Sheep hunting partner etiquette

[Silver]

Sheep hunting is like a team sport - individual stats (kill shots) are nice, but everyone is part of the bigger success at the end.

My partner has been on 6 hunts without a ram. I got my Dall last year. Easy decision on who shoots....

 

[Bruce Culberson]

I do the coin toss to start day 1, then switch every other day. The problem with who spots it can be when approaching a new basin you don't want to be racing/rushing to see in first.

 

[22lr]

Never step out of the truck/plane until you know who is shooting first. Trying to decide in the field is how you ruin friendships and ruin the trip of a lifetime. Doesnt matter what you decide, just layout guidelines that you both agree to and honor them. If in doubt, have a tie breaker established in the event one of you doesnt just give the shot to the other.

For me, I'm tagging along on my first trip so the first shot is to my buddy who is showing me the ropes. Ideally we double, but I'm basically just going on a 12 day backpacking trip with a gun and maybe I'll get a bear... lol. If we stumble into a second legal ram then game on!

 

[Nick Muche]

For me, I'm tagging along on my first trip so the first shot is to my buddy who is showing me the ropes. Ideally we double, but I'm basically just going on a 12 day backpacking trip with a gun and maybe I'll get a bear... lol. If we stumble into a second legal ram then game on!

Shooting a bear on a sheep hunt is a great way to end a sheep hunt.

 

[tam9492]

Sheep Hunting is about so much more than being the one that pulls the trigger. I suppose it's different if it's a once in a lifetime guided hunt. But for DIY partners it's different.

I've only been on 12 or 13 sheep hunts, packed and ate 10 rams I think, lowered the boom on 3 and polished off a wounded one. All the others I was next to my partner when he pulled the trigger. Don't let the kill shot be your driving force! If your obsessed with having to be the one that pulls the trigger then you've set yourself up for a let down if it doesn't happen.

If you have a partner that is obsessed with having to shoot HIS Ram rather than you guys teaming up and getting a ram then I say it's time to find a new partner.

Figure out who's first up to pull the trigger and go find a ram! Enjoy the hunt! That's what it's all about.

You've ONLY been on 12 or 13 sheep hunts? You poor soul....

 

[Stid2677]

Shooting a bear on a sheep hunt is a great way to end a sheep hunt.

I like how you think......

 

[Nick Muche]

I like how you think......

Obviously there are exceptions to the rule Steve... For instance, someone who hunts sheep every year and knows how to take care of an animal so that they can continue hunting vs someone who is going on their first/second sheep hunt and hiking in from the road or a long ways from the strip. Sure, you can shoot a bear on a sheep hunt, but then you have to deal with it for the remainder of the trip, plus pack it out and still find the desire to go kill some rams.

Nice bears!

 

[Stid2677]

Obviously there are exceptions to the rule Steve... For instance, someone who hunts sheep every year and knows how to take care of an animal so that they can continue hunting vs someone who is going on their first/second sheep hunt and hiking in from the road or a long ways from the strip. Sure, you can shoot a bear on a sheep hunt, but then you have to deal with it for the remainder of the trip, plus pack it out and still find the desire to go kill some rams.

Nice bears!

For sure,, we have passed on more than we have taken. Out of the 3 above, one was killed on the pack back to the plane, one forced the issue at the strip and the other was just too pretty for my Buddy to resist.

I have found for me,,, the best way not to get distracted on a sheep hunt, is to only bring a sheep tag. Seen too many talk themselves into killing something else. Plus flying bears out of sheep country when you already have a full load gets spendy.......

 

[Snyd]

You've ONLY been on 12 or 13 sheep hunts? You poor soul....

Ya, I got a late start in life sheep hunting. Many AK guys around here have way more than that.

A couple weeks ago I met a gal at the dentist, a dental hygenist here in Fairbanks probably in her 20's that's been hunting sheep since she was like 10 years old. Now her and her husband hunt sheep together. She's looking forward to sheep hunting this year since it's been a couple years for her. She had a baby! Many Alaskans here hunt sheep like folks in the lower 48 hunt deer. Lifelong starting as a kid.

I feel blessed and fortunate to have done what I've been able to do. I'll be 60 next month and sure hope I can keep going like that old guy Stid!

 

[Wapiti1]

Shooting a bear on a sheep hunt is a great way to end a sheep hunt.

Sage advice if you aren't prepared.

I schlepped my bear around the countryside for a couple of days before we found my ram. Mine was not a big grizzly, but still added 50lbs to my pack. The last pull after I shot my sheep was a big load for myself and my guide. Poor guy had to deal with me and carry dead animal parts.

We were heading toward a spot a cub could get into so we could fly in a pizza and fly out a bear. I shot the sheep mid way there. Without that plan it would have been 7 more days with the extra bear weight and that would not have been awesome.

Jeremy

 

[Alaskan808]

I would err on the side of caution when it comes to the coin toss. Me and my partner have that figured out months before the trip over a beer and maps of where we’re going. Say you guys run into a life time ram 46” ram it may or may not conjure some animosity, to eliminate that, the guy who got first crack last year gets second crack this year.

 

[Russp17]

Last time it was paper rock scissors... I won shot a ram... next time he gets first shot...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rclouse79]

I am assuming this question would apply to hunting partners in general. My friend and I that hunt black bear seem to loosely operate under the idea that the guy who punched his tag last defers to the other. I try to be flexible and remind myself that the relationship with my few good hunting partners is more valuable than punching a tag.
If I somehow ended up hunting with someone I didn’t really care for I would say who ever spots it gets dibs. It might also be complicated in the case of a hunt that was harder to draw. Good luck figuring it out.

 

[Alaskan808]

I am assuming this question would apply to hunting partners in general. My friend and I that hunt black bear seem to loosely operate under the idea that the guy who punched his tag last defers to the other. I try to be flexible and remind myself that the relationship with my few good hunting partners is more valuable than punching a tag.
If I somehow ended up hunting with someone I didn’t really care for I would say who ever spots it gets dibs. It might also be complicated in the case of a hunt that was harder to draw. Good luck figuring it out.

I agree, if your sheep hunting with someone you’ve probably known them for awhile and just love the adventure together shooting a ram is just a bonus. Figure it out I like that.

 

[CamoPirate]

If you hunt solo you always get first shot. On everything

 

[Alaskan808]

If you hunt solo you always get first shot. On everything

Yeah solo hunting is nice but I enjoy camaraderie as much as the adventure

 

[Indyal]

Coin toss and bring a 2 headed coin. ;^)

 

[Aubs8]

Never for sheep...however, my buddy and I have alternated morning and afternoons.