North Dakota Hunter Tags Pending Record Bighorn with the Current Record-Holder by His Side

Nick Schmitz has hunted North Dakota for two decades, and he was lucky enough to draw a bighorn sheep tag this fall after putting in for eight years. Schmitz punched that tag opening day on what looks like a state-record ram. The green score of 190 6/8 inches is pending as the horns undergo a 60-day drying period.

One of the hunters alongside Schmitz for the achievement was his buddy David Suda, who happens to hold the current North Dakota record for bighorn sheep — a 186 3/8-inch ram he killed in 2020. The two went to rival high schools in Fargo, where Suda played hockey and Schmitz played football. Now, they have even more in common.

“He’s a super nice guy,” Schmitz says of his former school-rival-turned-hunting-buddy. “I owe him a ton of credit for this.”

Schmitz, a civil engineer in Grand Forks, had scouted for five days before the Halloween opener on Oct. 31. He focused on an area several miles into the Missouri National Grasslands, and was joined on the hunt by Suda, along with his dad, Jeff Schmitz, and his brother-in-law, Tim Spicer.

“We noticed it was looking very sheepy. The ridges were getting steep with 200- to 300-foot drop offs,” Schmitz tells Outdoor Life. “There was good vegetation, shrubs, and sagebrush. It just looked like sheep habitat. They had great cover and plenty to eat there, but it’s super aggressive terrain. It’s very hard to access. You need to be in shape and ready to climb.”

He says they first saw the sheep from 380 yards, while he was surrounded by ewes. The light-brown ram stood out with symmetrical full curls, which were every bit of 40 inches with massive bases around 17 3/8 inches. It was also a big-bodied sheep, which hadn’t been the case earlier this year, according to the North Dakota Game and Fish wildlife biologist who’s kept an eye on the ram over the last few years.     

“[Biologist] Brett Wiedmann had photos of the ram from five or six months ago, when it was unhealthy looking and skinny,” Schimtz explains. “Brett was concerned he wasn’t going to make it to this fall, but he’d put all his weight back on over the summer. He’d been eating healthy and recovered completely. Whatever that ram had in the winter, he turned it around.”

After looking over the 10-year-old Badlands bighorn, there was no doubt in Suda’s mind about what their next move should be.

“David looked in his scope then looked at me and said, ‘This is our guy. This is the one we’re after,’” Schmitz says. “I just about fell over. I put my hands on my knees and took some really deep breaths because I was getting lightheaded.”

The herd of sheep were content and in no hurry to move, and it took Schmitz around 20 minutes to collect himself for the shot. He dry-fired to help ease his nerves.

“I have a problem of flinching when I pull the trigger, and that’s the last thing I wanted to do,” he says. “I had the time, so I did a dry fire, but it was a pretty loud click because it was very still. There was no wind.”

The herd now seemed aware of the movement on the hill where the hunters were, but they stayed put as Schmitz got into prone position, his rifle resting on a pack. His first shot with the .270 went between the ram’s horns. The second shot made contact, and when the ram stopped broadside, a third put him down.

“I knew if I hit him anywhere in the vitals he wouldn’t go far. But they’re tough animals,” says Schmitz, who was simultaneously relieved and ecstatic to see his ram on the ground.

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It was just before sunset by the time they got the sheep and Schmitz notched his tag. The hunters then contacted NDFG, and Brett Wiedmann, the wildlife biologist, met them to measure the ram’s horns a little before sunrise the following day. He had great news for Schmitz.

“I said, ‘You arguably just shot the greatest hunting trophy in North Dakota History,’” Wiedmann told the Grand Forks Herald. “That ram is special. I mean, he’s at the top. Just an amazing animal.”