2013 Sheep Hunt pics & tips

[Jim Prawn]

Strike 2 for us near muncho lake. Hundreds of sheep spotted but no legal rams Identified. Tip #1; bug spray

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We hiked for 10 hours with 65 lb packs on day 1 which just about did my 155 lb carcass in. Tip 2; prepare well and limit the amount of uphill hiking through thick bush you do per day. Fortunately we were 2 days before season so we could take it easy for the next couple days to recoup.

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Tip 3; good hiking poles. Ones with shock absorbers and good locking mechanisms (my twist lock Lekis come undone a fair bit) I cant even imagine doing a hunt like this without poles. Especially if you actually had to pack an animal out!

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The day before season we spotted a beautiful ram, heavy and wide but couldnt put a full curl on him from across the valley. We continued to look around for more rams and lost track of this one which we later regretted. We were probably 2 km away and knew he was at least very close to the nose on one side and in hind sight wish we had of kept better track of him so we could possibly get another look at him closer up. Tip #4; if you're new at this and see a good ram even if you dont think he's legal watch him for as long as possible just for the learning experience of observing their habits/patterns.

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Once again, after only about 2-1/2 days on freeze dried food I was starving. Tip #5; If you're a light weight like me with next to no body fat take lots of food. My hunting partner has a little extra meat on him and doesnt get as hungry as I do. I figure his body has the extra reserves to burn off whereas mine just starts digesting muscle after a while, compounding hunger and fatigue. 2 Quaker oatmeal, 2 cliff bars and one Mt House dinner per day was not enough for me. Also check the freeze dried food you're buying for how much water is required and how many calories they contain, there is quite a bit of variaton in these and when youre a couple hours straight down and up for water this matters!

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[Jim Prawn]

One day we attempted to hke up an unknown hillside where we could look across to another hill we had seen rams on 2 years ago. 4-1/2 hours of hell later we realized that the thick brush had pulled the toggle spout open on our 5L water bladder and we had lost all our extra water. Not knowing where we would find water on that side we had no choice but to head back down to the creek where we had come from. Tip 6: make sure youre water containers are secure and fool proof!

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Although the weather was quite stable compared to when we were ther 2 years ago in the 3rd week of august, we still endured multiple brief thunder storms including one that very nearly tore our tent from the hillside. Had we not been only minutes away to secure things better this could have ended our trip on opening day. Tip #7; expect the worst weather and secure your tent as best as possible; tie off to roots, bushes, trees, rocks, whatever is available.

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On our way in we stopped in Fort Nelson and bought $30 worth of ice to leave in the cooler at the truck. 7 days later when we returned from our hunt, we still had ice.... and very cold beer! We had also draped a sleeping bag over the cooler in the back of the truck which we think made all the difference in keeping the ice given the temperatures.

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All in all another great experience despite coming home with 2 uncut sheep tags in our pockets. My only other advice at this point would be to take good cameras and take lots of pictures and/or video while up there, it is truly amazing country to be in. I should also note that besides sheep we saw a very nice 5 pt caribou, a dandy tri palm moose and a 10 inch + billy goat. I only wish I had a camera that could have adapted to my spotting scope for some pics of those critters. Anyways, hope that might help out some first timers, also open to input from the veterans as to whether this info is good bad or indifferent. Good Luck to those on their way. And look out blacktail bucks here we come...!
JP

[two-feet]

Sweet hunt! Too bad on no sheep but good tips and photos none the less. Keep up the good work

[pronghorn]

Sounds like a great trip

[Darksith]

yup, you guys sound like you had another great experience, and that honestly is the most important thing. We all learn the hard way, but that also makes for good stories around the camp fire

[Sitkaspruce]

Thanks for the report, great trip!!

Some good tips for other hunters.

Cheers

SS

[KB90]

Looks like a good trip JP! Too bad you guys weren't able to connect. Some good tips as well!


I only wish I had a camera that could have adapted to my spotting scope for some pics of those critters.

A little tip for you, you don't need any kind of adapter! A camera will work great by just holding it up to the spotter. and playing with the zoom.

Here's a pic of a bull caribou from my trip last week just holding the camera in the eyepiece.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/DSCF4228.jpg

[sheep.elk.moose fanatic]

Thanks for the good tips!!

[warren0427]

Trips into that country are always successful even if nothing hits the dirt.Beautiful country. Thanks for the story and pics.

[warnniklz]

I love it!!!!!!!

[northernhunter]

Looks like a good trip, to bad you didn't get closer to the ram to count rings. It's awesome country up there, and just being there is worth the trip alone

[kennyj]

Congratulations on a sucessful hunt. ( you made it back safe )
Great photos and tips.
kenny

[kevan]

Thanks for the awesome thread and as others have said, great photos and very useful tips..

[GoatGuy]

Great pictures, looks like fun.

[Everett]

Those look like some serious mozzie bites hope they all die off before next week:evil:

[Jim Prawn]

Should also have included that myself and my hunting partner are VERY happy with our Mystery Ranch packs for this hunt. Lots of room and they disperse the weight well around your waist. That said, I am going to add some padding at the bottom of the shoulder straps because the plastic buckles dig into my ribs a bit there. Also, make sure you get the propper waist belt size. By the end of the week we were both almost out of adjustment.
JP

[sheep hunter]

Thanks for the tips and sharing your adventure.

I am heading up tomorrow for two weeks and for will be packing some bug dope for sure. I also just purchased a new Mystery ranch 7500 this year it will be my first trip with it.

[ActionJackson017]

Excellent post - thanks for sharing, Jim. Good luck with them blacktails!

[coach]

Exceptional thread, JP! So great of you to share the good and the bad and to educate the rest of us jealous wannabe's. :-D I sure hope I can one day enjoy the beauty and challenge of that country. Best of luck with the remainder of this young season and here's to tagging a sheep next year.

This thread is what HBC is supposed to be all about. Thanks!

[goinghunting]

How did you make out on your trip kb90?

[Darksith]

Looks like a good trip, to bad you didn't get closer to the ram to count rings. It's awesome country up there, and just being there is worth the trip alone

Are you allowed to count rings anymore? For some reason I thought they got rid of that because of the controversy that came with it, but I could be wrong

[Jim Prawn]

Are you allowed to count rings anymore? For some reason I thought they got rid of that because of the controversy that came with it, but I could be wrong

you still can for thinhorns (although the regs recomend that you dont) It is no longer allowed for bighorns because their dark horns and more prevalent false annuli make it extremely difficult.
JP

[islander7mm]

Thanks for the story. Reading a new hunting trip thread on here is as refreshing as that beer must have been. (well almost) Thanks for posting, it's what makes this site great.

[ace76]

Great narration and pics JP, Muncho is beautiful country isn't it? Although I love it up there, you have made some old memories of the horrific bugs in that area resurface for me. Don't know if I will ever go up early again.

[325]

Thanks for the great hunt report!

[spear]

sitting in a hotel in fort nelson, up the tuchodi in the am. Thanks for the report Jim, sorry no rams bit I'm sure it was a great trip nonetheless.

[Call of the Wild]

Great way to write your story!! That's what it's all about; tough work to find sheep.

[nature girl]

I liked your story. I just give you credit for walking for 10 hours with a 65 lb pack on.
Did you see any grizz?

[Weatherby Fan]

Awesome pictures and story,thanks for sharing, I can't wait to one day do the same.
WF

[Wade]

Well getting eating by bugs and no sheep, it looks like you had a fun trip. So Jim, when you drove through Prince George where did you have dinner??

[Jim Prawn]

I liked your story. I just give you credit for walking for 10 hours with a 65 lb pack on.
Did you see any grizz?

No bears both years we were there. A bit of sign in the creek bottoms on the way in but thats it.
JP

[Jim Prawn]

Well getting eating by bugs and no sheep, it looks like you had a fun trip. So Jim, when you drove through Prince George where did you have dinner??

We searched out the copper pig but they are not open on sundays so we just ended up back on the highway and ate at Earl's which worked out fine.
JP

[Jim Prawn]

Another thing I meant to mention for those heading to Muncho is to gas up at Toad River and avoid buying gas at Muncho Lake Resort. I think the toad station was only about 80 KM away and gas there was $1.70/L vs $1.96/L at Muncho.

[358mag]

Another thing I meant to mention for those heading to Muncho is to gas up at Toad River and avoid buying gas at Muncho Lake Resort. I think the toad station was only about 80 KM away and gas there was $1.70/L vs $1.96/L at Muncho.

Well some thing just never change that dam square head sure know how to screw you ,last time we stopped in there for lunch we waited for over 1/2 hr the server girls were just walking around trying to look busy, couldn't get any service so got up and walked out . Fellow in the lobby said to us don't worry if your not staying in the resort they wont serve you . Buddy had the same problem there late last fall ,pulled in at 6pm to fill up on diesel and get a bite to eat , no go the girl at the frt desk told his only way to get fuel + eat you had to get a room for the night !AVOID BUYING ANYTHING FROM MUNCHO LAKE RESORT !!!!!

[Quesnel Kid]

How much weight did you loose? man two oatmeal two cliff bars and a mountain house would leave me staving as well that can't be over 2000 cal a day. When in the mountains I plan for 3000 a day with some high fat back up just incase. While heavy a small bottle of olive oil adds fat, calories and flavour to dinners. Great pics and good story Im jelouse

[Jim Prawn]

How much weight did you loose? man two oatmeal two cliff bars and a mountain house would leave me staving as well that can't be over 2000 cal a day. When in the mountains I plan for 3000 a day with some high fat back up just incase. While heavy a small bottle of olive oil adds fat, calories and flavour to dinners. Great pics and good story Im jelouse

I went in 155 came out 148. My hunting partner was 200 came out 180. We did also have a few of the Mountain house breakfasts; scrambled eggs and bacon, and granola with blueberries.

Another tip - make time for the hotsprings!
JP

[Mik]

Great tips, beatiful scenery, i enjoyed reading your post. thanks for sharing

[Ltbullken]

"2 Quaker oatmeal, 2 cliff bars and one Mt House dinner per day"

Holy crap! It's amazing you did it on that diet!! lol. You are probably burning 1500 - 2000 calories a day with all that hiking with weighted packs. Food is fuel. Need the lightest but highest calorie foods you can get! I take a lot of GORP, dried pepperoni (good fat source for energy burning and protein for sustaining), dry cheeses, etc. I sometimes bring ReadyChef meals (from my army days). They are wet and a bit heavy but have lots of good energy in them and you don't need to bring extra water for dehaydrated foods, so it is a trade-off. You can eat them cold too if fuel is an issue. But sounds like an awesome experience out there. Will take your lessons to heart for my goat hunt coming up!

[Rackem]

Thanks for the tips and pictures!