Brendan Burns silhouetted against the distant mountain side while glassing for Stone Sheep

Yukon Stone Sheep Hunting Gear List

“There is an old saying: “You can’t appreciate the sweet without tasting the bitter.”

This is Stone Sheep hunting.

When you embark on an exploratory hunt for Stone Sheep you are signing up for horrible weather, exhaustion, guaranteed misery, all while hoping for a miracle.

The thought of putting boot tracks in places no one has been in decades, glassing basins never seen with high-end glass, looking for a ram that has literally never laid eyes on a human is the ultimate challenge.

No matter how prepared you think you are, you are never prepared for the Yukon.

If you leave unsuccessful, you got exactly what you signed up for.

When you are lucky enough to leave remote rough country with an old ram, you know you have earned something that can’t be replaced. This is why we do it.”

Brendan Burns | KUIU, Director of Conservation

ABOUT THE HUNT

This was a true unsupported backpack hunt in the Yukon. The area has an extremely low density of sheep. The dates were the 12th -22nd of August. Temperatures ranged from the high 60’s to low 30’s with snow and heavy rain for over half of the hunt. We carried 10 days’ worth of food on our backs, covered over 77 miles in the 10 days, and had a 13 mile bushwhack out to the extraction point. I would consider this one of the more physically demanding hunts I’ve been on; as far as weather, distance, terrain, and elevation gain and loss.

Brendan Burns, wearing valo camouflage, using his trekking poles to navigate through a creek

These sheep spend a large majority of their time in the timber which forced us to hunt accordingly. We turned up a total of three rams during the hunt.

Brendan Burns, wearing valo camouflage, descending a rocky mountain side with his stone sheep ram in his pack

The amount of rain and intensity for the first three days was as bad as it gets—highlighting the importance of a good tent and premium rain gear.

Brendan Burns, AJ Kissel, and guides loading their packs on a stone sheep hunt

There were two of us hunting along with two guides, a packer, and a cameraman. I could not have asked for a better or tougher group of guys to tackle this area with.

AJ Kissel and friends with his archery stone sheep ram

AJ Kissel was the primary hunter and had first dibs on any ram as he was looking to take his first stone sheep with his bow. I was backup with a rifle if we saw more than one old ram. The hunt could not have worked out better. He was able to arrow a beautiful dark colored old ram on the sixth day. I was able to take the only other old ram we turned up on the ninth day.

Brendan Burns and Friends Wearing KUIU Gear with his Dall Sheep

For those curious, these sheep would be classified as a Stone/Fannin rams, both by color and the area we hunted. AJ’s is very typical in color of stone sheep in the Yukon. My ram is what would be considered very light for the area, but I chose to take this ram based on age. He has a light gray saddle on his back and hind end with dark gray legs. Both rams are very similar in size and each 11 ½ years old.

The guides on this hunt were Johny Nikirk and Jason Nutini, with Luke St. Onge Packing. All photos by Matt Forsyth.

BRENDAN BURNS’ YUKON STONE SHEEP HUNTING GEAR LIST

TOPS

BOTTOMS

FOOTWEAR

HEADWEAR AND GLOVES

IN MY PACK

PRO LT 7000 Full Kit
Pack Rain Cover - L
Super Down Altai 15F Sleeping Bag
Summit Star 1 Person Tent Set
Klymit Sleeping Pad
KUIU Platypus 3L Hoser
Havalon W/20 60A Blades
Headlamps - 2
Long Spoon
1 Liter water bottle
MSR Reactor Stove System and 3 fuel canisters
HD Roll Top Dry Bag  (2 S, 3 M, 2 L)
Zip Dry Bags  - 2
Medium Boned Out Meat Bag - 2
Medium Quarter Bags - 2
Leki Makalu FX Carbon Trekking Poles - 2

OPTICS/GEAR

TAKU 9000
PRO G3 Bino Harness
PRO G3 Rangefinder Holder
Swarovski NL Pure 12x42
Microfiber Lens Cloth - 2
Leupold RX-1200 Rangefinder
Swarovski ATX 65 Spotting Scope
KUIU Mountain Hunting Tripod and Head
Sony A6500 Camera
Iridium 9555 Sat Phone
iPhone w/ phone scope

PERSONAL

First aid kit
Noso Patches - 2
Toothbrush and paste
Chapstick
Vitamins and pain reliever
Lighter and fire starter
Ear plugs
15 feet paracord
Sunglasses

Two Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep clash horns in a field.

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Hunting Gear List

No sheep species in North America are more diverse for terrain and weather conditions than the Rocky Mountain Bighorn. From hot early season high alpine hunts to punishing cold late-season rut hunts, nothing will test you and your gear like the places OVIS Canadensis call home.