Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska rifle for Dall Sheep

One thing I noticed in all your pics is that you are smiling and actually enjoying your hunts.

Not use to seeing that on this here and other sites, most guys that post pics think they have to look pissed off to give them that tough guy demeaner.

Hunting is suppose to be fun and to get a trophy is a great accomplishment to the adventure...you have to love it to live it...right??

ou76,

Man, you have some awesome trophy's.......congrats.....

As to the topic of this thread....I would use my custom 7WSM, shooting 150 Sciroccos for sheep. Built on a 700 action, it has been highly mod'd and lightened, and sits in a Micky mtn rifle stock.

With a Zeus Conquest 3x9x40, it is 7lbs all loaded up and ready to hunt.

Option #2 would be a slightly heavier GAP built 700 in 300WSM, shooting a 165 Scirocco. Stocked in a Bansner, it is about 1/2 lb. heavier than my 7WSM.

If there was grizz issues, I could substitute partitions in either. If griz was on the menu, I'd load 180 Partitions in my 300WSM and rock on.

That said, I haven't been on a sheep hunt, but did do a combo Mtn Goat/Moose hunt in BC and brought my 9lb 300RUM. It wasn't a joy to haul up the mountains for my 'Goat, but I survived....


350yards, 300RUM, 200 Accubond....DRT....major league fall down the mountain to the shale slide!!!

Tony

Nice Goat you got in BC..CONGRATS!!! ANY Goat is a trophy!! Yes a 9 pounder hauling around in the mountains is a load that is one reason I like my old Featherweight Model 70 for sheep hunting....you will like using your lighter rifle for sheep...a friend of mine has a lightweight 7 mag built on Model 700 action he uses the 160 Nosler Partition and has taken all of the NA rams, a Marco Polo, and other Asia sheep on his way to the World Slam of Sheep...I think he has taken either 14-16 different species of sheep...last Fall he took the new world record Arctic Caribou with his ol' beat up 7 mag and the 160 Noslers... where are you planning to go for your 1st ram?? I would consider the NWT for Dalls...

Forgot to add, do a horseback hunt or a backpack hunt for best results...on my 3 NWT Dall hunts I used horses...great experience.....hunting rams the classic way...in tne NWT I have take 2 40+ and a 38...got sunked once as we were after a 42+ that was spotted the year before as we left and then as the horses were trailed in in July ...we never found him...no one else did either not even the fellas who opt to use 'copters and spend $$$$$ to get to the top of the mountains!!!

ou76,

Yes, I am planning on a sheep hunt, and thanks for the advice on the NWT....

Since I did the 'Goat hunt in 2004, things greatly changed for me, physically that is. Had an accident, broke my back, and had back surgery this spring.

Doing much better due to the surgery, but between being 52 and the back, a horseback hunt is going to be my priority.

So the next time I decide to tackle the mountains, I WILL be reaching for the lightest rig in the gunsafe.....

BTW, keep the pics coming, your hunts and trophies are awesome.........

Tony

PS: Here is the moose I took on the BC trip:



He was a BIG old bull, actually going a little down hill. What he lacked in tines on top he made up for in spread....which was 59.5". Not bad for a canadian.

That is a NICE bull..CONGRATS!! I really like to hunt Moose...they are one of my favorite NA game animals...plus I love the meat!! I know what you mean about health...I had total knee replacements in 2007 and 2008...my ol' knees were worn out from 5 knee surgeries from my college football days and then bone on bone for way too many years...I have made only 2 trips since having them done..Tule Elk in 2008 and Coastal Black Bear in 2009......looking forward to this Fall and a Shiras hunt in Wyoming after 12 years of preference points and Brown Bear with Moose option in Alaska... when you decide on the Dall hunt let me know...in the NWT I have 3 of my 5 Dalls and 2 are over 40...

Real funny, I remember taking that bottom picture...ole "Blue" wasn't too thrilled about the load on his back !

The look on his face says WTF it's a long way back to the coral !!!

Tony

Any of the rifles you mentioned will work well for Dall Sheep. My first sheep hunt was with a 270 and i was fine until after i top a rise and a grizz was 30 yds away digging up a ground squirrel. I looked at the 270 and at the grizz and my father 50 yds behind me with a 338, it wasnt a warm fuzzy feeling. A 100 yards away id of felt ok, 30 yds not so good. A 270 will do the job but there is no room for error. Since than my rifle of choice for all my Alaska hunting has been the 8mm Rem Mag. I took a nice Dall out of Tok shooting a 180 grain Nosler Ballistic tip. Id go with your 300 but all will work.

300 weatherby ultralite

.243 is a dandy!

To bad ou76 left the Fire.

The real deal for sure.

Might be late but I would go with the 300 wby. You spent a boat load of money and time. Take the one that will get the job done when things are tough or when things are perfect. Besides you might run into a bear that wants your sheep.

Was thinking the same thing after this thread came back up.

All would do the job with good placement. I like the Sako. Compared to antelope, white tails and even large mule deer sheep are stout and are hit at long ranges. The Weatherby is a great cartridge provided you shoot it well.

And I was just getting excited by all of those pictures to go look for his hunt reports. Did he ever post any here?

There you go.

I could not of said it any better.

Good luck on your hunt.

I would take the 7-08 and load 120 gr Barnes TTSX over some Varget and go kill stuff .

A 6.5x284 shooting 129 gn conventional bullets on a short action and a light synthetic stock works well for sheep in the mountains, even for the long shots.

The 6.5/284 intrigues me...