Sheep in AK's Unit 11

[22lr]

Hey all,

So I'll be going on my first sheep hunt in Alaska's Unit 11 here in Aug (assuming I first survive the VID and then if I'm ever allowed to leave the sandbox and get home). Just curious if anyone has any tips of the trade to share for the unit in general?

Will be going with a buddy as well, but just curious for opinions on the unit and if there is anything you would recommend for the region. Also, help tamper my expectations... is it even worth it to take a bear tag for the hike in and out? I'm seriously thinking of taking one just in case but curious how many people run into bears along the way in or out. Realizing that it is a very general questions for a pretty large unit, but just curious on other folks experience over there?

I have the basics of optics (bino and spotter), pack, boots, trekking poles, cooking set up, sleeping bag tent, knive and clothes covered. But outside of the basic setup, is there anything you found to be useful in the region that you may have left at home elsewhere?

Many thanks,

 

[Snyd]

IMO, killing a bear on a walk-in sheep hunt is a great way to ruin a good sheep hunt! (Unless he's coming through you're tent of course) If you're going sheep hunting, go sheep hunting!

 

[NUGGET]

This thread should be locked as Snyd’s advice is spot on.

 

[22lr]

IMO, killing a bear on a walk-in sheep hunt is a great way to ruin a good sheep hunt! (Unless he's coming through you're tent of course) If you're going sheep hunting, go sheep hunting!

Good point, sheep is the goal for sure.

 

[Bubblehide]

Take a bear tag, just in case you have to shoot one. If you have a tag, you will not have to explain why you shot the bear

 

[Snyd]

No resident griz tag required in gmu 11.

 

[Wapiti1]

So, you have this dead sheep plus your camp on your back, and the other half of this endeavor is on your buddies back. Which one of you wants to add 60-80lbs of bear hide to your pack? Which one gets the 20lb skull?

Been there, done that, it was worth it as a non-resident. It might have been my only hunt in Alaska ever so I made the most of it. I shot the bear first, and pack it around for two days until I killed my ram. Those were some heavy packs on the way out and we were just getting to a lake big enough for the plane to land on.

If I lived there, I'd figure out an easier way to get a bear.

Jeremy

 

[22lr]

So, you have this dead sheep plus your camp on your back, and the other half of this endeavor is on your buddies back. Which one of you wants to add 60-80lbs of bear hide to your pack? Which one gets the 20lb skull?

Been there, done that, it was worth it as a non-resident. It might have been my only hunt in Alaska ever so I made the most of it. I shot the bear first, and pack it around for two days until I killed my ram. Those were some heavy packs on the way out and we were just getting to a lake big enough for the plane to land on.

If I lived there, I'd figure out an easier way to get a bear.

Jeremy

Haha, fair enough. Ya the appeal is that while im a resident, im pretty limited on days in the field. But you have a good point, I should try and rethink that piece.

 

[Sheepies Irae]

(assuming I first survive the VID and then if I'm ever allowed to leave the sandbox and get home)

At this point not looking likely that many commands are going to allow any OCONUS leave at least past this hunting season. I go home to hunt Sheep every year, and it looks like this year will be this exception. Maybe it's different for you, but I would bet that about 60 days are getting added to the books before they let me go to Alaska.

Edit: I hadn't considered that Alaska may very well be your homebase so carry on

 

[22lr]

At this point not looking likely that many commands are going to allow any OCONUS leave at least past this hunting season. I go home to hunt Sheep every year, and it looks like this year will be this exception. Maybe it's different for you, but I would bet that about 60 days are getting added to the books before they let me go to Alaska.

Edit: I hadn't considered that Alaska may very well be your homebase so carry on

Ya I'm based out of there, just waiting to get home from what should have been a quick tour to the stan. Now I'm going to be lucky to get home in time to quarantine/take R&R and get my rifle sighted in. But O well, such is life. I still have a trip to Kodiak for Goats in Nov! So I should be home for that one... haha

 

[DoubleBroomedMountainRifles]

Ya I'm based out of there, just waiting to get home from what should have been a quick tour to the stan. Now I'm going to be lucky to get home in time to quarantine/take R&R and get my rifle sighted in. But O well, such is life. I still have a trip to Kodiak for Goats in Nov! So I should be home for that one... haha

Be safe in the last bit of your deployment. The first part and last part seemed to have the most casualties during my multiple combat deployments.

Send me your email and I will send you my personalized 10 day Sheep hunt gear list. 20 years of tweaking at it seems to work for me.

On your hunt for sheep; absolutely kill any grizzly that fits your goals (size, color, etc) on any day of the hunt, aside from a grizzly located during an active sheep stalk (and if killing the bear would not spook ram I would hammer the bear, ensure he is dead and leave till I finished the stalk/kill of ram).

A grizzly will take one inexperienced person close to a ful day from trigger squeeze till hanging up and on your way again.

When shooting grizzlies on sheep hunts I flesh out the hides down to the smallest piece of meat and fat. Leave none of the meat or fat on the hide including on the face, eyes, ears, lips etc. It is a good idea to visit with the taxidermist you will be using for both the ram and grizzly to learn what cuts to make, how to turn ears, lips etc on both sheep and bears. There are plenty of YouTube videos on the subject as well. In the backcountry standing over your kill is not the time to stumble through this important process as it will only frustrate you.

Once completed lay the hide skin side up for about an hour out of the weather to evaporate any collected moisture. After no more than an hour, shake hide and Then turn head back inside and skin to skin the entire hide. Fold into about an 2ftx3ft square. Put in a game bag and hang in a place that stays shaded ALL DAY (very important). Rig something over the hanging hide with a 3m type construction trash bag to keep all rain or snow off game bag but still allows air flow.......it can be done.......very important for week long storage of hide without salt (find those trash bags at Lowe’s etc keep two in your pack). Stash meat stripped skull in a creek as deep as you can. Stuff rock in jaw, tie shut, sink skull in creek and Tie off with 550 cord.

MARK WITH GPS!!

Never carry the hide around with you unless you are on the way out back to your departure point after shooting grizzly. Carrying it around with you will slow you down considerably especially on steep summiting stalks for rams.

I’ve killed grizzlies on a half dozen sheep hunts. And my advice will work for you if followed. Is there a chance a bear or other scavenger will get your hide hanging? Yes but no more odds if it is hanging back at your departure point. And if you flesh out hide as instructed you will have less to worry about the hide slipping (spoiling) while out pursuing sheep or goats.

When you are done with your hunt and memories are what you have; passing on a good grizzly is what you will regret. Guarantee it as I have a few that I let go not wanting to deal with them.

In fact one of my best rams came after I killed a grizzly. I would never been in the place I was if I had not taken that bear. Again that is fate but in that particular hunt it would never have happened.

Another piece of advice....NEVER take over 60lbs in your pack. This will require two trips if you are successful on a sheep, three trips if you have a grizzly hide. Moving long distances with heavy weight will end your hunting career later in life way earlier then nessesary. It was one of the best pieces of advice one of my mentors gave me to extend my backpack way of hunting. Multiple light trips is much better on the knees than one heavy!

Good luck on hunt. Be safe as well till home.

 

[22lr]

Be safe in the last bit of your deployment. The first part and last part seemed to have the most casualties during my multiple combat deployments.

Send me your email and I will send you my personalized 10 day Sheep hunt gear list. 20 years of tweaking at it seems to work for me.

Thanks for the advice, and ill take you up on that, will send you a PM.

 

[Vek]

Ref. Snyd's first post in this string...

I sit here typing, without a rug on the floor, because of this same mindset

The first time I went, sheep were so strong on the brain that I didn't sort out the bear regs before going. On the hike out, with time on our hands, a dark, mature bruin sat in the trail in front of us at 80 yards, two miles of easy walking from the raft. He sauntered off while we were frantically sat phoning our contact to verify our memories that unit 11 didn't require a griz tag.

Figure it all out beforehand. What could I possibly encounter, and what could I possibly shoot.

 

[22lr]

Ref. Snyd's first post in this string...

I sit here typing, without a rug on the floor, because of this same mindset

The first time I went, sheep were so strong on the brain that I didn't sort out the bear regs before going. On the hike out, with time on our hands, a dark, mature bruin sat in the trail in front of us at 80 yards, two miles of easy walking from the raft. He sauntered off while we were frantically sat phoning our contact to verify our memories that unit 11 didn't require a griz tag.

Figure it all out beforehand. What could I possibly encounter, and what could I possibly shoot.

Ya, I think it's a different matter if I'm a 2 day hike from the truck and see a bear. But ya, in my mind I just picture myself just stepping out of the truck, hiking in a few hundred yards and running into a bruiser... haha. Probably not going to happen but it gets your hopes up when you see a limit of 3 Black bears and 1 grizzly. Kinda makes you think the unit is just crawling with bears... Or, it's so hard to get one they don't really have tight limits... haha.

 

[wildwilderness]

I say shoot the bears! Tags are free, no sealing required for Black bears.

I went to 11 last year for a couple days during sheep season to check it out. My first trip was ruined by a little blackie boar! I left my camp for a couple hour to glass a group of sheep to come back and find my tent and sleeping bag shredded by the bear!

I bumped the bear off coming back. While cleaning up the mess and knowing the hunt was over the dang bear came back! I grabbed my rifle and popped it in the chest at 40 yards. More as revenge than anything but at least he won’t get into someone else’s camp

 

[22lr]

I say shoot the bears! Tags are free, no sealing required for Black bears.

I went to 11 last year for a couple days during sheep season to check it out. My first trip was ruined by a little blackie boar! I left my camp for a couple hour to glass a group of sheep to come back and find my tent and sleeping bag shredded by the bear!

I bumped the bear off coming back. While cleaning up the mess and knowing the hunt was over the dang bear came back! I grabbed my rifle and popped it in the chest at 40 yards. More as revenge than anything but at least he won’t get into someone else’s camp View attachment 178587

Nice way to salvage something out of the hunt! haha

 

[wildwilderness]

Also as mentioned, earlier I went on a hunt with my sheep hunt with my Son to the Brooks range. On the first day we glassed a big black bear on the hill. Would have been an easy shot but he talked me out of shooting it. I was worried about camp all week but luckily it never bothered us. My son got his first sheep a couple days later. We didn’t find a second legal ram so packed out. I still wished I would have shot that blackie , had a nice hide. AT a minimum it would have helped the sheep lambs and moose calves the next year if I had killed the bear!

 

[Bambistew]

Personally I don't shoot bears on any hunt unless they are in the right place at the right time. I pass up numerous bears every fall, mostly because I just don't care to shoot one that bad or want to waste half a day or more dealing with one, let alone potentially another day/trip packing one out on top of camp and a sheep. If I want to kill a bear, I'll go on a bear hunt... that said if the bear is near camp or the strip and/or sheep hunting is done they're fair game, but for me personally, I won't spend valuable sheep hunting time dealing with a bear.

 

[22lr]

Personally I don't shoot bears on any hunt unless they are in the right place at the right time. I pass up numerous bears every fall, mostly because I just don't care to shoot one that bad or want to waste half a day or more dealing with one, let alone potentially another day/trip packing one out on top of camp and a sheep. If I want to kill a bear, I'll go on a bear hunt... that said if the bear is near camp or the strip and/or sheep hunting is done they're fair game, but for me personally, I won't spend valuable sheep hunting time dealing with a bear.

Good points. I think the difficulty on longer pack trips is just that, am I going to be able to pack everything out? Planning to pack in, so will definitely be a risk calculation at the moment of if it's worth taking the chance on having to make another round trip in and out.