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This year I tried my luck with MacKenzie Mountain Outfitters just South of ARRO and requested Rob Aasen to guide me on the hunt. Rob has a great reputation as a hard working and successful guide and, regardless of the outfitter, I wanted him to help me get my ram.

I will post a full hunt report in the next day or so.

Good luck, Robb

Best hunt of my life was a 12-day hunt up there with Gana River Outfitters. Totally Awesome experience!

Wish I could go again right now!

Will keep checking for your story...

Gene

Here we go.

Day 1 & 2

My travel from Houston Texas to Norman Wells was quite uneventful, unlike last year where my bow was left in Houston on a nonstop flight to Edmonton and took three days and to get it to me in the field. This time I verified with the gate agent on all flights that my bags were scanned and loaded onto the plane. Something I will continue to do in the future. It was a short float plane flight from Norman Wells to the MacKenzie Mountain Outfitters base camp. Upon arrival the entire MMO crew met us at the docks and in no time the gear was offloaded. From the start I had a good feeling about Stan and Helen Steven's operation. They have operated this 9000 square mile concession since the mid 1970’s and have a great reputation of success with sheep, caribou and moose hunts.

I met my guide Rob Aasen and we quickly prepared my back for departure, I was going to be the first hunter flown out into the field. With the weather deteriorating we hastened our preparation and were off in less than an hour after arrival. Stan pilots a Robinson R44 helicopter for most of his sheep hunts and also uses Helio Couriers on wheels and floats when needed.

Our first hunt was going to be in an area very conducive to bow hunting. It was a three to four mile long canyon holding a good population of sheep. Upon landing we set up camp and the spotting scope to wait out the 12 hour wait required by Canada law after air transport.

The following morning we hiked closer to the canyon and right from the start we started seeing rams. In fact, we had two young ram walk inside of 40 yards sky lining themselves on a precipice. Neither of us has a camera ready for a phenomenal photo opportunity.

We quickly learned that during the day the sheep will feed into the rim of the canyon and into the sparse timber. For the next two days we looked this area over thoroughly and of the 9 rams located, could not find one over 7 yrs old which was too young for me. I had my sights set on a mature ram of 9 yrs or older. Size was not as important as age.

We were moved to another canyon early on day three and spend the day glassing for sheep. Right from the start we saw rams but again they were too young for my liking and since this was a relatively small area, we decided to move camp to an area further south that offered a much larger area to hunt and held a good population of sheep.

On day four we woke up early, packed up camp and headed south. It was going to be an all day hike to the new area across a muskeg swamp and several canyons but we felt it was going to be worth the effort. It was a nice sunny day and made the hike much more enjoyable than expected. Later in the day we were getting a bit worn out with the camp move and started to question my luck with sheep hunting yet again. Here we are in day 4 of my third straight hunt to the NWT and I have yet to see a sheep that met my standards. Later I learned that Rob was thinking the same thing. Who is this Earl guy and is his luck as bad as everyone says it is?

That stretch of the hike proved to be the low point of the hunt because toward the end of the day we are resting on the hillside, silent, when Rob said those magic words I longed to hear….EARL, I GOT YOUR BIG RAM!

I know about the jet lag I just got back to Dallas from Singapore, it is about a 30 hour day!

I like the smile! it reminds me of my Dall hunt at Nahani Butte. I think I had an easier time because my standards were legal and White :)

John

Lenny

Back to your hunt and photos, please. :-)

Thanks for taking the time, and thanks for the paragraph breaks.

(Journalist thingy, sorry.)

For the next hour we watched the ram feed and eventually move a bedding area on a rocky promontory far out on a point. His perch would give him a nearly 360 view of the area a safe haven to chew his cud and rest for the day.

In no time Rob quickly devised a plan that would put us close to the ram. We dropped our camp, walked down the ridge and sneaked to a rocky outcropping within 100 yards of the ram. From that point we would go no further and planned to just wait him out.

Having a solitary ram in this position gave us a significant advantage and we were not going to screw this up. We were prepared to back out and hunt him a later time rather than blow him out of the country.

And so the next 6 ½ hours we waited.

Thanks for bring us along.

Good luck, Robb

Finally he stood and surveyed the area before dropping out of sight. We had no idea which direction he headed and cautiously we both crept forward to better locate his position. Rob spotted him on his side of the hill and quickly moved me into action. He suggested I walk down the right flank of the hill and come over the top through the saddle. From there he predicted I would have a 50 yd shot.

Earlier in the day when we first found the ram, Rob could easily sense my excitement. He smartly calmed me saying ”Earl this is the mature ram you wanted. He is a mature ram, that's all." I kept that in mind as I moved into position. He was a mature ram alright, just what I wanted….but damn he was big.

I quickly ranged the ram; 60 yards. I wanted to close the gap more. I had practiced at much longer distance in preparation for the hunt but, in my book, closer is always better. I felt extremely confident I could shorten the distance undetected and quickly did so. After gaining precious yardage I shot another range and decided it was go time.

My instincts took over when I came to full draw and the bow went off…… the arrow was on its way.

Rob went back to gather the tent and I sat in the ram’s bed soaking up the whole experience. What an incredible hunt. When he returned we walked toward the edge of the canyon where the ram dropped out of sight and there was a good blood trail that led us to the downed ram.

I cannot tell you how elated I was to wrap my hands around those horns. They were long, heavy and symmetrical; this was truly the ram of a lifetime.

There is no doubt that Rob Aasen was the reason I got my ram, absolutely no doubt. He is one of the best guides in the business and his consistent success tells all. I was so grateful to have him at my side.

Congrats!

Thanks for taking us along.

Congrats on a perfect ram

Best of Luck, Jeff

Now you are relocating to Malaysia, that is a long ways from Castle Pines.

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Come on!

more photos and details please.

John

More details? Well there isn't much more to tell. My shot distance was in my effective range...that's all I'll offer. I've learned the hard way to keep it there. Getting as close as you can is always a good decision.

As a wise man once said, I have too many pins for my shooting ability and too few for my stalking ability.

I shot the ram while he was standing in a hard quartering away posture. I was shooting the rage hypodermic broad head for the first time and the arrow passed through completely. The wound channel and blood trail was incredible.

The shot angle was severe. 10+ yds difference from line of sight yardage. The attached photo tells all.

I also carried a mountain caribou tag and will post the story on a new thread.

Good luck to all this hunting season.

Love those flared out tips, that one would be my dream ram for sure.

Congrats and some great pics to go along with a great story.

Congrats

Good luck, Robb

Thanks for sharing

Congratulations!!

That is an incredible hunt, for sure!

Got a mtn caribou same hunt on video. I’ll try to post a video.

And would love to see the video...the Mackenzie Mountains are the last best place on earth.