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Any downside to Hunting the 7th-18ish for these species.

Concentrating on grizzly 1st and then Dall 2nd.
Yes
Elaborate?
If a grizzly is really what you want I would go later in the year and forget the idea of going after sheep. If you equally want both I would go after sheep first.

Also a lot of early season grizz hides look like [bleep].
I realize the bear hides get thicker later in the year, unfortunately my time frame is limited.
What’s your priority?
I’m a sheep hunter - so I would chase sheep first ... having said that, with those dates (if they are concrete) you could chase grizz for two days on the front end.
Much is going to depend on your guide/outfitter (as you know.) Also, don’t forget to factor same day airborne into your planning...
AK, The outfitter I'm talking to suggested exactly that, chase griz for a couple days before sheep opens.

I realize the hide will be hit-or-miss that time of the year.
Likely its the Brooks Range so the hide is good to go. Get in position for the sheep first. But nail the Griz as an animal of opportunity.
Talkeetna hunt.
I would not consider a "Ring-counting" hunt...
Sitka, not sure I understand the reference.
A number of dall sheep hunts in the Talkeetna area are run in areas of very marginal sheep hunting and they count annual rings on the sheep to hope to find one they can convince themselves is legal (8 rings) instead of a full curl. Hunters have shown up thinking their sheep was legal only to find it was not. It is difficult to count rings at any distance and I have seen them fail to get it right in hand in the office.
There were some very nice rams that came out of the Talkeetnas this year.
From my interactions with the the OP, I suspect he has done his research with regards to his outfitter.
And the same thing can occur in any range ...
Originally Posted by AKwolverine
There were some very nice rams that came out of the Talkeetnas this year.
From my interactions with the the OP, I suspect he has done his research with regards to his outfitter.
And the same thing can occur in any range ...

I absolutely agree with what you are saying... however there is some history there.

I saw at least two spectacular rams from there this fall, but neither would be touchable on a tight calendar.
Gotcha, that's where I thought you were headed.

I have done my research, and the guide has a stellar reputation.

The nature of my work dictates that I book an early August hunt
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
Gotcha, that's where I thought you were headed.

I have done my research, and the guide has a stellar reputation.

The nature of my work dictates that I book an early August hunt

There are good guides out of Talkeetna and you should be good there.

As to bear hide quality... fur will likely be very short, but uniform.
The bear would be a bonus, I had originally just intended to hunt sheep.
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
The bear would be a bonus, I had originally just intended to hunt sheep.


With that mindset, you will have a great trip.
It’s a magical time of year ...
+1
I'd listen to what Sitka says, he absolutely knows what he is talking about.

When I hunted grizz in the spring, I asked my guide about hunting them in the fall.

His suggestion was don't.

I agree with everyone saying hunt sheep, and kill a grizz as an opportunity animal
Originally Posted by hicountry
I'd listen to what Sitka says, he absolutely knows what he is talking about.

When I hunted grizz in the spring, I asked my guide about hunting them in the fall.

His suggestion was don't.

I agree with everyone saying hunt sheep, and kill a grizz as an opportunity animal


why not in the fall?...…..bob

why not bear in the fall?......for hicountry
Work schedule does not permit.
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
Work schedule does not permit.



I understand your schedule......bob
Originally Posted by BobMt
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
Work schedule does not permit.



I understand your schedule......bob

Bears shed their fur each spring and get really ugly. It then grows in slowly through the summer and then fills in for a timely nap. Summer hides are plain ugly and by fall the fur is usually pretty uniform but thin and short. I am not a fan of fall hides, but they are not bad and I am such a fan of bear hides in general I give them all away!

Spring hides can be fantastic...
Originally Posted by Sitka deer
Originally Posted by BobMt
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
Work schedule does not permit.



I understand your schedule......bob

Bears shed their fur each spring and get really ugly. It then grows in slowly through the summer and then fills in for a timely nap. Summer hides are plain ugly and by fall the fur is usually pretty uniform but thin and short. I am not a fan of fall hides, but they are not bad and I am such a fan of bear hides in general I give them all away!

Spring hides can be fantastic...


I understand all of that....have shot a few bears......hicountrys guide just said don't.....was wondering if it was a hide issue or hunting at that time issue......but thanks sitka…...bob
Originally Posted by BobMt
Originally Posted by Sitka deer
Originally Posted by BobMt
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
Work schedule does not permit.



I understand your schedule......bob

Bears shed their fur each spring and get really ugly. It then grows in slowly through the summer and then fills in for a timely nap. Summer hides are plain ugly and by fall the fur is usually pretty uniform but thin and short. I am not a fan of fall hides, but they are not bad and I am such a fan of bear hides in general I give them all away!

Spring hides can be fantastic...


I understand all of that....have shot a few bears......hicountrys guide just said don't.....was wondering if it was a hide issue or hunting at that time issue......but thanks sitka…...bob

Where Tony was hunting is not unlike where the OP is going and in both a fall bear will be thin and a lot of people do not like them. Another aside, obviously a fully-furred bear just looks a LOT bigger...
ny,
You can take sitkaqueer’s advice to the bank. He’s killed more sub full curl sheep than anyone I know. Seriously. He’s the 3/4 Curl champ.
Well that escalated quickly.
There’s no full curl Friday’s for him. Sublegal Sunday though. Maybe three quarter thursday...
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
Well that escalated quickly.

No idea what the idiot said or says... he is just a butt hurt little man with issues.
Now artsy shouldn’t you be cruising ADN to find your next “contribution” to this site?

Ny, notice how he didn’t deny shooting sublegals?
Jeez Art, what did you do to poor old WhataDickHead? Run over his road kill trophy or something more dastardly?
Don’t let him close to you, he’ll go all leghound on you and you would never get rid of him.
He is one of very few on my ignore list. He is not worthy of a response. I do not read what he writes about me. Pathetic tool, he is.
Originally Posted by Sitka deer
He is one of very few on my ignore list. He is not worthy of a response. I do not read what he writes about me. Pathetic tool, he is.


I’m not on your ignore list. It’s pretty easy for anyone to figure that part out...
Interested in resl world early season experiences with sheep and grizzly.

Not petty internet squabbles.

Thanks Sitka, AK
NY-----Are you over at Alaska Outdoor Forums? Try a post over there. Lots of good info there & guys who do it every year. You can ask Jake Jefferson what he thinks. He's my AK grizzly guide. He also does sheep/grizzly combos. His name over there is BrownBear.
Thanks Bob, I've heard good things about Jake.
It's BRWNBR over the there. He's a a straight shooter.
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
The bear would be a bonus, I had originally just intended to hunt sheep.

As some have already suggested, go after sheep and if you stumble across a grizz then there's your opportunity to take one. Sheep is the hardest of the 2 animals to take and i'd concentrate more on getting a ram. And if you're going with Jake Jefferson you are in very good hands.
Aksagebrush/wdh does not like Jake Jefferson. He has perpetual hard on for guides and Jake has been in his bullseye for awhile. Anyhow if you are going with a Jake he has the Talkeetnas figured out and he will get you on a nice sheep, that you don't have to worry about sweating it out at fish and game. When it comes time to get it sealed.
Originally Posted by 79S
Aksagebrush/wdh does not like Jake Jefferson. He has perpetual hard on for guides and Jake has been in his bullseye for awhile. Anyhow if you are going with a Jake he has the Talkeetnas figured out and he will get you on a nice sheep, that you don't have to worry about sweating it out at fish and game. When it comes time to get it sealed.


Yep I hate him so much I donated 250.00 to his gofundme when his wife died. Just because I don’t agree with his crying about sheep hunting should be all on a draw doesn’t mean I don’t like him. So STFU. Like usual you don’t know chit about anything.
Originally Posted by 79S
Aksagebrush/wdh does not like Jake Jefferson. He has perpetual hard on for guides and Jake has been in his bullseye for awhile. Anyhow if you are going with a Jake he has the Talkeetnas figured out and he will get you on a nice sheep, that you don't have to worry about sweating it out at fish and game. When it comes time to get it sealed.

+1
Originally Posted by WDH
Originally Posted by 79S
Aksagebrush/wdh does not like Jake Jefferson. He has perpetual hard on for guides and Jake has been in his bullseye for awhile. Anyhow if you are going with a Jake he has the Talkeetnas figured out and he will get you on a nice sheep, that you don't have to worry about sweating it out at fish and game. When it comes time to get it sealed.


Yep I hate him so much I donated 250.00 to his gofundme when his wife died. Just because I don’t agree with his crying about sheep hunting should be all on a draw doesn’t mean I don’t like him. So STFU. Like usual you don’t know chit about anything.


Uh huh.. aren't you just a regular angel sent from the heavens...
Originally Posted by 79S
Originally Posted by WDH
Originally Posted by 79S
Aksagebrush/wdh does not like Jake Jefferson. He has perpetual hard on for guides and Jake has been in his bullseye for awhile. Anyhow if you are going with a Jake he has the Talkeetnas figured out and he will get you on a nice sheep, that you don't have to worry about sweating it out at fish and game. When it comes time to get it sealed.


Yep I hate him so much I donated 250.00 to his gofundme when his wife died. Just because I don’t agree with his crying about sheep hunting should be all on a draw doesn’t mean I don’t like him. So STFU. Like usual you don’t know chit about anything.


Uh huh.. aren't you just a regular angel sent from the heavens...

No, he is a very little man stalking people that have actually done something... and he stands out as very weird when doing it... People notice...
Originally Posted by Sitka deer
Originally Posted by 79S
Originally Posted by WDH
Originally Posted by 79S
Aksagebrush/wdh does not like Jake Jefferson. He has perpetual hard on for guides and Jake has been in his bullseye for awhile. Anyhow if you are going with a Jake he has the Talkeetnas figured out and he will get you on a nice sheep, that you don't have to worry about sweating it out at fish and game. When it comes time to get it sealed.


Yep I hate him so much I donated 250.00 to his gofundme when his wife died. Just because I don’t agree with his crying about sheep hunting should be all on a draw doesn’t mean I don’t like him. So STFU. Like usual you don’t know chit about anything.


Uh huh.. aren't you just a regular angel sent from the heavens...

No, he is a very little man stalking people that have actually done something... and he stands out as very weird when doing it... People notice...


It’s fun watching you squirm. It’s like the guys say at the fly shop. Art knows it all, and If you don’t believe it ask him hahahaha
Originally Posted by 79S


Uh huh.. aren't you just a regular angel sent from the heavens...


I’m an atheist so no. Keep posting you’ll get to 10,000 posts by the end of the year. And haven’t killed anything in 10 years! Hahahahaha what a loser. This forum is all you have. 10k posts. What a fuggin loser.
Originally Posted by WDH
Originally Posted by 79S


Uh huh.. aren't you just a regular angel sent from the heavens...


I’m an atheist so no. Keep posting you’ll get to 10,000 posts by the end of the year. And haven’t killed anything in 10 years! Hahahahaha what a loser. This forum is all you have. 10k posts. What a fuggin loser.


Sure you are.. But that's my goal aksagebrush, 10000 posts by the end of the year.. I know 10 long years since I killed anything😭. Happy thanksgiving aksagebrush. I will also try not to be a fuggin loser anymore..
Originally Posted by 79S
[quote=WDH]
Sure you are.. But that's my goal aksagebrush, 10000 posts by the end of the year.. I know 10 long years since I killed anything😭. Happy thanksgiving aksagebrush. I will also try not to be a fuggin loser anymore..


Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!
If someone wanted to do the same hunt ... Sheep with a chance at Grizzly in the Brooks range - who would be guides to look at?
Originally Posted by elkrazy
If someone wanted to do the same hunt ... Sheep with a chance at Grizzly in the Brooks range - who would be guides to look at?


Choose your guide wisely if hunting the Brooks..
Originally Posted by elkrazy
If someone wanted to do the same hunt ... Sheep with a chance at Grizzly in the Brooks range - who would be guides to look at?



jim kerdowski ….Alaska hunting expeditions......horse back......1st time I went......sheep-bear-moose...…..2cd time I went.....sheep-bear....could have went after a moose.....but didn't want one.

if I was to go back, I would go with him again...…..bob
Originally Posted by 79S
Originally Posted by elkrazy
If someone wanted to do the same hunt ... Sheep with a chance at Grizzly in the Brooks range - who would be guides to look at?


Choose your guide wisely if hunting the Brooks..

...and everywhere else...
Originally Posted by BobMt
Originally Posted by elkrazy
If someone wanted to do the same hunt ... Sheep with a chance at Grizzly in the Brooks range - who would be guides to look at?



jim kerdowski ….Alaska hunting expeditions......horse back......1st time I went......sheep-bear-moose...…..2cd time I went.....sheep-bear....could have went after a moose.....but didn't want one.

if I was to go back, I would go with him again...…..bob

That sounds like a great trip.


thanks sitka…….it was 2 great trips......jim was straight up, didn't try to oversell ...in fact the opposite….liked his style so much I also went to the peninsula for the big bears and was successful......bob
There are a lot of good guides in the Brooks and a lot of bad ones too. Riley Pitts has a great outfit and Aaron Bloomquist has a very good outfit as well. Kerdowski has a very traditional style camp and people like that. I would probably pick Riley Pitts if I was old and wanted just to get a good ram but have young guides carry most of the gear and I would choose Aaron's outfit if I wanted a very large ram and wanted to do an ultramarathon with 100 lb pack every day. Both have great areas and cater to clients along those lines.
Bobmt,

Sorry for the late response...

In addition to the hide issue, as Sitka pointed out, my guide said it's just much tougher getting on a good boar.

In the spring, boars are constantly looking for sows. That's exactly how we found mine. We saw a sow with a cub freak out, and knew there had to be a boar nearby.

There was.

Not saying it's impossible, just in his experience, a much harder hunt.

My opinion is focus on the sheep, and have a bear tag just in case

Tony


that makes sense.....all of my Alaska bears have been in the fall.....montana bears all have been in the spring...

where I was in the brooks....no shortage of bears or sheep......bob
Gents, have been speaking with Jake, although I haven't heard from him since Sat. Assume he is out guiding (although I suppose he may have booked another hunter while I was doing due diligence.)

Hoping to book his last slot for 2022, which is the August 10th hunt.
He's probably doing family stuff. He's got 5 or 6 kids. You can't do better than Jake. I'm going on a baited hunt in June 2021. Go over to AR and check out the reports of his hunts there. Quite a few write ups. Also check out Alaska Outdoor Forums. He has reports on each of his hunts there in the guide section. They maybe a couple years ago. Because he kind of sat out a year after his wife passed.


a lot of it comes down to what kind of hunt you want...backpack...or horse back......wall tents or dome tents....etc....have fun....bob
First thing you need to do is prioritize... What is most important for you to get out of this hunt? A big ram? A big bear? No competition in the field? Those are the things I would decide before choosing a guide or a hunting area... Because there a bunch of good outfitters that can get you a bear and a ram.... and maybe even more schit heads that won't get you either.

Tanner
Spoke with Jake last night.

In on the 7th to focus on grizzly for a few days, then the main focus on sheep beginning the 10th. Out on the 18th.
If I'm not successful on grizzly before the 10th bear becomes a target of opportunity while hunting sheep.

Interestingly, Jake recommends a quilt over a bag due to weight. Need to do some research.
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
Spoke with Jake last night.

In on the 7th to focus on grizzly for a few days, then the main focus on sheep beginning the 10th. Out on the 18th.
If I'm not successful on grizzly before the 10th bear becomes a target of opportunity while hunting sheep.

Interestingly, Jake recommends a quilt over a bag due to weight. Need to do some research.



For that time of year, check out Enlightened Equipment of Winona, MN for quilts........They have a sale on at this time.
I use mine a lot and may order another for canoe, fishing trips and early hunts I use a 20 degree and may order a 0 degree but as an old guy
my circulation may not be as good as yours. I intend to order mine over-stuffed in order to reduce shifting of the down. I've got a half dozen
sleeping bags but none beat this quilt for early season comfort and weight.
Vern, that's the brand Jake recommends. Was looking them over last night.

I'm 52, will be pushing 55 when the hunt takes place. The lighter the better!
Personally I would not mess around with a bear if I was sheep hunting. If you do get a bear your going to be messing around for a day or two packing it out,. fleshing it out. A good bear hide is going to weigh 80-100 lbs.

Sheep hunting is going to require 100% attention. If you still must have a bear hunt it after your sheep. Beats are spread out pretty thinly and you can eat up a lot of time tying to find one.

Took me two trips to find mine.


Lefty
Do the combo, but understand it adds certain challenges, not to mention additional costs.

On my combo hunt, I never saw a legal shooter bear, turns out the area wasn't a decent area for bear, which could sway your decision....listen the outfitter, and hope he's being honest with odds of success on the bear.

if you don't do the combo, odds are you'll see a stud of a bear,

No one wants to be 'that guy'.
Originally Posted by Tanner
First thing you need to do is prioritize... What is most important for you to get out of this hunt? A big ram? A big bear? No competition in the field? Those are the things I would decide before choosing a guide or a hunting area... Because there a bunch of good outfitters that can get you a bear and a ram.... and maybe even more schit heads that won't get you either.

Tanner


Everybody read this again.
Originally Posted by nyrifleman
Spoke with Jake last night.

In on the 7th to focus on grizzly for a few days, then the main focus on sheep beginning the 10th. Out on the 18th.
If I'm not successful on grizzly before the 10th bear becomes a target of opportunity while hunting sheep.

Interestingly, Jake recommends a quilt over a bag due to weight. Need to do some research.
That's the best call and a good one by Jake.
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