Must do hunts?

[Drunken_Duncan]

Well I just received word that after transferring up here last October my job will be transferring me back to the L48 this October. I've already planned to do some black bear hunting in PWS and down on the peninsula. I would really like to do a sheep hunt this fall as well but have no clue where the best place to go is for just a harvest ticket.

So, if you just had this hunting season in Alaska where and what would be your top picks? Just afraid I may overlook something that this great community may point out.

[MacGyver]

Hmmmmm, all I can say is Drunken Duncan is I think you had one to many if you think this crowd to tell you where to find a sheep this late in the year. Have you trying calling all the transporter to see if there any opening?

[Brian M]

Are you hoping for road-accessible areas, or are you willing to pay for a transporter? Also, what sort of time off can you manage? A few days at a time? A week or more??

[Drunken_Duncan]

Are you hoping for road-accessible areas, or are you willing to pay for a transporter? Also, what sort of time off can you manage? A few days at a time? A week or more??

So I'm not looking for any ones honeyhole. Unfortunately I dont really have the time to go out and gain the experience myself. Although I would love to and had planned to stay here longer to do so. I would be willing to pay a transporter and currently I get every friday off so I could pair that with a few days vacation for an extended trip.

[FamilyMan]

DD you really are asking a lot. Good places to hunt sheep are hard to come by. Suggest you post up what you bring to the party. If you're strong like an ox, offer to carry out an elderly hunter's sheep. Or whatever other talents you have that would make someone wish you were there in their hunt party.

That said, places do exist to walk to the sheep without trekking for days. Its not too late to check some maps and go drive to a place or two. This is a great time of year to scout; just know that the water levels will be different then.

Heck, just yesterday I scouted a possible place for hunting (moose, not sheep) this fall; I found it to be private but the landowner sitting there on a dozer. 30 minutes of chitchat later we'd swapped cell numbers and he gave me permission to access some inaccessible public land by crossing his property, and to kill on his property if I wanted. Just as I was telling my youngest son there THIS is where we'll see lots of moose this fall, we drove our ATV right up on two of them. Turned off ATV and still had time to take 10 pictures before they wandered off. Now that's a fine hunting (scouting) trip for early May!

[Michael Strahan]

So I'm not looking for any ones honeyhole. Unfortunately I dont really have the time to go out and gain the experience myself. Although I would love to and had planned to stay here longer to do so. I would be willing to pay a transporter and currently I get every friday off so I could pair that with a few days vacation for an extended trip.

Duncan,

I think the most you can expect with a question like this is for folks to "help you help yourself".

There's not enough info here to provide what you need. The main issue involves exactly how much time you have available. It can be done on an extended weekend if you really do your homework and know where to go. But you could also spend two weeks in the Bush and come up with zero if you just ask an air service to "drop you in a good spot".

My recommendation is to get with an area biologist with ADF&G to develop some general ideas of what's going on in different areas, then start focusing on a walk-in hunt somewhere. It's getting really late to be reserving air charter space for this coming fall. You may find some help in our Hunt Planning Pages here on the site; we packed a lot of direction in there for you; check the content on that page, and look through the menus on the left-hand side. There's a ton of hunt planning intel there. But you will have to do do your own research and such. The directions are there.

-Mike

[Wet eNuf]

Have you considered hunting the greater black sheep? I've heard many say, look above the goats and you'll find the black sheep... but I commonly find them at the lower elevations. Season is generally open year round.

[akdd]

Duncan,
When you say you transferred up in Oct. does that mean that your residency started in Oct. If so you would not be eligible for a resident license until Oct. So you would not be able to sheep hunt until after Oct. without a guide.

[Drunken_Duncan]

Thank you everyone so far!

I actually signed a lease and started officially living here in August.

Ha! Wet eNuf

Michael: Thanks I will look through that information again! Good tips on getting with a biologist. I wasn't aware they disclosed that information but Alaska is a different animal for hunting than anything Ive been involved in.

Familyman: Thanks for the info! As you know Alaska is huge. Ive been scouting around some for a good Moose spot but havent been successful thus far. What do I bring to the table? I'm not sure I'm strong as a bull but I am deeply involved in the sport of powerlifting. I have a small inflatable jet boat and tons of gear (spotting scope, leica range finder and etc).

Musk Ox? Would this be a pretty awesome hunt?

Caribou?

Fall brown bear?

Other places for black bear?

All the information is overwhelming and instead of spreading my one person thin looking at every option I was just hoping that maybe I could get help narrowing down to a specific area that I may look for different game.

Also I do have a friend at work that has a supercub.

[Drunken_Duncan]

I may be asking the wrong questions.

I'm from Oklahoma and if someone just moved to Oklahoma and was wanting to do some fun hunts before they left I would tell them the following:

Great whitetail hunting in the Southeast part of the state. Some monster whitetail have been taking around Eufala Lake and Wilburton areas.

From this part of the state you could swing down and hunt wild boar on the Red River. Rent some atvs and take off down the red river for them.

If you wanted to hunt some great mule deer then head opposite towards the panhandle and add in some pheasant hunting while your there.

[FamilyMan]

Here is where you can find sheep this fall

I may be asking the wrong questions.

I'm from Oklahoma and if someone just moved to Oklahoma and was wanting to do some fun hunts before they left I would tell them the following:

Great whitetail hunting in the Southeast part of the state. Some monster whitetail have been taking around Eufala Lake and Wilburton areas.

From this part of the state you could swing down and hunt wild boar on the Red River. Rent some atvs and take off down the red river for them.

If you wanted to hunt some great mule deer then head opposite towards the panhandle and add in some pheasant hunting while your there.

Well hell I can do a lot better if we're going to talk about places like that. Here you go. No transporter required.

So where do those sheep live? Yes, you know what mountain ranges. Draw them out on a map. Notice where your lines run right into an actual road creating an X - those spots will be much rarer (1/100? 1/1000?) but they're the same range and approximately the same altitude as where the sheep are, so the sheep will be there too (probably) (or sometimes).

So at one of those X's your plan is to leave your truck, walk away from the road and hike up to the rockline where they are.

But which ridge did you climb? Are you hunting a south facing or a north facing ridge/mountain? What's the difference or your preference? The south facing ones give you and everyone else great visibility due to less growing there; north facing slopes give the sheep great places to hide from the entire world.

Unless you're coming in on opening day to get a ram you've found and tracked until opening day, I'd just rule out the south facing slopes. Instead head straight to the north facing ones that provide more cover for the sheep and gives the hunter on the ground that is right there the advantage over others that won't walk towards any sheep that they can't spot first.

And of course before any of this make sure you're in sheep country and are hunting the altitudes they prefer.

Is that a help?

These exact instructions lands you directly at a spot where I know a 18 year old kid and his 18 year old girlfriend (not an active hunter) both got some real bruisers a couple of years ago. All they had was a pickup truck and shoe leather, and they did what I describe here.

[Drunken_Duncan]

Well hell I can do a lot better if we're going to talk about places like that. Here you go. No transporter required.

So where do those sheep live? Yes, you know what mountain ranges. Draw them out on a map. Notice where your lines run right into an actual road creating an X - those spots will be much rarer (1/100? 1/1000?) but they're the same range and approximately the same altitude as where the sheep are, so the sheep will be there too (probably) (or sometimes).

So at one of those X's your plan is to leave your truck, walk away from the road and hike up to the rockline where they are.

But which ridge did you climb? Are you hunting a south facing or a north facing ridge/mountain? What's the difference or your preference? The south facing ones give you and everyone else great visibility due to less growing there; north facing slopes give the sheep great places to hide from the entire world.

Unless you're coming in on opening day to get a ram you've found and tracked until opening day, I'd just rule out the south facing slopes. Instead head straight to the north facing ones that provide more cover for the sheep and gives the hunter on the ground that is right there the advantage over others that won't walk towards any sheep that they can't spot first.

And of course before any of this make sure you're in sheep country and are hunting the altitudes they prefer.

Is that a help?

These exact instructions lands you directly at a spot where I know a 18 year old kid and his 18 year old girlfriend (not an active hunter) both got some real bruisers a couple of years ago. All they had was a pickup truck and shoe leather, and they did what I describe here.

Thank you sir this should help out some! I was scoping out the range of mountains behind Wasilla area mainly taking Talkeetnaa river east and jumping on sheep river from there and taking it due east into the range. I was telling a guy from work about this and he said he flies over that area all the time and never saw a bush landing strip much less sheep. Said he didnt feel like its worthwhile for me and would ask a friend that was into sheep hunting about a different area. Never heard back so hence the direction needed on that side of things.

[Brian M]

I actually signed a lease and started officially living here in August.

Be careful attempting to hunt under a resident license. The following is taken directly from page 9 of the regulations:

"An Alaska resident is a person who is physically present in Alaska with the intent to remain indefinitely and make a home here, ...."

Based on what you told us, it doesn't seem that you intend to remain in Alaska indefinitely, and thus will not meet the residency requirements. It sounds like it might be safer for you to hunt something that does not require a guide under a non-resident license/tag (caribou, black bear, moose, etc.)

[Drunken_Duncan]

Be careful attempting to hunt under a resident license. The following is taken directly from page 9 of the regulations:

"An Alaska resident is a person who is physically present in Alaska with the intent to remain indefinitely and make a home here, ...."

Based on what you told us, it doesn't seem that you intend to remain in Alaska indefinitely, and thus will not meet the residency requirements. It sounds like it might be safer for you to hunt something that does not require a guide under a non-resident license/tag (caribou, black bear, moose, etc.)

Thanks Brian. I'll go and talk to F&G again about this.

Any direction on a general area for the game you listed? Trying to put my finger on general area on the map and start going up the streams and mountains to scout around.

Im heading down on the peninsula to scout/hunt for black bears. Was thinking of having the train drop me off and float back on the placer river.

[Brian M]

Black bear - Look high in September and October in the Kenai Mountains. There are loads of bears down there, and they should be in the alpine feeding on blueberries. It is a lung-busting hunt, but good odds at getting multiple stalks in. Super tasty meat when they're on the berries.

Caribou - Consider driving up the Haul Road (Dalton Highway). There is a huge amount of information on this hunt on the bowhunting forum. If you have your bow certification, hunt from 1-3 miles off the road and you'll have plenty of elbow room. If not, make careful plans and go out the required five miles. From late August through all of September you should have good odds of a great hunt.

Moose - No great recommendations on that one. I'm a terrible moose hunter, and much like sheep, when folks find reasonably productive moose spots, they tend to keep it close to the chest. Seriously, though...I'm darn near clueless on predictably successful moose areas.