Dall Sheep - Why so Expensive?

[Farmerlentz]

I bet if you saw all the expenses added up that they are not making that much money over what it actually costs

 

[NUGGET]

I bet if you saw all the expenses added up that they are not making that much money over what it actually costs

I’ve added up all the expenses (Alaska only) and they are killing it. That’s why so many only work 4 months out of the year. The insurance required for an outfitter is 1/32 the cost of the insurance I have to have for my business. And don’t get me started on workers compensation. In fact I when I looked up 3 of the biggest guiding operations in Alaska they didn’t even have policies. And looking at the SOA fees and once again they pay less than most businesses. If they are not making at least 50% of the total hunt cost (BEFORE TIPS) I’d eat my hat. If the outfitter has no guides he’s only making a cool 10k in 10 days. Not too shabby. And that’s factoring in a generous amount of fluff for expenses. Put a few guides out there in the field at 450 dollars of pay a day while you’re out there and you’re doing just fine.

A farmer/rancher is a fool compared to a guide. They work all year to take care of their crop where an outfitter has to just go kill his crop. He doesn’t manage it, feed it etc

Of course there’s one outfitter that doesn’t make any money that guides in the Talkeetna’s...

 

[wind gypsy]

As far as the discussion about the meat quality...its fine, but on par with the "mystic" of hunting rams, the meat quality is also grossly exaggerated. Its about like eating a mule deer, perfectly fine, but its not as good as moose, elk, pronghorn, muskox, oryx, or even whitetail.

I've been burning through game meat daily since this this whole COVID deal has been going on and eating dall sheep, mule deer, and elk intermixed. It's a sample of 1 sheep but my dall sheep is better than my elk and deer for sure and I had a bunch more control of meat care with the elk and deer.

I'd agree it isn't the holy grail (best game meat ive had is Nilgai and sandhill cranes) but it's pretty darn good IMO. I sure as hell would trade some mule deer for more sheep.

 

[VernAK]

I'm thawing a package of dall ram steak that was given to me by the neighbor lady that borrowed my rifle to take her sheep. Every time I eat sheep meat, I think "if this 10 year old ram is this good, just think what a yearling would taste like.".

My freezer contains mostly moose with a bit of caribou and bison but my cranes are gone.......I was swindled out of em by my buddy that left me many packages of yellow eyed rockfish. Dammit!

 

[Doc Holliday]

When you pay as much as many people do, and/or suffer and triumph through a sheep hunt as almost all do, you savor every bite just a little more, I think. Not different from many things in life where great sacrifice was made vs. getting something easy.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I have to agree with the opinion that Dall sheep meat is okay as far as table fare goes. I haven’t eaten many Dall’s, but of the ones I’ve had, the steaks and roasts have been pretty good, but the ground meat tends to be a little on the gamey side. Whenever we’ve been lucky enough to put one in the freezer, everything seems to get eaten pretty fast but the ground always lasts longer than any other of our ground meat. I think the sheep fat tends to taint the ground meat a bit. Anyway, now back to our regular scheduled program.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GotDraw?]

@COSA
Overhead costs to run a solid guiding operation in AK or Yukon are insane. I think two drums of gasoline flown in and delivered to my guide for that season's moose hunts on a large lake cost $2,500 USD if I recall properly. That was a moose hunt, but this reference is just to give you an idea of how crazy overhead costs can be for food, fuel, etc. Show me a guide living in million dollar home 'cause he's rolling in dough and I'll show you a guide that either has a trust fund from his folks or his wife does.

Have you considered moving to AK, getting residency ASAP for 18-24 months then hunting your ass off and jamming in 2x Moose, 2x sheep, 2x goat and 2x bear hunts in those two years of hunting seasons? Think of the money you'd save! And I am only half kidding.

Then move back home- happily fulfilled and exhausted.

JL

Can someone explain why Dall Sheep hunts cost $17K plus, even in the units where it's walk in? I realize sheep guides are probably the most experienced/well paid, insurance, charter costs (~$2K) and show/advertising costs....I'm just not seeing the math still, as most of the tags are OTC in AK. I'm guessing there must be a cap on the amount of outfitters or an expensive permit involved?

 

[Geetar]

I arrowed 4 rams DIY without guides (3 species) over 37 years from my first sheep tag until I got a Stone ram, I then dug into the savings account to go for a Dall to complete an archery Grand Slam on a hunt up in the NWT, on year 38 after I had my first CO bighorn tag. Anyone that thinks I did it for anything other than than the love of the high country and places sheep live, the personal challenge...the satisfaction of proving to yourself you can do it is wrong. It took a hell of lot of determination to accomplish it. Dall hunt costs have always been about what a Honda Civic costs, from way back in 1980 when they were $5,000 in the NWT to when I went in 2018.

I had a Honda Civic. It got t boned by a Jeep Wrangler and was a total loss. I’d rather have a Dall sheep. Congrats on your slam!

 

[cbeard64]

It’s simply supply and demand. Lots of guys want to hunt sheep but there are only so many opportunities to do so.

I am always amused at how a lot of self-proclaimed conservative capitalists can whine like teenage girls when some item they want or something they want to do is more expensive than they think it should be.

 

[Geetar]

I’m amazed at the amount of people who don’t think it’s weird to pay to have expensive funeral home visitation, burial preparation, and memorial service after they are dead but whine about the cost of a sheep hunt. I know it’s expensive but I’m going sheep hunting before I die.

 

[keller]

It does cost a lot of hard earned money I did it had the time of my life with no regrets and would do it again.i have never regretted the time and money I have spent on hunting. I cubed and canned a lot of the meat makes awesome stew.