The first is from Rex Baker, Sr., who says Darrel Schneider of Ashnola Guide Outfitter (250-292-8779; www.ashnolaguideoutfitter .com) hunts California bighorns in British Columbia. The hunt area is in the Cascade Mountains of southwestern British Columbia, and part of it is accessible by ATVs on logging roads.
Baker makes the recommendation with some caveats, however. He says that Schneider conducts these hunts in seven days for $30,000. When Baker hunted there, he encountered "lots" of resident hunters and ended up paying for extra days of hunting in order to get a sheep.
He says hunters need to nail down all the details with Schneider before booking this hunt, particularly impaired hunters who need to make sure they will be hunting from the ATVs, not walking far from the logging roads. They also need to build in enough time to complete the hunt successfully. He suggests the first hunt of the season is the best and that a hunter should arrive a few days early to scout with his guide and locate a good ram.
He also warns that the regulations in this area can make it difficult to find a "trophy" ram because the rams become legal at four years old and they start brooming at about that age. Because of the ¾-curl rule, these rams are not shootable again until they are about eight years old and real trophies. So, a hunter must be patient in order to take a mature ram, rather than a younger one that technically just meets the legal requirements.
The second recommendation came from Keith C. Brown, who wrote, "I suggest he contact Alan Douglas, a young outfitter in Lundbreck, Alberta (403-628-3969). Douglas has a good area in central Alberta that is accessible by horseback. It is a no-frills hunt with a........(continued)
