Alaska vs NWT/Yukon Dall Sheep

[Dkuczek]

I'm looking at booking a Dall Sheep hunt for 2024 and was wondering if anyone could give an insight into why the huge price difference in hunting a Sheep in Alaska vs Canada(Yukon/NWT). I looked a few years back and the prices in Canada weren't really at this level but COVID happened and postponed life for almost everyone here in Canada.

 

[QuackAttack]

Tag for info.

I wish there was a regional guide to sheep hunting by mountain range or similar. It varies so much and it gets confusing.

 

[HornPorn]

Alaska:
Lower chance of success (good chance you will come home empty handed)
Possibly a physically harder hunt
Planes frequently buzzing around in the sky
Competition from resident hunters
Competition from other outfitters

Canada:
Higher chance of success (if you are in shape and can shoot, you will get a ram)
Outfitters have exclusive concessions
Resident pressure is possible but highly unlikely

 

[Dkuczek]

Alaska:
Lower chance of success (good chance you will come home empty handed)
Possibly a physically harder hunt
Planes frequently buzzing around in the sky
Competition from resident hunters
Competition from other outfitters

Canada:
Higher chance of success (if you are in shape and can shoot, you will get a ram)
Outfitters have exclusive concessions
Resident pressure is possible but highly unlikely

oh the success rate is that low within Alaska? Is this because the numbers themselves or the pressure? I didn't expect there would be so many people within the mountains looking for a sheep

 

[HornPorn]

oh the success rate is that low within Alaska? Is this because the numbers themselves or the pressure? I didn't expect there would be so many people within the mountains looking for a sheep

In your original post you ask why there is a "huge price difference"....so you are obviously comparing a budget operation in Alaska to a Canadian outfit. Because the better Alaskan outfits aren't that much cheaper than Canada.

If you are shopping on price for a sheep hunt, the old saying "you get what you pay for" applies. This is not a situation where you can say the Coleman cooler is just as good as the Yeti. They are priced differently for a reason....primarily supply and demand, but the real question is why would someone rather go on a 32K hunt in the NWT instead of a 18K hunt in Alaska.....it's not because they are stupid and like throwing money away.

 

[mtnbiker208]

my dall sheep hunt, the outifitter did not have a camp in the mountains. we drove to where i started hiking.
my stone ram, i flew into a remote camp and then horsebacked to a camp and then spiked out of the second camp.

the camps are not cheap to maintain and getting feed in for animals is not cheap. alaska was less money, because there was less.

 

[Dkuczek]

In your original post you ask why there is a "huge price difference"....so you are obviously comparing a budget operation in Alaska to a Canadian outfit. Because the better Alaskan outfits aren't that much cheaper than Canada.

If you are shopping on price for a sheep hunt, the old saying "you get what you pay for" applies. This is not a situation where you can say the Coleman cooler is just as good as the Yeti. They are priced differently for a reason....primarily supply and demand, but the real question is why would someone rather go on a 32K hunt in the NWT instead of a 18K hunt in Alaska.....it's not because they are stupid and like throwing money away.

it was a generalization as i've been looking at all 3 locations in the North and do apologize for my ignorance. From what my initial research has shown Alaska trips run from 18-24k for a Dall Sheep. Canada hunts start at 28k and go up to 38k, to me this is quite a difference in price and didn't know the full reasoning for it, other then being Canadian and always getting charged more because its in Canada to begin with

 

[KU_Geo]

I would say better Alaska operations outside the AK range are now 24-28k. Most Yukon/NWT are generally 30-50. There’s often more fees/transport cost with the NWT/YK outfits as well, but some AK outfitters still have a 2K charter flight to get you into the general area. Others in AK may not. Usually depends if they are doing the flying or if it’s chartered out. Right now, I’d sure give any outfit in the AK range a pretty hard shakedown before considering to book with them….

 

[TheGrayRider]

Budget no less than $30k of your disposable income, repeat disposable income for your sheep hunt. Just because you pay an Alaskan or Canadian outfitter the money doesn’t guarantee you a legal ram. Many variables are outside everyone’s control like weather, flight delays, fog, uncrossable “no man’s land”, getting cliffed out, etc.

Much like leopard hunting in Africa, if you are emotionally brittle then don’t take up bighorn sheep hunting.

Best of luck and happy hunting, TheGrayRider.

 

[Spiral Horn]

There are high quality operations in both Alaska and NWT, but one must do some research and get recommendations from folks who have actually hunted the same area you’ll be visiting.

I went South Nahanni Outfitters NWT for Dalls - great track record on rams, numerous repeat clients, great communication from booking until I returned home, and knew exactly what to expect prior to arrival.

To me, another big factor on Alaska vs NWT is weather. Don’t underestimate the impact. IME, the Alaskan mountains are much more likely to suffer enduring weather fronts than the MacKenzies. The further away from the Pacific Coast the better. Got completely ”weathered out” on a coastal brown bear hunt, and almost weathered out on a second - heavy storms and swollen streams - finally could get out on the last 2x hunting days on that 2nd hunt and got extremely lucky.

It’s different for folks who live in AK and can better pick and choose their hunting dates.

 

[wildwilderness]

Helicopters

 

[JBrown1]

I’d sure give any outfit in the AK range a pretty hard shakedown before considering to book with them….

Could you please elaborate on why you would give extra scrutiny to Alaska Range outfits? I’m not disagreeing, just interested in learning.

 

[Confluentus]

Could you please elaborate on why you would give extra scrutiny to Alaska Range outfits? I’m not disagreeing, just interested in learning.

Sheep populations across much of the Alaska Range have not fared well the past few years due to a series of harsh winters. Upcoming years may not have the abundance of sheep that was seen over the past decade.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rtracebadger]

Alaska:
Lower chance of success (good chance you will come home empty handed)
Possibly a physically harder hunt
Planes frequently buzzing around in the sky
Competition from resident hunters
Competition from other outfitters

Canada:
Higher chance of success (if you are in shape and can shoot, you will get a ram)
Outfitters have exclusive concessions
Resident pressure is possible but highly unlikely

I would agree with this view.

 

[QuackAttack]

Is there a map with harvest number and tag plots or similar? Does a gov agency publish one?

 

[KU_Geo]

Sheep populations across much of the Alaska Range have not fared well the past few years due to a series of harsh winters. Upcoming years may not have the abundance of sheep that was seen over the past decade.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Latest rain/icing event in December is going to be a tough one on them.

 

[Dkuczek]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Was great to learn some of the reasons for the large difference in price. For ease of border/travel with guns/meats i wanted to stay within Canada for the trip itself but some AK hunts had come up in my research and it was difficult to tell why the price differences themselves

 

[william schmaltz]

I think it's a bit of a stretch saying there's a "good chance of coming home empty handed" in AK. Here you go, you can do as much of a detail search for harvest statistics for each unit/subunit or draw area you want. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=sheephunting.harvest Keep in mind that the nonresident successful harvest numbers are biased low by nonresidents hunting with next of kin.

I'm sure there are numerous factors, but the amount of tags in a Canadian concession are limited by government while the number of hunters in a guide area in AK are limited by the ethics of the guide (save a few outfitters with federal concessions). Generally speaking for OTC areas. With that being said, there are numerous guide operations in AK with a very good feel for what their sheep numbers are and that use that information to guide their bookings. Some of them have even gone as far as cancelling their 2022 season. As others have stated, be very aware about what's happening with sheep numbers in AK. I would imagine we will see some bottlenecking with locals with airplanes switching from their usual spots that have been cooked into some of the few areas still holding sheep.

 

[cjc5062]

I booked with Raven's Throat Outfitters for a sheep/caribou combo hunt for 2026. They were just about booked up through 2025 already and I wanted to make sure I got the dates I wanted.

Grizz and Ginger are incredible, very responsive and just super friendly to deal with. Didn't get that from any of the other outfitters I talked to up in the NWT. Ginger answered every question I had and was always quick to respond. Grizz even called and spoke with me for 30+ minutes on a sat phone while he was in the mountains to give me more details and recommendations.

I would def give these guys a look, as they came highly recommended from numerous people I spoke with

 

[wyosteve]

You will do well with Grizz and Ginger. He lived and guided for bighorns in Wyoming for many years before buying the NWT outfit!