Quality of Rams on Guided Hunts

[rtracebadger]

Mostly "THIS". Based on my 39 years of guiding hunters in Alaska. "Yes" there can be other factors, but they are far-far-far less factors. It is largely "EGO". If the hunters pays a lot of money, and spends months "Jabbering" about his pending hunt, with anyone who will listen at work. He positions himself to "maybe" having to face the shame of failure, or show himself as a great hunter, having been successful. The people at work don't know the difference between a 35" Ram and a 40" Ram. Hell......they don't understand why you would go shoot someone's farm animal, because to them a "sheep" is a "sheep". I have had hunters shoot very-very-very small Alaska Brown Bears, on the last day. Just barely legal small bears. Because to go home without a bear is "Failure". Sadly hunting is no longer about the pure bliss of being in the wilderness, it is about "Success". No one ever say's did you enjoy you "field experience".......it is "Did you get one, and how big".

Well stated.

 

[Raypo]

Not a sheep guide, but here is my experience with Deer/Elk clients. One of the first questions I ask a client is this: How important is trophy size vs. going home with "something". Generally speaking, if I get a guy whos first priority is trophy size, I'm going to explain to him that we may be hunting areas that have fewer animals, but have a higher chance of producing a large trophy. For the guy who definitely prioritizes success over size, we might hunt another areas with more animals, but possibly smaller bucks/bulls.

Let your outfitter know before hand which is more important to you, that will allow them to match you up with right guide, and the right area.

I do agree. For the most part not all people really care about trophy animals, and this probably is most people. It doesn’t matter if I’m in sheep camp, elk Camo, deer camp, or wherever. There are always a split of return hunters and newbies. Let’s just say you are hunting dall sheep for the first time and this is the biggest hunt of your life. The cost might be all you could possibly do. This person most likely wants to hunt any legal ram. Would they love to shoot a toad, of course, but much prefer to go home with a sheep. It’s not really so much about the outfitter as it is about the client. The opposite of this is a client that has been going to the same outfitter for years and harvested several dall sheep. This person would probably rather pass on legal rams and shoot something with character or size. The outfitters generally are aware of this and hunts them accordingly.

However, if I was an outfitter and had a client that had multiple sheep, moose, and bear hunts with me. This same person is going to get my best areas. I think most businesses operate this way. Airlines, hotels. loyalty programs…etc. Just because one client might be getting “special” treatment doesn’t mean a newbies will be bad. In my experience the well-known sheep outfitters awe going to take care of everyone and work their butts off for you.

 

[ladogg411]

If a location has a legal animal requirement, then most guys should be shooting the first legal animal.

It is as true for Colorado rag horns as it is for Alaska Dall sheep. But by all means, don’t shoot and pay $30K+ again next year to see if the outfitter will save a bigger ram for you.

 

[rtracebadger]

My favorite sheep hunt of all time was one where I brought my tag home un punched.
But I "brought home" so much experience and mental toughness that it was more than worth all the time and effort put forth. That experience makes me a better hunter.

But i also didnt put $30K on the table for it...just a couple weeks of time.

A dead ram and the meat attached fills up a cooler....the experience of a sheep hunt fills up a much larger void.
The value is in the hunt not the dead animal.

Totally can relate.

 

[cbeard64]

If I am being honest with myself, I cannot say that an unsuccessful hunt is just as rewarding as a successful one.

I recently returned from a tough 21 day California Bighorn hunt. By day 18, I was mentally preparing myself to go home empty-handed. I knew the hunt was going to be a challenge and the odds were against me. Even so I would have honesty counted it as my biggest adventure because of the experience and what I learned about myself. But given the time, cost, and effort put in, it still hurt to think I was going home empty handed.

So when I was able to connect on day 20, the joy was overwhelming.

I don’t see any shame in admitting that unsuccessful hunts carry some disappointment because it’s those hunts that make the successful ones so sweet.

No doubt the experience is a big part of hunting, but to say it is not about taking an animal doesn’t make sense to me because that is the goal of any hunt. After all, we are hunters.

I’ll probably get some pushback on that but I’m just being honest. If it were just about the experience you would see folks packing in just to camp high on the mountains and glass for sheep without hunting them. I haven’t seen that yet.

 

[Mojave]

If I am being honest with myself, I cannot say that an unsuccessful hunt is just as rewarding as a successful one.

I recently returned from a tough 21 day California Bighorn hunt. By day 18, I was mentally preparing myself to go home empty-handed. I knew the hunt was going to be a challenge and the odds were against me. Even so I would have honesty counted it as my biggest adventure because of the experience and what I learned about myself. But given the time, cost, and effort put in, it still hurt to think I was going home empty handed.

So when I was able to connect on day 20, the joy was overwhelming.

I don’t see any shame in admitting that unsuccessful hunts carry some disappointment because it’s those hunts that make the successful ones so sweet.

No doubt the experience is a big part of hunting, but to say it is not about taking an animal doesn’t make sense to me because that is the goal of any hunt. After all, we are hunters.

I’ll probably get some pushback on that but I’m just being honest. If it were just about the experience you would see folks packing in just to camp high on the mountains and glass for sheep without hunting them. I haven’t seen that yet.

This!

 

[Mojave]

I am a hunter, who is primarily a shooter. I hunt to kill things. A hunt where we don't kill something is an involuntary camping trip. Saying that the journey is a great part of the adventure. An average trophy on a mediocre hunt is great. A hard hunt for a huge trophy is awesome. Shooting a 400inch bull elk in a 40 acre pasture probably isn't my idea of a good time.

I camp with my family regularly. These trips are nice, but they are not really the same as hunting trips.

Like fishing. If I am not catching fish, I am not going to enjoy it.


The Godfather of Hunting philosophy Jose Ortega y Gasset said it best:

In our rather stupid time, hunting is belittled and misunderstood, many refusing to see it for the vital vacation from the human condition that it is, or to acknowledge that the hunter does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, he kills in order to have hunted.

A hunt without a kill to me hurts.

Financially an expsensive hunt without a kill is devistating. Because it will take a long time to be able to afford to go back.