Tendoys: In Their Eyes

You've seen the film. Now see what it was like. From failed boots to failed stalks to regrettably little training, these are the photos and stories from the hunters and makers of Tendoys. Watch the full film here.

From Tony Larsen, primary hunter:

Opening day brought moisture and dense fog. Not wanting to bump anything by blindly wandering up the face, we crawled into our rain gear and headed into the sagebrush above camp, hoping to catch something as soon as the weather lifted. Elk, deer, and sheep sign was abundant, but we weren't seeing any live animals.

We all had tags, and Dustin Diefenderfer was the first to glass sheep. Three ewes and a ram were feeding up the far side of a bowl about 2,000 yards away. Our hope for multiple sheep was confirmed, and the excitement grew.

As we made our way to the first boulder field, everyone was anticipating either sheep or another hunter around every corner. The biologist said there would be 311 hunters in a relatively small area, all chasing a very small number of sheep. Approaching the site, we pulled binoculars and swept the rocks. Nothing except for the two white patches I'd mistaken the day before for sheep. Disappointed again, Dustin and I turned to leave. Joel Wilson, who was running the camera, grabbed me by the back of the shirt and hissed "Right there!" We froze, turned back with our optics and, 200 yards across the drainage, one of those "white rocks" transitioned into a real live ram!

Awestruck, and with my mouth hanging open, I gaped as Dustin turned to me and mouthed "Do you want this ram?" He motioned for me to nock an arrow.