Russian Snow Sheep

G

GrandpaNasty

Guest
Has anyone been fortunate to hunt the Russian Snow Sheep? I think they are the most striking of any of the wild sheep. I assume these hunts are very expensive? Any info on the hunts?
 
I have a friend with a life size mount of a snow sheep. It was his first overseas hunt. I will ask him about cost and logistics and get back to you.
 
I agree Grandpa. They are the most beautiful bodied sheep in the world. From what I understand, it is cheaper to hunt those than it is to hunt the overpriced stones in BC. Go figure.
 
There's a good article on the Hunting Report's website. Hopefully I'll get the link right. http://www.huntingreport.com/other_hunting_news.cfm?articleid=33

Another good resource is: www.wildsheep.org
Kulu Safaris sounds interesting. A guy can take two rams, and still pay less than what a Stone hunt will cost.

Looks like a snow sheep will cost a guy about the same as a Dall in NWT or the Yukon. The inflating costs of North American sheep is reaching insane proportions!
 
Gee I never considered hunting Stone sheep to be expensive. My most costly trip to date was about $600. That included a float plane trip.
 
>Gee I never considered hunting Stone
>sheep to be expensive. My
>most costly trip to date
>was about $600. That included
>a float plane trip.

Well good on you my friend. Lately I've been thinking more and more about the economic benefits the creation of the "grand slam" has provided to our northern friends. In fact, I'm wondering if it was an underhanded plot by the Canadians to wreak economic havoc on working stiffs.;-)

Now don't get the wrong idea, I don't begrudge you your good fortune, but I don't know how you can argue that the cost to your average American hunter to complete their "grand slam" is becoming prohibitive. I plan to one day plunk down the $$$$$ to get my Stone. And I will do it with a smile. I just hope I don't have to fly Air France when I do it. :p Whether this makes me a fool is a fair question.

Regardless, I'm glad I didn't have to spend $600 to get my desert ram. Probably had to do with the float plane. :)
 
The money I spend on a sheep hunting excursion is almost completely the cost of transportation. People tend to forget that BC is a huge piece of real estate and that to drive into any kind of decent Stone sheep locale will take, from my home, in the neighborhood of 16 hours. So alas, I can never really budget for a lower costing hunt.

I certainly would not argue that sheep hunting in Canada is prohibitive for the average working stiff. However I think the blame can be laid more on the creators of the "Grand Slam of North American Wild Sheep" than on us poor canucks. For if the elusive Stone's Sheep had not been included in this wonderful group, I would wager the cost of hunting them would be considerably less. No more than the lowly Mountain Goat perhaps.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-15-04 AT 03:03PM (MST)[p]Unfortunately (for us in the states) it's good ol' supply and demand. The demand is there. The supply is limited. People seem to be willing to pay whatever it takes to get a slam.

As for driving 16 hours to your sheep hunt, yes, it's a pretty good trek across BC. It'd be more like two or three times that for me but if there was a way I could just buy the gas (and tag/license/etc) to get a Stone I'd sure do it. Guess you'd probably do the same if you could come to Nevada and hunt on your own if you drew the tag. Oh, wait, you can. :) We have no guide requirement down here for sheep, even for you Canucks. :) You just have to get lucky enough to draw the tag. 500 - 1 odds or something like that. Supply and demand again.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jan-15-04 AT 05:35PM (MST)[p]I have always thought the Snow Sheep to be the most beautiful trophy of the OVIS/foriegn sheep. Probably because they look so much like our North American sheep. A little Rocky looking, a little Stone looking, very striking. What a dream to hunt one.

Hard to justify 25K on a Stone hunt when thats half of what you make in a whole year. But someone (a sheep hunter) once told me..... "There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and then there are people who say, what the hell happened".

I'm gonna make it happen. Somehow. later, cb
 
If I took the time to drive to Nevada or Arizona I'd probably be nothing but a puddle of water when I got there. Or maybe a pork rind. I am not made for those warm climates. So unless I get my BC slam and then make a helluva pile of money, you boys won't have to worry about ol' joebuck invading your hunting spots. In fact even if I do end up making a lot of money I'll go and roast my nuts in some other far off land; for big ugly cape buffalo.

On the other hand if anyone is coming to BC to hunt Stone's or anything else for that matter, feel free to stop by for a cold beer and a moose steak. My door is always open.
 
Geoff,

Are you around the Kamloops area? I was checking a map and you are south of where an old school classmate of mine lives up there. He has a home in Dunster just out of McBride. May stopped in and visit him one of these years so could make a "beer diversion". Beautiful country up there in that area.

Brian
 
Yep,I am north of Kamloops aout 1.5 hours. I drive through and fly over Dunster several times annually to stock fish in some of the local lakes. We even hunted it a little bit this fall for deer. It's one of the most beautiful valleys in the province. In fact I'm also going to McBride in February to referee a basketball tournament.

If you are driving up this way you should stop by for sure. It's 3 hours to McBride from here so it's a perfect spot to take a break.
 

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