Sheep Dream

[COBrad]

Man, this sounds like your year. Best of luck.

 

[RH300UM]

9 days and counting down!!!!
Is this really going to happen??
I haven't allowed myself to get excited but it is creeping in

 

[RH300UM]

Well it is here!!! Tomorrow I fly to alaska. My bags are packed. Probably go through them again like I have 20 times already.
I am waiting for a package from Kuiu that is suppose to arrive tomorrow. Cutting it close but I hope it gets here as it is a bunch of dry bags for gear in my pack. I have a couple already and really like them.
The rifle is shooting great!! Thanks again Travis.
Rich, this 6.5ss is a very Impressive round. I hope I get to connect with a ram and see the terminal effects of the 140 VLD Berger.
I will be posting travel updates here as I have layovers and will be bored.
Stay tuned

 

[mattri]

Awesome! Can't wait- and good luck!

 

[RH300UM]

Well I made it through the security and I am at the gate waiting for the fist leg of my trip to be started.
I always disliked airports but they are necessary for some adventures to be lived.

 

[gillettehunter]

Good luck and please post some pics when you return. Bruce

 

[trueblue]

Good luck, buddy!
Post some pics

 

[RH300UM]

Well I landed in Fairbanks at 12:30 am. Got a room and slept 5 hours. I head over to the airport and catch a plane to Fort Yukon at 12:30 pm. Probably won't have cell service up there so I will update on my return to Fairbanks. Hopefully I will have pics of a ram!!!!

 

[RH300UM]

Well I got back home.
No ram.
My hunt went sideways and I am now dealing with the outfitter to see if things can be worked out

 

[gillettehunter]

That is tough. So can we ask, what happened? Bruce

 

[RH300UM]

I would like to give the outfitter a chance to answer back first before I divulge the info.
I think it is only fair.

 

[backyardsniper]

Man that's horrible. If things aren't taken care of properly thendefinitely let everybody else know so that the rest of us don't waste a bunch of money. However, if he does makr it right then let us know. Bad hunts can happen to any outfitter but whether they make it right or not is the question.

 

[RH300UM]

Well the outfitter will not return emails or contact attempts.
So I guess I have my answer.
I will fill the rest of you in on the less than expected experience I had.
Here goes.

Waiting to be flown in to the hunting area I was pulled aside by the outfitter. He began to tell his dilemma. One of his guides just had a. Nervous breakdown on the mountian. Most likely due to events that happened this summer. They are private issues so I won't be disrespectful and divulge them here. Needless to say this guide was expedited home.
Second guide had to be expedited home for family issues that needed immediate attention.
Now the outfitter has no guide for me.
He scrambles to make phone calls to a very limited few guides he trusts
Enter my guide.
Nice guy. Guided for 20 plus years. But had not guided sheep for the last 15 years.
He was not in sheep shape by any means. Also was rusty with his mountain skills.
He had never been in this area and was going off of a map the outfitter gave him.
He refused to hike to the tops of mountains and said the best strategy was to stay in the bottoms and glass to the tops. Problem with that is you miss a lot of terrain that could hold sheep.
In 10 days we only hiked 40miles. Should have been close to 80

Every other Hunter got their sheep except 2. One gave up 3 days in because of weather. One Hunter missed a ram 7 times.
All guides except mine said that you have to hunt from the top
Down for sheep.
So in a nutshell. I got a guide that was not in the shape required for sheep hunting. This fact alone, I feel, cut my chances for success.
So there it is.

 

[wyosteve]

Not that this would ease the 'pain ' very much, but imagine how you would feel if you had laid out around $20k for the hunt. That happened to a friend of mine on a Stone hunt years ago. Seems to me the outfitter should have offered to have you come back next year so you'd have a legitimate chance at a ram.