The dust has settled on our 26th season here in the Yukon. All hunters, guides and horses made it safely out of the mountains in early October. The weather was generally decent, a bit wet in August and warmer than average in September. Successful hunters harvested 8 Dall sheep, 14 Alaska-Yukon moose, 16 Mountain caribou, a black bear and a wolf.

Several obvious trends should be noted from our hunting and guide reports. The age & quality of Dall rams is improving rapidly. Hunters took a 40” and 39 ½” ram, as well as six over 37”. Some exceptional rams were spotted and the next couple of years should produce substantial trophies. It was a relatively poor fall for moose antler width. This was undoubtedly due to a long hard winter and late spring. Antler palms were well developed, but antler width was slightly below average. Caribou hunting was very good, especially from mid-August to mid-September. Grizzlies were seen by many hunters on most timeframe, but few tags were sold and no hunters were able to pull the trigger.

One of my tasks as an outfitter is to implement small, subtle, yearly operational changes. Our aim is to constantly improve hunt quality and the level of service we provide.  There are also things that hunters can do to enhance their experience in the Yukon mountains; practice your shooting up to 300 yards in various positions (not just a bench rest), be familiar & comfortable with the rifle you bring, come in the best physical condition you can be for the hunt you have booked (if you are overweight, a moose hunt might be a better fit than a sheep hunt),

buy the best rain gear on the market (or the best you can afford), bring a small daypack (modern daypacks are huge) as many daily items on a horseback hunt can be stored in the saddle bags, treat your guide with respect and consider him a partner on the hunt, attempt to do some horseback riding before arrival, make sure your primary footwear is well broken in,  try not to fly to the Yukon on Air Canada ( it is costly to charter a plane to bring in lost bags, as well as the lost hunting time) and once you arrive in camp focus on the hunt, not business, family or health problems.

Now for the seasons hunting highlights! Mauricio Hernandez from Mexico wasted no time taking a beautiful 39 5/8” ram and caribou in only two days.

Barry & Cindy Edwards harvested the largest moose of the season at 66 ¼”. There is a wonderful video of this bull on our web site!

Richard Kanan rode long and hard to a spike camp location not hunted in many years. He was quickly rewarded with a heavy 40” ram, taken from a band of fourteen. Another ram in that group was equally large. Richard later harvested a good caribou near Bonnet Plume Lake.

Murray Dioth from Australia, was successful on three animals, moose, caribou & black bear.

Scott Ungar was back hunting for the 2nd year in a row. He harvested a wide flaring 37 5/8” ram that looks much larger.  Later he shot his “dream caribou” from the same valley.

Bruce Todd came back for his third hunt with us and harvested a dandy 62 ½” moose. His stalk was rudely interrupted by a large grizzly, so he had an exciting decision to make.

First time sheep hunters, Chris & Jamie Twinning were successful on a heavy broomed, 35” ram and a last day caribou.

Bill Brunner & Dennis Huotari both harvested moose & caribou from our Twin Lakes camp. Bill’s moose was 58 ½” and Dennis’s caribou should make the record book.

Professional hunter Benny Bjerg from South Africa, harvested a pretty 37 ½” ram and a caribou in late August. His partner, Danish hunter Jens Knudsen, also took a 37” ram and caribou from the same camp.

Australians, Teddy Dec & Cameron Kenna took 60” and 58 ½” moose from our Lucky Lake camp. Teddy later brought home a caribou after a difficult climb.

Guiding on a horseback hunt in the Yukon wilderness is hard work and requires special skills. Our talented crew of guides were; Adam Van Bibber (5th season), Dave Vey (3rd season), Brady Lough (3rd season), Ben Stourac (2nd season), Nathan French (1st Season), and Chris Widrig...(26th season). Ryan Widrig was the main horse wrangler. My wife Joanne and Kristen Friesen did an admirable job cooking in the two base camps.

Despite a tumultuous world economy, we have only limited openings for 2012 and our 2013 spots are gradually filling up.  Check out our web site for new material, especially the exciting video clips.  If you are not ready to book a hunt you can always dream of the Yukon!

Chris Widrig