Looking for Info 2018 Dall Sheep

[elkguide27]

Starting to look at booking a Dall sheep hunt in the Northwest Territories for 2018. Just seeing who has all done this hunt and mostly looking for Outfitters reports both good and bad. Thanks. I have a few in mind just seeing what other guys have done. Thanks.

 

[hunt&fish]

I lived up in the nwt for 4 years and I would say any outfitter is going to put you on rams as there is a healthy population and little resident pressure. When deciding which outfitter to pick you really need to decide what kind of hunt do you want to do? Helicopter, horseback or backpack. If you are looking at horseback or backpack i would recommend Arctic Red River outfitters.


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[hunt&fish]

Another point to consider is if you are looking for a fannin ram then they are generally found in the southern part of the MacKenzie's.


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[mulecreek]

Funny you should ask as I just joined rokslide and this is my first post. I hunted with Stan Stevens at Mackenzie Mountain Outfitters this year. I hunted their mixed bag hunt (sheep/caribou/moose). I have nothing but positive things to say. I don't have a great deal of experience with Outfitters, this was only my second guided hunt but Stan and his team did everything they said they would and I would gladly go again. Doubt I will due to the cost of the hunt but that's a different issue all together.

Since I was hunting for moose as well, we went at the end of their sheep hunts. The ram I was lucky enough to harvest was a good respectable ram, 9 yrs and 36" but they certainly take much larger rams. I also hunted an area that is closer to good moose hunting. I did not see a tremendous amount of sheep. On the first day of hunting we found three rams and I took the only shooter of the three. For me, I wanted to get a good representative ram, a nice caribou and a nice moose so I was not going to be too picky. Also I have never taken a ram before this so they all looked good to me. There were 7 of us hunting during this hunt. 6 took rams. All rams were similar in size, most were older than mine. The one hunter that did not harvest was not due to a lack of rams and I will leave it at that. He told me he saw 41 rams on his hunt.



Stan does use a helicopter. All I can speak factually to is my experience so I will keep it to that. We did not get dropped off on top of the mountain. We got dropped off along a river at the base of a series of peaks and basins that had held rams in the past. We spent the rest of the day climbing to the top of a pass. We were told to bring 5 days worth of food. After 5 days if we needed to be resupplied they would but realistically they expected us to be done sheep hunting so we could move on to caribou or moose. They were quite certain that it would not take longer than 5 days to harvest a ram. It didn't. After getting to the pass that evening. We set up camp, hiked into the basin on the other side and found the 3 rams. Since we had flown that day we backed out and returned in the morning. The rams were where we left them and we spent the next few hours getting into position. I was able to stalk to within 40 yards of the ram and make a quick clean shot on him. We spent the rest of the day getting the ram back to spike camp. In all honesty we could have just stayed at spike camp with the ram and waited for Stan to come get us 5 days later but instead of waiting we decided to walk back to his main base camp with our spike camp and the ram. This took us two full days but in my opinion was better than waiting on top of a mountain until moose season opened. However, had I wanted the hunt to be easier the helicopter would have easily made that happen. It is up to you on how hard or easy you want it to be. I would say that my hunt was somewhere in the middle.

I was also able to take a great moose and an unbelievable caribou. I could not have been more pleased with the outcome. The animals are plentiful. You can tell they are not heavily hunted. You will never see another hunter except for base camp. The guides are great. Ryan Hartling was my guide and his knowledge of these animals behavior was spot on. Everything he thought they would do was correct. It actually made the hunting go by quickly.

If you have any other questions please feel free to let me know.

 

[elkguide27]

That's an unbelievable trip!!^^ I'm planning on doing either horseback or backpack.

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[hunt&fish]

Sent you a pm


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[Kotaman]

I lived up in the nwt for 4 years and I would say any outfitter is going to put you on rams as there is a healthy population and little resident pressure. When deciding which outfitter to pick you really need to decide what kind of hunt do you want to do? Helicopter, horseback or backpack. If you are looking at horseback or backpack i would recommend Arctic Red River outfitters.


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This post pretty much sums up my line of thinking as well...

 

[Yukon]

Gana River does backpack and horse back. I know Arctic Red is mostly (or maybe all ) backpack.
Harold Grinde (Gana) is a great outfitter as is Tavis Molner at Arctic Red
Both of those are good. I would stay away from Redstone but all the other outfits are good. All but Arctic Red and Gana use helicoptors (they use super cub airplanes for access)

MacKenzie mountains are beautiful. Can't go wrong.

 

[idig4au]

+1 for Gana River. I've hunted with them twice

 

[downsouth175]

I hunted with Stan Stevens in '15 and had a great hunt. We didn't kill my ram until day 9 of my 10 day hunt, but that wasn't for lack of sheep. I had an absolute great hunt and wouldn't hesitate to hunt with them again. I could be wrong but I was told Arctic Red River has also started using a helicopter this year, and I saw a Youtube video from this year that seemed to prove it. I think Gana River is the only one left now not using a helicopter. The helicopter gets a bad wrap but from the outfitters standpoint if you have that tool available you may as well use it.

One other item you may want to look into that I don't believe anyone likes to discuss is how much the outfitter scouts from the air. Some guys do high flyovers and just know there's sheep or rams in a particular area, others are doing a couple low passes and know exactly what rams are in what areas. This is a fact, even in the NWT. They can then plant you basically right on a good ram with a helicopter. It's not a coincidence that some hunting "celebrities" have killed such great rams so quickly on hunts up there the last couple years. I'm not knocking this either, just putting it out there. I know some outfitters do it more so than others. Some guys want the pure wilderness unknown hunt, others want to just get a ram killed as quick as possible and get back to a bed. Just my $.02.

Good luck on your quest. I'm going to be headed back up in '19 and am trying to decided if I want to go to the NWT or Alaska for another Dall, or the Yukon for a Fanin.

 

[blazinsoles]

This all sounds like a blast, but how in heck do people afford these hunts?

 

[jbra]

I just did a backpack sheep hunt with Gana River in July/August of this year. I have nothing but great things to say about their outfit, family owned operation. The airlines lost all my gear both to and from Canada so I had to borrow pretty much everything from Harold for my hunt. Incredible experience, one I'll never forget.

 

[elkguide27]

Thanks for all the Info guys I just got home from a 8 day DIY mule deer hunt in Wyoming. I had a absoulute blast hunting public land on a leftover tag. I was very fortunate to take a really nice buck on the last evening. Can't wait to do some prep work for a sheep hunt!!!

 

[critrgitr]

Call them all and talk with the outfitters. Get their reference list and talk to as many past hunters as you can. I went through the same process last spring and went with an Alaska outfitter mostly for my scheduling conflicts. Gana River was definitely top on my NWT list. Plan on atending the sheep show in Reno too if possible in January. Most if not all the NWT outfitters will be present and you can really get a feel for what kind of people they are. I went last year and had an absolute blast. Good luck!

 

[stillar]

Bonnet Plume Outfitters

 

[Doc Holliday]

Subscribed

 

[goat1958]

Go to SCI or Sheep show...you will get confused there are sooooo many good Sheep outfitters..lol. If your shelling out $$$4 that kind of dough I would want to talk to them. besides those shows are a BLAST !

 

[MattB]

I killed a ram and a caribou with my bow at Gana a few years back and a friend of mine and I are going back this year. Harold is a really honest, hard-working outfitter. Through the years of research I did, the thing about Harold that really impressed me is he made the same sales pitch during and after the recession, where it seemed like some of the other outfitters were selling their hunts a bit harder when times were lean.

If I was to hunt elsewhere, MMO and ARRO would be where I would look (in that order). The only thing which makes me just a touch leery of ARRO is they are a bit farther into the mountains and we were able to get right into camp from Norman Wells whereas the ARRO hunters lost a day of hunting due to weather.

If I understand things correctly, ARRO is owned by or affiliated with SFW which could be a factor for some people.

 

[jack88]

This all sounds like a blast, but how in heck do people afford these hunts?

Most people don't even blink an eye at how much a realtor steals from them when they sell their house. I know an outfitter works a hell of a lot harder than a realtor does for the cash!

Back on topic, I'd vote Bonnet Plume(YK), Gana or ARRO.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Following up on this thread as it is now 2018 and sheep season is just 4 months away.....

Did you book a hunt, and if so, with who? Going for sheep or a combo hunt?