Hunt of a lifetime, thank you MULIE MIKE, FiremandJG, ChadTRG42

I don't even know where to begin. This is going to be a long read but it's been right about two years in the making and it all came together for me yesterday. I have included the three parties involved all into this post because they are all a part of this story and I would not do them justice by breaking this all up. So here goes.......the hunt of a life time with MULIE MIKE.

Roughly two years ago I was mesmerized by the photos of rams Mulie Mike and his guides were connecting on. Living in West Texas, it only made sense to be a part of this. So i booked my hunt with him on the 4D South Ranch just outside of Van Horn, TX, it's souther boundary being the Rio Grande River. One of the recommendations on Mulie Mike's website is being able to shoot long distance with potential shots out to 500yds. I have hunted ever since I was 10 and have made some descent shots on game but all within 150yds. I quickly realized I was out of my realm outside 200yds. So, I convinced the spouse I needed a "long range" rifle and of course a new "long range" scope so I could even the playing field. Actually, I didn't ask permission, but instead just bought it and told here to deal with it. Once it would arrive I would be signing up for Fireman's long range shooting course. It was something I have always wanted to do and felt it would make me a better hunter/shooter down the road.

Fast forward to the first of Sept of this year. My custom HS Precision .300 win mag finally showed up in the mail. I had ordered my SB PMII 3-20 x 50mm reticle way back in March and it still had not been received from OpticsPlanet (you can read my displeasure with them on another thread). I contacted Jason (aka FiremanJG) and inquired about signing up for his course. He had an opening on Oct 1st and I took it. Mean while I contacted ChadTRG42 at Custom Reloads of Dallas to see what he could do in making some loads for me. I got my rifle overnighted to Chad and he bent over backwards for me to get loads ready prior to my range time with Jason. I was amazed at how quickly the turnaround was. We decided on the Berger 190 VLD-H's. Glad we did because it did the job.

I got to Dallas on Sept 28th late. Picked up the loads from Chad on the 29th and was out to Jason's on the 1st. Jason is a down to earth good ole gentleman. He ran me through the class portion and then got me on range. First we started with zeroing the rifle and then making a dope chart walking out from 100 out to 800 at 100 yd increments with me dialing for elevation and holding for wind. One thing we did realize is that since my rig is more of a lightweight hunting rifle with a fluted barrel, after about 3-4 shots in a row the barrel would get hot and start stringing shots. It took several to get me zeroed mainly because I was learning how to actually shoot, hold the rifle and pull the trigger (all things I took for granted before). Once we got zero, I walked out fairly quickly from 100 - 600yds. 700 & 800 were hits but not dead center so we kept shooting. Then we started back at 300 and practiced "holding" elevation instead of dialing for it. Once again Jason walked me out to 600 calling wind and elevation fairly easily. 700 & 800 were a little more challenging but we got it done even with a little stiffer 10-15mph cross wind. 58 rounds of .300 win mag down range that day. Jason spent form 0800 to 1800 with me, well beyond what the class is scheduled for. Felt like I made a new long time friend after I was done, not to mention I was a grinning from ear to ear after pulling off shots like that. I know Jason would have kept going if I wanted him to but we had accomplished a ton, it was getting late, and 58 rounds of .300win mag in one day was absolutely killing my shoulder. As I headed home, Chad from Custom Reloads of Dallas texted to see how it all went and congratulate me on the session. Very thoughtful for sure. I got the impression, and Jason verified this, that Chad almost gets more excited about the loads and how they perform than the customer does. Chad truly enjoys what he does and is damn good at it.

Fast forward to Oct 9th, it was Go Time. Headed out to Van Horn to meet Clint, one of Mulie Mike's hunting guide for the 4D South ranch. I got there a little earlier than I was supposed to, obviously I was excited and couldn't wait to get hunting. The ranch owners son met me in town and brought me the hunters cabin which turned out was essentially a huge spanish style mansion that once served as a 6 bedroom hotel way back in the day. It was a beautiful historic piece of history I am sure and was more than enough for me needs. I met Clint and we went out to dinner and talked about the game plan for the hunt. I chose this ranch to hunt on because it was well managed and lightly hunted. Mike and bet Clint that we would tag out the first day because of this. Talk about feeling the pressure. Not to mention Cint said he was 100% on giving hunters shooting opportunities on this ranch.

So, its "Hunt Day" #1. We wake up at 0515 (by my choosing lol and way earlier than necessary but I couldn't wait to get out and get going). Load up the truck and head to the ranch. We get there right before sun up. Essentially, the ranch we are hunting is a large rectangular mtn that is roughly 2 miles in length by my best guess, running North and South. The souther border is literally the Rio Grande river. We got out and glassed the entire East face of the mtn and didn't see an Aoudad one. We then drove to the North end and glassed and didn't see anything either. At that point, Clint said, "I bet they are up on top or the back Western side that is essentially a 600-800 foot cliff face. We packed up our gear and headed straight up the mtn stopping repeatedly to class arroyos, draws, etc. We zig zagged all over the top of the plateau only to find one large javelina which I declined to shoot since I have shot several on my current deer lease. A big Aoudad ram was the only thing on my menu. We finally made back to the far West cliff face, and to say it was straight down was an understatement. It was so steep you didn't dare walk up to the edge with all your gear on but rather took it all off and gingerly walked or crawled up to the edge with binocs in hand. We got to this cliff face about at the midway point when looking at it from a North to South direction. We went north first glassing below as much as we could with no success. Once we reached the northern most point, we back tracked to where we started and then would walk towards the south end. About 200 yds further south my guide Clint snuck out to a point and started to glass. "There they are" he said. 255 yds away approximately 700ft almost straight below us. Three ewes were sitting on a trail tucked up right against the cliff face. We watched them for a few and noticed once of them go around a little point. "Where there are ewe's there are rams," Clint said. "Lets move and if we can see if they are around that point". We packed up and hightailed it along the cliff face down the ridge line sneaking out to the edge periodically but could never see them. Surely they didn't get up and leave and no way they could hear or smell us as high as we were above them. Eventually we stopped and thought about it. Clint decided he would keep walking south and I would turn back and walk but up north covering both directions in case they gave us the slip. Clint had hand held radios so we could keep in touch. He said if I found them and time allowed for him to get back to me he would or if I was uncertain of the rams in the group he would speedily head back my way to help me make the right the decision. However, if I saw a shooter he trusted me to go ahead and make the shot. As luck would have it, I went right back to the spot we saw them earlier and boom, there they were. This time I could see 3 additional rams, all fairly young. I radioed Clint and told him they were still here. He turned back. By the time he made it back to my I had seen a total of 10 -12 sheep, but no real shooter. Clint got setup and we sat and watched them for 5-8 minutes. All of a sudden they started coming out from behind the point as well as we could see them sticking their heads out from what appeared to be a cave in the cliffs. And then, the moment we had been waiting for the "big daddy" jumps down out of the cave. Clint immediately said, "he is your shooter, get ready". I crawled myself as far out on the cliff ledge as I could, and wedged myself in between two rocks. I threw my pack on the rock in front of me. Asked for range, and Clint called out 255yds. I dialed to what my dope sheet called for which was .5 mil turn. Waited for him to get broadside and fired. Clint said, "miss, elevation good, but you shot in front of him to the right." I knew it cause I slapped the trigger which was a reoccurring problem I had when shooting at Jason's. Chambered another round, fired. "miss, low", Clint said. That was just a poor, rushed shot on my part. Chambered another one, focused on my breathing, checked the bubble level, fired. "Damn it", I shouted. I nailed the rock 1 foot in front of my muzzle that didn't appear in my scope. By now, the were on the run. I just knew I had lost my opportunity. I was depressed. They ran about 70 yds down the mtn and then Clint says, "they are stopping, they are stopping". I frantically break out more shells and reload. "Range" I asked. "317yds" he responds. I dial for 300yds. I finally find him in the group and a Ewe is standing infant of him from his front shoulder to his rear end. Only thing presentable is the target front shoulder, head and neck. I am now thinking in my mind, "great this is the 4th round and my barrel is hot. The 4th-5th round is when it starts stringing shots". I knew I could make this shot. I went through the motions again and pulled the trigger. This time I heard it hit. I said, "that was the one right". He said, "you thumped him, he is rolling down the mtn". He rolled 30-40 yds down. SUCCESS!!!!

Great story.....

dang photos aren't loading

the rest of the story:
That was at 1:30. We quickly ate lunch up on the bluff and then came up with a plan on how to get down to him. The southern route looked to steep (and after walking past it on the way out would have been impossible to descend), so we headed back north again. We left at 2:00 and got to him by 4:30pm. The route there was steeper than it appeared from above and would not be a viable option for a hike back out. I was struggling with the heat and was starting to not feel well. Also, I knew my 3 liter camelback was getting low and I had already downed my big bottle of gatorade. Fortunately the caping and pics gave me time to recover. It was now 5:30. I was out of water, Clint had 3 left and graciously gave me one and said we would split the 3rd. Instead of going back out north we went south, knowing it was a longer route, but was right next to the Rio Grande and was flatter but more heavily brushed with mesquite trees and cat claw buses. By 6:30 we were out of water completely. We were both struggling mightily and had true signs of heat exhaustion. Me being a physician, I knew this was very real and dangerous. Yes Clint and a satellite phone so help was only a phone call away but we knew we could do this. Water was the most important thing we could do at this point but we had none. Fortunately, I put my Katadyn water filter straw in my pack and told Clint, this was our only option. I had never used it but if it does what is says it will do its all we got. I left the guide in the shade and headed down to the river. The only water I could get to in the thick brush was a stagnant mud whole full of murky water and bugs. I hesitantly pushed the bottle into the mud and let the bottles fill up with the thick murky water and then hiked back to Clint. "Here goes nothing" I said and tried it first. Surprisingly, the water coming out of the straw was clear and tasted good. We recharged and headed out. For the next 3 hours we went up and down and were eventually forced down into the extremely thick sharp brush in the Rio Grande river bottom, crawling on hands and knees and at times wading through water up to our knees to get around the southern tip of the mtn and back on the trail to the road. The Katadyn straw saved our life in my option. We used it 5-7 times when we were dyeing of thirst. At 2130, and 15.6 miles later, we made it to the truck. Beaten down, aching from head to toe, and surviving on sheer wheel power and commitment we successfully finished the hunt of a life time for both of us. Clint, my guide and new best freind was a man among boys that day, hauling out my trophy the whole way, on hands and knees, wading through water, suffering from heat exhaustion at times. He was bound and determined to get us out of there safe and sound. Fortunately both of us with different backgrounds and skills, helped us both get out safely. If someone asked me to do this again next weekend, I would not hesitate, and Clint and Mulie Mike would be my guide and outfitter. Excellent job by all involved. I am on cloud nine and am proud of the friendships I have made and the trophy that will soon sit in my home.

From hunting with the Colorado Elk group last year (Sneaky, Creekrunner, and others), to working with ChadTRG, Fireman, & MulieMike, this forum has put me in contacted with amazing people all over the state. I couldn't ask for more than that. Making memories with some amazing people all over Texas who like to hunt, shoot and enjoy the outdoors. It doesn't get any better than that my friends.

My custom HS Precision .300 win mag sporting a SB PMII 3-20 x 50 MSR reticle

Cliff where I was sitting when I shot the ram. Rio Grande River in the background

Panoramic view from the cliff ledge over the Rio Grande in to Mexico

View from below where the Ram was located looking back from where I took the shot.

Lastly, my trophy ram. A very old/mature 29inch ram with some amazing chaps and beard.

Congrats on a great ram. Really good pics also.

Great Story and beautiful rifle! Congrats....

Read the whole thing, congrats to you!!

Great story ringworm

That's an awesome story! I got my big [censored] kicked down in comstick once chasing after them but nothing like that

Sounds like you did your hunt well all the way around and that is awesome! Congrats on the whole deal!

Great story and write up!!! Love the pictures and congrats on a great ram

A free range aoudad hunt in west Texas is the best bargain in sheep hunting anywhere. Climbing, stalking, glassing....aoudad hunting has it all. Congrats!

Great ram. I bet that was an amazing hunt.

Way to go! Great story and a great old ram. You earned that boy. AND, you drank out of the Rio Grande and aren't in a hospital pooping your brains out. Very cool. You sir, know how to prepare.

Great Story, Thanks for sharing

Great story and ram. Congrats on a memorable hunt.

great job, I had planned on a hunt with Mike, but, another medical issue has come up

Awesome story, pics, scenery AND ram! Well earned trophy, sir. Well earned.

I was thinking this very thing on the drive back home. With the exception of more elevation and cooler weather it's pretty close to a very similar hunt. There isn't a level foot of ground anywhere down there until you get to the river bottom. My feet had had enough.

Glad it all came together for you!

Congrats

I am amazed as well CR. I knew at any minute while laying in bed my stomach was going to turn for the worse. So far so good though. Let me correct myself. The straw I used is the "Lifestraw Personal Water Filter" that I had. My other is a Katadyn. For $19 there isn't anything more important or something similar to it to have in your backpack at all times. It has now replaced toilet paper as the number one on the list of things to bring. I am not joking. I shutter to think how it would have ended without it.

I was thinking about that last night, I actually have a small swayers in both my packs and a regular sized one in my pack. Cheap insurance. Only thing is I think they are good for Bactria and not viruses.

Moving my Lifestraw to the deer lease backpack today; just in case I break a leg and have to drink out of a trough 'til my buddies decide to look for me.

You are correct Bobo. It's only good down to .2 microns successfully getting rid of 99.9% bacteria & Protozoa. You are correct in saying it doesn't work on viruses. It was worth the risk given the situation. Time will tell and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed. I may be marketing a new weight loss program on Dr OZ in the next few weeks.

Lmao, ironically the stale water is probably safer then the rio grande, Virus wise but I'm bet if it hadn't hit you yet your good. Important thing is you had a filter. Extremely smart on your part to have a filter that country is unforgiving,

Only think bad about the swayers is getting water out of very small pools. In NM this year I ran out of water and started looking at a small spring, but all I had was my water bladder, with the circular screw in cap. Thinking I need to add a pump to my line up. Sounds like the kylerdan stayed pretty clog free? Which model did you get?

The Katadyn that I have is the "Pocket Microfilter". I use it on week long backpacking trips where I intend on using streams, ponds, etc as my main source of water. Otherwise it's too heavy to pack for the rare "oh crap" moments. It is by far their most robust and reliable filter. You might consider the Hiker Pro or Hiker Microfilter. They are lighter but the plastic housings concern me a little

Great ram and awesome story!

Wow, great story and write up!! Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad your hunt turned out well!!! That's awesome!!

Thanks for the amazing loads Chad and accommodating me on short notice. If anyone needs some custom rounds made this is the man to go see. He truly enjoys what he does and is great at doing it.

Thanks again.

Great story and write up. I'm headed that way on January, can't wait!!!

WOW, great story and great ram.

For sure a great story to tell the grandkids and share with all your buddies. Awesome trip

Good job. Gotta love it when a plan comes together!

Way to get the entire sheep hunting experience in just a day! You guys busted your butts and got it done. Excellent write up and mighty fine ram. Thank you for coming out!

Congratulations Sir on your "Sheep Hunt" I enjoyed the read. Once again hats off.

Looks like we gotta hell of a team going on the THF!

Great story, and I too appreciate the kind words. As I told you when you came out, Chad got the rifle to shoot, I'll get you shooting it, and Mike will put you on the animals, the rest is up to you. You got it done, and soldiered through it. Awesome story!

And for Pete's sake quit slapping the trigger! You're making me look bad!