My first post on here after several years of watching, reading, absorbing, and enjoying your stories. I figured what better time to make an introduction than before I begin preparing for my first sheep hunt.
I think the most affordable sheep hunt is the Dall. WOuld you agree? If so, and if you had to pick, given your (my) average-joe income, would you hunt AK, NWT, or somewhere else?
Then, once you've selected a region, which outfitter would you use?
Some things about me: I hunt hard. I'm humble, and I've been humbled often out there. I will hunt only archery. Nothing against the rifle at all, but I'd like to do this with my bow. Success is in the story: the harder, the colder, the steeper, the better.
Also planning on an unlimited sheep hunt next year in MT with the .270 to get my feet wet with sheep and universally acknowledged brutal country.
Point me in any direction you may, and I'll carry the load of the research.
Best,
CW
When the time comes for me to go on my Dall hunt I will be going to the NWT. Great outfitters up there with good success with the bow. Another reason which leads me to that decision is you can add a Mt. Caribou to the hunt for a trophy fee. A great way to get two species on one hunt if you get alittle lucky.
weren't you and your brother planning on the unlimited hunts this last fall?
If you're going to hunt Dalls, hunt NWT. More expensive than AK, but the success rate is much higher for archery.
Arctic Red, Simpsons, Nahanni, Gana River are all good. Contact them, and go with who gives you the most "comfort". I'm sure there are other good ones as well.
I saw plenty of sheep in AK they just didn't play fair. If I have an opportunity to go again it'll probably be NWT.
Now if I would have been hunting with a boom stick I'd been done in a day or two, but it was archery only area.
there was another guy named Cody from CO who was all over the internet last year talking about going up there sheep hunting, sorry I just figured it was you.
Your best bet would be to get on a phone list for cancellations if you were flexible for time and also hit the shows. ive talked with so many people who have gotten unbelievable deals on sheep hunts because when the phone rang they were able to say yes and jump on a plane in very short notice. Take Dalls hunts for example. You will see them online from $7500-$20,000 at times. The price varies a lot so do your due diligence on your outfitter and his area.
good luck
michael
http://www.midnightsunsafaris.com/hunts.php
You've come to the right place, for sure. Guys here will do whatever they can to help you.
Strongly consider attending next year's "Sheep Show" in Reno. Pretty much every outfitter worth his salt will be there, as will be a couple thousand passionate sheep hunters. There's no better place to get started.
Meet and interview outfitters, talk with other sheep hunters and get introduced to the world of sheep hunting.
http://www.huntnwt.com/outfitters.html
Have a great time....it truly is a wonderful place.
After talking to a couple dozen guys who have sheep hunted (both bow and rifle), then talking to 5 or 6 outfitters, I chose the outfitter I felt best fit with me and my expectations for the hunt and had the personality that I liked best.
From there, feel confident with your desicion, write checks and count the days! Good luck
If success rate is your biggest concern then NWT with helicopters is your best option for sure. If like Chasewild said in his opening thread, "Success is in the story: the harder, the colder, the steeper, the better." Then I'm not sure if NWT is his best option, especially when price is a concern.
From my personal experience a modern helicopter hunt and a backpack only hunt is a completely different experience and something that gets constantly glossed over in the Dall sheep threads. By the way I'm not against heli use, it is a very effective way to not overhunt any one part of your guiding area and it is possible to have a physically and mentally tough heli hunt but it can be quite easy, especially compared to a backpack hunt. If you only hunt ONE day of a backpack hunt it isn't easy, in fact getting your camp up on the mountain is often the very toughest day. You have to survive it just to be able to then actually hunt for sheep.
Just my 2 cents.
There's a lot more to sheep hunting than just killing a sheep. A LOT more.
I've hunted sheep in AK twice and the NWT twice and if I was bowhunting only, I would go back to the NWT just due to the higher density of game - in fact I am doing just that. Bowhunters often need 2 or 3 stalks to close the deal, and in AK you may not have that luxury - or if you do it could be a 1-2 day walk to the next band of rams.
I've contacted a few different outfitters and guides and I'm looking into a new operation in BC in the Costal Range. Does anyone have any experience with BC sheep and that mountain range in particular?
The price seems to be right, but I'm still hammering out the hunt specifics.
I knew some outfitters used helicopters, but I thought that was in lieu of Super Cubs, flying you to the same spike camps but without needing a landing strip.
But now I learn they can fly you to where the sheep are and drop you off nearby.
To me, 75% of a sheep hunt is simply FINDING a legal ram. My sheep hunts have always been done on foot with a backpack and that's the way I always want to do it.
Yet now I learn you can land in a chopper near where a legal ram is and go shoot him 12 hours later?
That's not for me and I'll bet Jack O'Connor is crying in his grave over this.
I've read Jack's book on sheep hunting. He made extensive use of horses in many of his sheep hunts.
Horses are a given on most sheep hunts. Normally they are used to get hunters to a spike camp or to get from a spike camp to a place where you'll start off on foot for the day.
But helicopters are a whole different thing if they're being used to spot sheep then drop you off close by. That's not making it for me when it comes to fair chase.
There's a HUGE difference.
A horse is not likely to get you to where the sheep are at any point.
A helicopter can cover more ground in ten MINUTES looking for a legal ram than a horse could, or a man hunting from a horse could in several DAYS! I've done sheep survey work and capture work on helicopters so I know the difference.
A helicopter can put you down in reasonable proximity to where the ram is. And that's what's happening in some cases.
Not the same thing at all. No way, no how.
I want no part of that sort of 'hunting' with my hunts.
Cowboy Ethics, Rule #9: "Some things are not for sale."
You said you don't want "that sort of "hunting" on your hunts". Well, as uou know some others don't want rifles. My only point is that it's no different. Its just your opinion and I respect your right to think that. But that doesn't make it gospel.
Once again...to each their own.
Have you ever done a sheep hunt?
I suppose you could shoot one inside a small high fence operation as well. Would that not also be 'short cutting?'
It has NOTHING to do with fair chase as long as flight time rules are followed and according to P&Y no different than using a super cub to land (which I have done). To compare that to a fenced area is ridiculous.
Done hijacking this thread, over and out.
I've actually hunted Dall Sheep with the use of a helicopter as I'm sure a bunch of guys on this site have. On my hunt I was put down in an area that held sheep but the nearest sheep was miles away from our spike camp. We covered miles each day, spent a few nights on the mountain sleeping on the tundra in our rain gear and I lost 10# on the hunt. So yeah it was really easy! I never felt like the helicopter was being used for anything other than transporting hunters Into the spike camps in areas that were known to hold sheep. We saw sheep going in but they were at least 5 air miles from where spike camp was set up. Further it would be extremely difficult and dangerous using a helicopter to get close enough to rams in much of the country to determine if they were legal.
To the OP nearly all the outfitters in the NWT use them but if you're definitely not interested then I believe Arctic Red has a backpack only option.
Other than that extended dialogue, all of your information has been helpful, but I'd like to re-focus on what the Coast Range has to offer in terms of what sheep populations look like, any outfitters you've used etc.
And to be honest, I wouldn't mind some stories and photos to keep that fire going.
As stated above, there is a biological benefit to helicopters in that outfitters can hunt more of their area because they do not need to build/maintain runways which allows them to disperse hunting pressure within their areas.
http://www.moonlakeoutfitters.com/dall-fannin-sheep
I had researched it all on my own, picked our destination and hired a pilot. We hit the ground 3 hours from civilization and walked 14 miles over 2 days to get to where we'd start hunting. We didn't see much on the way in and scouted further upriver but found no legal rams. The night before the opener we found two nice rams together and killed them opening morning. I have my bros first crack and they took a 38" and 39" ram. We hunted one more day knowing it's take us several days to get out with all our meat and found nothing. Hunted our way out and spent one day checking a big drainage. But that was all we could find.
I made one more attempt and flew out for a week close to home and no legal rams were found.
I had never worked harder on a hunt than I did my sheep hunts. They were grueling. To me, sheep hunting is suppose to be hard. The harder it is, the more you feel like you've achieved something. I've said this before and I'll say it again, if you don't suffer on a sheep hunt, you haven't been sheep hunting! LOL!
If you want the true experience do a back pack hunt where you are spiking out miles from base camp.
On a side note, we had a guide that was hunting at about 12 miles in while we were at 14. He had two assistants and they humped all kinds of stuff into their spike camp and had everything all setup before their clients arrived. The clients walked in and carried their guns, clothes and sleeping bags. Then when they shot a sheep, they floated it out in packrafts.
So here you had two groups of hunters hunting a few miles apart and you had, likely, two different experiences. I would love to hunt sheep again and will likely hire a guide to be able to do it. But a huge factor for me will be what I've described above. Me personally, I want a tough, rugged adventure where I'm forced to push my self to my limits.
1. I'll be hunting NWT or BC; 2. I'll use whatever method to get into the base camp, but I expect nothing short of grueling; 3. I have a sub-$20k absolute limit; 4. I'm hunting 2016; 5. I'm hunting unlimited MT this fall for 2 weeks; 6. I'm excited.
Can anyone talk to me about travel to and from Canada? Things to take care of in advance, etc.?
A: Listen to your outfitter as he has facilitated this many times and will often times have special rates set up with the hotels and at times the airlines.
B: Travel a day early to allow any bags that don't make the flight with you time to arrive the next day.
C: I always take two bows. Ive never needed the second one but for what I have invested in the trip and the time away from family and business I look at it as cheap insurance.
D: Travel insurance....something for you to consider especially on a hunt of this magnitude (and investment).
Mark
E: Passport
Mark
That is I bring a portable bow press, a totally shot in and stretched 2nd string with peep tied in, d loop material, a spare rest, a spare release aid and sometimes even a spare sight, along with Allen keys, a leatherman and photos on my phone and written instructions on how to do some basic maintenance. Then before your hunt practice taking apart your bow and putting it back together. It's pretty simple actually and it is where 99% of your bow problems are likely to occur. Also bring 10-12 arrows, 18 broadheads and a small dense 6 inch foam target to re-sight your bow in if it changes. Carry it with you as much as possible or... Forget all that crap and when you have a bow breakdown just pick up the guide's gun and kill it.
