Another NWT Adventure (Pic Heavy!)

[kootenayelkslayer]

My fifth season in the NWT chasing sheep has come to an end. It was another great year. All the hunts were relatively successful, and came home with lots of good memories. I missed the first sheep hunt of the season, but was still able to fit in 4 sheep hunts this year along with some caribou, moose, and goat mixed in.

Hunt #1

The first hunt of the year was a jetboat hunt, and was suppose to be an archery hunt...but due to many circumstances, the hunter ended up taking a ram with a rifle:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4000.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4001.jpg

Next, I took the same hunter out and he was able to stick a nice bull with an arrow out of a group of 19 bulls:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4021.jpg

[kootenayelkslayer]

Hunt # 2

After a frustrating first hunt, my next hunt was quite a bit better. Again I took my the jet boat out with the goal to get my new hunter a ram with his bow. After getting to 65 yards of our ram the first day but not being able to get a shot thru the trees, our luck changed on day two and my hunter was able to get a couple of arrows into this nice ram:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4160.jpg

We then went after caribou. We saw some nice bulls on the hunt and ended up getting an arrow in a good bull after a few days of chasing:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4174.jpg

[kootenayelkslayer]

Hunt # 3

The next hunt, 3 mexican brothers came up together. I took out the one brother and we were able to find a nice 11 year old ram on the first day:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4245.jpg

All three of the brothers killed their rams on the first day, so we all joined up to go caribou hunting together. Here is a nice bull that the one brother shot:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4253.jpg

Here's the bull my hunter was able to get:

[kootenayelkslayer]

Hunt #4

My next hunt was scheduled to be a 21-day, 4-species hunt. We were after sheep, caribou, moose, and mountain goat. The weather was starting to get shitty and I knew it was going to be a long hunt! The hunt started pretty slowly, it took us 7 days to find a nice old ram. Here was an 8 year old that we passed on early...a tough one to walk away from:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4313.jpg

Here's our ram. A nice 10 (maybe 11) year old:


A few days of bad weather, and then it was time to find a moose. We were starting to get short on time and ended up taking this bull....not one of the monsters that roam the hills, but a nice looking bull:


Next on the list was caribou. I have been packing a caribou tag for a few years up there now, and decided that if the opportunity arose that I'd like to take a bull for myself this year. My boss knew this, so he sent another guide out with me on the caribou hunt. As luck would have it, we found a group of bulls that had two shooters in it, and my hunter and I both took bulls. His was a little bigger of course. Here's my first caribou:

[Buck]

Great season with some nice animals.How did the Kuiu gear work out for you?I'm hearing mixed reviews on the pack.

[tristanmac]

That is some incredible country, would love to hunt up there one day! Nice work.

[frenchbar]

NICE! Good stuff KES..great pictures !!! tfs .

[kootenayelkslayer]

Hunt #4 Cont'd

Here's the monster bull that my hunter took out of the same group:




It was a good day:


The last animal on the list was a mountain goat, and after some hard hiking, we were able to find this beautiful billy:

[kootenayelkslayer]

Here's a couple pics of a ram that was killed at our outfit this year. Probably the biggest ram I will ever lay my hands on...it is absolutely incredible!!

[RayHill]

Wow great thread!!! Awsome pics

[ianwuzhere]

WOW, amazing pix.looks like youve have a very fun time out there.. What is the success rate of people harvesting what they want there? looks like some beautiful country..

[kootenayelkslayer]

I put alot of pics on here, so it looks like you might have to wait for that page to fully load before you can see them all!

[Freshtracks]

Thnx for taking us along. Some beauty rams ... how old was that cranker? Awesome pics. A dang good season I'd say.... congrats. Any Gbears?

[kootenayelkslayer]

And finally... here is a little teaser for my next thread. My buddy and I stopped off on our way home to do a little stone sheep hunting and I was able to catch up with this little gem:


But you'll have to wait to hear about this hunt.

[Brambles]

Way to go KES, looks like a sucessfull year guiding and an exceptional year hunting for yourself so far as well. Which for guides, I can appreciate is a tough task to do. Always hunting for others and never for yourself. Congrats, enjoyed the pics. Hell of a stone you bagged too.

[kootenayelkslayer]

WOW, amazing pix.looks like youve have a very fun time out there.. What is the success rate of people harvesting what they want there? looks like some beautiful country..

The success rate is just about always 100% on rifle sheep hunts. Even the bow hunts are pretty damn successful. Of course there are always unforseen circumstances, weather being the biggest. Caribou and moose are a gimme!

[Tikka270wsm]

Awesome pics, incredible season and a fantastic thread!!! Way to go! Makes me want to change careers.LOL

[RJ]

Awesome pics Koot, looks like fun! Im also curious how the Kuiu stuff held up

[kootenayelkslayer]

Thnx for taking us along. Some beauty rams ... how old was that cranker? Awesome pics. A dang good season I'd say.... congrats. Any Gbears?

That monster was 13 years old. Green gross 175, net 174. He was some thing like 44 3/4 by 43 in length.

Always lots of G-bears, but we can't hunt them. There are so many big boars up there that are overlapping in territory like crazy. One day we flew up on a big boar that had just killed another boar of equal size and was standing right on the kill. When we flew close with the aircraft he charged at it and was swatting at the air....he was pissed. One of the most amazing things I've seen in the mountains.

[MattB]

Awesome pics Mike! Congrats on the ram! When are you gonna get yourself a dall? PM me your bb pin.

[ElectricDyck]

Awesome pics! Congrats on the caribou, can't wait to here about the stone hunt.

How did you like the Kuiu pack for heavy loads?

[kootenayelkslayer]

Awesome pics! Congrats on the caribou, can't wait to here about the stone hunt.

How did you like the Kuiu pack for heavy loads?

Thanks. I thought the pack held up really well. Sure was comfortable and was a nice change from the external pack frame I've always used. I had some pretty heavy loads in it (nothing to ridiculous though) and it felt really good. I think it's designed specifically with sheep hunting in mind. I wouldn't throw a moose hind quarter in it anytime soon.

[nature girl]

Man those are some awesome pictures. And what is so nice you didnt shoot but only two of them and in every picture you are smiling. You definately can tell you like your job. Thanks for posting all the pictures. The scenery is so beautiful.

[fearnodeer]

Wow you got braggin rights.

[stoneguide]

Another great season. Congrats!!! Tough looking at the pics after taking this season off guiding.
Thanks for sharing!
SG

[Rattler]

Great pics Mike! Beauty ram you got as well...congrats.

Thanks for sharing.

[pg83]

Thanks for sharing another great season and congrats on your bou and a great looking stone!

[180grainer]

Do you realize what a blessed life you live my good man?

[Duk Dog]

Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing your pics again this year. Congrats on a great season.

[Sprig]

Beautiful mature rams and gorgeous country, hope to make it there one day. Thanks for sharing

[proguide66]

You are doing a great job out there!! super work on your trophy shots as well , verry cool man!

[kennyj]

Awesome photos! Congratulations on a successful season so far.
kenny

[d6dan]

Great photos!and a very nice Caribou and stone sheep. Looks like you had a fantastic time. :-D Thanks for posting.

[whitetailsheds]

What a season! Love that last Dall.....TANK! Congrats as well on your Stone, Mike! Thanks for posting!

[Rodd]

Thanks for posting such an awesome adventure....Sure looks like your having fun out there!! I'm sooo envious... haha! Great work on a beauty Stone Ram!!! Congrats!

[mijinkal]

It's threads like this that remind me why I love this site so much!
Thanks for sharing with us!

[porcupine]

What a great fall you've had this year! Some terrific trophies and the sencery is great. Which Outfitter are you working for? I'd sure love to do a hunt up there! Congrats on a beauty Stone ram.

[bruin]

Congrats on an awesome season Mike! There are alot of envious people on here including me! You're livin the dream

[Phil]

Wow! Where do I sign up?!!!

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

[todbartell]

you *#)@&%!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mrgreen:

jealous here

[kootenayelkslayer]

you *#)@&%!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mrgreen:

jealous here

If it makes you feel better, your bullets killed 3 rams, one of which was mine, and 2 caribou, one of which was also mine. So it was like you were there with me all summer.

[todbartell]

you're lucky I put gun powder in all of them

[kootenayelkslayer]

you're lucky I put gun powder in all of them

Ya, it would have been nice if you put equal amounts of powder in each one...but now I'm just being picky I guess. They were shooting all over the map!

[todbartell]

Accuracy is secondary to cool looking blue tips

[bigwhiteys]

That's an awesome season! Congrats on your own Caribou and Ram too.

Carl

[kootenayelkslayer]

Thanks for the comments guys, I'll try to get around to posting my Stone sheep story tonight.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Always one of my favorte annual threads...and this one certainly didn't disappoint!!
Congrats on a great season and also your 'bou and Stone!!

Hope you never get a "real" job so you can keep posting pics like this one HBC for us to enjoy!:-D

SSS

[kootenayelkslayer]

Always one of my favorte annual threads...and this one certainly didn't disappoint!!
Congrats on a great season and also your 'bou and Stone!!

Hope you never get a "real" job so you can keep posting pics like this one HBC for us to enjoy!:-D

SSS

I'll try to milk it as long as I can. One day I'll have to get a real job I suppose. I definitely want to go back up next year because I think it's my turn to shoot a ram up there.

[Reggy]

Wow, great job man. Excellent pictures and trophies. That country looks truly amazing.

[gbear]

Congrats on a great season up there! I really enjoy your annual threads. You take some great trophy photos as well. Really gets me thinking of my next hunt for Dall's

[proguide66]

I'll try to milk it as long as I can. One day I'll have to get a real job I suppose. I definitely want to go back up next year because I think it's my turn to shoot a ram up there.
pffft , no doubt.I had to give in and stay home and make $$ this fall...aaarrrgh...

[BiG Boar]

Thanks for posting up some great pictures and hunts! Almost makes me want to go guiding some time! Great caribou, I think I may have seen it in person? Ram head outfitters?

[BCrams]

Great to see you share your season in the north country. Great rams and 'bou!

[kootenayelkslayer]

Thanks for posting up some great pictures and hunts! Almost makes me want to go guiding some time! Great caribou, I think I may have seen it in person? Ram head outfitters?

Ya you sure did, in Toad River.

[scottwh]

Now that was a sweet thread! My face wouldnt have enough room for my smile if I had your job! Major congrats on your sheep and caribou aswell!

[Call of the Wild]

Amazing!!!! You're living a dream, keep it up and your pictures are excellent.

[ovis40]

That monster was 13 years old. Green gross 175, net 174. He was some thing like 44 3/4 by 43 in length.

Always lots of G-bears, but we can't hunt them. There are so many big boars up there that are overlapping in territory like crazy. One day we flew up on a big boar that had just killed another boar of equal size and was standing right on the kill. When we flew close with the aircraft he charged at it and was swatting at the air....he was pissed. One of the most amazing things I've seen in the mountains.

Congrats on your sheep and bou!! I hope the moose hunting was worth the wait. WOW that Dall is a real cranker.....pretty good hunting for that camp...lol
We would buzz the bears that were on the moose gut piles around O-Grady and they would do the same thing. Grrrreat fun! Don't tell your Boss!!

[Alpine Addict]

Awesome pictures. Looks like you killed nice sheep this year! That last one is a beaut!

[jeff]

all i can say is WOW

[meathunter]

Awesome thread! Great animals and a beautiful landscape. Thanks

[trigger]

wow man, what an awesome thread.
i always look forward to it. I am so envious of you.
You got some great trophies there bud.
thanks for sharing.

[huntingmom]

Hunt #4

My next hunt was scheduled to be a 21-day, 4-species hunt. We were after sheep, caribou, moose, and mountain goat. The weather was starting to get shitty and I knew it was going to be a long hunt! The hunt started pretty slowly, it took us 7 days to find a nice old ram. Here was an 8 year old that we passed on early...a tough one to walk away from:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4313.jpg

Here's our ram. A nice 10 (maybe 11) year old:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4351.jpg

A few days of bad weather, and then it was time to find a moose. We were starting to get short on time and ended up taking this bull....not one of the monsters that roam the hills, but a nice looking bull:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4398.jpg

Next on the list was caribou. I have been packing a caribou tag for a few years up there now, and decided that if the opportunity arose that I'd like to take a bull for myself this year. My boss knew this, so he sent another guide out with me on the caribou hunt. As luck would have it, we found a group of bulls that had two shooters in it, and my hunter and I both took bulls. His was a little bigger of course. Here's my first caribou:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4413.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/108_4416.jpg

Awesome pictures!!!
That moose looks like a monster to me (I've been only on one moose hunt in my life). It's hard to imagine that there are moose bigger than what you've shown.

[srupp]

You obviously worked incredibly hard for your clients..WELL DONE, and THANK YOU FOR THE AMAZING PHOTOS..

Steven