Well, I am trying to play catch up with all of the video and pictures from this past year. I was able to go up to Alaska and hunt with my brother. It was a hunt never to be forgotten! I was fortunate enough to take an arctic grizzly, mountain goat, and a dall ram, all in a matter of a few weeks. Good friend and guide Joe Gonzales went with us to experience Alaska and help be a pack mule. I am indebted to Joe and my brother for all of their help. All I can say is it won't be the last time I get up there. I will post a few of the pics from the hunt for now while I work on something nicer with the incredible video we were able to capture. As you can see from this first picture these animals are magnificent and impressive!
His ram was aged at 9 years old. Congrats Shane on one awesome ram!
Joe and Shane heading off the hill!
With one down, it was my turn. We hiked and hiked, and then hiked some more before we came upon this gorgeous ram. We could tell he was broomed and was really heavy. A definate shooter for us!
Shane and I tried and tried to get on this ram. He was on a knife ridge, with only one way to access him. We knew we would scare him if we went that route, and the other routes we could not make it due to the steepness of the terrain. The only option was to wait straight below him at almost 700 yards. We waited and waited until he finally presented a good shot. I hit him hard the first time, and followed it up with an insurance shot to make sure he didn't move anywhere. Here is a pic of me just before I took the shot of a lifetime.
He did a tumble but was caught quickly before he rolled hundreds of yards. This is how we walked up on him.
It took quite a while for us to get up to him. The terrain was very dangerous, which will be shown in the video at a later time. Aged at 13 years old by the Fish and Game he was more than I'd ever dreamed of. His body was in poor condition and the biologist mentioned that he probably wouldn't of made it through the winter.
Good friend Joe Gonzales and I.
Now we had our work cut out... I still had a bear tag in my pocket, but up until now no bears had been spotted. We took our time packing the ram out and enjoying the trip. Sheep is YUMMY!
While watching a band of ewes and lambs one afternoon, I suddenly noticed them running for the cliffs. Out of the bottom of a cut came this arctic grizzly chasing them with all he had. You could see the frustration as he was unsuccessful in his attack. I got excited and Shane and Joe came over to take a look. This bear looked like a savage out there, wanting to eat anything in his path. After a short stalk to put us within a couple hundred yards, he was down with a couple quick shots. These bears are awesome looking animals. I guess they are only out of hibernation for a short amount of time so they are extremely aggressive as they try to put on fat for the winter months.
Well we were now loaded down to the max! We made it back and completed the first leg of my Alaskan Adventure!! It was now off to Kodiak Island for mountain goats. I knew we were going early in the year, and the goat hides wouldn't be grown out all they way. This was the only time my schedule would permit so we were on our way.
This truly was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
We landed on the far lake in the picture after waiting for the ice to scoot off to the side!! Roland with Seahawk Air is the best pilot on the island, and it showed as he maneuvered his Beaver into this lake.
We immediately saw goats up in the cliffs around camp. What a feeling to know we were the only hunters in the area and we had spotted what looked like some nice billies from camp!
We knew we didnt have long with the weather forecasted to take a turn for the worst. We woke up early and started hiking up the steep face. On our way up we spotted this nanny with her kid. Learning to judge these goats was difficult, as they all looked great. The billies stood out, but telling one from another was challenging. We used our spotting scopes and hd cameras to really get good looks before deciding to take the one..
After doing a good hike and looking at many goats, I decided to take this guy at 340 yards straight down the mountain. One shot and a long slide later, he was down.
Here I am just before taking the shot.
Just after the shot.
While Shane and I were not any experts at judging these things, we actually did a great job, as this billy was 9 5/8"
What an awesome experience.
We got back to camp and watched this huge sow with her cubs.
Thanks Shane and Joe! This truly was an experience that will be forever etched in my mind. My wife was a trooper, as I was gone almost 3 weeks. I returned home just in time for the elk and deer season! There is no way this trip could of happened without the help of Shane and Joe. I hope someday to return the favor.
I have hundreds of pictures from this adventure. Clay Goldman is mounting our sheep, and I cant wait to see them!! I will put up some video and more amazing pictures at a future date. Some of the video we were able to capture was truly amazing.
