Realising the hunting season of my dream: sheep, grizzly, elk, moose (heavy pics)

[Call of the Wild]

This year was my third year attempting to chase a Stone sheep ram but my second year as a hunter. In 2010 my brother harvested a nice mountain goat and last year after moving to BC I harvested a goat as well. Both of us are very happy with our progression since we were new and green mountain hunter. We enjoyed each of our hard hikes and hunting trips in very remote country but harvesting a sheep was and still is the ultimate goal.

I’m sharing again this year my hunting season, as it progressed. Since I was serious in my attempt to harvest a sheep I planned two Stone sheep hunting trip this year, 11 days in August and 12 days in October, and I was motivated like I’ve never been before. My last two hunts were in different territories and like any un-guided hunt the land reserves many surprises in access, steepness, water level, trails, presence of wildlife etc even with the best preparation and intel. We lost so much time on both hunts figuring where and how to travel to access the desired mountains. All our hard work paid off in the end with now each a mature goat under our belt.

Unfortunately for me my sheep hunting partner, aka my younger and uglier brother hahaha, couldn’t make it this year. After discussing with a good hunting friend that never hunted in the Rockies, he offered to join me in my adventure. Also since I was now eligible this spring for the LEH, I applied for a grizzly tag and the Kamloops sheep tag. Obviously I didn’t get the sheep LEH but luck was on my side and my sheep hunt turn into a combo sheep/grizzly hunt. I was extremely happy to have such an opportunity to hunt two wild animals of that calibre!!!

For my August hunt my priority was the sheep and I was going to focus my October hunt for a grizzly. But if an opportunity was available on either game I was not going to turn it down.


End of July

Disappointed I learn that my good friend and hunting partner wasn’t going to make it for legit reason. Not mad I reflected what to do and it was out of question that I wasn’t going on my sheep hunt. I couldn’t find someone serious, dedicated and with the same time off on such short notice so I decided my hunt was going to be a solo sheep hunt. Now I seriously had to review all my gear and food list, let me tell you guys I do eat a lot so cutting on the food was tough to do.

Was I up to the challenge for a difficult and far hike, face what mother nature would throw at me and the solitude for 11 days, I tough so. I was much more motivated this year than I’ve been for the last two trips and that was a good thing!!


Few days before I left

My good friend who was supposed to come on my trip came over to show me his Dall sheep horns he harvested a few days earlier on a hunt he won. A very nice 12.5 years old ram and I was hopping it would bring me luck touching his sheep horns.


Sunday August 19

The big days finally arrived after a long wait that never seamed to finish!!! I was working night shift and the next crew shows up for 6:00 but at 5:30 the boss looked at me and said "What are you still doing here". In no time I left the plant and I was heading home. I completed the last touch to the gear list and left home with a very heavy backpack but I knew I had everything to be safe, comfortable and eat just enough. After a long drive day dreaming what this hunt would be like, very tired I camped beside the truck that evening question to rest and not push myself too hard after working a night shift.
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Saturday August 20

I went back hunting somewhat in the same area where I hunted last year. The big advantage I had this time was the knowledge and the experience of last year’s hunt on how to access where I wanted to go without wasting time. It was "faster" but don’t think it was easier! I had to hike to a spot I named the lost horse valley, after that I was going in unknown territory which turn out to be a brutal son of a bi*ch hike.

Here I am all loaded up and also a small grizzly foot print with wolf tracks in the mud after one of the many creek crossing.
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[Call of the Wild]

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For the first time while hiking in on a sheep hunt it wasn’t raining, I had a beautiful day with a blue sky but it was hot. Halfway into my hike I started to seriously play in hill and mountain side country. In early evening I started to push more intensively since I was still climbing in a steep spot without making much progress in distance and there was no flat spot to set up camp for a good 3 kilometres according to my map. Earlier in the day I had some leg cramps in the calves and hamstring and took care of it but at that point I was pushing my legs to their limit.

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In late evening the leg cramps came back but much worse since the previous two hours I climbed an insane steep mountain side. I wanted to continue since I was less than a mile from the flatter ground but my body couldn’t follow my spirit at that point. I taught I was physically fit and ready but amazingly a motionless rocky mountain played me out. I was forced to take some breaks to relax my legs every 20 steps since my legs didn’t want to move. It’s at that moment I decided to find the best spot to pitch my tent in a small narrow and steep valley. Both valley sides were mostly 70 degree steep so I was forced to push more. I think I did 250 meters in an hour due to the required breaks. At one point my legs seriously locked and didn’t want to move at all. I was standing motionless with useless legs that didn’t want to move to keep my balance or to bend so I could sit down for an other break.

With a very heavy backpack I started to be scared I would loose balance and would not be able to control my weight since my legs couldn’t move. That’s how I can describe the pain and the situation I was facing at that point. Eventually I had to seriously force to bend my legs and let me tell you that was one of the most intense pain I had in my life. Awful and not fun at all!!! After a decent break and massaging my legs I had to continue since there was not way I could sleep in my tent where I was. Eventually I found a steep spot I decided was decent enough set up camp. After a good meal I glassed the mountain sides and found a nice billy goat. It was fun to at least see a goat that evening after such an intense day hiking.

I must have waked up ten times that night since my sleeping bag was sliding down in the tent.

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[Call of the Wild]

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Tuesday August 21

I don’t remember turning off the alarm at 5:00 but I was up at 6:00 with knees on the forehead again. I was out of water and I could hear the creek a couple hundred meters bellow, kind of lazy I had a dry breakfast. The day looked promissing with no clouds in the sky for a second day in a row, a rare thing in my experience in the mountains. I felt good physically and knew I had only half a day of hiking left to do. I did find the same billy goat and two other one too, some nice one but no sheep.

The rest of the hike was great in amazing country and I was kind of excited to finally see what those mountains really look after spending so much time studying the area on so various maps and google earth.

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[Call of the Wild]

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Mid day I was finally at the valley head I had to climb. The area appears to be great sheep country so I set up my tent hidden in a low spot and glass the whole afternoon to sunset. I didn’t find anything except for the marmots that kept whistling constantly. As soon as I got in my tent a storm finally made its way in the valley.

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Wednesday August 22

The rain was still falling at sunrise so I went back sleeping, the body needed it but I wanted to glass. At 9:00 I woke up, had breakfast while organising my gear for the final hike. I started my hike without the rain but some nice clouds were all over the valley and peaks. The hike for the summit was fairly easy when I compare it to my other similar climb I’ve done, the rocks were steady and easy on the ankles.

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[Call of the Wild]

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Almost to the summit I stop to glass the valley head again, it sure did look like good country. I found a game trail in the shale rock in between a small patch of grass and rugged area. After a couple hours I didn’t find any sheep and decided to finish my climb for a new valley head. Once on the other side of the summit I setup my camp in a alpine bowl and organise my backpack of only the essential for hunting. At that same time some big clouds moved in and the rain started to fall again and the temperature was dropping.

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[Call of the Wild]

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In the evening the rain stopped and I had an opportunity to go glass a valley I had good hopes with. As soon as I was set up the wind shifted and I could feel the air was moving into the valley and up in my direction, I was a the valley head. After 10 minutes of glassing I had to call it a day since the clouds covered the whole valley, it’s a good thing I had something to read since it was early evening at the tent.

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[Call of the Wild]

At one point the rain and the clouds moved giving me an opportunity to glass again. Well that didn’t last very long and I was back again at the tent for good.


Thursday August 23

With some major rain falling I was forced to stay in the tent all morning. At 11:00 the clouds were moving into my valley so I loaded my gear to climb back the summit to glass the valley head I came from. I wanted to spend more time glassing that spot to find what made the tracks in the shale rocks I mentioned earlier. I missed the prime glassing time but I still glassed the area with my binos and spotting scope meticulously without finding any sheep.

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After three hours glassing I went back up to glass the prime valley. I only found two very fat marmots and a porcupine. Finding the porcupine was funny since I briefly detected some movement in some shrubs and I started to think could be a grizzly until I saw him again few minutes later. In mid evening the clouds came back and take a wild guess what came with them? Yes some stupid rain again and I was forced to head back to the tent to read and missing the prime glassing time AGAIN.


Friday August 24

Up to mid morning the rain was falling hard followed by thick fog clouds!!!! At that point my hunt was tough mentally from the fact I had to stay in my tent for long period during daytime, I didn’t get decent opportunities to glass and only goats were found. I decided to take my chances and relocate for a neighbour valley I wanted to checkout, so I organised my gear and started my hike in some very beautiful but tough country. This valley wasn’t far but the hike was 3 km to where I could set up camp in a good spot and well located to glass efficiently. This new valley is fairly long and about 600 yards wide. While hiking I spotted a large quantity of game trails in the shale rocks high up on the opposite steep mountain side, that brought back my motivation! All the game tails were funnelling at three mains spots down in the valley in green dense vegetation. The opposite mountain side is so steep that my plan was to find the sheep and study their movement to eventually ambush them at right wind where they like to feed down the valley.

Also during my hike I found for the first time a lot of droppings. I had high hopes of finding something with all the signs present.

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[Call of the Wild]

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[Call of the Wild]

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[moose2]

Great story and pictures so far Mik, keep going I am looking forward to the rest.
Mike

[Call of the Wild]

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I spent the whole afternoon and evening glassing without finding any game, I was disappointed but that’s hunting and the animals move as they like. The mountain I was on didn’t really have any flat spot so my new camping spot was in a decent slop. Again I woke up so many time with knees in the forehead and I was out of water but I was camped beside a glacier so it wasn’t a serious issue.

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Saturday August 25

Finally had a chance to glass the valley at sunrise but there wasn’t a thing in the valley, well that’s what I think even if I believe it’s sheep country. Hahaha Since I couldn’t find any sheep in the valley with the presence of so much sign I decided to check an other nearby valley for the afternoon in case they would have moved there. A nice tight and small valley, I quickly found on the northern summit side a major game trail that was along great sheep bedding cliffs and also an other trail at the bottom between the same cliffs and vegetation. All I can report is two caribou that were feeding in the buckbrush. The excitement of finding sheep came back when I saw signs in this valley but somewhat slowly faded away. My hunt was tough from day one and the fact my boots never had a chance to dry from feet sweat I had serious cold feet issues which caused my concentration to slowly fade away. As we all know sheep hunting is not easy but I started to doubt this hunt would be a successful one at that point.

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[Call of the Wild]

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Sunday August 26

I went back to the same valley in the morning without finding anything again. It’s at that point I decided to take the tough decision to start heading back and to maybe spend some time glassing the valley where I found the goats earlier during my hike in. I needed to shake things up a bit and I reflected why I couldn’t find any sheep. Did I move in when they naturally move out, did they spot me and moved out then, did the bad weather push them down in the trees etc, all questions still without answers. It wasn’t an easy decision since I was extremely motivated and excited for this hunt, well prepared, I had seriously done my homework studying the area, and I was ready to push myself physically and mentally.

So I loaded my backpack and made my way back. It was a beautiful hot sunny day without rain FINALLY.

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Back down the mountain in a valley bottom still in altitude I was walking at a decent pace while paying attention at each step and keeping an eye on the mountain sides. To my surprise while following the creek when raised my head I was facing three black wolves, one adult and two pups in a small opening. They weren’t moving but the big one was looking in my direction, I suspect the sun prevented him to identify me. What amazed me was the fact the wind was going straight in their direction. I took my rifle out off my gunbearer and took aim.

With a heavy backpack tightly attached it was hard to keep my balance when I took my shot at the adult wolf that was squarely facing me. I believe I missed my shot and the wolf went running in the creek when I reloaded and positioned myself properly for a second shot with my backpack still on. I followed the running wolf and fired a round when he was about to go behind some shrubs. I wish it was on camera because he flipped then rolled and carried on running but seriously injured at a front leg.

I then drop down to remove my backpack to continue my hunt. It’s not my first time playing with wolves and from my experience when you catch them by surprise you can get them to howl back. So I quickly howl to locate them and they answered back. Behind me at 50 yards a pup was howling and it’s without pity that he dropped instantly when I fired a round at him. Then while looking all over the valley I found the adult wolf running on three legs at 600 yards. Few seconds later I found two pups running together on a ridge beside one mountain side. I howled and they stopped to answer back so I grabbed the range finder, some spare ammo and the gps and went running at them laying low in the shrubs. I kept howling to keep them in place but eventually they were about to go over the ridge so I ranged them at 260 yards and used my knee for support. I was out of breath and missed my first shot then I took a big breath and fired again on a broadside wolf. He jumped, turned around and went running with the other one on three legs too. Eventually only one pup came into view running fast and never looked back. I looked to find both injured wolf without luck but I did find some blood in the rocks.

The rush of hunting wolves is so different and intense it’s one of my favourite hunt now when I can locate them or bump into them.

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[Call of the Wild]

Where the pup was standing behind me.

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I continues my hike out and decided to head back home since I had hot spots in my feet, sign of blisters, and wanted to organise my other fall hunts. A decision that payed off since it rained the following two days. During my hike I found some wolf tracks which were most likely made by the wolves I hunted. I also spotted a band of nanny goat on the same mountain the billies were earlier.

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[Call of the Wild]

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A portion of the hike I followed a horse trail. After a day hiking out here’s what my feet looked like and I still had half a day of hiking left to do. Once I took my boots off I realised why I had so many hot spots, 9 blisters total.

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Alright that complete my August sheep/grizzly hunt. The best is to come and I’m working on it.

[bowhunterbruce]

awesome pics, keep them comming. wait a go on taking out some dogs and i'm lookin forward to the rest.
bhb

[Buck]

Great story thanks for taking the time to post.

[hunter1947]

Sounds good so far looking forward to see the final outcome..

[rocksteady]

Patiently awaiting the rest of the adventure...

[Wood butcher]

Patiently awaiting the rest of the adventure...
X2. Loving all the pics too.

[Rackmastr]

This is shaping up to be one amazing thread!!!!

Thanks for the pics and story so far!

[Skull Hunter]

Great story so far!

[Getbent]

Well done man...looking forward to the rest...tough stuff!

[ohotnik]

Thank you for the great read.

[James52]

Awesome adventure.....look forward to the rest.

[srupp]

hmm great read..have the same tent awesone and light and extremelly durable and the same stove...like your gear selkection..

cheers
Steven

[325]

Great thread so far!

[Call of the Wild]

September was elk and moose hunting time. I started to scout the area I wanted to hunt early in the spring and made 2 salt licks at good locations and found a natural lick deep in a valley in early summer so I loaded it of salt. As the summer progressed the cameras were taking more and more pictures since the activity at the licks increased constantly. The area it self is loaded with cow elk and few spiker bull with no real bull was seen or taken on camera. I had hi hopes of finding a great bull in the rut with the amount of cows present in the area.

The area also holds a good population of cow moose and a fair amount of bulls too. Early summer I bumped in a very nice bull that had very good potential, he already had great palms with over a month and a half of growth left. To my disappointment the deer population isn’t that good.

Here’s a bunch of video and photos of my trail cameras over the summer


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[Call of the Wild]

This is a nice and big bear


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My main lick it was a success from day one. I lost count of how much salt I haul there.

A potential bull moose with an other nice one in some pics and some other random bulls
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[Call of the Wild]

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[Call of the Wild]

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[Call of the Wild]

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[Call of the Wild]

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[Call of the Wild]

Some cow and bull elk

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[Call of the Wild]

Here’s the natural lick as I found it. The lick was very active with a lot of activity, I suspect some animals travel quite far to the lick.

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Elk were very active at the lick, especially the cows

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[Call of the Wild]

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[Call of the Wild]

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[Call of the Wild]

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[Call of the Wild]

No monster but the best known bull elk. I was hunting in that area at that time and never had a chance to see him.

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[Call of the Wild]

The moose came for their share of salt too

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As you can all see I found a nice spot where moose and elk are very active. It no blind luck since I scouted intensively, worked hard and invested a lot of time to maintain my salt station and to figure out the land. I had high hopes of connecting on a good bull elk or moose and decided to set the bar quite high for the challenge. Hunting pressure is a big factor anywhere you hunt and the wildlife adapt very quickly.

There was hunting pressure in the area and it was very obvious within the first few days of September. Combining the pressure to hot weather and very strong winds the activity slowed down drastically. One particular night I went over looking a valley well over an hour after it was dark to check the night activity. Nothing was calling and answered to my cow calls or bugles!!! I can’t complain since early in the season I passed up a 5x5.

I had to go to Edmonton and took two days off hunting since it was very slow and tough to find any game. While down there I went the Cadomin mine with a good friend who never seen the Rockies yet to check out the bighorn sheep. What an amazing place to see sheep!!! The day I decide to hunt bighorns I’ll spend a lot of time there to study bighorn horns, I’m still amazed how un spooky they are to human activity.

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[Call of the Wild]

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[Geo.338]

Awesome story and photos . OUCH !!!! Those feet look sore , I feel your pain .

[Call of the Wild]

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With only a couple days of hunting left I went back elk/moose hunting. Well one evening I was overlooking a good spot and with only 15 minutes of legal light left when I spotted a very nice big bull elk right in front of me at 50-60 yards max. I never heard him and I had to act very quick, I raised my rifle and that’s when I decided to do the imaginable. Yes I passed the opportunity of harvesting a nice 6x6 that would have break the 300 mark. He was short one G5 and he was moving at a very good pace for some cover.


It was very exciting and I couldn’t believe I passed such a nice bull but I was happy I didn’t pull the trigger since my goal was to harvest a real big bull. Since work interfere with my hunting schedule I had to go back to work!!


Annual Alberta elk hunt

For the opening week of rifle season in Alberta I went hunting with a good friend for our annual elk hunt in the Peace of Alberta. Opening day found each of us in "our" own spot we’ve been hunting for 3 or 4 years now. I was in the same area where I got my last two elk and every opening morning it’s a bugling show. This year was no exception and again they don’t want to come in and they quit calling shortly after sun rise. At that moment I heard a gun shot where my buddy was, it reminded me of 2010. Within the first hour of his hunt he was playing with many bulls and he harvested a 5x5.

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[Call of the Wild]

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For the second day I didn’t have any activity but my friend text me since at camp he was able to hear continuous bugles in direction of elk country. The bull was on what I call the cruise control, he was bugling and moving very fast in a straight direction. So over an hour later I was in a good spot to intercept him and I bugled to locate him. To my surprise I heard a bugle to the south when the bull should have been to the north or east. I taught it was an other hunter since the sound came from a cutline. Eventually the cruise control bull bugled and the second bull answered back, that’s when I realised it wasn’t a hunter since the bull was moving to get my wind.

I could hear the cruise control bull moving in and he was fast, I kept bugling and both bulls were answering. In thick dead fall I spotted the main beam of the second bull and then that was it of him, where did he go I have no clue. So I tried to play with the cruise control bull but at that point he moved pass me. I tries to bring him in on bugles and cow calls, he answered but never stop walking away. Very fun but strange too.

That evening I went sitting over looking a field corner. While I was making some kind of ground blind removing grass and dead branches I spotted a funny looking 2x2 bull at 100 yards that was looking at me until he ran into the bush. About an hour later something came running in the field, it was the same 2x2 pushing two cow elk.


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They eventually made their way very very close.


http://youtu.be/-8hsdGS-xiE

[vortex hunter]

Nice Pictures and Story ... As a few said before your poor feet

[Call of the Wild]

Before sunset I heard some bugle from the bedding area and they kept getting closer at a good pace too. It was an other bull on the cruise control following the ridge along the river bank, he answer to my bugles but never change direction. So I started to make some cow calls and he only answer more without changing his course. That completed my second day.


For the third day I wanted to go play in the same valley I harvested my bull last year. A remote, nasty, tough place to access. In the bush after pushing an animal I bugled and didn’t get an answer what ever was there stayed put. I waited for an hour and a half for the same 2x2 with his two cows to come in. I decided to play with the bull after he passed at 30 yards, he ignored me but an other bull was made some chuckles in front of me. After working this bull for fifteen minutes he gave me a broadside shot, an other 6x6 bull for me with a G3 broken.

The video explain the chain of event.

http://youtu.be/_ZW2BSWq1zk


This is the 2x2 bull at 30 yards
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[Call of the Wild]

The rest of the hunt was not very eventful and the third guy in our party didn’t harvest his elk. Also the wolves were everywhere again this year. One day I was guiding the third guy of the group when a pack of wolf moved in on my bugle, to make a long story short dude FU*K IT up and shot at a wolf when he saw I was about to take the lead one and CLEARLY MISSED AT 25 YARDS!!!!!! I was mad but anyway it’s over and I had fun seeing a pack moving in that close.

I used my spare days to play in the hills and scout some areas I always wanted to check but never had a chance to get into. Should be promising for next year again.

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I came back home to process the meat and prepare my 12 day October hunt for a grizzly, moose if trophy calibre and possibly stone sheep if time allowed. Turned out to be the hunting trip of my life!!! I’ll start that story now.

[IronNoggin]

While down there I went the Cadomin mine with a good friend who never seen the Rockies yet to check out the bighorn sheep. What an amazing place to see sheep!!! The day I decide to hunt bighorns I’ll spend a lot of time there to study bighorn horns, I’m still amazed how un spooky they are to human activity.

LOL! Only when ON the Minesite Wild One! Took my very first Ram there well above the mine (did a fair amount of Habitat Work there - fish related - back in the day...) and they were anything BUT "un spooky"!! :-D

Great Report, Awesome Pix! And Man! My own feet actually HURT looking at that picture!!

Cheers!
Nog

[fester]

great story!!!

[rifleman]

awesome , that was good reading & great pictures. You sure put in the time & effort this year. congrats & thanx for posting...

[The Dawg]

Not only the season of your dreams, but most of ours too.

Thanks for bringing us along.

[Elkaholic]

WOW, thanks for the pics. Great story to go along with it too. Season of dreams for sure!

[kennyj]

What a great season! Thanks for taking the time to post all the Awesome photos.
kenny

[ElectricDyck]

Yeah good entertainment! Looking forward to October....

[Hillbros_96]

My feet and legs are hurting just reading your story.

[Timbow]

Thanks for sharing your detailed hunt. I enjoyed reading it.

[bccanadian]

Thanks for sharing. Great story! Great photos and video!

[Call of the Wild]

When I started my research on sheep hunting I read so many awesome stories of late season sheep hunts and how the weather is a major factor. For the last two years I wanted to do such a hunt and this year I booked enough time off for late season sheep hunt in the event I wasn’t successful in August. With a grizzly LEH tag I decided to focus my October hunt for a grizzly bear but I also had a moose, goat and sheep tag in my pocket. To harvest a moose he would seriously have to be a real trophy.

I had 12 days to do my hunt and since my schedule didn’t work with friend I did a second solo mountain hunt. There are not many things in life that stops me and going solo wasn’t an excuse to stay home. After a tough August hunt with bad weather I was very motivated to head back for the high country.


October 2

Excited like a kid on Christmas Eve I loaded the truck and left home mid morning. I was ready to discover some new country, work hard and push my limits again to have a hunting trip of a lifetime and hopefully to be successful this time. I had all the required gear to be comfortable, safe, and warm to face what Mother Nature would throw at me.

Before I left I had a great discussion with my father.

Dad: "You’re nuts to go freeze your butt in the mountains and alone for what, a bear or a sheep!!!"
Me: "Ya Ya you know it’s my thing and I see it as a challenge. By the way don’t tell mom I’m going solo. "
Dad: "Why?”
Me: "Are you stupid!! She’ll keep you awake since she won’t fall a sleep and keep you awake at night for 12 days."
Dad: "Oh never taught of that, I guess will keep that between us for now.”

Half way between Fort St John and Fort Nelson the mountains to the west were covered with snow and there were a couple inches of snow on the side of the highway. I was very happy to see that but my father kept telling me how crazy I was to go hunt in the mountains at that time of the year.

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Disappointed to finally be in the Rockies just after sunset, there was a fair amount of snow on the ground. I didn’t want to set up camp in the dark so I set up my mountain tent on my quad trailer. It’s a good thing I upgraded my sleeping bag for a winter bag, the night was cold I’d say about -15.


October 3

After a cold breakfast I loaded my gear and went out to explore the area.

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I hunted an area I’ve never been into until then and I’m still amazed how beautiful the area is. During my preparation I discussed with many hunters, some from the forum, on how to hunt grizzly bear, general areas to hunt, weather conditions, techniques etc to educate and prepared myself for such a hunt. One hunter said sometimes grizzlies in October like to come on cow moose calls hopping to get the calf. Every one I talked to said if I wanted a grizzly I had to spend time where moose or elk hunting is done every year since they learned to spend their fall in such valleys to find hunter remains. Such strategy would increase my chances at finding a grizzly which is very logic once you think about it.

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[Call of the Wild]

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At the highway some hunters informed me the previous day it was snowing heavily and it was amazing to see the mountains covered of snow. For my first day of hunting I check an area with a few marshes in a small valley. A very nice spot and the scenery was amazing, caribou and moose foot prints were every where in the fresh snow. I scouted the area without seeing any game and nothing answered to my moose calls.

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[Call of the Wild]

I headed back for the truck in mid afternoon to set up my base camp, a Cabelas Outfitters tent. I had two small camps as neighbours who were moose hunting, they didn’t see any moose that day as well. My hunt is just starting and it’s already hard for everyone, the other parties in the area were not seeing anything or getting answers to their calls since they arrived. It’s not my first hunting rodeo and I told myself don’t get discourage that easily since there’s 10 days left and anything can happen.

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October 4

I placed my Kuiu pants and other clothes on a chair in front of my heater overnight. While eating my breakfast I went outside to send an OK SPOT message and to my surprise when I got back inside it smelled like something was burning. That’s when I realised I accidentally tipped the chair on my way out on my heater and my clothes was burning. Only my pants burned, I was so mad at myself for destroying my new mountain pants that I used for only 10 days so far.

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I wasn’t a happy guy!!! It’s a good thing I wore some jean while driving up north because I had to continue my hunt in jeans. Yep cotton pants, the worse fabric for such a hunt since it doesn’t stretch, it’s heavy and practically doesn’t dry. I reflected on my situation and realised it wasn’t worse than the pioneers sheep hunts back in the day.

I went back in the same wallow/valley taking a different path in thick bush. I was walking in the footprints of a cow moose that was followed by a bull moose, sign that the rut was on and I saw a wolf foot print too. My goal for the day was to alternate overlooking the opening in the marshes while moose calling to hopefully bring in a grizzly or a bull. An unproductive day, didn’t heard or see a thing.

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[Call of the Wild]

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October 5

I spent the day hunting a different area with swamps and marshes, an area I think should be productive hunting moose. For people who don’t know me I’m the type of hunter who reflects where the animals like to hide when they’re not active or the pressure is high and I enjoy finding remote pockets that are dirty and tough to access. It’s a strategy that works for me but it involves a lot of hard work. I try to think like the animal I’m after and how they behave according the various conditions present during the hunt.

Late morning in a small trail I finally found my first grizzly track in the remaining melting snow.

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I walked here and there while cow moose calling without any answers and didn’t see any moose. I tried to position my self correctly at each location to have a good view and stayed put for good length of time to see if a moose would come in without calling or to intercept a grizzly. An other tough day and the day was hot melting the snow at a fast pace everywhere. Since I wasn’t seeing any game and the other hunters in the area were not having any action too, I decided it was worth to go for a short 4-5 day sheep hunt. The grizzly that made the track could be far away at this point and maybe with luck I would face a grizzly during my sheep hunt hike. Also I had to take advantage of the good weather to go camp on a mountain and the hot days wasn’t prime condition for a grizzly/moose hunt.

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[Call of the Wild]

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[Call of the Wild]

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October 6

Excited to finally go on my first late season Stone sheep hunt, I was up early and ready for a decent hike for my sheep mountain. The hike wasn’t as difficult as my August hunt except for the portion where the rocks were round of decent size and that was painful on the ankles. After an intense hike I set up my camp in the last spruce trees and the wind was so strong I had to use the ropes to support the tent, that’s a first in my experience.

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I then re organised my pack of only the essential for hunting and went hiding along the creek to eat before glassing. Waiting for the water to boil I glassed where I wanted to go set up to glass the valley. To my surprise I quickly found some sheep low on the mountain, some ewes and a ram. Wow, excited I set up the spotting scope to finally only find two ewes and lambs. I was sure one sheep had horns big enough it had to be a ram, I was thinking "I’m not crazy I did see a ram". After a few minutes a ram came out of a low spot, he wasn’t legal but special with a broken left horn a few inches long only.

After eating I made my way to a new spot to glass far away to not disturb the sheep. I only found those five sheep and it was fun to watch them and the ram that was following the ewes.


http://youtu.be/2MX3vYjXIGQ

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[Call of the Wild]

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October 7

I wanted to glass from a great spot deeper into the valley that gave the best view to find sheep but it was quite a long hike. Up very early I started my hike in the dark with the light of the moon without my flashlight so I wouldn’t scare any sheep and not long after the sun was up I was at my intended spot. I did take a quick break at first light and found the broken horn ram high up on a mountain.

I set up on a small flat balcony with an amazing view overlooking the surrounding and the valley was so beautiful. A light rain started to fall when I heard some rocks falling across the valley in front of me at about 700-800 yards. It sure sounded like something was making the rocks fall, I started to glass that area and found a 5 or 6 years old ram. I watched him for about an hour in the rain without any movement of his part until he ran across the valley towards me when the rain started to fall heavily. I had enough of the rain too and the clouds in the horizon looked grey so I lay down with my rain cover on to sleep.

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At noon I woke up and the sun was trying to appear. Right away started to glass again and started to look for the ewes in case an other ram would be with them. They were not hard to find since two were light grey while the other two dark grey/brown. I was happy to find an other ram that was following them.


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[Call of the Wild]

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I was very motivated since it was apparent the rams were starting to search for ewes and anything was possible. I didn’t pay too much attention to that ram and started to glass to find what else was present in the valley at that point I glassed out half of the valley so my hopes were high. I located two caribou on a mountain at 2.5 km away. About 45 minutes later I found an other ram high up on a mountain at 1.5 km away, he sure did look good in my binos and it was time to check him with the spotting scope.


http://youtu.be/jx6Qn935QMI

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[Call of the Wild]

I continued to glass the whole valley all day but I kept a constant eye on that potential ram. Other pictures of that ram throughout the day. The day was very windy and it was tough to take good pictures with the spotting scope.

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I couldn’t quite tell if he was legal by curl but with a decent mass he was worth to a closer look. I had two problems preventing me to make a move, first the ewes and lamb with the non legal ram were right between him and me so it was impossible to make a move and risking to pushing them to the potential ram. Second the potential ram had a great view of the whole valley as well and he was feeding for an hour and would lay down for two so I was forced to take the tough decision to stay put.

I kept glassing the valley and didn’t find any other sheep. Across the valley I put the non legal ram and the ewes to bed on my right while the potential ram was to my left more than half way up the mountain. I went back to the tent without my headlamp since the ram would have caught it and I didn’t want to scare him.



October 8

After seriously analysing the situation and my options, I was at the base of his mountain at first light. It didn’t take long and I located him feeding about 200 yards where I put him to bed. With a very strong wind I started to climb the mountain with the wind in my favour and I made sure to memorize some landmark.

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[Call of the Wild]

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I had for reference a small circle patch of yellow grass to get to. At which point I knew I would be higher and according to my gps about 400 yards away of the ram. After climbing for an hour in jeans and a nylon Under Armour shirt style I put some warm layers on since it was close to 0 C. For the first half of the climb I barely kept a view of the ram while he was feeding and for the last half I lost sight of him. From his behaviour of the previous day he was bedding right where he was feeding so I was confident he would maintain the same habit if he wasn’t spooked.

When I started my stalk I didn’t really have an exact idea where he would be but I expected him to be bedded. At every step I carefully looked down, in front and up to locate the ram. Eventually as I was about to take an other step I was debating if I should glass a dark colour rock. THANK GOD I DID!! That rock was him looking in my direction, I sure didn’t make any noise there’s no way he smelled me since the wind as very strong in my face. He must had view of only the top of my head and I backup SLOWLY. I took off my backpack and got the spotting scope/tripod ready before I peeked over at him. Bedded he was facing away and down the valley, I moved in just enough to set up the scope and awkwardly sat down with my weight on only one leg and my right bum. It was very excited to finally be within shooting distance of a potentially legal ram on my third year hunting sheep and my fourth hardcore backpacking trip. The ram was at 180 yards 45 degree bellow me.

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[Call of the Wild]

Even with the angle I wasn’t sure he was legal by curl but he sure had characteristics of a mature ram so I went on to age him. I lucked out on a ram that’s not the hardest to age but since I was facing his back I wasn’t able to see enough to age him. After 15 minutes he got up to stretch and turn around to bed again looking in my direction this time. I was in a very uncomfortable position and it was tough to keep my balance now add the fact a sheep was looking at me, I was stuck!!

Now that I had the chance to see his left horn correctly (45 degree) I seriously analysed him, it was tough due to a strong wind that prevented the spotting scope of staying stable. After a few short but good look of his horn sideways I determined he was a 9.5 year old ram and I continuously trying to prove me right then wrong, I noticed a false annulus between the third and fourth year while aging him. After 45 minutes I took the tough decision to try harvesting him based on his age. It’s also at that moment my legs, back and neck started to really be tired with a serious neck pain, add to that a strong cold wind with few snow flakes. A great recipe to test my patience but having such an amazing animal right in front of my eyes was worth much worse pain! I had to wait for him to get up and feed to back out and complete my stalk.

In the end I had to stay motionless for an hour and a quarter before I had my first chance at a ram. Nervous I was but focus and determine I slowly made my way to him. Before I made my stalk I made sure I knew where he was feeding first and I went on with only my rifle. In no time he was just over 150 yards away at maybe 30 degree bellow distracted feeding. I moved in a little closer without making any noise when he looked in my direction and everywhere too. After three good look toward me and the fact he started to slowly feed away I positioned myself for what was going to be the most memorable shot of my life.

Perfectly broadside at about 150 yards he started to run away when I took my shot and lost sight of him within a few seconds. Confident in my shot but confused since he didn’t appear injured I had to go cut him off, I have a history of running animals after a perfect shot to find them dead not far away. He was in the middle of the picture bellow when I shot so I went running to intercept him on the other side of the small ridge. On the other side I could see for a good distance, I looked up and in front to find my ram I assumed would be running. He was no where to be seen and I couldn’t hear any rocks falling, very nervous I looked down since I didn’t want to let such a trophy get away. Relief I found the ram bedded in some big rocks 125-150 yards bellow. Once well position for a shot I yelled to get him to stand up so I wouldn’t shoot a rock. As soon as he was on his four legs I fired a second round in the lungs/shoulder blades and he drop instantly to roll down a short distance in some rocks.

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Excited I went back to get my backpack and then did my final approach to my new trophy. Well mine as long as he was legal, I’m no expert but for the past two years I’ve been doing a lot of studying on aging stone horns. Thanks to the members of this forum who shared their knowledge on the subject over the years, taxidermy shops and hunters with rams on their wall I felt confident in my ability to pull the trigger on a ram base on age alone. At the same time I would have never pulled the trigger based on age if I doubted his age or if he would have been a tough ram to age or with a lot of false annulus. I’ll admit I was anxious to hold him in my hands to confirm his age!!!

I was very happy and relieved to confirm he him at 9.5 and that I was right with the false annulus. I took the time to clean him of any blood for all the pictures, had a mountain house lunch before starting all the required work. The backpack was extremely heavy going down the mountain, it must have been about 100 pounds, and I was thinking if I able haul out everything in one load. I estimated I had 15 to 20 pounds max of gear at the tent.

As soon as I arrived at the tent rain started to fall and I worked on the cape and the skull inside the tent. I went to bed at 1am.

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[Call of the Wild]

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October 9

When I woke up the rain was still going and I knew I had a miserable day ahead. With a very heavy backpack I hiked in the rain for the first half and in a snow storm to finish it. Brutal yes but done with a big smile in one load and back at the truck I was hungry for some chocolate. Back at base camp the remaining neighbour was happy for me and he came back later in the evening from the service station to inform me of the weather forecast, -17 overnight and -10 during the day, ouch.

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[Call of the Wild]

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October 10

The body needed some rest and I woke up mid morning. With fresh snow on the ground I decided to cover some ground to hopefully find a grizzly track. In no time I did find grizzly tracks but they were followed by human foot print too. My neighbour who I didn’t know had a tag too was chasing that grizzly. Since he was the first one on it I left the area and it’s a question of respect too.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02329.JPG

[ianwuzhere]

wicked ram!! good pix!
hard work pays off- good job!

[Call of the Wild]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02330.JPG


One camp neighbour told me earlier that this year was the worse hunting he experienced since he’s been hunting that area in October and the other moose hunters in the area were saying the same thing apparently. So I started to think where the bears should be in the area by habit a this time of the year. They had to be present but not very active. Generally most hunters prefer to stay close to main trails and mature bears would know such behaviour so I decided to go check a spot I discovered earlier in my hunt. That area appeared to have good features a mature bear would look for to stay safe while being close enough of some hunting activity.

My plan was to follow a marsh hoping to find a fresh grizzly track. After analysing my map I had an idea where to hike and after a few hours I found a fresh grizzly track of decent size. I followed it for a bit until I found a small opening in a good spot. I didn’t want to follow that track for too long since the bush was very dense and being alone I wasn’t comfortable to face a grizzly in such environment. I pulled out my small hunting chair and sat down overlooking the opening where I tough was the right place to be factoring the wind.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02341.JPG

I was patient all day and stayed put without really moving with my rifle ready on my legs. Sunset was at 6:30 and I did my last moose calls at 5:45 to give enough time for a bear to move in. My plan was to start making my way back at 6:30 so I wouldn’t have to face a bear in the bush in the dark. Remember the footprints were fresh ones of the night or early morning so I knew a bear was in the area.

Just as I was about to put stuff in my backpack and to leave I heard something coming behind me cracking branches and it was moving at a fast pace. I turned my head and WOW all I could see was some big dark brown grizzly legs at 20 yards! Let me tell you the adrenaline rush kicked into high gear instantly and I was almost freaking out thinking "that’s not where I want to you come out"!!!!!!!!!!!!

At that moment I taught the grizzly was coming for me especially since he had the wind right in his nose. I had to analyse the situation extremely fast because he never stop moving. Finally I could tell he wasn’t looking at me but more in front of me in the opening, so I let him walk by at 20 yards. I certainly didn’t want to take him that close since I would only have those 20 yards of play if he charged after a good or bad shot.

I’m no expert in bears but I believe I have enough experience black bear hunting to recognise what a real mature black bear looks like and with my homework on identifying grizzlies done prior the hunt I knew he was a big mature boar the moment I completely saw him. He went down a small drop that was in front and at 75 yards away he was turning and sniffing around with his head held high. I believe this boar was in hunting mode for a calf moose. What a show to see that close, maybe too close, such a big and beautiful dark colour grizzly!!

My rifle followed him the moment I turned my head to check the branches noise, now at 75 yards I couldn’t support my left elbow on my knee for support for a shot. It was out of question to take him freehand so when he turned facing away I got up and reposition resting one knee on the ground. Now I was firmly steady and ready to take him and my mind was going 100 miles an hour, I didn’t want to make a mistake and loose him.

I adjusted my scope to 10x and everything was in place, now it was up to me. The rush was intense, my hearth was beating like never before and I was focused like I’ve never been too. He was quarter shot facing me with his head high up turned to his right and I had a great view of his front left shoulder. Since I was slightly higher than him I didn’t aim high but higher in the center of the shoulder so the bullet would cross downward first through the shoulder and into the vitals. Confident at that moment I fired a shot at him.

OH GOD WHAT A RUSH!!!!!!! He jumped, turned dancing and roaring then he came back running in my direction. From experience I could tell he had no clue what just happened to him and he was coming back in his tracks not for me. In no time he was at 20 yards again just bellow the small drop and I couldn’t find him in my scope, time to re adjust the scope at 3.5x. He had serious issues to walk and I could hear him filling up of blood, my 7mm Barnes 160gr TSX was a deadly one! I was following him behind some big spruce trees and as soon as I could take a second shot I fired in the shoulder blades/lungs. Again some bear noise and he started to run in his tracks to drop down almost where I saw him the first time!!!!!

I don’t need to explain that at that moment I was seriously freaking out and writing these lines I’m reliving the RUSH in my head!! I had some spare bullets ready on my backpack beside my spare magazine, I filled my rifle’s magazine while keeping a eye on him without any movement of his part. Finally I made my move to him with my rifle in my right hand and a small 5 foot dead tree in my left hand. At 10-12 feet I threw the log on his neck and at the same moment I was ready to fire with my two hands on the rifle. No movement WOW so I slowly move forward and touched his head with my rifle nothing again and again WOW WOW WOW WOW "Alright man your grizzly is really dead"!!!

I did the same thing from the opposite side just to make sure with the same result. Finally I approached to touch him somewhat still nervous. I have a huge respect for such an amazing animal and to harvest one and of this calibre provided me the most insane and intense moment of my life by far!!! What you guys need to understand too is everything appeared to be so fast but at the same time very slow, from the moment I saw him to the when he collapsed it must have passed a minute and a half max!! I don’t think I’ll ever relive such an intense rush again.

Finally I took some time to make a video and to take some pictures. I would have loved to take more pictures and of various angles but the spruce trees were so thick it was impossible and moving him was not an option since he’s a really big boar. I previewed my pictures and I was happy enough so I went to work as the night was setting in for good. First I kept a fire alive all night and snow started to fall heavily shortly after. I finished skinning him at about 2 am and the hike back to camp was brutal in the dark with a hide, head and paws still attached, that didn’t stay fix on the backpack.

A video right after I checked the bear. Yes I’m French but you can still understand how much emotions were going thru my mind.

http://youtu.be/ux7dIUoAEak

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02363.JPG
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02364.JPG
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02366.JPG

[Call of the Wild]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02368.JPG
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02370.JPG
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02378.JPG


October 11

Late morning again with 4 inches of fresh powder snow on the ground and it was still falling heavily. For breakfast some frozen peanut and all my water was frozen overall it was very shitty at that point and it didn’t look promising for the following days. So I decided to wrap up camp and head back home to take care of my two hides and the meat. My neighbour came for a chat, again he was very happy of my success and the same for me since he got his grizzly too. Amazing two grizzlies harvested the same day in the same big valley.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02380.JPG
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02381.JPG

[Call of the Wild]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC02382.JPG

The drive back to Dawson was in a snow storm in the Rockies and the highway was icy for the rest.


October 12

I went for the inspection of my sheep and I’m very happy that I aged him correctly, I know some CI are not worth the crap apparently but it’s a 9.5 year old ram.


I underestimated how much work the hide of a fall grizzly bear involves. The skull is 15 1/16 long and 8 3/16 wide for a 23 1/4 B&C. Finally my grizzly is much bigger than I anticipated 8’5 claw to claw and 7’9 nose to tail for an average that just break the 8’ mark. When the light shines properly on the hair around the shoulders and the back the tip of the hair is a beautiful light gold colour. I plan to make a full mount out of him, he’s an exceptional interior grizzly that deserves to be displayed properly and since that bear is THE HUNT OF MY LIFE for the quantity and intensity of the emotions he provided me I’ll spend the money for such a mount.

I would like to get him done the way he was when I took my first shot at him. Here are two pictures I found of what I have in mind so far, if anyone has any suggestion of any kind I’d be more than happy to see them. He certainly looks similar the last one but he’s even darker.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/grizzly_mount_1.jpg
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/grizzly_mount_2.JPG

Well that completes the story of my hunting season so far. This October hunt is the hunting trip of my life!! I’m kind of hunted out now since I spent all my time off hunting since August. I dreamed of doing such a hunting season for a long time and I’m kind of sad I only have 7 days of deer hunting left this year.

What does 2013 reserve?? I hope as much fun and great souvenirs with the good and tough moments, and I hope find the ram of my dreams!!

I hope everyone enjoyed the story and the pictures.

I have to finish my story to say thank you to everyone I contacted, from this forum or other sources, this year and over the last few years. I had no clue what I was jumping into and how much there is to know when it comes to sheep hunting and hunting in the Rockies. All I had was a dream to pursue and I’m happy I moved out west twice, Alberta first and now I BC which I’ll call home now!!!! You know who you are and this trip would have never been successful without the guidelines, info, the how to sheep hunt and such combined with the experience I gain in my previous backpacking trips. Thanks a lot guys!!!!

For my grizzly hunt I have to say a special thank you to Steven, aka Srupp, for sharing his experience and his kind knowledge on grizzly bear behaviour, how to identify boars over sows, how to truly judge the size of a grizzly, hunting techniques etc. Thanks bud for taking the time to answer my questions this summer, your advices were very useful in finding grizzly tracks and also to harvest one.


Thanks for reading and best of luck to everyone in the mountains in 2013.




Here’s some video of the sheep at Cadomin I forgot to add.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9lK4cc6_F4I

[Call of the Wild]

http://youtu.be/sZ9RfftDx-g

[Call of the Wild]

http://youtu.be/GEF7mlXHxLc

[NORTHERN HUNTER]

Only one word.....Wow......

[bisonhunter]

Absolutely fantastic. I personally hunt for the adventure of it, and consider the harvest a bonus. Your story is excellent and all the pics add volumes to it. You deserve a standing slow clap to get a sheep and grizzly like that in the same hunt, solo, in lousy conditions.
I've heard many a hunt called epic, but that sir was an epic hunt of the first degree.

Thank you
Thank you
Thank you

[moose2]

YA HOO
Way to go Mik I was waiting for this. Congratulations on a couple great trophies and your thread was fun to read and view. It was good to hear that you felt the moose call worked for the bear. I have called in more than a few over the years while trying for moose. It is always worth a try, and sometimes you get a moose to come in as well. lol. Great call on the ram it looks like a nice one to count. I was wondering what the base and length measurements were if you don't mind. PM me next time your up this way and we will grab a coffee. Are you dealing with the same taxi who did your black bears.
Mike

[decker9]

Im sitting here at, awe! what an amazing season you had! and solo at that! AND in October!
I couldent understand a word in your bear video LOL, but i could tell by your expretion and excitment what the feeling must have felt like. Not many people can say they accomplished what you did on this hunt solo.
That bear has an amazing coat, love the color!! Out of thoes two mounts, i like the second one, but thats just me.

My hats off to you Mr.call of the Wild!!!! cheers!

[rocksteady]

One of the best epic threads ever posted on HBC....

You are going to have a hard time to outdo yourself on this hunting season...

[J_T]

Nicely done. On your passion, preparation, pursuit, persistence and patience to re-tell the story. Congratulations on a very successful year. I'm sure you learned a ton.

[hellojello74]

Great job, Great hunting and Awesome story. Totally worth following along, congratulations.

[Wild Images]

Well done
Well written
Well earned
Well THANKS for the ride, awesome season :mrgreen:

[MB_Boy]

Absolutely awesome!!! What a great thread and great story to take us along on!! I couldn't stop reading and wanted to read more and more.......was eagerly checking in on this one waiting for the final chapter!!

Huge congrats on your season and a great story told with AWESOME pictures and video that completely capture the moment!!! :cool::cool::cool::cool:

[Sitkaspruce]

Thanks for bringing us along on your adventure of a life time!!!!

Great story, picts and animals!! love the late season sheep, my fav time to hunt them was late Sept/early Oct.

Congrats on your experience and success!!!

Cheers

SS

[Call of the Wild]

LOL! Only when ON the Minesite Wild One! Took my very first Ram there well above the mine (did a fair amount of Habitat Work there - fish related - back in the day...) and they were anything BUT "un spooky"!! :-D

Great Report, Awesome Pix! And Man! My own feet actually HURT looking at that picture!!

Cheers!
Nog


I believe you. I've heard so many stories, good and bad, of hunting around the mine. It can be tough and a challenge since they apparently know where the mine limits are. When I lived in Alberta I was a couple years away to try a multi species hunt in that part of the province. Not only the sheep are amazing but the mule deer and elk hunting can be something I'm told.

[Huey]

Is this not everyones dream hunt!? Congrats on the success!!

[knightcc]

What an epic story! Inspiration for lots of us I'm sure!

[Call of the Wild]

YA HOO
Way to go Mik I was waiting for this. Congratulations on a couple great trophies and your thread was fun to read and view. It was good to hear that you felt the moose call worked for the bear. I have called in more than a few over the years while trying for moose. It is always worth a try, and sometimes you get a moose to come in as well. lol. Great call on the ram it looks like a nice one to count. I was wondering what the base and length measurements were if you don't mind. PM me next time your up this way and we will grab a coffee. Are you dealing with the same taxi who did your black bears.
Mike

Thanks big time again Mike.


I measured the right horn at 32 4/8 x 13 7/8 and the left horn at 33 5/8 x 13 7/8. The left horn on the CI sheet is 13 4/8 x 34 6/8. A ram with good mass and I’m a very happy hunter. The animals are a bonus to any hunting adventure but I won’t deny it’s more fun coming back home after connecting.

I'll send you a pm for sure next time I'm in FSJ. I have some exams to write up there in the coming months so will make it happen. I'm not sure yet which taxi I'll go with. I'm really considering one in the Edmonton area who specialize in full mounts, he's seriously the top and his work in incredibly amazing. I talked to him few days ago and he said his favourite jobs are full size grizzly bear. He also really likes sheep so I might go with him for both mounts.

[325]

What an amazing hunt!! Thank you so much for taking the time to produce such an exciting accounting of your adventure. It's not often than someone takes two of North America's premier species in their life, let alone on one hunt. You're one hell of a hunter - congratulations

[Getbent]

Amazing story and read...actually enjoyed the recount in french, cool to hear your excitement...very well done. Man, I thought with the title that you were going to pull out a trophy bull as well...you should be quite proud for sure! thanks for taking the time to put it all down....

Guy

[IronNoggin]

Again... Just AWESOME!!
An Incredible Adventure all-round, most Excellent the tale & the pictures!! WELL DONE! :-D


... Not only the sheep are amazing but the mule deer and elk hunting can be something I'm told.

aYup. There are some Monstrous Muley's and Elk over in Alberta, and both a LOT of FUN to chase! Don't discount their Whitetails either! Some of the Biggest and Baddest on this planet!! :mrgreen:

Loved this Thread! Thanks so much for Sharing!!

Cheers,
Nog

[Rodd]

Great thread! Thanks for sharing your more than successful season with us... I enjoyed the entire read. And congratulations on all the trophy's! I bet the taxidermy bill wil be a high one.. Cheers!

[Ozzy]

Awesome Story and pic's !!! I was up there the same time as you actaully and i passed your main camp when we were going in. Seen rams but nothing legal. Again congrats great pics was awesome to see !

[BCrams]

What a fantastic read!! Thrilled for your success on your northern adventure! Simply love the ending with that dark grizzly!

[Tenacious Billy]

This thread is awesome!!

[yama49]

Impresssive as hell!!!! Congrats.. I also agreeit is worth a full mount...

[bigneily]

Excellent story, I gotta say that i originally started just trolling thru your pics , But then had too start at the beginning to read it all. very cool. Neil

[Rubberfist]

An enviable season! Pretty hard to beat a sheep & grizzly combo with a side of elk. I really enjoyed living vicariously through your first sheep hunt of the season - I love a great solo hunt. Way to stick to it and grab the brass ring.

As for any debate over the cost of a full mount: you can always make more money, but you rarely have an opportunity to immortalize the memory of such an accomplishment.

[proguide66]

Holy shit , how much fun was THAT ! Good work , good sharin !!

[sniper ren]

That was an awesome read! Thanks for posting. Congrats on your success. That grizzly sure must have got the blood flowing, good for you for doing the full mount!

[Downwind]

You've had a season of a lifetime! Congrats and I'm jealous. Was everything other then the elk done solo? I was too caught up in reading your exploits to notice that. Again, congrats!

[monasheemountainman]

speechless man! great work beauty animals!

[whitetailsheds]

Great thread and photos.....what a hunt, and fall for that matter!! Congrats, thanks for posting!!!

[Mik]

First of all congratulations on an Epic hunt. The Pictures were amazing, the story was great. thanks for sharing.

[tanker]

great job this got me sooo excited to go deer hunting this weekend! ive put time in i just need more and this was sooo encouraging! thanks

tanker

[Freshtracks]

WOW!!!! Sure glad I was able to catch the October chapter. Had been watching for it. EPIC? This thread goes beyond that. Congrats on reliving your 2012 season with us. Kudo's on harvesting your 1st ram ... and solo to boot. You've done your homework. The grizzly :eek: ... well you almost got me talking french after that adventure. Nerves of steel man.

btw - My new son in-law is French, as well as his 1 hunting brother in New Brunswick. I'm gonna send a link of this thread for his bro to read. I'm sure he'll enjoy your French enthusiasm.

Again 'tip of the hat to you.'

[Call of the Wild]

Thanks everyone for the generous comments. I wrote a long detailed story with many pictures hoping it would help out to pass the long winter wait that’s just starting until next season.


You've had a season of a lifetime! Congrats and I'm jealous. Was everything other then the elk done solo? I was too caught up in reading your exploits to notice that. Again, congrats!


Both mountain trip were solo, for the elk hunt in Alberta we were three and some days elk and moose in BC I was with a farmer friend. Next week I’m going whitetail hunting with my good buddy that was supposed to come in August in Alberta.



WOW!!!! Sure glad I was able to catch the October chapter. Had been watching for it. EPIC? This thread goes beyond that. Congrats on reliving your 2012 season with us. Kudo's on harvesting your 1st ram ... and solo to boot. You've done your homework. The grizzly... well you almost got me talking french after that adventure. Nerves of steel man.

btw - My new son in-law is French, as well as his 1 hunting brother in New Brunswick. I'm gonna send a link of this thread for his bro to read. I'm sure he'll enjoy your French enthusiasm.

Again 'tip of the hat to you.'


Oh boy the French is in your family now!! Remember if you want to shut him up, tie his hands. hahaha

[riflebuilder]

Great thread you had an amazing hunting season. Congrats and thanks for the good read it makes us poor bast...ds that have to work out of Province this fall feel home sick....

[budismyhorse]

wow wow wow..........not a lot of dudes out there would attempt a season like that going solo in those conditions! Great job and thanks for the thread. what do you do for an encore? lol

[Bear Chaser]

Wow. I finally got the chance to read the whole thread and I am impressed.
Great story and lots of good pictures. Congratulations and thank you for posting your adventure.

[MOUNTAIN MAN - TOYOTA/ATV]

Great stories for lots of hunts. Good photos too,

[Knute]

Wow, you are one dedicated, persistent, driven, focused, single-minded, resilient, and probably happier than a pig in sh!t hunter :wink:

[srupp]

Absolutley EPIC..enjoyed every word, every, photo every video...doesnt get any better... supreme results require supreme efforts...thank you.

Steven

[kootenayelkslayer]

Great stuff, congrats on all your success. That dark grizzly is unreal, and a beauty ram of course!

[Rattler]

That has to be one of the best threads I have read here on HBC. Congrats on a wicked season!

Thanks for taking the time to post your story along with all the great pictures.

[ydouask]

Holy Moley, you're the man ! Thank you for sharing your determination and enthusiasm with us, and congratulations on such a fulfilling season.

[MattW]

That is an absolutely fantastic season and some beautiful animals. Your dedication and perserverance is truly inspiring. Thanks for the great write up and pictures.

[Jack Russell]

THAT was some dedicated hunting pursuit! Well done!

[ace76]

That was incredible man, congrats on both of your trophies. And thanx for sharing your story and pics, it was exciting to follow.

[budismyhorse]

Hey....did your ram pass on the jig for horn curl on the long side? looked close to me........

[ROCK BOTTOM]

hey call of the wild. just wondering if you were trying to buy a guide territory in the kootneys last season? im pretty sure we were there together guiding... looks like you had a awesome season looking forward to more pics. ill post some of my pics after the season is over two more days. had a good year this year but dont think anyone beats yours congrads

[Call of the Wild]

Hey....did your ram pass on the jig for horn curl on the long side? looked close to me........


No it didn’t pass the jig, I don’t have the measurements but from I remember it’s about ½ or ¾ short on the long side and 1¼ on the short side.


hey call of the wild. just wondering if you were trying to buy a guide territory in the kootneys last season? im pretty sure we were there together guiding... looks like you had a awesome season looking forward to more pics. ill post some of my pics after the season is over two more days. had a good year this year but dont think anyone beats yours congrads

No that wasn’t me Rock Bottom. I did have an interest to get into the business but after some serious thinking I decided to pursue my current career for various reasons. Thanks for the good words and I’d be glad to see your pictures that’s what this forum is all about, for me it’s not a competition but simply a way to share my hunting trips and read other stories for motivation and learn when it’s possible.

[uraarchr]

Thats an EPIC hunt man!!! Thanks for the story and pics.Awesome animals and country.The best hunt i was ever on was my sheep hunt.

[Striksfromabove]

There is no doubt this man is a dedicated hunter and spends a large part if not all his time planning and orchestrating his time in the wilderness. My hat is off to you in this regard. I must admit I am somewhat troubled by the recount of his encounter with the wolves on his northern backpack trip. I am of the opinions predators need to be controlled particularily in areas where ungulates are susceptable to hunter harvest, however I took exception to the turn of events that were described. I reread the post a few times to give the poster the benefit of the doubt but frankly was not impressed his unconcerned attitude towards wounding game and the lack of attempts at trying to put down animals that were clearly seriously wounded. I am also surprised at the posts from others who were congratulatory and full of praise without a mention of his actions which in my mind were irresponsible. Would this hunter have acted this way with other species by failing to do all he could to kill an animals before focusing on killing others and risking them suffer a slow death. Wolves are taking a bad rap lately especially due to their dramatic increase in numbers and the affects it is having on ungulate populations but lets not lose sight of who were are and ensure that any animal we chose to harvest is put down in the most humane way possible. We owe it the wildlife and we owe it to our selves and we owe it to society who looks upon us frequently with a jaded eye. Don't get me wrong. I am a die hard hunter but also feel we have a responsibility....am I the only one who feels this way?

[sheep.elk.moose fanatic]

Had to bump this one amazing read .. Wow ....fu$king congrats !!