2020 Sheep In The Books

wjschmaltz

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Not sure if this is still an outdoor website or a political website, but I’ll share a hunt story. Once again, this is not an ND story. But it does involve a couple of kids from south-central ND so I figured I would share. No one is forced to continue to read I guess. I’ll keep things brief.

For the second year in a row, I’ve been flying by my shirt tails putting my hunting year together. Once again, spring bear baiting was hampered by unforeseen circumstances and I never really got to hunt (I was at least able to kill one black bear) and the fall has been changing by the minute. Most people think AK is vast and the hunting is great; those thoughts are correct. However, the logistics involved with getting to the vast country with few hunters and huntable game are comprehensive. My one gripe with AK is that there is no quick weekend or after work hunting. Everything takes substantial planning and time.

Back in April I had picked up a cancellation sheep fly in. About halfway through July, the operator decided he would not be flying in 2020 so it was back to my original plan. We left on Friday morning (8/7) and started our 6 hour drive to the trail head. From there, we unloaded the ATV and started our 3 hour drive up a creek valley into the mountains. We parked the ATV at about 5 pm and were able to put in 3 foot miles before calling it a day. We spent the next day pushing another 10 miles in over two mountain passes to try and get away from other groups of hunters. That night we could see 15 rams from the tent and we were in a great position two days before the season opened on 8/10 to locate a legal ram and be set up for an opening day shot. As typical in Alaska, the weather had other plans. We spent the next 40 hours in the tent. The ceiling dropped to about 1,000 feet and the rain/snow was relentless. So we spent all of Sunday and most of Monday (opening day) in the tent reading.
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We were able to locate a legal ram with another banana horn on 8/11. We made a 2-mile, 2500 foot climb in the rain to above where we put the rams to bed that morning. Upon our arrival, the rams had bumped from their beds. We looked in the valley, and there were 3 ATVs. It’s our assumption that there must be a guide working that valley that had ATVs flown in and must leave them in there. We backed out extremely disheartened.

Luckily, the next morning we spotted the pair again further down the mountain. We began our 3.5 hour climb up a new route to where the rams were. Exhausted and dehydrated, we finally got above the rams. We had them at 550 yards and I just couldn’t make him legal at that distance. So we hiked for another 20 minutes just to close another 300 yards. Right as we started our last stalk, we could hear an ATV in the valley and I almost puked. Luckily, once we peaked over the ridge, the rams were still bedded right where we left them – and only 250 yards away. We set up the gun and the spotting scope so we were ready to roll. It took watching the bigger ram for 20 minutes to finally make him legal. I couldn’t make him older than 7 (need to be 8 to be legal on age) and the angle from above made it extremely hard to judge his curl. Finally he looked up our way and I was able to make him full curl. Within seconds I was on the gun and he was dead in his bed.
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After cleaning our ram, the clock started on the 16 hours of packing the ram back to the ATV along with 3 days of hypothermic hard rain, snow, and wind. It took us 2.5 days to get the rams over the two mtn saddles and down our final drainage to the ATV. The rain had made the ride out extremely sketchy, but I was determined and rode the throttle out. There were a couple crossings where the water was pushing the wheeler, but we let her buck and made it – there was no way I was sleeping in that tent another night and waiting for morning to get out.

True to form, Alaska is always trying to kill you. We had finally completed the last river crossing and all we had was a half mile easy trail ride to the pickup. A couple hundred yards into that drive, a young and curious grizzly popped out about 50 yards up on the trail. Of course, the gun was strapped to my pack and onto the ATV and the bear spray was inside my brother’s pack. All we could do was scream at him to deter his continued charges while we scrambled for our bear defense. He bluff charged twice – his final charge to about 15 yards – before moving off into the trees. I wasn’t worried about him, I was however terrified of the fact that momma had to be nearby and wouldn’t approve of us being so close to her cub. The second that bear cleared the trail, we rode the last half mile full throttle to the pickup. The trip was 8 days of wet, cold, and miserable. I can’t imagine spending my time any other way.

The highlight of my trip was hunting with my brother. He is in his victory lap at UND for commercial aviation. He was planning on moving up here, but with the airline industry in Covid mode, his move will likely be postponed. I left “home” when he was 9 and didn’t really look back. It felt like I kinda got to meet a whole new person over the last couple weeks. Sheep hunting partners are EXTREMELY hard to find, but he was the real deal. He weighs 140 lbs soaking wet and packed like a champ. He was up for going over any ridge and usually recommended going further. Not once did I hear complaining during all the rain/wind or the treacherous pack out. I look forward to the days he is an AK resident and we are chasing sheep in our own plane. The numbness in my feet is finally going away and it looks like I’m only going to lose one toenail this year. So it’s time to start planning the next trip!

Ram is 7 years old and goes approximately 35 x 13.5 x 36 x 13.5. Legal by full curl.
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LBrandt

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Well made memories that will stay with you guys forever. Congrats. LB
 

SDMF

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wow

I’m struggling to build a smoker from a fridge. I feel kinda pathetic.

I got tired mowing the lawn.......

Sheep hunting is for sadists. ::: :;:stirthepot

On a more serious note, congratulations on a trophy well earned and a deepened connection with your brother. An adventure partner is damned hard to find.
 
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Kurtr

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Being a gear junky let us know what you used and what worked and what didn’t
 

Skullet

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Best post of the year on here.

Congrats and thanks for taking the time to tell your story.
 

Whisky

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Thanks for sharing, and congrats man!
Nice to see this type of thread for a change of pace.
 


bucksnbears

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I did not read the story, just glansed at the pics . ( Will read it 2maro)
Congrats and nice pics!!
 

Ristorapper

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Excellent story and outcome. I can relate with your brother. I left for the service when my little brother was 7. We've never really connected back together yet. Time is running short. i'm jelly!!
 

5575

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Thanks allot for sharing your story, beautiful ram!
 

Allen

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Now THAT'S my kind of hunting. A challenging critter, miserable conditions, and success = life-long memories..

Super damn jealous.

Note, all my best hunting stories involve all the above criteria as well. It sucks getting old and lazy.
 

JayKay

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Wow! Just.. WOW. Great story. Good for you to follow every reg, good for you for not giving up. I can't imagine the heartbreak when you thought you had it made, and then saw other hunters and had to pull back. Great great story.

Like the others, I'm in awe. Last time I saw a grizz, I was about 1000 yards away, and in a vehicle, at Going-To-The-Sun Highway, in MT. Can't imagine the excitement of having even a young one just yards away. The thought of having mom nearby must have kept you on your toes.

I had black bears in our camp, in Northern MN a couple of nights in a row once, and that was close enough for me. To hear them breathing, just outside our tent, knowing they were thinking about camperburritos..

Just wow...

Jaykay
 


Taylorman55

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Awesome story!!! I might just know a guy or two with a nice Supercub and a Pa 14 available next summer :) Keep in touch sir!
 

Duckslayer100

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Have you had issues with guides up there in the past? I find it amazing that, in a state as expansive and seemingly uncharted as AK, hunters still find a way to crowd each other out. My guess it has something to do with topography, general access, and units/availability of huntable sheep numbers. But still, wild to think about.

Thanks for the story and pictures! It was a welcomed change of pace to the other general political/COVID garbage tarnishing this website of late.
 

ndlongshot

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This is hunting. A guy can dream....

I'm young enough to save for this hunt as a non resident, but I seriously doubt I could write the check when the time came. Kids. College. Priorities. Thinking along those lines.

But, get busy living, or get busy dying!
 

49994

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can you explain a little more on the judging of the ram and what specifically you are looking for. thanks and congratulations on an awesome trip.
 


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