Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada NWT Dall or Stone???

Ok I've done some more tweaking on my sheep budget and I'm starting to have trouble deciding which sheep hunt I want to do. I know this is a good problem to have and I consider myself very fortunate to be in a position that I'm having to make this decision. Based on my savings plan, I'm looking right now at either a Dall hunt likely in the NWT in 2019 or 2020 depending on which outfitter I choose, or a Stone hunt in 2021. I'm hoping like all hell that this won't be my only sheep hunt, but that being said, I'm going to plan like it will be just in case. I know there's no real wrong decision between the two but I'm curious what everyone thinks. If you could only hunt either a NWT Dall or a Stone 1-2 years later, what would you do and why?

If I could afford it I would do the stone first, if I could get a preferred outfitter and guide. My reasoning is simply that there are less opportunities to hunt stones, and time will only make the situation worse. You can always hunt dalls and they are not nearly as expensive. If you have never hunted sheep before a case can be made for doing the dall first because of the lesser cost, who knows you might decide you are not a sheep hunter.

I'm not too worried about not being a sheep hunter. I've done a backpacking ewe bighorn hunt in Northern NM, helped guide my buddies desert ram tag (easy hunt though), taken 2 Barbary (aoudad) on 4 hunts so far and hunt them every year here in NM in the OTC areas. I've never done a hunt in AK or Canada though so I can't speak to that but I have spent 7 days at timberline (11,000+ ft) here in NM on my bighorn hunt and loved every minute of it!

The fact that there are fewer opportunities and the prices are inflating are one of the main reasons I'm even considering stone right now with them being the most expensive.

Stone...no contest. I live and guide up here and have for 30-years, easttex is right, stone sheep are fast becoming a commodity. The sooner you book the cheaper it will be. Outfitters are getting their stone quotas cut by the Govt at an alarming rate.....Every time it happens ( almost yearly it seems) the price goes up. You didn't ask about outfitters but I will throw in a recommendation for free....Scoop Lake Outfitters....one of the best areas for stones and a first class outfit. No I don't work for them. I do know the owners and some of the guides however, and they are real pros. Good luck!

I'll also say the same as everyone else--Stone. That one may be the most expensive for me to get my Slam/FNAWS (currently have a Dall and Rocky). It's next on my list, as I will keep trying to draw a Desert until I'm 60.

Save more money for the hunt. My father got a Stone, Mountain Goat, Mountain Caribou, and Mountain Grizzly all on the same hunt. Had he not had the blisters after all that activity, he'd also have a Canadian Moose from that trip. You could really get into some great hunting for multiple species on that hunt, if you plan accordingly.

Seems pretty unanimous! Stone!! I looked hard many years ago and the price scared me, now it petrifies me!
Guess I'll have to hit the lottery.

FWIW, I've got a Dall, many years ago in AK, I was stationed there and was a resident. I still look at him on the wall and relive that hunt!

Ok, I'll say Dall.
Cost is substantialy less.
More options on where to go and outfitters.
My one and only sheep hunt was several years ago in the NWT. I did get one.
Honestly, I could make a stone sheep hunt work financially, but it just makes no send to me to spend $40 +/-grand on a hunt for one animal.
Good luck on your hunt, which ever you choose.

Unless you care about hunting all sheep species, I would choose Dall. You could hunt for them twice for the cost of a Stone.

it is a shame but so far no quota for dall (except one area close to Kusawa lake) or stone sheep for the outfitter in the Yukon ...