Hidden Alaska for Dall Sheep

[FAAFO]

^Yes everyone go to Canada please!

 

[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.

 

[FAAFO]

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

You’re not getting the full story from your buddy. Promise you that.

 

[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.