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Dall sheep hunting offers sportsmen a challenging quarry and an excellent trophy. With their thick, magnificently curled horns, Dall sheep make for a top-notch alpine prize.
The Quarry
Dall sheep, sometimes called Dall’s sheep and including the subspecies Fannin sheep, live in the subarctic regions of North America, including northern British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska. They live in steep mountains where they can quickly escape less agile predators. They have white coats, black noses, and yellow horns and eyes.
Prize rams can weigh nearly 300 lb—twice as much as the largest ewes. They yield about one-third of their weight in meat, which many consider to be excellent. However, since they’re so hard to reach, few Dall sheep hunts are performed for the sake of the meat alone, but rather for the experience and the trophy. Both sexes usually stand about three feet tall at the shoulder.
Both males and females grow horns. During the first three years of their lives, the horns of males and females are very similar in size and shape, curving backwards and outwards. The horns of ewes then reach their largest size, but those of a ram continue to grow, curling forwards again. By the time they reach eight years of age, a ram’s horns form a full circle, known as a full curl. These typically reach 35 inches in length. Most Dall sheep hunting is done in the hopes of bagging one of these full-curl rams, especially those with exceptional horns that are 38 inches long or longer.
Rams and ewes tend to form separate groups and approach the opposite sex only during mating season. Both sexes fight amongst themselves for dominance within their groups, and battles between rams can be spectacular.
Dall sheep hunts are done during August and occasionally September. Most outfitters offer 10-day hunts.
The Hunt
Our outfitters often take clients out in bush planes in order to reach the hunting grounds. Hunters then proceed into promising territory. Most hunts are performed at altitudes of 5,000-7,000 feet, where the largest rams can be found.
Most of the time, a hunter can get the opportunity to bag a ram without an excessively grueling hike, but it’s important to be prepared for one just in case. It may become necessary to pursue your quarry for a considerable distance over very rough terrain.
The most commonly recommended calibers for Dall sheep hunts are .243 and .300. It’s recommended that you be practiced at hitting targets 300 yards away with your chosen rifle in order to have the highest possible chances of success.
Call Global Sporting Safaris today at 888-850-4868, Extension 705 and let us know what type of Dall sheep hunting experience you are looking for. We’ll send you information on opportunities that match your goals. Our experienced outfitters are second to none and we’re happy to share personal experiences with you.
Trying to combine brown bear, elk, moose and mule deer all into one hunt is practically impossible. Brown bear, by definition, live in a very limited area along/adjacent to coastal areas on mainland Alaska along with the various islands including the ABC islands (Admiralty, Baranof, and Queen Charlotte) as well as Kodiak and Unimak Islands. With some exceptions including the Kenai and Katmai Peninsulas of Alaska, moose are generally not available in occupied brown bear habitat. Likewise, mule deer are non-existent in Alaska. Roosevelt elk are available on some of the Alaskan islands but I believe that they are on a limited quota and tags are hard to come by. So, the brown bear combination is not practical – most folks that hunt brown bear do so stand alone, although Sitka blacktail deer are available in some areas in conjunction with the fall hunting seasons.
Elk and mule deer are available in a combination hunt in many areas of the western US and southern Canada. Specific areas of British Columbia may also be able to offer grizzly bear in conjunction with antlered game including elk and/or mule deer – but grizzlies in BC are very expensive. Insofar as Alberta is concerned, I believe that the grizzly bear season is closed for non-resident alien hunters, but would have to double check that to be sure.
All in all, there are a number of factors to consider in planning your hunt. If you are looking for a six-point bull elk in excess of say 320 B&C and a mule deer buck in excess of say 170 B&C then it is altogether a different ball game as males of this size just don’t grow on trees and it becomes a function of time. Moreover, the more animals that you try to combine on one North American hunt, the more likely you are to fail on one or more species – the days of unlimited game populations are over, weather often can be a factor during the fall, etc. The more animals you try to combine on one northern hunt, the more that these factors come into play and the more limited the areas that we have to choose from.
My recommendation would be to look at either an elk/mule deer hunt or moose hunt. You will need to decide if you want Canada moose or Alaska-Yukon, which will then dictate where we need to look and what other species might be available. An Alaska-Yukon moose would also give an opportunity for black/grizzly bear and/or caribou depending on where you go – keep in mind that Alaska-Yukon moose hunts will run well over $10K/hunter depending on the area and the outfitter and trophy fees will be required for grizzly bear/caribou so you could be looking at $20K each by the time it is all said and done. Canada moose hunts are cheaper, but the moose are smaller and the opportunities for other big game species will be limited depending on where you hunt. Western Canada moose are generally only available in southwestern Canada.
Brown bear hunts in Alaska are currently running anywhere from $10,800 to over 20K per hunter plus air charters. Grizzly bear hunts in AK are currently running from about 8K to well over 13K depending on the area and outfitter.
Bob Anderson
Worldwide Hunting Consultant
Global Sporting Safaris, Inc.
Global Sporting Safaris’ Bear Hunting Blog is based in Casper, Wyoming. Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. is a Full-Service Booking Agency established in 1991. We have a staff of Bear Hunting Consultants and Fishing Travel Agents with a combined 175 years of experience. We hold Integrity, Ethics and Honesty in high regard and deal with each client in a one on one basis