8 weeks til Arctic Red Dall hunt

[HorseCreek]

8 weeks til Arctic Red Dall hunt!
This is my first sheep hunt. It's been a few years in the making. Booked, then postponed, now its getting real.
Anyway, any advice or knowledge you might have from a similar hunt would be appreciated.


Traditional >>>------->

 

[littlebighorn]

HorseCreek, you are in for an amazing adventure!
My son and I hunted with ARRO in 2010. We both took great old rams, and book caribou. It was the time of our lives, but it was PHYSICAL!
If you have the will, up the workouts like crazy. Put 60lbs on your back (like you will carry every day) and hike as much as you can. Most of their hunts, you are dropped in a drainage and you hunt it out. It's mountain hunting at it's finest, and man that place is special!
If you have trekking poles take them. If not borrow mine and learn to use them! (JK, I need mine)
I could go on and on.
PM me if you have any questions. I know another guy headed up about the same time.
Enjoy. You will love it.

 

[jims]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-30-18 AT 08:08AM (MST)[p]I'd recommend getting in the best shape of your life. Trekking poles mentioned above are super important. I would also recommend good medium weight hiker boots that are built for covering lots of country with decent padding and support on super steep, rocky slopes. I top that off with great insoles and socks with padding on the soles. Your feet will likely take a pounding! Layer clothes that are relatively light weight. A Kuiu or Sitka raingear are essential. Make certain your rain jacket has pitzips. I would recommend using a scale to weigh all your clothes and equipment to figure out where you can cut weight. A high quality backpack (Kifaru or Stone Glacier) capable of 100+ lb loads is also essential. Even though your guide will likely have optics I would recommend the best binos and spotting scope you can afford. You can likely locate rams your guide may miss...plus its a lot of fun watching wildlife. It would be exciting bringing your own waterproof camera and camcorder to record your trip of a lifetime. Your outfitter ought to have a gear and clothes list that is familiar with the conditions and country where you'll be hunting. You might do searches on this and other websites for gear and strategies for sheep hunting...Rokslide is another great website for this. Dall sheep are the most exciting critters I have ever hunted! I'm excited for you!

 

[cbeard]

Prepare, yes.
Use proper gear, yes.

But at some point just before the hunt switch your mind over from all the focus on preparation and simply slow down to enjoy the journey.

I have been on 2 Yukon sheep hunts. The first one I was consumed with ?getting everything right?. Last August I was much more relaxed. It made the entire trip so much better.

Have a great hunt!

 

[PleaseDear]

Have fun, be safe and for sure Enjoy!!

Robb

 

[UINTBB]

Congrat's
I hunted with them a few years ago and you have received some great advice.
My thoughts are:
Get in shape and you may end up hiking in some tundra which is a little tricky with some blister potential.....Prepare.
Tape you gun muzzle, have something for reading or entertaining if you get stuck in your tent for a day or two.
We know to prepare physically, but prepare mentally as well as you may be hunting for days and getting tired without success.
Have fun and enjoy the moments, you will return from one the most physical hunts in the world.
Its a high success hunt with world class views.
Good for you.

 

[tailchasers]

Ounce for ounce Everclear will give you the most bang for your buck. That's about the best I can do for ya since I have not done anything close to what you have planned. Sounds like an awesome experience in the making. Don't forget to share some pics!!


"Courage is being scared to death but
saddling up anyway."

 

[mulecreek]

Others have already given solid advice except I would suggest Fireball over Everclear. Your guide will most likely thank you. My advice would be to enjoy the moment. You are going on a hunt that very few hunters get the chance to. That country is some of the most bas ass country around. Enjoy every second you are there. Enjoy the pain and the effort. That's what it is all about. If you wanted easy, you would have picked a Texas whitetail hunt from a box.

You are in for the time of your life. Cant wait to hear the story and see the pics. Hope you have a great hunt.

 

[HorseCreek]

Mulecreek, we'll have to share stories and a beer or two over a camp fire this September.
My hunt is a horseback hunt. I booked a few years ago and had to postpone due to effing my back up pretty bad. I'm hoping the horseback hunt will take some or most of the packing off my back. I've commited to only using my bow.
As for the enjoyment piece.....that's all I'm really going for. I've played that stress game before. It's a b!tch. I'm even prepared to come home without even nocking an arrow. Killing a ram will/would be awesome but it's just a bonus for me at this point in my life.
I'm in the best shape of my life at 38. I'm fortunate to be able to afford this hunt and I don't take that for granted. But it's also what's helping take the pressure off me to kill a ram at all costs.
My only stress at this point is how I'll take and pack all my camera gear for this trip. Ha!
Anyway, I'll have an adventure to share around mid September.....maybe a bit later. Depends on how soon i can absorb and reflect on the trip to put it into words and photos.
Cheers!

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[littlebighorn]

HorseCreek,
If you are going in on horseback you may be lucky enough to get Ben Stourac as your guide. He often does horse hunts and he seems to video most of them. If that's the case, maybe you can leave some of the camera gear in camp. Either way the ponies will help. No doubt you will still be climbing lots, especially where you are going just with a bow, but if you are in great shape, you've got that licked too.
You've probably looked at all the youtube stuff on their sheep hunts, but if not, checking out that will really fire you up. Tons of ARRO hunts online, especially from Ben. My son's hunt is online as well.
I am jealous man, even though I've been there. I would go back every year if I could afford it. What a place.
You have your head on straight with this one and we will look forward to your report.
Best of luck.

 

[mulecreek]

Bow only! I like it. I look forward to hearing about the adventure. BTW, went up on the mountain on Friday. It's going to be another great year.

 

[JayJohnson]

Ben is no longer doing the horseback hunts unfortunately. He opened his own concession in BC and no longer can provide the time commitment to ARRO required to run the pack string. That being said, he is still guiding backpack hunts the first couple weeks of the season from my understanding. He recently wrapped up a hunt with Casey Baugh, one of the big wigs from Vivint, who shoot a fantastic ram. You can check it out, along with many other ARRO rams on his instagram page. believe its @arcadiaoutfitters