04 September 2014, 20:42
larryshoresDall's sheep hunt with Arctic Red River Outfitters( MORE pics added)
Hunter: Larry ShoresOutfitter: Arctic Red River Outfitters
Guides: Issac Dueling & Seth Duncan
Province/Area- NWT near Goober Lake. This is in the northern portion of the McKenzie mountains. It is approximately 10,000 square miles of pristine wilderness.
Dates- 8/29- 9/2 (Done 5 days early)
Rifle- 300 Win Mag made by Rifles, Inc with 3x18 Swarovski scope with ballistic turret
Ammo- Factory Black Hills 180 Accubond
Weather- you name it. Hot , cold, clear, foggy, raining , snow we had it all.
At the tender age of 58, almost 59), I decided to make yet another attempt to get a Dall's sheep. I have failed several times. This was the last remaining sheep for my NA Grand Slam. Given that I am from the flat lands approximately 50 feet above sea level, this could be quite a physical challenge.
The trip started off normal enough but quickly headed north ( I am from the south). My assistant started some unnecessary office drama as soon as I left. She was fired via satellite phone. I got some serious sinus drainage on the way. This developed into full on upper respiratory infection by the start of the hunt. I had a new scope. I have never had a ballistic turret scope before. It never occurred to me that I had no idea how to adjust it.
After a weather delay, we boarded the charter plane for an approximately 50 minute trip to ARRO's base camp. From there I was flown about 45 minutes to the hunting area via float plane. I was surprised to learn that, at least at first, I was going to be hunting out of a cabin. If the sheep were there, this did not hurt my feelings at all.
Day 1- We hoofed it a couple of miles to a pass to start glassing. We saw several sheep including a shooter ram. However, the ram was in a REALLY bad place. We also saw a grizzly or two.
I laid on the side of the hill glassing most of the day. While it wasn't that cold, I damn near froze to death as a result of simply not moving. At the end of the day, I recon we hoofed it about 8 miles.
The big problems I had were the shoe laces I was using and this upper respiratory junk I was getting. I was, unfortunately, starting to feel a lot worse. I was pissed off. I worked so hard to prepare. I could not adequately tighten my shoes with the Kevlar laces I bought. Had I not changed them, my feet would have been ground meat.
Day 2- We split up. I went with one guide. We went for a LONG hike. I recon we covered about 15 miles. We saw several sheep including the same ram from the previous day. The other guide saw nothing of interest.
The weather was still relatively good.
We discussed a long hike carrying the camp with us. It was agreed that we would wait to see what the weather was like before we committed. I was so sick at this point, that I needed to be careful.
Day 3- We got up the next morning. The guides called off the moving of the camp given my illness. Regardless, we took off for a very long hike ( in the 12-13 mile range). We saw some grizzlies and sheep. There was one legal ram but he was very small. We passed. I noticed bad weather on both sides of us. It never hit us though. We stayed dry in spite of the rain & snow on either side of us. Late in the day, a shooter was spotted a couple of miles from the camp. This was minutes before we were fogged in.
Day 4- we woke up to find that we were still totally fogged in. This lasted until early afternoon. When it cleared, we went out and spotted the rams quickly. Seth & I went after the rams while Issac watched through a spotting scope.
We started climbing the mountain. It was a massive boulder field. I opined that we were making too much noise. Seth agreed. Down we went. We continued by skirting the bottom of the mountain. We spotted the sheep and slowly climbed/crawled up the mountain. We got to a good place. We were 417 yards from the ram. I was preparing to shoot when the rams started walking our way. I guess we had been stealthy enough. We slowly crawled forward. I spotted one of the smaller rams at about 30 yards! We froze. He saw us but was not concerned. Had we moved,I think he would have bolted. I never dreamed that I could be this close to Dall's sheep.
The rams started feeding away from us. This was good. I was going to shoot the biggest ram at 70-80 yards. I decided to use the guide's shoulder as a rest in an abundance of caution. I had the gun on the guide's shoulder when just as I squeezed the trigger, he moved!!! Damn but I was pissed off. The rams took off. I ram a few yards and shot the ram as he was running. I hit him. The rams were climbing up the far side of the mountain and 3 more shot were fired at about 400 yards, all hits. The ram was mine. This made my Grand Slam of NA sheep.
The wildlife guys aged him at 11 years old. The longest horn was 39 & change. The shortest was a few inches shorter as it was broomed. I can't remember what they said.
All told I went up and down that mountain 4 times that day. I packed all of the guides things back. I recon I had 85 pounds on my back.
The weather turned to shit just as I got to the cabin. Fog & rain. Damn but I was glad I wasn't in a tent.
A sat phone call was made to base camp to advise them of my success. We were going to move to hunt caribou. The guides were confident of success in no more than 2 days.
Day 5- We woke up to 4 inches of snow on the ground and it was still coming down hard. I laid in my sleeping bag. Seth went out to relieve himself. He rushed back advising that there were 4 caribou bulls behind camp! Honestly, I thought he was f'ing with me. I jumped up, put on my pants and my crocs and out into the snow I went. I shot the bull from the corner of the cabin. He was a very nice bull. They estimate that he scored 380.
It was interesting. I had seen exactly 1 caribou cow in 4 days. Now, MANY bulls were pouring through the pass.
I was done. I was happy.
Other comments are as follows:
THE GUIDES
I thought the guides were very skilled. The stalk of the rams is something I will never forget. It was masterful. Plus they were nice guys.
THE AREA
It is a pristine 10,000 square miles. No roads. Rugged.
THE OUTFITTER
My impression is that Tavis runs an excellent outfit. He is an honest, no BS kind of guy. He is not bending or breaking the rules. Perhaps most importantly, his employees speak very highly if him and his practices.
EQUIPMENT
I am not going to write down the standard stuff. I am going to make some more specific comments as follows:
1- Boot laces. NEVER EVER use Kevlar laces. I would have been crippled had I not changed mine.
2- Trekking poles are a must. The make a huge difference.
3- Perhaps more importantly, I had rubber covers on the end of my trekking poles. I HIGHLY recommend this. Not only does it make the use of the poles quieter, they do not slide as much on the rocks.
4- When evaluating equipment/clothes, consider the weight of each item. It is sometimes possible to have similar quality with much reduced weight.
5- All outfitters will tell you to not bring your spotting scope. The guides have their own. This may well be true. However, one of the guides had a FAR less than adequate spotting scope, only 30 power. Communicate ahead of time with the guide. Bring a high quality spotting scope if he doesn't have a great spotter.
I took next to nothing and I still had about 45 pounds. When one adds their food and other things they need to carry, it is really easy to be at 75 pounds.
PREPARATION
Exercise all you can. This is a very physical hunt . Lift weights and do all the cardio you can. However, no matter how much you exercise, it is impossible to prepare for the rocks and the mushy ground.
I trained with a 60 pound pack. If I ever go again, I will train with much more weight.
COMPARISON TO HUNTING IN ALASKA
I am not here to slam any place or anyone. However, these are my observations:
1- It took me 1 day longer to get to the NWT.
2- The NWT is more expensive. This is no doubt due to the more remote location.
3- The mountains in the NWT are higher.
4- The terrain in the NWT is more rugged.
5- I NEVER saw another plane in the NWT. I constantly saw Super Cubs and the like in Alaska.
6- I would have to say that I saw more sheep in Alaska. However, most were lambs and ewes.
7- There is a far less chance of running into a local in the NWT. There is no chance of running into another outfitter in the NWT unless they are poaching.
8- My sat phone worked perfectly in AK. I had a hell of a time with it in the NWT. The guides had similar problems with their phones.
Would I recommend ARRO? Absolutely! Will I ever do another sheep hunt in North America? I don't know. I getting old. The backpacking will no doubt get harder and harder for me.
I will post pictures later.
To be continued-having extreme difficulty with Photobucket tonight.
Sucks to get old!