The 41 Incher - By Michael Moore

t was 4 days before Memorial Day weekend of 2006 and
the last thing on my mind was going on a Dall sheep hunt
in the Yukon, especially considering the fact that I had
already scheduled seven other hunts for that year. Then out
of the blue my taxidermist called me and asked if I wanted
to go on a Dall sheep cancellation
hunt in the Yukon.
Ironically the hunt was already through an outfitter that I
was associated with; this was something I just could not
pass up. I have regretted not booking with this outfitter
ever since 2002 when my wife insisted I do so, therefore it
seemed as though fate had stepped in and gave me a second
chance with this cancellation hunt.
Once we landed at the camp we met Chris and Sharon
McKinnon of Bonnet Plume Outfitters.
Chris immediately
pulled me aside, along with another gentleman, Terry, to
tell us he wanted us to get our rifles sighted in right away
because we were going up into the mountains. When I was
dropped off from the small aircraft,
my guide, Matt
Luenberge, was already waiting for me on the valley floor in
the gorgeous Yukon mountains. Matt and I hiked 1 mile down
the valley to set up our spike camp. As we were setting up,
a huge Grizzly bear watched us from 500 yards out. After
watching us for a while he turned and strolled away,
heading down the valley.
I did go on a Dall sheep hunt in Alaska in 2002, but it was
with a different outfitter. This sheep hunt was my first of
five ..sheep hunts. The Dall sheep I took on this Alaska hunt
in 2002 was 35" and 8 years old.
The next morning the weather was absolutely beautiful. It
was clear and cool without a cloud in the sky. We left our
camp about 8:30 am and proceeded down the valley to
glass. About 3/4 of a mile from camp we glassed eight rams
on the mountain, we continued to watch them through my
Swarovski spotting scope. Matt and I determined that two
out of the eight rams looked to be 38" and possible shooter
I
For my 2006 sheep hunt we landed in Whitehorse and took
a very comfortable twin Otter airplane into our base camp.
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rams. Therefore we began our climb up the steep mountain
in order to come within 300·400 yards to get a better look
and possibly take a shot. While watching the eight rams I
kept glassing into a basin about 3/4 of a mile behind me.
After an hour of glassing I spotted a white dot on a green
patch of grass that I knew was not there before. Matt
instantly took my spotting scope and put it on the sheep,
then said to me, "You better look at this ram." When I
looked, I could not believe my eyes, I immediately turned
to Matt and said, "This is the ram I came for."
Both Matt and I agreed that this ram appeared to be a 40"
plus ram. We quickly packed up all of our gear into our
packs and Matt said, "We have to get to the valley floor
again to follow that ram!" Upon reaching the valley floor we
started back up the valley toward our camp watching the
ram as he made his way across the hillside. The ram finally
bedded down and we knew that this was our time to put on
a stalk. It was along and grueling 2 1/2 hour stalk up the
ph Lf35-B85-1020
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mountain to get within 230 yards of this massive ram. The
ram was hidden behind a couple of hills, but we knew he
was still bedded down. This allowed us to set up for the
shot. Thirty minutes later the huge ram finally appeared
walking away from us, giving me little to shoot at. All of the
sudden he turned his neck and shoulder just enough for me
to get off a shot with my Browning A bolt. My shot hit him
dead on. The massive ram tumbled backward 20 yards into
the ravine disappearing from sight. As we walked over to
the ram there was no ground shrinkage with this enormous
animal.
At the age of 41, on my fifth sheep hunt in years I could not
believe that I was actually holding this incredible ram of a
lifetime. I began to tremble from excitement as we took
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pictures. I believe that Matt was just as excited as I was
Matt could not wait to call Chris on the satellite phone t
tell him that I had taken this gigantic ram. The ram took 2'
place in the Yukon sheep competition and was 11 1/2 year
old. He measured 13 6/8" X 41" and scored 164 5/8•
Chris and SharonMcKinnonof Bonnet Plume Outfitters run;
five star outfitting business of which they offer sheep
moose, caribou, Grizzly bears, and wolves. I would like te
send a special thanks to my guide, Matt. Anyone looking fo
a top-notch hunt in the Yukonshould consider Bonnet Plum!
Outfitters.