Artic Red Dall Sheep - Jay Scott

[robie]

Has anyone else followed along with Jay's story from his hunt? Can anyone that has been on a hunt like this shed some light on my questions.

Link to podcast where he shares his experience:
458: Live Day by Day Recap of Jay Scott’s Dall Sheep Hunt with Arctic Red River Outfitters

460: Jay Scott Answers Questions from The Mountain Project’s Chase Christopher and Kevin Passmore about NWT Dall Sheep Hunt Gear-Prep-Travel-Food

Let me start off by saying Jay has said nothing but great things about Artic but I have a couple of questions.

1. He said they dropped him off in an area they hasn't been in 13 years. Is that common?

2. From what I've heard they had one of the best years they've ever had last year shooting some very old rams. Why wasn't he taken to some of the areas where they saw several 9 year old rams last year that would be 10 this year?

I know Artic has a solid reputation but hearing his story has me questioning using them in the future, but I would appreciate some clarity from guys who have spent the money. It sounds like he only saw 2 groups of sheep on the hunt and his guide offered to push forward or call Tavis and try and get moved. Is 2 groups about what you would expect or is that pretty low?

I'm not trying to bash Artic but I'm saving for a Dall hunt and want to ask every question before I drop that much money.

 

[hflier]

They may be great, but they want you to only shoot 10 year old Rams even though that is not the legal requirement. No thanks. If I spend that kind of cash and effort, I don't think it is their decision to tell me what a trophy is (as long as its legal).

 

[BRWNBR]

They may be great, but they want you to only shoot 10 year old Rams even though that is not the legal requirement. No thanks. If I spend that kind of cash and effort, I don't think it is their decision to tell me what a trophy is (as long as its legal).

I agree with this. A similar story I guided brown bears for a outfit and the boss had a 9’ minimum. After we passed on numerous mid 8’ class bears the client actually threw his gun in the bushes and told me why carry it if I’m Never gonna let him shoot anything. Lol I explained the bosses rules which I assumed he already knew. And then we promptly shot the next 8’6” bear we saw. Lol

 

[MtGomer]

At one end of the spectrum of the various types of hunts a person can go on, ARRO focuses on providing an expedition style adventure where the kill part takes a back seat to the rest of the journey. they have some of the better hunting because of their management. There are other outfits in the NWT that only kill 10 y/o rams with few exceptions as well.

At the other end of the spectrum, a person can ride a helicopter up to pre scouted rams and shoot a 7 year old.

I like the ARRO approach and hope to be able to buy a hunt from them in the coming years.

 

[robie]

I agree with this. A similar story I guided brown bears for a outfit and the boss had a 9’ minimum. After we passed on numerous mid 8’ class bears the client actually threw his gun in the bushes and told me why carry it if I’m Never gonna let him shoot anything. Lol I explained the bosses rules which I assumed he already knew. And then we promptly shot the next 8’6” bear we saw. Lol

Lol, I'm not sure what I would have done if I had seen someone throw a gun in bushes that pissed.

I don't know enough about the area to know is seeing 2 groups of rams about what you would expect on a dall sheep hunt? I would love to hear from someone that was there last year to know if they didn't see many 9 year old sheep last year. Knowing how many big rams they killed last year I would want to go hunt the same spot as a guy did last year.

When I go hiking/scouting its fun to see whats over the next ridge but when I hire someone its because they know its a good area, not something that they hunted 13 years ago and could have a big ram in it.

 

[robie]

At one end of the spectrum of the various types of hunts a person can go on, ARRO focuses on providing an expedition style adventure where the kill part takes a back seat to the rest of the journey. they have some of the better hunting because of their management. There are other outfits in the NWT that only kill 10 y/o rams with few exceptions as well.

At the other end of the spectrum, a person can ride a helicopter up to pre scouted rams and shoot a 7 year old.

I like the ARRO approach and hope to be able to buy a hunt from them in the coming years.

I'm great with the 10 year old ram minimum. They have a great reputation for killing big rams.

I'm just trying to understand more before I put the money down. Would most outfitters put you in an area they hadn't been in 13 years? Would they do that because they know where they hunted last year most of the big rams in those areas were shot out?

They may have a perfectly good reason and I want to understand what that is.

 

[OFFHNTN]

I'm great with the 10 year old ram minimum. They have a great reputation for killing big rams.

I'm just trying to understand more before I put the money down. Would most outfitters put you in an area they hadn't been in 13 years? Would they do that because they know where they hunted last year most of the big rams in those areas were shot out?

They may have a perfectly good reason and I want to understand what that is.

You should call or email Tavis and ask him. I've spoke with him and met him a couple of times, he's a straight shooter and I'm sure wouldn't mind answering your questions.

 

[robie]

You should call or email Tavis and ask him. I've spoke with him and met him a couple of times, he's a straight shooter and I'm sure wouldn't mind answering your questions.

Your right and before I book anything I will. My initial thought was to ask you guys how it generally goes on these types of hunts.

I know they have a vast amount of land to hunt. Trying to understand if you typically rotate through drainages or hit the ones that keep producing.

I hope this didn't come across like I was bad mouthing artic red. For all I know every outfit could do a similar practice each fall and it is purely luck of the drainage you are in producing.

Most of my research has been geared towards Alaska.

Sent from my SM-G892U using Tapatalk

 

[Steve O]

They don’t guess where to put their $25,000 clients. They fly all over that area constantly. Most outfitters will rotate thru their massive areas in the Yukon and NWT and that will take many years. They are very familiar with their ground and animals but it is still a hunt. A difficult hunt to take a mature ram even in the best areas.

 

[Dexter Grayson]

They don’t guess where to put their $25,000 clients. They fly all over that area constantly. Most outfitters will rotate thru their massive areas in the Yukon and NWT and that will take many years. They are very familiar with their ground and animals but it is still a hunt. A difficult hunt to take a mature ram even in the best areas.

This ^^^^.

Also remember that Jay and Arctic red are outfitters. And they are salesman, hunting an area that hasn't been hunted in 13 years sounds a lot cooler than hunting a valley that was hammered last year.

 

[robie]

They don’t guess where to put their $25,000 clients. They fly all over that area constantly. Most outfitters will rotate thru their massive areas in the Yukon and NWT and that will take many years. They are very familiar with their ground and animals but it is still a hunt. A difficult hunt to take a mature ram even in the best areas.

OK So they fly the area in July and start receiving clients in August. I'm sure its next to impossible to judge age of an animal from the air but I would think they would look for an area that has more than 2 groups from the air? Or what all are they looking for when they fly an area?

I really am just trying to understand the process from guys that have done the research and put the time in.

 

[robie]

This ^^^^.

Also remember that Jay and Arctic red are outfitters. And they are salesman, hunting an area that hasn't been hunted in 13 years sounds a lot cooler than hunting a valley that was hammered last year.

It does sound cool but I still don't think Jay would be ok with throwing away $25K on a cool hiking trip. It sounded like the only thing he was disappointed in was the number of sheep he saw. Of course he never said he was upset about anything but that is me making assumptions based on what he said.

 

[Steve O]

They take clients in July and they are flying constantly before and during the season. There is a constant flow of hunters coming in from. Norman Wells or Whitehorse and guides and clients being brought into and around in the field.

Jay Scott is not a struggling young guide. He’s a very successful multiple business owner. He obviously is very comfortable with his HUNT and the experience was worth the money to him. I’m sure he will be back to get that last 1% of the hunt that comes with killing the ram.

I felt a TON of pressure on my first sheep hunt in the Yukon. After that I did a Bighorn hunt in Colorado on my own with a recurve. No ram but the best month of my life. My wife and you kids spent the month in a cabin we rented and exploring all over Colorado while I was up in the mountains. My next Bighorn hunt will be a guided affair in Wyoming; I imagine I will feel a bit more pressure even though everything after that Fannin ram is gravy.

 

[OFFHNTN]

I was just looking at the ARRO 2017 Hunt Report Newsletter I have. I counted 34 sheep taken last year. Their hunting area is 10,000 square miles. I am guessing and hoping there are plenty more shooter sheep in their hunting area.
Maybe Jay and Tavis worked out a deal for Jay to be a guinea pig and explore that new area that hadn't been hunted in 13 years. Totally guessing here.

 

[robie]

They take clients in July and they are flying constantly before and during the season. There is a constant flow of hunters coming in from. Norman Wells or Whitehorse and guides and clients being brought into and around in the field.

Jay Scott is not a struggling young guide. He’s a very successful multiple business owner. He obviously is very comfortable with his HUNT and the experience was worth the money to him. I’m sure he will be back to get that last 1% of the hunt that comes with killing the ram.

I felt a TON of pressure on my first sheep hunt in the Yukon. After that I did a Bighorn hunt in Colorado on my own with a recurve. No ram but the best month of my life. My wife and you kids spent the month in a cabin we rented and exploring all over Colorado while I was up in the mountains. My next Bighorn hunt will be a guided affair in Wyoming; I imagine I will feel a bit more pressure even though everything after that Fannin ram is gravy.

Steve, Jay stated multiple times that he loved his trip and was very happy with Tavis's operation. Not sure what his success in business has to do with it but I'm sure he wouldn't have booked the hunt if he couldn't afford it. He's spending $40k+ on sheep this year and has stated several times he doesn't have to kill on either and will still be happy.

I'm just seeking clarity on how the operations work. When you went on your Yukon hunt how many groups of sheep did you see? Did you see several in the 8 to 9 year old range? Did they tell you what they saw in the area you were dropped when they scouted it? I want to understand as much as I can about how everything works before I book something.

 

[robie]

I was just looking at the ARRO 2017 Hunt Report Newsletter I have. I counted 34 sheep taken last year. Their hunting area is 10,000 square miles. I am guessing and hoping there are plenty more shooter sheep in their hunting area.
Maybe Jay and Tavis worked out a deal for Jay to be a guinea pig and explore that new area that hadn't been hunted in 13 years. Totally guessing here.

From everything I've heard it sound like ARRO has one of their best seasons ever in 2017 and that they passed on several smaller 10yo and saw several 9yo rams. Jay did an interview with Ben Stourac talking about the quality they passed on last year.

In my mind I'm great with a solid 10 year old and you were in areas that has several of them last year. Will they still be there this year? Or do they travel to far of a distance to be in the same area as last year.

But maybe Jay said I want an adventure take me some where new, I really have no clue how this works. Or it could be that at the end of the season Jay is the only hunter in camp that doesn't get a sheep. Does the ARRO 2017 report say 34 killed out of how many total hunters? Or more specifically how many rifle hunters vs rifle kills.

 

[orionthehunter1]

I highly doubt Jay paid full price or even paid at all. Same with Hairston. Arctic Red is a solid outfit, but there are others out there just as good if not better.

 

[wapitibob]

He has 2 Sheep hunts this year and may go every year. I don't think money is a factor.

The group after him saw a bunch of Rams from what I remember him saying, 16-19 I think. He talks at length about the hunt in the Chris Roe Elk podcast.

 

[OFFHNTN]

From everything I've heard it sound like ARRO has one of their best seasons ever in 2017 and that they passed on several smaller 10yo and saw several 9yo rams. Jay did an interview with Ben Stourac talking about the quality they passed on last year.

In my mind I'm great with a solid 10 year old and you were in areas that has several of them last year. Will they still be there this year? Or do they travel to far of a distance to be in the same area as last year.

But maybe Jay said I want an adventure take me some where new, I really have no clue how this works. Or it could be that at the end of the season Jay is the only hunter in camp that doesn't get a sheep. Does the ARRO 2017 report say 34 killed out of how many total hunters? Or more specifically how many rifle hunters vs rifle kills.

No, it does not say anything about either.

 

[TheTone]

What is Arctic Red's relationship with SFW? I've heard numerous times that SFW is the actual business owner. If that's the case it's enough to make me uncomfortable.