Red’s 41E Desert Bighorn Ram

It is extremely hard to draw a bighorn sheep tag as the demand vs supply isn’t even close to being in balance.  This typically leads to many hunters drawing sheep tags when they are indeed past their prime.  There isn’t a cure for this dilemma, it’s simply the math.

Red H. called us in the summer of 2023 after he found out he had drawn a 41 east desert bighorn sheep tag.  Red’s good friend Larry hunted with us in 2020, so he knew he was getting a great sheep hunting crew but his main concern were the mountains themselves.  Red like many others was past his peak mountain climbing days.  Red was open about his concerns of being able to get to a ram, which was indeed the biggest obstacle.  We assured him we would find a solid ram where he could accomplish his goal of harvesting an old desert ram.

Red's 41E Desert Bighorn
Red smiling while holding his old desert ram!

After several days scouting, EPO Guide Jon Green turned a solid ram in a good spot.  Jon sat on the ram for days but on the opening morning of the hunt the ram disappeared into the large mountain range.   Later that same day the team turned an even older desert ram & after a quick discussion the decision was made to pursue.

41E Sheep Hunting Crew
Red & the EPO team led by Jon Green

Arizona desert bighorn sheep hunts are once-in-a-lifetime hunts which really make them unique compared to any other species.  We were honored to assist Red in accomplishing his goal of harvesting a trophy old desert ram!

Larry's Giant Ram

40×40 Arizona Desert Bighorn Ram

Larry Irvin waited over 30 years before drawing his Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Tag. Larry drew Unit 15DS, which is right in our backyard & home of some of the largest nelsoni desert bighorn sheep in the world!

After Larry’s decision to book his once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn sheep hunt with us we made it a priorty to find an old record book desert bighorn ram. We originally focused our efforts on relocating a very long ram we called “LR” but unfortunetly LR broomed both horns off, which eliminated him from the top of the list. As the hunt begin we decided to keep looking for another target ram but those plans changed after the team located a NEW giant ram.

Back View

Right Back View

40x40 Bedded

Immediatly we knew that this insanely long desert bighorn ram was special.  The excitement grew as pics & videos were shared of this awesome ram & we knew he was the one. Lee Murphy & Hunter Haynes bedded the giant desert bighorn ram & the long sleepless night was all that seperated Larry from his once-in-a-lifetime goal. 

Larry Rok-Stedi

The next day we found the ram tucked into a big cave to avoid the long night of steady & increasing wind.  After a short discussion we made up a plan to get Larry within range.  We setup to shoot on a small rock ledge with Larry’s .270WSM (while mounted to a Rok-Stedi Bipod). The ram slow got up to check on his ewes & Larry made quick work of the 9.5 year old ram we called “40×40”.  

Larry's Giant Desert Bighorn

Hunter, Larry & Lee

Larry holding 40x40

40x40 Scoring
Larry’s ram officially aged at 9.5 years old & scored 178 6/8″ Gross 177 2/8″ Net