I had never put much time or effort into learning about Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep since it is so difficult to draw a tag in my home state of Arizona. It is hard to get motivated with odds of less than1%! But in the spring of '06 my best friend Brad Remfrey convinced me and my wife to attend the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society's fundraising banquet. Spending a few hours at the dinner really opened my eyes to how magnificent these animals are and how passionate the members of the society are about sheep. The more sportsmen I talked to the more enamored I became with idea of sheep hunting. That night my wife won a Garmin GPS and Brad won a Sig Sauer 7mm mag rifle. What a night!

My long time friend and hunting partner Lon E.Lauber and I have an unspoken rivalry in making such memories. I don't know how or when it began as our "competition" has never actually been mutually acknowledged.We have always agreed that the more grueling and physically demanding the hunt is, the lower it ranks on the "fun meter."This rating plays as much importance in the "success"of the hunt as does whether we fill a tag or not. It is a simple barometer; the lower the rating on the fun meter the more successful the hunt is. Each year we attempt to out-do each other with our tales of woe and misery and thus be pronounced "dumber than the other."

If you've ever been hunting on horseback, you've probably made comments like these... and, if you've never been hunting on horseback, you've probably heard comments like these. Most serious hunters are willing to withstand extreme discomfort in pursuit of a kill.The good news is you don't have to be miserable when hunting on horseback.With a little knowledge,preparation, and planning, you can actually enjoy your horseback hunt.

A quick midsummer trip to the mailbox just confirmed last week's email - you drew the tag you've been dreaming about for years.You've prepared your gear, sighted in your rifle, bought a new pair of binoculars, and a fresh set of camo.Now the one thing left to prepare is your body.

Over the last decade there has been an explosion of interest in long range hunting and shooting.One of the reasons for this growing interest has been the development of cartridges that can reach out much further than before. Some examples are the Weatherby family of calibers, in particular the 30-378 or 338-378, the 7mm, .300 and .338 Ultra Mag varieties from Remington, the Light/ Heavy Magnum series from Hornady, the Short Mag cartridges from Winchester, the HE (high energy) variations from Federal and the ultra high velocity Lazzeroni series.

You've heard the old saying "It isn't over until the fat lady sings."This phrase took on a new meaning while I was sitting at a glassing area of my Colorado bighorn sheep hunt. In an excited quiet voice,my husband Mike said,"I hear something!" I quickly grabbed my gun and looked around for sheep. I listened for rolling rocks, and then looked back at Mike.He was smiling from ear to ear and said,"I think I hear the fat lady and she's getting ready to sing!"Everyone thought this was extremely funny, so after that I repeatedly heard "Do you hear something?"I know I deserved a little bit of ribbing since I had the opportunity at a good ram,and as every hunter knows, you don't always get "do-overs."At this point, the days seemed to pass by much too quickly.

In the year 2000,my friend Bill Thorpe suggested I start applying for various species in different states. I was lucky enough to draw a Nevada antelope tag and a muzzleloader deer tag within three years. Often,my wife Debbie assisted me with deciding where to apply because she is a very analytical thinker. In 2004, she helped me apply for an Idaho sheep tag in unit 20-1, the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, because the odds looked good.Maybe she thought she could get rid of me.I had seen the hunt described as a tough physical hunt, which translated to me as an adventure. It turned out to be a very tough hunt and I very narrowly returned from it.

Since I make my living as a hunting and fishing guide in California and Nevada I don't get to hunt nearly as much as I used to. But just like a lot of other hunters I apply for tags in all the western states and dream of someday drawing a sheep tag. I never really thought I'd draw such a coveted tag but in early June I learned that I had drawn a desert sheep tag in Nevada. I was on cloud nine.

There are dozens of over-used phrases and buzz words to describe the myriad of new products that hit the hunting market each year. For instance, groundbreaking, cutting edge, trailblazer, etc... all try to define a new product as "innovative."But true innovation is exceedingly rare since it requires that a product be delivered to the market before the market even knows that the potential for the product exists. This is why I consider the Leica Geovid to be the most innovative optical tool of our generation. Introduced in1993, the Geovid was the first product to combine a highly accurate rangefinder with a high performance binocular - the entire industry stood back and collectively said,"Wow... that's really cool!"

Hound hunting, especially pursuing mountain lions with hounds, is the most misunderstood form of hunting in the country.Misinterpretations concerning sport hunting are generally reserved for the non-hunting public, but when it comes to catching cougars, a majority of sportsmen are in the dark as well.Unfortunately,Hollywood has always portrayed hounds and houndsmen as ruthless killers with incredibly high odds of success, and mountain lions as endangered species. The reality is that houndsmen are deeply committed to preserving the future of big cats, and they are the only reliable source of information regarding current populations and trends.

Once again we find ourselves getting ready for those fall hunts you waited so long to get.Have you been practicing? Many of you just felt a sick feeling if you haven't. Get out there and get shooting, it's the only way you will stay proficient from season to season. The last article I wrote on pre-charged pneumatics introduced you to the BSA Super Ten. It touched on scopes a little and now we need to really dive into the scopes and understand what will work best for you.

Black Shale White Sheep is the first video by Alaska guide/outfitter Rick French of Alaska Alpine Outfitters. This video features 11 exciting Dall sheep hunts filmed throughout Alaska over the past 5 years. These hunts encompass a wide variety of what Alaska has to offer including backpacking the Alaska Range, floating Arctic rivers in the Brooks Range, and horseback hunts in the Wrangells, including both special draw permits and open areas. The video quality, editing, and production are excellent and from the opening quote from Charles Sheldon, Rick presents things from a true sheep hunter's point of view.