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June 2005 Feature Article:

Dall Sheep Hunting - White Ghost Of The Mountains

Please use this area to post comments or questions about this feature article.

[Serious Hunter]

Thank you for the article. I dream of going after Dall sheep. Soon, maybe in the next several years - I'll realize the dream.

[fuzzybear]

Someday.
If able to avoid being hunted. What is the life span of the Dall, in years? They mentioned a full curl being a 7 year old.

[TBinKodiak]

fuzzy,
They live from 8-12 years and most don't reach full curl until their 8th year in Alaska, 9-10 years in the Brooks range. Only the oldest rams participate in the rut and the breeding season is in late Nov to Dec so the old rams go into winter without any fat reserves.
I believe its the only big game animal in the US that isn't even legal until its 7-8 years old. I'll be hunting them in 9 weeks up by Tok so if I connect I'll post up a picture.

[Serious Hunter]

Climbing stairs are better than nothin' - but don't roll under your feet. Pick a steep slope and be sure you have the boots on you'll be hunting with.

[TBinKodiak]

Stairs??? No buildings over 2 stories here on the island. Good thing we have plenty of Mts to practice on. :D Going to be a 15-17 mile hike in but not too bad as far as Mts go. A friend went to the same spot 2 years ago and he and his buddy both took rams on the third day.
Here's a pic of the Mt goat I took last fall here on the island. I'll post the story up in the Mt goat section. Starting to get the itch.... :wink:

[Serious Hunter]

Couple questions, actually 3 ... 1) how do you communicate up there (e.g., call in for a pickup)? 2) can an out-of-stater hunt dall sheep without a guide? 3) did you use the monster bullet on the goat for the goat's sake - or for worry of the other creatures you see along the way?

Fabulous Goat!!!

[TBinKodiak]

I used a hand-held marine radio for the pick-up. The pilots monitor channel 16 which is the emergency channel. Its ok but you have to be able to see the plane before you can get contact. Sat phones work better but they aren't cheap to rent.
Non-residents need guides for Mt goat, Dall sheep, and griz/brown bears. Or if you are related to someone in the second degree of kindred (brother, father, father-in-law) you can hunt with them.
I use the 338 for my hunting here on the island. I bought a 300 wsm for the sheep hunt so I may use that for deer on the island now. Its nice to have the back up of the 338 when you hike by a 1200 lb brown with a deer strapped to your back though. Actually I shot that billy at 40 paces through both shoulders and the bullet never exited. About half of it was lodged against the hide on the far shoulder though. I don't think the 338 is too much gun for a big billy, its a little much for the blacktails, but like I said better safe than sorry.

[Serious Hunter]

I don't have unlimited resources to throw at my hunting passion - but I did get a satellite phone last year. I'm guiding this year down here in Idaho - so at least expenses are `business' expenses. I looked into renting v. purchasing, and in the end, purchasing is/was the way to go. Then you have a phone that you can PRE-PROGRAM, get familiar with, etc. I use it on all my travel (outdoor or civilization). Cell phones don't work in a lot of Idaho - so I use the sat phone instead of a cell phone. The big expense is in the phone itself - and then the monthly plan is like a cell phone plan. I can use my sat phone anywhere in the continental US as long as I can see the sky (clould, stars, or blue-bird). I don't know about Alaska service. I'm using Globalstar. The only bummers with a sat phone is that they are rather big (compared to cell), and they DON'T work indoors (if you're used to a cell phone). (But in an outdoor environment - which is where we started in this forum - indoors isn't an issue.)

Anyway ... some how some way I gotta get up there and hunt Dall sheep.

[tim]

jeff

just book it and figure out how to pay for it after. lol

also are where are you guiding at and are you sheep guiding?

tim

[Serious Hunter]

... yes, that's what I did with my mounts ... I figured in the time it would take to get them mounted - the dollars would come in - and they did. Dall sheep seems to have the year 2006 attached to it in my mind. And I'll put in for calif bighron southwest Idaho in 06 also.


Guiding: Unit 26 Nov rut / trophy mule deer ... for RP at horse mountain outfitters ... also, theoretically for rocky mountain bighorn, areas 26/27???, but so far the potential clients didn't draw - so we're waiting to see if the ones who did draw end up calling.

[TBinKodiak]

Well I made it back and have a fine trophy to show for my efforts. He is 37" on both horns and has huge bases at 14-14.25" he holds the mass well and is still 13" at the 1st qtr and 10.5 at the 2nd. We rough scored him at 161" B&C. This was a DIY backpack hunt and we (my cousin went along to help pack) went 45 miles round trip with 50lb packs going in and 85lb packs coming out. The day I shot the ram was the only day we didn't have snow or rain. Of the 9-10 full-curl rams we saw in this valley he was by far the largest. I'll post up the story when I get it written. All I can say right now is it was an awesome hunt and I have a fine trophy to show for the effort/pain. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

[TBinKodiak]

I was going to post some better pics but for some reason it keeps telling me the maximum file size has been reached. I'll try to post some better pics when in a different post when I get time.

[Serious Hunter]

... fabulous!!!

[tim]

counting down the days until i get to fly out.