Alaska Hunting Adventures

In the late nineties a friend of mine invited me on a Desert sheep scouting trip. During this trip Brett Caldwell, my friend’s guide, gave me some advice on how to get started on sheep hunting. Soon after this I was applying for several states and had been bitten by the sheep bug. As with other big game hunters, the country that sheep live in was very addictive to me. I became more familiar with all of North America sheep and realized that the Dall’s Sheep was one of the most beautiful of the big game animals. I read as many articles I could and researched a lot of outfitters. With the price of these hunts I was still wary of spending this money with someone I did not trust. Finally in 2004 a friend of mine, Gordon Tattersall, told me that he had drawn a Tok Management Area (TMA) permit. He took the time to explain how and why he made the choice of Alaska Wilderness Adventures (Matt Snyder, Sue Entsminger, and Frank Entsminger). I immediately made a call to Matt to find out about availability. In my sheep naivety I thought I would be hunting in the fall. Matt proceeded to inform me that he was booked for 2004, 2005, and only had one spot open for 2006. He told me that he does not like to book people too far in advance as he wants to make sure the resource can handle the harvest. This is just one of the many examples of the honest and integrity of this family. There are many legal rams to be had but they are animate about taking older age class rams regardless of whether they are full curl or not. That day I mailed him the required money. It was now a 27 month wait. Believe it or not this time went by very fast. I worked out harder than I ever had in my life and in the end I was lucky I had over two years to train.

On August 16^th of this year I arrived at Frank and Sue’s house in Tok , Alaska . They are very hospitable and had just finished a successful first hunt. All three hunters took nice rams and only one was under 10 years of age. I met two other hunters waiting to go afield like me. It was quite an experience as this was my first ever guided hunt. Everyone had great stories and was much more experienced than me. I was extremely nervous and felt like a deer in the headlights as I did not know what the ensuing week would hold. I had told Matt from the start that I was after an Alaska adventure and if we got a decent sheep it would be a bonus. Frank, Doug Eilertson, and I into the field on the 17^th and were greeted with rainy, drizzly, conditions. This was pretty much the status quo for the entire month of August. We camped the first night and spotted one ram several miles away. The next day we fought a constant downpour and ended up in the tent at 4:00 P.M. , we did not exit the tent until early the next morning. While in the tent that night Doug told me that we would be getting a sheep on the 20^th, Sunday. I told him that it didn’t matter as I was having a great time. On the 19^th we were greeted with more rain in the morning that gave way to sunny conditions in the afternoon. It amazed me how each time the weather changed Frank predicted it 15 minutes before it occurred. We found ourselves cornered by the ram we found the previous two days. This meant a two mile detour, pretty much one mile straight down and one mile straight up. We topped out that night and the bottoms of my feet hurt. The training I had done worked, but I did not prepare myself properly for the steep side hilling. Around 8:00 A.M. on the 20^th Frank came to our tent and said it was time to go find a sheep. Doug told me this is going to be our day. We walked about one half mile when Frank walked back and said that we had a band of 8 rams in the bottom of a basin. The wind was swirling terribly so it was time to wait. We changed vantage points several times throughout the day to make sure the rams would not catch our wind. It was crucial to get a chance at these rams as we did not know when we may find others. Finally at 3:00 P.M. Frank descended from his perch and said it is time as the sheep were starting to move. We dropped down our side of the basin keeping a rock outcropping between us and the sheep. When we looked over the edge the rams were almost directly below us. This severe angle unnerved me as I had never attempted a shot like this before. Frank had me look over the rams and informed me we had several choices as there were 3-4 good legal rams in the group. After a few moments Frank told me that the one in the bottom was the best ram. I asked for a yardage and it was 420 yards. I quietly commented that this was too far. He calmly told me that we will wait as he thought that they may move closer. Once again prophetically Frank was right (by this time I was calling him “All the moves Entsminger”). The band was coming our way. We waited, then suddenly a young ram spooked from over the ridge. Frank figured a predator must have made them nervous. It was now time to shoot, the yardage read 340. The crosshairs settled and after two decent shots the ram was down. We watched as the remaining bachelors stopped to see what happened to their patriarch. What a beautiful sight, 7 Dall rams looking straight back at us.

As I approached the fallen monarch I could not believe his mass. I commented to Frank that we did not shoot a thin horn but a ram that looked like a Bighorn. At this moment I again realized how fortunate I was to be hunting with this group. Not only did he guide me to a ram but he did not hesitate for me to shoot by far the biggest ram in the group. I have heard stories of other outfitters saving these animals for “special” clients. He had met me just days before and was now let me take this great Alaskan ram.

Matt, Sue, and Frank have guided every Tok Management Area Governor’s Tag hunter since the inception in 2000. They live close to the area, have hunted for decades and truly care about the resource. If anyone is considering applying for the Tok Management Area, you must give them a call. I came home as satisfied as a first time Dall sheep hunter could possibly be. A thank you goes out from the bottom of my heart to four new friends Matt, Sue, Frank, and Midnight (Sue's dog.)

Rick Carosone