Arctic Red River Feedback Wanted

[mtbraun]

Looking at a 15 day Dall/Caribou hunt with Tavis. I'm looking for the most difficult physical hunt I can find, and this appears to fit the bill. Had a great chat with Tavis. He answered all my questions, but I'd like to hear from those who have hunted with them. No hearsay wanted, actual experiences. Thank you.

 

[Blockcaver]

I bowhunted caribou with ARRO in ‘18 and ‘21 and saw some Dall sheep too (moose, grizzlies and wolves as well). Great outfit that hunts some of the wildest country in North America.

Where I caribou hunted at ARRO wasn’t as steep as where I sheep hunted with Canol in ‘17, but the NWT outfitting territories are huge and ARRO has sheep spots that are rough as heck too.

 

[Homer]

I’ve never hunted the NWT but from what I have heard the terrain in Alaska is generally a bit more challenging. With the rough terrain and sheep populations at an all time time low Alaska is probably the better option for the most physically demanding sheep hunt if that’s what you are looking for.

 

[blacksnake0]

I hunted ARRO in 2018 and dream about going back almost daily. If you are looking for a physical hunt you found it. Nothing but great things to say about Tavis and his crew. Happy to visit about my hunt if you want to DM and chat sometime.

 

[HornPorn]

.. I'm looking for the most difficult physical hunt I can find....

That would be walk in, solo, sheep hunt. If you are not a AK, BC, or AB resident, not an option for you. You could tell Tavis you want to hike from base camp, instead of getting a ride.

When I was coming back through Edmonton from my dall hunt I met several people who hunted with ARRO. Nothing but great things to say. I was going to go w ARRO, but the dates he had open for that year weren't inline with when I wanted to go. All the outfits in the NWT are top shelf. Not so with the Yukon, BC, AB, and certainly not so with Alaska.

 

[adventure907]

Looking at a 15 day Dall/Caribou hunt with Tavis. I'm looking for the most difficult physical hunt I can find, and this appears to fit the bill. Had a great chat with Tavis. He answered all my questions, but I'd like to hear from those who have hunted with them. No hearsay wanted, actual experiences. Thank you.

"I'm looking for the most difficult physical hunt I can find"

Now thats my kind of hunter! Good luck in your search, there are certainly sheep guides out there willing to walk your boots off.

 

[Kotaman]

This one fits the bill. Great outfit. Great guys…

 

[Timjohnson11]

Tavis is 'old school' which you either appreciate or you don't. I respect him for that and after alot of research, I ultimately booked with Tavis for a 2021 10 day back-pack dall sheep hunt. I knew what I was getting into in regard to Tavis' approach. I knew he didn't scout ahead of time, I knew he didn't use helicopters, I knew success rates could be modestly lower than some of his neighboring concessions. That said, I knew it would be the ulimate adventure experience and I wanted that element of the hunt. I ultimately flew out of that hunt without ever having seen a ram over 8 years old and it wasn't for weather or lack of effort. My guide and I hunted harder than I could have imagined and if you are truly looking for the most physical, difficult hunt (as you mentioned above) then Artic Red should definetly be your choice amongst the NWT concessions. I'm an active Ironman participant and had just competed in a full length event 3 weeks before my hunt. We hiked between 7 to 14 miles all 10 days I was there.

While the harvest should never make the hunt, it'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little bit hard back at the hotel in Norman Wells after the hunt when the 10 other hunters from Gana River and Canol all had 9+ year old rams. Their hunts weren't canned by anymeans but it felt from our conversations that there was plenty of scouting and relocating involved. The vibe I got was that their hunts were easier. Other hunters at Artic Red that same week killed great rams however as well.

Artic Red has some excellent guides and implements a classical, almost old fashioned, approach. It's not for everyone and if you want an easier hunt, perhaps look elsewhere. That said, it's magical in it's own right if you're up for it. I'll never have a Dalls Sheep of my own given i'm school teacher and that hunt was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for me finanacially speaking. However, I cherish my time there and I'm not sure I would change things if I could. I may have answered differently had you asked me when I was sitting in Norman Well's fondling all the other hunters' dalls however

I don't feel like Tavis would disagree with my thoughts here either. He is honest about his approach and says more or less the same thing as I do here in his film with Yeti on YouTube, Arctic Red.

 

[MattB]

ARRO is a good outfit. I've hunted next door with Gana River a couple of times and I learned that one potential downside of ARRO is their lodge is harder to get to in the event of bad flying weather. Last time I was up there we were able to get out to Gana (hairy flight) where the ARRO hunters lost a day to weather.

 

[schmalzy]

Tavis is 'old school' which you either appreciate or you don't. I respect him for that and after alot of research, I ultimately booked with Tavis for a 2021 10 day back-pack dall sheep hunt. I knew what I was getting into in regard to Tavis' approach. I knew he didn't scout ahead of time, I knew he didn't use helicopters, I knew success rates could be modestly lower than some of his neighboring concessions. That said, I knew it would be the ulimate adventure experience and I wanted that element of the hunt. I ultimately flew out of that hunt without ever having seen a ram over 8 years old and it wasn't for weather or lack of effort. My guide and I hunted harder than I could have imagined and if you are truly looking for the most physical, difficult hunt (as you mentioned above) then Artic Red should definetly be your choice amongst the NWT concessions. I'm an active Ironman participant and had just competed in a full length event 3 weeks before my hunt. We hiked between 7 to 14 miles all 10 days I was there.

While the harvest should never make the hunt, it'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little bit hard back at the hotel in Norman Wells after the hunt when the 10 other hunters from Gana River and Canol all had 9+ year old rams. Their hunts weren't canned by anymeans but it felt from our conversations that there was plenty of scouting and relocating involved. The vibe I got was that their hunts were easier. Other hunters at Artic Red that same week killed great rams however as well.

Artic Red has some excellent guides and implements a classical, almost old fashioned, approach. It's not for everyone and if you want an easier hunt, perhaps look elsewhere. That said, it's magical in it's own right if you're up for it. I'll never have a Dalls Sheep of my own given i'm school teacher and that hunt was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for me finanacially speaking. However, I cherish my time there and I'm not sure I would change things if I could. I may have answered differently had you asked me when I was sitting in Norman Well's fondling all the other hunters' dalls however

I don't feel like Tavis would disagree with my thoughts here either. He is honest about his approach and says more or less the same thing as I do here in his film with Yeti on YouTube, Arctic Red.

Powerful and well written post. Thank you for sharing it.


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