NWT DIY Dall Sheep hunt

[Edward86]

Hello Everyone,

I am a resident of the NWT and am starting to research a Dall Sheep/ Caribou hunt in the Mackenzie Mountains. I won’t be hiring a guide as I am a resident. I plane to hire Simpson air or North Wright for transport. I have been looking online and there is lots of information on training and gear but little on DIY hunts specific to the Mackenzie Mountains. I’m wondering if you folks could assist with locations to fly into, how many days I should hunt, basically diy tips specific to the Mackenzie Mountains. Thank you!

 

[Blockcaver]

I doubt many residents hunt the Mackenzies DIY for sheep and caribou due to the very low population of people in the NWT. I've heard of a couple over the last 2 years...expect there are more but expect it is a fairly limited number.

I'd try to figure out where and when you might want to hunt and contact the outfitter for that concession. There are 8 different outfitter concessions there. Theyhave huge areas. What you don't want is to hunt the same drainage as the outfitter's guide and client are in. Pre-discussing this with the outfitter will go a long ways to making the hunt more enjoyable for both parties. I think you find the areas and outfitters names on line with a google search, or maybe easier, just go to the nearest Ministry of Environment, Wildlife Branch office. They typically have the maps on the wall.

As far as I am concerned it borders on unethical to pass on outfitter hunting spots (GPS coords), especially on a public forum. I know I'd never do it.

Good luck on your hunt. The Mackenzie Mts are the last best place in North America if you are a big game hunter that loves wild places and rugged mountains, Dall sheep, Mt Caribou, Grizzlies, Wolves and Alaskan Yukon Moose.

 

[sheephunteralaska]

How is it unethical to post anything of an outfitters area (strips/areas they hunt/etc) to provide to the public? You think an outfitter from either Canada or Alaska wouldn’t use info from a public forum to help their business?

 

[Yellowknife]

I think you will find you are very limited to the areas that the air taxi's will take you. There aren't very many of them and they generally will have no intention of dropping DIY guys on top of the outfitters they normally service. That is going to be a handicap you will have to work around.

You will also find that there are only a bare handful of resident sheep hunters in the territory. I believe the annual resident harvest is less than a dozen. Information is going to be VERY thin and mostly hard earned. Ministry of the Environment has publicly available reports with data, so that's worth looking up. Suggest after that you will need to start making phone calls to air taxis, biologists, and guides and expect to get some non-committal answers. If you can ask specific questions about specific areas, that will help. General questions (like "any idea were I should go") usually won't get you much. The one consistently successful sheep hunter I know in the NWT earned it the hard way with a some un-successful trips and a lot of miles before he started putting them on the ground.

Other than that, I recommend planning on a 10+ day sheep trip if you can swing the time. Particularly for the early ones when you just don't know the country or where the sheep are.

Not sure about caribou, but that might be a better place to start if you don't have mountain hunting experience.

 

[OFFHNTN]

How is it unethical to post anything of an outfitters area (strips/areas they hunt/etc) to provide to the public? You think an outfitter from either Canada or Alaska wouldn’t use info from a public forum to help their business?

To ME, it's more of a slam to your fellow hunters. If I am paying $20k for a guided sheep hunt, I wouldn't want the same area and sheep I am spending a boat load of money for to be over run by other hunters, resident or not.

 

[Jimbob]

How is it unethical to post anything of an outfitters area (strips/areas they hunt/etc) to provide to the public? You think an outfitter from either Canada or Alaska wouldn’t use info from a public forum to help their business?

I see it as being similar to a buddy taking you hunting then you share your buddies spot with everyone else (not exactly the same but similar).

It is hanging the outfitter out to dry by sharing his spot with all the resident hunters and (like mentioned above) it is hanging all the future hunters out to dry that are booking with the outfitter.

 

[Edward86]

Thank you to those that replied. I can see this thread is going to start taking a different route so I will continue my research elsewhere.

I do want to point out that I was asking for areas to fly into, Not gps coordinates used by outfitters or where rams have been harvested. I do not believe that those that can afford a 20k hunt should be given special treatment when compared to resident hunters who cannot afford those prices on public land. It’s a big mountain range with numerous opportunities for everyone, residents and non.

 

[sheephunteralaska]

A slam to your fellow non resident hunters or HELPING your fellow resident hunters who live, work and raise their family in that area??

I’ll take option 2.

I’m a guide in the state of Alaska but I can tell you what, Non Residents will always take a back seat to resident hunters.

Now I would never give up area or info to my buddies or residents of Alaska in the area I guided in because in that circumstance it “belongs” to the outfitter that hired me to guide clients. But if I pay a “boat load” of money to an outfitter to guide me because the state/territory requires me to be guided; that area and the stuff I do there/after with it is my business.

Good luck original poster on finding your spots in NWT. I plan to hunt with an outfitter there in the next few years and I will most certainly pass you that info on exact drainages/airstrips etc in those areas.

You live, work and endure those winters yesr affet year in that area and hope the best for you. And if I can help I certainly will.

 

[MtGomer]

Even having flown over twice and spent 17 days in the NWT it is still hard for me to comprehend the vastness of the McKenzies.
There’s no reason to go where the outfitters go, when there is so much untouched country that you’d never see a soul in. I wouldn’t do this for an outfitter’s benefit, but for your own. What percentage of their concession do you think the non helicopter outfits hunt? If you can’t get horses there in a day or two from base camp or can’t land a cub, it’s probably not hunted. A resident could get a helicopter drop into some truly untouched country where rams die of old age and have never seen a human.

 

[HuntsNorth]

Edward86, just wondering how you made out in your DIY trip? We are in the midst of planning a trip for 2021.

 

[Edward86]

Edward86, just wondering how you made out in your DIY trip? We are in the midst of planning a trip for 2021.

Didn’t make it out last year. Delayed to this year

 

[Mwall47]

Didn’t make it out last year. Delayed to this year

Any updates on the trip? I did the north canol last summer in 2021 but also looking at a DIY for Dall sheep in the Mackenzies with one of the local air carriers for 2022. Also NWT resident

 

[Steve O]

Love to hear about this. Was worth it just to read thru and see someone’s membership status as “Banned”. Hah.

 

[Edward86]

Any updates on the trip? I did the north canol last summer in 2021 but also looking at a DIY for Dall sheep in the Mackenzies with one of the local air carriers for 2022. Also NWT resident

Hey yes I did get out last summer with two friends. Took a float plane out of Norman wells. We saw some sheep but they were not legal. Weather didn’t cooperate with us; lots of fog.

I’m doing an east arm fishing trip this summer but fall of 2023 I plan to go back into the mountains and try again.

Take care

 

[Mojave]

Wow, that went south fast.

Go kill a big one. You pay taxes, and put up with NWT weather to live there. I hope you kill the next 50 incher.

You also have to play the 3 years to territorial residency game. Haters going to hate!

I'd call biologist for the territorial game management folks.