MyEagleNews.com // Grant County Hunting Journal 2020 // 19
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Continued from Page 18
scouting the area where they planned to hunt
because getting close to a bighorn sheep is
very difficult.
“My dad helped me a lot, and my aunts
and uncles helped with scouting, seeing
where the animals were at,” Wheeler said.
“Most of my preparation was shooting and
trying to stay in shape for the hike.”
After months of preparing, September
arrived and the hunt was on.
“GROWING UP IN GRANT COUNTY, BORN AND RAISED, WE LIVE IN SOME OF THE
BEST AREA THIS NATION CAN OFFER, AND WE HAVE SO MANY COOL ANIMALS
AND SO MUCH TO ENJOY OUT THERE. PEOPLE SHOULD ENJOY IT WITH LOVED
ONES AND TAKE CARE OF IT SO WE CAN KEEP IT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
LIKE MY SON. I WANT HIM OUT THERE WITH ME, MY DAD AND MY HUSBAND
KILLING HIS FIRST DEER.” —Laci Wheeler
The hunt of a lifetime
The day Wheeler bagged the bighorn
sheep she was surrounded by family who
were all there to support her in her hunt. Her
aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, par-
ents, brother and husband were all at Aldrich
Mountain the day of the hunt.
“Just having all that family surrounding
me that day just really made a cool moment,”
Wheeler said.
She was also seven weeks pregnant with
Owen Wheeler, whom she had not told all of
her family about yet.
On opening day, Wheeler went out and
saw some bighorn sheep but did not have a
good shot.
On the second day, she got the prize. She
was with her husband and father during the
hunt.
“It was nice having my family there, but I
was nervous,” Wheeler said. “You get pretty
anxious for a shot like that, and I’ve always
had buck fever so I get super excited when
I’m out there.”
The trio hiked most of the morning and
ended up walking on a hillside when, a lit-
tle over 100 yards away, they spotted a ram
sitting in the shade, thinking he was hidden.
They were above the sheep on a hillside
with sliding rocks.
“Walking in that rock is like walking in
sand,” she said. “You take a step and you
slide down a foot it feels like.”
After spotting the ram, the trio sat down.
Her dad was on her left and her husband was
on her right and they prepared a shooting
stand to have a nice rest with her pink camo
7mm-08 rifle.
“Fortunately I had my husband there to
remind me to breath because I was shaking
and excited and my dad was too,” Wheeler
said. “We get such buck fever, but my hus-
band keeps a cooler head and he got me to
calm down.”
Wheeler took the shot and managed to hit
the ram right behind its right shoulder, kill-
ing it in one shot.
After realizing her once-in-a-lifetime
success, she cried out in joy for the achieve-
ment, feeling grateful for the animal and for
having her husband and father with her.
Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography
Laci Wheeler was pregnant with Owen
Wheeler when she went hunting for bighorn
sheep last year.
Contributed photo
Laci Wheeler and her father pose with the
ram she shot last year on Aldrich Mountain.
Contributed photo
Laci Wheeler and her husband, Adrian, were together when Laci shot a bighorn sheep last
year.
“Getting to have my dad, who is my hunt-
ing partner for life, and then my husband
was just a really surreal, proud and exciting
moment,” Wheeler said.
Packing out with family
The trio skinned and quartered the ram to
disperse the weight between each person.
Wheeler said the horns scored 173 2/8,
according to an official wildlife biology
guide, and they aged the ram out to six and
a half years.
Fortunately, the trio received help lift-
ing the animal from Wheeler’s aunt and her
70-year-old grandfather.
Wheeler’s uncle is working on the taxi-
dermy for the bighorn sheep, and the meat
was taken to Russell’s Custom Meats &
Deli, mostly for spicy pepperoni.
Wheeler said she was appreciative of the
experience and the ability to share it with
many loved ones.
“Growing up in Grant County, born and
raised, we live in some of the best area this
nation can offer, and we have so many cool
animals and so much to enjoy out there,”
Wheeler said. “People should enjoy it with
loved ones and take care of it so we can keep
it for future generations like my son. I want
him out there with me, my dad and my hus-
band killing his first deer.”