Stone sheep hunting sinks its hooks deep and gets into your blood. It all started for me in 2013 when I drew a Rocky Mountain sheep tag in Utah. It was an amazing hunt that lit a fire. I knew I had to chase sheep again. It was a choice between Dall and Stone sheep. Dall seemed too run-of-the-mill, but Stone sheep, with their dark coats and wild, craggy terrain, called to me. That decision kicked off the adventure of a lifetime. After years of near misses, Worldwide Trophy Adventures and Matt Gindorff finally made it real in 2024 in northwest British Columbia. The true trophy, I’d learn, was the adventure itself. The ram was just a powerful reminder of the hunt.
My journey kicked off in 2017 with a different outfitter. We had a handshake deal that I could hunt until I got my ram. I loaded my truck and drove 1,700 miles from Utah to Pink Mountain, spending 16 days hiking through historic country. We spotted young rams, four and five years old, their horns promising but not yet legal. The mountains were alive with all sorts of animals and beautiful sights, but no full-curl rams.
In 2018, I went back for 18 days, and found those same rams, now six and seven but still shy of legal age or curl. Mid-hunt, the outfitter’s owner passed away, a gut punch. By 2020, the outfit sold. COVID and border closures meant things came to a grinding halt. In 2023, I shelled out more cash to keep going, driving to the Akai drainage near the Prophet Muskwa. We swam icy rivers, lost horses off cliffs, bent rifle barrels in a wreck. It was crazy, unforgettable country, but still no legal rams appeared.
Three trips, over 60 days, and no legal ram. My luck was rough. Two weeks before the 2023 season closed, the outfitter offered three additional days. I drove 1,700 miles again, climbed peaks, and saw rams, none legal. Again. Day 69, and still nothing. It started to feel like a Stone sheep wasn’t in the cards.
In 2024, I hit WTA’s website and called Matt Gindorff. A cancellation opened a spot with one of their best outfitters in British Columbia, a 2,100-mile haul. I pushed for the first hunt, fed up with second-season bad breaks. Arriving early, I met my guides, swapped stories over coffee, and helped swim horses across a frigid river to camp. From the cabin, we glassed sheep three miles out, white specks dotting green slopes under a gray sky. Excitement was high—I was finally seeing sheep!
We climbed daily, set tents on rocky outcrops, and glassed for hours. Sheep roamed the ridges, but legal rams were scarce. One day, we spotted three rams, one a seven-year-old full curl, legal but too young for the camp’s rule of older rams to ensure ethical hunting and herd longevity. They made their way towards us. At 30 feet, they sniffed our tracks, noses up, for two minutes. The seven-year-old locked eyes with me, then bolted. That close encounter, with hooves scraping shale, was worth the trip.
Another time, we found a legal ram two miles off, across four ridges, too far to close the distance. Later, we got within 150 yards, hidden by terrain. We crept closer, but the band spooked, charging into another hunter’s path. That hunter took a beautiful ram from the band—not our big one, but it blew my hunt for the day.
Toward the end, we found a band of four in a cut canyon. One was legal, his horns curling heavy. They watched us from above, forcing a slow circle through loose scree. As they crested the ridge, it was now or never. At 450 yards, I shot, hitting the ram. He staggered, ran, badly hurt. I missed a second shot, then anchored him at 490 yards. After 30 seconds, his head dropped. We exhaled, 78 days of weight lifted. This was a true hunting marathon. I packed the cape, horns, and head while the guides packed the meat. We had earned this one.
That old Stone ram was a beauty, but the real prize was the journey—78 days of rivers, cliffs, and heart-pounding moments. It was the pursuit of a lifetime. WTA and their outfitters knew every ridge, delivering a hunt I’ll never top. After two weeks at home, I called Matt: “Book me again for 2026.” Stone sheep are the most beautiful animal I’ve hunted, and I’m addicted. Learn more and chase your own ram with WTA.
