One reason the MacKenzie Mountains produce top quality hunts for nonresident sportsmen is, the entire mountain range is virtually roadless wilderness. The resident population of the Northwest Territories is tiny, and many outfitters never see a resident hunter in their areas. The whole area is truly an outfitter's paradise. And is it ever huge! The mountains are so vast that sheep population estimates range all the way from 14,000 to 26,000 animals. Nobody really can pin it down closer than that.
As for moose and caribou, some outfitters are taking a high number of Boone & Crockett specimens. B & C-size Dall sheep are rare, however, despite the fact that a goodly number of 40-inch rams are taken each year. The problem is, base size often determines score, and rams from the MacKenzies simply don't tend to have large bases. I did see a 177-point ram taken with Stan Stevens back in the 1980s, and there have been up to 44-inch rams taken in nearly every area.
The stats show that getting a mountain goat is extremely rare, and only a few wolves or wolverines are taken each year. Still, most hunters buy these bonus tags on the off chance they will........(continued)
