Wrangell Outfitters

[Nick Muche]

Some people live under a rock... They like to blame everyone else.

 

[Mojave]

Wildlife is a finite resource. The state tries to balance the outfitting industry, subsistence, and non-subsistence hunters.

The monopoly the outfitters and subsistence hunters have had since statehood needs to be bumped. But how long will it take?

The more resident hunters that push into prime areas the better for everyone, this will eventually result in some kind of tag allocation instead of what is currently going on.

Was hoping to move back in 2021, but I don't think it will happen.

Good luck to anyone hunting Alaska in 2021.

 

[275Ranger]

I am planning a sheep hunt with Will Koehler from Wrangell Outfitters in 2022.
Just looking to see if anyone else has hunted with him. Seems like a great outfit and a good guy. Let me know.

Hey Iceman,
I am going on a moose/sheep combo hunt with Will and the boys in a week and a half. I can let you know how it goes.
So far he’s been very accommodating and organized. You can tell he strives to give his clients the true Alaska experience on their hunts.

 

[Iceman82]

Hey Iceman,
I am going on a moose/sheep combo hunt with Will and the boys in a week and a half. I can let you know how it goes.
So far he’s been very accommodating and organized. You can tell he strives to give his clients the true Alaska experience on their hunts.

Yes, please let me know how it was. He seems like a very good person and I'm exited to meet him. Send pictures.

 

[wildwilderness]

Uggg, sorry about that as I thought they were located north of the border. Good luck.

North of what border? For Alaska/Canada it’s an East-West thing! So you thought they were East of the border? (And we see most Canadians as southerners to boot )

 

[adamkolesar]

Yes, please let me know how it was. He seems like a very good person and I'm exited to meet him. Send pictures.

Add me to the list! I'm booked with Will for '23 opener. I was very impressed with his knowledge and more importantly his connection to his corner of the Wrangells. It is a bit surreal to book something like this two years out. Good luck 275ranger.

 

[MallardSX2]

Am I the only person who thinks paying $20,000+ for any form of hunt for anything is pretty freaking ridiculous?

I see people all the time mentioning costs of upwards and above $20,000. I love to hunt as much as any of you, I promise, but thats just ridiculous to pay that much to hunt an animal. I know "we all have our priorities" and "we only live once" but that just seems crazy to me to spend that kind of money to hunt 1 animal.

You guys paying these rates must really want a sheep bad.

 

[adamkolesar]

Am I the only person who thinks paying $20,000+ for any form of hunt for anything is pretty freaking ridiculous?

I see people all the time mentioning costs of upwards and above $20,000. I love to hunt as much as any of you, I promise, but thats just ridiculous to pay that much to hunt an animal. I know "we all have our priorities" and "we only live once" but that just seems crazy to me to spend that kind of money to hunt 1 animal.

You guys paying these rates must really want a sheep bad.

Certainly a valid point, but that's what the market is demanding these days with costs continuing to climb every year. I can't see a "correction" coming anytime soon. I'm confident that years from now we may look back at the bygone days of being able to hunt OTC sheep period. This debate has sparked many a thread on many forums; especially the draw game vs. buying a hunt. As many before me have opined, it's all about personal priorities in allocating one's hard earned cash. I'll happily forgo the newest, latest gadget to set aside the funds including travel to hunt less costly species for the next couple of years.
Will and his operation offer an experience beyond the kill that many other outfitters don't. The relative "value" of pursuing sheep is necessarily subjective. Hopefully we all have the resources and opportunity to follow a pursuit that most rational people would consider crazy.

 

[VernAK]

Certainly a valid point, but that's what the market is demanding these days with costs continuing to climb every year. I can't see a "correction" coming anytime soon. I'm confident that years from now we may look back at the bygone days of being able to hunt OTC sheep period. This debate has sparked many a thread on many forums; especially the draw game vs. buying a hunt. As many before me have opined, it's all about personal priorities in allocating one's hard earned cash. I'll happily forgo the newest, latest gadget to set aside the funds including travel to hunt less costly species for the next couple of years.
Will and his operation offer an experience beyond the kill that many other outfitters don't. The relative "value" of pursuing sheep is necessarily subjective. Hopefully we all have the resources and opportunity to follow a pursuit that most rational people would consider crazy.

From what I'm seeing and hearing, I think you've done well to book your dall sheep hunt at today's prices. There's something wrong in the sheep population and it's not just the hunting pressure. Even though some sub-legal rams are taken. I don't think hunters are killing ewes and they also seem to be on the decline.

 

[Alaskan89]

From what I'm seeing and hearing, I think you've done well to book your dall sheep hunt at today's prices. There's something wrong in the sheep population and it's not just the hunting pressure. Even though some sub-legal rams are taken. I don't think hunters are killing ewes and they also seem to be on the decline.

The last couple of winters have been pretty severe here in Alaska as you well know, i've heard stories of hunters finding dead rams while out hunting. I know of one hunter that found the skull and horns of a 40"er somewhere in unit 13 that was a winter kill, not sure if it was killed in an avalanche or predators though.

 

[wind gypsy]

Am I the only person who thinks paying $20,000+ for any form of hunt for anything is pretty freaking ridiculous?

I see people all the time mentioning costs of upwards and above $20,000. I love to hunt as much as any of you, I promise, but thats just ridiculous to pay that much to hunt an animal. I know "we all have our priorities" and "we only live once" but that just seems crazy to me to spend that kind of money to hunt 1 animal.

You guys paying these rates must really want a sheep bad.

Depends on the person. I can save $20k in less than a decade by choosing to drive a modest pickup over keeping myself in a new better optioned model. I thought it was ludicrous too but so was Crypto value growth in 2017 .

Things were quite a bit cheaper when I booked in '17 for a '19 sheep hunt but with guide fee, travel, tip, taxidermy, etc I was solidly into the mid $20s. I can't say definitively it was worth it but i damn sure don't regret it. If I had more time i'd prefer to spend that same $ over 3 different hunts. For a lot of people time is a bigger constraint than $.

 

[275Ranger]

Yes, please let me know how it was. He seems like a very good person and I'm exited to meet him. Send pictures.

It was an amazing experience and a great hunt! Started out a little slow, but I killed a really cool bull on day 3 and an awesome ram on the final day in the snow.
There were sheep everywhere but it was tough finding a legal ram. The next couple years should be great sheep hunting with the number of very close to legal rams we saw!
Get in shape (if you’re not already) and ride horses if you can.
Let me know if you have any other questions. If not, pray for a mild winter and have a blast on your hunt!

 

[Iceman82]

You had an incredible hunt, congratulations.
Thank you for responding back to me. I have been reading a lot about low numbers of legal rams in all of Alaska. I hope there's still a few left for next year.

 

[Live or die tryin]

It was an amazing experience and a great hunt! Started out a little slow, but I killed a really cool bull on day 3 and an awesome ram on the final day in the snow.
There were sheep everywhere but it was tough finding a legal ram. The next couple years should be great sheep hunting with the number of very close to legal rams we saw!
Get in shape (if you’re not already) and ride horses if you can.
Let me know if you have any other questions. If not, pray for a mild winter and have a blast on your hunt!

Add me to the list! I'm booked with Will for '23 opener. I was very impressed with his knowledge and more importantly his connection to his corner of the Wrangells. It is a bit surreal to book something like this two years out. Good luck 275ranger

You had an incredible hunt, congratulations.
Thank you for responding back to me. I have been reading a lot about low numbers of legal rams in all of Alaska. I hope there's still a few left for next year.

Wow, I must agree! Looks like 275ranger had a great trip. I am booked with Will for a combo in 2024. I truly don’t have to make a harvest for a successful trip. Spent two months on my back and two months using a walker spring of this year due to a broken back. Changed my perspective on life. Making rehab progress now. If I make it to the top they may have to drag me off