Hunter caps sheep Grand Slam

On the morning of Nov. 19, Hank Kengerski grabbed his trusted .280 Ackley rifle and began walking across the open desert of Nevada.

His destination: a mountain base where he had spotted three white rumps among the rocks. One of the white spots belonged to a medium-sized male desert sheep. If Kengerski could bring him down, he would join a small and exclusive group of hunters.

Fewer than 1,400 people in the world have been able to accomplish the North American Sheep Grand Slam.

To join the club, a hunter must shoot a Dall sheep, a Stone sheep, a Rocky Mountain bighorn and a desert bighorn.

"It's pretty prestigious," Kengerski, a Kalispell resident, said. "Not being a multi-millionaire, it's something I'm proud of."

The cost of hunting sheep has risen by leaps and bounds. Kengerski paid $1,200 for his tag in Nevada, but to bid on and win a sheep hunt can easily cost up to $60,000.

"I love hunting sheep, but it's gotten too expensive to do," he said. "There are a lot of people with big money that drive up the prices. That's taking it away from people who save and save to try and do a hunt like that. I got the tag of a lifetime."

For Kengerski, Nov. 19 was the culmination of more than 20 years of trying. In the last two decades, he has brought home four Rocky Mountain bighorns, three Stone sheep and three Dall sheep. He had achieved three three-quarter slams, but Kengerski hadn't been able to draw a tag for a desert bighorn.

When he finally drew his tag, he spent two days before the season scouting the high-desert area of Twin Creeks, Nev., and booked nine days solid for hunting - alone.

Kengerski doesn't like to use guides on his hunts. All but two of his sheep hunts have been solo efforts, although he does enlist local guides to give him tips.

"I love the high country," he said. "If you just go out and start climbing the mountains and seeing the beauty up there … It's not always just about pulling the trigger. I'm 72 now, but I'll probably keep hunting until I die."

When Kengerski spotted his desert sheep, he had to hike about 4 1/2 miles while utilizing sparse cover to get close to his prey. At 9 a.m. he took the shot from about 500 yards, and he had his grand slam. The sheep wasn't record material, but it meant fulfilling a long-term dream. The desert sheep's horns measured 15 inches at the base and were 28 inches long.

"I was trying desperately to get my grand slam," he said. "I was happy to get anything."

Kengerski is now eligible to be listed with the Grand Slam Club and the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep.

Kengerski said his favorite sheep kill came in 1993 when he shot a Boone and Crockett Rocky Mountain bighorn in Fergus County. That sheep's horns measured 186 1/8 inches, which is the total of tip-to-tip length, base circumference and overall length. The horns alone weighed 29 1/2 pounds.

"Try packing that out with everything else," he said.

Kengerski grew up in Michigan, but he moved to Montana about 30 years ago.

"I just wasn't a Michigan person," he said. "I drove out here, and I just loved the people and the mountains. People ask me if I'm going to move south, and I say 'no.' This is where I'll probably be buried."

Kengerski was a builder before retiring at age 62. He got hooked on hunting when he was 15 years old, and he spent most hunting seasons in the mountains and traveling across the country in search of big game. As usual, he often hunted alone.

"I used to fly out to Alaska and spend a week at a time by myself," he said. "But you were never lonely because you were always running into ptarmigan or grizzlies. I once had a Dall's sheep lay down next to me about 20 feet away."

Although hunting sheep and mule deer excites Kengerski the most because it takes him into the high country, he also used to hunt elk and whitetail deer.

"I've only shot one elk because I kept passing everything up trying to get a big one," he said. "I finally went out one year and decided to shoot the first one I saw with antlers."

Age doesn't seem to be slowing Kengerski down. He's still putting in for sheep tags all over the United States. He's not eligible to shoot another desert sheep in Nevada, but he could draw a tag for another Western state and possibly complete another grand slam.

"Unless I get drawn in a state like Utah or win the lottery, I won't get another chance to shoot a desert sheep," he said.

Reporter Michael Richeson may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at mricheson@dailyinterlake.com