Why are sheep hunts so expensive? I have raised goats and sheep and know the costs worming,feed etc but have not seen one go for 800 to 1000 for farm stock? First off lets be honest not the smartest critter pretty easy getting into rife range, second the mature rams are at the bottom of table fair. People will say disagree with me and say there amazing but if you know you know. Any input? Please change my mind?

I took a 9 year old Corsican several years ago and it was the worst meat I've ever had. Not inedible, just nothing like other deer or antelope I've had. As for prices, it has to be the product of a free market economy. These outfitters wouldn't be asking a price that they cannot get. If your selling something for $1,000 with no issues then why not ask $1,200?

Not the smartest and easy to get into rifle range. You must not know anything about Mouflons, Urials, Red Sheep or Trans Caspian Urials then. Granted the other breeds are not that wild unless they were raised without being fed everyday. As for price look on Wildlife Buyer. It is an online auction where you can see what Rams and other exotics are bringing.

Different types of sheep can be very wild and difficult to hunt. Take Red Sheep or Mouflon or Transcaspian for example. The size of the ranch, terrain, hunting pressure and if the animal was born in that pasture can dictate how the react.

Lots of factors go into pricing trophy animals

Original Animal Cost (babies, adolescent or mature)
Corn & Protein Feed
Medicated Feed (goats are extremely wormy and phenomena prone)
Direct Medication
Death loss
The land cost your hunting
Insurance for the land your hunting
Maintenance of the lan your hunting
Guide fees if applicable
Lodging fees if applicable
Meal fees if applicable
Website fees

If you build a business plan that yields a positive cash flow worthy of the time and work then it’s not going to be cheap.

The live sale animal market as well as cost of doing business will continue to rise yearly and hunt prices will continue to grow as well.

I have sold $1000 rams and have also sold $25,000 Persian Ibex

Texas dalls,black Hawaiians, Corsican are stupid animals you would have to be a complete idiot to not be able to get into rifle range. Ive hunted aoudad and mouflan free range not in a fenced area still wouldnt call it difficult if you can shoot a couple hundred yards. I get lodging and guiding fees and the cost for the more exotic rams mouflan, red sheep and aoudad even though texas is full of them but......1000+ trophy fee for a texas dall or a catalina goat (brush goat) come on.. i even saw rheas for 1000 it just blows me away. You can go to the livestock auction by the same animal for a fraction.

Seems to me that the the prices on exotics now days for free range animals is crazy high for what you get. Why is it that you pay such high prices for hunting one, but a guide can't guarantee that those animals will be there when you are there to hunt them, unless it's a high fenced place, but free range, low fence seem to cost you as much to hunt.

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/8266005/axis-meat-hunt#Post8266005

Look at my response in the above thread. It applies to any hunt, and when it is not a "wild" or "free-range" animal there are additional costs.

It must not be too high or there would be nobody paying for the hunts.

So just keep going up till people can't afford it?
Hunting use to be a sport that was affordable to everyone, it just sad to see everything going sky high and our Opportunities dwindling. Leases are insanely priced,public land crowding, non resident fees for western states growing every year, draw odds decreasing, guided hunts going to the moon, its quickly becoming a rich mans hobby. If hunters can't see the way the trend is going they are blind. Can anyone honestly say hunting is better now then 20 30 years ago? When the next recession hits and it will, guided hunts will come back down to reasonable prices just like the housing market and gas prices. Everything needs to be put in check. Have no fear Joe Biden will fix it😂

You have no idea what it cost to raise Exotics. Actually the hunting for them should be much higher. I raise Mouflon. I have raised 2 lambs in the last 3 years. I raise Transcaspians. I have raised 0ne lamb in the last 2 years. I raise Nubian Ibex. This year I have lost over 50% of my kids. So don't sit there and piss and moan that Exotics are too expensive. You know squat except how to complain.

People should see that the things the desire in their life cost more than they care to spend or can afford in hopes someone will give it cheaper then when the new outfitter gives an a cheap hunt with cheap results they complain. You get what you pay for and the price of living increases yearly from homes to cars to everything else we want including hunting. 50 years ago Fred Bear was probably hunting grizzlies for nearly nothing now it cost 25k just like gas cost .05 but is now 3.50.

Easy there, I see your reading skills are on the same level with your exotic raising 🤣 I said mouflan and ibex were different in a previous thread, i am talking about the other type of sheep just saw a post of a ram in a hay barn geez what a tough hunt well worth the money, does it have a name? Or do you just shake the bucket? You guides get very defensive just my thoughts on peoples prices, paying customer do have the right to a Opinion don't they?

You live in Virginia?

Sounds like you got it all figured out. Since your so smart & the business is so easy, why not jump in & make a killing?

Put your $ where your mouth is.

Why would i want to get into a industry that is robbing people by charging them over 1000 to 2500 to shoot a tame goat or sheep straight out a sale barn and call that a hunting adventure? Here in va we know a barnyard pet when we see it we dont dress it up as some special hard to hunt exotic trophy worth thousands of dollers...there domestic sheep and any one with any degree of Intellect will know as much. I am not opposed to guiding i book trips everywhere, love hunting. Just hate price Gouging people preying on there own fellow hunters. Hunters need to stick together we are in everyones scopes.

Like in every industry, there are many different players with vastly different attitudes and ethics. Yes, there's people selling "hunts" of basically pen-raised animals as adventures, but there are also lots of reputable guides and land owners offering challenging hunts. Prices vary significantly and it's caveat emptor for the consumer, we need to do our homework and find the best places. Raising exotics is expensive and as the February freeze taught us, subject to lots of variables. I sometimes see trophy whitetail bucks going for $25K+, and while I may personally chuckle, I also don't resent the landowners that have poured decades of work and millions of dollars to produce trophy deer of a caliber that commands that kind of money per tag, nor do I resent the hunters who have achieved the level of monetary success to afford them those hunts. I may never be able to afford (or be willing to pay) those prices, but that's the beauty of a free market. Don't like it? Don't go. Find a cheaper place, they're out there. The market price is what the market will bear. To your earlier point, eventually people won't be willing to pay the asking price, the demand will drop, and the supply will also adjust. We are entering inflationary times due to the tremendous influx of money the government dropped into the economy and the pent-up demand as the pandemic eases, and that inflationary pressure will affect everything, from gas prices to ketchup to yes, even exotic hunts.

I will close with this. At our ranch (2K acres, high-fenced, Kimble Co.) there are very few places where you can get a 200-300 yard shot due to the terrain/vegetation, and the aoudad sheep we have are skittish as heck and rarely come to feeders in the day time. I didn't see aoudad for the first 10 trips and the first time I saw them was at night. Trophy aoudad have been taken at the ranch, but they're not easy to see/find and tougher to get in range.

This is a pointless thread that can apply to selling any commodity. Experience on the ground matters. Every ranch is different. The rams are great to start hunters on. Some come to corn and some are never seen in the daylight. Every hunter's abilities are different. Do your homework and get what you pay for. I've killed a lot of exotics, free range and high fence. My money, my choices. If your choice is to sit in a tree on public land, good for you, but my work schedule will not allow that. If you want to buy the cheapest ram, head to the sale barn, but if you want an experience, do your homework, make sure your outfitter understands what you want, and go have a great time.

I don’t think you know what “robbing” means. Here’s a hint, it’s not a mutual agreement, like a hunting trip.

There’s no such thing as price gouging in a free market.

Hunters voluntarily pay & participate, nobody is holding a gun to their head.

Quit being a drama queen. If you don’t wanna participate, then don’t. Leave other people alone & let them do what they want.

Here we have yet another case of some out-of-stater that thinks he knows everything. An expert on something he’s never done. I bet a Democrat to boot.

“Quit liking what I don’t like”.

Max I'll buy your lunch at the Dinner Bell Thursday if you have time.

I stated on a public thread that I thought the prices for these domestic sheep and goats is overpriced (again only talking about black Hawaiian,corsican,texas dall, and catalina goats. Can a person not have an opinion ? Can that opinion not be voiced on a public forum? I've talked to a lot of people that have came to Texas And have been disappointed by the quality of hunts for this type of sheep. Isn't the purpose of this forum to share information ? Again I am not opposed to exotic hunts or guiding In Texas But when people buy animals out of a sales barn for a fraction of what their selling them for and then make such animals into these hard to hunt trophies, I dont agree with it. Just Sell them for what for what they are. There are great guides in Texas and I have been on guided hunts that were A-blast and exactly what I was sold on but I've also been on guided hunts in Texas that were nothing short of a joke. My purpose for starting this thread was not to attack all the guides in Texas just the ones that are selling crap hunts and to inform people that dont know.. As far is being an out of stater, Who do you think is your biggest clients the local boys? No it's out of state hunters, who clearly some of you disdain as people but love there good ole money. Soo just calm down and reread my posts, Instead of just blasting off at the out of state guy Who dares questions ethics. To think that all Texas operations are running ethically and in the best interest of the client is absurd and anyone that would disagee with that is delusional. Calling me a Democrat is kind of ironic isn't it ? basically I am just stating my opinion Which I am Entitled to have but you don't agree with it because it doesn't fit your agenda so therefore I should not be allowed to speak To me that sounds more lib tard . Just having fun with you guys no need to get so upset Honestly I don't think we have to worry about this problem much longer anyway if those immigrants keep pouring across the border there probably gonna eat all your sheep anyway.

You’re getting into another whole issue. There are no licensed guides in Texas. I’m a retired PH. In RSA I had to take a 9 days class and complete a practical exam and written test. Then I apprenticed for a certain amount of time. I had multiple endorsements from different provinces too. In some states n USA where I was licensed I had to at least take a test. What happens when it is unregulated like Texas is that the service provided vary widely and there is no organization to report unethical or incompetent conduct to. So the price, quality and diversity of services is quite variable. So is the methodology. The greater knowledge and experience is exemplified in reputation, so the more experienced and reputable guides can command and deserve a higher rate.

I can see where being unregulated can cause alot of issues but being regulated can be just as bad when big brother steps in ,look at alaska. The sad fact is a few crappy Guides can put a poor view on the entire industry. One of the main complaints that I hear when I talk about hunting in Texas is that you are shooting animals in a pen and that's not hunting. Even though a lot of ranch's have thousands of acres of land and are very difficult and challenging, the bad places stick out every time. I think the sheep hunts are a big factor in the stigma, most horror stories are related to sheep hunts. All i am saying is more price reflected price tags and upfront info on the type of hunt will go a long ways for image.

“buy animals out of a sales barn for a fraction of what their selling them for“

How much markup is ok with you?

How many other businesses “rob” their customers?

I guided deer, antelope, and aoudad hunts for 15 years here in W TX. I loved out of State hunter's and their money, and they're entitled to their opinions no doubt. But when a "pilgrim" thinks he can dictate how a Texas businessman runs his own business is where I draw the line, as there's a big difference in that and a personal opinion. For the record, I believe some hunts are a joke as well, whether in TX , S Africa, etc.