NORTH DAKOTA OUTDOORS MAGAZINE

50 Years Later

Tim Felchle

Author with the sheep he harvested in 1975

Editor’s Note: North Dakota’s first modern bighorn sheep hunt was held 50 years ago, nearly two decades after the Game and Fish Department reintroduced these animals into the badlands. Tim Felchle, born and raised in central North Dakota, was one of 12 lucky hunters to receive one of the once-in-a-lifetime licenses. Felchle, a recent North Dakota State University graduate in engineering at the time, was living with his wife in Harvey and working for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation when he received the good news in 1975. This is his story.

State lawmakers passed Senate Bill 2210 a half-century ago, which opened the door for the first modern-day bighorn sheep hunting season in North Dakota. The 12 once-in-a-lifetime licenses were issued by lottery and those fortunate to draw were required to be accompanied by a game warden or other Game and Fish Department personnel to make certain each hunter harvested a legal-sized ram.

During the summer of 1975, I remember sitting in our apartment filling out my application to beat the June 30 deadline. Game and Fish Department officials indicated the drawing would be held in early November and all successful applicants would be notified by Nov. 14. As the odds would be high, I told my wife getting drawn would be like finding a needle in a haystack. All told, it should be noted that more than 2,800 hunters applied for those dozen licenses.

Because the Game and Fish Department didn’t have a computer at the time capable of holding such a large, random drawing, the drawing was conducted by Central Data Processing located in the State Highway Department building.

I was working as an inspector on a construction site in early November when the drawing was held and the successful applicants were contacted. However, I was unaware that the Game and Fish Department had moved up the drawing about a week earlier than planned.

A total of 2,852 applications were received by the Game and Fish Department for the 1975 bighorn sheep season. Wilbur Boldt, Department deputy commissioner, read off the names of the lucky applicants.

After the drawing was held, my field supervisor drove up and congratulated me for being able to go sheep hunting in North Dakota.

I told him I would soon know as the drawing was originally scheduled for Nov. 14. But he said he had just heard my name announced on the radio along with 11 other successful applicants.

On the way home from the job site, I listened closely to the radio and, yes, my name was announced.

Game and Fish Department stenographers checked and numbered each bighorn application before the drawing was conducted by Central Data Processing located in the State Highway Department building.

When I finally got home, my wife was wondering why I was so happy, thinking I must have had a good day at work. I asked her if she had heard the good news on the radio and she hadn’t. About that time the phone started ringing off the hook from people calling and congratulating me. North Dakota’s congressional members, various news media, numerous friends and relatives and even taxidermists contacted me. It was a very exciting and special time.

I later received a letter from the Game and Fish indicating that there would be an orientation and informational meeting to inform all 12 hunters about the history and habits of bighorn sheep in the badlands. The letter also requested $7 for my license fee.

In accordance with the governor’s proclamation, the area we could hunt in western North Dakota was subdivided into four separate hunting units. Every hunter was required to hunt in their respective unit during the first weekend and after that time all hunters were allowed to hunt anywhere in the entire bighorn sheep hunting area. In a letter, I was informed that I was required to hunt in unit B2. At first, I was a little disappointed because that unit appeared to be the smallest of the four, however, it was the unit that held the most bighorn sheep.

At that meeting held in late November, each hunter was introduced to the Game and Fish representative who would accompany them on their hunt. Wilmer Pich, boat safety specialist in the enforcement division at the time, was the representative assigned to me. Game and Fish personnel also discussed procedures on how to collect, save and return biological data and tissue samples collected from the harvested sheep for further analysis.

I traveled to Belfield on Nov. 27 as the hunting season started the next day and would run through Dec. 7. I met Wilmer that evening and we discussed meeting early the next morning before heading out for the noon Central Standard Time (11 a.m. MST) opener. Before heading out of town we met one of the other hunters in the parking lot and we discussed where we were going to hunt opening day. I had originally planned to travel south of Belfield to hunt a certain area, but that soon changed. The Department representative who was accompanying the other hunter said his hunter had spotted several sheep in a particular location in my unit the day before. They circled the area on our map and that was soon to be the area we would go first and hunt for bighorn sheep.

After securing permission to hunt from three landowners, I quickly learned how important North Dakota’s first legal bighorn sheep hunting season was. Wilmer was taking notes on everything, including the type of gun and ammunition I was using and the whereabouts of where we were hunting, while also keeping very close track of times.

Finally, we took an access road near Sully Creek. While glassing for bighorns, we spotted several grazing on the side of one of the buttes, including several legal-sized rams. Another hunter also viewing the same herd got out of his vehicle and mentioned there was only one legal-sized ram in the bunch. Wilmer and I looked at each other and thought he was deceiving us since we saw several legal-sized rams.

1976 Outdoors magazine with bighron sheep on the cover and Felchle mailing label

As we continued to monitor the bighorns, we watched the other hunter drive to another location and start his hunt. They were attempting to hike around the butte below the bighorns in hopes of coming over the top for a good shot. We didn’t do that. We hiked along the creek until we got just below the animals. We approached an area with a steep gully and we had to pass the rifle back and forth until we got out of the creek. Once we were out of the creek and on the slope just below the sheep, we were able to pick out one of the rams and pull the trigger. Unfortunately, I missed my first shot, and the ram took off running. I fired a second shot and hit him. It appeared to be a vital shot. The ram immediately slowed down and ran into a small ravine where I then fired again, and he dropped instantly.

After several photos, Wilmer looked at me and said that I may very well be the first hunter to shoot a bighorn ram in North Dakota’s first legal bighorn sheep hunting season. He was correct. It was 11:22 a.m. (MST) when I shot my ram.

After field-dressing the ram and dragging it 2 miles back to my pickup, we took photos and then loaded my prize for the trip back to Belfield. Weather forecasters were predicting another 5 to 6 inches of snow for the badlands on top of the 6 inches we already hunted in, so I was anxious to get on the road.

When we got back to the hotel room, another hunter was also checking out and inquired about my hunt. He complimented me about shooting a nice ram and ask about the time I shot my sheep. I told him 22 minutes after the season opened. He was a bit disappointed because he was hoping he shot the first legal ram in North Dakota. He had harvested his ram 45 minutes after season opened. I felt sorry for him, but we were both happy to each have harvested a ram in North Dakota’s first legal bighorn sheep hunt.

Before reaching home, I was required to stop by the Game and Fish Department headquarters in Dickinson for a final checkout, proper tagging, and dropping off all the entrails for testing. The hunt was officially over.

Fifty years later, I still think about my once-in-a-lifetime experience.

- TIM FELCHLE, a North Dakota native, now lives in Billings, Mont.

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