Youngwild TV Show and a Stone Sheep Hunt

[Craig Van Arsdale]

I disagree that money is the only barrier for an Archery Super Slam. If that was the case why is there only 20 something people on the planet with archery slams??

 

[realunlucky]

I disagree that money is the only barrier for an Archery Super Slam. If that was the case why is there only 20 something people on the planet with archery slams??

If you give anyone enough opportunities anyone can get the job done. Trying to get tags for all 29 is only part of it but is the hardest part. Failure to get an opportunity for a shot and having to obtain another tag is what holds the number is slams down.

 

[Browtine]

I disagree that money is the only barrier for an Archery Super Slam. If that was the case why is there only 20 something people on the planet with archery slams??

Agree, definitely not the only barrier, but it sure is one of them.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

If you give anyone enough opportunities anyone can get the job done. Trying to get tags for all 29 is only part of it but is the hardest part. Failure to get an opportunity for a shot and having to obtain another tag is what holds the number is slams down.

Money is something that certainly provides a person the opportunity to take on a feat like the archery Super Slam but being able to mentally deal with the amount of failure a bow hunter will experience and continue to chase the goal is the true limiting factor IMO.

The mental challenge is often the wall for most ppl in accomplishing goals.

 

[SDHNTR]

Money can buy a lot of things. And the Super Slam appears to be one of them. I will put it right out there: only thing between 1000 dudes on this site and an archery Super Slam is a million dollars. I know it is for me. Think otherwise?

Hell yes! You got a hookup with that bullshit statement. It takes a hell of a lot more than cash. It takes decades of planning, preparation, practicing, fitness, and a healthy dose of skill. Money does not buy archery slams or sheep kills. Might help open the door of opportunity, but doesn't put the arrow in the chest. And guess what, this is America, the land of opportunity. That million dollars can be yours too if you want it bad enough and work hard enough for it. We are still a capitalist country. I could write a novel on the subject, but I'll spare everyone.

 

[PA 5-0]

Hell yes! You got a hookup with that bullshit statement. It takes a hell of a lot more than cash. It takes decades of planning, preparation, practicing, fitness, and a healthy dose of skill. Money does not buy archery slams or sheep kills. Might help open the door of opportunity, but doesn't put the arrow in the chest. And guess what, this is America, the land of opportunity. That million dollars can be yours too if you want it bad enough and work hard enough for it. We are still a capitalist country. I could write a novel on the subject, but I'll spare everyone.

First off Brother, lighten up. You're wound tighter than a guitar string.

Two, if you think its a "bullshit statement", write the check.

3- If you think money doesn't buy sheep slams/kills, your head is in the sand. Maybe one economical hunt in ur home state. I am sure AK residents can pull off a walk in hunt for a couple grand. But after that, I don't see any way around spending tens and tens and tens of thousands. If you know a way, plz PM me cause I am in. ie. When I decided on committing to a ONCE in a lifetime sheep hunt, I researched all the lower 48 options. When u calculate the money and decades of buying points and licenses just to put in for the points, the $15,000 AK Dall hunt all of a sudden looked cheap. Don't know about you bro, but that is all serious coin to me. I have spent close to $20k on my Dall hunt and gear already and I haven't even bought plane tickets yet. If you wanted to hunt the NWT instead, add $10k to that. I have talked to several guys that have the Sheep Slam and every one indicated they spent over $150k minimum. That's just for 4 animals of the 29. When you see Governor tags being auctioned for $300,000+, you know its getting serious.

4- To be clear, I am a capitalist, Repub, NRA Lifetime, the proud owner of 3 jobs and the father of 4 kids that still live under my roof. I carry guns at two of those jobs. I am no stranger to 60-70-80hr work weeks. I work hard so we can play hard and I have been blessed with a great life. Hunt and fish every minute I can.

5- I totally agree with you. Millionaire or not, you still have to put the arrows or bullets in the ten ring and you will have to climb mountains. I also agree that the million can be anyone's if they work hard enough for it. But for a Super Slam, you need a couple more million so you can spend that first million chasing the 29. One guy, who admittedly likes to travel in style, has half the Slam and told me it was gonna be closer to 2 million to complete. YIKES!!! Ask Tom Miranda how much it cost and pick up his video series because it is awesome. Tom needed 4 hunts for his first moose kill. That is 4 hunts at $10-15k EACH!!!! Just for 1 of the 29.

6- And finally, as I previously stated, I have absolutely nothing against anyone that does have the capital to pull these things off. More power to them. I hope they keep the videos coming because I love watching them do it.

Good luck to ya.

 

[SDHNTR]

I said my piece. Not gonna engage.

 

[PA 5-0]

I said my piece. Not gonna engage.

Its all good.

 

[Coveyleader]

I thought the show was well done. To tell you the truth, I'd like to spend 10-14 days with that guide. He seems to have fun out there and knows sheep.

As for the young boy, crazy to think about really. He's 12!, not 20, but 12! I remember at his age my younger brother and I were sitting in a small blow-down with a 30-30 and I had a small spike come by at 30 yds. It was my first deer and I remember I had the shakes bad! It was hard to believe I actually hit that deer. Here this kid shot what many think to be the hardest sheep at sub-20yds.

"Where have all the good times gone"

 

[dreamingbig]

I didn't like his dad questioning his decision to not shoot the small caribou bull. The kid is very mature for his age and does well under pressure.

 

[GurrCentral]

Is there anywhere to watch the full episode online?

 

[bigfish b.c]

its between 35000-40000 us for a stone sheep in b.c now,not that many years ago they were 15000$,as a resident of b.c you can get a stone,dall,California bighorn & rocky.

 

[MattB]

I spent some time in hunting camp with this boy and his father last January, and he was pretty knowledgeable, grounded and polite. I didn't spend a lot of time with them - but I did spend enough time with them to recognize there are some baseless, hyperbolic and unnecessary statements that have been made on this thread.

 

[TEmbry]

First off Brother, lighten up. You're wound tighter than a guitar string.

Two, if you think its a "bullshit statement", write the check.

3- If you think money doesn't buy sheep slams/kills, your head is in the sand. Maybe one economical hunt in ur home state. I am sure AK residents can pull off a walk in hunt for a couple grand. But after that, I don't see any way around spending tens and tens and tens of thousands. If you know a way, plz PM me cause I am in. ie. When I decided on committing to a ONCE in a lifetime sheep hunt, I researched all the lower 48 options. When u calculate the money and decades of buying points and licenses just to put in for the points, the $15,000 AK Dall hunt all of a sudden looked cheap. Don't know about you bro, but that is all serious coin to me. I have spent close to $20k on my Dall hunt and gear already and I haven't even bought plane tickets yet. If you wanted to hunt the NWT instead, add $10k to that. I have talked to several guys that have the Sheep Slam and every one indicated they spent over $150k minimum. That's just for 4 animals of the 29. When you see Governor tags being auctioned for $300,000+, you know its getting serious.

4- To be clear, I am a capitalist, Repub, NRA Lifetime, the proud owner of 3 jobs and the father of 4 kids that still live under my roof. I carry guns at two of those jobs. I am no stranger to 60-70-80hr work weeks. I work hard so we can play hard and I have been blessed with a great life. Hunt and fish every minute I can.

5- I totally agree with you. Millionaire or not, you still have to put the arrows or bullets in the ten ring and you will have to climb mountains. I also agree that the million can be anyone's if they work hard enough for it. But for a Super Slam, you need a couple more million so you can spend that first million chasing the 29. One guy, who admittedly likes to travel in style, has half the Slam and told me it was gonna be closer to 2 million to complete. YIKES!!! Ask Tom Miranda how much it cost and pick up his video series because it is awesome. Tom needed 4 hunts for his first moose kill. That is 4 hunts at $10-15k EACH!!!! Just for 1 of the 29.

6- And finally, as I previously stated, I have absolutely nothing against anyone that does have the capital to pull these things off. More power to them. I hope they keep the videos coming because I love watching them do it.

Good luck to ya.

Without going into details, your numbers are extremely inflated.

Jake Ensign detailed his slam in detail over on Bowsite and it was far short of a million. You could likely pull off 2-3 slams for a million if you planned it out right.

Money is one of 15 hurdles when it comes to such a feat as the super slam. That's why there are thousands of millionaire bowhunters out there and less than 30 with the slam. It's not easy, period.

 

[PA 5-0]

Without going into details, your numbers are extremely inflated.

Jake Ensign detailed his slam in detail over on Bowsite and it was far short of a million. You could likely pull off 2-3 slams for a million if you planned it out right.

Money is one of 15 hurdles when it comes to such a feat as the super slam. That's why there are thousands of millionaire bowhunters out there and less than 30 with the slam. It's not easy, period.

I agree its not easy, no one said that. And even if you were a billionaire, a feat like the Slam would take an extraordinary level of commitment and skill. I would love to hear your details, thoughts and/or numbers on that. PM me if that's better. I will read up on Mr. Ensign but my first thought is he started his Slam over 30yrs. A time when a hunter could roll into a lot of mountain ranges for almost nothing and take a bunch of different animals that were very plentiful. A time when "mandatory guide requirement" was not a term. The hunting world has drastically changed since then.

Ie. I believe my upcoming sheep adventure is the cheapest hunt an AK non-resident can do right now. A walk in, backpack hunt that, without equipment costs, will set me back $18-20,000 door to door. Lets stick with the archery slam for the sake of conversation. I have three friends who are serious archers that have done 8 combined Dall bow hunts in AK and BC and have one ram between them. Every guide I talked to in AK(dozens) told me if u cant afford to do 2-3 hunts, just come with the rifle. Stories Tom Miranda relays about his quest for the Slam would correlate with these numbers.

Doing a little math, knowing that it might take 1-2-3 hunts to get just the Dall ram with the bow, that's 20 or 40 or $60,000.

Now throw in a Yukon Stone($30k minimum door to door). That's 30 or 60 or $90,000.

For a reference, it took Tom Miranda, a pretty awesome bowhunter, 54 hunts to complete his Slam.

Similar numbers for moose, the big bears, and the other sheep. Anyone price a polar bear hunt recently??? Short of moving around the continent to become a resident in different states and countries, I just don't see a way around spending a small fortune. Ill keeping looking though. Hopefully after August, Ill only have 23 animals to go.

 

[TEmbry]

I agree its not easy, no one said that. And even if you were a billionaire, a feat like the Slam would take an extraordinary level of commitment and skill. I would love to hear your details, thoughts and/or numbers on that. PM me if that's better. I will read up on Mr. Ensign but my first thought is he started his Slam over 30yrs. A time when a hunter could roll into a lot of mountain ranges for almost nothing and take a bunch of different animals that were very plentiful. A time when "mandatory guide requirement" was not a term. The hunting world has drastically changed since then.

Ie. I believe my upcoming sheep adventure is the cheapest hunt an AK non-resident can do right now. A walk in, backpack hunt that, without equipment costs, will set me back $18-20,000 door to door. Lets stick with the archery slam for the sake of conversation. I have three friends who are serious archers that have done 8 combined Dall bow hunts in AK and BC and have one ram between them. Every guide I talked to in AK(dozens) told me if u cant afford to do 2-3 hunts, just come with the rifle. Stories Tom Miranda relays about his quest for the Slam would correlate with these numbers.

Doing a little math, knowing that it might take 1-2-3 hunts to get just the Dall ram with the bow, that's 20 or 40 or $60,000.

Now throw in a Yukon Stone($30k minimum door to door). That's 30 or 60 or $90,000.

For a reference, it took Tom Miranda, a pretty awesome bowhunter, 54 hunts to complete his Slam.

Similar numbers for moose, the big bears, and the other sheep. Anyone price a polar bear hunt recently??? Short of moving around the continent to become a resident in different states and countries, I just don't see a way around spending a small fortune. Ill keeping looking though. Hopefully after August, Ill only have 23 animals to go.

There are certainly a few high ticket species you can't get around paying for. But TONS of species can be had DIY that many pay for guides for inflating their estimated costs. Ill be hunting AK Yukon Moose this fall for 10 days in a premium area for less than $4k total. Guided hunts for same setup run $12-18k for half the time on the river... Just takes planning and a won't take no for an answer attitude.

Also greatly depends on your trophy quality requirements. I know many guys working toward the archery slam by including ewes for sheep species, does/cows for deer/elk, etc. it can vastly reduce costs and time needed to complete a slam, with all the same level of adventure experiencing new places and species.


All depends on what you want out of your journey. If your goal is to mainly check off each species as a grocery list of high quality trophies get ready to break out the check book and take Miranda's approach. That's just one of many ways to go about this though!

 

[SDHNTR]

Just takes planning and a won't take no for an answer attitude.

Amen right there! That's the #1 factor IMO.

 

[bigfish b.c]

I agree its not easy, no one said that. And even if you were a billionaire, a feat like the Slam would take an extraordinary level of commitment and skill. I would love to hear your details, thoughts and/or numbers on that. PM me if that's better. I will read up on Mr. Ensign but my first thought is he started his Slam over 30yrs. A time when a hunter could roll into a lot of mountain ranges for almost nothing and take a bunch of different animals that were very plentiful. A time when "mandatory guide requirement" was not a term. The hunting world has drastically changed since then.

Ie. I believe my upcoming sheep adventure is the cheapest hunt an AK non-resident can do right now. A walk in, backpack hunt that, without equipment costs, will set me back $18-20,000 door to door. Lets stick with the archery slam for the sake of conversation. I have three friends who are serious archers that have done 8 combined Dall bow hunts in AK and BC and have one ram between them. Every guide I talked to in AK(dozens) told me if u cant afford to do 2-3 hunts, just come with the rifle. Stories Tom Miranda relays about his quest for the Slam would correlate with these numbers.

Doing a little math, knowing that it might take 1-2-3 hunts to get just the Dall ram with the bow, that's 20 or 40 or $60,000.

Now throw in a Yukon Stone($30k minimum door to door). That's 30 or 60 or $90,000.

For a reference, it took Tom Miranda, a pretty awesome bowhunter, 54 hunts to complete his Slam.

Similar numbers for moose, the big bears, and the other sheep. Anyone price a polar bear hunt recently??? Short of moving around the continent to become a resident in different states and countries, I just don't see a way around spending a small fortune. Ill keeping looking though. Hopefully after August, Ill only have 23 animals to go.

most outfitters i have worked for you only pay full price for 1st hunt if you come back you pay a smaller fee,this is in b.c as the outfitters are allotted only so many sheep permits.so if you dont kill he can still use that permit for another hunter,things may have changed but they use to do this a few years ago.

 

[Nick Muche]

I believe my upcoming sheep adventure is the cheapest hunt an AK non-resident can do right now.

I think that is actually the most expensive hunt "an AK non-resident can do right now"...

Who cares if he wants to strive for a Super Slam at such a young age, he lives in America, right? I'm just happy we all have the option to go out and do extraordinary things like this if we so choose.

 

[PA 5-0]

Tembry, I never really thought of the female species being an option. That would for sure make a bit "easier".

Nick, allow me to clarify that. I was talking for a sheep hunt specifically. When I made the commitment to pull off a sheep hunt, I researched all the sheep hunts in North America. Didnt want to throw my money outside the US. When looking at the lower 48 compared to an AK Dall hunt, the lower 48 hunts got crazy expensive when you added up all the decades of fees, and licenses and buying points. And after 20+ yrs of applying, you still may never draw a tag. I wanted to go while I can still climb mntns. So after deciding on the AK hunts. I found the walk in hunts started around 12,500 and the fly in hunts around 14,500. Prices go up from there.

And I agree, we cannot take for granted that we live in a great country where we can just grab our gun and go for a walk in the woods.