In May, I got word that Darwin had been seriously injured in a plane crash, when his fuel pump failed, shortly after take-off. In addition to being concerned about Darwin, who has become a good friend, I also wondered what effect that would have on the fall hunts, since he flew all the hunters in and out of camp. When I spoke to Darwin, he had already lined up two experienced bush pilots to fill in for him. As it turned out, they were both incredible pilots and Wendy did a great job of running the fall hunts. Fortunately, Darwin made a good recovery and was actually in base camp during our hunt, with a cane and a few new battle scars.

We flew into base camp on the afternoon of October 3, 2006 and the weather was beautiful. They would have flown me to spike camp that afternoon, but one of the previous hunters had forgotten his bag, and the pilot had to fly it back to Watson Lake. That day my guide, John Devries had radioed to base camp that they were watching a great ram right above the camp I'd be hunting from. Of course, I've come to learn that nothing about sheep hunting is ever that easy. The next morning the wind was blowing over 40 mph, so we couldn't fly into spike camp until later that evening when the winds subsided. A day of hunting lost and I wondered if the ram would still be there the next day.

After having survived three previous grueling wilderness backpack hunts, the camp looked like a four star hotel. My hunting partner, Bruce McArthur, and I had our own heated cabin and there were also cooking and shower cabins. The camp was on a beautiful lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains. They also had some great horses, which are a sheep hunter's best friend. I was in heaven! Coincidentally, this area was the subject of a video made and produced by Eastmans' in the early 1960's titled "High, Wild and Free."

While most sheep guides are a cut above, John Devries is in a league of his own. At 61 years old, he has guided hunters to 64 stone sheep rams. He has a great sense of humor and his enthusiasm and experience made me feel very confident. Wendy also shared that John had received the prestigious Leland Award the prior year, which is given to the Guide of the Year by the British Columbia Guides and Outfitters Association. This certainly wasn't his first rodeo.

The next morning, we glassed sheep right above the spike camp, but John said he didn't see the ram he had previously been watching. We hiked up the mountain to a spot where we could glass the entire area, just in time to spot the big ram going over the ridge, out of the hunting area. Now we were sheep hunting. We did see two other good rams that day, but having previously taken a stone sheep, I had told John that I was holding out for a great one and was prepared to go home empty-handed if that didn't occur. Parenthetically, I was relieved that neither of these rams was "the one" since they were over 450 yards away and there was a 30 + mph cross-wind.

We hiked back to camp, and although I was disappointed that the big ram had eluded us, I felt very encouraged about seeing three shooter rams on the first day of my hunt. The next day we rode down the valley, glassing various drainages. We didn't see any big rams, but there were goats everywhere. Of course, my wife had already forbidden me to bring back anything that had to be life-size mounted. She still hasn't fully adapted to the life-size grizzly bear in our foyer. John announced that we would make a three-hour horse back ride the next day to an area where several good rams had been spotted earlier in the season. If the area looked promising, we would pack out to a remote spike cabin the following day.

The next day, when we got to the area that John wanted to glass, we made an hour and a half climb. John has these incredibly long legs and I felt like I was taking two steps for every one of his. I was really hurt when he asked me if I wanted him to carry any of my gear. Fortunately, I have one of Lex Webernick's rifles from Rifles, Inc., in.270 WSM, which weighs a total of 6 lbs. with the scope and sling. It's a tack hammer and is so light, it feels like a toy gun. I also used the new "Gun Slinger" model backpack from Eberlestock, which has a rifle scabbard, allowing me to keep both hands free for climbing. It turned out to be better than advertised.

We glassed several drainages with no success. John and I sat and talked for a while and took in the beauty of the mountains. It felt like we were in heaven. Then, at about 3:30 p.m. he suggested that we walk down toward the end of the ridge to glass one more area before heading down the mountain and back to camp. We went about 400 yards and as John walked out to the edge, he jumped back and excitedly said "rams, get your rife." I grabbed my rifle from the scabbard and ran to the edge, just in time to see five rams getting up and running. He yelled to shoot and I said "which one?" He said the last one, which was lucky because the others were already going out of sight behind a rock promontory. The ram was 160 yards, quartering away. I shot off-hand and, while it sounded like I hit him, he went out of sight.

All of the rams ran down the ridge and John said that he could see the tops of their heads when they went over a small rise several hundred yards away. He said he didn't see the big one, which made me hopeful. We climbed down the mountain and started looking for the ram. There were thick alders, which made it difficult to see. John was searching below me and was telling me that, dependent upon where the ram had been hit, it would dictate whether it went uphill or down. After what seemed like an eternity, I came to a small game trail and when I looked down the trail, my ram was laying approximately 25 yards away, four feet up. I jokingly yelled to John and asked him what it meant if the ram was lying on the game trail? He let out a hoot and said it meant we got him! As it turned out, the 140-grain Barnes Triple X bullet had broken three ribs and ended up lodged under the skin of his far right shoulder.

This was the first time that I actually got to take a good look at my ram to see what I had shot. From the time that John first spotted him, until the time I shot, less than 60 seconds had elapsed. Although it was chaotic, we were fortunate that everything worked out. One more second of hesitation and the ram would have been gone. I had put all my faith in John, even though he had only gotten a glimpse of the rams before telling me to shoot. Looking back, it was John's many years of experience, exceptional skills and his instant reaction, which enabled me to harvest this beautiful ram. As it turned out, he was a very heavy 13-year old ram that had eluded the Scoop Lake guides several previous times over the preceding two years. Because of his mass, they had nicknamed him "Brutus". He only had three teeth left and virtually no body fat. It's questionable whether he would have survived the winter. Of course, everyone wants to shoot a 40-inch ram. Brutus' right horn was broomed off at 38 inches and his left horn had been shattered from fighting. His massive horns had so many cracks and chunks out of them that he looked like he had been fighting with a train. He also had a fresh chunk out of his nose from a recent encounter. He was a grand old warrior and truly the trophy of a lifetime.

After taking a lot of pictures and doing a lot of celebrating, John caped out and quartered my ram. Then the fun began as we had to climb 200 yards back up the mountain, before climbing down the other side. We were both loaded down, but we were only going to make one trip. I found out that in addition to being part billy goat, John was also part pack mule. As we labored down the steep mountain, through aspen stands and alders, John pointed out a fresh grizzly track. Of course, by this time it was getting dark and I was feeling like bear bait. We took the most direct route down and ended up a half mile from the horses. John told me to wait with all of the meat, cape and horns while he went to retrieve the horses. He told me to stay out in the middle of a clearing and to keep my rifle ready. When John got back, after what seemed like hours, I was still there and in one piece. He gave me the choice of riding an hour further away to spend the night at a spike cabin, or to ride back three hours in the dark back to our camp. When I found out there wasn't any food at the spike cabin, I opted for camp.

Although there was a full moon, we were in a deep, narrow valley, which was very dark. John assured me that my horse "Harry" was pretty reliable in the dark. Harry never stumbled and was a pure pleasure to ride. After we emerged from the valley an hour later, the rest of our ride was under a brilliant full moon. It was light enough to read a book and really a magical ride. Parenthetically, my hunting partner, Bruce McArthur, rode Harry the next day and complained that he kept running him into trees and bushes. I told him that Harry was obviously a good judge of character. Bruce, who is a great friend and hunting partner, did manage to harvest a great goat and moose, despite his whining.

After getting back to camp at 11:00 p.m., I slid off Harry, had some food and went to bed. John had my horns and cape in his cabin. During the night, a bear raided the meat shed and John went out to confront him, with no weapon. Not too smart! The bear charged him, chasing him back to his cabin, and then proceeded to scratch the door for 15 minutes before finally leaving. He probably smelled my sheep cape in the cabin. Fortunately, I slept like a baby through the entire incident.

This was one of my most memorable hunts, and if wasn't for John's skill and experience, the outcome could have been much different. I will always be grateful to him and will always cherish every moment of our hunt together. Brutus is truly a worthy trophy to celebrate John's 65th ram!

EQUIPMENT USED ON THE HUNT: Rifle: Rifles Inc. .270 WSM Scope: Zeiss VMV 3 x 9 x 42 Bullet: Barnes Triple X 140 gr. Binoculars: Leica 12 x 50 Spotting Scope: Swarovski 65 mm. HD Clothing: Columbia Outfitter's Wool from Cabelas Backpack: Eberlestock "Gunslinger"

Outfitter Information: Scoop Lake Outfitters, Darwin and Wendy Cary (250) 491-1885; E-mail: scooplake@hughes.net

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jim is married to Kristie, who is very supportive of his hunting, as long as he doesn't bring any trophies home. They have two sons and two grandchildren. Rifle and bow hunting is his passion and he usually makes time to hunt at least four weeks each fall. He is also an avid spear- fisherman and a former state and national champion.

Everything that any of the outfitters told you about the weather this past season in British Columbia was certainly true. The first two days of my hunt got up into the mid 80's and then came the rains. Late in the third day of my hunt, my guide and I saw a large band of rams that you only see in pictures. Three of them were definitely over 40 inches, with the largest probably being 44 inches. Unfortunately, we spotted them late in the day, and we got caught in a bad thunderstorm on top of the mountain.

The following day was solid thunderstorms, which required us to stay in camp. The next day, the ceiling was low, but we headed back to the area where we had seen the big rams. We climbed to the top of the mountain hoping that the low ceiling would burn off. Instead, we got caught in a whiteout snowstorm, and it was an adventure finding our way back down the mountain.

I received word that my mother passed away while I was on the hunt, and I had to abandon my hunt to go home for her funeral. Darwin Gary flew in to pick me up in some pretty ugly weather, and then spent hours helping me to make arrangements to get home in time.

The following day, the weather was even worse and he flew me to the airport by essentially following the river. He would not take any money for the many phone calls he made or for the special flight to the airport.

Darwin invited me to come back at the end of the season to complete my hunt for free. This would have required him to go to considerable expense since it would have required holding the guide and wrangler over past their normal season. Unfortunately, a previously scheduled court proceeding precluded me from taking them up on this most generous offer.

I have already rebooked and am returning to hunt with Darwin and Wendy this coming August. Their sheep herd is in great shape and they have huge sheep with great genetics. It is a place where a hunter has a very good chance of shooting a boone and crockett ram.

Their accommodations are also terrific. I was able to hunt out of a very comfortable cabin and ride the horses on day trips to where the rams are located. In addition, I saw seven grizzly bears in the five days that I was there. One of them was huge.

I thought it was appropriate to share this insight and experience with you and my fellow subscribers since I truly believe that this is the best stone sheep hunt available any place. I have hunted a lot of places with a lot of outfitters and I have never met anyone who is more professional and accommodating, and who has such great facilities and incomparable game. The terrain is also a lot easier than most of the other sheep country I have hunted in. Please share this information with your readers.