vog2hunt
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
- Messages
- 69
Let's see what has been taken off the mountains thus far this year. Not only to Dall but sheep in general.
Here is my 2019 Alaska dall harvest (Rifle specs Ruger M77 25-06. Winchester brass, 49.7 gr 4350, 115 gr nosler partition):
Day 1: Aug 8th
we flew in to the mountains from Tok AK. Hiked a few miles up the base of the mountains to get the legs back working and not hike hard as to not spook any sheep. Saw 2 young rams up high, a few bears and a couple caribou, cool settings to say the least.
Day 2: Aug 9th,
same as day 1, hiked to base camp another 3 miles and set up under what we planned to be the spotting place for opening morning game planning. Saw the same two rams with a glimpse of a third that had some potential and had a nice rest with some mountain house meals
Day 3: Aug 10th,
i was excited to say the least and the day started out before 5 am. climbed to the top of the mountain with lite packs (left camp set). We crested and moved slowly to the glassing point where we spotted two rams we have not seen yet. Long story short, we sat over them for the better part of a full day trying to figure out if one was legal (one side broomed but cannot tell if the other is broomed or just not full curl). While sitting there waiting them out to feed in the evening, we were joined by 5 rock ptarmigan. It was cool having them walk around us and staying just out of reach to touch but seeing them interact and feed was enough to pass time.
We ended up taking a risk and dropping down on the two in an attempt to close into range (sub-400 yards) and make a better judgement on if he was legal. In moving we had a wolverine come skirting by around 200 yards away. Seeing one of these is rare, let alone watching it for the better part of a mile flipping over rocks larger than its body size and the claws on these things is impressive...more than pictures can show. Back to the rams, we dropped into 350 yards and had a good look in which we decided to pass. However, in waiting to see if other rams were around, the wind shifted and that was the days end watching those two rams drop off the mountain and cross over the next range in the short 40 minutes, knowing that was going to take us the better part of 2 days...these animals are impressive.
Day 4: Aug 11th,
Not giving up on the mountain range we were on, we hiked lite again and walked down the range low and climbed up a rock slide that, to say the least, looked more friendly than the others...still not friendly
. We peaked out and unfortunately did not turn up any more rams, knowing we were going to have to jump this range and head to the far range where the rams the day before headed to.
We hiked the ridge above camp and dropped down around lunch, packed up camp and made the long sigh knowing what was ahead. Climbed the top, just to lose all the elevation back down to the lake below on the other side. We made about half the climb on the opposite ridge until we lost water, knowing it was smarter to stay at water for the night than go further. We luckily had a view and some game to watch for the evening just out of camp:
Day 5: Aug 12,
Getting up I peaked outside the tent up the ridge, hoping a ram may have some reason dropped to our side...but was not that lucky. The guide peeked out of his tent but looked down the ridge and saw what we were not hoping for, a sow and cub grizzly heading our way.
They had not winded us, seen us or gave a care but were 100 yards and closing fast, meaning we needed to make ourselves known without posing a threat. I loaded my rifle and he had a 44, climbed out behind the tent and figured we would yell first once they hit the creek only 70 yards away and hope for the best. To my nervous relief, the wind looped down that draw and without hesitation, she winded us and the cub was luckily behind her. The sow got her cub and they headed down the ridge. No issue performing my morning ritual this morning.
We packed up camp and hit the rock slide chute. Now i don't mind heights, nor climbing steep inclines...but ridge running with a cliff on each side can get to me...and that is what was needed to peak out on this ridge. Thankfully my trekking poles were stable and i was able to put blinders on to get through this part of the hike...that will be a feat in my memory itself. This paid off though as we looked over the edge to 5 bedded rams. Some had potential but the wind was wrong so we dropped off the opposite side and waited for the wind to change. This took the better part of the day so many naps were taken.
We finally had an opening around 6 pm. We peaked over the edge to our surprise the rams had fed into the bowl closer and were only 244 yards away...bingo. The guide sets up and calls the first ram. I get set up and right when i was getting settled on the bang switch, the rams clump up, not giving me a clear shot. This would be no rush, however its like the rams made a decision that it was time to move so they all took off walking (in a clump, not separate) right under us. This became and issue as i was never presented a shot and they disappeared under us at less than 150 yards. Thinking quickly we thought the ridge cliffed out, so we ran up to what we hoped was the edge to make a quick free handed shot at or under 100 yards. We were unfortunately presented with a gradual slope that only presented 5 sets of eyes looking at us at 40 yards...not good. They busted and we sat down, i kept ranging and adding drop to my scope waiting for them to stop. 300, 400, 500, 550...never stopped and over the edge they drop...more hiking, more abuse, talk about a low point in the hunt as the guide and i look at each other in disbelief. We knew we needed to get moving and grab our packs to go see which ridge they were heading up to know where our hike would continue tomorrow.
We headed across the bowl they were just in and the guide cut left, to see the whole mountain range they could have headed up. When we got to the edge, we peaked over...to our surprise, there was a single sheep feeding in the bottom. Evidently the rams that spooked headed down a drainage that this ram couple not see. This was the longest few seconds for the guide to grab the spotter and see if this could actually be the luckiest event of the century...and it was a legal ram...and a good one.
Not wanting to risk another delay, i grabbed the range finder and rifle. Hit the cliff edge and ranged, 366. Then the ram turned and started angling up our way...come on closer, no obstacles in sight. He hit 325 and turned up the mountain, not wanting to risk him jumping in a drainage, i put 300 on the dial and lead windage for a walking pace. Squeezed one off and in the time it took for me to settle on him again he was upside down in the rocks. UNBELIEVABLE...did that just happen...
This was followed with one of the most hustled hikes off a ridge i have ever done...the guide was impressed. Pictures, high fives, sighs of relief, you name it. We gutted and let sit over night covered to process in the morning.
Day 6: Aug 13th,
Did not sleep much since we had a wind storm come in late and most of the night was spent keeping the tent up right. But we had a sheep down and some cutlery work ahead of us.
We packed all the meat up, in packs and I had the glory of lifting all 112 lbs of a pack up for the hike out
The best way back to the strip was unfortunately off the steep side of the ridge...we looked for almost an hour trying to find the best way down...finally looking at each other and saying, lets do it. That was one sketchy decent as the rocks i would kick out under me would cause rocks above me to slip as well...but obviously i am here to write so it went well. We hiked another mile and called it for the night at the end of a lake to have plenty of water, a "bath" and plenty of wood for a fire, which cooked up some loin that tasted much better than any dehydrated meal and we figured the more we ate, the less we carried so we ate well.
Day 7: Aug 14th,
We planned on making the hike out a 2 day trip to cover the last 9 miles. When we looked at the forecast, we realized that it may mean we were going to be stuck for another possible 3 days after that...so the decision was made to cut bait and bust it to get to the strip in a day. What a hike that was.
Moose trials may be my new favorite thing since sliced bread...we hacked 3 miles through the brush and took a lot of energy out of us. We finally hit a trail that went right down the valley we needed...finally cresting over and seeing the strip...miles away but still had visual.
We finally made the trip at 8 pm, cussing and blistered. Thanks to Alaskan day light at this time, we were welcomed by the sight of a super cub in the distance. Making our way out and looking in the distance at a place that is going to stick in my mind forever. One hell of a hunt
Here is my 2019 Alaska dall harvest (Rifle specs Ruger M77 25-06. Winchester brass, 49.7 gr 4350, 115 gr nosler partition):
Day 1: Aug 8th
we flew in to the mountains from Tok AK. Hiked a few miles up the base of the mountains to get the legs back working and not hike hard as to not spook any sheep. Saw 2 young rams up high, a few bears and a couple caribou, cool settings to say the least.
Day 2: Aug 9th,
same as day 1, hiked to base camp another 3 miles and set up under what we planned to be the spotting place for opening morning game planning. Saw the same two rams with a glimpse of a third that had some potential and had a nice rest with some mountain house meals
Day 3: Aug 10th,
i was excited to say the least and the day started out before 5 am. climbed to the top of the mountain with lite packs (left camp set). We crested and moved slowly to the glassing point where we spotted two rams we have not seen yet. Long story short, we sat over them for the better part of a full day trying to figure out if one was legal (one side broomed but cannot tell if the other is broomed or just not full curl). While sitting there waiting them out to feed in the evening, we were joined by 5 rock ptarmigan. It was cool having them walk around us and staying just out of reach to touch but seeing them interact and feed was enough to pass time.
We ended up taking a risk and dropping down on the two in an attempt to close into range (sub-400 yards) and make a better judgement on if he was legal. In moving we had a wolverine come skirting by around 200 yards away. Seeing one of these is rare, let alone watching it for the better part of a mile flipping over rocks larger than its body size and the claws on these things is impressive...more than pictures can show. Back to the rams, we dropped into 350 yards and had a good look in which we decided to pass. However, in waiting to see if other rams were around, the wind shifted and that was the days end watching those two rams drop off the mountain and cross over the next range in the short 40 minutes, knowing that was going to take us the better part of 2 days...these animals are impressive.
Day 4: Aug 11th,
Not giving up on the mountain range we were on, we hiked lite again and walked down the range low and climbed up a rock slide that, to say the least, looked more friendly than the others...still not friendly
. We peaked out and unfortunately did not turn up any more rams, knowing we were going to have to jump this range and head to the far range where the rams the day before headed to.We hiked the ridge above camp and dropped down around lunch, packed up camp and made the long sigh knowing what was ahead. Climbed the top, just to lose all the elevation back down to the lake below on the other side. We made about half the climb on the opposite ridge until we lost water, knowing it was smarter to stay at water for the night than go further. We luckily had a view and some game to watch for the evening just out of camp:
Day 5: Aug 12,
Getting up I peaked outside the tent up the ridge, hoping a ram may have some reason dropped to our side...but was not that lucky. The guide peeked out of his tent but looked down the ridge and saw what we were not hoping for, a sow and cub grizzly heading our way.
They had not winded us, seen us or gave a care but were 100 yards and closing fast, meaning we needed to make ourselves known without posing a threat. I loaded my rifle and he had a 44, climbed out behind the tent and figured we would yell first once they hit the creek only 70 yards away and hope for the best. To my nervous relief, the wind looped down that draw and without hesitation, she winded us and the cub was luckily behind her. The sow got her cub and they headed down the ridge. No issue performing my morning ritual this morning.
We packed up camp and hit the rock slide chute. Now i don't mind heights, nor climbing steep inclines...but ridge running with a cliff on each side can get to me...and that is what was needed to peak out on this ridge. Thankfully my trekking poles were stable and i was able to put blinders on to get through this part of the hike...that will be a feat in my memory itself. This paid off though as we looked over the edge to 5 bedded rams. Some had potential but the wind was wrong so we dropped off the opposite side and waited for the wind to change. This took the better part of the day so many naps were taken.
We finally had an opening around 6 pm. We peaked over the edge to our surprise the rams had fed into the bowl closer and were only 244 yards away...bingo. The guide sets up and calls the first ram. I get set up and right when i was getting settled on the bang switch, the rams clump up, not giving me a clear shot. This would be no rush, however its like the rams made a decision that it was time to move so they all took off walking (in a clump, not separate) right under us. This became and issue as i was never presented a shot and they disappeared under us at less than 150 yards. Thinking quickly we thought the ridge cliffed out, so we ran up to what we hoped was the edge to make a quick free handed shot at or under 100 yards. We were unfortunately presented with a gradual slope that only presented 5 sets of eyes looking at us at 40 yards...not good. They busted and we sat down, i kept ranging and adding drop to my scope waiting for them to stop. 300, 400, 500, 550...never stopped and over the edge they drop
...more hiking, more abuse, talk about a low point in the hunt as the guide and i look at each other in disbelief. We knew we needed to get moving and grab our packs to go see which ridge they were heading up to know where our hike would continue tomorrow.We headed across the bowl they were just in and the guide cut left, to see the whole mountain range they could have headed up. When we got to the edge, we peaked over...to our surprise, there was a single sheep feeding in the bottom. Evidently the rams that spooked headed down a drainage that this ram couple not see. This was the longest few seconds for the guide to grab the spotter and see if this could actually be the luckiest event of the century...and it was a legal ram...and a good one.
Not wanting to risk another delay, i grabbed the range finder and rifle. Hit the cliff edge and ranged, 366. Then the ram turned and started angling up our way...come on closer, no obstacles in sight. He hit 325 and turned up the mountain, not wanting to risk him jumping in a drainage, i put 300 on the dial and lead windage for a walking pace. Squeezed one off and in the time it took for me to settle on him again he was upside down in the rocks. UNBELIEVABLE...did that just happen...
This was followed with one of the most hustled hikes off a ridge i have ever done...the guide was impressed. Pictures, high fives, sighs of relief, you name it. We gutted and let sit over night covered to process in the morning.
Day 6: Aug 13th,
Did not sleep much since we had a wind storm come in late and most of the night was spent keeping the tent up right. But we had a sheep down and some cutlery work ahead of us.
We packed all the meat up, in packs and I had the glory of lifting all 112 lbs of a pack up for the hike out
The best way back to the strip was unfortunately off the steep side of the ridge...we looked for almost an hour trying to find the best way down...finally looking at each other and saying, lets do it. That was one sketchy decent as the rocks i would kick out under me would cause rocks above me to slip as well...but obviously i am here to write so it went well. We hiked another mile and called it for the night at the end of a lake to have plenty of water, a "bath" and plenty of wood for a fire, which cooked up some loin that tasted much better than any dehydrated meal and we figured the more we ate, the less we carried so we ate well.
Day 7: Aug 14th,
We planned on making the hike out a 2 day trip to cover the last 9 miles. When we looked at the forecast, we realized that it may mean we were going to be stuck for another possible 3 days after that...so the decision was made to cut bait and bust it to get to the strip in a day. What a hike that was.
Moose trials may be my new favorite thing since sliced bread...we hacked 3 miles through the brush and took a lot of energy out of us. We finally hit a trail that went right down the valley we needed...finally cresting over and seeing the strip...miles away but still had visual.
We finally made the trip at 8 pm, cussing and blistered. Thanks to Alaskan day light at this time, we were welcomed by the sight of a super cub in the distance. Making our way out and looking in the distance at a place that is going to stick in my mind forever. One hell of a hunt
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