Unfilled Tag on Guided Sheep Hunt

[TXCO]

Several great examples in here of why people should say who they hunted with to help others avoid them.


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[fatbacks]

I just flew out of the brooks range and know a guide a few drainages over that had not seen a legal ram by the time I flew out... and that was day 10 of the hunt. Funny how rarely you hear of unsuccessful guided hunts and I am sure it happens way more often than social media/forums would lead you to believe.

 

[ejo13]

I went home empty handed from AK in 2020. We never saw a legal ram in 10 days due to a bad winter kill and terrible weather. We hiked 84 miles and it rained everyday but was an amazing trip and we stalked close to a lot of almost legal rams. I couldn’t stop thinking about the challenge of sheep hunting and I just returned from the same area and outfitter with a full curl ram which we got opening day. I’m not sure which trip was more rewarding but I know which one challenged me more. You miss out on a lot when you shoot a ram on the first day.

 

[SLDMTN]

Here’s a real life scenario from last year:

Hunter A went on a mixed bag hunt. They marched all over God’s creation and left empty handed. Not the guide’s fault, definitely not the client’s fault, sometimes things just don’t work out.

Hunter B in the same camp, at the same time had a sheep/moose/bear down in 6 days.

Hunter A is as good a guy as they come, his guide was a stud too. That’s a tough pill to swallow as a hunter and I know the guide took it very hard as well. That said they had a crazy adventure and made some lifetime memories. So much fun was had that Hunter A started working for the outfitter this fall.

Regardless of species or area, find a guide/outfitter that has a satisfactory success percentage whose unsuccessful clients would book with them again.

 

[z987k]

I did not take a sheep on my first Dall hunt in Ak. In 14 days we saw one legal ram. Saw him on day 1. He was a stud ram for sure.. Guide was hung up on book score and he thought this one would make it. Spent 2 days watching and waiting for wind, weather and other rams to cooperate. On day 4 he was gone. Never could turn him up again. Saw one other ram in the hunt that was legal, barely. Never chambered a round in 14 days. Outfitter was far more twisted up over this than I was. This was in 2012. Lots of talk of other outfitters encroaching in his area. AK residents getting flown into his area. Lots of shenanigans' with leaving tents at airstrips, using plane to scout, radioing to guide locations of rams, etc. It turned into an unfun hunt. I chalked it up to stuff doesn't always go the way you want. Have not and would not go back with this outfitter due to his actions and attitude.

I love this. Encroaching his area on public land. What is it 7/10 guides aren't even residents?

 

[jack88]

Yukon dall- 10 day hunt emptyhanded, begged work to let me stay a few extra days and killed a ram on day 14.

BC Stone-No ram after 14 days, returned later that year and killed a ram.

I was one of those guys who figured it would be no sweat to kill either ram in a few days, I could hike and shoot and just like was said before, if you use social media as a gauge, everyone is whacking a ram. Legal rams on both those hunts were few and far between. I think the Yukon dall I shot was the only legal ram I saw in those 2 weeks.

 

[KU_Geo]

I just returned from a Yukon hunt without punching my tag. Saw probably 80-100 sheep, 20 rams, just couldn’t turn up a legal ram. Was weird as every group of rams was being led around by a 4-5yr old 1/2-5/8th curl. Found several 3/4 curl deadheads. Sure seemed like the older age class was just straight missing. Winter was very rough in the area based on snowpack meters around (150-250% of average snow pack). Guide was decent, but I definitely spotted most of the sheep. Overall good experience in the field, just could!’t turn up a good ram. Other hunters in concession pretty much had a similar experience, couldn’t find any mature rams.

 

[mobilefamily]

I ate an Alaska Dall tag on a guided hunt after 11 days and 98 miles on my feet. The sheep we needed wasn't there. Outfitter begged me to stay and keep hunting different locations but I told him "I want to keep doing this kind of stuff so I need to keep my word to all the people that are covering for me back home."

That Jack O'Connor line about you're either a sheep hunter or not is BS to me. I didn't love it, would prefer to do moose hunts in the rut. But it was a great adventure and I kind of want to go back because I hate leaving things unfinished. If sheep numbers were improving I'd be more excited. With dwindling numbers I'm trying to show some restraint and focus on other things I know I love.

 

[sheephunt]

I ate a tag. Hunted my tail off. 15 days on the mountain and we couldn’t have hunted any harder. Guide was a tough ass dude and he went as hard as he could. Didn’t see a ram until like day 13. They got in some cliffs and we just couldn’t turn them up again when they went over the other side..

I will say it was humbling. It stung for sure. All the training and time and money. It was a once in a lifetime for me. Can’t say I would change it, or I have any regrets. It was an awesome experience and I enjoyed it. I have been trying to figure out how to go again but it’s a huge commitment with a family.

Honestly I feel like I’m the guy you never hear about…. Everybody I see kills a giant ram and it seems easy. There’s a few of us out there I’m sure. Still honestly think about it everyday probably


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Right there with you! I went home empty-handed on a bowhunt for Dall and think about it every day. I did get a shot and just grazed a nice ram and off he went into the sunset. It will haunt me til the day I die!

 

[TheGrayRider]

I hunted 10 days in ANWR, Alaska Unit 25 in 2021, hiking over 65 miles. The guide and I bumped three rams (1 legal ram) on day 5 and didn’t get a shot. We saw sheep every day but mostly younger rams, ewes, and kids.

Never one to quit at anything in life, I am already rebooked for 2025 in the same hunt area with the same outfitter!

Being very blessed and lucky, I have also drawn an Arizona Nonresident desert bighorn sheep tag this year with 14 NR points in the Kofa NWR outside Yuma. I have hired an experienced AZ outfitter/guide. The training, workouts, and target practice continue daily. So thrilled and ecstatic!

Best of luck to all who pursue any of the bighorn rams and mountain goats in the most scenic, rugged, and wild places in the world.

God please continue to bless America, Tom a/k/a TheGrayRider.

 

[ACK8]

I just returned from a Yukon hunt without punching my tag. Saw probably 80-100 sheep, 20 rams, just couldn’t turn up a legal ram. Was weird as every group of rams was being led around by a 4-5yr old 1/2-5/8th curl. Found several 3/4 curl deadheads. Sure seemed like the older age class was just straight missing. Winter was very rough in the area based on snowpack meters around (150-250% of average snow pack). Guide was decent, but I definitely spotted most of the sheep. Overall good experience in the field, just could!’t turn up a good ram. Other hunters in concession pretty much had a similar experience, couldn’t find any mature rams.

Sorry to hear about your unsuccessful trip. I have a trip to the Yukon scheduled for Aug 2023 and I was wondering if you would mind sharing the concession number or even the general geographic area of the Yukon you were hunting. Of course, if you wanted to share the outfitter name that would be fine too.

 

[KU_Geo]

Sorry to hear about your unsuccessful trip. I have a trip to the Yukon scheduled for Aug 2023 and I was wondering if you would mind sharing the concession number or even the general geographic area of the Yukon you were hunting. Of course, if you wanted to share the outfitter name that would be fine too.

Pm sent

 

[mtwarden]

Just visited with a fellow who hunted the Brooks Range (w/ a reputable outfitter) who didn't punch his tag. They had some rough weather to sit out, but didn't sound like a lot of sheep when they had good weather.

 

[USMC-40]

Hunted 15 days in BC this year for a Stone. Unsuccessful. While I admit I want to kill one more than I probably should, bordering on obsession, I had a great hunt. Just couldn’t turn up a legal
Ram. The dream lives on…

 

[mtwarden]

Just visited with a fellow who hunted the Brooks Range (w/ a reputable outfitter) who didn't punch his tag. They had some rough weather to sit out, but didn't sound like a lot of sheep when they had good weather.

further talked to this gentleman and learned that only one (of four clients) punched a tag the first ten day go round

 

[Lucas B]

Just got back from the brooks range with a very nice ram. Another hunter in the same unit that I went into came home empty. I met another hunter at the airstrip heading back to Fairbanks that also came back empty. Success rates are probay lower than anyone wants to think about given the cost of a guided hunt. I understood that going in and did it anyways.

I had the first five straight days of my hunt fogged in and being rained on. It was not exactly easy to maintain an outlook of gratitude for just getting to be there in the arctic. On day six the sun came out and I acted like it was day 1 of a 1 day hunt. The mental strain of being patient was far more difficult for me than the physical strain of the hunt.

 

[StopMakingSense]

The stone hunt guided success rate in BC should definitely be lower then AK I would venture. I know our total success rate hovers around 5%.

 

[TheGrayRider]

…The United States Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that there are more than 10 million big-game hunters in the United States. But only about 2,500 wild sheep are hunted each year across North America, a fraction compared with nearly every other animal…

(See NYT article, The Ultimate Pursuit in Hunting: Sheep, Author: John Branch, February 16, 2017)

Anyone and everyone who hunts any of the bighorn sheep in North America is extra blessed and lucky. An unsuccessful bighorn sheep hunt is a tough pill to swallow but part of the chase. Don’t quit. Reevaluate, learn from your previous hunts, and get back on the mountain before you permanently check into the nursing home.

Safe hunting and best of luck to all, TheGrayRider.

 

[mtwarden]

further talked to this gentleman and learned that only one (of four clients) punched a tag the first ten day go round

the next group of four (10 day guided hunt) got out the other day (same area/outfitter), one ram

that appears to be a 25% success rate

 

[Dunndm]

Purely out of curiosity, if you pay 5-50k for a sheep hunt. Do you have to pay that wether your successful or not?
Like couldn’t any dipsh*t go out there and say they are a guide and get paid 50k and suck?


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