Unit 13 Hunts

[ebhunter96]

Can anyone give any experience on hunting Dall in 13 a-e units In Alaska?

Also, anyone ever hunted with or heard of Hurtle Creek Outfitters? Looking for any background info.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I walked into 13A last year when I only had a few days to hunt, Saw lots of sheep but nothing mature, lots of moose up there all over the place. I ended up hiking an entire day back, camping out then another day further back looking in drainages, again lots of sheep but nothing I felt like I could shoot. If I was going to go there again, Id take a 4 wheeler back and skip the approach then hike from there.

 

[badgerboy14]

GMU 13 is almost 200 miles wide and the sheep opportunity and populations within each subunit can be drastically different from one another in my opinion.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

GMU 13 is almost 200 miles wide and the sheep opportunity and populations within each subunit can be drastically different from one another in my opinion.

Absolutely.

 

[Clarktar]

I took a picture of some sheep in 13. I'll try to post them tomorrow!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[SLDMTN]

PM Sent

 

[Clarktar]

I will admit, they were smaller then I thought they would be. First time I have seen Dall Sheep on the hoof in person!!

 

[Bambistew]

Here's my take on it, and I'm sure some may disagree...

• 13A has the most sheep and the most sheep hunters. Access from highway or ATV.
• 13B has very few sheep. Hasn't been a ram killed in it in the last 4-5 years.
• 13C also has very few accessible sheep (big chunks of private), and what few pockets there are see a fair amount of pressure for the population.
• 13D is draw with exception of the Tonsina, which has quite low success rates due to terrain and generally low sheep numbers throughout, 5-6 rams are killed a year.
• 13E has the second highest number of sheep, and hunting is done more so in the south end, not a ton of pressure compared to 13A because access is more difficult

You can google sheep management plans for alaska and read for hours... I'm not sure when they will update the reports, I suspect they will start this coming year. The data is 5 years out of date in most of them now. Hard to say though, with budget cuts the last few years. Surveys have been pretty meager from what I understand.

 

[ebhunter96]

Thanks guys ..wonderful information. Keep it coming. Starting to do some heavy research to put together a good hunt.

 

[JColony]

Thank for sharing!!!!! Not gonna lie, I was looking for the same info but was afraid to ask, LOL!! Nice to see the community here is willing to help! I would just have one additional question...

When doing your e-scouting, what do you look for?? Both the Chugach and Talkeetna's are pretty good sized mountain ranges. I know nothing beats boot leather, but being new to this game, it'd be nice to know what I'm looking at. For instance, is there a certain elevation to stay above, or type of topography?

oh, and SLDMTN, that trigger kit from MCARBO for the Encore is legit!!!

 

[Wapiti1]

I hunted 13E in 2017. Saw 30+ rams and took a nine year old. Good hunt that year.

In 2020, the guide I hunted with saw 12 total sheep, not rams, just sheep and decided to cancel any sheep hunt that he could for the next couple of years. Winter was very hard on that area. His logic, which is why I hunt with him, is if he wouldn't hunt there himself, he isn't taking a client there. There are still some sheep, but it isn't the hunt it was. I was on the border of 13E this fall moose hunting and saw zero sheep in places that I should have seen a few ewes and lambs.

If it were my money, I'd look at areas with better numbers for the next few years. It will come back, but I don't think it is what it was right now.

Jeremy