Tyrel hunts Bighorn Sheep in the Missouri River Breaks with his Dad.
Tyrel with his Ram
Tyrel is a local guy from Malta, Montana that usually carries a contagious smile. He made big news in the small town this fall as he drew the coveted 680 Ram permit, and that smile hasn’t left his face since. Tyrel’s dad Dave started putting Tyrel in the draw as soon as he was eligible as a kid. I think Dave dreamed of experiencing this hunt with his son before he got too old to go along. After more than 20 years of applying, in the summer of 2023 the day came and Tyrel was on Cloud 9. Tyrel couldn’t believe his luck and I think everyone in Malta heard the news the day the results came out.
I first met Tyrel at the local butcher shop where he works. I was having a local beef processed and Tyrel had a hand in the processing. Tyrel couldn’t wait to tell me about the permit and before long we had already discussed scouting plans for summer. Summer scouting in the breaks can be frustrating, especially in 680, as the sheep are often spread out away from the river, utilizing the trees more-so than one might think.
After many summer scouting trips and hunting from up top, away from the river in the early part of the season, we set a date to go again in the early part of November. During one of our earlier trips, we had a nice ram get away from us in the trees and we never saw him again. Not thinking of that specific sheep, we decided to take boats up river from the bridge. This was a little farther journey than we had planned, but fall storms and snow melt were in play, and we were worried about driving on the gumbo Eastern Montana is so famous for. We didn’t have the fastest or the nicest boats, but they were dependable, and after a half a day of traveling up stream we decided to set up camp. This trip was lining out to be even better than our earlier trips because Tyrel’s dad Dave was able to go along, as well as our good buddy Logan. Logan is a local taxidermist from the same town of Malta and Tyrel planned to have him do the mount when he found his sheep, so who better to bring along to do the cape work. Logan had recently invested in some great camera equipment and decided he would try it out during the hunt.
The fog lifting the first morning
The first night it started to rain and kept raining for hours. A good wet soak to turn the gumbo to grease. We woke up in the morning to a good blanket of fog, but an hour or so after daybreak the fog started to pass, and we could start to see the bluffs behind us. There was a Ram, chasing ewes and showing us that things had changed since September. After looking at those sheep for a bit we scanned over and saw some more sheep to the west. They were quite a distance off and hard to get a good look through the patchy fog, but we could see at least two different rams with some ewes at the top of the bluff. We made our way over until we could see through the fog and when it broke again, we got our first look at two rams chasing ewes on the adobe cliff. One of them appeared to be a great ram but was still too far out to know for sure.
All four of us grabbed our gear and made our way closer. When we got close enough to have a clear look, we could all tell one of the two was a mature ram and carried his mass throughout. These two rams brought back memories from mid-September. About a month prior, two rams, several miles away, had gotten away from us and these two rams fit the description of what we saw before we lost them in the trees. I could see the excitement in both Tyrel and his Dad. Throughout the season, Tyrel had experienced some highs and lows, which is normal for early season sheep hunting in the breaks. The anticipation of this being the moment to fulfill a dream was present. I am not sure if Tyrel plays poker, but from what I can tell he would be horrible as that huge smile and shortness of breath in this moment was apparent.
Waiting to stand. “I know Dad”
The sheep had bedded down after a couple hours of chasing each other on the top of this bluff so we all slowly made our way closer to a place Tyrel felt comfortable taking the shot. It was hard to tell who was more nervous at the time, Tyrel or his Dad. Logan and I could not help but smile as you could hear Dave giving his son direction. Tyrel, already nervous, spewing the famous line a kid tells his parents, “I know Dad.” It was fun watching Dave guide his son during this incredible moment. By the time we got into position the sheep were still bedded on the hillside with two different ewes directly behind the ram. We hung out for what must have been close to an hour taking videos and pictures. Soon we noticed a few ewes getting up and walking behind the ram. The ram turned his head watching the ewes go by, but we knew this wouldn’t last long as it looked like he was trying to taste the air. After a few ewes had walked by, the giant ram stood up and the nerves really lit up on both Tyrel and his Dad. Still not having a clear shot, Tyrel had to force himself to let this beautiful Ram stand there as two ewes stood behind him. He walked about 20 yards and stood in perfect picture formation.
Still can’t shoot, ewe right behind him. “Ya I know Dad”
A few seconds later the shot rang and all of us saw the bullet hit just a few inches over his shoulder on the adobe bluff. I am not sure if I have ever heard an action work so quick when he threw another round in the chamber, and we could sense a little panic in the air. The sheep shuffled around a bit but shortly came back to rest. Tyrel let another round go and the three of us watching knew it was the shot Tyrel had been dreaming of. He put one more down range to be sure and soon enough we watched the ram stumble and fall out of view into one of the drainages below. Tyrel immediately jumped up. It was hard for him to describe what he was feeling but we could see the emotion he was going through with a giant smile across his face. As Tyrel explained, this is probably the most nervous he has ever been, and he could not believe what just happened. We knew Tyrel had drawn the dream tag and he did it justice. He did not just harvest a Bighorn Sheep in the famous Missouri River Breaks. He had just harvested a great ram and we all knew how fortunate this moment was.
Tyrel, Logan and I started hiking up the hill where the sheep had fallen. The next few hours were the surprise of the trip as we did not realize how steep this bluff was, and after the rain from the previous night, just how much of a problem it would be to scale.
After starting the vertical climb, within 200 yards we were on our hands and knees sliding up and down this adobe bluff. We later realized Tyrel puked three times climbing up this trench. Most would show sympathy, but we were covered in slimy gumbo and just laughed. Even after Tyrel had puked more than once climbing, he still had that same smile across his face, saying he didn’t care, he just wanted to get to his sheep. After climbing up this dang thing for a couple hours, Logan and I sat and waited for Tyrel. After about 20 minutes he got up to us and said “oh I see it now.” We did not even turn our heads as we thought he was joking, knowing we still had more climbing to do. He insisted again that he could see it. Logan and I turned around and Logan was sitting almost 15 feet from the sheep. We all got excited and started making a bunch of noise. We let Tyrel walk up to his sheep and all the sudden he wasn’t tired at all and almost levitated the last few steps to his sheep. Tyrel saw the size of his sheep and could not have been more pleased. We started taking pictures and videos and the smiles and laughs never went away.
As I mentioned earlier, Logan being the taxidermist, went to skinning and prepping the sheep. With Tyrel being a butcher, I felt it was best I keep these guys company and take it easy for a bit. Every now and then I would grab a leg but nothing strenuous. We soon had the meat all separated and the head and hide strapped to a pack for Tyrel. We decided to go down the other side of this bluff as it looked easier. We soon found ourselves in an even steeper drainage than before and possibly not able to go back up the way we came. At a certain point Tyrel had to let the pack with the head and hide roll off a small ledge. Well, it kept rolling down and we watched it tumble off a small cliff landing on another ledge below us. We soon realized we could not get to the pack and were all at a loss for words. Wanting to avoid getting hurt, we decided our only choice was to take everything back to camp and come back with plenty of rope in the morning.
The next morning, we went back up this dreaded peak. After taking a different route up, we found ourselves using the rope before getting to the sheep as one of these ledges required some scaling and a significant jump. If you did not land right or someone did not catch you, you could tumble down a lot further than any of us wanted. On the boat ride up, Tyrel explained he was not the greatest swimmer, I told him I could tell as he stayed towards the middle of the boat with his life jacket cinched up about as tight as it would go. Hiking up to this sheep, we realized that rock climbing and heights were also not on his bucket list.
Cmon… just jump.
After finally getting back to the sheep, we jammed a pack shovel into the gumbo hole above where the sheep head had fallen. I volunteered to go down the rope as Logan and Tyrel held onto the rope above and tied it off onto the shovel. Our plan worked, as we were able to lift the pack and climb back out. It was refreshing at how smooth it worked getting the pack out of the hole.
Tyrel and Dave. “I know Dad”
A short while later we got back to camp, and Tyrel got to show his Dad the sheep for the first time. The picture taking commenced again and we all admired this truly once and a lifetime animal back at camp. The moment had happened, and this experience had gone full circle. We rough scored the sheep just over 185, but I don’t think anyone cared about the number. The sheep was a beautiful ram and the hunt that came with it could not have been any better.
After the hunt concluded, we sat and talked while picking up camp. Tyrel said more than one time this was the best hunt he had been on in his life. I cannot speak for Dave and Logan, but I am sure they felt the same as me, this was an incredible experience. I hope those that come after us get to experience what we did. It is a trip that will be engraved in our memories forever and truly makes life better. Someone once told me before going on a hunt like this, once it is over, it is over. Best of luck to future tag holders and remember to cherish the moment, as you will most likely not get to do this again.
Thanks for letting me be apart of this Tyrel.
