Cancelation hunts

[Jofes]

Has anyone ever actually done a cancellation hunt?
What % of the original hunt cost did you have to pay?
How long did you have to get ready for the hunt?
How many years did you wait to "get the call"?
How many outfitter lists were you on?

I have thought of getting on a few lists with some outfitters for some dream hunts that if they were 50% or so I could make work, but most of what I have heard is a short notice 90% of the original hunt cost situation which isn't appealing... What are your experiences if you're willing to share them, thanks.

 

[littlebighorn]

I've never been on a cancelation hunt but I have a friend who got in on a Stone Sheep hunt many years ago. He only had 3 days to get to the hunt concession and he still paid 70-80% of the original cost. I think he was only on that list, but he had also booked with another outfit for the following year, which he was able to cancel without a penalty.
I'm pretty sure unless someone paid most of the cost up front and then dropped out you would be paying a good portion of the original cost.
By the way, my friend had a great hunt and got a gorgeous dark Stone. Again many years ago!

 

[Falcon75]

I was headed to Idaho with a buddy no research nothing. Just headed to the Selway to hunt 1999. Met a knight n hale pro staff guy through my work at sporting goods store. Two guys going with him to the Chase ranch in New Mexico dropped out. 3 weeks later we were driving my extreme Democrat Aunt's van with lots of democrat stickers down the front range from Colorado to New Mexico.

Only one that didn't get a shot with bow. Easiest packout of 365 bull. Everyone grabbed a leg or antler moved it 30 yards to flat bed truck backed up to edge of creek bank.. Buddy hit one in field and while looking for blood trail found nest of rattlers. About 100 6 inch snakes all around us. I jumped on him like Scooby-Doo Said leaving field over there and right then a 6-7 foot rattler slithered along opening in fence. I said I'm done find your own blood. Almost gotten eaten by a black bear using a elk call

Was a great hunt the rep had tons of opportunities cause put in best spots but wouldn't shoot cause didn't call it in They got placed on alfalfa field we were on another field. Only on our last night I get placed on alfalfa field that had 100's of elk coming over from Vermeo. Called a 400 inch class bull according to outfitter to 100 yards but some cows behind me busted me. I wish I had a garmin sight from that experience that was amazing. That hunt is $12,,000 and we paid less than 2000 I think. Can be great might not get the exact same experience as full rate customers.

 

[Hunting Wife]

My FIL and husband got on a cancellation moose hunt. I believe the deal was that the non-refundable deposit the other hunter had already paid still applied, so it ended up being like a 10-20% discount. Probably depends somewhat on what the deposit was or what was already paid prior to the cancellation.

 

[buffybr]

My first hunt in Alaska was sort of a cancellation hunt. That was back in 1980 and a couple of years after I moved to Bozeman. It was a DIY caribou hunt and I knew the guy that organized it. He worked in the Powderhorn sporting goods store in town. That store was a block away from my office, and I'd go in there regularly to talk to the guys that worked there and look at all of the animal mounts that were on their walls.

So I go in there one day and said "Hi Bill, when are you going to Alaska?" He replied "Next week, do you want to go?"

It turned out that one of the guys had to last minute cancel, so I made some quick arrangements and made my first trip to Alaska.

Back then, airport security was nowhere as tight as it is now, they didn't require any identification to fly, so I flew to Alaska as the guy that had canceled out of that hunt and on his ticket.


Then in 1999 I had an appointment with my eye Doctor, and while there I said that would like to go on a Dall sheep hunt. Not long after that I got a call from another hunter that I had met in Bozeman who had moved to Canada and had bought an Outfitter business there. He knew another Outfitter in Northwest Territories that had a cancellation Dall sheep hunt in the Mackenzie Mountains and asked if I would be interested. The hunt was under $8K and I could also buy tags for Mountain caribou, wolf, and wolverine.

I instantly jumped on that hunt and came home with a beautiful 39"+ unbroomed ram, a Mountain caribou, and a wolverine.


A couple of years later, Brian, my outfitter friend in Canada, called me again about a cancellation hunt for Stone sheep in British Columbia discounted to $13,000. Unfortunately I was right in the middle of a very nasty divorice and I had to get a loan just to pay my attorney.

 

[mdhunter]

I did a Dall sheep hunt five years ago that was a cancellation hunt. After booking it I had about six weeks before I left for Alaska. I paid $14k for hunt that would have been $21k. Had a great time and got a ram. I stay in shape and keep an eye out for cancellation hunts. You never know what might pop up.

 

[Huntnut60]

In May of 2010 I was looking for a reduced price Dall sheep hunt. Found one in The Huntin Fool that was originally $14,500 I got for $11,600. The outfitter had not planned on hunting a certain drainage in the Brook’s Range, but decided he wanted a presence in a drainage he had hunted for years. Great outfitter, guide and hunt. My avatar is the ram from that hunt.

 

[Carnage2011]

They are very few and far between these days. I picked one up for sheep in 2021 about 3 weeks before the hunt. I agreed to explore a new area that the outfitter had just picked up in exchange for a cheaper price and a trophy fee if we killed one. Even with the trophy fee the hunt was about 60% of what it would have been normally.

 

[SaskHunter]

Never been but I did make the mistake of not jumping on a 6k mountain goat cancellation hunt when COVID started...

 

[KU_Geo]

I had the chance to go on sheep hunt in 2021 for 12k(50% discount). I had 2 days before committed to another sheep hunt for that same fall with an outfitter that I had planned hunt with in 2023-4. Guide had a spot open open up and brought me to the front of the line. No regrets. But come 2025 I won’t be able to get my wallet out fast enough if the same opportunity comes along.

 

[Sandbrew]

I was on a "call me anytime you have Stone Sheep opening" list with several outfitters for 2 years starting in the spring of 2013. I had won an NWT Dall hunt in a raffle at Grand Slam Club Convention and immediately knew I wanted to parlay that win into Stone or Desert sheep hunt. I connected with the Grand Slam Club and the office staff knew I wanted to go on a discounted or last minute cancelation Stone hunt with the funds they had earmarked for my Dall hunt. I had a couple calls the first years, 2013 and 2014 with offers to go on a couple cancelation hunts but with rather large (at the time) trophy fees attached. I was also tempted by an in budget exploratory hunt by a new outfitter in uncharted or unhunted terrain. I decided to wait for a true last minute cancelation hunt with discounted fixed cost covered by my raffle win. In 2015 I got a call on Aug 10th asking if I could be in BC ready to go on Aug 15th. A hunter had backed out an forfeited his large deposit. I jumped at the chance and booked flights a rental car and started packing.

That hunt was the most epic adventure I have ever been on. But sadly, no sheep was harvested due to variety of reasons, including a miss by me on day 11 of 12. On the hunt I made sure I did everything I could to get a ram. No complaining, no bitching, just hunt as hard as the guide asked me to. I went with him places we probably shouldn't have for the entire hunt day in and day out for 12 rain soaked days. I tipped him and the staff on the colossal effort, not the lack of a ram. I became good friends with the outfitter over the next couple years and kept in touch at the sheep conventions, by email and with the occasional text or phone call during the off season. Nearly 2 years after that hunt I received a call on July 4th from the outfitter. I was expecting just a casual - How's it going? and Happy 4th of July. Instead he said "How's your schedule look at the end of July and for the first 2 weeks of August?" I can make time I said. "Well I had a cancellation and the hunter just backed out of his sheep hunt. It's a tougher area to hunt and I need to send somebody in there that can handle it and I know you can." With that I was booking flights, a rental car and packing my bags again to head north.

I harvested Stone Sheep on day 4 of that hunt more that 4 years after starting to look for a cancellation hunt.

Money saved probably 30-40% of the advertised price when you consider travel, tips etc.

Right now cancellations and discounts are not really happening as often as a few years ago. There was backlog from Covid in 2020 & 2021 so outfitters have a few hunters they are trying to move up in line to clear future dates from what I am hearing. Most outfitters have a list of past clients who are willing come on when an opening happens. Sometimes you just might get lucky.

Best advice I can give out - Go to the sheep shows join WSF and GSCO, get to know the outfitters, guides, research areas you may want to hunt, know the hunt quotas, population trends, and logistics of getting to camp BEFORE you need to make the call on going.

Good luck!

 

[littlebighorn]

I was on a "call me anytime you have Stone Sheep opening" list with several outfitters for 2 years starting in the spring of 2013. I had won an NWT Dall hunt in a raffle at Grand Slam Club Convention and immediately knew I wanted to parlay that win into Stone or Desert sheep hunt. I connected with the Grand Slam Club and the office staff knew I wanted to go on a discounted or last minute cancelation Stone hunt with the funds they had earmarked for my Dall hunt. I had a couple calls the first years, 2013 and 2014 with offers to go on a couple cancelation hunts but with rather large (at the time) trophy fees attached. I was also tempted by an in budget exploratory hunt by a new outfitter in uncharted or unhunted terrain. I decided to wait for a true last minute cancelation hunt with discounted fixed cost covered by my raffle win. In 2015 I got a call on Aug 10th asking if I could be in BC ready to go on Aug 15th. A hunter had backed out an forfeited his large deposit. I jumped at the chance and booked flights a rental car and started packing.

That hunt was the most epic adventure I have ever been on. But sadly, no sheep was harvested due to variety of reasons, including a miss by me on day 11 of 12. On the hunt I made sure I did everything I could to get a ram. No complaining, no bitching, just hunt as hard as the guide asked me to. I went with him places we probably shouldn't have for the entire hunt day in and day out for 12 rain soaked days. I tipped him and the staff on the colossal effort, not the lack of a ram. I became good friends with the outfitter over the next couple years and kept in touch at the sheep conventions, by email and with the occasional text or phone call during the off season. Nearly 2 years after that hunt I received a call on July 4th from the outfitter. I was expecting just a casual - How's it going? and Happy 4th of July. Instead he said "How's your schedule look at the end of July and for the first 2 weeks of August?" I can make time I said. "Well I had a cancellation and the hunter just backed out of his sheep hunt. It's a tougher area to hunt and I need to send somebody in there that can handle it and I know you can." With that I was booking flights, a rental car and packing my bags again to head north.

I harvested Stone Sheep on day 4 of that hunt more that 4 years after starting to look for a cancellation hunt.

Money saved probably 30-40% of the advertised price when you consider travel, tips etc.

Right now cancellations and discounts are not really happening as often as a few years ago. There was backlog from Covid in 2020 & 2021 so outfitters have a few hunters they are trying to move up in line to clear future dates from what I am hearing. Most outfitters have a list of past clients who are willing come on when an opening happens. Sometimes you just might get lucky.

Best advice I can give out - Go to the sheep shows join WSF and GSCO, get to know the outfitters, guides, research areas you may want to hunt, know the hunt quotas, population trends, and logistics of getting to camp BEFORE you need to make the call on going.

Good luck!

View attachment 262042

Incredible picture Sandbrew.
That grass mound with blue flowers against the mountain background is almost too perfect. But then so was the outcome.
Well done!

 

[Sandbrew]

Thanks littlebighorn

The rest of the story was how we got in range of this ram and got him on the little mound to get the photo we did.

Sandbrew

 

[fulldraw]

I am ready for the rest of the story! Congrats on your Stone sheep.