In 2017 you could get a sheep hunt for under $20,000. Mine cost $18k. I didn’t pay full price. I got a discount and paid $13,000. Talking about that price is like reminiscing about the days a gallon of gasoline cost only $.98.

You can’t hunt sheep for $18k anymore. Definitely not $13k. Those days are long gone.

An Alaska Dall sheep hunt will cost anywhere from $25k to $45k depending on which range you’re in and who you hunt with.

In 2017 we hunted with a new outfitter. He was trying to promote his business, so cut us a deal on the price of the hunt. The videos garnered tens of thousands of views and at least a handful of booked hunts as a direct result. I would say he got the better end of the deal—but to me, that hunt was priceless. It was a good deal for both of us.

Sheep hunts are the pinnacle for anyone serious about mountain hunting. I know plenty of guys who are happy to shoot an antelope or an elk every year and call it good. But for me, there’s something transformational about being in the high latitudes. And being in those mountains.

Today, my priorities are different. I’d love to hunt sheep again. But I don’t see it happening. Instead, I’m saving for a 60 acre chunk of land in Northern New Mexico and an acre near the beach in Baja.

But it got me thinking.

How would I go about paying for a sheep hunt if I was going to do it today?

Most outfitters have plenty of hunters waiting their turn to get a ram. So asking for a discount would be a laughing matter and I wouldn’t do it.

I’d talk with a handful of outfitters—keeping to those of good repute.

I’d find out the price of the hunt, being careful to know what is and isn’t included. In the Brooks, we found out that the flight from Prudhoe Bay to base camp was not included in the price. We had to pay up before we could leave. It was never communicated until the very end.

So I’d figure out ALL the costs. And then I’d add a fudge factor of 5-10%.

Knowing the fudge-factored cost gives you a target. Once you have a target you work it backwards.

For our example, let’s say I’m going to do the hunt Jaime did in the Brooks Range. My fudge-factored total cost would be $55,000.

Hunt: $40,000

Flights: $3,000 (including flight to basecamp)

Hotels & Food: $400

Guide Tip: $8,000

Fudge Factor: $5,000

You look at that figure, and unless you earn very good money, it’s like getting punched in the nads. That price tag could take the wind out of your sail. But let’s break it down into bit sized chunks.

How much from your current income could you afford to siphon into a sheep fund? If it’s $100 a month then you’re going to save $1,200 a year. You should save your money and watch sheep hunting on YouTube instead.

But let’s say it’s $500 a month. Now you’re looking at $6000 a year, and within 10 years you could be hunting.

That’s doable, but damn I don’t want to wait another 10 years to hunt.

So…

Right after I got married and had a baby girl on the way I realized I had too much personal debt. I found Dave Ramsey on the radio (this was before podcasts). Dave’s entire program is about helping people get out of debt. He introduces them to what he calls the baby steps.

The first step is to save $1,000 in case of emergency. This is to prevent adherents from going into more debt with an unexpected expense.

The next step is to be “gazelle intense” in paying off debts.

He advises followers to eat nothing but beans and rice to save on grocery bills. Sell everything of value you don’t immediately need. And get a second, third, or fourth job to increase your income.

The idea is to be so hyper focused on paying off your debt that you do whatever it takes for a short amount of time. It’s “ripping off the band-aid,” as Dave calls it.

Imagine being “Gazelle Intense” about going on a sheep hunt.

How much stuff have you accumulated over the years could you sell to start your sheep fund? Can you stop going out to eat, and instead dump the money you save into the sheep fund? What other ways can you limit your expenses?

Can you pick up a second job working nights at QT for $18-$20 an hour? Sure you can. Will you? Think about it… 20-25 hours a week times $20 an hour means you’ll be pouring thousands of dollars into your sheep fund every month.

By staying intense and disciplined you could afford to hunt sheep in the next 2-4 years.

Most people won’t do it.

Most people (including me) have the intensity of a sloth and the discipline of a puppy.

Most people won’t see a sheep hunt for what it is.

It’s more than 10 days in the most incredible mountain landscape you’ve ever been in. It’s more than white rams and full curls. It’s more than riding a super cub with bouncy bush tires. It’s more than grueling climbs and seemingly infinite miles.

A sheep hunt that requires this kind of effort starts years before you step off the plane in Prudhoe Bay. It starts when you submit an application to the manager at the Walmart warehouse. And your years of sacrifice are a part of it.

It’s enriched by your immunity to the sneers of anyone who looks down on your for working extra low brow jobs or every minute of overtime you can muster.

It’s a transformational hunt from which you do not return the same man—but the transformation happened during the years of sacrifice, focus, and discipline it took to get you there.

You go to the mountain… and the mountain comes home with you. You are not the same. You are better.