2022 Sheep Harvest Photos

[HornPorn]

Surprised the official thread has not been created yet......dalls have been falling in the NWT for a couple of weeks now.

Anybody got a ram this year? Post em up

 

[Gadjet]

Not my pictures to post, but there have been some real dandies killed in NWT so far.

 

[HornPorn]

Not my pictures to post, but there have been some real dandies killed in NWT so far.

Yeah I have seen some real twisters posted on the 'gram by guides.....40+

 

[Mykolaivka887]

The sheep season in Alaska opened bright and early on Monday morning, August 1st. Rumor has it that there's been a few dandies killed the past 3 days.

 

[TNsavageman]

Lifelong dream come true. Hunt was scheduled for July 2020, but you guys know how that went. I’ve been dreaming about this hunt since I was old enough to pick up a hunting magazine. It didn’t disappoint. 11.5year old from the NWT.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Lifelong dream come true. Hunt was scheduled for July 2020, but you guys know how that went. I’ve been dreaming about this hunt since I was old enough to pick up a hunting magazine. It didn’t disappoint. 11.5year old from the NWT.

That's a tank! How bout a story??

Randy

 

[dreamingWest]

That's a beautiful ram! Congrats.

 

[CHL]

Lifelong dream come true. Hunt was scheduled for July 2020, but you guys know how that went. I’ve been dreaming about this hunt since I was old enough to pick up a hunting magazine. It didn’t disappoint. 11.5year old from the NWT.

That’s a hammer and well worth the wait!!! Big congrats.

 

[VernAK]

A very nice ram! You'll have a difficult time duplicating that.

 

[Tmcgarrigle]

The other thread is pinned at the top of this forum

 

[bcnorth]

Dream ram! thanks for sharing. love the bases and lamb tips on that one

 

[Doc Holliday]

The other thread is pinned at the top of this forum

Its locked.

 

[TNsavageman]

Hey guys! Thanks for the kind words. I’ve got a better picture of my ram but I’m saving it for the photo contest!
So this hunt was something that I had wanted to do as early as I can remember honestly (like a lot of folks I’m sure) but life happens and it finally came together. Like a lot of people I researched for years and talked to outfitters everywhere and ended up deciding on the NWT. I actually had my first conversation with Harold at Gana River when I was still in college, plotting on how I could get up there.
I booked the hunt for July 2020 and then Covid happened… I had picked the first hunt because I wanted to experience the 24hrs of daylight and I felt like if we got on a ram we could stick with him until we could get a shot. That ended up being a large part of my success.
Fast forward to this year, I arrive at Gana River after two days of travel from my home in middle Tennessee. That was an experience in itself for a guy like me. Met my guide and did a gear shakedown. This would be a backpack hunt where we were dropped off by super cub so every ounce counts. I had spent a ton of time going through my gear (we all love gear right?) and studying the supplied list. I was really happy with what I took and it worked great. I’ll add that in another post.

We flew into a remote strip in some rugged country and spent the first day hiking into sheep country. We saw five rams about ten hiked miles in but they weren’t what we were looking for and set up camp. We did 13 miles that day.

Early the next morning we headed out in search of sheep and covered several miles and saw one sheep. For you guys that have done it, or haven’t, it’s amazing how much country you can travel and not see an animal. It’s very humbling. That afternoon we did spot some sheep several mountains and a drainage over that my guide thought would be rams based on how they were feeding and bedding. So we planned to check those out. There goes several more miles. Haha!

Eventually we got close enough to tell that they were indeed rams and not only that, three of them were shooters out of a band of eleven. We ended up watching those sheep two days before they would get into position for a stalk and a shot. It was amazing to be able to do that. It was obvious which one was the best one (oldest and heaviest). So it turned into a waiting game.

We stayed awake all night watching these rams to see when they would make a move. We took turns. One of us would go on watch while the other one took a nap in the tent. We watched those sheep on the rain and the snow and the 80 degree temps. The country is wild but the weather is wilder!
The next picture it had quit raining and a rainbow came out. The sheep were bedded at the end of the rainbow.

 

[robby denning]

Its locked.

It's open now! And some killer Stone Glacier gear for the winners.

@Tmcgarrigle

2022 Best Wild Sheep Hunt Photo Contest, sponsored by Stone Glacier

12/24/22 *Update: The staff picked the top 10 finalists from this thread. Now it’s Rokslide Members’ turn to pick the Winners! Vote at this link by January 10th https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/vote-on-the-2022-best-wild-sheep-photo-contest.291807/ Previous: We're back for another year of...

www.rokslide.com

 

[TNsavageman]

Finally the sheep fed into a bowl where we could make a move. We immediately took off after them. Four hours later (after thousands of feet of elevation gained and lost) we peak over the top of the ridge and my dream ram is bedded 565yds from us. A quick note on that, I had shot my rifle EVERY day for sixty days. I would shoot 1-3 rds and then put it up. I am not a guy who has a lot of guns and this is one that I had used for several years. I am lucky that I live on a farm and put together with dirt and work a 550 yd range. It isn’t the “ideal sheep rifle.” It’s heavy. (10lbs empty) It’s got a long barrel. But it worked.
(specs .300 Winchester, 26” brux, manners eh1, 215 Berger bullets.)
We made a quick move out the ridge and got to 420yds which was as close as we could get and waited laying prone with the rifle rested across the top lid of my guides pack. When the sheep stood up almost an hour later, my dream came true.

We broke the sheep down and started back to the nearest airstrip which we knew would be a two day trek for us. No sooner had we started walking the weather turned bad it rained hard enough you couldn’t see fifty feet. Pretty sketchy for a middle Tennessee boy walking on slippery rocks. Haha! An hour later the sun was back out. Didn’t I mention the weather is crazy?
After a few falls and a lot of sliding we eventually made it to the airstrip.

Once back at base camp I got to do some fishing with the boys. (A lot of Harold’s children and nieces/nephews come up to spend the summer)
They agreed to take me fishing if they got to drive the boat. That was a deal I couldn’t pass up.

 

[TNsavageman]

The trip was everything that I could have hoped for. The feelings and emotions are something that I can’t begin to describe. I met an older sheep hunter in the airport that told me “son you will either love it or hate it, and if you love it you won’t ever be able to shake it.”
I understand exactly what he was saying.
So on the gear: I ended up taking one shirt, one pair of pants, one pair of underwear and two pairs of socks with me into the mountains. That’s what my guide took and it worked great.
(1) Kuiu hooded gila
(1) officio underwear
(1) Kuiu kutana pants
(2) darn tough lite hiker
1/4 zip Kuiu peloton. Slept in this and wore while glassing or if my gila was soaked.
Kuiu synthetic zip off bottoms. Slept in these and started the mornings off in them. Side zips are super handy.

Kuiu chugach rain gear

Kuiu ultra puffy (perfect for this hunt super light and stuffed into a small pillow case for a pillow)

EE 20 degree quilt

Sea to summit ether lt xt pad (game changer for me. I’m a side sleeper. Much more comfortable than my thermarest pad)

Crispi Colorados

Exo 6400 pack

As far as training. I worked out everyday for ninety days straight. That was either running, stairclimber, or carrying my pack in the hills. I know that sounds crazy or even stupid but I knew I might only get to do this hunt one time and wanted to make sure I was prepared. There was a lot of sacrifice on the part of my wife and kids. I weighed 164lbs when I left home and 153 when I got back.

Sorry for the long post(s) but I know when I was researching this stuff I wanted all the info I could get so maybe my newbie experience can help another newbie.

Thank you guys again for well wishes.

 

[OutdoorsMD]

Sitting in Edmonton on my way up to Gana River. Awesome ram!

 

[TNsavageman]

Sitting in Edmonton on my way up to Gana River. Awesome ram!

Good luck! Enjoy every second of it.

 

[cuervosail]

Lifelong dream come true. Hunt was scheduled for July 2020, but you guys know how that went. I’ve been dreaming about this hunt since I was old enough to pick up a hunting magazine. It didn’t disappoint. 11.5year old from the NWT.

What a terrific animal! Congratulations for all your efforts.

 

[canner]

Congrats on a beautiful ram and a nice write up!