Elkmasterwyo
WKR
On 8/6 my brother in law and I boarded a plane for anchorage for what would be a first sheep hunt for both of us! We arrived in anchorage around 1pm, and were met by our outfitter and another hunter that would be hunting with the same outfitter. From there we ran over to cabelas, to buy sheep tags, man were we all excited! After that we got to our hotels to go through gear and that's when I opened my gun case in total horror! The airlines had broke my rifle!
Back to the airport we went, the folks at Alaska airlines were very good to me and agreed to have my rifle sent back to Cooper to be repaired. The only option I had at this point was to borrow a rifle from the outfitter, he hooked me up with a very nice custom lightweight rem700 in 6.5 creedmore topped with a leupy scope!
8/7
We got loaded up and headed out of anchorage for our hunt, we picked up another guide along the way in Palmer. Then stopped once to check zero's on rifles. We got to the trailhead early afternoon and loaded our packs with everything we would need for the duration of the hunt and hit the trail. A few miles later we were faced with the decision to press on, or to camp at the only flat spot close by. Being later in the afternoon and the fact it'd started to rain, we decided to stay put for the night and made camp.
8/8
We woke up to cold windy conditions. Loaded camp and headed up the hill, we got on top in the fog and it was actually SNOWING! We continued on and dropped off of the other side , as we were working our way through the basin the fog lifted long enough for someone to spot 5 sheep. We drug out spotting scopes and a quick peek determined one might be legal, but then the fog rolled in and those sheep were never to be seen again! That evening my brother in law(Kade) and his guide split off from us and traveled up the valley a couple miles and made camp.
8/9
We got up in hopes of finding the rams from the day before to no avail, so we loaded camp and headed a few miles down the valley. We ended up spotting 6 rams that day, 3 bannana horns and 3 that were a few miles away and unable to determine size.
8/10
Opening day! We loaded camp and headed straight up hill, we hiked quite a bit and ended up seeing a bunch of rams, only one being close to legal, but not quite. Also I learned flat camping spots can be tough to come by in sheep country!
8/11
We loaded camp and traveled up the ridge a bit farther, spotted a nice ram but we couldn't quite make him full curl and could only count 7 rings! We made camp in a nice saddle.
8/12
Once again we loaded camp and pressed on, we eventually ended up dropping to the valley floor so we could look over some country we couldn't see from above, saw mostly small rams that day.
8/13
We left camp and decided to hunt the opposite side of the valley, the weather was good long enough for us to make it to the top of the ridge and then it hit, we grabbed our rain gear and set down to wait it out, after a couple hours it was apparent we were not going to win, so we bailed off the ridge to camp. A nice bull moose was waiting for us at camp! We got in our sleeping bags to warm up & dry out a little, then loaded up and headed down the valley to a different camping location.
8/14
We no sooner got camp on our backs and someone spotted two rams in the cliffs above camp, the spotter revealed a couple 7/8 curl rams, so on our way we went, ending up back on the ridge, just a few miles down it this time. We had a smaller ram on one side of the ridge that evening, as my guide was making camp I walked over to see if he'd picked up a buddy. He hadn't and I headed back to camp, to learn there were 10 rams on the opposite side of the ridge, none legal! That night on my delorme I learned that kade had got his ram!
8/15
We woke up to foul weather, layed around the tent a while before cabin fever set in and we decided to take a hike in the fog. We returned to the tent a couple hours later to sunshine! It was a good opportunity to lay out wet sleeping bags and clothes to dry in the sunshine and wind! Our first day without a single sheep sighting.
8/16
Today we tried to turn up a ram by glassing the country near camp. More sub-legal rams, so we decided to move on. We dropped off of the ridge and back up the valley, turned up a few more sub-legal rams and even a single mountain goat!
8/17
We loaded camp and made the decision to head for new country, we spotted 2 small rams right off, then the rain moved in and we were in foul weather the rest of the day, halfway to our camping spot we drug out the tipi and brewed a cup of coffee.
8/18
Finally we woke up to good weather! This would be the last hunting day and the plan was to hunt our way back to where we had split with kade 10 days earlier. We broke for lunch mid day and spotted a ewe above us, then a 7/8 curl ram also above us. We loaded up and started covering country again. A while later, chris(guide) hit the brakes and had seen a sheep. I looked through the bino's and could instantly see horn, he was 850 yds, but looked better than anything we'd seen. Chris put the spotter on him and said what the hell he's missing a horn, and he couldn't make him full curl. But we decided this would absolutely be our last chance and I'd be more than happy with a one horn ram on the last day, so we decided to stalk the 800 vertical feet to get close enough to count rings. We closed the gap and were about 200 yes when we peeked over the rise to find him still in his bed. Chris put the spotter on him and a few seconds later turned and gave me a thumbs up!
Man was I excited now! From where we were my bullet wouldn't clear a rock pile between me and the ram, so I had to crawl forward 20 yds to get into a better shooting position. When I got into position my heart was beating so fast I had to take a second to compose myself. Once I got it together, I ranged him at 181yds, held the 200yd hash just a little low on him and let er fly! WHACK, the sound alone told me it was solid, and he went down, only to kick himself off the 10 foot ledge he was on, then proceed to tumble 2/3 the way down the mountain! We finally made our way to him, I couldn't believe it! Not only was his horn gone but the whole core had been sheared off flush with the skull and he was missing his eye on that side! We took pictures, caped, and cleaned him then headed for a camping spot.
8/19
With miles ahead of us still, we for one last time loaded camp and headed out. There was one knife ridge we were nervous about navigating with loaded packs, so we decided to take a lower route. 13hrs later after finding out what alders are all about, we were at the truck and I had my ram!
Trip of a lifetime doesn't even begin to describe this hunt! We were rained or snowed on every single day! Or total log was 65 miles and 29,900 vertical feet. The Alaska g&f deemed him full curl(i swore he was just short) and 10 1/2yrs old. Alaska is beyond amazing to me, the weather, scenery and wildlife hold me in awe! I'm beyond blessed to have a wife to take care of things and who understands why I need to do what i do!
Back to the airport we went, the folks at Alaska airlines were very good to me and agreed to have my rifle sent back to Cooper to be repaired. The only option I had at this point was to borrow a rifle from the outfitter, he hooked me up with a very nice custom lightweight rem700 in 6.5 creedmore topped with a leupy scope!
8/7
We got loaded up and headed out of anchorage for our hunt, we picked up another guide along the way in Palmer. Then stopped once to check zero's on rifles. We got to the trailhead early afternoon and loaded our packs with everything we would need for the duration of the hunt and hit the trail. A few miles later we were faced with the decision to press on, or to camp at the only flat spot close by. Being later in the afternoon and the fact it'd started to rain, we decided to stay put for the night and made camp.
8/8
We woke up to cold windy conditions. Loaded camp and headed up the hill, we got on top in the fog and it was actually SNOWING! We continued on and dropped off of the other side , as we were working our way through the basin the fog lifted long enough for someone to spot 5 sheep. We drug out spotting scopes and a quick peek determined one might be legal, but then the fog rolled in and those sheep were never to be seen again! That evening my brother in law(Kade) and his guide split off from us and traveled up the valley a couple miles and made camp.
8/9
We got up in hopes of finding the rams from the day before to no avail, so we loaded camp and headed a few miles down the valley. We ended up spotting 6 rams that day, 3 bannana horns and 3 that were a few miles away and unable to determine size.
8/10
Opening day! We loaded camp and headed straight up hill, we hiked quite a bit and ended up seeing a bunch of rams, only one being close to legal, but not quite. Also I learned flat camping spots can be tough to come by in sheep country!
8/11
We loaded camp and traveled up the ridge a bit farther, spotted a nice ram but we couldn't quite make him full curl and could only count 7 rings! We made camp in a nice saddle.
8/12
Once again we loaded camp and pressed on, we eventually ended up dropping to the valley floor so we could look over some country we couldn't see from above, saw mostly small rams that day.
8/13
We left camp and decided to hunt the opposite side of the valley, the weather was good long enough for us to make it to the top of the ridge and then it hit, we grabbed our rain gear and set down to wait it out, after a couple hours it was apparent we were not going to win, so we bailed off the ridge to camp. A nice bull moose was waiting for us at camp! We got in our sleeping bags to warm up & dry out a little, then loaded up and headed down the valley to a different camping location.
8/14
We no sooner got camp on our backs and someone spotted two rams in the cliffs above camp, the spotter revealed a couple 7/8 curl rams, so on our way we went, ending up back on the ridge, just a few miles down it this time. We had a smaller ram on one side of the ridge that evening, as my guide was making camp I walked over to see if he'd picked up a buddy. He hadn't and I headed back to camp, to learn there were 10 rams on the opposite side of the ridge, none legal! That night on my delorme I learned that kade had got his ram!
8/15
We woke up to foul weather, layed around the tent a while before cabin fever set in and we decided to take a hike in the fog. We returned to the tent a couple hours later to sunshine! It was a good opportunity to lay out wet sleeping bags and clothes to dry in the sunshine and wind! Our first day without a single sheep sighting.
8/16
Today we tried to turn up a ram by glassing the country near camp. More sub-legal rams, so we decided to move on. We dropped off of the ridge and back up the valley, turned up a few more sub-legal rams and even a single mountain goat!
8/17
We loaded camp and made the decision to head for new country, we spotted 2 small rams right off, then the rain moved in and we were in foul weather the rest of the day, halfway to our camping spot we drug out the tipi and brewed a cup of coffee.
8/18
Finally we woke up to good weather! This would be the last hunting day and the plan was to hunt our way back to where we had split with kade 10 days earlier. We broke for lunch mid day and spotted a ewe above us, then a 7/8 curl ram also above us. We loaded up and started covering country again. A while later, chris(guide) hit the brakes and had seen a sheep. I looked through the bino's and could instantly see horn, he was 850 yds, but looked better than anything we'd seen. Chris put the spotter on him and said what the hell he's missing a horn, and he couldn't make him full curl. But we decided this would absolutely be our last chance and I'd be more than happy with a one horn ram on the last day, so we decided to stalk the 800 vertical feet to get close enough to count rings. We closed the gap and were about 200 yes when we peeked over the rise to find him still in his bed. Chris put the spotter on him and a few seconds later turned and gave me a thumbs up!
Man was I excited now! From where we were my bullet wouldn't clear a rock pile between me and the ram, so I had to crawl forward 20 yds to get into a better shooting position. When I got into position my heart was beating so fast I had to take a second to compose myself. Once I got it together, I ranged him at 181yds, held the 200yd hash just a little low on him and let er fly! WHACK, the sound alone told me it was solid, and he went down, only to kick himself off the 10 foot ledge he was on, then proceed to tumble 2/3 the way down the mountain! We finally made our way to him, I couldn't believe it! Not only was his horn gone but the whole core had been sheared off flush with the skull and he was missing his eye on that side! We took pictures, caped, and cleaned him then headed for a camping spot.8/19
With miles ahead of us still, we for one last time loaded camp and headed out. There was one knife ridge we were nervous about navigating with loaded packs, so we decided to take a lower route. 13hrs later after finding out what alders are all about, we were at the truck and I had my ram!
Trip of a lifetime doesn't even begin to describe this hunt! We were rained or snowed on every single day! Or total log was 65 miles and 29,900 vertical feet. The Alaska g&f deemed him full curl(i swore he was just short) and 10 1/2yrs old. Alaska is beyond amazing to me, the weather, scenery and wildlife hold me in awe! I'm beyond blessed to have a wife to take care of things and who understands why I need to do what i do!
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