like, yeah, I had, I had douse, but then also I do have confidence.

and we were working so hard and I have been blessed with confidence. Yeah. So I did, I thanked Jesus. When I was heading down there, I didn't thank him for making me a good bow hunter. I thanked him for blessing me with confidence to believe in myself in these moments.

And I said, I believe in myself. Yeah. And I smiled to myself because this is a trick I do with the altar running. Like if you're in misery, and you smile to yourself, it changes your brain. So I was like, basket case, but walking down to stock this ram,

while at the same time of having doubts, also saying, thank you Jesus for giving me this confidence because I know I'm going to make good on the shot, and it's because of you. It's not me, but you gave me this belief in myself, and I want to thank you. And I was just like kind of,

then happy again. Yeah. Then maybe a basket case, another second later. But I was trying to stay in that mindset like, no, this is, I'm good. I'm good. Yeah, I mean, the smiling thing really works. It does. I use that too. And it's amazing how quickly it changes how you feel. Yeah. It's, it's, I mean, our brains are so powerful. Yeah. We just have to harness them the right way because they can also be incredibly detrimental. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. Um, yeah. Um, yeah. Um, yeah.

obviously i feel like roy is present on every hunt but to me this hunt it felt stronger for some reason why do you think that was did it feel that way to you or yeah um i thought about roy a lot too because you know a sheep hunt like that he never hunted stone sheep but he killed a lot of doll and he loved sheep hunting because it's so hard i mean i know that that one right there he killed took him 17 days So, you know, I was 15 days and I'm just like, well, he killed bad in 17 with a recurve. So, I mean, he's still setting the tone. Yeah. I'm still trying to catch up with it to him.

But he's, you know, he's, you know, the legends never die thing. It's 100% true. You know how much I talked about him. I read, I read excerpts of my book. Sometimes when we were stuck in the tent at night and, you know, chapter 15, the legends never die about Roy. a really hard chapter for me to read, but I need to feel that.

Yeah. You also told a ton of stories about them, once I hadn't heard, and that was like, I mean, between those, your stories and Kurtz, and then reading from your book,

and then John is like, man, I look forward to that every time. Yeah, yeah. I wonder, and those couple days we had stuck in the tent down by the lake because of weather was like,

they weren't that bad because you guys just told stories and yeah it was yeah then we got the cribbage board oh boy and then it was on you guys got your butts kicked yeah not really yeah um yeah it was just i don't know the most impactful hunt i've ever been on yeah uh last question do you feel with this hunt in specific there's a little piece of you that'll stay out there Yeah. I don't, you know, I don't know how I'm going to top this hunt. So it feels like, you know, since Roy died, the hunts have been, they've been good. You know, I've had a lot of success, but they haven't been as sweet because Roy's not here. So it's like I don't have, you know, the guy who got me started bow hunting.

my mentor to share the experience with it, whether it's story or writings or on the phone or in person. So it's like I lost a little bit from the successes because it's just not as sweet without Roy. And so I think similarly, this is a pinnacle. And I'm wondering what the kills after this are going to feel like. Because what is the kill? kill, if I go kill a bull on day two, which I usually do. It seems like day two is always the day.

That's going to feel a lot different than 15 days of Suffer Fest and to get the, the greatest trophy I've ever put my hands on and greatest experience for so many different reasons, for the connection with Roy, for the, for the Fred Bear legacy, for, um, just how much suffering was involved to my heart changing up there, to, you know, creating this strong connection with God now that I'd never had before. I don't see how any hunt can compare, especially a quick one. So I'm curious on how I'm going to navigate that, because this is what I do.

This is like my life, and it means a lot to me. It's not like, I just don't kill animals and just don't think about it. It's just like it means so much. So with this one meaning the most any hunts ever met to me, meant to me, what's this going to be like moving forward? And I don't know. But there's a, I put a lot of gravity in what I do. So I'm curious about how I'm going to feel.

Well, we'll have to be sure to come back and talk about that after this season's recap. It'll be interesting. yeah yeah well but you know it's a good place to be yeah it's a good problem to have yeah but yeah i and i just want to say like you know i know i've told you but you did so good on this hunt dude you fucking kicked ass you're so tough um and you've come i don't mean i don't want to say i don't like saying you've come so far because you're tough for anyone so it's like i don't want to say for being a complete pussy you're you're a little tough or no you're just tough now it's like I don't care who I'm comparing it to because that

that hunt every person on that hunt said it was the hardest hunt they'd been on and you were right there the whole time so I just got to give I just want to give you credit that you deserve you worked really hard the photos are amazing and I'm sure the footage is incredible and yeah you deserve a lot of credit for what you did I appreciate that I you know I told you guys It sounds like all I know is that, you know, if people are having to tell you that you did good and that you're tough, it usually doesn't mean that's the case. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I do, I'm at a weird spot and we'll talk more about this with the picnic, but I have worked really hard to improve my fitness and to be at a point where I never thought I would be at. And so it's weird for me because I've never once felt proud of myself to be at a point where I want to, but I don't want to be content or conceded or anything like that.

But I'm proud that I gave myself the opportunity to even be able to keep up and enjoy the hunt and capture the story. And that's where I'll leave it. because like I said, I mean, it's beyond words what this hunt meant to me also. And I can't, I mean, I know I told you this, but I'm super thankful and grateful that I even get the opportunity to do this. You know, I mean, who gets to tell a story like that? And then afterwards be like, yeah, that's my job. Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty sick.

I mean, Kurt, I guess. And, you know, it's like, but it's different. It's different, you know. Yeah. So I'm so grateful and so blessed to be able to do things like this and have cool stories to tell. Yeah, we're very lucky. What would I do without it? Yeah.

I mean, it's for the lore, right? Exactly. Yeah, that's your thing. Yeah. So it's just like you can't have that and not chase big stories. No, not at all. So it's like you did it for the lore and we're going to have an incredible story to share. Yeah, I'm excited.

And that's, I mean, that's a cool part. of it it's like and we're not thinking about that during actually we're kind of thinking about all the cool footage we're getting we're like god if we have a kill to finish this off they'd be really nice um but yeah it's just such a hard task but we're we're lucky we were able to to get out there and chase big rams and made it happen yeah pretty cool so thanks for being part of it i like i said i'm i'm 25% at most responsible for this hunt because you guys all contributed just as much as I did. I'm going to give you 26% because you did everything we did and then also had to deliver a

good arrow. The pressure you had, I do not envy. And let me also say this. Hold on. And we're at the end of the episode so I can say this now. If one of you motherfuckers, okay, I'm right here. I'm in camera 17. If one of you motherfuckers says it must be nice to be able to go on a stone sheave hut,

take it, write it down on a piece of paper. rip it out of your journal, crumple it up, and shove it so far off your ass. You don't need to comment it. Don't. Because you have no idea. So now I feel better. I don't think most people would enjoy that hunt. What do you think most people would have thought?

I don't know a single person that would have made it through that. I don't. It was tough. And I got some tough friends, but you're not doing it. You're not doing it. So there was a test. Yeah. There is no, just leave the comments at home this time.

Yeah. Yeah. Leave it on red. Yeah. Yeah. No. Well, so that's the sheep hunt recap. Or as you can tell, we're very grateful and thankful for everybody that helped make it happen.

I don't want to give a shout out to Reg Collinwood too for doing a podcast with us. And he's a legend up there. He's guided 125 Rams. And just just. just learning of that country and those people was, man, I'm a different person. That's all there's to it. I'm different from being up there. Yeah.

I'm very grateful. I feel like I've said this four times because it is true. I mean, I had all these things that were like, you know, everything was my favorite. But it was cool to be in the country and then learn as it went on, it unfolded just the history of where we were at. Yeah. The people we had met and the people we were around and the areas we were around. And it was like, it was just, it felt like we were a part of that history. Yeah. It was really cool.

Yeah. It was so unique. Yeah. But yeah. So anyway, that's a recap, guys. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks for all the support. And yeah, well, we got another one we're going to do before I take off on my next hunt. So stay tuned. Keep hammering.