DRaWn: WMu 438 Trophy Sheep

Transcription

Spring Issue
WILDSHEEP
Minister’s Special Licence
Lloyd Persson’s Hunt of
a Lifetime- P.8
DRAWN:
WMU 438 Trophy
Sheep - P.20
Dream
Bull
Arne Johansson’s
Kudu Hunt- P.12
WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION OF ALBERTA
2014
FOUNDATION
OFALBERTA
exciting news!
potential world
record bighorn - P.7
MEET
DIRECTOR
frank
turner
P.4
Also in this issue
Message From the President - P.3
2014 RAM Awards - P.10
Red Deer Banquet & AGM - P.16
Yellowhead Chapter Banquet - P.18
Lifetime Members - P.19
Projects Update - P.24
Corporate Sponsors - P.26
WWW.WSFAB.ORG
BOARD EXECUTIVE
DIRECTORS
Reg Prostebby, President
Red Deer, AB
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (403) 896-6949
Steve Broadhead, Director-at-Large
Cardston, AB
Phone: (780) 653-2508
Rob Erickson, Vice President
Sundre, AB
Phone: (403) 638-4105
Darren Cooney
Sylvan Lake, AB
Phone: (403) 887-3927
Brian Scott, Treasurer
Rocky Mountain House, AB
Phone: (403) 845-5209
Dave Craig
Innisfail, AB
Phone: (403) 227-6440
Dallas Cota, Secretary & Director
Red Deer, AB
Phone: (403) 343-1673
Frans Diepstraten
Pat Long, Past President
Peace River, AB
Phone: (780) 624-1208
Calvin McLaren
Coleman, AB
Phone: (403) 562-7395
Mark Handel, Northern
Director
Mayerthorpe, AB
Phone: (780) 786-2451
Blair Seward
Lethbridge, AB
Phone: (403) 894-7986
Darrell Lendrum, Southern Director
Lethbridge, AB
Phone: (403) 328-8191
Lloyd Persson, Donor Contact
Innisfail, AB
Phone: (403) 227-3225
Brenda Erickson, Youth Camp Coordinator
Sundre, AB
Phone: (403) 638-4105
Christy Hallock, Director & Youth
Camp Coordinator
Phone: (403) 845-3815
Phone: (403) 851-4912
OUR
MISSION
To promote and enhance
increasing populations
of indigenous wild sheep
in Alberta through the
funding of programs
that support responsible
wildlife management,
conservation education,
youth involvement and
the preservation of our
hunting heritage.
W. Frank Turner
Cochrane, AB
Phone: (403) 932-0522
Kelly Weibe
Nanton, AB
Phone: (403) 646-4649
Arnie Johannson, Edson Chapter
Edson, AB
Phone: (780) 723-4833
John Tanghe, Edson Chapter
Edson, AB
Phone: (780) 723-6297
COVER PHOTO CREDIT:
© DARRYN EPP
please submit newsletter articles & photos to Mark handel:
Phone: (780) 786-2451 or email: [email protected]
2 | WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION OF ALBERTA
P.o. Box 2639
Rocky Mountain House, AB T4T 1L6
(403) 845-5544
[email protected]
www.wsfab.org
EDITING & DESIGN BY
Main Street Marketing Company
www.mainstreetmarketingco.ca
Copyright © 2014
Wild Sheep Foundation of Alberta
a message from
The president
I am thrilled to be elected as the new President of WSFA. I believe that
I am the fourth president to be elected to this position. I am a sheep
hunter who first started backpacking, and then has gotten into hunting with horses as I got older and the mountains seem to get steeper.
I have been involved with WSFA for probably NINE of the 15 years this
chapter has been in Alberta in various capacities.
REG PROSTEBBY, WFSA President
I am a recently semi-retired production engineer and businessman
living in Red Deer with my wife. I
have been away from the Board for
several years now, but am impressed
with how the organization has grown
and matured to the organization it is
today.
I am so looking forward to getting to know the new working Board
and working with this team of very
skilled individuals who all have a
deep passion for sheep hunting and
the outdoors.
I believe that there will be many
challenges ahead for this Board.
Some of the areas that I believe will
become big issues going forward are:
1. the sheep draw system. it is
broken now, and will require the
skills of many groups to come
up with a viable and workable
system.
2. Working with a government that
is in turmoil today and is looking
for direction as we head towards
yet another election. This will be
a tough scenario to get changes
implemented.
3. Sheep regulation changes. The
resiliency study now ongoing, I
believe, will solidify the need for
changes based on sound information and scientific data to support
these potential changes.
4. Predator control within the
province will become an even
more sensitive issue as we strive
to maintain a balance between
predator and prey.
5. Habitat enhancement/prescribed
burns to improve habitat for sheep
will become more challenging.
6. Increasing our membership.
I am looking forward to these and
many more challenges going forward,
and will be looking for discussion
with our members, the Board and
Government to implement sound
conservation and improved opportunities for all hunters within our
province.
I will always use the WSFA’s mission statement to be the “acid test”
to guide our business decisions for
any projects or funding opportunities. WSFA has always been a “get
the job done” organization, and with
the skills that this Board brings, I
believe we will continue to be an effective and fair organization.
I hope to be able to use these
skills and expertise to guide us going
forward.
Lastly, I want to thank the past
Boards for doing such an excellent
job of putting together two very successful Banquets in the province. We
are already planing for next year’s
events, and they look to be even bigger and better. Thank you.
- Reg
Prostebby
Reg Prostebby, WSFA President
[email protected]
SPRING ISSUE - 2014 | 3
About FRANK TURNER
Frank is a Manager of Technologies and Logistics with STARS (Shock
Trauma Air Rescue Society) AND has worked with THEM for 10 years.
he is responsible for all the medical gear on each of the 11 aircraft
spanning SIx bases and three provinces, in addition to all simulation
(human patient Simulators) equipment. He currently resides in the
Cochrane area with his wife Lois and three kids - Robert, Blair and
Anastashia. His oldest Daughter Jo Anne lives close by with the future
son in law.
meet the director:
Frank Turner
The cochrane-based director recounts
the story of his first sheep hunt.
From as early as I could remember
I knew sheep hunting and guiding would be in my blood. It was
a little hard not to when you were
one of five sons born and raised in
the Turner family. Not only ranching
on the family farm in the Cochrane
area but also guiding and helping
with Dad’s family outfitting business,
Alberta Bighorns Ltd.
My earliest exposure to sheep
hunting came when I was 14. I drew
a non-trophy sheep tag in the Ya Ha
Tinda area. This was an experience,
to say the least! We had the camp
in the Panther River area so it was
a long horse ride over to where we
where going to hunt on the other
side of the Dog Rib ridge near the Ya
Ha Tinda.
It was a family hunting affair that
day. I was hunting with my mum
Sunni and dad Bobby, plus my older
brother Norman. We also had a fellow by the name of Les Short riding
with us. Norman had a black bear
tag and part way on the trail ride to
our destination we caught a glimpse
of a bear running across a gully on a
mountainside up to the left of us.
Dad told Norman, “There’s your
bear we will look for him on the way
back.” That would turn out to be
very interesting on the way back.
When we got to where we wanted
to hunt it worked out perfectly. Several hundred of yards up the ridge
from us there has a lone ewe. Mum,
Dad and Les stayed with the horses
while Norman and I worked within
150 yards of the ewe. The first shot
I went over with my grandpa’s 303
however the second shot connected
and down she went. Then the work
began gutting it and loading the
whole ewe onto the packhorse.
My mum drew a non-trophy sheep
tag as well that year. After we had
my sheep on the packhorse we rode
further up the trail and mum did
have a chance at a couple ewes’ in a
herd but she decided to pass considering the fact that she has done a lot
of sheep hunting herself and has a
42 inch 150 plus B&C Dall sheep from
the Nahanni. I am sure I would have
passed too in order to give my son
an experience to remember.
Little did we know it was going
to turn into a little bit of a rodeo on
the way back to camp. Les was in
front of me, Mum, Dad and Norman
were behind me on the trail with the
packhorse. We were coming into the
area where we saw the bear earlier
in the day.
The next thing I knew, Les stopped
abruptly in front of me and put up
his hand showing four fingers. No
less than 40 yards in front of us
was a sow grizzly sitting on the trail
facing us. Out from the trees behind
her came one yearling cub crossing
the trail and down over the bank.
Then again out from the trees came
a slightly larger bear. Then a fourth
bear came out from behind the trees.
It was no yearling - he was a third
bigger than she was. He took a nip at
that sows ear and she spun around
so fast swatting him over then bank.
She turned back to face us, gave a
grunt and then over the bank she
went following the other three.
He is an avid outdoorsmen that loves being on the mountain with
family, friends and clients. He is a member of the national Wild Sheep
Foundation, plus their >1% club, and Director for the Alberta Chapter.
“from as early as i
could remember, i
knew sheep hunting
and guiding would
be in my blood.”
If that wasn’t exciting enough, further down the trail back to camp we
crossed a dry creek bed. My horse
tried to jump it then next thing I
knew I was in a rodeo, he was bucking and kicking, and eventually he
threw me. The only thing that was
hurt was my pride.
Since then, I have had a lot more
MEET THE DIRECTOR (continued)
sheep hunting and guiding experiences. One that sticks in my mind
was with my two oldest brothers
Tony and Jim on a Sheep Creek
between the North Burnt Timber and
the Panther River. I will save that
story for another time.
Being in the Turner family, people
assume that I must have shot a
tremendous Bighorn myself. But no,
I haven’t even shot my first. With
guiding and other commitments, I
don’t get a lot of time to hunt for
sheep myself.
In our family there is lot of pride
and a little bit of a friendly unspoken
competition. The only Turner brother
to shoot a Bighorn is Jim with a 186
7/8-book ram. (He also has a pickup
that goes 189 inches)
Then you have Dad’s two Bighorns
he calls King and Prince. Plus his
book Dall’s and of course mum’s
book Dall. Dad has never had his
Bighorns scored and never will. I
tried to score King once myself when
I was 12ish. Man did I get bawled out
for it. He is a big ram that anyone
would be proud of. In addition to
this the caliber of rams our family
has guided clients to over the years
including the biggest Terry Marcum of
Steamboat Springs Colorado 42 inch
ram. This all adds to it, you can’t
just bring home any old ram.
For me that’s why my quest continues for the big and only one. I am
sure when that day come’s it will be
well worth it. With great memories
and trophy to be truly proud of in
the caliber for our family. I am sure
with me I will have the same feeling
as dad had with King - “Maybe if I
just hadn’t pulled the trigger I could
still be riding and climbing those
mountains looking for him. What am
I going to hunt now?”
I do have aspirations of hunting
other species of sheep including to
go up to the Nahanni where mum
and dad hunted with Chuck Hayward
to look for a Dall sheep. Speaking of
that a Texas buddy of mine is trying
to convince me to come down to
hunt Barbary Aoudad rams this year.
I got an excellent Axis stag with that
same buddy last year in Texas. So it
might be in the cards, we’ll see.
exciting
news!
Alberta fish and wildlife officers
have discovered a huge bighorn
sheep near hinton that has the
potential to break the existing
record for ram horns. the ram,
which died of natural causes over
the winter, had horns measuring 209
1/8 inches. the previous record, also
from in alberta, was 208 3/8 inches.
BOBBY TURNER’S RAMS PRINCE AND KIND
L-R: MLA Don Scott, ESRD Minister Robin Campbell, Fish AND Wildlife Executive Director Travis Ripley, and fish AND
wildlife officer Denis Prodan PHoto credit: © Environment & Sustainable Resource development
minister's special licence
guy in a guard shack who told us
it was 15 kms to the Hot Rocks. As
it turned out it was shorter but we
didn’t go anyway.
hunt of a
lifetime
On November 10th, after working
the Agro Trade show in Red Deer, we
left to meet Rob, fuelled up the four
trucks then headed out to the YA
Ha Tinda ranch with my truck full of
firewood. Rob had been out the day
before with Kyle, his assistant guide
and Kyle’s friend to set up camp.
By Lloyd Perrson
w ell , i t all s tarted whe n i
b o ug ht my 201 3 Min ist er’s
special lic e n ce sheep raffle
ti ck et s f rom ian stuart. i
b o ug ht t w o ticke ts at the
red deer sp ortsma n sho w
i n marc h. lat er o n i went
to ian ’ s ho me an d bo ught
m ore. whe n i was at a wild
sheep f oundat ion (w sfa)
b o ard meet in g i n red deer
a sh ort time later, i told
t he direc tors that i had
j u st don at ed m one y to
t he alberta f ish a nd game
ass ociat ion .
Who knew that I would win the
Ministers sheep draw in August?
When Martin Sharren phoned me I
just about fell out of my chair when
he told me that I had won the sheep
draw. I told him that was funny as I
belonged to the Wild Sheep Foundation of Alberta (WSFA). He told me
I should belong to Alberta Fish and
Game as well and I told him I did
belong to Dickson Fish and Game.
I thanked Martin, then phoned
back and thanked him again. I then
drove out to tell a friend of mine,
Peter Mountain, that I had won and
that he had to come with me on the
hunt. Then I emailed all the guys
from WSFA and told them. I also
phoned Pat Long, President, and told
him that I had won. Everybody was
happy for me. I was so happy I just
couldn’t believe I had won. I had
been buying tickets since back in the
days when RMEF had the raffle.
Now I had to find a guide so I
could get a good ram. I chose Rob
and Brenda Erickson, owners of
Scalp Creek Outfitters out of Sundre,
Alberta. Rob is Vice-president of
WSFA and Brenda works with Christy
Hallock to put on the youth camp
every year. They have been doing it
for years and do a great job.
I phoned Rob and then went out
to his place, after he had finished
guiding, to ride a horse for the first
time in about 50 years. Rob had
a good horse for an old man and
I didn’t fall off during two days of
riding practice. I also got a personal
trainer from Snap Fitness in Innisfail
who had me doing a lot of walking
and other things so I wouldn’t tire
out too quickly. It worked.
I also talked to people that had
a lot of experience hunting sheep Ron, Tom and Jill Layden - who told
me things I should know and what I
was getting into.
One weekend in September, Peter
and I drove to Cadomin to look
around. This is where people told me
I should go for big sheep. We drove
up on Saturday morning and stayed
at a cabin belonging to a friend of
Peter’s. Once we got there we drove
around the mine area and saw some
sheep. There were some big ones but
on the mine area where you can’t
hunt.
We also went to other areas and
checked things out. We talked to a
When we arrived Peter set up his
tent that he had brought with him.
We put square bales on the floor of
the sleeping tents, canvas on top
of the bales, then foamies and our
sleeping bags. My bag is a Base
Camp good for -42, everyone else
also had good bags. With the four
tents including the kitchen tent with
all the food and five horses in camp
we were all set.
That night we all had a good
sleep, then got up, ate and started
looking for sheep. We drove up the
road, stopping to glass the cliffs and
slopes. We spotted sheep that day
but weren’t sure if they were good or
not. Rob said a couple looked good.
This went on for about 10 days;
driving, riding and spotting. For two
of those days it snowed heavy and
the wind blew. One day we went
back near Mountain Aire Lodge, then
back in around Sheep Creek. All we
saw were tracks and other hunters.
On a switchback we saw some
diggings on a hillside, turned out
it was a sow grizzly with two cubs.
A battery operator took some good
footage of them. Rob and Kyle rode
up there one day to look round but
didn’t see anything but tracks.
Now we were getting down to
crunch time. I was supposed to be
back at work around November 20th.
We went into Sundre to get a few
supplies and I called my office in Red
Deer and got the ok to stay longer.
By the way, cell phones don’t work
on the ranch, satellite phones do.
Now we were doing a lot more
spotting. The herd behind the ranch
was getting bigger, we could see
from tracks in the snow that about
10 head of sheep had come in from
the north. Also there was a smaller
bunch of 10-15 head. Rob and Kyle
had been riding up to spot and had
found some good rams.
On November 21 we loaded the
horses and went to get a close look.
I had to walk a little until I could
get on and ride up for a look for my
sheep. We rode up behind the ranch
to Chinaman’s Peak, then got off
and started glassing. We did a lot of
zigzagging to look at some big rams
that were broomed off. I told Rob I
didn’t want a squeaker.
Then Rob found one with just a bit
of brooming that was a full curl and
asked me if I wanted it. I said yes!
Then, when I got into position at less
than 100 yards, the 300WSM went off
and the ram dropped in his tracks
and slid down against a small tree.
Then the cheering, handshaking and
back slapping started.
We had told Kyle that when I got
my sheep the nuts had to come back
with it. Neither he nor I were sure
we wanted to eat them but as it
turned out Peter fixed them up and
they tasted great. Then we did some
celebrating!
The next morning we went to Sundre to register the sheep and get him
plugged. The Sundre district officer
was away on course but an officer
from Calgary that was on patrol up
that way did the registering. My ram
is now at Sugar Creek Taxidermy, I
am hoping I can have the ram done
in time for our WSFA’s banquet in
Red Deer in March. We’ll see.
I would like to thank the following
people for helping me get my ram:
Peter Mountain, cook; Wayne Mountain, cooks helper and spotter; Herb
Noyes, spotter; Kyle Skyback, wrangler and guide, Rob and Brenda Erickson, Scalp Creek Outfitters; Jamie
Osmond, Wolverine Guns and tackle;
Mark Mountain, spotter; Ron, Jill and
Tom Layden, Sue and Pat Long, for
the encouragement.
I had a great time and an incredible hunt. All the help that I got in
making it happen is so very much
appreciated.
I will keep on buying tickets, who
knows what I will win next, but
whatever it is it will be fun.
WFSA member
2014 ram awards
WSFA Director KELLY WIEBE and
WSF President GRAY THORNTON
present FRANS DIEPSTRATEN with
the trophy buckle for 1st place
in the Rifle Category. DIEPSTRATEN harvested a beautiful
178 5/8” Rocky Mtn Bighorn.
TYLER
WIEBEARMSTRONG
and THORNTON
was prepresent
sented
accomplished
with 4th bowhunter
Honourableand
Mention
long-time
forWSF
his impressive
supporter and
164
0/8”
conservationist,
Bighorn.
TOM FOSS with
the 1st place trophy buckle for
the largest archery-harvested
ram - A Rocky Mountain Bighorn measuring 177 6/8”.
WIEBE and THORNTON present accomplished bowhunter and long-time
WSF supporter and conservationist,
TOM FOSS with the 1st place trophy
buckle for the largest archery-harvested ram. A RM Bighorn measuring
177 6/8”
other awards (not pictured)
1st Honorable Mention Rifle Ram
Matt Mann for his
167 3/8” Dall’s Sheep
2nd Honorable Mention Rifle Ram
Ryan Powell for his
160 7/8” Stone’s Sheep
LLOYD PERSSON receives 3rd
Honorable Mention plaque for
his bighorn taken with the
Alberta Resident Premier’s Tag
in 2013. PERSSON’s ram was
169 3/8”.
The coveted Franklin Ross
Outstanding Guide Award was
presented to a very deserving
(and humble) seasoned guide,
KELLY WIEBE. Presenting the
award, and strong promoter of
WSFA and the award is past-VP,
WSFA, ROGER BRATRUD.
Alvin Guinn Youth
Hunter of the Year
Award Buckle Winner
Monty Groat
Runner’s Up
Quinn Chattaway & Jasper Sloan
mountain, hoping to find the big bull
holed up out of the weather. As the
day passed, wouldn’t you know it,
but we again got a call from Gary
Birch that he had located the bull
with a bunch of cows. He was feeding on the mountain right behind the
local farmers house!
arne johansson's kudu hunt
dream bull
Away we went again.
By arne johansson
a f t er the l on gest wi nter i
c a n remember , climbi ng on
a plan on april 3 0 , 2 0 1 3 to
h u n t plai n s game with sun
a f ri c a safaris as going to
be a wel c ome relie f.
It was my third trip hunting with
Pierre Moolman and although my
list was a little shorter than previous hunts, it was going to be a little
tougher.
I was accompanied by Peter Benders, on his second trip with Sun
Africa Safaris, Lin Orosz, Bruce Roy,
Jason Spenst and Kevin Spenst, all
first timers to the African continent.
Pierre and his wife Annalie own
and operate Sun Africa Safaris out
of Pearston in the Eastern Cape of
South Africa, a really first class hunting operation. Jason and Kevin were
not only there to hunt, but also to
film a couple of shows of “The Hunting Chronicles” for wild TV. It was
going to be a busy 10 days.
Pierre and his crew picked us up
in Port Elizabeth and the adventure
began. On this hunt I had my sights
set on a Zebra, a bush pig, a caracal,
a warthog and an Eastern Cape Kudu
over 50 inches. I was hunting with
Peter Benders and our PH was Juan
MacDonald.
Over the first 6 days of the hunt
I was able to get a handsome Zebra
Stallion, a Bush pig, and a Caracal.
We were looking for a warthog of
size and the most elusive prize, the
Eastern Cape Kudu bull over the 50
inch mark.
Day 7 found us searching for the
Kudu on a range where Pierre had
seen a very mature bull while hunting with a previous client. It had
been some time since he saw the
bull last, but thought he would still
be in the area. We located many
Kudu bulls, but could not locate a
bull that really caught our eye. Early
in the day a local farmer told us of
a very large Kudu that he had seen
moving in this area. We thought it
must be the bull that Pierre had located earlier, so kept looking, hoping
to spot him.
With a couple of hours of daylight
left, we got a call from PH Gary Birch,
who was hunting with Lin Orosz and
Bruce Roy south of our location. A
very excited Gary explained he had
found one of the largest Eastern
Cape Kudu bulls he had ever seen.
Pierre Moolman, and Jason and Kevin
Spenst were also headed that way.
We quickly left and headed for Gary’s
location.
When we arrived both Pierre and
Gary were watching the bull, and via
radios shared a plan for our stock.
They would continue watching the
bull from a distance, and advise us if
he had moved.
With the right wind we would be
able to sneak above the bull and
hope for a shot. Pierre’s tracker
Ronnie would lead us, as he knew of
the bull’s exact location. He met us
on the trail and we started our stalk.
We were able to get above the bull,
but could not see him. From their
position, Pierre and Gary could see
both us, and the bull, and although
we were only 100 yards apart, we
could not find him in the heavy
cover. Darkness was upon us, so we
retreated so as not to spook the bull,
hoping to find him the next day.
With light fading, Juan and I
stalked the giant bull to within 250
yards, but again, backed away as
darkness was nearly on us and the
bull wouldn’t give us a shot.
Day 9 was cold, and foggy, not
great to find a Kudu bull sunning
himself in the morning.
We returned to the area we had
seen the bull the previous night and
spent about three hours glassing
with no luck. We decided to creep
out of the area, hoping the fog would
burn off for the afternoon hunt.
On our way out we spotted a
Kudu cow and a Kudu bull no more
than 150 yards from the trail, but we
could not see either of their heads.
The two walked off, with the bull
very attentive to the cow he was
following.
A good sign for us! Juan, Dansele his tracker, Peter and I circled
above the location of the Kudu on
the mountain, hoping to see them.
Would this bull turn out to be the
one we were after?
The big bull we were after had a
magnificent mane, and so did the
bull we saw. We had to see their
heads to see if it could be him.
We walked above where we
thought the Kudu would be, glassing as we went. The Kudu had only
Two nights, two stalks, and still
no chance at the big bull. We would
have to try again tomorrow.
Day 8 of our safari was windy and
cold, not great Kudu hunting weather. In the morning we looked for the
bull but could not find him. We decided to leave and look for a warthog
and leave the area until later in the
afternoon.
Luck had it we found a very nice
warthog, so my list was down to the
Kudu bull!
That afternoon the wind was really blowing, so we concentrated on
hunting the sheltered valleys on the
DANSELE, THE TRACKER
arne johansson's kudu hunt : dream bull (continued)
LEICA, Juan’s 4 year old Fox Terrier/Border collie cross tracking dog
walked away, so we felt they should
be close.
At almost the same time, Juan and
Dansele spotted the Kudu below us,
it was the big bull and two cows.
The Kudu had spotted us, and were
very nervous. We ranged the bull at
350 yards. We had to take a shot as
they were going to go.
It all seems like a blur but I got
on the sticks and took a shot. The
bull wanted to leave but also wanted
the cow. They milled around. I shot
again but my 270 Husqvarna missed
the target. The Kudu were gone.
I knew I hadn’t touched this bull,
and accepted the reality that I had
missed a tremendous opportunity.
Juan sent Dansele to the spot we
saw them, to catch tracks and check
for blood. We headed further up the
mountain hoping they would stop
and show themselves again. We saw
nothing.
Dansele called and said he was on
their track and there was no blood.
We headed back down the mountain. Nothing was said but we all
knew the bull was gone. The silence
was deafening. Dansele said he
would continue tracking the Kudu to
see where they would go. We got
to the truck just as the radio broke
the silence. Dansele had followed
the Kudu and now was watching this
magnificent bull, and called us to
come quickly.
It seemed like it took forever, but
we finally got to Dansele’s location.
We could see the giant bull as he
stood proudly watching down on us.
How many times in his life had he
done this to other hunters before he
slipped away into heavy cover?
We watched the bull and had to
make a decision. Juan ranged the
bull at 550 yards. He hadn’t moved.
He knew we were there.
We talked about what to do, and
our only chance was to take a shot,
as the bull was watching our every
move. I didn’t feel confident trying
a shot with my rifle at that distance
but we did have another option.
go. We could hear Leica barking and
we ran trying to catch up. As we ran
we moved to get closer to the barking dog, knowing the dog was with
the Kudu. Finally we heard the dog
at bay.
All week I had watched Peter, my
hunting partner, making one shot
kills at every distance, with his
Browning X Bolt 280. He was shooting 140 grain Nosler Ballistic tip bullets with great success. The rifle was
equipped with a Swarovsky 4 x 12 x
50 Z3 Series scope, with adjustable
ballistic turrets.
We slowly approached and the bull
and the dog were nose to nose. One
shot and the hunt was over. The
bull was absolutely magnificent. His
widely sweeping horns measured
over 55 inches and he was everything
we were looking for and more. We
stood in awe.
It was a great combination that
Peter’s son Dwayne had fine tuned
for his dad’s hunt.
Peter adjusted the scope for 550
yards and handed me the rifle. I was
absolutely calm, I had a solid rest, I
aimed for the bull, and I squeezed
the trigger.
We had called Pierre after the first
miss, and he was really disappointed.
Now we called him back and he was
elated. Pierre, Gary and the other
hunters in our camp were together
about an hour away. They left what
they were doing and headed our way.
They too wanted to see the bull on
the ground.
Once everyone arrived and we had
help, we moved the bull for pictures,
and the celebration continued.
This old bull had lived his life in the
open veld, where he survived drought,
predators, vehicle traffic, trophy and
meat hunters, to grow to this age and
size. I felt very lucky to be able to
harvest a bull of this calibre.
It took days of hunting, teamwork
and some luck to get this bull. My
thanks to Pierre Moolman, Gary Birch,
Juan MacDonald, and Dansele, Juan’s
tracker. They all worked very hard to
get me this bull.
Africa is a special place, a magical place, a place of many hunters’
dreams. I have been lucky enough to
go there three times and if all goes
well I will return. For sure, it will be
with Sun Africa Safaris, and my friend
Pierre.
“i felt very lucky to be
able to harvest a bull of
this calibre.”
The big bull lunged forward, spun
around and was gone. The sound of
the 140 grain Nosler bullet hitting the
target was unmistakable. It was a
solid hit.
Dansele hooked up Juan’s 4 year
old Fox Terrier/Border collie cross
tracking dog Leica, and headed up
the mountain.
I can admit the “calm” then
turned to nervous anticipation as we
waited.
Dansele called on the radio to say
there was lots of blood and they
were on the Kudu’s track. He would
turn the dog loose when they kicked
up the Kudu. Then we had to move.
Minutes later the radio crackled,
the dog was loose and we had to
wild sheep foundation of alberta
red deer banquet & AGM
Our March 28th Annual
general meeting & Banquet
featured an impressive array
of vendors which drew alot
of attention from banquet
attendees.
WFSA - yellowhead chapter
conservATION BANQUET
t he w s fa Yell o whead chapt er ’s 9th an n ual conservat i o n ba n que t was held i n
t he eds on le g ion on mar ch
22, 2014. a sell out crowd
o f 320 pe o ple were o n ha nd
to help raise mon e y for
c o nservat i on pr oje cts aimed
at “k eepi n g sheep on t he
m oun tain ”.
After a wonderful meal cooked
by the local legion ladies, a live and
silent auction of outstanding items
and trips, we brought in over $96,000
- a record total for the Yellowhead
Chapter.
This event couldn’t be successful
without the generous support of our
sponsors and the people who attended. The support was once again
amazing and truly appreciated.
We are already planning an even
bigger and better event for next year,
our 10th anniversary conservation
banquet.
Thanks to Jim Pollock for auctioneering, you did a wonderful job.
A special thank you to the following committee members, their
spouses and families, and everyone
else who worked very hard to make
this a success. It wouldn’t happen
without their commitment and support.
- Grant Acorn
- Aaron Apoll
- Peter Benders
- Greg Cadrain
- Brad Donkin
- Brad Ell
- Scott Engelbert
- Terry Harder
- Vince Jakubow
- Arne & Karen Johansson
- Jay Johnson
- Ken Kadutski
- Eric Rauhanen
- Ross Stelter
- John Tanghe
- Colin Truman
- Luke Vandergust
We are always looking for more
volunteers to help out, if you are
interested please contact one of our
committee members and let them
know.
Thanks again, and we hope to see
everyone again next year !
wild sheep foundatio n of alberta's
lifetime members
R an d y A bb ot t
Darc y A lm
S te ve A r n et t
Jamie A r ne t t
Bria n B ilds o n
Wayn e Bo w d
Bo b Bo w le n
Mark Bo yc e
S te ve Br o adhead
P et er Br o w n
Gre g Cadrai n
R o nald Care y
Jaso n Clemet t
Darc y C o leman
C o leCo l o sim o
G ui nn Cr o usen
Kev i n Daase
DA le pato n
DA R R E N sCo o ney
S te ve Dav ie
R o b D en is
E arl Do c herty
Garry Do eri ng
Wil f E d gar
E ld o n E ng el
R o bert E ri c ks o n
Marli n Fisher
To m F oss
H arold Gri nde
L eo n Gro ves
To dd H ali na
Bria n H ali na
Bria n, Christy, D aws o n H all o c k
Dav id H en ry
L or ne H i ndb o
S harman e H i ndb o
Je ff H i ndb o
Dale H isl o p
Kev i n H u rle y
ia n stu art
Dale Kas telen
Lynn Kelly
R o bert Ki nn ibu rg h
Terry Kos ki
Jerem y L iesemer
Vi nc e nt L o hma n
Pat L o ng
D ari n M a cDonald
Chris M acha n
Z den ek M ares
Bill M c Clella nd
Ches ter Mjo lsness
Martha Mjols ness
Pe t e M o u n tai n
Wayn e M ou ntai n
Craig Nakam oko
Carso n N u t t ing
S c ot t Odg ers
Pat O’Neill
Sha ne Pape
Verne Pascoe
L lo y d P ersson
Ryan P o w ell
C oli n W. Rei chle
Kelly R o bert son
r o g er B rat ru d
R a nd y R o mbs
Chester Ru do lf
Go rdo n & M ichelle Sanders
Ches ter Sands
L anc e S c hneider
Bria n S c hu ltz
Bria n S c ot t
S kip S el k
Darrel S kinner
Jo h n Ta ng he
Nat ras Tha no s
Jo ann e Th omas
Greg g Ulv elan d
Dave Van B elleg hem
S ta n Wal ker
Gle n Willsie
C od y W o lle n
L arryYarham
PHOTO CREDIT: © DARRYN EPP
wmu 438 Trophy sheep
drawn
By frans Diepstraten
J uly 12th , o n e mi nute into t he ne w day. Draw
resu lt s were up o n Alberta’s onli n e sy st em.
Be c ause o f the prio ri ty s yst em t hat applies
to m os t o f the draw s, t he res ults w ere fairly
predic table: “Antlered Mu le Deer – D rawn ;
An t lerless Mule Deer – Drawn .”
A fe w draws are a s trai g ht-u p l ot t ery, w i t h
m os t ly p oor odds : “Mountai n G oat – N ot
D raw n ”, w hat else is new? WM U 4 3 8 Tr o ph y
S heep – Drawn.” What? There t hey w ere , f i v e
blac k let ters o n a white scree n ; blac k as
c oal . “Drawn.”
It took an hour or two to get off
the social media that night. I could
not believe my luck. First time entering this draw; I had finally done the
math on the 437 draw and figured
out that I’d have to be blessed with
extreme longevity, good fitness into
my later years, and luck of the draw
to ever get this tag while I could still
hunt, so I switched. I’ve officially lost
the right to complain about people
entering low-odds draws and winning a tag on the first or second try.
I’m one of them now. Don’t hate me
for it.
I beat t he odds , I was going to Cado mi n !
It wasn’t long before a hunting
buddy, Kyle Steed, volunteered to
be there with me, all days but the
opener, and a Facebook friend, Roy
Getson, to offer to show me some of
the trails.
I talked to a whole bunch of people who had either done the hunt,
or had been there as somebody’s
wingman, and I took two trips up to
Cadomin in August and September
to suss out the lay of the land, and
drool for a bit over all the rams on
the mine.
Everybody was very willing to
share their knowledge about the
area, the gear to use, the best approaches to get a ram; quite different
from the normal tight lips you encounter when talking sheep. Thanks
to everybody that helped out!
I arrived in Hinton on Tuesday
night, after a long and white-knuckle
drive on snow and ice-covered roads.
The plan for Wednesday, the last day
of the middle season, was to hike up
to the base of Tower and Hot Rocks
and look around for sheep.
I expected some of the middle
season tag holders to still be around
and I didn’t want to interfere with
their chances by hiking up. There
was only one truck at the trailhead
at Tower, and that turned out to be
owned by one of the late season
hunters, who had put up a camp
near Tower somewhere.
I found about three-dozen sheep
milling around in the cold and high
winds along the access trail; one
ram appeared to have a horn that
curled back all the way to his base.
I barely made it up to the Hot Rocks
flats that day. The trail was a threefoot deep snow trap, and the wind
was creating white-out conditions.
No vehicles at Hot Rocks at all, apparently all the middle season tag
holders that had not tagged out yet
had gone home.
On opening day I found a team
of two ahead of me on the trail, but
I managed to catch up with them
before the saddle. No sign of the
hunter that was camped in there,
whose wife was actually the one
holding the tag. I knew the hunter
and his son; we hiked up to the
saddle together, but wasted no time
getting out of there. With the winds
even worse than the day before, and
temperatures around -25 oC, this was
not a good day to be up there for
very long.
We tried to get to Hot Rocks but
the access road had drifted in with a
deep layer of packed snow, and the
gate attendant would not let us park
where the road started. The closest we could park would be at one
of the pull-outs on the main road,
about 3 km from the trailhead.
Kyle arrived during the night, and
after two hours of sleep I dragged
him back to Cadomin. We exchanged
some words with one of the other
tag holders and his brother, who
were going to try to push through
the snowdrifts at Hot Rock as soon
as it would get a little lighter. We
moved on to the Tower trailhead,
where we saw a new vehicle, the
owner of which we found huddling
under a tree with her husband, a
little ways outside the mine boundary.
From our vantage point past the
saddle we watched some ewes appear, followed by a ram that didn’t
excite me. Standards shift easily
in this environment. In K-country I
would not have hesitated for a second to kill that full-curl ram.
On Day 3 we expected pretty
much everybody to appear in Tower,
because of the lack of access at
Hot Rocks. We were the first at the
trailhead, followed immediately by
a horse outfit: tag holder #5 and his
guide. L
ater that morning we saw the
same, or a similar ram appear on the
slope in front of us, which was later
shot by the guided hunter. Nobody
else showed up, but we did run into
two father-son couples on lower
ground, one of which held one of
the Minister’s tags, and we spent
some time marvelling over the band
of rams that were showing off their
horns. The winds that afternoon
were the worst of the trip. We both
got knocked over several times by
sudden gusts.
Earlier in the day we watched a
band of ewes and one ram climb all
the way to the height of land, and
disappear from view. Sheep were
definitely starting to move. Even
earlier we hit the trail on Day 4.
There was nobody to chase us up
the mountain this time, not counting the groups of ewes that came up
behind us, and brought three rams
with them. We waited for a bit, but
they turned around right at the mine
boundary.
We hit the ridge just about simultaneously with a group of five rams,
and the long-horned one was in it.
We had named him “Chipper” because of a three inch piece that had
busted off the tip not too long ago.
He was looking good, and certainly
was the biggest one we had seen
in five days. So after a brief stalk
to some rocks from which we could
shoot, we took him.
He was a gorgeous looking ram,
with his long horn of thirty nine
inches starting to flare out, and a
massive sixteen inch base. Even
though we deboned the meat, the
trip out can only be described with
one word: painful; but we managed
to get everything down in one trip.
And the best thing was that we had
fairly nice weather that day. No really
big winds, and temperatures not too
far below freezing.
Chris Watson at Hinton SRD was
on duty that day, and helped us out
by registering the ram that evening,
so the next morning at noon Brian
Dobson’s assistant had the honour to
postpone his lunch break by an hour
to cape out my ram.
The next day we heard that the
two brothers had connected as well,
and later that also husband and wife
had a ram down. It was a wonderful
adventure, and definitely not a hunt
for the unprepared. All that we’re
left with now are the memories and
an even bigger desire to go sheep
hunting.
frans’ gear notes:
You can ask all of my regular sheep hunting buddies how much I fretted about gear. Being one of
these people that is always cold, especially my
feet, I started a three-month self-inflicted agony
over pretty much every piece of clothing imaginable. In the end, I didn’t do too much out of the
ordinary: dress really light during the hike up,
get a dry shirt on when the conditions allowed it,
and layer up really good once in position on the
mountain.
A few gear highlights: Schnees Hunter Extreme
pac boots, KUIU rain gear, Sitka Kelvin pants, Kahtoola Microspikes, ski goggles.
Having small feet it was tough to impossible to
find an insulated hiking boot that I liked. So I
ordered up a heavier insulated version of the
Schnees I already owned, and these worked surprisingly well, both in the deep snow, and on the
rocky sheep trails. I put in some Superfeet insoles
for increased stability, and used a pair of boot
covers for some extra warmth while sitting.
During the pack-out I added slip-on crampons,
basically a chain-link bottom with spikes, held
together by a heavy duty rubber band. I managed
to get down the mountain with the heavy pack
without losing my footing. An absolute must for
hunting up there in late November is a windproof
outer layer. Without it, all the insulation in the
world won’t keep you warm. The KUIU stuff performed very well in that respect.
I used layers of merino, down and fleece on the
upper body and merino and Sitka Kelvin pants on
the legs. My base layer was a merino-blend fabric, because despite manufacturers’ claims I still
itch with the 100% merino stuff.
For increased comfort during a long day of sitting in stormy winds that contains ice particles,
grit and coal dust, wear ski goggles! I’m glad I
followed that advice. I used the SolohuntersTV
rifle cover, which did what they promise in the
commercial; a good thing because snow and ice
are blowing all day long, every day.
WSFA spring 2014
projects update
t he f o ll ow in g is a su mmary of o ur pr oje c t f u ndi n g
prog ram f or 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3 & 2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 4 .
PHOTO CREDIT: © DARRYN EPP
2012 - 2013 Projects Funded
Willmore Wilderness Foundation
Alberta Grizzly Bear Survey
U. of Washington
Bighorn Sheep Disease Research
Ungulate Enhancement
Subsidize the cost of 4 outfitted cougar hunts on bighorn
sheep range in Mountain Wildlife Management Units
Subsidize cost of wolf harvesting activities by members
of 6 Alberta Trappers Association Locals
Northern Alberta Youth
First Time Hunting Mentorship Mentorship Program
10 First Time Hunters / 10 Mentors
Ecological Resiliency and Bighorn Sheep
U. of Alberta
Alberta Fish and Wildlife
Aerial Sheep Surveys – in partnership with Minister’s Special Licence Program
Borealis Wildlife Services Ltd.
Badlands Bighorn Feasibility Study – in partnership with
Minister’s Special Licence Program
Annual WSFA Youth Hunter Camp - in partnership with
Youth Hunter Sheep Camp
Sheep Management Meetings
Alberta Government and Stakeholders in partnership with
TOTAL
A bit more on the Ungulate Enhancement Project
$2,500
$6,000
$16,000
One of the projects developed and
funded by Wild Sheep Foundation
Alberta is our controversial Ungulate
Enhancement Program.
$24.000
$5,000
$30,000
$30,446.73
$8,066.63
$7,257.25
$703.16
$129,973.77
This project was developed in
response to a significant decline in
ungulate numbers in the Mountain
and Foothills wildlife management
units, in particular elk. There is no
doubt that the major decline of elk
herds in some areas can be attributed to predation, in most cases by
increasing wolf numbers.
In its fourth year, this program
involves providing funding to a number of trapping locals located along
Alberta’s East Slopes.
2013 - 2014 Projects Planned
Willmore Wilderness Foundation Alberta Grizzly Bear Survey
Anatum Ecological Consulting Ltd. Crowsnest Pass Highway #3 Bighorn Sheep Mitigation
Bighorn Sheep Disease Research
U. of Washington
Subsidize Cost of 4 Outfitted Cougar Hunts on Sheep
Range in Mountain Wildlife Management Units
Subsidize Cost of Wolf Harvesting Activities by Members
of Alberta Trappers Association
U. of Alberta
Multi-Species Population Monitoring
Cadomin / Whitehorse Wildland Park
U.. of Alberta
Ecological Resiliency and Bighorn Sheep
Alberta Fish and Wildlife
Aerial Bighorn Sheep Surveys – in partnership with
Ministers Special Licence Program
Youth Hunter Sheep Camp
Annual WSFA Youth Hunter Camp – in partnership with
Sheep Management Meetings
Alberta Government and Stakeholders – in partnership with
TOTAL 24 | WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION OF ALBERTA
$2,500
$6,000
$6,000
$16,000
$26,000
$5,000
$30,000
$35,000
$9,800
$2,050
$138,350
The intent is to have the trapping
locals use the funds provided by our
organization, sometimes in conjunction with the addition of their own
funding, as incentive to encourage
and increase the legal harvesting of
wolves by trappers and hunters.
Our funding is conditional to the
trapping locals ensuring the wolves
are legally taken and that we be advised at the end of the season how
many wolves were harvested. The
trapping locals set the criteria determining eligibility of claims submitted
by those harvesting wolves.
wolves were harvested under this
program. We haven’t yet received
results for the 2013-2014 season.
Most whom questioned this
project have accepted our explanation that, contrary to accusations by
our critics, we are not maintaining
this program to eradicate wolf packs
along the East Slopes. We just want
to try to reduce their numbers to the
point where we have reached and
can maintain an acceptable balance
between wolf predation and stable
ungulate numbers. Whether we ever
get there is something only time will
tell.
Our critics are very vocal in telling
us we won’t, and perhaps they are
right. However, indications are that
it may be the right strategy, in some
situations, as evidenced by observations of the levelling off of declining
elk numbers in at least one area experiencing increased wolf removals.
We do want to clarify that those
critics who have been publicly stating that our program is funded by
U.S. Based National Wild Sheep Foundation are wrong. We have had one
mid-west chapter contribute $1,000
towards the cost of this program.
All other costs have been carried by
Wild Sheep Foundation Alberta and
we anticipate that remaining the
case as we continue to deliver the
program in the foreseeable future.
The biggest portion of dollars raised each year
by Wild Sheep Foundation Alberta are directed to
projects we believe can contribute to the betterment
of indigenous big game populations in Alberta, in
particular bighorn sheep, the preservation of our
hunting heritage, and the enhancement of hunting
opportunities for all Albertans.
Some projects are directed to us by other agencies
and organizations for funding consideration. Other
projects are initiated by our Board in response to
situations that arise.
For the 2012-2013 season, 170
platinum sponsor
wayne bowd,
TankSafe Inc.
thank you to our
corporate sponsors
bronze sponsor
denis dale,
bob dale’s gloves
& imports Ltd.
plaque accepted by
andrea von hilton
D arre n Coon e y, dire cto r , prese nt s ou r c o rp o rat e spons ors w ith f ramed ph oto g raphs
pr ovided by Joe Olivieri , o wner of B i g ho r n Ph otog raph y, a n ot her g ra c i ou s c on t rib u to r
to WSFA. These d on ati on s are cri t i c al to ou r abilit y to deliv er on ou r missi o n.
Silver Sponsor
Jason Weinberger,
copp’s services inc.
bronze Sponsor
tom foss,
foss wealth
management
RETURN TO:
Wild Sheep Foundation of Alberta
P.O. Box 2639
T4T 1L6
MAIL TO:
WWW.WSFAB.ORG

DRaWn: WMu 438 Trophy Sheep

Transcription

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