Sometimes It Takes A Village
May 1, 2024
By Michael Braegelmann
I wasn’t always a sheep hunter. I'm originally from Melrose, Minnesota—a small German farming community in central Minnesota. When I was 12, I completed the hunters' firearm safety course taught by the Boy Scouts at the local VFW, where my dad was the Post Commander. I started hunting squirrels with a Remington Model 514 single-shot .22, but I wasn't much of a threat until my uncle loaned me his Remington with a scope! Suddenly, I was a successful small-game hunter.
When I was 14, my dad took me out of school for a week to join him at the deer shack in northern Minnesota to hunt whitetails. I'll be headed there this November for my 60th year at the shack.
Within a few days of drawing the tag, I received a call from Kyle DeFor, who had the tag two years prior. He offered to take me scouting and provided maps of the area. Then I received a phone call from Jerry Morgan offering help because he had the tag the year before and took a record-book ram. I couldn't believe the offers of help. Plus, my brother Roger came down from Alaska to help on the hunt.
After the desert bighorn, Roger invited me to Alaska for a self-guided Dall’s sheep hunt in the Brooks Range. We both took great full-curl rams on that hunt. Fifteen years later, I took a Stone’s sheep with Prophet Muskwa Outfitters in British Columbia.
The radiation weakened my T-19 vertebrae, and it fractured. Fixing it requires what’s called vertebroplasty. That’s where a needle is inserted, and bone cement is pumped into the vertebrae to strengthen the bone. Avoid that if possible! I was hobbling around for a month using a walker, then a cane.
When the bighorn sheep application period opened, my great friend and sheep guide Jason Marsalla suggested I put in for the Unit 27/28 Rocky Mountain bighorn tag. I just wanted to buy a bonus point because I didn't think I would be physically able to make the hunt. Jason was adamant that I apply because I had the maximum bonus points.
Sure enough, I drew a tag for the Gila Mountains. Jason had been scouting the area and was familiar with the rams in the unit. My great hunting buddy, Jeremy Haulk, flew in from Fargo, North Dakota, to help. Jason also had his uncle Charles “Buck” Marsalla (a retired trauma surgeon nurse) and Cole Davis (an EMT) as guides. This team of experienced hunters and medical professionals was just what I needed. Plus, my wife Zona was on my hunt.
We arrived on Wednesday and glassed in the late afternoon. On Thursday, we covered several areas in the Gila Mountains just north of Pima and Safford. Friday was the opener. Jeremy found the ram we were looking for, but it gave us the slip and disappeared. We located the ram again late Saturday, but it was never in an area we could stalk within shooting range. We found it Sunday morning with a small band of ewes feeding their way uphill toward the crest of the mountain. I was able to make a one-shot kill at 700 yards. It was an old ram with big, heavy horns and only slightly broomed on the left side—a true trophy! It scored 177-6/8 points.
After 34 years and at 73, I completed my FNAWS!
I wasn’t always a sheep hunter. I'm originally from Melrose, Minnesota—a small German farming community in central Minnesota. When I was 12, I completed the hunters' firearm safety course taught by the Boy Scouts at the local VFW, where my dad was the Post Commander. I started hunting squirrels with a Remington Model 514 single-shot .22, but I wasn't much of a threat until my uncle loaned me his Remington with a scope! Suddenly, I was a successful small-game hunter.
When I was 14, my dad took me out of school for a week to join him at the deer shack in northern Minnesota to hunt whitetails. I'll be headed there this November for my 60th year at the shack.
Desert, Dall’s, and Stone’s
That was the extent of my hunting experiences until I moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 1973. Through coworkers and trapshooting buddies, I started hunting quail and doves. Then, they encouraged me to start applying for deer tags. Boy, was I lucky in those early years drawing deer, elk, and antelope tags. My good friend Alan Fausher suggested I apply for desert bighorn sheep because I'd probably draw a sheep tag with my luck. I had no idea what to do, but Alan suggested I put in for the Catalina Mountains, the Silverbell Mountains, and Aravaipa Canyon, as they were all close to Tucson.The first time I applied, I drew a sheep tag in the Silverbell Mountains! I told Alan I had drawn the tag for the Silverbells but didn't know where they were. He said he would take me out to find some sheep. I explained that I didn't know where the Silverbell Mountains were, much less where the sheep might be. He couldn't stop laughing.
Within a few days of drawing the tag, I received a call from Kyle DeFor, who had the tag two years prior. He offered to take me scouting and provided maps of the area. Then I received a phone call from Jerry Morgan offering help because he had the tag the year before and took a record-book ram. I couldn't believe the offers of help. Plus, my brother Roger came down from Alaska to help on the hunt.
After the desert bighorn, Roger invited me to Alaska for a self-guided Dall’s sheep hunt in the Brooks Range. We both took great full-curl rams on that hunt. Fifteen years later, I took a Stone’s sheep with Prophet Muskwa Outfitters in British Columbia.
A Bighorn Speedbump
In February of 2022, I was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic ureteral cancer that had spread to my right rib cage, T-10 vertebrae, and abdominal lymph nodes. It was a total gut punch! I underwent radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy.The radiation weakened my T-19 vertebrae, and it fractured. Fixing it requires what’s called vertebroplasty. That’s where a needle is inserted, and bone cement is pumped into the vertebrae to strengthen the bone. Avoid that if possible! I was hobbling around for a month using a walker, then a cane.
When the bighorn sheep application period opened, my great friend and sheep guide Jason Marsalla suggested I put in for the Unit 27/28 Rocky Mountain bighorn tag. I just wanted to buy a bonus point because I didn't think I would be physically able to make the hunt. Jason was adamant that I apply because I had the maximum bonus points.
He said he'd carry me around the mountains if necessary. “I weigh 200 pounds,” I said. “You might have to make more than one trip.”
Sure enough, I drew a tag for the Gila Mountains. Jason had been scouting the area and was familiar with the rams in the unit. My great hunting buddy, Jeremy Haulk, flew in from Fargo, North Dakota, to help. Jason also had his uncle Charles “Buck” Marsalla (a retired trauma surgeon nurse) and Cole Davis (an EMT) as guides. This team of experienced hunters and medical professionals was just what I needed. Plus, my wife Zona was on my hunt.
We arrived on Wednesday and glassed in the late afternoon. On Thursday, we covered several areas in the Gila Mountains just north of Pima and Safford. Friday was the opener. Jeremy found the ram we were looking for, but it gave us the slip and disappeared. We located the ram again late Saturday, but it was never in an area we could stalk within shooting range. We found it Sunday morning with a small band of ewes feeding their way uphill toward the crest of the mountain. I was able to make a one-shot kill at 700 yards. It was an old ram with big, heavy horns and only slightly broomed on the left side—a true trophy! It scored 177-6/8 points.
After 34 years and at 73, I completed my FNAWS!
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