Unfilled Tag on Guided Sheep Hunt

[firefinder25]

Just visited with a fellow who hunted the Brooks Range (w/ a reputable outfitter) who didn't punch his tag. They had some rough weather to sit out, but didn't sound like a lot of sheep when they had good weather.

Can you share who the outfitter was ? Other than not shooting a Sheep, was he satisfied with the outfitter ?

 

[mtwarden]

He was satisfied with the outfitter, he asked me not to share the name.

 

[firefinder25]

He was satisfied with the outfitter, he asked me not to share the name.

Got it , that answers some of it, thank you,,

 

[Spiral Horn]

Have a good friend who just did a 12-day mixed bag AK hunt this past season (mainly focused on sheep). He thoroughly prepared and was really enthusiastic about. It was with a very established and well known outfitter. He saw a number of rams (not full curl/not confirm as legal), saw several bull moose well over 50’ (guides said were too small), they saw a mature grizzly (but they guessed wrong on the avenue of pursuit), saw caribou bulls (guides said were too small), but he did take a black bear. He expressed some disappointment but I know him well enough to know this experience really stung him. A sheep is one of his lifetime hunting goals but now he’s really hesitating. He has the $ but is nervous about a repeat of the experience.

Another buddy went on 3x unsuccessful BC Stone Sheep hunts with very well-known outfitters and simply gave up on that species.

Fortunately, I’ve been very lucky on sheep but often very late in the hunt. Hope that continues as I have a Desert scheduled for this fall and a Fannin for 2025. Been unlucky on a few other species including some Ibex that are usually high success - it happens. Most guided hunts I’ve been on, the company and guides did adequate pre-hunt prep and worked their butts off to get me on game. However, over the years there were a few who obviously didn’t care about my success (or welfare) or just gave up because conditions were less than ideal. Last year, my buddy and I were kicked out of camp 1/2 way through our scheduled (contracted) hunt and left to fend for ourselves (trip was overseas) as the outfitter had other clients arriving at that same camp we were hunting out of. In decades of hunting nothing like that ever happened to me before, but remember when hunting extreme wilderness areas we are literally putting our personal welfare largely in someone else’s hands - be careful out there.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Have a good friend who just did a 12-day mixed bag AK hunt this past season (mainly focused on sheep). He thoroughly prepared and was really enthusiastic about. It was with a very established and well known outfitter. He saw a number of rams (not full curl/not confirm as legal), saw several bull moose well over 50’ (guides said were too small), they saw a mature grizzly (but they guessed wrong on the avenue of pursuit), saw caribou bulls (guides said were too small), but he did take a black bear. He expressed some disappointment but I know him well enough to know this experience really stung him. A sheep is one of his lifetime hunting goals but now he’s really hesitating. He has the $ but is nervous about a repeat of the experience.

Another buddy went on 3x unsuccessful BC Stone Sheep hunts with very well-known outfitters and simply gave up on that species.

Fortunately, I’ve been very lucky on sheep but often very late in the hunt. Hope that continues as I have a Desert scheduled for this fall and a Fannin for 2025. Been unlucky on a few other species including some Ibex that are usually high success - it happens. Most guided hunts I’ve been on, the company and guides did adequate pre-hunt prep and worked their butts off to get me on game. However, over the years there were a few who obviously didn’t care about my success (or welfare) or just gave up because conditions were less than ideal. Last year, my buddy and I were kicked out of camp 1/2 way through our scheduled (contracted) hunt and left to fend for ourselves (trip was overseas) as the outfitter had other clients arriving at that same camp we were hunting out of. In decades of hunting nothing like that ever happened to me before, but remember when hunting extreme wilderness areas we are literally putting our personal welfare largely in someone else’s hands - be careful out there.

I feel the same on my single Brown Bear hunt.
Saw 2 Bear in 10 days. Never fired a shot.
Wanted to use my tag on a freaky large Moose
we kept seeing, but the guide said he wasnt
packing out a Moose. Prolly 2 miles back to camp.
Had tags for Wolf and Wolverine as well, no luck.

 

[mtwarden]

A sheep is one of his lifetime hunting goals but now he’s really hesitating. He has the $ but is nervous about a repeat of the experience.

If I had the money there certainly wouldn't be any worries; I'd hunt sheep every year if I could.

It actually would be a huge relief not having to worry about wether you connected or not, knowing you can go back the next year. Sadly it's a one and done for me

 

[TheGrayRider]

“This is no game for the weak-kneed and faint-hearted. Hunter success is not high, not because there aren’t enough sheep but because there aren’t enough people with the temperament to become sheep hunters.”

—Jack O’Connor, “The Bighorn,” March 1960.

 

[HornPorn]

Have a good friend who just did a 12-day mixed bag AK hunt this past season (mainly focused on sheep). He thoroughly prepared and was really enthusiastic about. It was with a very established and well known outfitter. He saw a number of rams (not full curl/not confirm as legal), saw several bull moose well over 50’ (guides said were too small), they saw a mature grizzly (but they guessed wrong on the avenue of pursuit), saw caribou bulls (guides said were too small), but he did take a black bear. He expressed some disappointment but I know him well enough to know this experience really stung him. A sheep is one of his lifetime hunting goals but now he’s really hesitating. He has the $ but is nervous about a repeat of the experience.

100% of the stories I read about on forums of guided folks not getting their dall sheep due to lack of opportunity come from Alaska. I have a hard time understanding why anyone going guided for dalls would go to Alaska. Save up the extra $4K-5K and do it right the first time in the NWT or Yukon.

 

[cbeard64]

I have to agree with the above. If you want to give yourself the best chance for success on a guided sheep hunt the Yukon or NWT is a no-brainer.

 

[Homer]

100% of the stories I read about on forums of guided folks not getting their dall sheep due to lack of opportunity come from Alaska. I have a hard time understanding why anyone going guided for dalls would go to Alaska. Save up the extra $4K-5K and do it right the first time in the NWT or Yukon.

Because Alaska has bigger rams. With that said I’d go to the NWT in a heart beat over Alaska with the die off they’ve been having. I’ve heard in Canada it is pretty common practice to hold out for 10 year old rams or older. Lately in Alaska I don’t think many guides are having their clients even pass on full curl 7 year old sheep.

 

[OMB]

100% of the stories I read about on forums of guided folks not getting their dall sheep due to lack of opportunity come from Alaska. I have a hard time understanding why anyone going guided for dalls would go to Alaska. Save up the extra $4K-5K and do it right the first time in the NWT or Yukon.

Mostly agree, but I was up there last year and talked to a lot of other hunters, I would no longer say Canada is a slam dunk decision, especially given the premium they're commanding. Obviously over some areas of Alaska that are beat to death with outfitters, but I wouldn't write off Alaska completely with the right outfitter if you're working with a not unlimited budget.

 

[TexasBlueDevil]

I have read this thread and thought about it alot. There is something earlier in the thread about weighing the money and risk. Honestly since I went up the hunts have went up substantially like everything else. It’s at the point now that although I can probably make it work. I don’t know that I will. To wrap my head around 30-35k for a hunt is really getting hard for me to justify. I really want to achieve that goal. Monetarily I don’t know if it’s worth it to me. I’ve hunted elk, aoudad, mule deer, along with alot of other things. And for 30-35 grand I can sure do a lot of hunting and have a lot of fun

Not saying I won’t go. But I’m saying it’s awful hard for me to justify it and make it right in my brain.


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This is exactly where I am on the question cost for Canadian and Alaska hunts.

I am currently looking into a mountain hunt in Canada for either, Goat & Moose, or Dall Sheep & Caribou. For the same cost, I can go to Africa and do a Elephant/Cape Buffalo hunt,.... or a leopard hunt.

If not African, I could go on hunts for elk, mule deer and aoudad, and probably have a little money left over.

I really want to a mountain hunt in Canada, but I'm really questioning the relative values on these hunts. $30K+ for goat/moose or $45K+ for Dall/Caribou sure seems stretch the bang-for-your-buck proposition.

 

[Dgregory]

Mtn Goats are a dime a dozen, mature rams are not. Strange to compare the two.

How are goats a dime a dozen compared to rams? That’s certainly not the case when you compare harvest rates. Even more so when you consider the fact that there are multiple sheep species. If you combine all of those species they make mountain numbers look tiny.


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[Sand Wrench]

"The greatest human adventures are the ones in which the outcome is very much in doubt." - unknown sheep hunter

 

[MattB]

100% of the stories I read about on forums of guided folks not getting their dall sheep due to lack of opportunity come from Alaska. I have a hard time understanding why anyone going guided for dalls would go to Alaska. Save up the extra $4K-5K and do it right the first time in the NWT or Yukon.

There are a number of outfits in AK that have success rates on rams that approach 100%. Conflating success rates with geography is bad reasoning.

AK wins out in trophy quality. If a hunter just wants to kill a ram, Canada is great. If a hunter wants a chance to kill a Booner, Alaska is where it is at.

 

[ozyclint]

This is exactly where I am on the question cost for Canadian and Alaska hunts.

I am currently looking into a mountain hunt in Canada for either, Goat & Moose, or Dall Sheep & Caribou. For the same cost, I can go to Africa and do a Elephant/Cape Buffalo hunt,.... or a leopard hunt.

If not African, I could go on hunts for elk, mule deer and aoudad, and probably have a little money left over.

I really want to a mountain hunt in Canada, but I'm really questioning the relative values on these hunts. $30K+ for goat/moose or $45K+ for Dall/Caribou sure seems stretch the bang-for-your-buck proposition.

Go and do a DIY hunt for tahr/chamois in NZ. One of the worlds great mountain hunts for a fraction of the cost and no guide required.

 

[Bowfinatic]

@kipper09 thanks for sharing. while my profile pic on here is definitely salt in the wounds of the contributors of this thread, when i went on my hunt, two out of the four guys i met weren't successful. one guy couldn't handle the terrain and the weather, the other flat-out missed.



It's impossible to capture an image of this feeling in particular on social media, but it's really the only way to go into one of these hunts given all the commitments, financial and otherwise, that they require. i was lucky and saw a bunch of rams over the course of eight days but had yet to see one we could be sure was legal. i inReached my wife that night and told her "hey, this might not happen for me up but please, when i get home, don't say you're sorry or feel badly that i came home without a ram, i'm hunting until i pass out every day, having so much fun and nothing about this feels like a failure." if you go up there and keep feelings like those front of mind, you'll have one of the best hunts of your life.

Well said

 

[HornPorn]

Am hearing lots of stories of guided stone sheep hunters coming home empty handed this year. Reasons vary from smoke, not seeing a legal ram, resident pressure, medical issues, and one guy I heard just flat out quit after 1 day. Can you imagine dropping $50-70K and quitting after 1 day?

 

[BrentVA]

I’ve hunted sheep in Alaska, NWT, British Columbia, Alberta and the Yukon. All guides hunts and before the costs skyrocketed. I hunted stone sheep twice unsuccessfully in British Columbia. We hunted hard for 14 days two years in succession. I saw rams on both hunts but never found one over 7 years old. I had the same very experienced guide both times. I had my wife with me on both trips she was hunting for elk, moose and goats separately out of another camp. We were able to kill a nice mountain goat each. I still think about those hunts and wish the outcome was different for sheep anyway. In the long run I was able to take a fannin ram in the Yukon so I have 3 of the 4 North American sheep.

 

[HornPorn]

Going rate for stones is now $85K for most outfits in BC. $125K for Prophet Muskwa and Big 9

Saw a recent report where stone sheep success rate for NR guided hunters is right at 50%

https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/121/2023/02/Stewardship-Framework-for-Thinhorn-Sheep-v-22-draft-Jan2023.pdf