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2010 Season Review
January 1st I started my 2010 hunts in Mexico with a great friend and client Sara Brandenburg from Colorado and her father Rod. Sara was on a quest to be the youngest girl to complete her Grand Slam and was trying to complete it in under 365 days. We decided to do her 3rd sheep (Desert Sheep) through Ty Millers El Fuerte Outfitters on the Baja. We arrived in Loreto, met up with Ty and headed straight to camp. The hunt started off with a breath taking hike about 2 hours into the mountains following a old mule trail and pristine freshwater creek that brought us to the tent base camp. On the second day we spotted some sheep while we were eating lunch and Sara was doing her Algebra homework. We made a short stalk and Sara got set up on the Ram. The sheep had no idea we were above them and as the ram stood she made one well placed 260 yard shot, the ram went down very quick and she was three quarters the way there. Sara is a trooper!
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Two weeks later I changed Mexico locations and was on Tiburon Island with another past client (Dall Sheep 2009) Murray Fain of BC. Murray purchased this tag at the Wild Sheep Convention in 2009. Jonas Quinn, AB was also helping Murray on this hunt. The first day we saw quite a few ewes but no rams. Day 2 we changed valleys and hiked on to a small hill to glass. After about 45 minutes I spotted a Ram that looked to me like it was one we had to go after. We all decided we should stalk him even though it was the first ram we had seen. Murray and I took off. After a long, long stalk we found ourselves within 30 yards of the huge Desert Ram. No shot was present so we played it out and ended up 10 yards away. Murray drew his Bow and stepped forward to make the shot... just as he was about to shoot the ram blew out, I quickly dropped the video camera and made a few sheep sounds and the Ram hit his breaks and stopped. I ranged him 30 yards and Murray settled the pin and touched off. The arrow flew true and Murray had his Ram. The Sheep Gross Scored right at 180 6/8 SCI and is a contender for the World Record P&Y.
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April I went to New Zealand to hunt/guide Free Range Tahr, Chamois, and Red Stag with hunter Brent Munroe. Mac Watson also came alone to do some hunting also. The hunt was awesome we took 3 buck Chamois, Brent also harvested a nice bull Tahr and a Free Range Stag.
 
May I decided to try Alaska brown bear hunts. After talking with many outfitters I decided to work with Scott Newman and guide help him with his Brown Bear hunts on Admiralty island Alaska. Scott can take 7 hunters and has a small very personal operation guiding as many of his hunts personally. This was exactly what I was looking for, a hardworking hands-on outfitter with the same hunting passion as me. The hunters were Chip Stehmeyer and his wife Cathy who was along to video his hunt, Mick & Annette Mickelson both with tags, Bruce Halverson, Mike Shannahan, Randy Trice and Alan Peterson who also brought his wife Laura along. All hunters shot big bear between 8.5 and 9.5 foot. Mr. Peterson was unable to recover his which was the biggest one we shot after he was hit and made it to the trees. I was lucky enough to be on and film 5 of the kills in 24 days hunting. We hunted a new area and it turned out to be super! In 24 days we saw 87 brown bears.
I really look forward in hunting with Scott and on Admiralty in 2011. We have the area figured out and theres a few big ones we are going to get!
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July 12th was the start to my fall hunts. It starts in the NWT, hunting Dall Sheep. My first hunter was a good friend and repeat client from Wisconsin, Mark Gutsmeidl. Mark and I did an extreme style backpack hunt with only bivy sacs and his Bow. The first day we hiked from a small lake heading north in search of some Rams. We ran into some unusual July weather and got rained into our Bivys for over 30 hours one time . On day three when the weather broke we spotted 11 Rams, 7 to the north, 3 to the northwest and one lone Ram due west. In the band of 7 there were 3 legal ones for sure, in the group of 3 there were 2 nice legal ones and the lone ram was also a mature legal full curl. The valley we ended up in wasnt really what we call bow hunter friendly, it was wide open, zero cliffs and zero trees to use as cover. We made the decision to go after the band of three. Less eyes and 2 legal of three made us feel confident we could make something happen. After 3 hours we found ourselves within 100 yards of two bedded full curl rams. The small half curl had split off and was bedded about 300 yards away from the other rams and 400 yards from us. All we had to do was some how sneak 50 more yards through the wide open up behind the bedded Sheep. Mark and I managed to slip in to 49 yards of the top Ram before he noticed something he hadnt seen before was sitting on the hillside where he just came from. The Rams interest brought him to his feet. After what seemed forever he turned to walk away slowly and Mark drew his bow, I hit him with the range finder at 55 yards and Mark sent a arrow. I was rolling the video camera the whole time and managed to get the whole episode as the arrow flew true into the vitals we both couldnt believe how sweet the plan had worked. The beautiful full curl ram only went about 50 yards and went down. The first stalk of the hunt and we were finished! We then hiked to where we could be picked up and had a few days to relax.
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My Second hunt was another Bow hunt and past client Ed DeYoung who brought his daughter Racheal who was going to try for Mountain Caribou if Ed was lucky to bag a sheep early. We were placed in an area that I had hunted before and managed to find some rams on the second day. We had to play this one safe. I didnt want to blow these rams so every move was a careful move. We were able to get into 50-80 yards 7 times in a span of three days on the same band. Each time we would get in something would happen and the rams would change their plans and slip away without giving us a shot. On one occasion we had them bedded and no matter what way they went we would get them. Then something below them spooked them and they ran by us under 30 yards. I told Ed to let them go and that we would get on them again. Another time they went into a canyon and walked the creek bottom for miles, as we followed them on top. They were on their way straight towards us, right before dark then they bedded down on an open shale slide just out of range. In this location if they got by us they were out of the maze of canyons and to the big mountains where they would have been almost impossible to stalk. That night Ed and I took turns watching the sheep and napping all-night long ( 24 hours of daylight in the NWT at this time of year). At 8 AM they decided to go back down to the bottom and walk the creek again. We were unable to follow them due to the terrain they walked through with ease. We had to hike to the top about 5 miles around and try to find them again. We did find them that night and decided this stalk was the one we had to make it happen. No more sitting back were going to kill him this time. I set Ed up in a set of cliffs and went around to make a slight push. Just as I got to where I wanted to be one of the smaller Rams saw Ed as he was trying to also keep his eye on the Rams that were under 40 yards away. The Small sheep got the other startled but they didnt know what was going on. Ed made it happen! He stood up and picked out the lead Ram and let a arrow fly. Perfect shot and the Ram went down right away. Racheal and I had a birds eye view of all the action and quickly joined up with Ed to Celebrate. It was a great feeling to get this Ram after getting so close so many times. On all 7 stalks we were able to get close and not ever spook the Rams. I learned a lot about sheep on this hunt and am grateful for Ed being willing to be patient and not rush anything. Do it right and dont take short cuts. It will happen!
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Racheal was able to get a day of Caribou hunting in when we got back to camp. She took a really nice bull in velvet with her rifle. It was great to see a Father/Daughter team enjoying this sport together. They made some awesome memories that will last forever.
Dall Sheep hunts were fantastic this year. This was my third year up there and I am very excited about next year. So far I have taken 7 hunter in the NWT and took 7 great rams all over 9 years old.
From the NWT I flew to the Yukon to do my Stone Sheep hunts where I met my lovely wife Heather and my assistant guide Shawn.
The first hunt was Sara Brandenburg from Colorado. Sara was on a quest to take a Grand Slam of sheep in under 365 days. She hunted her Desert and Rocky with me already in October and January and we were in the Yukon to finish it off. The first day we made a long hike into an area I had never been before. After 8 hours of hiking we stopped for the night. The next day made a long clime to the top of a mountain to look for a Ram. Just before dark we spotted a Band of 4 Mature Rams with two of them that were great rams. We had to go back to the bottom spend the night then take our whole camp with us the next day towards the Rams. The hike took over 6 hours and half our day and we couldnt find them anywhere so we decided to check another hole and set up camp for the night. Sara, Rod (Saras Father) Shawn and I decided to hike up on a hill to spot for that afternoon we were just about at the top and I spotted a band of Rams right below us about 700 yards away. The Rams also spotted us at the same time and headed around the mountain for a quick get away. We were devastated because one of the Rams was the prettiest Sheep Ive ever seen and he was gone. We made a quick decision to try and go the other way around the range and try to find them again. The hike was filled with excitement and hope. 2 hours later Shawn ended up spotting the sheep heading back toward where we came from, and we were off again! Sara was a trooper, smiling the whole time. We had to make a quick pit stop at camp and completely lighten up the load. Sara took her gun and a coat, I took almost empty pack and we were on a mission! The Rams had fed within 900 yards of the spot we first spooked them from. After scaling some cliffs to get ahead of them we made it within 325 yards. Sara knew she could make the shot from here so I got her settled with a good prone rest. The Ram that Ive always dreamed of stepped out and turned broadside. Shawn and Rod both had the Video cameras rolling and I was coaching Sara through the shot. Boom! The ram instantly crumbled! Sara became the youngest female Slammer ever and completed it 4 days before her 16th Birthday. Her Ram measured 40.5 x 41 with 14 inch bases.
Just a little note about this little girl Sara Brandenburg. She is 15, weighs 95 lbs and is about 5 foot tall. On all hunts she packed all her own stuff including her own spotting scope. On all hunts she also packed out her sheep cape and horns the entire way. With me she hiked over 60 miles to kill three sheep and hunted them all with a backpack and a smile. If only all sheep hunters had her positive attitude and heart.
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The second hunt was Wayne Brown from Utah. Wayne is a Guide for Team Mossback and booked a hunt with me at the Salt Lake Show last year. I really looked forward to this hunt. Wayne is in great shape so had planned to cover some ground, learn a new spot and kill a dandy! We hiked through some nasty stuff for two days and saw quite a few rams in an area that hasnt been hunted in quite some time. There was no sign of anyone being in there. On day three Shawn went one way and Wayne and I another to try and find a ram. When we met up that night Shawn he had found three Rams and one looked like a shooter. The next morning we found them right away. After taking a good look at them we decided we would try for the lead ram. We made a stalk and Wayne was able to take him. A bit of excitement when the first shot sailed clear over him on the steep downward angled shot. Shot two hit the mark and he went down. One long day to the nearest place Heather could pick us up with the truck and we were done.
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With 6 days till the next hunters were to arrive we decided to make a run down to BC to do a short 5 day backpack trip for ourselves. Shawn wanted to get a Stone himself and I wanted to kill a Goat with my Bow so we picked a place and headed for the hills. Wayne didnt want to go home yet so he decided to join us as our packer. On the third day we spotted 9 Rams and moved in for the kill. Shawn missed 5 shots in all the excitement when the rams picked us off and were heading out. We did manage to find them again the same day and make another stalk. At 230 yards Shawn put the crosshairs behind the shoulder at squeezed. The ram took a tumble but didnt break, which we were lucky.
We hiked out and went Goat hunting on the last possible hunting day till we had to be back to the Yukon to Pick hunters up at the airport. I took a nice Billy at 30 yards with my bow that day. It was my first personal Goat Ive taken and was very happy to get a good one in one day with the bow.
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We made it back to Whitehorse and pick up Father/Son Sheep hunters Raymond and Jeremy Rogers from Virginia. Ray and Jeremy both killed Dalls with me in 2008 in the NWT and booked this hunt shortly after that hunt. We decided to hunt both of them together and hopefully pull a double on one band of Rams. On the second day we found 3 rams and put them to bed. Day three we found them right away and started the long stalk their direction. Early afternoon found ourselves 450 yards away. We decided the heavy Ram was the one we wanted and that we would let the other ram walk due to his young age. The four of us slid down on the bedded rams from above to within 250 yards. As the big ram stood, Ray made his shot and the Stone tipped over. We didnt realize how big this sheep was until we walked up to him. (Rays Ram officials 169 5/8 finished., and is only 37 inches on the long horn. Yukon Fish and Game measured this Sheep and it ends up to have the most Mass Volume of any Yukon Sheep taken in the past 14 years.)
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The next day we made it to a small super cub strip where Ray decided he would go to main camp and keep Heather company. We had worked hard and Ray figured it would be best for Jeremy if he sat this one out as much as he wanted to be there. That same day Ray flew out we started out in search of a ram for Jeremy. That afternoon we found some rams and 3 looked to be legal but we needed to get closer. Knowing daylight was fading we took off fast. Just as we found the rams again and planned a stalk strategy a monster Grizzly came out of nowhere and chased our rams. After 5 hours of hard hiking it is a huge let down to see your band of Rams going over the top. Jeremy had a Grizzly tag in his pocket and almost went and shot the big bear for doing that to us, but a sheep was our focus and w elected to pass in hopes the rams hadnt gone too far. We had to set up camp and sleep with that picture of 8 Rams high-tailing it over the top and a grizzly in hot pursuit. The next morning we went to the last place we saw them and slowly moved forward into a high hanging basin. As we inched forward I spotted the rams feeding right below us, they were down by a small glacier pond. Jeremy set up on his bi-pod as I found the biggest ram and picked it out for him. When the Ram cleared all others Jeremy shot, the Sheep took a few steps and fell over. Jeremy was the most excited Ive ever seen a hunter when they killed, he jumped up screaming and hugged me. It was a something I will never forget. Thats what sheep hunting is all about the ups and downs the hard work, the total emotional ride leading up to that successful moment. These one minute segments I see when a grown man puts his cool tough guy attitude aside and shows his inner feelings of excitement, happiness and relief and sometime tears, makes me remember why I have the best job in the world!
The hike out was 10 miles to the road where Heather and Ray picked us up. It was one heck of a time in the Yukon this year, in 18 days of hunting we took 5 Stones and a Goat including Shawns Stone and my Goat. We worked very hard but it was all worth it!
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The next hunt was a Bighorn Sheep in Southern BC. My hunter was Put Uhl , IN. Pat won a slam draw at the Grand Slam/OVIS show in 2008 but when his hunt in 2009 fell through in Alberta GSCO called me to see if I could take him. I was very excited to help them with this. Pat, Shawn and I hiked into my honey holes one after another but couldnt find a legal ram until day 5. Shawn and Pat were going after some Rams we found and I was spotting form the bottom of the valley watching to make sure we didnt lose them. On the way up they ran into two rams bedded on a small cliff in the timber. Shawn knew right away he was a shooter. Pat got set up on the bedded ram but there was a small tree right in the way so Shawn got out his little fold-down saw and cut the tree out if the way. Timber! Pat knew he could make the shot and had to try with it bedded. Boom! Instantly he was dead. I hiked up there and helped pack the ram out. its a beauty! Now Pats a Slammer with a ram that Green scores 176 B&C.
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Between the Bighorn and my next hunt we decided to do a bit of Elk hunting for ourselves. Shawn and I traveled to the West Kootenays of BC for 3 day to try and take a big Rocky mountain Elk. On opening day of the season Shawn took a great bull. I stayed back to call as Shawn snuck in for the shot. Shawn was able to get right in on the heard bull and slip between the cows to make a good shot. Shawns Elk is about 320 B&C. Not bad for one day hunting in an area we had never been.
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I had to travel back to Northern BC to do my last Stone hunt October 5th. The hunter was Keith Redding from Wisconsin. Keith wanted to kill a Stone with his bow and chose to hunt the last ten days of the season with me in my parents area in BC. Day one we used as a travel in day. Day two we made it into where I wanted to be and found Rams right away. It was getting late so we elected to leave the rams and hope to find them the next morning. Day three we found Rams first thing in the morning so we set off after them. There were two rams, one was legal. When we made it to the top the two rams spit up, the small one stayed high and the bigger one was down in the bottom of the basin. We snuck along the back side of the ridge to directly above him. As we were getting set up an eagle flew down and chased the small ram. The running small ram spooked our nice one and he took off across the hillside and crossed the ridge we were on 200 yards away and then stopped just over the top. We quickly ran the opposite way over the ridge so we had cover to close the distance. We hurried towards him as fast as we could. I peeked over the ridge where I thought he would be and he was right there only 19 yards away just standing there. I said quick Keith stand up and shoot him. Keith was a bit out of breath and took a moment to get collected but the wind was blowing strait towards him. Just as he stood to shoot the ram took off down the mountain and crossed the valley floor. Thats Hunting! That same day while looking for the ram that escaped that morning we found another band of sheep with a great Ram in it. I really wanted to get this one. We once again were on the move after more rams. The direction the wind was we had to do a loop and get on the other side of this band. Not much cover where the rams were bedded so we were waiting them out at 100 yards then all of a sudden the ram we blew in the morning was heading right towards us. Keith and I got right in his path as he came running. I told Keith to draw as th Ram crossed the creek and was behind the trees, he did and the Sheep came flying out, I gave a quick BAH and he stopped in his tracks and turned straight towards us. The Ram was at only 15 yards and Keith was at full draw. He touched off a shot but the arrow missed its mark to the left, he took off across the hill taking our other band of rams with him. It was a one of those moments when you really have to hold it together, you need to remember that this happens in hunting especially when you choose to hunt with archery equipment and to focus on the on the task at hand, put the past behind you, look forward and get after em again!
That afternoon we hiked all the way back to where we had dropped our stuff to camp and the band of rams were on the hill side right above our gear. It was getting dark and we were pegged. If we walked any closer towards our gear the Sheep would have seen us so we waited and waited. Finally they decided to crest the ridge a let us get to our packs and set up camp.
The next day we took camp and moved in search of the rams. By early morning we had located them again but again they were in a spot that was hard to stalk. We thought we could make it happen but while stalking them the wind switched and they took off. We watched them cross yet another valley bottom and bed down half way up the other side. In a matter of minutes they covered more ground then we could in hours but we had to go after them. 2 hours into this trek Keith wanted to call it quits for the day and let the rams walk. I had to keep him going. Chances like this on Stone sheep with a bow in your hand dont come easy and you must put it all on the line if you truly want to get it done. We pushed onward 30 yards at a time and eventually made it to the ridge they were below. We had to move very slow, trying to find them again after not seeing them for hours, but finally I found them bedded right below us. We watched them for quite some time moving ahead of them and in their path of travel. We then waited for them to move to a stalkable location. The Sheep moved across the mountain towards us until they were right below us again. Keith and I were hiding just over a rocky ledge in anticipation. The Ram that he had missed was feeding at only 8 yards, but bigger ram that I had wanted as just out of sight below us. I had seen his back but no shot was open, he was to close to us and we had to wait for him to feed out from the ledge. We laid still trying not to get spotted by one of the 8 rams within 30 yards of us. The ram we wanted finally stepped out away from us and Keith slowly stood up to shoot. I ranged him at 17 yards, Bahhhh, I called. The big ram turned broadside to looked our way. Keith held the pin steady and touched his trigger off. The arrow few true this time and we knew it was finished! As the Ram took off, the arrow was hanging out the other side by just the fletching, we knew our determination paid off. It was a great feeling for me to see Keiths reaction and how truly happy he was to have pushed past the tired legs and the disappointment of the previous missed chances. It was a awesome thing for me, it makes the extra mountains climbed the blown stalks and hours glassed all worth it in the end. On this hunt we saw legal rams every day and were able to make a it happen on the 5th day of the hunt with a beautiful Stone Sheep.
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October 15th - October 25th I had Hunter Rob Veach, AR for a Bighorn sheep in Southern BC. Rob won the hunt through GSCO Super Slam Draw and I was very excited to be doing this hunt. On the hunt one of my good friend and clients Matt Comment for Virginia accompanied us as a helper/Spotter/packer and was also hunting Goat after Robs hunt. Robs hunt started just as we planned, there were Rams everywhere, we saw 32 Rams on the hunt and quite a few that were very close to legal including one really nice 170+ class ram that was just short and we had to let him walk. We did lose some time to bad weather but still managed to hunt every day. We covered a lot of country and left no rocks unturned but were unable to find a shooter sheep. Rob is a true sheep hunter and a even greater guy. He knew that was sheep hunting and was very positive the entire hunt. I look forward to hunting with my new friend again in the future.
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Matt Comment stayed to hunt Goat for a few days after Robs hunt but with bad weather moving in we only had a one day opening to get the job done. We went to the place we saw some good Goats on the last hunt and immediately found what looked to be a good Billy. We headed up after him through the fog and snow that came and went all day. Once we reach the spot the Billy was 4 hours earlier we had to wait for the fog to lift. As the fog moved out we found a goat right away. The Goat was staring down in our direction and Matt figured he could make the shot. Boom , it rang the through the valley but the Goat didnt move. I was videoing the whole thing. Matt quickly reloaded and as the Goat moved across the hill he shot again this one fired true and the Goat dropped. Matt had a Mountain Goat and it was a pleasure to be a part of his excitement. After reviewing the video Matts first shot took the top off a pine tree right in line with the Goat vitals. So I guess I can make fun of him for missing that shot. Matt was a big help on the Bighorn hunt and Im really glad to have him as a friend and hunting client.
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From the Goat hunt I had to travel again back up to Northern BC and guide Jim Horneck from Wisconsin for Free Range Bison. Jim and I hunted together the first time when Jim completed his Grand Slam with a Desert sheep in Mexico. The Bison hunts were much different this season then in the past we didnt have much snow and the BC Bison Draws issued a lot more tags then in the past, the bison had been staying well away from the regular spots we found them in the past. Jim and I hunted hard and on the last few day we found them, about 300 of them were way up the valley where no one had been we had to cross the river on the snow machine to get up there which was a task in its self but we managed to get over there. Jim and I made a few stalks on some big herds but with so many eyes and cows between us and the bulls we were unable to get it done on the second to last day. On the last day we went back to the same spot and just as we were sneaking up on the heard, a pack of wolves started to howl. The bison quickly moved off so our attention moved to killing a wolf. I left my gun the machine so all we had was Jim bow. Jim has wanted to kill a wolf for 20 years and this was his chance. We snuck in the direction they were headed and got in their path. One black one came in and spotted us before we saw him, he ran and another came by, just out of range. Then another black one came trotting by, I ranged him and Jim shot, a miss, then another black one and another miss. It was happening so quick I kept saying another arrow and keep flinging! One more wolf came by, a grey and stopped at 45 yards. Jim drew and let one fly. I could hear what sounded like a direct hit! It was unreal. We found a big blood trail and followed it across the valley floor. As we went up the hill on the other side we saw bed after bed filled with blood, we knew he was hurting and that we would find him. There it was but still alive we snuck in for another shot. Jim sealed the deal and killed it. It was really cool to take a wolf with a bow without the use of bait. I dont think many hunters have had the opportunity to do that and its another memory that ill remember for a long time.
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After skinning it out we had to make our way back towards the snowmobile. Along the way we spotted 4 Bull Bison. Jim was pumped. We set up a stalk and got in there. Jim and I made it to the last bit of cover. The Bison were feeding right towards us. I wanted him to shoot the big guy but we had to wait cause he was the farthest away. At one point we had a stare down with the two biggest ones as they both tried to figure out what we were. The bulls were well into Jims bow range and all we needed was our bull to turn. Then he turned and Jim waited till he went to feeding, he drew the bow and shot. The arrow flew to the right of his aiming point and connected directly with the Bisons front shoulder, zero penetration. They quickly ran to about 80 yards then stopped. We both couldnt believe it. The bulls slowly crossed the meadow feeding there way away, occasionally looking back to see if we were in pursuit. We both knew that he was gone and that Jims chance to take a Bison was now over. We had a great time and I look forward in hunting again with Jim.
My guiding season completed with that Bison hunt, it was a long but extremely rewarding year.
This season my Uncle Shane also did for Stones for us. Shawn McFarlane, had talked to me at the shows and booked stone hunt with us. Shawn killed a great Dark ram near the beginning of his hunt.
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My best friend and one of my guides Kent McKenzie also guided a bighorn for us. Jackie Brown took this awesome sheep with one shot.
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I totally look forward to the upcoming season. I have over half my hunts book for 2011 but a few left to fill. My Good friends Shawn and Kent are going to help me with guiding a few hunts this upcoming year so we can help a few more clients take some more awesome trophies. If you would like to be part of the Backcountry BC 2011 season review and be a part of one of our successful hunts please contact me and book your hunt early.
I will be going to the Salt Lake Show, WSF, SCI (sitting in Scott Newmans Booth), GSCO and P&Y. Please stop by and say hello.
I would also like to thank all the clients that chose to hunt with Us in 2010. Everyone of you were a pleasure to hunt with and I look forward to seeing you all again. All the best in the new year, as my good friend Tom Hoffman would say Keep Making Memories and I hope you allow Backcountry BC and Beyond! to help you.
Happy Hunting
Dustin Roe
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