GEAR
Equipment can’t make your
sheep hunt but can break it.
Despite specialization and
upscale pricing, there are
many options. You can find
functionally similar boots,
clothing and camp stuff
aimed at mountaineers and
hikers, though often from
different companies than
those targeting hunters, and
so we’ll focus on our own.
Here are the priorities.
Boots are the single most critical
item. Blisters or sore feet can cripple a
hunter and rob the joy from an extraordi-
nary experience. Among several notable
brands, I mostly hear about two, Ken-
etrek and Cabela’s Meindl, whichhappened to account for four
of the five pairs present on
our Alaska jaunt. The results
were satisfactory, though
nonetheless, guys wearing
both brands suffered blisters.
I have personal experi-
ence with both as well. I wore
Kenetrek Mountain Extremes
for many hunts over a decade
and loved them. But instead
of a rebuild after wearing
down the soles, I decided to
try out the Cabela’s Meindl
Perfekts I had received as gift and now I
love them, too.
By contrast I had a bad experience
with a pair from Lowa, a European maker
highly regarded in mountaineering.
Halfway through a taxing Colorado huntmy feet were hamburger. However, let's
not disparage Lowa—their boots surely
are among the world’s finest. Rather I'm
emphasizing the need to choose the right
model. Mine were mid-weight hikers
and just too casual for the 2,500-verti-
cal-foot, rock-kicking descents back to
camp. Trying to scrimp on weight and
expense, I made a big mistake.
While extreme mountaineering boots
are stiffer than hunters need, in my opin-
ion, make sure yours are sturdy enough
to protect your feet, and don’t go cheap.
The brands I’ve mentioned, plus Schnee’s
and Crispi, are all contenders. And as
noted, hardening your feet beforehand
ensures both boots and feet are ready.
Packs improved greatly when
designers made them to fit users almost
like an article of clothing. Most notably,
extended-use models became taller and
skinnier, and their frames almost invari-
ably are internal. The tight fit means far
more stability when you are hiking pre-
carious terrain, lessening tendencies for
the weight to pull the user off-balance.
Removable compartments now make it
easy to expand or shrink cargo capacity,
and many big freighters possess com-
pressible designs that transform them to
daypack size. The ability to securely carry
your rifle, but in a way you can readily get
to it, is essential. This market space is
booming, and top picks for hunters come
from Sitka, Tenzing, Eberlestock, Stone
Glacier, Kuiu and Mystery Ranch. For a
week-long spike-out you need at least
4,500 cubic inches, with weight topping
out at 6 pounds or less.
Rifle/ammo should be an easy deci-
sion given that wild sheep are certainly
no tougher to kill than a mature whitetail
or muley buck. Should you use your deer
rifle? Absolutely ... maybe ... hmmm?
The first factor is weight. If your rig
exceeds 8 pounds, you might want to
reconsider. Sure, plenty of guys have
toted the prototypical walnut-stocked,
24-inch-barreled long- or magnum-
action. But we’re now blessed with
numerous capable lightweights, and
having carried both, a 6½-pounder is
preferable. Every notable bolt-gun man-
ufacturer makes such a model, and you
can find candidates as light as 5 pounds.
Caliber choice also falls in line with
America’s deer rifles, though here, too, we
might exclude certain ones. The .30-30Deer rifles can make perfectly good sheep rifles, especially when chambered for flat-
liners like 6.5 Creedmoor, .270 Win., 7mm Rem. Mag. or Hornady's new PRCs. With
a bear tag in hand, Zent relied on his 7-pound Kimber 8400 in the stout .300 WSM.Photo: Ron Spomer
august 2019 ❘ 50 ❘ americanhunter.org