Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Realisticly - Cost of a Grand Slam sheep hunt

I am just curious.

Realistically, what would it cost today to complete a grand slam hunt for North American Wild Sheep if the person was not a guide and not a resident of any state that had sheep hunting.

I completed my GS around 14 years ago, with the Stone ram being #4.
Being a Colorado resident, I was incredibly fortunate to draw both Rocky Mtn. and Desert Bighorn tags in my home state- both hunts together cost me a few thousand bucks.

My Dall was the first sheep I hunted, and at the time I believe the cost of the guided hunt was $4000.

The Stone ram hunt was $14,500 for the BC tag- at the time it seemed outrageously expensive, but nowdays that same hunt could well be double that, or more.

So- if you are lucky enough to draw out of state tags in the lower 48 for Rocky Mtn. and Desert Bighorn, you could hunt them for reasonable cash. If you decide for Alberta for RM Bighorns, or Mexico for Desert rams, your quest for a Slam just got very pricey.

So, this is a very broad estimate of costs, but if you draw tags, you might complete a GS nowdays for around $50-60K or so. But more realistically, the number would probably be closer to $100K, or more, and going up every season.

North American sheep hunting has really become a rich man's game.

Bighorns in Canada, 22 large.

Stone in Canada, 30 large.

Dall in Alaska, 13 Large.

Desert sheep in Mexico, 50 large.

Around $115,000. Should we sign you up?

A lot less than the Big 5.

as someone who has no interest in shooting a sheep, why are they so pricey??

Scarcity for the most part (high demand for a product in limited supply), and logistics of the hunt for the rest.

"A lot less than the Big 5."


Wouldn't say that its that much cheaper than the Big 5(4). You can hunt Buff for about 10-15k, Ele for 15-25k, Lion for 20K, and Leopard for 15k. About 70-80k for the huntable Big 4 species. Now a Rhino is a different story but its not really a huntable option for people these days. You can dart one for cheaper. If you compare the huntable Big 4 against the 4 NA Sheep it is actually a good bit cheaper to hunt he big 4 and you don' have to worry about tags. You can hunt sheep for much cheaper but you have to get drawn which is not easy.

Supply and demand.

I think that's pretty close except the Bighorn, they rival Stone in cost I believe.

Add in travel, tips, taxidermy, etc, $150 large wouldn't be a stretch.....

Its the Holy Grail of Big Game Hunting to be sure, Jack O'Connor wrote so much about it that it has been a goal of American Hunters for two of three generations now. It was always something for the well healed. Not that a person of Modest means couldn't if he was lucking enough with a Desert Big Horn Draw. The Dall is the easiest one to get because they are More of them around. Stone becomes expensive because there are fewer of them and in fewer places to hunt them. Big horn well they are around but not in numbers so its pricey too. Then there is the Desert Big Horn, Old Jack hunted his in AZ and Northern Mexico. Drawing for AZ may take years if you ever draw one, Northern Mexico has some issues going on down there than causes one to really think it out before going. Yes its a worth while goal, but you are going to be working for and thinking about nothing else for a couple of decades. Best to start in your 20's by the time you hit mid 50's for most flat landers it becomes hacking it physically. I couldn't do it now. Never mind the money.