Outdoor Adventures by Land

…Dall Ram for sure!

Wanting to do something special for my eldest son, Noah, I decided to partake in a hunting excursion then I’m not normally accustomed to. Noah and I decided to join a group of friends and fellow Outdoorsmen and travel to the beautiful state of West Virginia and visit the staff at Mountain Meadow Hunting Preserve.

Mountain Meadow Hunting Preserve in
Greensville, WV

Mountain Meadow is a high fence hunting preserve and unlike anything i had ever experienced before. I agree that this type of hunting (high fence) is not for everyone and I too had hesitations about it. But when you realize that your hunting zone is over 200+ acres on a 600+ acre property, you soon recognize that it’s not as easy as one is lead to believe.

After receiving some do’s and don’ts from the Mountain Meadow staff, we headed out for what was sure to be a great day. The weather was slated to be rather nice, with blue sky’s and ideal temperatures. Noah had given a lot of thought into which game animal he was looking to pursue and he finally decided on…Dall Ram for sure! Now I had no experience hunting Dall Ram nor had I ever seen one in the flesh…and boy was I excited to finally get the chance to do both. I may have been as excited as my son was but after seeing his face light up when we finally came across a small batch of Rams, I sincerely doubt that.

Mountain Meadow Hunting Preserve offers stellar accommodations and breathtaking views.

Noah had several species to choose from and within each species, several sets of horns to mull over. After going through his normal process of scoping and judging to determine the most mature Ram to harvest, he finally settled on a majestic white Dall Ram. But then ole Mother Nature threw us a curveball…the entire group of Rams…laid down for a nap in the middle of a field. Wow! Now all we could do was just sit back and wait for them to start moving again.

One of the great experiences for any Outdoorsman and the one true advantage to high fence hunting preserves, is the ability to see multiple game species relatively close to one another. Where else would you be able to see Corsican, Hawaiian, and Dall Ram, wild Russian boar, african Watusi, and Red Stag all in the same field…Nowhere! It was truly inspiring to see all these different species of game, mingling in the same field. And it was only made better by sharing it with my son.

After their midday nap was over, the bachelor group of Rams finally stood up and began moving on. Noah and I moved roughly 25 yards to our immediate right so that we could gain a better angle when the Rams emerged from the tree line that had slipped into. Ranged at 102 yards, my son used a shooting stick to steady his Remington 742, chambered in 30-06 Springfield, and waited for the perfect opportunity to present itself.

As the group of rams slowly made their way through the wooded fields edge, Noah’s Ram started to separate himself from the rest of the bunch. Patiently and methodically, Noah moved himself into the ideal position and focused the Burris 3x9x40mm scope on his target. Waiting till all background targets had cleared, Noah finally clicked off the safety and waited for the right moment…

BCOA Field Staff N. Forstner with his beautiful Dall Ram.

Noah has always been an excellent shot and this time proved no different. He placed the 150gr round perfectly behind the shoulder and we could instantly see the Ram starting to wobble. After a few minutes and not wanting the game to suffer, I recommended that he discharge another round to humanely dispatch of the ram. Both my sons and I have the utmost respect for any/all game species and strive to hunt “respectfully and ethically“. The Ram hadn’t moved more than 5′ from where he was originally shot. Now that makes for an easy tracking job for sure…

After retrieving our harvest, Noah and I took a few photos with the help of our guide and started to reflect on the experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better day and trip overall and always consider myself blessed when I can share these kinds of memories with my family. God is good.

Noah is an active contributor to the BCOA Field Editing team, an avid Outdoorsman and will be pursuing a degree in Wildlife Management next Fall.

Be sure to check in regularly for more of Noah and other Field Editor’s adventures. Make sure to video or write about your latest adventure and submit it to our staff and we’ll do our best to send you some Bleeding Camo swag. Bleeding Camo Outdoor Adventures …when you’re born with the Outdoors in your Blood! I Bleed Camo, Do you?

Outdoor Adventures by Land

…better to be lucky than good.

10-22-2020

I had several large Whitetail bucks and Sika stags on camera at this stand location. The weather was not ideal- 80* and a South East wind- BUT it was opening day of early muzzleloader in Maryland and I didn’t take off work to sit inside. So I went to my stand in the morning and saw ZERO deer, which is very odd as I usually see 20+ deer per sit.

Discouraged a bit, I went back in a little later than normal that afternoon. By 5:45 I texted a buddy who was hunting up the street, that I hadn’t seen any deer. I had just noticed the wind swirling in the wrong direction and I figured I was probably done for the evening. You can imagine my surprise when at 5:55pm, I looked up and saw this giant standing in a thicket at 30 yards, looking my direction…

As he put his head down to walk in, I raised my firearm… but he stopped when I was only halfway to my cheek! After what seemed to be an eternity (probably 10 seconds in realtime), he relaxed and continued to walk in further. He finally gave me a slightly quartering-to shot at 17 yards with my trusted CVA Accura. He lumbered roughly 40 yards before splashing in a watery ditch like a kid screaming “Cannon Ball” as he explodes into a swimming pool.

Seventeen (17) scorable points and by far my biggest deer to-date. Looking forward to the official scoring when he returns from the taxidermist.

I realized after-the-fact that I had trail camera photos of him but didn’t realize how big he was.

I feel very lucky, considering the weather AND wind were against me. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Author- C. Shields

C. Shields is an active member of the Bleeding Camo Field Editor Staff . Shields enjoys the Eastern Shore of Maryland for his Outdoor Adventures and is particularly fond of chasing ducks in the swamps, also commonly known to have large populations of Sika and Whitetails.

Be sure to look for more from Shields and other Field Editors here at www.BleedingCamo.com …when you’re born with the Outdoors in your Blood!