I am going sheep hunting with Stan Stevens in 6 weeks. Anybody want to share any stories/suggestions? I'm getting giddy with excitement.
Don

I have a suggestion. Take lots of pics and post here! Where will you be hunting????

It will be in the NWT, flying into Norman Wells, and then off into the McKenzie Mountains from there.
Don

Don, I hunted with Stan this past September. My hunt was moose/caribou. His concession is simply awesome. Late July it will be warmer and perhaps buggy but should not be a concern. Base camp is nice with a great cook and the guides just know their business and get it done right.

I suggest you consider adding a caribou to your license if you have not done that in the past.

Do you know who will be your guide? PM me if you have any particular concerns you would like to discuss and I will be glad to respond.

I've never hunted the thin horns, but I just got a DVD from Bryan Martin (www.canadianmtnoutfitters.com) showing off (among others) his stone sheep hunts. Boy, it got my blood pumping!

All I can say is, at the end of the bighorn season I'm about a fit as I wanted to be at the beginning. Train some more!

I'm sure you'll see some great country, I envy you.

Will you have some horses to schlepp you around on the flat stretches? Spike camps? Tell us some more.

Bighorn season doesn't start till the end of August but I'm slowly getting excited too.

Frans

My impression is that this is strictly backpack once we leave the plane. Maybe one of the veteran of Stevens hunts will chime in as to the organization,etc.
Don

I hunted with Stan as far back as 84-then it was backpack but with a dog with a pack so that took some weight off your back. Say hello to Stan and Helen from Bob Clark-you will have a good hunt. Ask to be guided by John Todd!!!

Don B, what date do you fly out? I leave Aug. 4th from Tulsa, OK. headed for Gana River. Time seems to flying by as the anticapation grows. I have a sheep, wolf and caribou tag and am going on a backpack hunt.

Hello Don B

I have hunted with him twice and rate the experience a 10. Stan in my opinion is one of the best outfitter’s in NWT.

You can read more in an earlier report I had written on those hunts.


Hunt with Stan

Give Stan my regards
You will have a great hunt.

Regards
Aziz

Get some comfortable, waterproof footwear...then make sure they are well broken in before the hunt. Also, pack for any weather. Nothing new to see snow in August in the McKenzies.

I was in Norman Wells in july of '01. Black flies like you never imagined one day, and 2 inches of snow the next. But the fishing was like something I couldnt lie about.
Good luck

I hunted Dall sheep with Bill McKenzie in 1999. I think his consession bordered with Stevens's. Beautiful country, especially in the late summer/fall.

As was said earlier, dress for all kinds of weather, including wind, rain, snow. Take a digital camera and LOTS of pictures. On one high vantage point, I took 12 pictures side-by-side then spliced them into a great panorama of the mountains and valleys that we hunted.

I also bought wolf and wolverine tags, and was lucky enough to take a wolverine. Its one of my most prized mounts!

Have a great time, and good luck.

You shot a wolverine???!!

Which Gods did you have to pray to to make THAT happen??

Frans

I really appreciate the input. It's always tough packing for a trip to the other side of the world. I've worn my insulated Lowa boots to the Atlanta airport in August to save space in the baggage. On the way home I stopped in a Tommy Bahama store in the Seattle airport and bought island clothes and sandals, and changed into them in the dressing room, I was so sick of sweating on that plane in dirty hunting clothes, took a sink bath, too. I'm leaving July 23 from Atlanta. Stan really stresses a light backpack on his website, and I've been thinking "hey, it's July, won't need the heavy stuff". Like right now I'm deciding between the uninsulated La Sportivas and the Insulated Lowa Sheephunter boots (both broken it). I'm trying to decide between the 0 degree bag or the 25 degree. I have a Gortex insulated Jacket from Arcteryx that is my absolute "can't live without" coat I think is called the fission SV, and I have a Mystery Ranch Pack that I train with and fits me like a glove (NICE frame and either the 6500 bag or the crew cab) with a Kifaru gunbearer. Pentax digital camera (waterproof). Still fussing over lots of other stuff. The wife and kids are off at the beach this week, so I can fiddle with gear to my hearts content.
Don