Cancellation hunts

Got to thinking about a post here last summer on a great cancellation hun for a goats in B.C..

For 2006, plan A is to draw one or two good trophy tags. Plan B is to archery hunt elk in ID, and the normal deer, lopes, birds in SD.

Plan C Cancellation hunt? Goats or sheep.

Questions:
-Has anyone here booked a cancellation hunt?
-Curious to find out what the average % of full price paid.
-wondering if guides/outfitters would be inclined to be less motivated to hunt hard.
-If I were to call known Dall sheep/goat outfitters and let them know I'm availabe as an alternate with boots on and bags packed, would that come across as bad? (cheapskate/freeloader)
-Advance notice, how much advance notice is typical?

If I can swing work coverage, it may be a great and economical way to get to the high country.

A sheep/goat hunt is a big deal. Expensive, physical, not for every body. I suspect most outfitters get a fair number of cancellations and would appreciate having a back up hunter in their pocket.
You might want to check with someone like Garth Carter about possible hunts and discounts, I know they keep a list of people ready to go on cancellation hunts at a moments notice.

I've never ddone it but Greenhorn's buddy was the Outfitter wanting a Backup hunter last year. I'd go in a heartbeat but I'm always a Little booked myself. I would think it would be cheaper but I don't know.

I've tried working with several guys on being a Backup Cat hunter and I can tell you that doesn't work. Here locally I figured if a Outfitter was lined out and could take a Cat hunter in the Morning booked for 3k (Let's say) and no one was Available... you'd think that a guy with his bags packed and 1k (Let's say) would be a Good alternative.... but no, go figure.

T-bone,

I've had a couple buddies hunt sheep on cancellations. Its usually very last minute, but typically the outfitters are pretty willing to give you a good deal for a chance to salvage some money. The outfitters usually keep the hunters deposit and that is deducted from the total cost and typically the balance is reduced as well.

It can be a good deal, but I'd still be pretty picky on what outfitter I chose to hunt with even on a cancellation.

Any reputable outfitter will work just as hard on a cancellation hunt as they do on their normal hunts.

IIRC to be able to catch a deal on Garth Carter's cancellation hunts you have to be a member of is Huntin' Fool. I know that 2-3yrs ago he had a Stone's sheep hunt for something like $6-8K. Needless to say that one went pretty fast.

My hunt for a Fannin ram in the Yukon was a cancellation hunt. Here's how I did it. I'd spend lots of time at the annual FNAWS convention interviewing outfitters and talking to other hunters about who the best outfitters were. Then I'd approach the outfitters I had chosen and ask about their policy on cancellation hunts. Usually it was that they would deduct the value of the cancelled hunter's down payment and I'd pay the rest. Notice is usually less than six weeks, and often just a week or two (would you lose your deposit without trying every alternative right up until the last minute?). I ended up getting a combination Fannin and moose hunt for four thousand bucks less than the usual price and had four weeks notice.

Put youself in the outfitters shoes. They have a limited number of sheep permits allotted to them every year. If they don't have a hunter for the permit they lose that potential income. If it's a elk or moose hunt they still have guides hired and have to be in camp anyway for the other hunters who didn't cancel. They might as well make sure they maximize their income by offering a cancellation hunt if one's available.

Want a hunt with less than two weeks notice? You better make sure you stay in good shape all the time and have your gear all figured out in case you get a call. That means practicing with your rifle, too. If you get two weeks notice you're not going to have time to run around buying stuff, getting in shape and sighting in your rifle. All you're going to have time for is the travel arrangements and work/vacation arrangements. You could end up getting a call in mid or late July for an early August hunt. What if you get called late Sept. for an Oct. hunt? You gotta have all the gear figured out for any kind of weather from summer hunts to winter hunts.

Good sheep outfitters have deep backup lists and you have to be ready to jump on a hunt in as little as a day's notice. A guy came to hunt in the Yukon when I was there on a days notice. How he arranged to get there in that short of time frame was hard to imagine. Reward was a nice ram and grizzly bear. I've heard of several great hunt's by guy's for a screaming deal. I've also heard of a few horror stories as well. I've been told by several top guides and outfitters that guy's that get great deals are very often the most extremely difficult clients. Often outfitters will only give deals to hunters they already have a history with because of this.

Good luck and hope it works out for you TBone if you go this route.

IT or anyone else. Are you going to Salt Lake City next year? I plan on going.

Be careful.

That disasterous Elk hunt my buddy and i went on in 04 was a cancellation hunt. We booked it a month out had the best references ever and it ended up being the worst hunt I have ever been on. The first thing the guide said when we pulled up was "the hunting is really shitty now, this is always the worst hunt of the year". It was not as it turned out a cancellation, just a hunt he can never sell. we saw 4 cows in 4 days, and left early. the lodge was a mobile home, heck the cook did not make or drink coffee etc. I know cancellations work out most of the time, but it did not for us. i used to work for a great outfitter in idaho (Mike Hammett) who now owns a place in BC. I got a book moose and goat on the same trip a few years ago. If you want a goat just save your money for a couple years and go.

Heck Moosie if you were here in NM just don't turn me down when I call you to go hunting cats. I've gotten tired of everyone here wanting to go hunt cats, and when I call them to go they have other plans. I go alone most of the time or my girlfriend goes with me, I don't beg people to go hunting with me anymore. Wait I must not be very good company huh.

--Bill