We tried to get closer, but it was too steep and slippery to descend with any degree of stealth. While we were discussing our options, the rams got up to feed. I dropped prone and eased a round into the chamber of my .257 Weatherby, but they were still too far.

I watched them in my Leica Geovid rangefinding binocular, checking the range periodically with a touch of the button. The rams worked their way quickly from 1,100 to 700 yards, feeding steadily. At 670 yards, they turned broadside and began feeding up the face to our right.

At 582 yards, they stopped. I considered the extreme downhill angle, took note of the wind, and calculated my hold. I stuck the scope's 300-yard dot low on the ram's shoulder and squeezed the trigger, sending the ram into overdrive.

"You hit just in front of him," Eric exclaimed, "but your elevation was perfect."

I struggled to find the now-running ram in my scope and settled on its shoulder. Soon, the pair stopped to feed again. The distance was 488 yards. I calculated the angle and then held the 300-yard dot just below the ram's chest, slid into the wind, and squeezed the trigger. At the shot, the ram collapsed and careened down the hill.

That shot helped me realize my lifelong dream of taking a Dall sheep. Although it happened quickly, making the shot took a bit of mental gymnastics. Doping the wind was easy once I figured out the direction was different down below my position. The hard part was figuring out my elevation hold due to the steep downhill angle.

There is a ton of bad information on shooting uphill and downhill. I've seen Internet forum posts advocating holding high on uphill shots and low when shooting downhill, and I've seen gunshop know-it-alls espousing equally idiotic tripe. The truth is you shouldn't give angles a second thought unless the range is long and/or the angle is very steep. Just hold dead on and shoot. But when you reach out to 300 yards and beyond and/or your angle goes to 30 degrees or more, you'd better know what you're doing, or you are sure to miss or wound your target.

There are few absolutes in shooting, but here's one: Whether shooting uphill or down, if the angle is enough to matter, you should hold lower than you would at the same range on level ground. I've seen many explanations of why bullets strike high on steeply angled shots, but the Sierra manual has the best explanation so, with Sierra's permission, I have borrowed heavily from it here.