Caribou Gear

Youngest Sheep Grand Slam

Most are missing the point:

“Taking a trip for six months, you get in the rhythm of it. It feels like you can go on forever doing that. Climbing Everest is the ultimate and the opposite of that. Because you get these high-powered plastic surgeons and CEOs, and you know, they pay $80,000 and have Sherpas put the ladders in place and 8,000 feet of fixed ropes and you get to the camp and you don’t even have to lay out your sleeping bag. It’s already laid out with a chocolate mint on the top. The whole purpose of planning something like Everest is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain and if you compromise the process, you’re an asshole when you start out and you’re an asshole when you get back.” – 180° South Yvon Chouinard
 
3855WIN said:
I gladly did the knife work on the deer my son killed when he was young. Guess what? He now does much of the knife work for me. These girls put in a lot of work on their trips. Give them a pat on the back.
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A lot of other people put in nearly all the work.

Hiking to a rifle set up for you to kill a ram, well, that really isn't my bag. And age and means of the "hunter" makes no difference to me.

Just going to have to agree to disagree on what's most important about hunting. The killing isn't all its cracked up to be.
 
mulecreek said:
Is that what she did?
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Sure sounds like it and almost a given...not sure about the chocolate mint on the pillow.

I have hunted with enough 10 year old's to know that they can and can't do.

Oh, and for the record, I know what goes on with guided sheep hunts in AK, MT, WY etc. to say I'm disappointed in the process of regarding the "how" 90% of the rams are killed, would be an understatement. That includes my own AK ram.

Here's the deal, Buzz at 25 years old killing a ram that a guide found for me, where essentially all I did was show up with a rifle, at the time seemed like some sort of accomplishment. I packed as much gear as my guide. I caped my own ram. I packed half the meat and the guide packed half. I hauled half of everything to the airstrip. Was a fun time no doubt, glad I did it. But it was a 3-4 day deal. The me of today feels like I short cut the process, I robbed myself of the time I should have spent learning about the country, the sheep, and myself long before I pulled a trigger.

That's a way different deal than my desert hunt, where I spent 17 days solo, set up my own camp, found my own rams, discovered things for myself. I stalked my ram to 80 yards, made one shot with a rifle my dad won in a raffle for $20.

Same with my Rocky hunt in Wyoming, 26 days crawling around the North Fork of the Shoshone, many of those days solo and killing a ram with a mile and half stalk ending in a 100 yard shot with only a couple days left in the season. I didn't feel I short cut a thing and I learned a lot. It was time to kill a ram when I finally pulled the trigger.

What was described in the OL article seemed artificial, lacked the spirit of what I value in hunting, and the process was short cut big-time.

I know the difference, been there, done that...and like I said, why lots of sheep hunting and stories like this leave me feeling uneasy. Feeling uneasy for all kinds of reasons, and that's as far as I'll go.
 
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BuzzH said:
Sure sounds like it...not sure about the chocolate mint on the pillow.
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We can speculate all day about the amount of effort this young lady put in to any one of these 4 hunts. We can also pontificate about our opinions on what the correct level of assistance is on a sheep hunt. The fact that I had a guide on my Dall hunt doesn't make that hunt any less special for me. Maybe for others it would. To each their own.

When I took my sons on their first hunts at age 12, I did 100% of the rifle prep for them. They did the site in work with me instructing. I choose all the gear they would be using. I picked the unit. I drove them there. I picked the hunting spot. I coerced them into which bucks to stalk. I helped them get the rifle setup for a shot. I told them when they were clear to shoot. I showed them how to field dress and they assisted. They shared in the pack out duties. I paid for every cent of those hunts. I suspect not much about the effort my sons put in was too awful different from the effort this girl put into her hunts. Only difference is my sons hunts were for antelope, MD, whiteys and elk rather than sheep. Is rarity and price the difference maker? Probably is to a large degree. I wonder if a ditch digger from West Virginia that dreams some day of going elk hunting in Wyoming thinks I'm screwing up my kids by helping them the way I do.

Did I do it wrong? Are me and my sons missing the point of this whole hunting thing? I don't know. I do know we sure seem to have a hell of a good time doing it.
 
noharleyyet said:
I've an acquaintance that matriculated a high paying profession and married up well...he trains year round and spends what the going rate is to sheep hunt...but toots nary a horn.
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Same. We have a partner that started his business from the ground up and has amassed a fortune. Travels all over the world(in his plane) hunting and fishing with friends and family. He is the most generous person I have met. Loves sharing experiences with folks that wouldn’t normally get to do those trips themselves. He wasn’t one of those people born on third base yet they tell everyone they hit a triple.
 
mulecreek said:
We can speculate all day about the amount of effort this young lady put in to any one of these 4 hunts. We can also pontificate about our opinions on what the correct level of assistance is on a sheep hunt. The fact that I had a guide on my Dall hunt doesn't make that hunt any less special for me. Maybe for others it would. To each their own.

When I took my sons on their first hunts at age 12, I did 100% of the rifle prep for them. They did the site in work with me instructing. I choose all the gear they would be using. I picked the unit. I drove them there. I picked the hunting spot. I coerced them into which bucks to stalk. I helped them get the rifle setup for a shot. I told them when they were clear to shoot. I showed them how to field dress and they assisted. They shared in the pack out duties. I paid for every cent of those hunts. I suspect not much about the effort my sons put in was too awful different from the effort this girl put into her hunts. Only difference is my sons hunts were for antelope, MD, whiteys and elk rather than sheep. Is rarity and price the difference maker? Probably is to a large degree. I wonder if a ditch digger from West Virginia that dreams some day of going elk hunting in Wyoming thinks I'm screwing up my kids by helping them the way I do.

Did I do it wrong? Are me and my sons missing the point of this whole hunting thing? I don't know. I do know we sure seem to have a hell of a good time doing it.
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The ditch digger had to cancel those hunting plans to pay for his kids braces and wisdom teeth removal...
 
appaloosa said:
Was she the youngest person to ever visit a zoo, and did you have to write a story in Outdoor Life to justify it?
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One of the elephants threw a mixture of mud and crap and hit my buddy upside the head and shoulder so it would be a pretty good story.


Overall I’m indifferent to the story though I do see valid points being made from both sides. I’ve been poor my whole life and have gotten over the fact that wealthy people can afford to do things I can’t.
I do see the argument of the “easy button” mode but I also think most of us have either had the easy button pushed for us or our kids at some point in life.

I want my daughter to understand the value of hard work, determination and setting her own goals…….but if I had the money we’d be having some fun and easy trips mixed in with the fun and hard trips.
 
mulecreek said:
We can speculate all day about the amount of effort this young lady put in to any one of these 4 hunts. We can also pontificate about our opinions on what the correct level of assistance is on a sheep hunt. The fact that I had a guide on my Dall hunt doesn't make that hunt any less special for me. Maybe for others it would. To each their own.

When I took my sons on their first hunts at age 12, I did 100% of the rifle prep for them. They did the site in work with me instructing. I choose all the gear they would be using. I picked the unit. I drove them there. I picked the hunting spot. I coerced them into which bucks to stalk. I helped them get the rifle setup for a shot. I told them when they were clear to shoot. I showed them how to field dress and they assisted. They shared in the pack out duties. I paid for every cent of those hunts. I suspect not much about the effort my sons put in was too awful different from the effort this girl put into her hunts. Only difference is my sons hunts were for antelope, MD, whiteys and elk rather than sheep. Is rarity and price the difference maker? Probably is to a large degree. I wonder if a ditch digger from West Virginia that dreams some day of going elk hunting in Wyoming thinks I'm screwing up my kids by helping them the way I do.

Did I do it wrong? Are me and my sons missing the point of this whole hunting thing? I don't know. I do know we sure seem to have a hell of a good time doing it.
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You did nothing wrong.

Like I said, the means and age of the hunter is irrelevant to me. Its the how that matters.
 
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NEWHunter said:
Are my turkey hunts just a poor man’s version of this guy’s sheep hunts, maybe and maybe not.
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They are if you are living at rock bottom and can't even afford food. You can get a butterball in the local grocery store for less than what that turkey tag alone costed.
 
@mulecreek has certainly made some very valid points that has me backed off my original stance. I still don't like it being in OL, or the article itself, but I guess I have less issue with the overall trip than I did. But I stand by that none of it was about the young lady and everything about her Dad/family. Also, that if I was wealthy I may do something similar but at an older age. No way a 10/11 yr old can appreciate the accomplishment, or the "entire experience" as buzz puts it. Hell, I couldn't've at 30.
 
What if the article was about Joe Schmidty from Colby, North Dakota who barely can support his wife and kid on his construction laborer salary who by stroke of luck with a single $10 ticket won the grand adventure to spend 30 days in the fall doing 4 sheep hunts. He had the option and decided that it would best if his daughter got the opportunity instead and she is only 10 years old. Joe talks with his wife and decides to take all his savings, along with a month off from work, so he can pay for the non-hunter fee with the outfits and go along.

Part of the lottery involves having the hunter get and use a bunch of sponsored gear and a photographer comes along. The sheep foundation as well as OL want to run an article about the hunt.

I'm guessing the article would turn about pretty close to the same type of writing from this author.

Different feelings for anyone?
 
seeth07 said:
What if the article was about Joe Schmidty from Colby, North Dakota who barely can support his wife and kid on his construction laborer salary who by stroke of luck with a single $10 ticket won the grand adventure to spend 30 days in the fall doing 4 sheep hunts. He had the option and decided that it would best if his daughter got the opportunity instead and she is only 10 years old. Joe talks with his wife and decides to take all his savings, along with a month off from work, so he can pay for the non-hunter fee with the outfits and go along.

Part of the lottery involves having the hunter get and use a bunch of sponsored gear and a photographer comes along. The sheep foundation as well as OL want to run an article about the hunt.

I'm guessing the article would turn about pretty close to the same type of writing from this author.

Different feelings for anyone?
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Joe would likely get a tax bill that he couldn't afford. And of course he'd have to give the 'how' crowd verifiable method of take bona fides.
 
If I was Uber wealthy I would do the same chit I do now. Doing crap the easy way isn’t gratifying for me. People should teach their kids that.

I may go to my grave without hunting sheep but only because I can’t draw the tag. I won’t pay to hunt. Only thing I would do different if I was wealthy is I would buy the checkerboard private in the crazies and donate it to the forest service. Someone needs to right that wrong. But I ain’t buying a sheep tag for myself or my kids. Those lil crappers can get a job and buy their own tags if they want to.
 
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