noharleyyet
Well-known member
...lighting a cigarette...and I don't smoke.
Good money shot Oak.
Good money shot Oak.
Dall Sheep Hunt
- Thread starter Oak
- Start date
shoots-straight
Well-known member
Oak, Posters are showing pics of 400 + bulls from Mossback's site. Your sheep's worth a thousand of those farmed elk combined. Congrates on a hard earned trophy indeed.
Hntnhrd
Member
WOW!!!! no other way to describe it.
thanks for taking us all along.
thanks for taking us all along.
DRAFTSTUD
Well-known member
As the credits roll...........Oak, I am sorry that story ended. The effort required to score on your ram is beyond most of us, I know by me. But, I can say I am proud of the effort and success you found on this trip, Do You believe it was side-stepping on the Mountain that caused you Knee pain? John
Bwana
Well-known member
Excellent story, awesome pictures, and a great ram!
What an adventure and thanks for sharing with us.
What an adventure and thanks for sharing with us.
MNHunter
Well-known member
Congrats Oak on a fine advventure, trophy and story!
MarvB
Well-known member
WoW! That's all I can really say, nothing else does that story or effort justice.
Great ram Oak and truely an adventure of a lifetime plus the decision you made on that first ram after so much effort speaks volumes about the kind of guy and hunter you are...kudos man!
Great ram Oak and truely an adventure of a lifetime plus the decision you made on that first ram after so much effort speaks volumes about the kind of guy and hunter you are...kudos man!
Bambistew
Well-known member
Great story, and congrats on the sheep.
I'm guessing you won't soon forget this trip.
I'm guessing you won't soon forget this trip.
The Hedgehog
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2000
- Messages
- 11,616
Awesome! I hope I can have an adventure like that someday! Congrats on a very nice ram! Thanks for the details.
BigHornRam
Well-known member
Awesome hunt Terry, Awesome!
AkBearHunter
Member
Those first couple of pics look very familiar, was this basically an old raod that you started your hike, the first 12 miles? I've seen those hills before and usually always see goats there at the bridge. Anyways, thats great story and a fantastic ending to a great hunt, congrats Oak!
Been so busy I had to read this over the last two days. First and foremost...huge congrats! What a heavy old bugger he is. Love the bridged nose too.
Thanks for mentioning the fireweed...funny it never even crossed my mind in that valley, because I don't recall seeing any, but I guess it had to be...
Just curious if you guys used the Tyvek suits at all?
The big ram is a dandy. You needed him to get away. You don't know it yet, but that ram will wake you in the middle of the night...he'll keep you up for hours and constantly haunt you. You'll want to go back...I hope you do.
Okay, two more questions. How much weight did you lose? And, are you having the ram mounted in Alaska and shipped or in the L48?
Thanks for posting this up. Really enjoyed reading of your success.
Thanks for mentioning the fireweed...funny it never even crossed my mind in that valley, because I don't recall seeing any, but I guess it had to be...
Just curious if you guys used the Tyvek suits at all?
The big ram is a dandy. You needed him to get away. You don't know it yet, but that ram will wake you in the middle of the night...he'll keep you up for hours and constantly haunt you. You'll want to go back...I hope you do.
Okay, two more questions. How much weight did you lose? And, are you having the ram mounted in Alaska and shipped or in the L48?
Thanks for posting this up. Really enjoyed reading of your success.
Awesome trip Terry. I was finally able to sit down and enjoy the adventure. With your storytelling and pics, I feel like I was almost there.
How is the knee? I have a problem with one of mine as well sometimes. Luckily it is not persistant.
I have some of the same questions as Ovis, what kind of mount and how much more weight did you lose?
Also, how did your gear do? Any good or bad on your appareal?
How is the knee? I have a problem with one of mine as well sometimes. Luckily it is not persistant.
I have some of the same questions as Ovis, what kind of mount and how much more weight did you lose?
Also, how did your gear do? Any good or bad on your appareal?
Thanks for all the congrats. I don't deserve any kind of award for passing the first ram...I think anybody thinking sensibly would have made the same choice.
Pickle, glad you finally joined. Let's hear a hunting story from you!
Draftstud, I don't know what I did to the knee. I hadn't done much sidehilling that day, but had come straight down a steep, 2000' hill and had bushwhacked a mile through thick stuff between two trails. Who knows...
AKBearHunter, It was definately a trail where we started, not an old road. We were pretty close to you, though.
Ovis, we didn't use Tyvek. I only lost about 6 pounds during the hunt. We ate pretty well. That outfit is old school, and we carried heavier food than I would have if I had been packing the food. That being said, I never felt hungry and usually had plenty of energy. I'm getting the ram mounted down here.
Thanks again everybody...
Pickle, glad you finally joined. Let's hear a hunting story from you!
Draftstud, I don't know what I did to the knee. I hadn't done much sidehilling that day, but had come straight down a steep, 2000' hill and had bushwhacked a mile through thick stuff between two trails. Who knows...
AKBearHunter, It was definately a trail where we started, not an old road. We were pretty close to you, though.
Ovis, we didn't use Tyvek. I only lost about 6 pounds during the hunt. We ate pretty well. That outfit is old school, and we carried heavier food than I would have if I had been packing the food. That being said, I never felt hungry and usually had plenty of energy. I'm getting the ram mounted down here.
Thanks again everybody...
Steiny
Well-known member
Great story, and great ram.
Thanks for sharing, and congratulations!
Thanks for sharing, and congratulations!
mtmiller, I think I'm going to have a floor pedestal done, but haven't decided for sure. Doug, my hunting partner and guide, is also a taxidermist. He'll be doing the work.
As far as gear and apparel goes, I don't have many complaints. My boots were a new pair of Lowa Sheephunters, worn with over-the-calf Fox River X-static liner socks and SmartWool medium weight hunting socks. This combination equaled zero blisters and comfortable feet for the two weeks. I do wonder if anybody really makes a waterproof leather boot though? The Lowa's have a Gortex liner, and I used a Gortex-approved boot grease on my boots (Obenauf's LP) when the boots were new a month before the hunt, as well as prior to leaving. As always, after a long day in the rain I had wet feet.
My rain gear was Marmot Precip, top and bottom. After a long day of hiking in the rain....wet. I believe that there is no way to stay dry in AK when hiking in the rain, though. Doug had Gortex rain gear and Hank had a PVC-type rain gear (like Helly Hansen Impertech). We were all wet after a full day in the rain. I did tear a hole in the pants on a rock the day we were packing out my ram. I also stuck the end of my walking stick through one leg accidently while hiking one day (how, I don't know). Duct tape was good to have.
I took just one pair of pants, Cabelas Microtex, which performed perfectly. I wore Patagonia Capeline 2 for my top layer almost exclusively. This very lightweight layer was usually perfect when hiking, but I am a hot hiker. If you get cold easily you might want to go to the 3. I also had a pair of the bottoms for cold days and in the sleeping bag. I had a Microtex shirt and a Polartec fleece jacket with Windstopper which I used for layering when stopping to glass, etc. These three layers, along with the rain gear, was all I needed during the hunt.
As I said before, the Wiggys waders left something to be desired. However, in Wiggys' defense, the river crossing was probably more than they were made for. We did use them to cross smaller, 10-15' wide streams and they worked well for that.
I took a Komperdell C2 carbon walking stick that weighed about 8oz. It was invaluable. I would suggest greatly that if you've never used a walking stick while backpacking to give it a try. Last year on Kodiak was the first time I used one, and I wouldn't go without one again. It was especially helpful during stream/river crossings.
My sleeping bag was a North Face Tundra, which is synthetic and rated to -20F and weighs 4 pounds. This was a bit of overkill, but I unzipped when it was warm and enjoyed the bag on the nights it snowed or I had to climb in wet. A zero degree bag would probably be perfect.
As far as gear and apparel goes, I don't have many complaints. My boots were a new pair of Lowa Sheephunters, worn with over-the-calf Fox River X-static liner socks and SmartWool medium weight hunting socks. This combination equaled zero blisters and comfortable feet for the two weeks. I do wonder if anybody really makes a waterproof leather boot though? The Lowa's have a Gortex liner, and I used a Gortex-approved boot grease on my boots (Obenauf's LP) when the boots were new a month before the hunt, as well as prior to leaving. As always, after a long day in the rain I had wet feet.
My rain gear was Marmot Precip, top and bottom. After a long day of hiking in the rain....wet. I believe that there is no way to stay dry in AK when hiking in the rain, though. Doug had Gortex rain gear and Hank had a PVC-type rain gear (like Helly Hansen Impertech). We were all wet after a full day in the rain. I did tear a hole in the pants on a rock the day we were packing out my ram. I also stuck the end of my walking stick through one leg accidently while hiking one day (how, I don't know). Duct tape was good to have.
I took just one pair of pants, Cabelas Microtex, which performed perfectly. I wore Patagonia Capeline 2 for my top layer almost exclusively. This very lightweight layer was usually perfect when hiking, but I am a hot hiker. If you get cold easily you might want to go to the 3. I also had a pair of the bottoms for cold days and in the sleeping bag. I had a Microtex shirt and a Polartec fleece jacket with Windstopper which I used for layering when stopping to glass, etc. These three layers, along with the rain gear, was all I needed during the hunt.
As I said before, the Wiggys waders left something to be desired. However, in Wiggys' defense, the river crossing was probably more than they were made for. We did use them to cross smaller, 10-15' wide streams and they worked well for that.
I took a Komperdell C2 carbon walking stick that weighed about 8oz. It was invaluable. I would suggest greatly that if you've never used a walking stick while backpacking to give it a try. Last year on Kodiak was the first time I used one, and I wouldn't go without one again. It was especially helpful during stream/river crossings.
My sleeping bag was a North Face Tundra, which is synthetic and rated to -20F and weighs 4 pounds. This was a bit of overkill, but I unzipped when it was warm and enjoyed the bag on the nights it snowed or I had to climb in wet. A zero degree bag would probably be perfect.
One other thing I forgot to mention that was invaluable to making this hunt a success: my very loving and understanding wife. She was fully supportive of me all year while I planned this trip, and never said a bad word when I had to buy "just one more thing" about 10 different times. Would you believe that, when I got out of the hills with my ram, the outfitter said that my wife had called him about 2 days after I left and set it up for me to go on a mountain goat hunt if my sheep hunt ended early!? Can't beat that....
Would you believe that, when I got out of the hills with my ram, the outfitter said that my wife had called him about 2 days after I left and set it up for me to go on a mountain goat hunt if my sheep hunt ended early!? Can't beat that....
