You’re not going to believe how close the contest was for guessing how much weight Bill lost. Bill lost 37 pounds, and TWO people guessed exactly 37 pounds:

Pamela Chamberlain
Jim Yeager

Congrats to both winners! Rather than flipping a coin, we’ll just give you both prizes. We’ll follow up directly with you two. And let us offer our condolences to Paul Eslinger and Kevin Wannamaker, who both missed by a half a pound. Paul guessed 36.5 pounds; Kevin guessed 37.5.

Thanks for voting everyone!

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Bill's months and months of preparation paid off on Aug. 26 when he accomplished the mission. Mission Dall's Sheep was a success!

I’m writing this installment of the Mission Dall’s Sheep blog on the flight home from Fairbanks, Alaska, and I’m happy to report, “Mission Accomplished!”

On Wednesday evening August 26, I took a Dall’s ram that later was verified at Fish & Game check-in as 14 years old. He was heavily-broomed on both horns which each measured within a hair of 35 ½ inches with 13 ¾-inch bases. Even with the brooming, he’s full curl on both sides! Yet what caught my eye from the very first glimpse in the spotting scope was his width.  He just goes out and out! 

You’ll be able to share the hunt on next season’s “North American Hunter” Television on Versus and in a feature upcoming in North American Hunter magazine, but as followers of the “Mission Dall’s Sheep” blog, there are some impressions of the hunt that you certainly deserve first!

Despite beginning the focused preparation for this late August hunt back on February 1, it was physically and mentally the most demanding thing I’ve ever done. Thanks to your input and support I dropped 37 pounds for the trip, and now that it’s done I appreciate every ounce and every word of encouragement even more!

At the elevations we hunted (up to 6500 feet) and even on the very steep terrain, my cardio was fine; no problems breathing or feeling woozie. Muscle tone in legs and back were pretty good for the most part – sure, I felt “the burn” on the steep climbs and descents, but that went away quickly. What killed me was the unsure footing and the strain it put on my ankles and especially knees. Carrying the pack with spike camping gear and the head and cape off the mountain left my knees mighty stiff and sore even now – three days later!

Immediately prior to the trip when anyone asked me, “Are you ready?” my response was, “I’m as ready as an old flatlander can be!” I still hold with that because I don’t know how you can train in Minnesota for near-vertical, snow-covered shale slides; mountainside mossy tundra; and boulder-to-boulder hopping you’ll encounter as par-for-the-course on a sheep hunt.

From the mental aspect, I learned once again patience is the ultimate hunting virtue! We hunted for seven long days before getting in reasonable shooting range of a legal ram. When we did, we had actually spotted him 3 days earlier and stuck it out hunting the drainage. Immediately prior to spotting the ram and his band again, we spent 15 straight hours tent-bound by fog, rain and snow. Then we spent five hours on a ledge in a shale slide within 600 yards of the herd waiting for them to make a move to allow us to cut the distance in half.

My inclination (and it would have been our downfall) was to make a move. But for once I managed to follow my own advice and listened to the guide!  We stayed put until the opportune moment. When the TV show airs, you’ll get a kick out of the footage of me pacing that ledge playing head games to keep myself there!

As for gear, I think that’s where I did the best preparation. The T/C ICON .30-06 with Nikon 3-10X Monarch scope and 165-grain Federal Trophy Bonded Tip proved perfectly, one-shot lethal. The ram was steeply quartering away well downhill at 267 yards on the angle-compensating Nikon range finder. I mentally pictured a straight line to his off-side shoulder and held to enter just in front of his last rib on the side closest to me.  Prone and anchored on a small boulder I squeezed the trigger and that’s precisely where the bullet went.  In fact, we recovered the perfectly mushroomed Trophy Tip on the outside of the left leg! I haven’t had the chance to weigh it yet, but am guessing 95 percent-plus weight retention.  The ram staggered less than 10 yards across the rocks with the rest of the herd, then keeled over.

The peripheral gear choices were also spot on. The Cabela’s/Meindel boots, the Cabela’s Alaskan outfitter pack, the SPOT Satellite Messenger, the BOG POD shooting sticks, the Quallofill 0-degree sleeping bag … all just right. I also borrowed a couple of “must have” items from the guide, too! First was a new air mattress ground pad from “Big Agnes” – without question the best I’ve ever slept on! Second were trekking poles – basically length-adjustable ski poles with a built in shock absorption system. I used a trekking pole in one hand and the BOG POD tri-pod in the other for the entire trip. When I make my next mountain hunt, trekking poles will absolutely make the must-have gear list!

Well, in the immediate afterglow of the hunt, that’s all I have. As more reflections occur to me, we may update the Mission Dall’s Sheep blog now and then, but for now let me leave you with this:

If a sheep hunt is even a glimmer of a dream for you, don’t put in it off. Begin your search now to make your dream come true – if there’s one thing I can tell you is that it will return many, many times what you put into it!

Shoot straight –

Bill Miller

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Well, we’ve kept everyone in suspense until the end.  Did I hit my weight loss goal before heading to the mountains on Mission Dall’s Sheep? What was the final weight?

As you may recall, I started at 242 pounds on Feb. 1. The goal weight was 195 for a total loss of 47 pounds.

At the final weigh-in this morning … drum roll please … the scale read: “205.”

So no, I didn’t achieve the goal as far as pounds, but my wind is up. I can go hiking or on the treadmill basically as long as I want.  I’m carrying around 60 pounds on my pack without much undue exertion.  My self assessment is that I’m in about as good of shape as an old flatlander can expect to be.

There was also a bit of good news from the outfitter. While we were anticipating hunting at elevations from 8,000 to 10,000 feet, the area that’s scouted the best for them will have base camp at 2,000 feet and we won’t likely hunt much over 6,000 feet. Heck, that’s about the same elevations as my stomping grounds out in South Dakota’s Black Hills!

So all in all, I feel ready. I’m physically in shape. The gun and gear are more than good to go. And I’ve done as much mental prep for all contingencies as I possibly can.

The Mission just can’t get here soon enough!

Shoot straight –

Bill Miller

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Though I wrote about my “electronics” considerations for the trip a while back, I didn’t get around to picking up the SPOT messenger until last weekend.  What a cool device and concept.

Basically, when you turn SPOT on it first finds your GPS coordinates. Then with the basic service (the package I bought) you have three options.

You can hit the “OK” button which sends a signal to the SPOT satellite which then relays e-mails and text messages to any addresses/numbers you programmed into your account before you left. It tells the recipients you’re okay, and sends them a link to Google Maps with a pinpoint to exactly where you on are the face of the globe!  (We’d hook this up for all NAHC members to monitor, but we promised the outfitter we’d keep the precise location of his secret spots secret.)

Or you can hit the “Help” button which does the same thing except it sends a message requesting that the recipient send help as soon as possible.

The third button is 911 which sends out a distress signal for the area that you are in.

There won’t be any cell phones where we are going, and this will be a much less expensive way of “checking in” with loved ones back home than toting along a satellite phone.

Shoot straight –

Bill Miller

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Video 10: Running On The Road

What’s kept me getting up at 4:16 a.m. most mornings, what’s made me go just “five minutes more” on the treadmill, what’s made me pick up that pack and go hiking when there were 10 other things I should be doing and five I wanted to be doing – is visualization. I just pictured a big ol’ ram on a mountain face across a deep, steep valley. He’s well beyond shooting range, but in my mental perspective he fills the spotting scope with full curls plus! He’s laying there among a group of rams.  They haven’t seen a hunter in years and are in no hurry to go anywhere.

I stare at him through the scope until his image is burned in my brain. I think, “There he is Miller. There’s your sheep.” Then I look back at the valley we have to cross to get him. That’s what inspires me. If I’m not in shape for this trip, I might not as well not even go.  If I don’t do everything I possibly can to prepare to cross that valley and reach a position to take the shot, then what difference does it make if I’m on the opposite mountainside or back in Minnesota? The result would be the same.

So I get up; I go on; I work around. This sheep hunt only comes once, and I’m going to be ready for it!

Shoot straight –

Bill Miller

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Something that every busy hunter today needs is at least one retired buddy who loves to shoot. Thanks to my good friend Mike Larsen who is retired from a 30-plus year career at Federal Cartridge, my T/C ICON .30-06 is ready for the Mission Dall Sheep hunt that’s almost here.

Mike heads to the rifle range at least twice a week, so early in the summer he agreed to take the ought-six with him for the critical break-in and load testing that I just wasn’t going to have the time to do. And what a job he did.

The gun has well over 300 rounds through it now. Careful cleaning at regular intervals has broken in the barrel wonderfully. Copper doesn’t start showing up until a box and a half of shooting now, and then only minimally.

Mike tested at least 20 rounds each of every 150- and 165-grain load that Federal makes, some as many as 40 rounds.  He recorded in a notebook every shot taken, down to wind conditions and how the trigger squeeze “felt” to him. This gun has been tested and documented thoroughly.

In a nutshell, it’s a shooter. The most amazing thing continues to be that consistent point of impact I wrote about earlier. With all loads tested, it never moved more than an inch in any direction from the original load with which it was sighted in.

I got to shoot the rifle for two range sessions myself last week and performed a last sight-in check for the trip.  It’s zeroed at 2 ½ inches high at 100 yards with 165-grain Federal factory-loaded Trophy Bonded Tip bullets. I’ll shoot it one more time once we’re at elevation to see if the airlines manage to knock it off and to resight to compensate for the thinner air.

All of Mike’s shooting and recordkeeping have me completely confident in this rifle. I can’t wait to use it for what we built it for!

Shoot straight –

Bill Miller

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Video 9: From Quebec

I used to brag I could be ready to go hunting anywhere in North America for any critter in 20 minutes or less. Anywhere in the world in a half hour! My basement lair still has the framework to get it done … all the labeled, see-through plastic bins with covers; the huge locker with shelf space for all the ammo; the giant gun safe; and the peg board walls to hang paraphernalia where it’s always within reach.

Problem is, over the years, the gear has outgrown the organization.  Seems like getting back into bowhunting increased the “stuff” by at least another 50 percent! It’s probably time to trim back, but who has the time (or desire) these days to go in and do the pruning? Besides, all that stuff might come in handy “next season.”

So my wife and I have negotiated a “staging area” upstairs in our home.  It’s in a seldom used dining room. That’s where the gear pile for Mission: Dall’s Sheep expands a little more every day. Clothes, boots, ammo, optics, packs, gloves, sleeping bag, electronics accessories and more are all finding their way into the dining room.

This weekend, I’m going to sit back and look at what I’ve wrought. I need to do some serious pruning. A sheep hunter can not afford the attitude, “I might need that.” You can only take what you know you’ll need and figure out the rest if and when the situation arises.

I’ll grab the fish scale and the scale out of the bathroom and start weighing stuff. I want to keep my raw pack weight to 60 pounds including the rifle. It will be an interesting adventure to see what finally stays and what finally goes.

My own weight seems to have locked in for now at 205 pounds. An injury to my heel from a fall last December flared up, so I’ve cut back the running time and replaced it with biking and swimming. Seems to help the heel, but they don’t work as well for me taking the wait off.  My wind is up though. I can go “all day” and my knees feel fine.

Shoot straight –

Bill Miller

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Since we posted the video blogs about building the Thompson/Center ICON .30-06 at the factory, there’s a new most-frequently-asked question. It is: “How’s the rifle shooting?”

Well, my buddy Mike has put about 200 rounds through it now and here’s what we’ve seen so far:

To date he’s tested Federal and Fusion factory loads with 8 different bullets including: 165 gr. Trophy Bonded Tip, 150 gr. Fusion, 165 gr. Ballistic Tip, 165 gr. Sierra Boattail, 165 gr Fusion, 150 gr. Federal Softpoint, 165 gr. Nosler Partition.

The average size of all groups fired with all loads has been 1.421433 inches. The smallest group average for a single bullet tested has been .734375 inch – that was with the 165 gr. Ballistic Tip.  No single group with any bullet has yet matched the .40-inch we shot at the factory with 150 gr. Federal Softpoints.

The largest group average was 2.06 inches. This was the first group average recorded. The only other 2+ average was the second test batch which was 2.03 inch.  Group averages are consistently becoming tighter, so we’ll go back and retest the early ammo again once the barrel is broken in.

The rifle is definitely still in its break-in stage.  It has one spot in the barrel that collects some copper.  If not well-cleaned with copper remover for each 15 rounds the groups expand quickly.

One very interesting finding is how consistent the point of impact has been from bullet to bullet and load to load.  Through all tests thus far, POI has not moved more than ½-inch from the original sight-in with the 165 gr. Trophy Bonded Tip.  That’s nice information to have on a rifle that could someday be force fed whatever ammo might be on hand if the airline loses my other luggage!

There are still a number of factory loads to test, and Mike wants to see if he can beat them with his hand loads, too. We’ll let you know more results once the next batch of data is in.

Shoot straight –

Bill Miller

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I know, I know … the very notion of pondering what “electronics” I’m going to take on the Dall’s Sheep hunt likely has Jack O’Connor spinning in his grave! Fact is, it even makes me a little queasy to admit it, but this is 2009. There are a few devices that can give “piece of mind” that balances the drawbacks of carrying the extra weight up the mountain.

First, let me thank the Lord that there will be no signal out there for my Blackberry. I can check that device of the devil at the outfitter’s base and not think about it again until we’re at the airport to come home.

This won't be Bill (we hope!), but in case anything does happen, Bill is bringing a SPOT Satellite Messenger. The man pictured used his SPOT to send his GPS coordinates to respondents after he was injured in the Canadian Rockies.

However, there is the option of a satellite phone.  I hope I can convince my boss that’s overkill for the max of 10 or 12 days I’ll likely be out of touch.  Sat phones are becoming more and more common in hunting camps and even out in the field, and I have to admit I’ve made use of them to “touch base” with the office from some pretty remote places.

I own a handheld GPS unit that I’m thinking about taking. It’s a little weighty … about 8 ounces. I keep telling myself that I won’t need it because I’ll be with a guide, but on the other hand guides are not immortal, or infallible, either. 

The piece of electronic equipment that I haven’t yet acquired, but will definitely be taking with me is the SPOT Satellite Messenger System.  This is a unit that sends out a satellite beacon that those back home can track for location and status via mobile phone or e-mail and be assured that everything’s okay when you can’t otherwise call. It can also send a distress signal to the proper emergency response authorities – just in case.

I’d say that we’d link this to this blog, but I’ve promised the outfitter that we won’t get too specific about the area we are hunting because he doesn’t need a lot of competition in there.

In my mind, this trip is still about experiencing the thrills of sheep hunting the way O’Connor and the others did. In reality, I’m going to employ 21st century technology to keep everyone back home happier.

Shoot straight –

Bill Miller

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Well, turkey season is done. I ended up with three more notches in the box call and counted coup on four more gobblers––everything except dropping the hammer.  That’s part and parcel to hunting for television, though. If I suspect the camera might not be seeing what I’m seeing, I have to let ‘em walk or risk wasting everyone’s time and money.

When Bill is on a TV hunt, he has to make sure the camera can see what he sees before he shoots. Would you be willing to pass up the biggest bear of your life because the cameraman needs more footage?

Despite the travel, eating away from home and the messed up sleep, the good news is I weighed in this morning to find I’m exactly where I was before turkey season – 208 pounds.  The bad news is, I’m still at 208 pounds.

That’s been a plateau for a while now and I’ve got to find some new ways to move the needle.  Exercise is the same, so it will probably have to come on the diet side of things.

The gun we built at TC arrived in Minnesota, and I’ve turned the keys temporarily over to a good friend who is retired from a 30-plus year career at Federal. Mike shoots at least a couple times per week and is a meticulous record keeper. He has the time to really wring the ICON out for me with a broad range of Federal Ammo, though he told me up front it will be tough to beat the .40 and .33 groups the gun shot at the factory.  The first extended range session will happen today, and I can’t wait for Mike’s call tonight.

Be that as it may, I’ve got to get focused on NAH’s next taping trip. We’re headed back to Gesti-Faune at Manor Brule in Quebec to help thin the black bear population in an adjacent provincial reserve. This area has the only known, native Woodland Caribou herd outside of New Foundland and the bears are hard on them especially during calving season. As a result this is the only area in Quebec with a 2-bear limit.

Despite being less than two hour’s drive from Quebec City, this is a remote lodge that’s primarily a fishing destination. It is in some big hills that are darn near mountains, so I’ll be taking my pack and hiking (running?) every morning to offset all those hours of inactivity sitting on stand and the gourmet dinners at midnight back at the lodge.  If we can also drive down the mountain to an Internet connection one day, I’ll try to update the MDS blog, too.

Shoot straight –

Bill Miller

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