Yukon guiding 2014 by 325 wsm

[325 wsm]

First hunt I guided this year went exactly as I had hoped, except 1 detail. We flew in 2 days early and were up the mountain the day before opening to set up spike camp. By noon on August 1st we were 285 yards from a group of 12 rams.




My hunter was determined to shoot a 165 class ram or nothing at all. Of the 12 rams 2 looked to be in that class. I spent over an hour trying to decide which one was bigger. Finally I gave him my best opinion that the ram that flared out more was the 1. It was another 20 minutes or so that a bedded ram got up from directly behind him and moved out of the way to present a safe shot. The hunters shot was perfect and his ram never got up out of its bed.

The other rams milled around 30 yds from him for at least 15 minutes. 3 of them actually came back to him and sniffed at him and 1 of those 3 layed down a few yds from him. Finall we had to spook the herd off and go get his ram.
Well I must say ther was a bit of ground shrinkage from what I estimated the ram to score but still a beautiful ram.





Thought it would score around 162-3 but was closer to 157. The body was a bit small and I think that threw me off.
to be continued.

 

[Beef_Slayer]

Nice ram.

 

[325 wsm]

My next hunt took place in the same location to try and get the other big ram. I was guiding a 45 year old hunter and his 70 year old father was along as well.
Turns out they couldn't handle a backpack hunt so we moved over to an area with some horses. I dont deal well with horses, the wrangler couldnt be there for another 2 days either. They got discouraged (even though the outfitter said they could take an extra 5 days at no cost) and flew out on the plane the wrangler arrived on. I spent a few days trailing the horses out to the highway with the wrangler. Those things are literally a pain in the ass.


3rd hunt had my next hunter and I flying into another backpack location. This guy was 45 (same age as me)but had only been hunting a few years. He did a great job out there both physically and mentally. 1 day in (6 hours) with heavy packs to set up spike camp and the next day we were heading up the mountain.


By noon he was resting his rifle on his pack and placing the crosshairs on a ram that was about 300yds away and crossing the side of the mountain in front of us.
First shot was a hit but back in the hind quarter. The ram made another 25 yards before the second shot cought him a little closer to the front. 1 more shot at just over 300 and the ram was down. After dealing with his ram we threw our packs on and when he picked up his rifle the scope slid in the rings toward the but stock
the rings had come loose and werent holding the scope. Lucky to have gotten this ram at all.


]

 

[jwb300]

Thanks for posting! Sounds like you have had some adventures and some misadventures! I can't believe that guys would go to all the trouble and expense of doing these hunts and not be fully prepared and practiced.

Cheers,
JWB300

 

[Shrek]

Congratulations on a pretty good season. I take it the third hunter wasn't into hunter camo fashion .. . Got to like a guy who hunts in blue athletic shorts and leggings.

 

[kuhn4]

Almost every sheep hunter I see is wearing Sitka or KUIU. The guy has courage.

 

[325 wsm]

The 4th hunt was supposed to start on Sept 2nd, unfortunately my hunter was 4 days late in arriving. We arrived at the lake where the 1st hunt took place in order to try get the other big ram I had seen earlier in the season. That night it fogged in and we woke up to 4 inches of snow. As he had a moose tag we spent a few days looking for moose around the lake but no success. With 3 days left in the hunt the weather finally cleared up enough for us to head up the mountain and set up camp. By the time we did a majority of the snow had melted. 500yds from our tent was a ram. It was a couple inches over full curl on 1 side but the other was broken off near the base and only about 5 inches long.


We went up the mountain and walked the main ridges the next day but only saw the 1 horned ram.


The following day was a repeat and the last day we had to hunt. We decided to look over just 1 more ridge before heading back skunked. I looked down into a drainage to my right before we got to the ridge and there was a ram watching us about 500 yds away. Got the binos on him….the 1 horned ram again. A few more steps in elevation revealed another ram. Binos on him ….shooter for sure. We backtracked a bit and came over a rise about 200yds from them. I layed my pack down for the hunter to shoot off of. The rise in between us and the sheep made us have to readjust for a minute as the crosshairs cleared the dirt but I didnt think the bullet would. Finally the shot. The ram is hit good but is heading for a small bluff that if he falls down we will have to pack him a few hundred yards out of to get him back to camp. 1 more shot and the ram is down, over the back side of the bluff. We walk up to the point last seen and there is the ram only 20 yds down. The bluff wasnt as bad as I thought and the sheep was better than I thought. There lay a 40 inch ram. The other 1 from the group[ of 12 on the first hunt.


This ram probably outweighed the ram from the first hunt by 50 lbs and even though the bases were the same size it carried its weight better.



Well that was the end of this sheep season . Eventually I will post up some other stories …moose, caribou,bears and more sheep.

 

[adventure907]

Almost every sheep hunter I see is wearing Sitka or KUIU. The guy has courage.

I am a sheep guide and refuse to wear any camo, let alone Sitka and kuiu. I find that i can get better performing clothes and outerwear from various mountaineering equipment and gear companies. Not to mention i think Sitka and kuiu looks ridiculous, and serves very little function pertaining to visual concealment, but i digress.

Anyway, thanks for posting 325, i always enjoy seeing how other guides did in their pursuits. Great rams, well done!!

 

[Muledeernv]

Thanks for sharing your adventures with us. Sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[JustOneMoreShot]

Thanks for sharing and great job! It also blows my mind that hunters show up ill prepared for such a hunt (rifles not zeroed, out of shape mentally and or physically, scope rings/bases not tight, shooting the wrong end of the animal, etc)

 

[Manosteel]

Thanks for sharing, good job on the hunts, hope the clients appreciated your work.

 

[Ryan Avery]

The 4th hunt was supposed to start on Sept 2nd, unfortunately my hunter was 4 days late in arriving. We arrived at the lake where the 1st hunt took place in order to try get the other big ram I had seen earlier in the season. That night it fogged in and we woke up to 4 inches of snow. As he had a moose tag we spent a few days looking for moose around the lake but no success. With 3 days left in the hunt the weather finally cleared up enough for us to head up the mountain and set up camp. By the time we did a majority of the snow had melted. 500yds from our tent was a ram. It was a couple inches over full curl on 1 side but the other was broken off near the base and only about 5 inches long.


We went up the mountain and walked the main ridges the next day but only saw the 1 horned ram.


The following day was a repeat and the last day we had to hunt. We decided to look over just 1 more ridge before heading back skunked. I looked down into a drainage to my right before we got to the ridge and there was a ram watching us about 500 yds away. Got the binos on him….the 1 horned ram again. A few more steps in elevation revealed another ram. Binos on him ….shooter for sure. We backtracked a bit and came over a rise about 200yds from them. I layed my pack down for the hunter to shoot off of. The rise in between us and the sheep made us have to readjust for a minute as the crosshairs cleared the dirt but I didnt think the bullet would. Finally the shot. The ram is hit good but is heading for a small bluff that if he falls down we will have to pack him a few hundred yards out of to get him back to camp. 1 more shot and the ram is down, over the back side of the bluff. We walk up to the point last seen and there is the ram only 20 yds down. The bluff wasnt as bad as I thought and the sheep was better than I thought. There lay a 40 inch ram. The other 1 from the group[ of 12 on the first hunt.


This ram probably outweighed the ram from the first hunt by 50 lbs and even though the bases were the same size it carried its weight better.



Well that was the end of this sheep season . Eventually I will post up some other stories …moose, caribou,bears and more sheep.

I don't know anything about sheep. But I would sure shoot that one Great Pics!!

 

[luke moffat]

Great stuff there 325WSM!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[johnnylaw]

cool post, look forward to hearing some more hunting stories from you. i love anything to do with Alaska anyway

 

[Becca]

Super cool! You got in on some awesome hunts this season...looking forward to hearing more about it!

 

[adventure907]

Here's a small guide trick i learned from one of the best sheep guides in the business that the last pic reminded me of. Sometimes it is hard to keep the mouth of a dall sheep closed when trying to get good field photos for the client. It often leaves the sheep with quite an interesting look, like it is screaming at the top of their lungs, "noooooooooooooooooooo!!!". Anyway, bring a small piece of white dental floss with you on your hunt, and you can easily tie the mouth shut for the photos.
Just a little trick i never would have thought of until it was shared with me by a master sheep guide.

 

[mtnclimber]

Here's a small guide trick i learned from one of the best sheep guides in the business that the last pic reminded me of. Sometimes it is hard to keep the mouth of a dall sheep closed when trying to get good field photos for the client. It often leaves the sheep with quite an interesting look, like it is screaming at the top of their lungs, "noooooooooooooooooooo!!!". Anyway, bring a small piece of white dental floss with you on your hunt, and you can easily tie the mouth shut for the photos.
Just a little trick i never would have thought of until it was shared with me by a master sheep guide.

A dab of super glue on the lips I've found works better. sometimes the dental floss/ fishing line trick is visible.

 

[danarnold]

looks like a good time!
I gotta get me one of those Burger King hats

 

[wyosteve]

Horses are like women-- you need to spend a lot of time with them to understand them!!

 

[kuhn4]

Two great rams. Congrats and I'm looking forward to reading more from you.