The Great Wild Sheep Adventure

Book excerpt: It took eight years and multiple treks to some of North America's wildest places, but in the end Oklahoma author Leonard Hansen secured one of the greatest of outdoor accolades: the Grand Slam of North American Wild Sheep.In The Great Wild Sheep Adventure, Hansen recounts the steps he took to bring home the four species of rams--Dall, Rocky Mountain, Stone, and Desert--necessary to qualify for that prestigious designation. Along the way he shares his disappointments and triumphs as he travels to the Alaskan bush, the mountains of Wyoming and Canada's British Columbia, and the deserts of the Texas-Mexico border in search of these four species of elusive wild sheep.Written to entertain both active hunters as well as armchair adventurers, The Great Wild Sheep Adventure is both a how-to guide for those who aspire to the pinnacle of North American wild sheep hunting and a natural history adventure for those who love the outdoors. Hansen covers how to physically and mentally prepare for an adventure to such remote and exotic locales--sharing his exercise training regimen, his target practice routine, and his gear list. He also includes the rich history behind the places he visits, making this a history not only of hunters, but of soldiers, settlers, prospectors, and outlaws.Supporting Hansen's narrative are maps of the hunting sites and regions, as well as sixteen pages of color photographs from his various hunts--making it a complete record of one man's amazing adventure.