AK Dall sheep hunt areas

[PA 5-0]

I hunted the Brooks in '14. After 10 solid days of humping, only saw a couple dozen small sheep, a couple wolves and one baby caribou. Barren wasteland due to some really rough winters. I came home bent as a boomerang. That said, Jonah Stewart does awesome work up that way.

'15, hunted the Alaska Range with XtremeXpeditions. Incredible adventure. Animals were everywhere you looked. Rams o'plenty, with moose, caribou and bear viewing on the daily. Missed a big ram, shot a big bear, could have swacked multiple monster caribou. Jeff and his posse are super nice dudes. They have the experience and facilities to design a hunt for any specific need. If a mixed bag hunt is your play, Jeff is your huckleberry. Feel free to call me for a bullsht session. Start training now.

Sidenote: Terrains can vary greatly. Brooks was rocks and rocks and bigger rocks. Got into some very technical, shady shit. Fun though. Alaska Range had much more vegetation, pulling on me with every step, and was very very wet. Jeff utilizes an awesome boot system to keep your feet in the game.

 

[Nick Muche]

Sidenote: Terrains can vary greatly. Brooks was rocks and rocks and bigger rocks. Got into some very technical, shady shit. Fun though. Alaska Range had much more vegetation, pulling on me with every step, and was very very wet. Jeff utilizes an awesome boot system to keep your feet in the game.

Terrain certainly varies within each Mt. Range as well. The few areas of the Brooks I've hunted were full of vegetation and the areas I've hunted in the AK Range were extremely rocky/technical.

 

[Mjm316]

Jeff utilizes an awesome boot system to keep your feet in the game.[/QUOTE]

Can you tell us a bit more of this "system" he uses?

 

[SLDMTN]

You won't find a website, social media account or anything in the way of advertising really but if I was to throw down cash for a hunt it would be with:

Gakona Guide Service - Concession in the Wrangell Mtns.
Master Guide: Chuck McMahan
907-822-3553

Small outfit, only take out a few sheep hunters each year. You'd likely be hunting with either or both of his boys Bryan/Johnny. Just good, honest, hardworking people. I am biased though, Bryan has been one of my best buddies since birth.

Here's a few clips of Chuck and his Cub in action:

The Dream Factory Official Trailer - TGR Teton Gravity Research 2012 Ski Movie - YouTube

STOL teaser 2 - YouTube
Can't say I've ever seen Chuck get more excited than this. Just a cool guy to talk to.


There are some great names of guides listed in this thread. I like the Wrangell most since I grew up out there.

 

[PA 5-0]

Jeff utilizes an awesome boot system to keep your feet in the game.

Can you tell us a bit more of this "system" he uses?[/QUOTE]

I've probably typed this before but here goes. Jeff strongly urges(maybe demands-lol) his hunters to do the following as his area is wet as f'ck. Gortex type, lightweight hip waders with the 2-3mil neoprene socks, worn under gaiters and with a mesh/leather type hiking boot. I caught Keen Voyageurs on sale in the Cabelas bargain cave and they worked awesome. I believe that boot was Jeff's recommendation.

When not in use, the waders are easily folded down under the gaiter. When u are crossing water, hitting a bog or climbing thru the endless waist deep shrubbery, you simply reach down, pull up the waders and clip them to your belt. I initially resisted the idea as my legs were sweating just thinking about it and I loved my Lowa Tibet GTXs that I had worn the year before in the rocky Brooks. But I was very grateful I caved in to Jeff's wisdom. Where we hunted in the AK range was like a rain forest and keeping feet dry without the waders would have been absolutely impossible. I can provide pics if it would help anyone.

Sidenote 1: Sweaty feet and very damp socks are the result. So you have to bring spare socks to rotate through. My thick hiking socks took 2 days to really dry out. Arriving back to the tent every night, you just turn the waders inside out and hang them in the tent. They were always dry in the morning.

Sidenote 2: Jeff is a huge proponent of soft hikers as opposed to hard core boots like the Lowa GTXs. He provides a lengthy explanation detailing how restricting ankle movement(with the stiff boots) can stress and smoke your knees and hips. This I can tell you: I came home from 10 days in the Brooks and my legs were toast. Took 7-8 months for my knees to recover. My trip with XX the next year went 14 days as we got snowed in. Hiked way more miles than the previous year. Came home feeling like a million bucks. Made me a believer. Just my experience with the 2 boot options.

 

[jwatts]

I appreciate all of the responses and PMs. As of now it looks like I have 2 or 3 options per mountain range that I am interested in hearing more from. I plan to start calling soon and seeing what I can come up with. Here is what I plan to ask. Is there anything else you want to know from an outfitter when you call them?

How many guides do you run?
What kind of experience do they have?
How many hunters do you run a year? How many per camp?
Do you relocate by plane if there are no sheep?
What unit do you hunt? Draw or OTC tag?
How big of an area do you cover?
Is there a lot of pressure from resident hunters? Other outfitters?
What’s your average success rate?
Where does the hunt start? How do I get there from the nearest major town?
What’s the cost?
References (Successful)
References (Unsuccessful)

 

[adventure907]

Alaska Hunting Adventures - Hunting and outfitting for Dall Sheep in the Tok Management Area of Alaska for nearly four decades.

If I were paying to hunt sheep, I would hunt with Matt Snyder and his family. It is a small family run outfit, they take big sheep, and are some of the most knowledgable sheep people in Alaska. It is hard to top the collective experience of Matt, Sue, and Frank.

 

[jwatts]

Alaska Hunting Adventures - Hunting and outfitting for Dall Sheep in the Tok Management Area of Alaska for nearly four decades.

If I were paying to hunt sheep, I would hunt with Matt Snyder and his family. It is a small family run outfit, they take big sheep, and are some of the most knowledgable sheep people in Alaska. It is hard to top the collective experience of Matt, Sue, and Frank.

I have seen that name come up too. It looks like the odds on drawing that tag are slim to none from what I could tell.

 

[adventure907]

I have seen that name come up too. It looks like the odds on drawing that tag are slim to none from what I could tell.

Yes, the odds of drawing are tough, but he also has an over the counter area that has produced some tremendous rams. If you'd like any more info on Matt or his outfit, let me know.

 

[jwatts]

Yes, the odds of drawing are tough, but he also has an over the counter area that has produced some tremendous rams. If you'd like any more info on Matt or his outfit, let me know.

Ok. I wasn't sure how that would work if you struck out on the draw. It seemed like a long shot to book a hunt on less than 5% odds of getting the tag.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think you've got quite a few great recommendations, is look hard at Braun kopsack as well, he is legendary up there and reasonably priced as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SLDMTN]

I think you've got quite a few great recommendations, is look hard at Braun kopsack as well, he is legendary up there and reasonably priced as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Braun is a mountain running and mountain hunting legend up here for sure! He hunts the Talkeetnas and has guided some monsters. He's taken some great rams himself with a bow. I don't know him as well as my earlier recommendation but I know him well enough to give him a thumbs up for sure.

 

[TEmbry]

I think they may have a new bush pilot outfit try to infringe on THEIR area now and then but they know how to handle that guy.

I know you likely didn't mean anything by this, but talk like this rubs me the wrong way. Guides don't own public land anymore than anyone else. Thankfully most of the good ones know this already.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I have never been on a sheep hunt, but am planning for 2018. I am doing alot of research and trying to soak up as much info as I can. Having said that:

Why are you limiting yourself to AK? Why not Canada?

Let us know who you end up booking with, and good luck

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know when I was looking at sheep hunts i focused on Alaska mainly due to it being cheaper and easier logistically. That being said if money were no object I'd probably head to Canada, bigger rams and less competition from residents.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jwatts]

I know when I was looking at sheep hunts i focused on Alaska mainly due to it being cheaper and easier logistically. That being said if money were no object I'd probably head to Canada, bigger rams and less competition from residents.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's kinda where I am. The price and logistics for Alaska seem to be more reasonable to me. I am wanting a sheep hunt with a good chance at a sheep. It doesn't have to be record book quality. I just want to experience a Dall sheep hunt with good odds at killing one. If I were dead set on a book ram I would look to Canada for sure.

 

[VernAK]

I know you likely didn't mean anything by this, but talk like this rubs me the wrong way. Guides don't own public land anymore than anyone else. Thankfully most of the good ones know this already.

I hear ya TEmbry but let me explain. I didn't mean to imply that a certain guide/outfitter/pilot staked ownership to an area but many of these folks have spent considerable time and money scratching an airstrip out of the tundra for their clients. The long established bush pilots usually respect each others landing areas and often help each other in case of an emergency. To have a new flight/guide operation drop multiple camps on top of the long established outfitter is simply a lack of ethics and leaves both parties with pissed off sheep hunters. BTDT

 

[PA 5-0]

How many guides do you run?
What kind of experience do they have?
How many hunters do you run a year? How many per camp?
Do you relocate by plane if there are no sheep?
What unit do you hunt? Draw or OTC tag?
How big of an area do you cover?
Is there a lot of pressure from resident hunters? Other outfitters?
What’s your average success rate?
Where does the hunt start? How do I get there from the nearest major town?
What’s the cost?
References (Successful)
References (Unsuccessful)

All great questions. I will pass on a hard learned lesson: GET EVERYTHING that is hunt critical IN WRITING VIA THE CONTRACT!! Especially the "relocate by plane if there's no sheep". On my '14 hunt, it was very obvious at the end of day 5 we were in a ramless drainage, which is where we spent the next 5 days. Prior to hunt, Guide told me 100x he would move us if necessary. He of course refused to move us mid hunt. All guides are your best friends and very charming on the phone. Some pretend they don't know ya when you're all paid up and in the bush. If they even hesitate on putting it in the contract, hang up the phone.

 

[jwatts]

All great questions. I will pass on a hard learned lesson: GET EVERYTHING that is hunt critical IN WRITING VIA THE CONTRACT!! Especially the "relocate by plane if there's no sheep". On my '14 hunt, it was very obvious at the end of day 5 we were in a ramless drainage, which is where we spent the next 5 days. Prior to hunt, Guide told me 100x he would move us if necessary. He of course refused to move us mid hunt. All guides are your best friends and very charming on the phone. Some pretend they don't know ya when you're all paid up and in the bush. If they even hesitate on putting it in the contract, hang up the phone.

Thanks for the tip. I will make sure to bring that up.

 

[BRWNBR]

I see some misinformation in this thread and some great information.
There's pros and cons to a lot of the outfits mentioned, mine included. Also a tough deal getting solid sheep guide information from Alaska residents. As right now there's a big push to get nonresident sheep hunt opportunities shut down or limited more than they are. I read these threads and see a few posts that say" I hunt there so I'm gonna tell him it's bad so he won't go there". Maybe I'm wrong?
I hear about guys never getting moved by their outfitter with no sheep in the drainage, they don't get moved because one of two things. They have no where to move you because they have other clients already in those places or they never intended to move you. Having guided for a few outfits that did/said this I'm not making this up. This isnexperience talking. I know most
Of the guides mentioned here. They all kill sheep. What you need to decide is what experience your looking for. You could get dropped in a drainage with a legal ram (that's been spotted from the plane) and that's YOUR ram. Over the ridge from you is another camp in the same situation. You could get dropped off with your gear and guide and you head out covering ground on foot checking different drainages with the freedom to move whenever and where ever. You could book with a master guide who flys the cub and hunt with an assistant guide from Vermont. Or you can book with the guide who actually is your guide.
There's so many different situations, everyone kills sheep and everyone has clients that don't kill sheep. You need to select a type of hunt you would have no regrets on IF you are unsuccessful. Going into it just to punch a tag can lead to disappointment and regret,
It's gonna happen to somebody...