Hidden Alaska for Dall Sheep

[AlaskaMark]

The ironic thing about this whole conversation is that I’d bet that 9/10 people banging the RHAK drum for closure didn’t even know this was a thing.

Kyle, wanted to offer a correction to the above. RHAK never proposed or supported a complete closure prior to the board-generated proposal to shut down 19C for all sheep hunting for 5 years. All of our proposals were to go to draw-only hunts for nonres with a limited allocation of permits. We sure did, however, tell the board that residents should not be shut down in 19C with the vast majority of the harvest continually going to nonres sheep hunters, and we asked for an amendment to the board proposal to limit nonres only, not completely shut them out.

Re 2022 sheep stats for 19C, they are included with those below, from data from ADFG.
Unit 19C Sheep Harvest

Year	Nonresident​	Resident​	Total​	%Nonresident​
2018	79​	39​	118​	67%​
2019	75​	39​	114​	66%​
2020	54​	14​	68​	79%​
2021	34​	6​	40​	85%​
2022	26​	3​	29​	90%​

 

[Clarktar]

So, who should I book with in 19c?

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[Clarktar]

FFS Clark

You’ll have your pick of transporters. Find one that can carry your stir stick.

A person can only spectate for so long!! Felt like a little humor break could be called for. Back to normal programming now.

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[AlaskaMark]

FYI, the 19C closure isn't a done deal, the BOG is going to hold a special meeting to reconsider (delay) the nonres sheep closure and possibly submit their own proposal to delay the closure a year.

The 2022 harvest results show nothing other than guides got it done. Basing an argument solely off of that statistic is saying we don’t care how many sheep get killed, only who kills them.

Seriously, Kyle, guides got it done? Would you expect any different when you put unlimited "professional hunters" out there with unlimited clients with the going price of a guided sheep hunt? We all are concerned how many sheep get killed. But when there are calls for a complete sheep hunting closure from guides with longtime experience in 19C and you look at the harvest stats and see whose taking most all of the sheep...well man if you don't see the resident frustration I can't sway ya.

 

[alexanderg23]

So, who should I book with in 19c?

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I killed a sheep once. Coolest thing I ever done did.

 

[Pmarquard]

Count your blessings that the AK BOG has voted to shut this area down for 5 years. You have saved yourself a lot of heartache and cash that you can use towards a quality outfit and area WITHIN ALASKA. Look into areas in the state of AK that have federal concessions........ie one outfitter permitted to operate on set land use boundaries that can only sell a set amount of permits. This particular outfitter you were referencing in your thread could sell an UNLIMTED number of sheep hunts and there could legally be an unlimited number of other outfitters doing the SAME thing from the same access air strip hunting the same surrounding mountains. Hard to believe but that is the truth in most of 19c as well. Something these "outfitters" conveniently fail to mention or are too ignorant in our guiding laws that they hold a license in!!

Too many outfitters is not the sole reason GMU 19C went to horrible harvestable ram numbers but it was a huge contributing factor.

AK gets a bad rap for our sheep hunts but that comes from the uneducated blurring the two distinct different guiding tiers we have here in AK..........State land vs Federal Land. Most of these uneducated have no clue......and I don't blame them because it really is hard to believe we operate like this in Alaska.

For example the majority of the NE Brooks range concessions are enjoying great hunter success even with the same past winters that have taken a toll on our sheep too (and BTW the NWT and the Yukon are experiencing these same killer winters as we are in AK). The big difference on these NE Brooks Range Federal concessions is we don't have an unlimited number of outfitters selling an unlimited number of sheep tags. And most of these outfitters are concerned with conservations instead of the mentality "if I don't shoot that sub par barely legal ram that next outfitter will". We have a lot of skin in the game keeping our huntable harvestable rams in a healthy age/size range, This is the exact same model the top outfitters in the NWT and the Yukon operate on as well.

I try to educate as many unsuspecting non resident hunters as I can concerning this. Both online and in person at the numerous trade shows I attend every year. I am not PC or afraid to call out these "outfitters" or the policies they adhere too either. I have been pointing out the issues in 19c for decades and here we are now..........closed down for non residents. Again mother nature was the majority at fault of our sub par harvestable ram numbers in 19c. But these unlimited outfitters didn't help.

I am glad you will have to find a different area. It might not seem like it now but it is a blessing when you look at it logically. Good luck in your search. I can gladly give you an unbiased opinion on outfitters tailored to what you are looking for too.

Hello and thank you for your detailed post . If you dont mind, could you recommend any good outfitters for a 2027 Dall Sheep hunt. Thank you ! Paul M

 

[cbeard64]

All I know is that as a NR, I wouldn’t touch AK with a 10 foot pole these days.

I have no doubt that some areas and outfitters are better than others, but trying to digest everything I read and research about the current state of things and distill it down into reliable information to book a hunt on seems an impossible task. Even knowledgeable residents can’t seem to agree on many things except that AK sheep populations have taken a big hit.

 

[S-3 ranch]

^Yes everyone go to Canada please!

Not a lot of choice
Even though Canada has some strange history with deportation of hunters during a hunt ,
My buddy was denied entry on landing @ customs, because of a 40 year old high school related alcohol arrest, he lost his money with the outfitters till he can get a immigration lawyer to straighten out his case
( he even worked in Alberta In the oil patch before his hunt )
So PSA , if you had a misdemeanor conviction no matter how long ago
Hire a lawyer before making the decision to try Canada

 

[cbeard64]

Not a lot of choice
Even though Canada has some strange history with deportation of hunters during a hunt ,
My buddy was denied entry on landing @ customs, because of a 40 year old high school related alcohol arrest, he lost his money with the outfitters till he can get a immigration lawyer to straighten out his case
( he even worked in Alberta In the oil patch before his hunt )
So PSA , if you had a misdemeanor conviction no matter how long ago
Hire a lawyer before making the decision to try Canada

I am in a similar situation. I have been asked about it but it’s never been an issue. I’ve hunted in Canada 5-6 times since 2006.

 

[WalterH]

Interesting way to revive a thread...

Skimming back through, one issue it seems like was missed in the earlier, uh, conversation, was the fact that resident hunting pressure is a very real factor that affects both state and federal lands.

Exclusive guide use areas on fed land only mean that there won't be competition from other guides in that area. No restrictions on residents. Some allow unlimited Transporter activity, some limit that.

Granted, the farther north and more remote you go in the state, the less resident pressure you tend to see. But exclusive guide use areas are in no way a guarantee that you aren't going to be in a footrace for rams on your guided hunt.

The way things are evolving up here, in my experience, is that there are fewer legal rams on the mountain and fewer hunters chasing them each year as the word spreads. Those hunters and guides that remain in the game are the serious type who dedicate a lot of time and effort into planning, scouting, researching the data etc. And of course the commercial crowd, most of whom have their legal rams picked out in advance of the clients setting foot in the field.

So between the skill, experience, and motivation levels of the hunters that are still in the game, and people getting concentrated into the places where odds of success are likely to be better than elsewhere, I feel like there is more competition now that in past years where both animals and people were more abundant.

Maybe that is just me making bad choices for where to hunt. Still trying to figure that out for this year. The choices seem to be between bad and worse. At least I still have 4 days to figure it out.

 

[BrooksRanger]

Interesting way to revive a thread...

Skimming back through, one issue it seems like was missed in the earlier, uh, conversation, was the fact that resident hunting pressure is a very real factor that affects both state and federal lands.

Exclusive guide use areas on fed land only mean that there won't be competition from other guides in that area. No restrictions on residents. Some allow unlimited Transporter activity, some limit that.

Granted, the farther north and more remote you go in the state, the less resident pressure you tend to see. But exclusive guide use areas are in no way a guarantee that you aren't going to be in a footrace for rams on your guided hunt.

The way things are evolving up here, in my experience, is that there are fewer legal rams on the mountain and fewer hunters chasing them each year as the word spreads. Those hunters and guides that remain in the game are the serious type who dedicate a lot of time and effort into planning, scouting, researching the data etc. And of course the commercial crowd, most of whom have their legal rams picked out in advance of the clients setting foot in the field.

So between the skill, experience, and motivation levels of the hunters that are still in the game, and people getting concentrated into the places where odds of success are likely to be better than elsewhere, I feel like there is more competition now that in past years where both animals and people were more abundant.

Maybe that is just me making bad choices for where to hunt. Still trying to figure that out for this year. The choices seem to be between bad and worse. At least I still have 4 days to figure it out.

Oh you got it spot on. I don’t think many people outside of AK realize how many individuals have their own planes and spend much of their free time scouting in the summer for sheep. In about a week the small airports around the state will be as busy as a hornet’s nest. Of course these pilots will already have “their” sheep picked out, landing sites scouted, and cleared if necessary. They will probably be making fuel drops and possibly gear drops early as well. Get ready guys, the Alaskan Super Cub “Air Force” is about to launch the fleet!
Let the race begin.