Keith Howe of The Dalles literally had a once in a lifetime experience after scoring a prized tag for a big horn sheep hunt near Wasco in September.
There was less than a 1 percent chance that his name would be chosen in the Oregon State Department of Fish and Wildlife’s annual drawing.
“I won the lottery,” Howe said of being selected as one of 100 hunters in the state who was allowed to harvest a ram from one of the wild herds.
According to Jeremy Thompson, a biologist who works out of ODFW’s office in The Dalles, getting selected for a hunt is made even more difficult by the fact that no preference points are awarded.
In deer and elk hunts, points are accrued each time a hunter enters a drawing and gives him or her a better chance of being awarded a tag.
“Most people will never draw a (big horn sheep) tag,” said Thompson. “And once they do, they can never apply again.”
He said the tags are so valued among hunters that someone recently paid $155,000 for a tag at an auction that funds the sheep restoration program.
“That’s how unique the hunting opportunity is,” he said.
Thompson said there are about 3,500 sheep statewide and the animals were reintroduced from Williams Lake in British Columbia, Canada, to Oregon after being hunted to extinction here.
He said wild herds are now established enough in Oregon for limited hunting. They are also shipped to North Dakota, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho and Nevada to build up their populations.
Howe, a hearing specialist who owns Hear’s the Answer in The Dalles, entered his name for a sheep hunt the first time in 2013 but expected to wait for years to net a tag.
Stoked to learn that he had been chosen, Howe decided the hunt would be the perfect occasion to mark his 39th birthday, which was Saturday, Sept. 6.
That day near the Deschutes River became unforgettable as one of the most physically grueling of his life.
“It started out easy enough, we found the herd by the river and then Alvin Decker, who was on top of the hill with a (rifle) scope, spotted five rams so we headed in that direction,” he recounts. “I ranged the ram I wanted at 409 yards.”
His shot brought down the ram but instead of falling in place, it tumbled down the ravine — and the adventure began.
The hunt had begun in the morning and the kill took place at 3:30 p.m. Howe and his hunting partner Jary Snodgrass then had to spend about 45 minutes descending in rough terrain to reach the spot where the ram had come to rest.
The animal weighed almost 300 pounds and it quickly became apparent to Howe and Snodgrass that they weren’t going to be able to push the cart they had thought would carry the animal up the craggy hillside.
Howe had gotten an elk the year before but admitted to being a novice when it came to field dressing skills, which was going to make the process somewhat slower.
By the time he and Snodgrass had gutted the ram, the sun was starting to go down and they were exhausted.
“We started to pack it out and then realized there was no way in the world we were going to be able to haul it uphill,” said Howe.
With no cell coverage in the canyon, he relayed a request to Decker via radio to call Michael Holloran, a good friend, and ask for help.
“I said, ‘Hey want to go on a drive, hike down a canyon and help me carry a ram up the hill?’” Mike said ‘Sure!’ and grabbed his son and a friend and came out.”
By the time Holloran’s crew arrived, it was dark and the group decided to cut the ram in half to lighten the load. The head – highly valued as a trophy — was the heaviest part of the ram because of the horns and thick skull so even lugging the front half of the animal uphill took tremendous effort.
Howe made the decision to bundle meat from the hindquarters and leave it in place until the next morning.
“I’m in really good shape, I’ve worked out at Crossfit for two years, but I could barely walk out of there,” he said.
The next morning, he wrapped his blistered feet in duct tape and recruited John Coats and Mike Omeg, other good friends, to help retrieve the meat. He was relieved to see that the carcass was intact and had not been eaten by other animals.
The ram was sized in the 85th percentile by ODFW and Howe ended up with a freezer full of meat.
“Everything worked out amazingly well — and I learned who my true friends are,” he said.
Howe now invites community members with good sheep recipes to drop them by his office, 608 East Second Street.
“We are open to experiments,” he said.
He is having a shoulder mount made that his wife, Amy, has graciously agreed to hang in the family room. Howe has told her it will be the first and only animal head decorating the house, but he is going on an African safari next year with Snodgrass…
“I hear these are like tattoos, you never get just one!” he said.
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