Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Stunt Sheep (Part 2)

The camp site was... interesting...











But by mid-morning on Day 3, we'd made it to the base of the mountain on which the rams had taken up residence.






We made it up to the sheep's lair, only to find that they'd moved-off again.





When I started to get spooled-up in my frustration, Carl soothed me by explaining that if the sheep were still on the mountain, then they were running out of territory to hide in. If we could keep at it, we had a good chance of finding them. After the hellacious trek we'd just made through the boulder fields, I really wanted to believe him.

So we climbed, and rested, and climbed, and panted, and climbed, and cursed, and eventually found ourselves along the ridgeline.





And as I peered over to the other side, I found the 5/8 ram on the other side, lounging on the uphill side of a spire that was hiding him from all eyes below. Since we'd never seen any of these sheep alone, I was sure the shooter must be with him somewhere down there. We crept back and forth along the ridgeline, attempting to find a better vantage point. All the while, bands of fog were drifting in and out. After about 15 mintues, a patch of fog began to lift, & I found the legal ram standing in an excellent shooting lane, blissfully unaware of our presence. I slowly pulled my legs into a sitting stance, wrapped my sling around my arm for stability, & shouldered my rifle. Through the scope, I saw that he was a much better ram than I had expected when I'd seen him in the fuzzy images through the spotter. This was the moment.

At this point, though, I became aware that I was shivering, either from the cold, or from the excitement. My breathing was jerky, the crosshairs were wandering, and I knew this wasn't the shot I wanted to stake my hunt on. Feeling that the ram wasn't wise to our position, I slowly retreated from the spot, made my way to an outcrop a few yards away, and set up once again.


[img]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd77/jkubesch/P8210049.jpg[/img]


This time, I was locked-up solidly against the rocks, with the crosshairs settled firmly on the ram's near side shoulder, I gently exhaled and pressed the trigger.

The ram immediately disappeared from the scope picture, and when I looked up, I saw him flopping down the slide with no control of his body. After exchanging high-fives, Carl & I spent the next 20 minutes making our way down to the ram, trying our best not to get gored by the rocks along the way.


[img]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd77/jkubesch/P8210050.jpg[/img]


[img]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd77/jkubesch/P8210054.jpg[/img]


[img]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd77/jkubesch/P8210056.jpg[/img]



So, why was this a Stunt Sheep? Well, being 24hourcampfire members, Carl & I figured that we were flaunting all the conventional wisdom by:
1) Using a 100+ year old stunt cartridge (7x57)
2) Using pedestrian cup & core bullets (154 grain Hornady SP), rather than monometals
3) Using a wood & blued rifle in Alaska
4) ... without controlled round feed
5) Using an inappropriate barrel length & contour
6) Using black tape on the muzzle, rather than blue
7) Not using a range finder
8) Using a fixed-power scope (a 4x, at that), with no turrets or dots
9) Using a newfangled scope cover, rather than flip-ups
10) My hunting with a backpacking pack, rather than a hunting pack
11) Hunting in hiking pants, rather than camo (but at least they weren't blue jeans...)

And I'm sure you'll all think of other reasons why this sheep shouldn't be dead.



***** Continued *****

Wow! Unless I move there, I can only dream. Great experience there.

Not to rain on your parade, but come live here and do those mountain style hunts on a regular basis, and eventually some, if not most of those things you list as a "stunt" will cost you.

perhaps Calvin, but I know of a lot of guys that used lesser gear and took sheep for many years doing so.

one of the best sheep hunters I've ever known, wore nada but blue jeans and a flannel shirt when I went hunting with him. believe I gifted him his first nylon pants and synthetic fill jacket the Xmas after he played an instrumental role in baggin my first ram.

but he only went 23 sheep in 24 years, am figuring one of those stunts cost him that one year! (grin)

don't get me wrong, if you're gonna hunt hardcore in the mtns. regularly I'm with you! Good gear is where it's at!


but congrats on the nice ram FC, even if you "handicapped" yourself. (grin)

Wish Calvin would post the changes one should make to increase the odds

I can't speak for Calvin, but the weakest spot I see on that list is still the human creature. Lots of ways for him to screw up any number of things both on that list and not.

The human creature(s) in this particular scenario certainly deserve credit for not screwing things up. Not the typical deer hunt. That's a beautiful animal.

Well, you did. You have a habit of doing that to alot of people with your posts. Must think your schit don't stink.

I remember a couple years ago when I listed the components for my sheep rifle build, for MY upcoming hunt. Your smart assed comment was, "8# of mountain bliss".

It came in at 6#.

You're not too bright, are you?

Are you referring to this post?


I'd LOVE to see a #3 contoured (scoped) rifle come it at 6#. It's tough to get an Edge Stocked SA Ti to come in that light. (scoped)


And your last post on that particular thread..


So.. Did you get 6# scoped with an unfluted #3?

Local hunters who hunt a bunch don't just spend money on gear and seek the best gear because they are bored. It's because they've at one time or another learned the hard way.

If you want to hunt the mountains in blue jeans, go ahead. I'll hunt with what I like to hunt in, because I've done an 8 mile walk out in soaked carhartt pants. Same for the range finder. turrets. Hell, my first rifle in Alaska was blued. How long do you think that lasted?

Beautiful ram FC and excellent write up!

I've seen lots of things work for tourists.

I've seen tourists with lots of things who couldn't hunt. Stuff don't a hunter make.

Nope, just as 10 days don't an Alaska expert make.

I'll be the first to admit I've never been to Alaska and when I do, it'll be with a stainless/synthetic rifle. That said, blue/wood worked for a lot of years and I suspect it still will with the right care.

Phil Shoemaker stills seems to get along OK in Alaska with his blue/wood .30-06.


Don't rain too hard on a guys parade because he choose a rifle he liked and probably had some attachment too for what will probably be a once in a lifetime hunt.

Good post & pics FC. You showed'em how to get the job done.

Congrats!


George

Calvin, I wonder if your boys will learn, from you, to qualify a jab in order to justify the jab. Example: frame it with "don't want to rain on your parade" or "just sayin'". A fine example it is.
pete

Pak,

Can you tell me where the "jab" is in my post?



If a guy wants to do a 3 part series on the AK section on a guided hunt, more power to him. I feel it is within my right to relay my experiences in relation to his one experience, since the title of "Stunt" was obviously directed at the way many of us do things up here in Alaska.

It starts with 'but'. Yes, any comment you make is entirely within your 'rights'.
pete

Don't you find it a little bit hypocritical to call my comment a "jab", yet go on to bring in a guys kids and parenting skills,like the following quote below?



And where is the outrage with how yukonal completely misrepresented what I had posted, 2 years previously?

I think some here have a problem with those of use who have a "penchant for candor" Calvin.

Let it be said that I spent nine days on Hinchinbrook Island many years ago with a blued/wood stocked rifle and it looked like dogschit when I got home. YMMV, and yes I know all about oil.

Great pix, story, ram and experience! Congrats.

oh jeez a pete, let's put away the Midol fellas, this is the Alaska forum not the Hunters Campfire.

the example I used of the guy I knew in blue jeans and flannel is sure enough true, my first ram I was with him, and technically I was far better prepared, but he was better prepared with sheep hunting experience and owning a Cub (big plus there!)

after we killed my sheep and got off the mountain, we flew across to the other side of the haul road and killed a few caribou.

he ended up borrowing an extra fleece jacket I had as he was soaked through in his. He also commented during the sheep hunt that he'd never eaten so good on a sheep hunt, I'd taken care of the groceries and had a good selection of MH and Alpine freeze dried goods along with the regular snacks.

my point is, I've hunted hard here, and I'm an admitted tackleberry, gearheaded freak and have the man cave and Connex to prove it!

hi tech makes hunting safer and more enjoyable for me, but it doesn't mean that guys that don't employ that technology can't get it done as well!

I've got pards that have a box of shells that they figure will last them the rest of their hunting life, yep every year they use one bullet and kill a moose.

while I have buckets of brass cause I just like to shoot and figure I like to up my odds on killing a critter humanely.

I've no doubt if I'd not have had the extra fleece jacket back in the truck Jerry would have just toughed it out in his soaked through down jacket.

but the way he hunted was no stunt, that dog can hunt.

he was 52 when I killed my ram with him, I didn't have to wait for him, blue jeans and flannel shirt nonwithstanding.

I think you meant to say "harvested".
<grins>

I"ve seen a number of Calvins comments, and i've never read them as smart azz at all, simply informative and I totally agree with him on most counts.

There are things we do everyday that we get away with that could or should cost us at some point.

Calvin pointing out that some of the items could cause an issue at some point, wtf is wrong with that?s

Jeans is an example actually for me... I flew into Aniak once for a bou hunt.... was no big rush etc... so I didn't change into gear yet and then all of a sudden a plane comes in and we have to scramble...... in jeans... all was well until I was making sure of foot placement on the float plane and walked into the tail.... fell, rolled back into a COLD lake... sopping wet....

But of course as the plane took off I"d dried off and had my wools on right quick.... Temps were only in the low 20s though so it wasn't such a big deal at the time.

Personally I appreciate folks pointing out potential errors. Though I'd prefer Calvin have called the issues out specifically.

While things like jeans and other unsuitable things can get you into serious trouble, the list of things FC posted as stunt material are the stuff that hundreds of people, many of them Alaskans, use every year quite successfully. That they worked for the OP is hardly a surprise. The surprising thing is that we've collectively almost become clones of the Cabelas models in our thinking about the gear we need to be very successful in our hunting endeavors. Really, the list of items can only be perceived as stunt stuff in the eyes of snobby gear heads. Hunting doesn't need to be about who can get it done with the bestest and mostest, though there is nothing wrong with doing it that way. I was once a disciple of that endeavor myself so I can't really criticize it. However, I also appreciate and understand another side to things, something I never thought I'd ever come around to when I was yet in my younger years. Hunting can be a lot of fun, successful even with only the stuff we could get in 1980. Why shouldn't it? Hunting was a lot of fun and eating everything that we brought home was quite a challenge even then.

But it would be false to assume that Alaska won't ever bite you in the butt if you hunt here long enough. And it'll happen in spite of the best of gear - though good gear can reduce the odds. But the weakest link is still the organism in the equation. Always has been; always will be.

damn nice sheep and hell of a hunt to boot though! I"m envious.

Jeff

darn, I opened this thread imaging I'd see Bighorns on unicycles or something.

I agree. I would also add a quote from Admiral Crowe, in testimony to Congress after the Desert One Debacle that led to the creation of SOCOM.

"Military amateurs get together and talk tactics. Military professionals get together and talk logistics."

The best way to get out of a [bleep] is to not be there in the first place.

FC-

Congrats!!! Beautiful ram!!!

+1 FC!!!

Just one question are you sure the cup and core bullet from your 7X57 hit the ram......I see no evidence

Great story - thank you for sharing!

PennDog

The 7x57 is so wonderful, it even knows when to refrain from mucking-up a beautiful cape!

In the 2 lower pictures, the ram is lying on the exit hole: 'twas just starboard of the brisket, and the entry came down through the left humurus.

I know, I know... a mono would have caped him, too...

FC

I don't understand the "Stunt sheep" title, I see nothing stuntish about it. Everything you've done has been done thousands of times before. In everything from blue jeans to cotton t's to flannel shirts and jean jackets, long before rangefinders were around and just about every rifle had a wood stock.

Hell, i've done it myself many times over the years but it's like anything else, we evolve over time and learn to use things that improve the experience and hopefully, the outcome too.

Very nice dall ram FC and good job cmg for staying after it.

WOW! Congrats on great sheep and hunt and pics. The pics are amazing and amazing country too. I now know I am too old and fat and po to sheep hunt. But by God it's great to dream about and see others accomplisments. (oh and 7mm mauser has kilt more game worldwide since 1891 than any other cal)

I saved $ for 5 years, lost 30#, and went when I was 48 years old. If you want to do it Silvertip, DO IT! Make it happen. There is nothing like being in the mountains, sheep hunting. Nothing...

Pizzed I did not go last year, was there, and left after my fishing trip and vacation at my cousins...had I ONLY brought rifles and stayed longer!

Hopefully I will go back, and hunt ALL AK has to offer. My dream....well, Africa might be nice as well!