45th B-Day success

[RadSav]

Well, the B-day trip to NWT was a success!  Typical jack wipe sheep guide sort of ruined the first hunt though I am very pleased with the ram.  Swapped guides on the caribou hunt and had a great time.  Chased this guy from 10am until 7pm when I put an arrow through his heart at 60 yards.  Probably one of my top three hunts ever.  45 yards from the very top of the mountain took everything I had to give.  Worth every aching breath.  Can't wait for B-Day #50 when this trip is finally paid off and I can treat myself to another.

[rasbo]

wow both animals are awesome,looks very steep,I got winded looking at the pics...Hey radsav at the ages we are at best not to rush them

[BOWHUNTER45]

awesome .....man I really want a Dall sheep ... he is a Dandy 

[BOWHUNTER45]

How much did it set ya back ?

[RadSav]

I've tried to block the total expense out of my mind.  I paid the Outfitter over the course of three years so I might be off a little, but I think including trophy fee for the Caribou and before travel and special gear cost was about 15,000 peep sights at wholesale (around $27,000.00).

[Icdeadelk]

 Those are some real beauts.
     congrats on your success. Awesome pics....... you look very happy.

[Bigluke1981]

Congrats on a great Hunt!!!!

[Michelle_Nelson]

Looks like you had a great hunt!  Some great looking animals!

[3nails]

Very nice! What was it about the guide that was bad?

[BurleyDog]

Congrats! Wonderful animals.

If you don't mind sharing more details of the hunts I'd appreciate it.
What about the sheep guide didn't you like?

[carpsniperg2]

Congrats those are some top notch trophy animals right there

[3nails]

 Oh yeah, how many inches on your rams curl?

[RadSav]

Very nice! What was it about the guide that was bad?

To be fair I really do not like hunting with guides period.  So what is a poor experience for me might be advantageous to someone who has limited experience with alpine hunting.

I want a guide to share his knowledge of the terrain, animals and help get my fat arse up the hill.  Once an animal is spotted I prefer they get the heck out of the way and let me hunt.  So often (with sheep guides especially) they simply want a shooter and not a hunter. 

I felt like I should have put on a halter so the guide could lead me around with a 10' rope.  Any time I would stray off 20 to 30 yards to glass an area he missed I'd end up getting rocks thrown at me with a stern gesture to get back in line.

Unfortunately the nature and expense of sheep hunting breeds clients that only cherish the self promoting trophy.  If you really want to hunt you have to get in the guides face and have a serious man to man argument and that's just not in my nature.  Would surely have benefited my hunt and that is my fault I did not.  There was a much larger sheep in the area I really wanted, but I let my passive nature and irritation drive me to say, "Screw it!  Let's just kill a sheep and get me off this dang mountain."

I'm going to give the guide the benefit of doubt.  Later this year he takes the owner of Kuiu (co-founder of Sitka Gear)and his 12 year old son on a hunt aimed on becoming the youngest kid to take the Grand Slam.  He was probably using me as practice for having the 12 year old in tow - It could happen.

This guide was a human mountain goat!  Packed huge loads with ease, was a pleasure in camp, was honestly concerned for my health, and definitely wanted me to succeed in getting a nice ram.  Just his idea of getting there and mine were quite a bit different.  I share the blame for not making my point sternly enough.

My second guide, however, took the time to get to know me and asked the right questions as to how I preferred to hunt.  They don't usually chase a single bunch of Caribou for nine hours over two steep mountains and take one so high they send in a helicopter to pack out the meat.  But this young kid listened to what I wanted and helped me succeed with great enthusiasm.  It was almost like hunting with "Crazy Larry" my main hunting partner.  Unlike the sheep hunt it was an abnormal experience for the species and we both enjoyed the uniqueness of it all.  Even if it busted our butt.

[RadSav]

Oh yeah, how many inches on your rams curl?

If I remember correctly it was 34" tip to tip with the right side at 36" and the left at 35". 

I'm damn happy with him regardless of how much I've been whinning about the hunt.

[3nails]

 Wow. I'd say you got way more out of the hunt than the "self promoting trophy". Sounds like you learned from and grew from the hunts which is what hunting is all about. (for some) Thanks for sharing.

[shanevg]

Congrats on some great trophies!  Sorry about the bad experience with the guide. Did you shoot the sheep with you rifle or bow?

[PacificNWhunter]

Great trophies!

[RadSav]

A few more pictures showing variation of terrain and elevation on the Caribou hunt.

[RadSav]

Congrats on some great trophies!  Sorry about the bad experience with the guide. Did you shoot the sheep with you rifle or bow?

The new Savora Titanium prototype went through him like he was made of butter.  48 yards down hill - shot him for 41.  In at the last rib out in front of the shoulder.  Took out the aortic arch perfectly. 

Unfortunately, he can not be an official bow kill as he only had three and a half good legs due to a previous gun shot.  I'm not much into record books so it makes little difference to me.  Though I'm sure I would have had a much more difficult time getting such a good shot had he been 100%.  He had caught our movement about 5 yards before the shot.  That would more than likely have been a busted stalk if he were not injured.  So "unofficial bow kill" is a fitting description.

[marty]

Congrats great trophies!

[Michelle_Nelson]

That is a Beautiful Caribou.  I love the color on him. 

[RadSav]

That is a Beautiful Caribou.  I love the color on him.

Thank you Michelle!  You really need to put your hands on him to fully appreciate how perfect his color really is.  Duane at Fireside will be mounting him in a shoulder mount once the velvet antlers arrive in late October.  He will also be doing a lifesized mount on the Dall.  You'll have to drop in and take a look when he's finished.

[carpsniperg2]

The guides up there can be a bit funny with how far they let you get away from them. They worry about people getting hurt and something going wrong. Which in some of the areas up there is a big deal. When you get back in there and get a problem, even a small one can be a huge deal. That sounds like the case with your hunt. It still sounds like a great sheep hunt to me and one to be proud of.

[RadSav]

That wasn't really the case.  I know the outfitter very well and a lot of guys that have gone up there with plenty of freedom to hunt within legal limits.  I just drew a short straw and didn't feel like fighting for another.  The 'bou hunt more than made up for it as it was more like a sheep hunt than a caribou hunt.  So I got the two hunts I was expecting and the quality of animals filled my expectations completely.  Just the trophies associated with each of those hunts was reversed.  Makes it a bit more special if you look at it in the right light.

My first trip that far north, two great shots, a successful field test of a great new product and I spent my 45th birthday on top of the world with two animals I thought I might never get a few short years ago.  Doesn't get much better than that!

Positive memories in all.  I'll keep the good ones and forget about the bad.  One of the reasons I did not indulge in my first post. 

Now I got to get me one of those helicopters and the hot chick pilot to fly out my elk meat from on top of the mountain.  That was sweet!!!

[Goomsba]

Great pics

[Todd_ID]

Still thinking about how I would feel if I had been through the same experience.  I think I would have handled your situations about the same way; I've never been one to think that confrontation could help a hunt in any possible way.

Your pictures and trophies speak for themselves!  Tens of thousands of hunters would love to trade places with you on that hunt!  Congrats on a couple pure memories!

[RadSav]

Thanks Todd,  you interested in splitting the cost of the helicopter?  I think we could afford it.  It's the hot chick pilot that probably puts the price out of reach.  Maybe Randy could pony up for her

[RadSav]

Congrats! Wonderful animals.

If you don't mind sharing more details of the hunts I'd appreciate it.

The hunt was out of Norman Wells, NWT with Ram Head Outfitters.  In my research there simply is no better outfitter if you want to take a Dall with your bow.  George Lawrence of Spokane 2011 Washington state sheep governors tag holder was on his third trip with Ram Head and took his third archery sheep with them the day after mine.  Damn *censored* got "Jesse" the guide I wanted !  Big plus about Ram Head is they have their own planes and helicopter so there are no charter fees or delays.

My mentor "Duke" Savora took the first bighorn with bow in Alberta by a non native archer.  His guide on that trip was the father of Ram Head owner Stan Simpson.  So it was fitting and special that I used Simpson to test the new Savora prototype broadhead.

We flew from Norman Wells to base camp with Stan Simpson as the pilot of some small tail dragger.  Sorry, I'm ignorant when it comes to planes  Landing on an uncomfortably small island on the Keal river.  From there we took a jet sled almost 2 hours up stream to the sheep area.

After three days of climbing seven miles and almost 3,000' in elevation from river side to the sheep area and back down each day we packed camp up the hill to within 1/2 mile of the area the three nice rams were using.  My goodness was that appreciated!!!  Moose and grizzly spotting almost every day was a nice treat.

There was a rock gateway passage that was way cool.  On one side of it there was little to no sheep sign.  On the other side sheep sign everywhere.  Sure wish the pictures did it justice.

Rained every day.  Gore-tex pants, gators and boots and we still had wet socks and feet almost the whole day every day.  Hard to glass due to fog/clouds.  And to my surprise I actually was able to get used to swallowing mosquitoes and ignoring being eaten alive.  I did eat dinner inside my tent to finally have a break from them each day.  The moment my arrow hit that sheep the sun came out and it was clear and hot - go figure!

Once back at base camp and the sheep was fleshed we jumped into the Raven R44 helicopter with Megan Simpson (the hot chick) as our pilot and headed north west about 55 miles to the caribou grounds.

They usually sit on a rock pile about 2,000 yards from camp, eat noodles and hot coco all day until a good bull comes by.  But at 10 a.m. when I spotted that herd with 14 big bulls on the mountain top three mountains away it took little discussion before we headed out after them.

At 7 p.m. I had a down hill shot at the bull but I forgot to make the down hill yardage cut.  As I watched the arrow sail over his back I figured that was it - stupid, stupid, stupid.  Luckily the whole herd was more stupid than I was.  They came back toward us on level ground trying to figure out what and where that sound had come from.  I held at full draw for almost five minutes waiting for a cow behind my bull and a younger bull in front of him to move.  They were looking pretty hard to see where the previous noise came from so letting down was absolutely not an option.  Finally the cow stepped backward and my bull stepped forward.  The shot missed the small bull by about 10 inches and hit the big boy dead center through the heart.  He ran about 35 to 40 yards straight away and then rolled another 20 yards.

My amazing young guide saw that we might loose him over a cliff with one more good roll.  So he took off at full speed taking his jacket off as he ran.  When he reached the bull he covered the bulls head with the jacket and held on to the horns just in case there was one more kick left in him.  But it was all over by then.  The prototype had made quick work of him.

Want to cure long term target panic?  Just hold on the target for five minutes before release.  It works GREAT!  Best shot I've made in years.

Well that's about all the details I can give without writing a book.  Hope that's good.

[MLBowhunting]

looks like a awesome trip and congrats

[PA BEN]

 
I think we need a few more pictures of that pilot.

[dreamingbig]

Thanks for sharing the details of your hunt.  Sounds like an awesome experience.  The first two pictures of you with the caribou and the ram are priceless.  Congrats!

[coachcw]

I'm in envoy

[actionshooter]

Looks like a dream trip for sure.