I’d dreamed of going on a Dall sheep hunt for nearly a decade. After saving and planning for this hunt, it became a reality in the spring of 2019. I reached out and contacted many different outfitters for information over the rest of that year. I finally narrowed my search to two outfitters and called other hunters for references. I chose to go with Justin Dubay of Kokanee Guide Service and booked for the 2023 season.
The next few years went by quickly. Over the past two years, rumors of a declining sheep population in Alaska surfaced. Although this made me very concerned, I’ve learned it’s always better to be positive no matter the situation.
Finally, the time had come to make my journey. I had been anxiously waiting all these years and had prepared for months in advance. We made it into the field on August 9, 2023. That first evening, we had three small rams cross the steep ridge above camp, which fueled my excitement for opening day. The morning of the 10th started slowly with low clouds all around us. We started hiking about mid-morning once we could see better. After only a few miles, I spotted a lone ram high up in the cliffs. We watched the ram for several hours, and it appeared he was legal, but we couldn’t confirm for sure because of the angle. We were as close as possible to the ram as he sat overlooking the tight canyon 1,200 yards away. With the ram’s current location, it was impossible to get closer. We could do nothing further at this point unless he descended out of the cliffs. Little did I know, this was the start of a nine-day standoff watching this ram.
As we carefully headed back to camp down the canyon, trying our best not to be seen by the ram, we noticed on our return that we could watch him from our camp. We knew we would be ready for him when and if he finally decided to come down.
On day two of the hunt, we checked on the ram from the previous day, and to our disappointment, he had gone higher, not lower. We decided to check the surrounding drainages for other sheep and keep an eye on this ram each morning and evening.
As the days passed, we seemed to find several half-curl rams but nothing in that full-curl range or even close. My nerves about possibly not finding a legal ram grew each day as the ram from the first day stayed in the safety of the high cliffs. The days blurred along, and the next thing I knew, eight days had passed and the ram on the high ridge continued to sit within a 200-yard area from where we first spotted him on opening day. I thought for sure he would have to come down eventually.
On the morning of the ninth day, we all awoke, started breakfast, and checked on this same ram. To my excitement, he had dropped to a level where I may have a chance at him. We watched him feed into a small, tight draw and bed down. We used this chance to head up the canyon and get into the best position possible. We climbed up the neighboring ridge, but unfortunately, we were still much further than I had hoped. The ram appeared feeding slowly towards us, and Justin confirmed he was indeed legal, but our distance was still much further than I would have hoped. At this point, the ram continued to feed out of sight. We sat and waited, hoping he would move a little closer for a shot. After seven hours, he appeared again, but to my disappointment, he was on the far side of the draw and heading back up into the high cliffs where we had no hope of a shot.
Additionally, the terrain was so rugged that we would have had no way to retrieve him even with a shot. As we returned to camp, it had begun to sink in that my dream of harvesting a Dall sheep might not happen. My guide, Justin, said, “Don’t give up yet; we still have time.”
Day 10 came fast, and I didn’t sleep much. The last day of my hunt had arrived, and the ram we had been watching for the past 10 days was still sitting in the same place high above the canyon out of reach. As we talked in camp that morning, we were trying to think of any way possible to find a way up to the ram. Nothing seemed to be possible. It was about 12:30 p.m. when Justin said, “I can see some ewes and lambs over on that ridge. No, wait, they are rams.” We quickly got out the spotting scope, and from two and a half miles away, we couldn’t tell exactly how good these rams were or if there was even a legal ram in the group. At this point, what did we have to lose?
We started our trek at 12:45 p.m., and the next couple of hours were filled with maneuvering our way through thick brush. This path was uncharted land for us as we were unable to get to this area earlier in the week due to high water in a tight canyon. We finally made it to the drainage where we had last seen this group of rams. We last saw them heading towards the top of a glacier. As we started up the glacier, the wind changed and began blowing up the canyon towards the glacier, and the odds seemed against us. We crept slowly over each section, exposing more area, but there was still no sight of the group of rams. We had almost reached the last hill in the middle of the glacier when I saw the white patches of bedded sheep from the corner of my eye. We hit the ground as if hit by lighting. One small ram stared right at us and then returned to feeding. They were only 450 yards away at this point. Justin quickly confirmed one ram was legal, but that ram was out of my sight. We sat and waited for the next couple hours, hoping they would stand. Finally, they started to stand and walk towards us one by one. The largest ram in the group was the last to get up and last to come over the hill towards us. I made sure he was the one, and as he turned slightly, quartering towards me, I took my shot.
The sound of a bullet hitting its mark was undeniable. I watched as he dropped and rolled down the mountain. The rush of excitement hit me like a freight train! As we celebrated, I saw the other seven rams standing nearby and looking down at the fallen lead ram. I basically sprinted over, and to my amazement, he was much larger than I could have ever hoped for in a ram. The mass and character were awesome. I came to Alaska chasing a dream and overcame the odds by taking a 12-year-old ram on what seemed like the 11th hour of my hunt. It was a perfect ending to my dream hunt.
The next few years went by quickly. Over the past two years, rumors of a declining sheep population in Alaska surfaced. Although this made me very concerned, I’ve learned it’s always better to be positive no matter the situation.
Finally, the time had come to make my journey. I had been anxiously waiting all these years and had prepared for months in advance. We made it into the field on August 9, 2023. That first evening, we had three small rams cross the steep ridge above camp, which fueled my excitement for opening day. The morning of the 10th started slowly with low clouds all around us. We started hiking about mid-morning once we could see better. After only a few miles, I spotted a lone ram high up in the cliffs. We watched the ram for several hours, and it appeared he was legal, but we couldn’t confirm for sure because of the angle. We were as close as possible to the ram as he sat overlooking the tight canyon 1,200 yards away. With the ram’s current location, it was impossible to get closer. We could do nothing further at this point unless he descended out of the cliffs. Little did I know, this was the start of a nine-day standoff watching this ram.
As we carefully headed back to camp down the canyon, trying our best not to be seen by the ram, we noticed on our return that we could watch him from our camp. We knew we would be ready for him when and if he finally decided to come down.
On day two of the hunt, we checked on the ram from the previous day, and to our disappointment, he had gone higher, not lower. We decided to check the surrounding drainages for other sheep and keep an eye on this ram each morning and evening.
As the days passed, we seemed to find several half-curl rams but nothing in that full-curl range or even close. My nerves about possibly not finding a legal ram grew each day as the ram from the first day stayed in the safety of the high cliffs. The days blurred along, and the next thing I knew, eight days had passed and the ram on the high ridge continued to sit within a 200-yard area from where we first spotted him on opening day. I thought for sure he would have to come down eventually.
On the morning of the ninth day, we all awoke, started breakfast, and checked on this same ram. To my excitement, he had dropped to a level where I may have a chance at him. We watched him feed into a small, tight draw and bed down. We used this chance to head up the canyon and get into the best position possible. We climbed up the neighboring ridge, but unfortunately, we were still much further than I had hoped. The ram appeared feeding slowly towards us, and Justin confirmed he was indeed legal, but our distance was still much further than I would have hoped. At this point, the ram continued to feed out of sight. We sat and waited, hoping he would move a little closer for a shot. After seven hours, he appeared again, but to my disappointment, he was on the far side of the draw and heading back up into the high cliffs where we had no hope of a shot.
Additionally, the terrain was so rugged that we would have had no way to retrieve him even with a shot. As we returned to camp, it had begun to sink in that my dream of harvesting a Dall sheep might not happen. My guide, Justin, said, “Don’t give up yet; we still have time.”
Day 10 came fast, and I didn’t sleep much. The last day of my hunt had arrived, and the ram we had been watching for the past 10 days was still sitting in the same place high above the canyon out of reach. As we talked in camp that morning, we were trying to think of any way possible to find a way up to the ram. Nothing seemed to be possible. It was about 12:30 p.m. when Justin said, “I can see some ewes and lambs over on that ridge. No, wait, they are rams.” We quickly got out the spotting scope, and from two and a half miles away, we couldn’t tell exactly how good these rams were or if there was even a legal ram in the group. At this point, what did we have to lose?
We started our trek at 12:45 p.m., and the next couple of hours were filled with maneuvering our way through thick brush. This path was uncharted land for us as we were unable to get to this area earlier in the week due to high water in a tight canyon. We finally made it to the drainage where we had last seen this group of rams. We last saw them heading towards the top of a glacier. As we started up the glacier, the wind changed and began blowing up the canyon towards the glacier, and the odds seemed against us. We crept slowly over each section, exposing more area, but there was still no sight of the group of rams. We had almost reached the last hill in the middle of the glacier when I saw the white patches of bedded sheep from the corner of my eye. We hit the ground as if hit by lighting. One small ram stared right at us and then returned to feeding. They were only 450 yards away at this point. Justin quickly confirmed one ram was legal, but that ram was out of my sight. We sat and waited for the next couple hours, hoping they would stand. Finally, they started to stand and walk towards us one by one. The largest ram in the group was the last to get up and last to come over the hill towards us. I made sure he was the one, and as he turned slightly, quartering towards me, I took my shot.
The sound of a bullet hitting its mark was undeniable. I watched as he dropped and rolled down the mountain. The rush of excitement hit me like a freight train! As we celebrated, I saw the other seven rams standing nearby and looking down at the fallen lead ram. I basically sprinted over, and to my amazement, he was much larger than I could have ever hoped for in a ram. The mass and character were awesome. I came to Alaska chasing a dream and overcame the odds by taking a 12-year-old ram on what seemed like the 11th hour of my hunt. It was a perfect ending to my dream hunt.