As the 2023 draw season rolled around, my son, Turner, drew a Nevada mule deer tag and I drew a Colorado mule deer tag. We made arrangements with outfitters and were getting
our calendars set up when my once-in-a-lifetime Arizona Desert bighorn sheep tag surprisingly arrived in the mail! I contacted my Hunt Advisor at Huntin’ Fool, now seeking Arizona outfitters for Desert bighorn. Huntin’ Fool suggested Eric Hunt, owner of ADO (Arizona Desert Outfitters), and after speaking with Eric, I learned that an old friend of mine, Tom Priest, was one of his guides. What a small world! The hunt was shaping up.In mid-November of 2023, we arrived at our camp to meet our primary guides, Tom and Josh. Our guides had been scouting regularly in the Kofa mountain range for over a month and had located several rams we would target. We went out the day before the hunt to scout and quickly located the ram the team had been tracking. Our excitement at the prospect of the opening morning’s hunt was palpable.That morning, we were joined by Will and Frank, who would be assisting Tom and Josh in finding our target ram. The plan was that each guide would go a separate way and get to strategic “high ground” sites to search for our ram. Opening day proved that his ram was not going to be easily found. However, on the second day, we found him!As we had done the previous day, my son and I were with Josh. Eric Hunt had joined our party to assist in the search for the ram we were beginning to think was a “ghost.” As first light broke, we positioned ourselves on the south side of the main range and hiked to a nearby high point. The two other tag holders were in the general area, and due to this ram’s propensity to travel, we knew that he could be literally anywhere. After about an hour, a call came from Tom that Frank had spotted the ram and he was preparing to bed down. Hearing this amazing stroke of luck, we packed up and raced to a gully where we could get up on top of a ridge and hopefully get a clear shot at him. Not to disappoint, the ram did not stay put for long. We spent the next hour or so playing a game of cat and mouse. We quickly realized that we were on the wrong ridge. As we made our way down the hardscrabble rockslides and gravel to try and get into a position where we could get a shot, we were told to stop and hold tight. Moments later, we heard that the ram was heading around a bluff towards us. My son whispered, “There he is!”I looked up and across the valley and saw the ram skylighted at the top of a small cliff. I quickly ditched my walking sticks, and my son unslung the rifle from his pack and started to help me get into a steady position. Josh, seeing that I was having trouble, arranged his spotting scope tripod in front of me and I was able to get what I thought was a steady rest. My son took this opportunity to range the ram to +/- 350 yards and adjusted my scope to the proper solution. My heart was racing as the ram had stayed in the same skylighted position during all of this and I was concerned that he would slip away once more. Nevertheless, I carefully took aim, squeezed, and fired. I listened intensely for the telltale “smack” of a hit, but to my surprise, it did not happen.After the report of the shot, the ram quickly turned and faced the opposite direction. There was a split second where I could have gotten another shot, but he quickly faded out of sight. I was in total shock and could not believe that I had missed such a perfect shot. The ram walked over the backside of the hill, and although we had an entire team of spotters in the area, he disappeared down into a deep ravine and no one saw him come out of it. “Houdini” had done it again.The next day, we returned to the general area where we had lost sight of the ram the day before. On our way to our starting point, we saw that another group of hunters were working in that area. Not wanting to divulge much information, we drove on and climbed a nearby mountain to glass while our guide hiked over the ridge and scouted the backside. We moved locations once or twice more with no luck and no word from the spotters. As the sun began to set, we heard two shots ring out and echo off the steep slopes and cliffs. We waited for Josh to get back to us, and after about 10 minutes, we heard another two shots. Due to the harsh terrain and echoes, we were not sure exactly where the shots came from, so we loaded up and started to head back to camp. As we were working our way back out to the main road, we came upon the other hunter’s spotters and were informed their friend had just dropped a large ram. They showed us pictures and our spirits fell. They had found the elusive Houdini.The next morning, we left early and moved further south, hiking into the Yuma Proving Grounds. Extending our search, we circled further to the south to get a look at the southward side of the range within the Yuma Proving Grounds. Fruitlessly searching for the remainder of the day, we got back to camp well after dark.The following morning, rising before first light, we got packed up, and headed down to the area just west of Yuma near Dome, Arizona. Eric had gone down before us, and as we drove down, we received news that he had spotted sheep and gave us directions to where to meet. We met up with Eric and headed into an area adjacent to Interstate 8 and hiked up into the hills. That day, we spotted a few small rams and ewes.The next morning, dawn broke on a perfectly calm and bright day, and as we had done in the past, we were with Tom and Josh. Will and Brooks, headed to different points along the range to scout. Enthusiastic from the prior day’s scouting, we found a high point that gave us an unobstructed view of a substantial portion of the north slope of the range and quickly spotted a group of ewes with a very small ram. We moved higher up to get a better look into the deeper ravines and spotted another solitary small ram when we got a call from Josh that he had found a large ram and we had better get there quick to get a look at him. We quickly scrambled back down to the side-by-side and drove to where Josh was glassing. He had been able to get a fairly accurate description of him, and while he did not have the mass of Houdini, he had a beautiful curl and was a beautiful ram. We looked through the spotting scope ourselves, and we knew he was the one. The hunt was on!Josh stayed in his position to keep an eye on the ram and the ewe he was with, and we moved down the range to the west and across the small ravine from him to get a shot. As I got set up in a prone rest position, I looked through the scope and he was quartering slightly away. My son whispered 360 yards and adjusted my scope’s firing solution. Taking deep breaths to slow my breathing and heart rate, I centered the crosshairs on his mid-section and slowly squeezed. The shot rang out, and this time, there was the telltale “thud” of a direct hit! I let out a huge sigh of relief and relaxed; however, Tom and my son were watching the ram, and while he hopped slightly at the shot, he had not gone down. Tom quickly got in my ear and nervously said, “Shoot him again before he falls off the cliff!”I quickly worked the action and got back in the scope. The ram was facing slightly uphill, and I had a clear shot of his back. My son whispered in my ear that he was not at 400 yards and clicked the MOA slightly. I centered the crosshairs at the ram’s center of mass right up the center of his back, took a deep breath, and squeezed. I heard the telltale “thud” of a direct hit, and the ram visibly shuddered. We watched as his head slowly contorted back and he sank slowly to the ground. As I let out a huge sigh of relief, the reality of it all finally hit me. I felt an immediate sense of calm.The amazing folks at Yuma Game and Fish scored the ram at 159 1/2" and estimated his age at 7 years. A perfect ending to a truly epic and memorable hunt.A final thanks to all who helped me – my son, Josh, Tom, Frank, Brooks, Will, Eric, and, not to forget our amazing camp cook, Betty, and her adorable dog, Sissy.