Canceling a bighorn hunt in Alberta

[t_carlson]

If I paid bighorn money I’d want a big ram too.

Can’t blame for that. Everyone saying it’s all about the experience didn’t fork over the change for the hunt. Easy to sit behind a computer and say those things. Hard not to be disappointed with a barely legal ram when you pay that much.

 

[tater]

If your definition of "trophy" is 180+ and/or twelve years old then you should probably book elsewhere.

 

[S-3 ranch]

Out of curiosity, where did you find these stats?

Up his arse

but he is probably correct, check out the statistics on Alaska dall sheep and
“ subsistence hunters/ residents “ it’s pretty much a sad story imo

 

[cbeard64]

Out of curiosity, where did you find these stats?

Piecing information together from harvest reports, tags allocated, tags sold. Also conversations with lots of knowledgeable folks on the subject (resident and non reseident).

It’s also common sense. Nonresident tags numbers are very limited, very expensive and come through outfitters only. Provincial residents can buy tags and hunt sheep in most units and have draws in some LEH units.

The resident pressure on sheep herds (from both a numbers shot and age class perspective) in BC and Alberta has been a hot topic for discussion for several years now.

 

[tater]

Please show the scientific data pointing to the necessity of an age class of rams (either thinhorn or bighorn) that is more than eight years of age for the health of sheep herds in BC or Alberta.

 

[WCB]

If the average animal killed by that outfitter does not meet your standards then YES your expectations are unrealistic for that area/outfiiter. Same with genetics or whatever in that area. Its like a guy booking an Eastern WY Mule Deer hunt and not being happy shooting a 160 ish deer.....well then why did you hunt there? Can't kill them if they are not there.

 

[Wrongside]

some of my hunting buddies hav been to Alberta to complete their slam , all have returned with barely legal/ young rams! If this is normal? Then I am backing off and heading back to Mexico for a combo trip .
or is my expectation of a trophy unrealistic?
here is doc’s ram imo he got burned

I’m not a inches or score guy, and good on anyone getting themselves a legal ram. But that sheep is barely legal. I want a Bighorn more than most- and have probably let several legal rams walk- but I don’t think I could’ve talked myself into pulling the trigger on that one.

Not intended as a criticism of your friend. I’d be disappointed too.

 

[S-3 ranch]

I’m not a inches or score guy, and good on anyone getting themselves a legal ram. But that sheep is barely legal. I want a Bighorn more than most- and have probably let several legal rams walk- but I don’t think I could’ve talked myself into pulling the trigger on that one.

Not intended as a criticism of your friend. I’d be disappointed too.

That’s what sheep hunting has become, @ $60-80,000 US dollars, you kinda feel the need topull the trigger on even a dink

 

[yycyak]

Don't shoot 6 year old squeakers then?

 

[Wrongside]

That’s what sheep hunting has become, @ $60-80,000 US dollars, you kinda feel the need topull the trigger on even a dink

And my comments come from the resident hunter perspective. I can only imagine the pressure to not leave empty handed, with that much money on the line. That’s a pile of cash.

 

[leoni1]

Resident AB sheep hunter here that has been part of several (7) successful hunts:

Legal rams as defined as 4/5 curl earlier in this thread are hard to find. Resident success here is around 2% and guided hunters are about 40% (I last looked at this data about 5 years ago so may have changed slightly).

Any guided hunter who is forking out $60k and says they are at peace with going home empty handed must have ice in their veins.

Then after 10 days of looking over sub-legal rams a 6 year old squeaker looks pretty appealing. Trust me, I’ve been in this position as a resident hunter and all I’ve invested is my time and a $59.95 for the OTC tag!

OP, no judgement from me regarding your friend for shooting a legal young ram on an expensive hunt. Im sure it was well earned. I do take issue with his disappointment at having killed a small one though: If he feels this way, he should have done the honorable thing and let it walk.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WRO]

There's Indian reservations and Private land tags in NM and CO that offer great rams. Most of these are very quiet operations. Get your check book out though, you're looking 80K+ to start.

 

[Freeride]

Unfortunately there is pressure to fill your tag on all sides. Outfitters who have higher success rates get more clients, clients who pay the money don’t want to go home empty handed, even residents face peer pressure to fill tags.


Its easy to sit here and say let the squeekers walk, its another thing when your dead tired and have been going at it for awhile.

No one can say what a trophy or successful hunt is for anyone else, bottom line is if your happy with it and it's legal obviously then its your trophy. But if he isn’t happy with that ram, and had to talk himself into it, even a bit, then he should have left it.

 

[b_doornenbal]

As another AB resident that has been sheep hunting since 2003 the quality of rams I have seen and seen being harvested is going down. Lots of 6 and 7 yr old rams being killed. Is there the odd big ram left … yep but they are getting to be fewer.

 

[bowhuntercam]

29" by 12" good one to get out of the gene pool.

 

[PRC_GUY]

I personally hunt for the beautiful outdoors , to leave all our busy live behind and enjoy the scenery. I killed a cow elk last year, file my freeze and that cow elk still my trophy.

 

[wind gypsy]

A lot of ugly truth in this thread. What drives one to pay $60k+ for a hunt that that is likely to end in some level of dissatisfaction? If 40% of guided hunters are successful and lets say half (WAG, i've no idea of reality) of them are successful with the type of ram the OP would be content with - we're looking at 1/5 odds of being satisfied with what one just spent $60k+ on. Are the highs of beating the odds really that high? Is having a bighorn on the wall or slam really worth it? It just seems like the motivation behind most of this stuff isn't pretty. This isn't meant to point fingers, it's something i argue myself about too and I've done a couple expensive guided hunts.

 

[TSAMP]

A lot of ugly truth in this thread. What drives one to pay $60k+ for a hunt that that is likely to end in some level of dissatisfaction? If 40% of guided hunters are successful and lets say half (WAG, i've no idea of reality) of them are successful with the type of ram the OP would be content with - we're looking at 1/5 odds of being satisfied with what one just spent $60k+ on. Are the highs of beating the odds really that high? Is having a bighorn on the wall or slam really worth it? It just seems like the motivation behind most of this stuff isn't pretty. This isn't meant to point fingers, it's something i argue myself about too and I've done a couple expensive guided hunts.

I'd wager they are satisfied in the moment. It's not until they get home and while sitting around the table measuring, we'll you know with their peers. They start to second guess.

It's not a problem only for the elite either. Many come to this very sight for some sort of ego/validation as well.

That's apart of hunting, always will be, or as the kids say " It be like that sometimes "

 

[prm]

Reading this just adds to my concerns about the future of hunting.

That aside, the hunter decides when to pull the trigger. If not satisfied, don’t shoot. No dollar amount should guarantee you to kill a free and wild animal.

 

[TWHrunner]

The money required is the issue. We all dream of that storied moment but unlike days of society from 50-75 years ago when these guided hunts were limited to only the very affluent of society, so many today are actually able to “afford” the spoils of a $50K hunt but not really. It’s a huge tax for the average middle class guy to afford it even if he rationalizes it by today’s spending standards and the gift that he is granting unto himself. So for those, it becomes a huge deal to kill only the largest specimen. Personally, I got just as much out of a grouse hunt on horseback last fall as I did the previous one when I took my first ram. We were in the wilderness, we climbed mountains, rode horses and lived out of a little wall tent. We did shoot a full limit of grouse and flushed even more. It may sound silly to some on here, but being out there with the horses really felt like we had it all. You don’t need to go and kill a ram to feel all that those wild mountains fill you up with.