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Thread: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    It all started about 6 months ago, I had a crazy idea to go chase stone sheep with a bow again but my only problem was my lack of bow hunting buddies that can get the time off. Last year was the first trip where I carried a bow in sheep country but it was mainly to keep myself from shooting another one with a rifle. Most importantly though, it was my sheep hunting partner’s son that needed to get an opportunity at a ram so that is what Aaron and I did. Our efforts and tactics were geared towards a rifle hunt and not a bow hunt.

    With no options for a partner, I made the tough decision to plan the 11 night archery stone sheep hunt as a solo quest. I knew very well what this would mean, it would require a heavier pack in with the lack of shared gear, no ‘back-up’ if shit hits the fan and finally a lot of talking to myself. I love to hunt by myself but usually end up going on 2 maybe 3 day trips so this 11 night option was a little unfamiliar to me.

    My plan started out as it did for every other sheep hunt, I opened my computer and opened my spread sheet to go over my gear list. I usually make the changes right away after a trip so I have instant feedback and I don’t get bogged down with packing a bunch of ‘what-ifs’. Everything was in order and ready to get tossed in my pack.

    Next it was time to choose a location, well that was easy; Todagin Bow zone here I come!!!! I contacted a couple guys off this site with questions and ideas and I went over the maps and google earth. I didn’t spend too much time scouting as I had a pretty good idea that finding sheep in that country wouldn’t be too tough, finding a legal ram that makes a mistake would be the next to impossible challenge. Another concern of mine was going to be the crowd, I had read on this site that some years 20+ guys will be in for opening… I took that as an opportunity to hike farther!

    With my plans all coming together I talked the better half into helping me (more like doing it for me) dehydrate all my meals. With that task done, it was now just a waiting game until I could start my journey North.
    Last edited by Andrewh; 08-11-2018 at 03:56 PM.

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Lumby
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    212

    Re: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    Sweet! being it on

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    region 9
    Posts
    11,528

    Re: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    Wicked, can't wait for the rest.,..would be interesting to see your gear list as well....

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Nanaimo BC Canada
    Posts
    489

    Re: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    Looking forward to hearing how the hunt turned out!

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Posts
    272

    Re: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    You have some balls, sir. I’m impressed already.
    ἀλήθεια

    Make like a baby and head out!

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    2-4
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    630

    Re: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    With my car packed and last few arrows flung in the backyard, I was on my way North on the 29th. I managed to get up to the trailhead in short order (16 hrs) and the original plan was to hike in on the morning of the 31st but I was there on the 30th. The last decision that I had to make for my gear list was if I was going to pack a 12g up or simply just rely on the bear spray. I hummed and hawed for a little while and ended up leaving it in the car. So just like that I was headed into grizzly country armed with an old can of bear spray from 2004. I tied up the boots and started my hike…up…up and then more up…



    It was a very hot day, around 30* to be exact, so the hike up was a little more exhausting than I was anticipating. I broke into the alpine after an hour and a half or so and immediately jumped off the trail and started heading up to a peak that was recommended to me. It was more work right off the bat but it gave me the perfect perspective of the area as I needed to get the landscape and draws etc. pictured in my head. I sat up on that peak for a couple hours and glassed the entire area but only managed to turn up a few sheep here and there. It wasn’t surprising as the heat most likely had them all hiding and not to mention the bugs!!!!. With the situation, weather wise, I made sure that I checked both spots that they would be found; down low in the timber and up high on the tops of the surrounding peaks.





    While I was up on top of the peak, I ended up glassing a few sheep as well as a couple other guys heading in for their crack at arrowing a ram. After a few hours up top, I started my way down and up the main route which lead me right past the camp of the other two guys. I stopped to say hi and we chatted briefly. They had been in the area a lot and were more than willing to share some info with me so that was very much appreciated. I just love running into guys that understand that hunting is not a competition but rather an experience you can share with others around you.

    I ended up setting camp a little past them for the night as it was close to the only water source in the area. It had been a pretty dry summer up there so the creeks that normally had water were bone dry. After dinner, I walked over to the cliff edge to see if I could spot any more sheep as the heat was starting to dissipate for the evening. I ended up glassing and chatting with the two others for a while which was a really nice way to spend the evening. We managed to spot one lonely 4-5yr old ram half way up ‘ram castle’ and that was it for the evening. I turned it in pretty early as tomorrow was another moving day/scouting day so it would no doubt be full of heat, bugs, hills and many km’s.

    Lesson learned: If you don’t think you need an item, don’t toss it in the vehicle. Leave it at home or else it might end up in your bag…

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    162

    Re: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    Loving this!

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    39

    Re: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    Now this is a good hunt report!!! Thanks and looking forward to the rest!

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
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    Mission
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    76

    Re: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    Can’t wait to hear the rest, love it!

  11. #10
    Join Date
    May 2011
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    mission
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    2,227

    Re: Solo Archery Stones hunt - my daily lessons...

    Really great story so far and super clear pictures.
    Nothing is like climbing a mountain, and then feeling like you are at the top of the world.

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