Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska DALL SHEEP HUNT QUESTION

I am booking a hunt in the Alaska Range for 2007. The outfitter only hunts 2 slots, the opener on Aug10, and the second season on or around the 20th. This is my first hunt.
The outfitter says the success is the pretty much the same on both hunts. Any advice for a newbie is appreciated.

Thanks,

Bryan

Bryan
I think a little time spent communicating with your guide would be good thing. There is no split in the sheep seasons here aside from drawing areas.

Depending on where you are in the unit (how high you hunt and how close to the coast) the weather may be worse later, but it may rain quite a bit in the early part of the season. Neither is fun.

The Alaska Range is not noted for big rams, though there are some areas that put out some good ones. A quick trip through B&C will show very few from the entire range. Not that there are not some fine sheep there. I would also ask for numbers of sheep taken in his area for the last several years.

This past season was the first with a sealing requirement for sheep horns. The information is public and the guide should be able to show you exactly how good the sheep were that his clients took last season. That information will be much more reliable with an uninterested third party doing the measuring now...
art

Falcon1-

Welcome to the campfire! Reading Tony Russ's book, Sheep Hunting in Alaska was a huge benefit to me on my Dall sheep hunt, which was unguided. I think by reading as much as you can first, you will then know what questions to ask your guide about your specific hunt. By following Tony's advice, you will make your guide's job much easier.

I hunted the last week of the season, and snow can definitely push the sheep down and save some climbing. I also love the thicker appearance the winter coat gives my ram mount.

Good luck,

Cast

Cast
Tony's book can get you killed. That pretender has lost his guide license for cause and is trying to keep going on the lecture circuit. Take a look at his "jerky" recipe...

Did you hunt with a relative?
art

Either hunt would probably be ok. Hair might be marginally longer on the later hunt. Does the guide take both parties from the same camp? If so the earlier hunt would be better. If he uses the first hunt as a scouting trip, the 2nd might be better. Lots of variables.
You pays your money & takes your chances.
Gary

Falcon1,

Tony Russ has a new book out, "Sheep Stalking in Alaska." I just picked up a copy and it's an enjoyable read w/ some good info.......you have to look at all sheep hunting info and compare it to your situation..if you get a few tidbits of info from a book, it was worth the cost.......one important question you might want to ask your registered guide is whether or not you'll be hunting exclusively w/him or not. If not, I would want to know the name of the assistant guide you'll be hunting with and a contact number so you can call him and ask about his SHEEP hunting experience, mountain experience, and Alaska experience......some of the assistants are excellent w/a great deal of experience......others are really green and, with the new sealing laws in place, can get you in over your head quickly.....if you can't communicate w/your guide, look elsewhere. Probably the most important factor is getting in sheep shape......when you think you're there, get in even better shape......it can make or break your hunt. The photo attached to this post is of an 11yo ram taken by my friend this past season......hope you get one just like it.

Joe

Nice ram!

I'd like to know how someone from OR went on a unguided sheep hunt! Some clarification would be great.

I hunted sheep with my cousin who was a non-res at that time. We got checked by the Brown shirts and really got grilled as to why he was accompaning me. I felt like I got screwed by an elephant after that! He was along to enjoy a great adventure, wasn't with me on the stalk even, but I still won't do that again.

You guys are right, there's no more big sheep int he AK range, none at all. Wolves got 'em all.

Guys,

First off, thanks for the welcome. I have been lurking for some time, and had some trouble getting logged on, but I am now good to go. A little info on me. I am 43 and live in Western Washington. I have no experience in sheep hunting.
I have killed 2 billies on my own in the Cascade Mtns, so I have some limited experience mtn hunting in my own state.
I have chosen what I think is a good outfitter after doing alot of research. I did have a budget, so some outfits were sorta out of reach for me. I talked to 8 different sheep hunters who hunted with this oufit, including 1 that didn't score. They all gave him high ratings. I read Tony's book several times, and I am in the process of reading everything I can get my hands on to make every effort for a good hunt. I know the physical conditioning is of upmost importance, so I am working on that. Even though I am more then a 1 1/2 years out on the hunt, I am very much a planner. I have lots of questions on equipment and so forth. As for as my trophy goals, just looking for a quality experience and a shot at a mature full curl ram. Not setting my goals too high. If I get a huge ram great, but I know this area doesn't put out huge rams like the Chugach, ect. Anyway, I am rambling on. I appreciate the help, and look forward to spending time on the board.

Thanks again,

Bryan Flintoff
Enumclaw, wa

Hey Art-

First let me admit that a one time sheep hunter like myself knows just enough to be dangerous. That's why I point to the sources that helped me, not to my own "vast expertise"<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I see what you mean about the Jerky recipe! (E. Coli nightmare!). Needless to say, that advice was not followed. I did find a ton of advice that contributed directly to the safety and success of my hunt. I hunted with my brother-in-law, who is not a guide, and lived in Ketchican at the time. He has since moved to OR, so it really was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for me. I will never be able to justify the expense of a guided sheep hunt.

Neither of us had hunted sheep before, so we heavily researched the reference material available, (not much!). Tony's was the most current, but maybe somebody else is doing it better these days?<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Cast

I'd say your on the right track, Falcon1. Good luck next year.

Cast

Give me some more info on Tony Russ. I'm a little lost. I didn't know he lost his guiding license. Heck, he was running a guiding school just a few years ago. I've read the book. How can it get you killed? Fill me in or send me a PM.

thanks

Kusko-

All I know about Tony Russ is from reading his books and one brief phone conversation with him. If you do a search here under "tony russ" you will find some anecdotal discussion of his guiding trouble.

Cast

Can anyone give more information no the new "sealing" requirements? Why would if give better information? Sometimes I'm not good at interpretting inuendo.

This past season was the first that required sheep horns to be sealed, which means the horns are taken to Fish and Game offices, measured, recorded and tagged for transport. Because there was no requirement to have sheep horns checked a lot of marginal sheep were shot.

There were still enough shot this year that a large number of people did not leave the F&G office with their sheep horns. At one point I heard 1 in 3 or 4 were illegal.

I have seen lots of pictures of sheep that are clearly NOT full-curl but made it on age (8 year-old sheep, regardless the curl are legal) alone. Guides encouoraging hunters to take marginal size sheep are going to find themselves in a tight spot eventually.
art

Art,

I have to respectfully disagree with you on a couple of points. While you may not believe much of the Alaska Range produces large rams, it does contain one of the state's trophy areas: the Tok Managment Area.

A quick search of the state's big game commercial services board guide list shows that Tony Russ is holds registered guide license #948 and he is registered to guide in GMUs 13 and 14. That license expires at the end of the year.

Sheep sealing has been mandatory since 2004. This last season was the second season it has been required. Actually very few illegal sheep are brought in to be sealed. In the Anchorage ADF&G office a list is posted on the wall showing each sheep sealed there in 2005. There are well over 100 rams listed of which only 3 or 4 were "red tagged". That is far fewer than the 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 you mentioned.

Respectfully,

AKshooter

Akshooter
You are correct in that the AK Range does have some serious big ram hotspots. I posted a picture here of a ram my brother-in-law shot in the AK Range that is incredible. It scored in the mid-170s.

I have spoken with the poster here at some length about the exact spot he was intending to hunt and it is NOT in one of the big ram areas.

Information I got from several sources said there is a problem with Tony's license. It is possible the guide license division still has an active license out in his name, but I would bet there is something to what I posted about a suspension/revocation. If that is incorrect I apologize for that, but have spoken first-hand with individuals involved and will say the license deserves to be pulled and Mr Russ should not be allowed to guide. Period!

I did screw up on the sealing requirement being a year older than I thought and I should have known better! I apologize for that error. Will need to speak to the guy that gave me the info... he is a sealer...

Thanks for keeping me straight!
art

Get in shape. Be prepared to hike and climb. Your sucsess and the quality of your ram will depend on what kind of shape you are in. The guide and the packer will be in great shape. Your legs will be your greatest assest or you biggest foe.