Anyone have a sheep hunting book recommendation?

I'm going Dall hunting next year.

I just got my first copy of Grand Slam / Ovis magazine. Talk about disappointing. One hundred and sixty four pages of, my outfitter was so-and-so and the guide was ___ they were great, my trophy was X", the mountains were beautiful, I now have 3/4 of my super-dooper slam.

Dry as dust! Occasional mention that the shot was X yards. Never a mention of the gun or ammunition being used. Never a mention of shot placement. No hunting tactics or strategies.

Almost total focus on "getting" a certain sheep so you can check it off your list, and move to the next one.

I like reading and learning as much as I can about the game I hunt. This magazine doesn't cut it. Magazines off the rack very seldom have any good sheep hunt stories. Thumbing back through five years of Petersen's Hunting, I found one good dall sheep story.

There has got to be some good reading out there somewhere.

Kensco,

Try looking at booktrail.com. They have a pretty good sheep hunting selection as well as other hunting books. If you would like, e-mail me or pm as I have a couple of photos you might like to take a look at. Hope you find your books.

Joe

Kensco,

Check out this link:

http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/products/alaska_sheep_hunting.htm

It is a very good book about Dall sheep hunting. I'd also suggest a video "Field Judging Thinhorn Rams", by the late Duncan Gilchrist. It can be found at wyomingben.com.

Hope this info. will get you started. Where are you going to be hunting? Let me warn you, if this is your first sheep hunt, you will most likely get badly hooked on the sport, and HAVE to go again. It has happened to many of us.

Chip

This will be my first sheep hunt, but I'm too old to worry about getting hooked on it. I'm going to the Northwest Territories, southwest of Norman Wells.

This could be the crowning jewel for me. I do plan to go back to Africa one more time, but frankly I feel about Canada / Alaska the way the people on the Africa Big Game Hunting thread feel about Africa.

From the time I hit the ground in Norman Wells until I step back on that plane ten days later, I'm going to feel like I'm in heaven.

I ordered a book from each source. Thanks for your help.

Don`t forget:
www.safaripress.com
They have many good books..
Last year I bought "The great arc of the wild sheep"..
The book shows all the different species and subspecies of sheep around the world, with description, pictures and stories from well-knowned hunters. Pretty scientific..
The book is pretty old BTW, and I really don`t know if the situation has changed dramatically since then..
But it`s interesting to read it!

Kensco,

Glad I could assist you.

I feel the same way you do about Alaska. I have not yet made it to Africa. It seems that Alaska captured my sole on my first visit. I find that I MUST return regularly to explore new areas to hunt in that vast frontier. While I do enjoy the hunting, just being "THERE" is fantastic. In late September, I'll be returning for my second Mountain goat hunt. The physical conditioning program has already started. For me, the hardest part of any visit to Alaska is getting on the plane to return home. One of these days I may just stay in God's Country.

Good luck on your Sheep hunt, and please let us know how the hunt goes for you.

Chip

[ 03-04-2003, 20:32: Message edited by: 4214chip ]

Check out Tony Russ's book Alaska Sheephunting or something like that. It pretty much is the how to book for Northern Sheep hunting.

Jack O'Connor's book Sheep and Sheep Hunting is good also.

I'm going to look for that O'Connor book.

I'm pretty impressed. Both books (Russ & Gilchrist) got to me in nine days. We only get personal mail once a week here, so that was quick.

I'd agree with Tony Russ's book Sheep Hunting in Alaska and also Jack O'Conner's Sheep & Sheep Hunting. Both good books.
Bought another book The Great Arc of the Wild Sheep and would give it a thumbs down.

I did the same thing before I went sheep hunting for the first time in 96'. Bought every book I could read on the subject, got all tooled up with "sheep gear", bought a Jack O'Conner pre 64 model 70 Winchester in .270 to shoot my sheep with, etc. Had a ball, got my sheep and hope to do it again some day. Good luck !

Yukon Jack, you were right about "Sheep Hunting in Alaska" (second edition) by Tony Russ. It was a great read. I'll be going back highlighting the text in the coming year. Although some sections on bow hunting weren't of much value to me, the bulk of the book was excellent. Russ spells out everything a new sheep hunter needs to know or consider.

The other book I got was Duncan Gilchrist's "Quest for the Dall Rams". I liked it less, but it did cover two hunts in the NWT which I read very closely. (If he had described one more time how much he liked Dall sheep soaked in Teriyaki sauce over a willow fire, I think I'd have puked.)

While both books were written from an Alaskan perspective, Russ's info would apply anywhere.

The second half of the Gilchrist book was Alaska-specific and covered caping and field care, which didn't interest me too much. (If the guide and outfitter don't know how to cape and take care of a trophy, I sure have pissed off a lot of money.)

I was impressed that Gilchrist hunted Dall's with a 25.06 Rem and 115 gr. rounds. I had thought my 25.06 might be a little light. His load is my pronghorn round.

I'm going to stay with my original plan. I want to hunt with my 300 WSM and 150 gr. loads.

Both books had some great photos. I'm even more impressed now about what a 40" ram would mean to me. Simply unbelievable if I was to get one in my sights. Can't wait.

I've read Gilchrist's book also. I too didn't really care too much for it. Sheep hunting is addictive and turns to obsession. At least it has for me. Sheep aren't too tough to put down, a 25-06 is plenty, but I do prefer a 7mm (mine is 7x57). Sheep hunting in Alaska isn't done at extreme elevations, I suspect the same for Western Canada. Ice fields and permanent snow fields dominate the mountains at about 8-9,000 feet. Sheep will usually be found at 6-7,000 feet or less, until the snows push them down. Even given that, I prefer a middle weight rifle (no flyweights or heavy weights) and one that is short and well balanced. Long rifles in the sheep mountains can get cumbersome when trying to negotiate around a scree slope or tiny ledge. You don't really need a super duper long range rifle either. Something flat shooting like a 270 or 30-06 is just fine. It is very rare to get into a situation where you have to take a really long shot and can still recover that animal.

Were you able to find O'Connor's book?

I haven't gotten the O'Connor book yet. Interesting comments. I'm not going to be getting on any tiny ledges.

It does sound like mid-July is going to mean the good rams are going to be high in some tough country.

What is the weather normally like in sheep country in Alaska during the last two weeks of July?

Our sheep season doesn't open until Aug 10. The mountains in July can be varied, warm and wet on the coast up through the Wrangells, Chugach and Alaska range. In a two week hunt, it is very possible to rained on more than not. By warm I mean above freezing and mostly likely getting into the 50's at elevations. It isn't really until September that temps turn cool enough for snow at sheep elevations. Freezing weather can occur, but usually not if cloudy. Remember the days are still long at that time of year, and radiant heat from the sun keeps things fairly warm.

Sometimes we can get a blast of cool weather from the north and get a freak snowstorm, but not often. September hunts are usually done in the snow, especially in the interior.

Kensco
Alaska/Yukon Trophies Won and Lost.
A good read.Not all sheep but alot of sheep
moose,goats,bou.I think you'll like it.It
is non-fiction.
Jeff

you might have trouble finding o'conners book. I found 1 about 2 years ago paid $150. Bought TED Roosevelts sheep book on Ebay recently. Have not read yet. Tony russ was good.

I appreciate the comments on the weather. I track the weather at Yellowknife each day. It is rocking from the 30s to the 50s now.

I'm going to head for Dallas in a week for a little vacation, hit the rifle range, buy some gear.

(It's tough to get Cabela's catalog down here. I've ordered my third set, and haven't gotten the first catalog yet. I think the guys in the Dallas office have been taking my catalogs, which kind of worries me about them. I noticed they let my wife's Victoria's Secret catalog come right on through.)

I suspect I'm going to go a little on the light side for clothes when the time comes. Cold doesn't bother me too much. On the other hand, heat takes it out of me. I'll go layered and adjust. The only time I don't like being cold is at night. Sounds like rain gear is going to be pretty important.