Have you ever cancelled a hunt or know someone who has?

[TheGrayRider]

Alaska dall sheep hunt (Brooks Range) in 120 days, 2 hours, and 52 minutes but who is counting…The training at almost 57 yoa continues for my second attempt on an Alaska Dall sheep.

First attempt was in 2020 (Covid year). We bumped a legal ram on Day 4 and I vowed to get back on the mountain thereafter. I booked this sheep hunt back in January 2022 as the first available hunt and before the prices doubled. Quitting was not and is not an option in my book.

Luckily, I drew a nonresident Arizona desert bighorn sheep tag in 2022 with 13 points and got kicked out of the “<1 Club.” I am still grateful, blessed and thankful for that experience.

I hope we kill a ram in a few months but will have a hell of a good time even if we don’t. Good luck with your decision. You know where to find me…on the damn mountain.

Happy hunting to all, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

 

[Fowl Play]

Is it the finances or the time away from family that is the biggest concern here? Sounds like it is time away from family/ opportunity cost of what you could do with your family for the same price/time as this hunt.

This is a major issue for me as well, and I would struggle with the 17 days. I completely get where you are at. I say start formulating what a multi week trip with the family would look like for the same cost. Or some combo of these, family trip + shorter hunt. Weigh it all out and see which one feels the best.

 

[Smoke10]

If you go, I highly recommend journaling each day. When I was in the Brooks Range it was daylight/visible light from 6:30am to ~11:15pm(end of August). You have time throughout the day.

Your wife and kids can read what happened every day and the journal makes the hunt easier to remember what you saw each day, the guide, stories told while glassing/eating, your thoughts looking at the landscape, what your thoughts were if you get rain/snowed in your tent, etc; It will be nice also as you get older and look back on your hunt.

Obviously take a lot of pictures. I printed all of mine out and put them in a photo album. Then your wife, kids, friends, and other family members can look through them with the journal and read your story.

 

[MntHunter]

The time away from family is a big one for me. For what it is worth, I made a promise to my wife and I budget a couple extra thousand that if I tag out earlier I come home. Not sure if that is option for you or not. As much as I love the mountains, and would love to spend more time in them, but I feel like I owe it to my family to get back.

 

[Thebigbaby]

I booked a 2025 Dall hunt in January of 2023. The hunt is this coming August. I'm not a mega millionaire, but my wife and I do well enough that I could financially stomach such an expense. I paid my deposit and I saved the remaining cash since. I have the cash in the bank ready to go. Over the past few months I've started getting SLIGHTLY cold feet, and even more so lately. With the current economic uncertainty I know our business is due for a bumpy ride. Additionally, and probably the main hesitation, is that I'll be gone for 17 days. My kids are 12 and 14 so they aren't babies, and my wife is pretty understanding, but it's still a very long time to be gone.

I've also considered that the money this hunt requires could easily fund many other really high quality hunting experiences for years to come. Canada moose, top end elk hunts, etc. I've hunted for over 25 years and I've enjoyed some really good hunting experiences all over the US. I wonder if the juice is worth the squeeze for the sheep.

So, have any of you cancelled a BIG hunt? Did you regret it? How about people you know? If I cancel such a rare opportunity I doubt I'd stomach starting over since prices are only skyrocketing. As of right now I'm still in the GO camp, but to say I'm 100% in would be a lie. Thanks for any opinions!

To your original question, I have not ever cancelled a hunt. With that, I’m a poor and do otc/regular draw hunts.

My 2 cents is if sheep is high on your priority list or will want to do it in the future, just go now. They are only going to get way more expensive.

I’d much rather go do a moose hunt in Canada or a premium elk hunt, like the hunts you mentioned. More bang/experiences/time for your buck.

 

[Zzyzx]

Did you pay $40K for the Dall hunt? How much is deposit and will you get any of it back?

You mention the bumpy economic ride due to business instability. If your 529s (or whatever) for your 12 & 14 yo are fully funded, then go ahead and go! If your heart is not in it and you get a full refund when they easily replace you, then stay home and plan a trip with your kids instead.

More than 50% come home from Alaska Dall hunts without a ram. Make sure you’re OK with that also.

I’ve never cancelled a hunt. But also never spent $40K plus on a hunt. Although I easily could. Instead, I spread that money around on more hunts/trips/participants. Go to Alaska with that money/time, but take the entire family and go fishing. My kids and I still talk about their Alaska trips. It’s different talking about your memories with people who weren’t there with you.

 

[hunt1up]

The time away from family is a big one for me. For what it is worth, I made a promise to my wife and I budget a couple extra thousand that if I tag out earlier I come home. Not sure if that is option for you or not. As much as I love the mountains, and would love to spend more time in them, but I feel like I owe it to my family to get back.

I do have the option to leave camp early in that scenario as well. If it was early/mid way through the hunt I'd probably come out earlier. The wife said if it's late in the hunt then my ass is staying the whole time. She's the cheap one in the relationship!

 

[MallardSX2]

I had to postpone a trip because of covid. Thankfully the outfitter was a stand-up guy, and he held my deposit and our spots for the spring of 2024. We had a great trip.

 

[hunt1up]

Did you pay $40K for the Dall hunt? How much is deposit and will you get any of it back?

You mention the bumpy economic ride due to business instability. If your 529s (or whatever) for your 12 & 14 yo are fully funded, then go ahead and go! If your heart is not in it and you get a full refund when they easily replace you, then stay home and plan a trip with your kids instead.

More than 50% come home from Alaska Dall hunts without a ram. Make sure you’re OK with that also.

I’ve never cancelled a hunt. But also never spent $40K plus on a hunt. Although I easily could. Instead, I spread that money around on more hunts/trips/participants. Go to Alaska with that money/time, but take the entire family and go fishing. My kids and I still talk about their Alaska trips. It’s different talking about your memories with people who weren’t there with you.

It's closer to $30k since I booked it a few years back. I know that that price is a thing of the past and another reason it'd be stupid to cancel. As for the personal finances, we've got college fully funded, having started when they were born. 401ks and all that are well funded. I'm very debt averse. Looking objectively at the whole financial picture this expense is not irresponsible at all.

I needed to give it a good look from all angles I guess. It's just how I'm wired. I'm going to go though.
I appreciate all the responses!

 

[missjordan]

Instead of cancelling all together have you thought of that delaying the trip another year or two?


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[hunt1up]

Instead of cancelling all together have you thought of that delaying the trip another year or two?


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No I haven't. I think that would likely result in a higher price. I'm made up my mind(it was pretty made up already) that I'm going to keep the trip planned as-is.

 

[Zzyzx]

It's closer to $30k since I booked it a few years back. I know that that price is a thing of the past and another reason it'd be stupid to cancel.

You paid $30K, what does the outfitter TRULY sell it for today?

Can you transfer it to a buddy for $30K?

If it really is a locked in, good discount then you probably are silly to cancel altogether.

The word is getting around that the majority of Alaska Dall hunters don’t even see legal rams. So I would take asking prices with a grain of salt.

 

[hunt1up]

You paid $30K, what does the outfitter TRULY sell it for today?

Can you transfer it to a buddy for $30K?

If it really is a locked in, good discount then you probably are silly to cancel altogether.

The word is getting around that the majority of Alaska Dall hunters don’t even see legal rams. So I would take asking prices with a grain of salt.

I don't know their prices as of today. I've talked to them a few times since booking but didn't ask about the current going rate. I can only assume it's gone up like everyone else. I can transfer to another hunter at that price if I wanted to. I agree that I probably won't be able to ever do a Dall hunt at this price again, so it would be dumb to cancel at this point.

 

[ol490]

Looks like you have made your decision but I will pile on anyways. I went Dall sheep hunting at 32 years old. I could barely afford it but I wanted to get my dad to go and the clock was ticking. I went Stone sheep hunting at 39 years old (lots cheaper then compared to now) and it still required a financial plan to make happen. I don't regret one cent of either hunt.
I also did them while still early enough in my career to have lots of earning runway left before retirement. I think about those hunts almost every day and am happy I went. Current prices for Dall sheep in the Yukon and NWT are mostly past $50k, with some running past $60k, and 3 plus years out.
I think you are making a great decision given your financial and family situations are in great shape.

 

[Mtndawger]

@hunt1up. Im older than you by quite a bit. Also have two boys@ home age 14 and 16. I had given up big game in Colorado because of the circus it is. But over the past ten years introducing those boys to hunting has reignited a passion for it and my efforts are spent planning our hunts and applying for all the tags etc and making each deer, duck or elk hunt an adventure. I do dream about a sheep hunt but I honestly want 100 % of my efforts at this time to be spent with them. Maybe consider putting that money toward a special hunt with them somewhere. I bet it would help you feel less conflicted.

 

[hunt1up]

@hunt1up. Im older than you by quite a bit. Also have two boys@ home age 14 and 16. I had given up big game in Colorado because of the circus it is. But over the past ten years introducing those boys to hunting has reignited a passion for it and my efforts are spent planning our hunts and applying for all the tags etc and making each deer, duck or elk hunt an adventure. I do dream about a sheep hunt but I honestly want 100 % of my efforts at this time to be spent with them. Maybe consider putting that money toward a special hunt with them somewhere. I bet it would help you feel less conflicted.

I appreciate the insight. I’ve told my wife since day one, we’ve been together 20+ years and married 16 years, that this is more than a hobby to me, but I’ll never let it impact our ability to do things with the kids. I’ve made a point to take the kids hunting as much as possible and take them each on their own hunt each year. I try to make them 3-4 day hunts due to school and all that. So fortunately I’ll still be able to do that this year as well. At their ages I can’t turn them loose on anything TOO crazy due to time, but things like antelope and cow elk are always doable. My daughter bugs me all the time about wanting to hunt moose, lol. One of these days.

 

[UKwildcatfan]

I booked a 2025 Dall hunt in January of 2023. The hunt is this coming August. I'm not a mega millionaire, but my wife and I do well enough that I could financially stomach such an expense. I paid my deposit and I saved the remaining cash since. I have the cash in the bank ready to go. Over the past few months I've started getting SLIGHTLY cold feet, and even more so lately. With the current economic uncertainty I know our business is due for a bumpy ride. Additionally, and probably the main hesitation, is that I'll be gone for 17 days. My kids are 12 and 14 so they aren't babies, and my wife is pretty understanding, but it's still a very long time to be gone.

I've also considered that the money this hunt requires could easily fund many other really high quality hunting experiences for years to come. Canada moose, top end elk hunts, etc. I've hunted for over 25 years and I've enjoyed some really good hunting experiences all over the US. I wonder if the juice is worth the squeeze for the sheep.

So, have any of you cancelled a BIG hunt? Did you regret it? How about people you know? If I cancel such a rare opportunity I doubt I'd stomach starting over since prices are only skyrocketing. As of right now I'm still in the GO camp, but to say I'm 100% in would be a lie. Thanks for any opinions!

My experience is you'll lose your deposit if you don't find someone to fill your spot. The outfitter will then offer a cancellation hunt at a discount price (since they have your deposit) to fill that spot. How much are you willing to toss out the window if you cancel? I've personally taken advantage of a couple of cancellation hunts.

 

[UKwildcatfan]

Honestly the home life is good. Helping run a family business has it's challenges but that comes with the territory. But from a family perspective it's really really good to be honest. Got a great wife and great kids. I will be burdening my wife in my absence but she understands, and has always given her blessing for me to pursue such things. Do I feel a little guilty being gone 17 days? Sure I do.

You could invest that monry in a 529 for your kids college. Invest in a Roth for them. Or leave them a sheep head when you die.

 

[hunt1up]

You could invest that monry in a 529 for your kids college. Invest in a Roth for them. Or leave them a sheep head when you die.

College funds are done. Pretty much have that expense already accounted for. Roths get a monthly contribution as well. One could certainly debate how much is the right amount to set aside for our kids. I could justify saving every dime for them. But I wouldn’t expect my children to save every dime they’ll someday make for their kids too. Gotta have a balance.

 

[schmalzy]

OP,

I think the little bit of anxiety is normal if not good. But that said, only you know if it’s the right call. If it’s just the hunt itself, might be harder to justify.

If it’s the culmination of a years long journey to fitness, family happiness and stability, financial ability and a decision to roll the dice on a wild ass dream chasing adventure in the wilds of the north, it’s not even a question in my mind.

I wish you the best whichever way you go.


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