Ready or not, here I come. I am I the middle of planning and preparing for a very special hunt and time is flying by. Like most hunters who look forward to a special hunt, the time seems to drag until you need to get all your gear together, do all your scouting and make your final destination plans. Most of these tasks are taken care of by guides and outfitters, but most of us cannot afford to be guided so the time really flies when the packing and last minute planning is being done.
I drew a special Dall sheep tag for an area close to civilization. I will be hunting near Palmer, Alaska in an area that used to have only general seasons until around 7 years ago. If you know anything about Alaska, you know that all the sheep territory near any urban sprawl is not hunter friendly. It used to be easy for someone to day hunt close to town but those days are over. Due to over hunting and too many hunters, the state of Alaska has basically turned all these ‘close-to-town’ hunts into highly coveted draw permits. The chances of drawing were around 1% and I was lucky enough to score a permit this year.
Getting ready is like a part-time job. I have already hired a licensed air transporter to fly me into my hunting area. I will be hunting at the very top of a small cluster of mountains with a glacier nearby. The worst part about this is that I have to pay over $1000.00 for air transportation because it is simply too rugged and too high in elevation for a person to carry enough gear to last 14 days while burning thousands of calories getting up there.
The best part of flying in to my hunting area is that I will be arriving at my hunting destination and will not have to hike several miles into it. That is a bonus. However, my hunt starts in late August so I will be planning for snow and bad weather for sure.
The best part about my hunt is that I can shoot any ram. For most of Alaska, the legal minimum age for rams is eight years old or a full curl. For those in the know, aging sheep from hundreds of yards away is difficult even with a spotting scope, so that is why most hunters only shoot full curls because it insures that the ram is legal despite its age. My hunt will provide less stress as I can simply find a ram I want to shoot and try to make it happen without worrying about its age.
Be sure to stop by again for more details on this hunt!
