Dall sheep or Toyota Tundra?

[T Bone]

You've all seen these pics before, but I've got a severe case of sheep fever (much better than Rocky Mtn spotted fever).
My first sheep hunt in Idaho.

Oscar's ram

And finally my Idaho Bighorn.

I've been dreaming of a Dall hunt for years. However my current vehicle situation needed some updating. My old F150 is coughing and ugly. 21 years of service is about right for a truck. Those new Toyota Tundra's are nice! My wife and I just about pulled the trigger one last weekend....I went home and thought and thought. The budget won't allow both a truck and a dall hunt.

I want a sheep hunt more! I'll put some $ into repairs into the truck and there is no reason it can't last another 20 months.

I called sheep guides and was first primarily focused on price. For $8k one can get a hunt with some of the larger outfits. After talking to the owners and guides and customers I came to the conclusion that most hunts were over within 2 days and not real physical. They hunted out of base camps.

I ended up going with a higher cost guide that hunts my style. Physical, bivy hunting, going to where the sheep are. He takes one hunter a year. In 2008 I'm his one hunter!

I'm psyched! So if someone sees some guy broke down on the side of the road in an old '86 ford, but has an unexplicable smile.....its me.

 

[1_pointer]

Congrats! IMO that is the right decision! It's all about priorities. Plus, those folks in Indiana building the trucks will still be building them in 20 months...

Just be sure to carry some sheep hunting pics with you, it'll make the drive to where ever I need to take you a bit more enjoyable!

 

[Spitz]

Congrats! I'm jealous! In 20 months you'll have had a Dall hunt and can pick up a nice Tundra with about 20k miles on it and get the best of both worlds. OR, you'll still have sheep fever, will put the truck off a bit longer, and will book a Desert or Stone hunt!

 

[Oak]

Congrats on the hunt! I'm surprised you found many hunts for $8K, though. I'm also impressed that you were able to book a hunt less than two years out! Where are you going?

 

[mtmiller]

No shee-aut. Tell me more about these $8K sheep. Congrats on the decision, although I really like those new 'yotas as well. I have bought my last two in Rapid from Nate. I do like their sales people better than than the ones I have run into in my neck of the woods.

Keep us in the loop as the planning goes...although with your two previous (er, actually more like 4 or 5 trips), you should have it down pat.

EDIT- My bad, I thought the trip you selected was the $8k. I hope the hunt you will be on in '08 will be everything you hope for. Guess I need some reading comprehension before I respond again.

 

[Big Fin]

Both! Seems pretty obvious to me.

 

[noharleyyet]

An admirable decision T-bone.

 

[BRWNBR]

Guides observations

i gotta say great decision tbone...sounds like the outfitt you've chosen is real similar to mine, you should have a great trip!

I'd like to add, as tbone mentioned about the 8k hunts and them being over in 2 days from base camps. What happens with base camp sheep hunting is only a handfull of drainages are accesable and get hunted rather hard over the course of the season. So if theres a legal ram there, he'll be dead in two days...if theres no legal ram there, 9 outa 10 times they go home without, because those camps are running several hunters at once you've got nowhere else to hunt...basicly you get your area and if theres nothing there...well tough luck, dream of the truck you coulda had...one reason the price is lower, so if you decide to book a low price sheep hunt, ask some questions and find out why they are cheaper than everyone else, how much area you can hunt if you don't find a sheep inside those two days, how many other hunters in camps and how many were i camp before you. couple thoughts that alot of clients miss asking adn end up screwed....seen it in a few places i've worked before and just wanted to add a heads up.

 

[TBinKodiak]

Wise choice in my opinion. What are you going to remember more when your grey and old, a truck you had 40 years ago or that old ram still hanging on your wall?
Are you going to the Talkeetnas with Jake by chance?

 

[Dinkshooter]

Good choice, I am not a fan of new vehicles or truck payments. A trip or 2 to the mechanic every year is all lot cheaper than payments x60 months. Have fun.

If I see you broke down on the road, I will try to tow you back in my 1990 Toyota. Maybe by then we can swap sheep pictures.

 

[Oak]

A trip or 2 to the mechanic every year is all lot cheaper than payments x60 months.

Yeah, but my two trips to the mechanic last year totaled $4500!

I've been thinking about a Tundra myself, and just decided to go to the website and build "my" truck. It came to $42,000!!!! Maybe I can make a few more trips to the mechanic.

 

[T Bone]

I'm going to the Talkeetnas with Jake J known above as BRWNBR here on Hunttalk. Here is his webpage www.blackriverhunting.com

If any of you want info on the other outfits let me know, I'll PM you the info. As of a few days ago, one outfit still had openings for '08. I'm not saying it was a bad outfit as they had high percentage of success and the two clients I spoke with were happy enough. I wanted a different style of hunt. One of the lower cost outfits I was very impressed with, but they're booked solid clear through '09

 

[Bambistew]

Good choice! I'd sell my truck and ride my bike if came down to it.

 

[MarvB]

Nice Tyson!! Like said before, the truck can wait and if you were looking new you'll get half of your sheep money back just in depreciation over the next two years. I'm happy for ya!!

 

[Tom]

I just did a www.autotrader.com search for Toyota Tundras withing 300 miles of my zipcode and over 400 came up.

$31,995 Highest price
$8,388 Lowest price
$19,754 Average price

Get a used one, find it on the computer!

Good luck on the dall hunt!

 

[justdada]

T-Bone, you are the MAN!
Keep that old truck rollin and good luck on the hunt!

 

[cjcj]

The New Tundra is very impressive.. I watched a field test on Motor week....Toyota stole most of the new improvement from the F150, some from the Dodge ram and a couple from the Chevy silverado ... I will probably get one after they are out for a year or so... but with only 64,000 on my bulletproof F150 I will wait.

T-bone get the truck....think of all the worry free hunting and scouting you can do... but i guess it depends on how bad you want the sheep.

 

[BuzzH]

There is no truck that can compare to hunting white sheep.

You can buy a new truck later...hunt now...many people put off hunting for all kinds of reasons...most end up regretting it.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

T-Bone, I'm also in the limping, skanky-looking F-150 4X4 camp... but mine's even older -1983!! Getting close to 300k. Oxidized orange and white paint that refuses to wax up, but still climbs vertical rock walls. Don't have the heart to give it to the scrapper, so I'm "retiring" her to a cattle ranch nearby.
Going a differnt route with the replacement, though. Chevy 2500 4X4 Duromax that hopefully my LLC business will partially pay for.
Good luck on the sheep hunt.

 

[AkBearHunter]

You made a good choice picking Jake as your guide, he's helped me out several times with hunting area's and he's a straight shooter. Do you know who's going to be flying you guys in?