North American Big 29 - average success rates?

[WAB]

enysse, if you've got an understanding wife, try my tactic and move to the places you want to hunt. I paid $25 for griz tags, got free sheep tags, I don't think my elk tags were north of $50 but I frankly can't remember. I refused to follow my career to places that did not have critters I wanted to hunt and fish I wanted to catch.

 

[enysse]

That's a great strategy @WAB. I definitely have thought about it.

 

[WAB]

It has worked well for me. You get to live in great places and the hunting is over the top. The thought of living in a city makes me sick to my stomach.

 

[Scott CWO]

Colorado offers rocky mountain elk, Shiras moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, desert sheep, mountain goat, pronghorn, black bear, and mountain lion. That's ten. If you add ranch bison, that's eleven.

New Mexico does not offer mountain goat, Shiras moose, or white-tailed deer but NM does offer Coues white-tailed deer.

 

[huntinlabs]

Taking a bit of a break from finding the average prices (9 to go), here are a few statistics I have found so far:

• The average North American sheep hunt costs around $52,000 when all said and done - the cheapest on average is about $29,000 for a Dall Sheep withe the most expensive being $73,000 for a Desert Bighorn
• Canada and the United States both contain hunts for only 19 of the 29 different species needed - in the US, only 12 are hunted in the lower 48 states
• If you had to pick one place to live to accomplish the slam, British Columbia would be your best bet - 10 species are hunted here (Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain and Roosevelt Elk, Canada and Shiras Moose, Mountain Caribou, Grizzly and Black Bear, Mountain Goat, and Stone Sheep)
• The runner-up to the last one would be living in Alaska, where you can hunt Sitka Blacktails, Yukon Moose, Barren Ground Caribou, Brown, Grizzly, and Black Bears, Mountain Goats, and Dall Sheep
• The best of the lower 48 states is New Mexico - where you can hunt Mule Deer, Elk, Black Bear, Mountain Lion, Pronghorn, and Desert Bighorn Sheep
• Sonora, Mexico has great hunting for 4 species of the slam - Mule and Coues Deer, Mountain Lion, and Desert Bighorns
• All three subspecies of Moose can be taken in Canada
• Four of the five caribou subspecies needed for the slam are taken in Canada (the fifth is taken in Alaska)
• For sheep hunters, living in Canada means you can take three of your four species close to home - a Rocky Mountain Bighorn in Alberta, a Dall in Northwest/Yukon Territories, and Stone in British Columbia or the Yukon Territories
• Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah are all good states for taking a variety of species - all offer 4-5 species in each (this list also includes Sonora, Mexico and Alberta, Canada)
• In terms of the slam, none of the 29 species are found in great sizes/numbers in any of the Mid-Atlantic or Southeastern States - and the only one in the Northeast is the Black Bear
• The Western States don't have a ton either - but they do offer some good Rocky Mountain Elk hunting and the only available Tule Elk hunting
• The Midwest isn't too much better either - they offer Whitetail and Mule Deer, along with the only Bison
• The Northwest has more species available than all the past four regions combined - including Elk, Columbia Blacktail, Whitetail, and Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Black Bear, and Mountain Lions
• By far the best region of the United States to be in for big game hunting is the Southwest - where you can hunt Whitetail, Mule, and Coues Deer, Elk and Shiras Moose, Black Bear and Mountain Lion, Pronghorn, and Desert Bighorns (the only guided sheep hunts in the lower 48)

These were a few little snippets I found that I thought might be fun to share. Once I've got all the hunt costs finished, I will work more on getting the success rates, then I can share everything that I've found on here. Some of those 9 won't be bad, but I'm not looking much forward to the elk, black bear, and mule deer hunts!

Drew

Fo Alaska you forgot elk, ison and muskox

 

[WAB]

Fo Alaska you forgot elk, ison and muskox

And Fannin Sheep (sp?), wolf, reindeer (can’t remember which island, failed ranch experiment gone bad).

 

[kevin masters]

I have a grand slam and a royal slam with turkey. cant even imagine 29 big game,lol!
But it sure would be fun!!

 

[johnnyblues]

Yep I have 15 out of 29. More than likely that's about it for me.. But who knows. My real interest now and at my age and of course money has a lot to do with it are concentrating on more African species, ibex in Spain, and possibly buffalo in Argentina and Australia. I also have a keen interest in hunting the Aleutian islands for another species of caribou.

 

[kevin masters]

Yep I have 15 out of 29. More than likely that's about it for me.. But who knows. My real interest now and at my age and of course money has a lot to do with it are concentrating on more African species, ibex in Spain, and possibly buffalo in Argentina and Australia. I also have a keen interest in hunting the Aleutian islands for another species of caribou.

I would love to caribou hunt but having just experienced Africa for the first time and taking six nice animals for
less than one caribou its hard for me to reason. Very impressive 15 out of 29 what all have you taken?

 

[johnnyblues]

I would love to caribou hunt but having just experienced Africa for the first time and taking six nice animals for
less than one caribou its hard for me to reason. Very impressive 15 out of 29 what all have you taken?

Canada moose, mountain and barren ground caribou, grizzly and brown bear, mtn goat, dall and big horn sheep, mule deer ( desert) antelope, elk, several whitetail, black bear, cougar. Free range Aoudad sheep Not on the list). Several species of game from NZ and a lot of exotics from my "training years".

 

[huntinlabs]

I would love to caribou hunt but having just experienced Africa for the first time and taking six nice animals for
less than one caribou its hard for me to reason. Very impressive 15 out of 29 what all have you taken?

caribou is pretty cheap (but then again i live up here). You can do the 40 mile hunt as a DIY non res and your success rate will be extremely high. It can get like a shooting show up there but if you get away from the road you are safe.

 

[kevin masters]

caribou is pretty cheap (but then again i live up here). You can do the 40 mile hunt as a DIY non res and your success rate will be extremely high. It can get like a shooting show up there but if you get away from the road you are safe.

where could I get details on that?

 

[huntinlabs]

where could I get details on that?

Check your messages

 

[Scott CWO]

The prices he quoted on this thread are too high or on the high end. Seems like a research project and maybe not a hunter??

 

[LivingTheDream]

My understanding was he was including everything, flights, tips, equipment needs, licenses...I try to not think about those details.

 

[johnnyblues]

What he is asking is very difficult to answer.. Why were bothering boogles me. Ok John be nice...

 

[LivingTheDream]

Maybe he is doing what I did, and telling his girlfriend how much he is going to spend on hunting. If she sticks around, she's a keeper.

 

[johnnyblues]

Funny Mike! But then again when she hears how much it will cost maybe she will think, if he has that kind of money.....I d better play nice

 

[LivingTheDream]

LMAO didn't think of it like that!

 

[WAB]

I would love to caribou hunt but having just experienced Africa for the first time and taking six nice animals for
less than one caribou its hard for me to reason. Very impressive 15 out of 29 what all have you taken?

You can hunt caribou unguided in Alaska. A little research will put you on a very reasonable drop hunt with plenty of caribou and great fishing.