EP 69: Booking a Guided Hunt

Well, I want to go on a guided hunt. I don't want to spend an extreme amount of money. And on some of those premium tags, you know you're not going to drive every year. You can get a budget together. And that's what you're going to get when you get the B-Team podcast. You're going to get anything to do with Western big game.

Welcome to the Epic Outdoors podcast, powered by Under Armour. Hey, everybody. Welcome to the Epic Outdoors Underground podcast. That was my best Jason impression right there. Jason doesn't say Underground podcast. He doesn't, actually. Well, this isn't the regular podcast, you know, with the A-Team there.

Well, what are you saying? We're the B-Team? We're the B-Team, man. I'm here every week. I just don't talk every week. We've got a microphone in front of you. You're our B-Team coach then. That's what we're going to call it. You're the B-Team coach here, Chris. Okay. Yeah, I'd like to thank Under Armour for sponsoring this podcast, all they do for us. We actually had a little bit of fun with some Under Armour gear the other day. We're going to be loading that video on YouTube really soon here. So, around the office, Jason gets the Under Armour gear before it's released. The rest of this? We're waiting for it to show up on the website. July this year might be available for us. So, last Friday, Jason was out of the office. And we kind of pilfered through some of his new prototype stuff and made a video of it. So, it's pretty fun. You can check that out on our YouTube channel.

That will be up on YouTube today. So, we had some fun. Went to the car wash and decided to just have a good time with Jason's gear while he was gone. Well, I mean, he was walking around the office showing it off. So, we decided to take it to the next level. He left. We pulled the gear out of his little stash and took it to the next level. That was fun. Yeah. So, that's up on our YouTube channel. Don't forget to subscribe to that if you haven't. We're going to have a lot of good content coming out as well as a lot of our hunts that we go on. So, check that out. So, over the last year, we've had some comments that guys have requested a little bit more basic information than what Jason and Adam go over. And so, we've chosen a subject we're going to go over from more of a beginner or a novice standpoint. Guys that haven't gone on hunts on a guided hunt. What, Chris?

I just liked how you said Jadham. Yeah. It's kind of like what? I'm sorry. Bennefer and what's the J-Lo combination?

I get it now. Jadham. Jadham. Jadham. You know. I like the Jadham term. Jeez.

Hey, we're newbies at this. I know. I liked it though. I just wasn't sure if it was intentional or not. And that's what you're going to get when you get the B-Team podcast. You're going to get.

That's awesome. All right. So, anyway. Beginner info. Take over. Oh, my gosh. Well, I actually, I had a guy that messaged me. It was a good friend of mine. And he said, you know, I've got a friend that told me he listens to your podcast all the time. He loves it. But he wants some more entry-level information. And he's kind of embarrassed to ask for it because he doesn't want to be known as the entry-level guy. And so, his friend messaged me and told me that. And so, basically what we've come up with is we're going to get you some entry-level information today. And one of the things we thought we'd talk about is booking an outfitter. A lot of guys have never done it. They have an interest in doing it, but they've never done it, don't know where to start. And there's a lot to it. So, we have Jeff here who deals with all of our bookings. He's our outfitter specialist. Yeah.

And we thought we'd bring him in to help us out and to help our listeners understand a little bit more about what they need to look for in a guided hunt. Yeah. I think one thing, you know, just along those same lines is, you know, I feel retarded asking questions to Jason and Adam. Because they do have a ton of experience. But I think a big thing is, if you've got questions and you're a member, call in. I mean, that's what we're here for is to answer questions. Like, that's part of your membership, right? Like, you pay $100 not just for the magazine. And I think, honestly, there's a lot of people that use the magazine almost more sparingly than calling. You know what I mean? And it's nice. Sometimes it's nice to be able to communicate with a guy. You know, like, there's guys that I remember calling in from last year, talk to them again this year, you know.

And sometimes make notes on their thing. Guys are sending in pictures and stuff like that. It's really fun to be able to get to know the members and be able to talk to them clearly and know what they've been doing and whatnot like that. And seeing what they've got coming up, too. And that's another thing for our members. You know, we're always way interested in getting stories back, getting feedback on outfitters they've been with, on outfitters that they're thinking about going with, on hunts that they've been on, getting their pictures and everything. I think it's really important that, you know, people understand we are an interactive service. Like, it's not just showing up in the mail. So, you know, the number in that magazine is meant for you to call. Like, you're supposed to call that and chat with us. So, yeah, we do get, I mean, and we've really got members all across the board.

Like, I talk to some members who are, you know, this is their 28th guided elk hunt. You know what I mean? And, you know, then you talk to other members, hey, this is the first time, like, I just want to get out and do something. And what do you got that's, you know, maybe in the, you know, maybe you're in the cheaper, you know, cheaper thing just to try it out. You know what I mean? So I think it's good for people to know that, trust me, you won't be the only person calling in asking for anything. We've heard it all the last year. I talked to a member the other day that he's just starting picking up a bow. You listen to Joe Rogan and, you know, Joe Rogan's promoting bow hunting, getting into it and all that. And he lives in L.A., knows nothing about starting. And so, you know, that kind of guy who doesn't know anything, well, we're here for that kind of guy too.

Or we've got guys, a lot of members that are on the East Coast. And, I mean, it's a long ways out here. How are you going to come scout on your own? It's just not all that practical. And, you know, it's even nice getting some of those calls sometimes, you know, because it is, frankly, it's quite a bit different than hunting, you know, hunting in the West than hunting in Alabama for whitetail. You know what I mean? You're going to be experiencing something different, you know, and it doesn't matter your skill level. It doesn't matter what you kill, anything like that. You know, don't be afraid to call and just get a starting point anywhere from, you know, maybe you've got a question about your binos, maybe, you know, anything like that. You know, we'll help guys get started for sure. Like, we'd love to.

So if you've got a question that you think is too simple for maybe Jason or Adam or you're intimidated to talk to one of them to start out with, give one of us a call. And we hunt three to five states a year. You know, it's not like Jason and Adam are hunting nine or ten or whatnot. I mean, it's solid. And so, you know, their level of knowledge is extreme. But we can still answer your questions, especially if they're entry level. We'll be happy to talk to you, you know, anybody and answer those questions. Don't be afraid. We're getting a lot of questions these days about, you know, DIY opportunity stuff too. You know, don't feel like, you know, this podcast is going to be mostly about maybe the guided hunt aspect of things. But, you know, we do have some insight on some, you know, more DIY type stuff. You know, just opportunity hunting across the West.

So, you know, don't be afraid to call and talk to us about that either. But, yeah, it's well worth the hundred bucks a year to join. Yeah, just the fact that I can call. It's like I have a next-door neighbor who's hunted all over the West. And one of them happens to have a master's degree in wildlife biology. Right. There you go. And Jason has killed more giant mule there than anybody I know. Yeah. So if you're like, hey, I'm thinking about going to New Mexico, you know, to your buddy. And you've got someone who's been there, you know, multiple times, who's done it all. And then they talk to, you know, what, 10 to 20 guys a day or more. And so just a wealth of knowledge. I mean, just that alone, being able to call in is worth being a member. I mean, I personally don't do my applications in any state without talking to Jason or Adam first about it, really. I don't either do I.

I'll throw everything past them and just see if maybe they've heard something. That's my filter. Yeah, exactly. I decide what I want to do. And then I go to Adam or Jason. I say, hey, I'm thinking about doing this. What are your thoughts on it? And that's my final filter, basically, to decide what I am going to do every year. That's why my barrier application got changed three times this year. Yeah, that's true. Because I made a decision with Adam. And then I made a decision with a little bit of criticism.

And then you listened to the criticism and made another decision. Yes. And then I listened to the criticism and made another decision. So anyway, but yeah. They bust on you hard, man. Oh, it's fun. And so it's nice to be able to talk. I mean, and it's funny because, you know, take Jason in New Mexico this year. Kills a 380-inch bull on a draw unit. You know what I mean? And it's really not even that big of a deal to him. And it's like, you know, that's a bigger bull than a lot of guys. A lot of guys have been hunting their whole life. Haven't killed anything like that. And he's like, you know, it's just another bull to go on the wreck. But not saying that he's, you know. Not saying that he doesn't appreciate it. Doesn't appreciate it. But that's the level that he's at where he gets the most out of every tag he has.

And it's because he's worked his guts out, learned everything he can possibly learn. And one thing that a lot of people don't necessarily see is what happens on that hunt. So we're up there. And I remember it was probably like day two or day three. And we're seeing a 370-inch bull. And I'm sitting there like. Done. I would shoot that bull in a heartbeat. Yeah. And I take the footage back down to Jason. And he looks at it. And, nah, let's keep looking. Yeah. And it's just things like that with his experience and his time. I'm like. Oh, he sent me the pictures of that bull. And I was like, you didn't kill him? Why is it not dead? Like, you're on day three. These are five-day hunts in New Mexico. Like, you kill that sucker. Kept shop. You know, I watched him. We were up in Idaho a couple years ago. Running around. And you were with us, weren't you, Chris? And he had to get to Kansas.

Anyway, he had a late-season deer tag up there. And I was shocked, dude. Between 200 and 204-inch buck on the side of the road in his unit. He could have killed it. And he looks at it, and he's like, that's a young deer. I think I'm going to pass. Chris was there because I saw the footage. Yes, that's right. A couple cheaters. Beautiful deer. Nice 30-inch frame, but a little bit younger deer. You could tell he was going to be a dame. Oh, yeah. And he just packs up and drives up. I'm like, what is wrong with you? I was freaking out because I'm sitting there looking at this deer that I would love to have. He had all these cheaters sticking out the sides. But he was young. Yeah. But a pretty deer just out there on this open hillside. And I could not talk him into it because I wanted to finish. It would have been great footage. Yeah, I wanted to finish that hunt. I was filming.

I was ready to see one happen, you know. And he just wouldn't do it, you know. It was, no, that deer's young. We're going to, I'm going to go home with that one. Yeah. You know, that's good for him. I'd have killed him. There would have been lead flying. It would have been game over if that deer got lucky that he had the tag and not me. I'll tell you that much. Well, that's one of the things that's just fun to hunt with him because all that experience. And Adam, too, when we went on that Henry's hunt this year, just watching those guys. I mean, sitting next to him glassing. Yeah. That's true. I mean, I joked about it on the podcast already, but seeing, I mean, Jason would predict what that deer was going to do. Yeah. And then the deer would do exactly that. You know, he's going to turn around and lick his hind quarter and then he's going to get up and turn around and re-bed. And he would.

It was uncanny. But, I don't know, Jason gets embarrassed when I talk about it. Yeah, that's why we're talking about it. And, you know. That's why we've got the underground podcast here. I'm hired in, so, you know, I got to, you know, maybe kiss some butt a little bit. John, you don't have to. And so, you're complimenting. That means something, right? Like, I'm, you know. But, anyway. That's neither here nor there. We're talking about guided hunts today. So, before we get into that, I think there's a place for even guys that are do-it-yourself guys that that certain tag comes along or that opportunity comes along. And it's worth checking out going guided. That's true. I figure, you know, I had a bighorn sheep tag here in Utah. And one of the guys that went down and helped me a little bit, he gave me so much grief because

he's like, he's like, for how much money you got into this tag with driving back and forth? You know, I was trying to, you know, I was trying to maintain a full-time job and hunt it at the same time. I had a sheep tag. We went a full month. So, but I, you know, go home, go to work for three days, come back down for four or five days, renting a hotel room, staying in camp, you know, campers, whatever I had to do. But honestly, by the time I spent all that money, I could have paid a guide. Yeah. You know, I could, I could have paid the best guide in the state for everything I spent on that hunt. And I'm like, you know, he's probably got a point. I brought, maybe I should have just hired a guy and got it done. I mean, yeah, I ended up killing a ram. I probably just could have done it, you know, several days sooner.

And, and, you know, I mean, I was. Maybe a little cheaper. For 15, 16 days. Yeah. 16 days in. And then my brother had that same tag a few years later. Once again, we were, we were, we were 60, 14, 15 days in before we killed his ram. Before he killed, yeah. A lot of time. Yeah. You know, and, and, you know, Adam probably, if we would have just hired Adam, he'd probably get us the ram in two days. Yeah. But, but, you know, there, there's something for everything. There is something to be, to be said for the experience as well. Yeah. But I think sometimes, especially if you don't have time to scout or you don't have time to spend on the ground. And your, maybe your job doesn't allow it, you know. Yeah. And you figure a week, a week gone from work. And some of these. Costs money. Don't come around every day or every year.

You know, you're talking 20 years, 15, 20 years to draw one of those tags. I would consider it. Oh, yeah. Even besides all the time that you spend applying and trying to get this tag, there's also the factor of, okay, there's an area I just got a tag in, but I don't live there. And I probably, I may have not even hunted there before. Whereas you've got an outfitter, they spend their entire fall and probably summer and spring every single season in that area looking for animals. And so you can go and show up and all of a sudden you're with somebody who basically lives it. Yeah. And you can save yourself a lot by doing that. I'll tell you what, if I drew, you know, if I got on that lucky side, like in Arizona, on some of those elk tags, I'd probably hire somebody. I mean, honestly, you draw one of those units, you know, draw a unit one archery or unit nine or something like that.

You draw one of those units on those archery hunts or those early rifle hunts. I mean, you, it's hard to pre-scout a rutting bull. You have to know where they're going to end up. You know what I mean? You can't show up in August and think you're going to be hunting that same bull in September. The outfitters who are there, who are in it every day, they know where the bull's going to end up. They probably saw the bull last year, whatever. It's, it's worth the, anywhere from five to $6,500. And we can cover a little bit of that on this podcast. I think different prices of different hunts, just so people know, but it's worth paying the $6,500 to, to be in on that bull. Right. When he, you know, when he shows up to rut that cow, you know what I mean? Cause you're not going to know you're going to be playing blind.

And on some of those premium tags, you know, you're not going to draw every year. You can get a budget together, plan ahead and then be ready to go. You know, if you want to take advantage of that and make, you know, maximize that. I think the sizes and everything. And having said that, if you do book with an outfitter, I just see it through the photos that we get in for the magazine. And a lot of times guys will tell me what unit it is. And so I can see, you know, out of the same unit, what's come in on do it yourself guys and what's come in guided. And oh yeah, the guy that it's 10 to 20 inches bigger on average, you know, just it is. Yes. And not, not to say, I mean, there is something to say for, for doing it yourself and, and you know, sizing and everything, you know, then that's okay. But, but if you got a once in a 20, once in a 30 year tag, it's awful tempting.

And let's say, you know, your best, you've killed a 170 class buck and, and you want to best it and you want to take it to the next level. I mean, that's, that's one way. Well, let's go through and let's just run through real quick, a basic price structure on some different, you know, just so people get an idea. What do you think? Just ballpark prices. Yeah. So, so mostly when you're looking at outfitted hunts, um, there's two different kinds of outfitted hunts. There's outfitted hunts with guaranteed tags. So that would be like a, like a New Mexico, maybe a, you know, New Mexico unit 15, maybe unit 34, unit 36, something like that. A tag, like a hunt that you buy and the tags included, you don't have to go into the draw system. Um, so, so you're going in, it's a guaranteed hunt, you know, you know, you're going to be hunting that, you know, a hunt like that.

Generally, you're going to see most of those hunts between like 10, 10, five and up to 13, 14,000 is where it was where you're looking at for those better units that are producing, you know, that have the opportunity to produce a 350 bull. You know, most of those hunts are going to be in that 300 to, to 330 class with, with bulls being killed every year over that, you know, that's going to be in that 10,000 to 14,000 range. You're seeing them all across there. Um, so you can kind of almost base a lot of their prices off the, off whether the tag is included and the quality, and that's going to, and the quality, you know, driving up the price is just a matter of supply and demand. You know what I mean? The demand is high for a big bull, you know, a 330 plus bull, you know, the quantity is low. Well, that's going to raise your cross section up there a way.

So, so that's what you're seeing there. Now, let's take that same tag and say you draw that tag in New Mexico. Your hunt's usually going to be between 5,500 and 6,500 bucks for a fully guided, fully outfitted hunt. So that's your price difference. That's why the draw game is so important. A lot of people don't understand that. Yeah, I just want to buy hunts. You know, maybe, maybe you're rolling in the bucks right now or something like that. You just want to buy the hunts. That's fine. Well, maybe there's a guy that, hey, wants to do the same thing, but yeah, can't afford that extra money. You apply. Now, one thing that I will note, like say in New Mexico, while we're on there, um, in New Mexico, and I think I might've mentioned this before, a landowner tag in say unit 15, like a unit 15 archery tag right now is going to run you 7,000, 7,500 bucks, right?

Well, to jump in the outfitter draw is going to increase your odds. Unit 15 is a little bit different, but in most of the units in New Mexico, you can jump in the outfitter draw. Now, increase your odds of drawing and your hunt might be 5,500, 5,800 bucks to do the same thing. You know what I mean? Less than the actual cost of landowner tag. So that's why, you know, if anybody's thinking about playing these different, you know, these different draw games throughout the West, think about jumping in the draw because you're going to get much more money out of it. You're going to get more for your money if you draw the tag as opposed. So jump in there. Get in the guided draw. You know, call. Give us a call. We'll give you a list of outfitters that can put you in the guided draw. You know, jumping to Colorado, we're looking at, you know, if you're looking at elk hunts,

basically, most elk hunts across the West, excluding private ground hunts, if you're just, if you draw the tag, you're just hiring an outfitter in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, you know, you're basically going to be from 5,000 to 7,500 bucks. Pretty much covers, that's going to be your price range between all the other ones. All the West. Up in Wyoming, you see a little bit different. You see a little bit of a spike in prices on public ground because those hunts are a lot of times wilderness hunts. They are strictly pack in nearly, you know, most of those outfitters. By law, you've got to go with an outfitter. And by law, as soon as you cross that wilderness, you can be in there the day before as a hiker and you're fine. The hunt starts and if you have a tag in your hand, you are now there illegally. You know, so you are hiring an outfitter up there.

But one thing I, you know, I got to mention is those outfitters do have to buy those areas. So they're, you know, they're financially responsible for even getting the opportunity to guide you in there. So that's one thing to note. You know, yes, the prices are a little bit more, but a lot of times it's heavy camps that they've packed in, that they put a lot of work into that. And they've also had to buy those areas. And some of that, sometimes that costs them money. Yeah. Costs them a ton of money to, even on public ground, they're having to buy those areas because there's only so many outfitters that are allowed to be in a certain area. So, you know, and that's all regulated by, by the Forest Service or BLM or whoever. But yeah, those camps are regulated. So you will see a little bit of a jump in price in, in Wyoming on those guided hunts.

For the most part, you know, they are, they're going to basically range you from, from 7,000 to 9,000 usually on those hunts in Wyoming for elk. But, I mean, great opportunity to stay to hunt elk. You know what I mean? So you will see a little jump in price there. When it comes to maybe tags included in, in Colorado, you know, there's, you can, you can buy hunts over there. You can buy the hunt with the tag included for deer, for elk. A lot of the units are, you know, you can buy over the counter second or third season rifle hunts anyway. But, but those, you know, those are basically going to run you most of the time anywhere from 55 to once again, 85, depending on the unit, depending on, on the voucher. One thing, you know, those outfitters, if they can draw their hunters and they can sell their vouchers, you know, a lot of those times those vouchers will go from anywhere from 1,500 to

45 to $6,500 for the voucher alone for those, for those landowner tags. So, so they have to kind of, you know, figure that into their costs when they're selling you a hunt, depending on the area. So, you know, that's one thing to, to consider. A lot of guys, they'll have a base price and then they'll have a, you know, if you need the tag, if you don't draw and we have to supply you the tag, it's X amount more or something like that. So, you know, we can talk about that. If you're, if you're looking entry level, okay. First time you've ever been on an outfitted hunt, you know, what are we looking for? Um, you know, and I've got, I, you know, I've got a couple of these calls just within the last couple of days. Um, guys wanting to just get on a hunt, like entry level. Antelope's a pretty good place to start. If you've never hunted before, I don't know. Yeah.

We're not really huge antelope killers around here. Um, you know, I'm planning on going to, and I'm thinking about drawing a tag in Wyoming this year. I don't know if you take kids or your wife, there's not a better hunt. Oh, I don't think there is. I took my wife to Wyoming and she fell in love with it. You know? Yeah. She's like, I won't get me an antelope tag. I've actually been on a few, not personally. They weren't, it wasn't my tag, but I've, I've filmed several antelope hunts that were guided and I don't, I have not had one that went longer than one day. I mean, it's, it's, it's always been just a great experience. Those outfitters know where the bucks are and usually they know where a good one is. And so they can get you right there. And it just, it's been a good experience every time. So I think that's a great idea.

If you're just trying to get into, well, I want to go on a guided hunt. I don't want to spend an extreme amount of money. That is a good way to go. Um, and if you don't know where to start, call Jeff. Yeah. Call, give me a call. Uh, and especially coming up here real quick, because Wyoming is a great place to get into at this point for a, you know, like I said, you're not paying for the tag up there. You're, you know, you're going to draw that tag. So you're not having to buy that from the landowner or from the outfitter, you know, and, and just like Chris said, most hunts, I mean, I talked to outfitters all the time. They very seldom have a guy go more than a day and a half, you know, that's, and, and most of those hunts, those guided hunts are two to three day hunts. That's all they'll take you anyway, because they don't want to book guys longer than that.

Cause then they're, you know, they leave and they've already hired their guide for so many days and they're just sitting there wasting time and money. So, so it's, you know, that, and most of those prices on those hunts generally are sitting there, you know, in that, oh, 1800 to $3,500 price range. You know, there's plenty of outfitters up there in Wyoming that will take a guy for, you know, two to $2,500, you know, take you on a guided hunt. Um, you know, we had two or three members last year that grabbed their kids and applied and went and, you know, for that kind of money. And I know I don't want to play it down like that's a small amount of money for just the average dude. But, but, you know, if you figure the cost of dragging a camp to, you know, pulling a camp trailer or, or, and setting up with the gear or whatever to camp out for two or three days.

And you got four wheelers, you got gas. You're going to hunt. You're going to be done hunting in a day and a half to two days going guided. And whereas it might take you three days just to figure out the unit and then kill. So you figure the time away from work and everything and, you know, head, boy, you know, your money ahead just to hire somebody. And the other thing is the access to private ground. A lot of those guys are hunting private ground or have access through private ground to get to public ground to, you know, just make it a better hunt and the limited amount of people. You know, you're not fighting people. You're not out there, you know, guys bah on around on four wheelers and yada, yada, you know, you're not, you're not dealing with that competition. You're not having to shoot over people's heads, John. You know, watch people set up, you know what I mean?

So that's, that's the advantage to that. But, you know, we have, we got one out there you could draw, you know, the odds aren't great, but, you know, some people are drawing that tag second choice. They're keeping their, they're keeping their antelope points. They're drawing the tag second choice. And I mean, it's, it's a guaranteed hunt almost. I mean, you're, you're killing a buck, you know, and you could, so you could go back and do a hunt like that every year if you want, you know, take, you know, take your kids. And that's the, that's the best thing is, is getting your kids out, having them on a, on a hunt where they're going to be successful. You know, you just can't do that on all hunts. No, and now we're competing with video games, girls, you know, stuff like that. And you take a kid out, you know, to Nevada and make them just sit in the desert and stare

at nothing for five days, you know, not seeing, not seeing game. That's hard for an adult to do. Yes, it is. You know, I mean, you hear about people all the time, you know, I mean, I talk to outfitters. Yeah, I had these guys out and they, they sat on the water hole for two, you know, or on this ridge for two days. We knew the bucks were in here, but they just couldn't take it anymore. I had to go somewhere else. And you know what I mean? It's, it's, it's mentally taxing on somebody to not have that action. And when you're just getting started in hunting, you know, I mean, it's, it's so good to have some action, you know, grab your Thompson long range gun and go out, lay her down and get some shooting. And I mean, I don't know. We just had a guy call in, I can't remember if it was one of you guys that told me, he's

like, there's looking for a hunt where he could test out his long range gear. Was that you, John? You were telling me through the other, through the window the other day. Anyway. Well, an antelope hunt is the best place to do that. Oh, it is. Speaking of Thompson long range, since you brought them up, we just, we'd love to thank them. They're a great sponsor of the podcast and of everything we do. And we went down last summer and you actually got a gun from them. Yeah. Me and my brother. There's a YouTube video on our channel of that trip. But what did you end up getting? I don't even. I got the 270. Got the 270. I got a 270 weatherby. And the reason why I got that is, is, oh, you know, a lot of, dude, I'm going to get crushed for this. I'm going to get crushed for this. I'm not a reloader. I, I'm sorry, but I got five kids and then, you know, I got stuff going at home.

I got kids with playing baseball and football and basketball and girls doing theater stuff. And I'm just like, dude, I'm sorry. I don't have time to reload. I don't have time to reload. Plus we got, you know, I got a whole nother, you know, business thing and their stuff. It's just, I don't have time to, to reload, you know, and guys will crush me for that. And I know they will. But maybe there's a way we can hide this podcast from the feeds of Jason. That's what we need to do. Cause they will crush me for that. I know they will. But I think there's a lot of guys that I don't reload. I don't, I don't have now most of Mark's guns, most of Mark's guns have a, you know, you work up a recipe with Mark for that particular gun. On this one, you know, the factory ammo and you have to get the weather and be factory. The factory ammo shoots great through it.

And I don't know that Mark even wants that publicized. We're going to publicize it anyway. But, but like on the 3378, the next gun I'm going to get, you know, he works up a recipe specifically for that gun. Gets it going the right speed, the right everything. And then, you know, you, you're dialed in. As soon as you get that gun, he's got the, the turret or not, he's got the, the points marked in the, in the scope. So, I mean, you just pull up, you range them, you pull up and you shoot. It's so much easier. And for, for me, you know, I don't have, you know, I, I'm not a turret guy. I'm not a click, click, click, click guy. You know, I want to pull up. I want to kill him. I just want to be done with that. I'm terrible. You know, I just want to, I just want to kill it. That's, I don't want to play around. And you got kids that are going to be using that gun too. And I got kids.

And actually last year, Kaysen killed the bull that we got, you know, that I drug into the office today. But he killed the bull with, with that gun, you know, and it's so easy because you say, you know, go three dots down and shoot him. And then, you know, the bull's walking, you know, you're not having to, wait, stop, you know, here, I got to click, click, click or anything like that. If the, if, if the bull goes down a wash and comes out and, and is 150 yards further, you know what I mean? You know where you, you know where to shoot, you know, put the dot on midway on a midway on a shoulder and dumping. But, but that's, that's why I like Thompson gun. Cause I'm not, I'm not a click guy. I just don't, I don't, I don't have the time for that right now. Eventually I know I will be right. But right now I'm ready to kill some stuff.

And, uh, you know, we had our guy last year, we had a, we had a member. He, he didn't own a rifle. Mark, he, he called up like, he's one of our licensed application clients. Was he a archer? No, no, no. He was a bird hunter. Yeah. He was a bird hunter. He hasn't got into big game yet. And he wanted to. Okay. And I hope he doesn't listen to the podcast and think we're picking on him or anything. But, you know, he's from California, good friends with one of our members that we've done a lot with. And he's like, well, I think I want to get into big game. He signed us up with us. We're doing his license applications. We put him in for Idaho. We draw him an elk tag and a deer tag. First year he goes in. Dude, he didn't own a rifle. He called up like, what do I do? Well, Jason says, call Mark. You know, just call Mark. He'll set you up. Guy buys a gun from Mark. Uh, with scope, everything.

Dude goes out and kills an elk and a deer this year. Had a blast. Loved it. And, I mean, just like that, you know, it was turnkey. Like, between us, him, it was just like instant success. You know what I mean? Not saying that it's always just going to happen like that. You know, don't sign up to our license application totally thinking that you're going to, you're going to just start drawing tags like crazy. It also depends on what you're after. You know, if you do sign up for our license application service and you're, you know, you're just starting. Yeah. Then, you know, we're going to be able to get you on some hunts. Yeah, absolutely. Yep. So, so, you know, that's, uh, Thompson's just worked out for me. So grab your Thompson gun, go out to Wyoming and shoot an antelope. That's going to be a great first timer hunt or, or just a good time hunt. You want to get your kids out.

You want to go out and do something. It is a great chance to get out and, and, you know, just get on a hunt for a small amount of money that, uh, you can try your, you know, you can try your sea legs at guided hunts. And to visit their website, thompsonlongrange.com and, uh, go visit, go check it out. One way to support us is to support our sponsors. Let them know where you heard about them. Uh, their phone number too, if you want to call them direct 435-713-4248. And we love having these awesome partners. They're hunters and, uh, they love talking to guys and, uh, make some awesome products. Yeah, absolutely. And that's the cool thing is, is they are hunters. That's the difference between a lot of long range setups. You know, they evaluate the bullet. You know what I mean? The bullet you're using, they've evaluated and say, okay, that's, that bullet performs well when it hits an animal.

And I think that's a key ingredient when, when you're actually big game hunting. Well, Kaysen actually killed both, both his elk and deer last year on with that rifle. Yeah. So anyway, it's a heck of a gun. Um, next moving on to maybe a mule deer hunt. You know, there's a wide variety of mule deer hunts all across the West. Um, most of your, the bare minimum you're going to hear about a mule deer hunt, um, is usually around that $4,500 mark. You're not going to find much less than that. Um, you know, that's kind of a, that's, that's kind of like a 140 to 160 type deer, uh, maybe a chance at a, at something bigger than that. But most of those hunts are going to start there. And on mule deer, uh, there's not a top end. Um, you know what I mean? Yeah. I've heard Jason say it a hundred times, a 200 inch buck is the hardest thing to buy, you know, in the West. You know what I mean?

So it's just, it's just not, yeah, as opposed to like a 380 bull. Yeah. As opposed to 380 bull, you know, you can, you can hit some private ranches and, and have a lot better chance at that. You know, a 200 inch deer, that's tough. That's a tall order when it comes to either drawing, drawing one or just buying one. There's plenty of guys that have, that have spent a lot of money. Uh, heard a story the other day, a guy spent over $40,000 last year on a couple of different hunts and didn't kill a buck over 195, you know? And that's, that's hard to do. You know, but that is going to happen. And a guy's got to, you know, just, just understand that when it comes to mule deer, you just, it, it's tough. It's tough to buy a big deer. It's tough to buy a big deer. You know, you can spend a lot of money and it might not happen.

They're, they're so, they're much more susceptible to drought, to winter kill, to, you know, all these different things. And I, and deer were off last year through, through a good chunk of the West, you know, a hard winter there, you know, when they come back, they're suffering. And, you know, they're skinny. They, they don't have everything in them that they usually have, you know? So, so you are going to see an effect, uh, you know, especially in, in hard winter hit areas. And there's a whole lot of demand for big deer too. It's one of the things I would say it's number one in high demand in the West. And they're just not easy to come by. So if you're, if you're wanting to do that, basically it's going to take years of work, persistence. And until you do that, you're not going to have a chance probably.

And it's hard to bank on that one shot, you know, like these guys that, you know, in Colorado, for example, you're building points over there and you've been building points for 18 years. Well, what does that buy you? You know what I mean? You haven't hunted that state in 18 years. Well, what happens if it's like a couple of years ago and everybody's burning their points because the season dates roll back and everything like that. And it's frankly, I think that was the hottest year. I think I remember being over there. Oh man, it was tough. It was hot. People burn points like crazy and still didn't kill hired outfitters. But, you know, they just weren't, it's hard to kill a buck when it's at 75, 80 degrees and any time of year, even if it is the peak of the rut. Well, especially if you're coming from, you know, as a non-resident driving there. Yeah.

It's a heartbreaker, you know, but it happens, you know, mule deer are hard to kill. I think that's what makes a guy like, you know, Jason and Adam, they're anomalies. They're anomalies with what they've killed over the years. But I think one thing is, is they're, they're hunting it every year. They're hunting, you know, you're going to have a bad year. You're going to have a good year. But if you wait 18 years and you don't hunt at all, now that you're decreasing your odds of ever hitting that mark. So I think consistency is a big thing. And, you know, you can't go out and buy a $15,000 hunt every year. Of course, you know, we, we're not implying that, but you know, get on a hunt every year. Well, and I think, but Jason and Adam, they're like Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, right? I mean, some people are just talented at what they do for, for the normal guy, you know, a 170,

180 class deer is freaking awesome. You know, so if you can increase your odds at being successful on that type of hunt, especially if you're a beginner. Yeah. I mean, go on some of those hunts where, you know, you got a chance at a big deer, but you know. And if you're out there as much as possible, you know, you're going to hit one of those years. That's just a banner year. And it's like, man, it seemed like in 2006, I mean, you could not go wrong with elk in Utah. It was like giant bulls were dropping all over the place. It didn't matter almost which tag you had. You were going to kill a 360 plus bull on that hunt. You know, it's not like that now. You know, everything's going up and down. It's, it's just cyclical. It's just the way it is. But, but basically when you're looking at mule deer hunts, that's the price range you're in. We talked a little bit about elk hunts.

It's, you know, you know, a run of the mill basic elk hunt is going to cost you around 6,500 bucks and go up. If you draw the tag, like I said, that's going to be less. But if you're, if you're looking to get on a hunt where there's potential at a 300 inch bull, you know, it's going to be 6,500 and up. Most of those hunts are going to be, you know, ranch hunts or backcountry hunts is what you're going to find on, on a lot of those hunts. With the tag included, like a New Mexico one with an opportunity of 300 inch bull, you know, you're looking like 8,500 bucks on, on a lot of those. And in fact, you know, we've sold a few this year, but we've got a ranch down there, 8,500 bucks tag included. And they killed a 370 inch bull on that last year. I can't imagine that. I mean, if I was that guy that paid 8,500 bucks and killed a 370, man, I'd be doing backflips, you know.

But, but, you know, those ranches might average maybe a three, 300 to 310 bull with the potential of something bigger. So that's basically what you're looking at on a lot of those. And how often will an outfitter let you take a buddy or a wife or a kid? Most of them will. Most of them will. When you come to some of those backcountry horseback ones, that gets a little bit tougher and they'll charge a little bit more, a little bit more to hunt you on that. But, you know, I've seen prices basically to take a guest, to put them up, feed them and everything, usually around 200 to 500 a day. If they're, if they're backcountry, you know, you might climb up more than that because they're, they're considering, well, that's going to take two extra horses.

And I might not have, you know, feeding that many horses in a backcountry camp or something like that might, might throw the whole game off or they might not have the ability to do that. So, so you might see the prices climb on something like that. But most outfitters, most guys for a, for a non-hunting addition, now I'm not saying for Alaska, you know, that might be different, but, but most guys will take a guy for, you know, 200 to 500 a day. Yeah. So. I've seen prices up, up in the north country a little bit. A little bit more than that. A lot more than that. Oh yeah. But you can be a thousand bucks a day pretty easy. Yeah. Yeah. Just because when you're packing somebody, when you're flying. Flying. And you're also paying for those charter flights and everything.

And a lot of times when they're doing guided hunts up north, you know, your charter flights are going to be your own, you know, your charter flights to get to the area are going to be your own responsibility. And we can chat about that a little bit too, if we want, prices on some hunts up there. I think that's probably one of the most drastic price increases we've seen lately is, is stuff in, you know, northern BC, you know, up through the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and then into Alaska. Prices have jumped pretty significantly from over the last few years. You know, you're seeing where, you know, maybe you could do a doll sheep hunt, you know, 10 years ago, 11, $12,000 doll sheep hunt 10 years ago was an expensive hunt. You know, I mean, that was, but now you're not going to find many sheep hunts less than $18,500. I mean, that's pretty much the cheapest one that you'll see.

And then going all the way up to $26,000, you know what I mean, for doll sheep. Stone sheep, I've seen a big jump in those. I mean, basically, your average on stone is probably around $42,000 to $43,000. Most guys are sitting there at $45,000. You see a few, and we've had some great cancellation hunts come in. And that's one thing. If you are looking for cancellation hunts, you know, a little bit better deal. We do, we keep a list of guys on that. And I don't know how many cancellation hunts we sold last year, but we sold a lot. And maybe that's a good lead-in to our hot file. There you go. We have an epic hot file of guys that basically, you know, they get first dibs. You know, a guy calls me and says, hey, I need a stone. I don't, you know, I've had guys tell me specifically. I'm not buying it unless it's a good deal, unfortunately.

But that's just the way I am, and I can't get my brain wrapped around it any other way. So that's what I'm doing. You know, I call that guy up. You know, when I get a cancellation come in like that, I have a list of guys. I hit that list first. So, I mean, I know who I'm going to first. You know, I'll put them in a spreadsheet, and I'll just start calling top to bottom, bottom to top, whatever works out at the time, and work through that list. And they get first dibs on those hunts. The reason why is because they're looking at it. And it's not like members need to do anything special to get on that list. They just need to communicate to us. They just need to let me know what they're looking for because that makes my job easier. If I don't have to email it out to the membership and then fill 3,000 calls after I sell the hunt, you know, about something, then it's a little bit better.

But if we can get you on the hot file, you know, if you're a member, we get you on the hot file, then we can turn around and shove hunts, you know, shove hunts your way that are discounted. You know, discounted elk. You know, we sold several discounted elk hunts, discounted stone doll. Some of our discounted bear hunts this spring have been amazing. You know, $12,000 off of one of them. You know what I mean? It was a yacht-based. You know, it's a very high-end hunt. But when you're talking that much money off some hunts, you know, that's significant. So, you know, get on the hot list. You know what I mean? If you're serious about it, if you have the time and the means to do it, you know, get on it. Because it just makes my job easier and lets me know that you're serious about looking for a hunt.

And that's what Jeff does here, basically, is he helps guys find hunts that they want to go on. So, if you have something that you definitely want to do, give Jeff a call. Tell him what it is, and he will keep his eyes open all throughout the year and throughout all our outfitters. He can find you something that's going to fit what you want. There you go. That's what we try to do. Yep. I mean, sometimes, you know, we don't do Africa. We don't do a lot of the eastern whitetail, different things like that. But, you know, if it's western big game, I've got to hunt an eastern, you know, right now, tule elk, Roosevelt elk, Columbia whitetail, you know, black tail, mule deer elk, you know, shirus moose, you name it. You know, we're starting to deal with them. Some hunts are definitely tougher. But, yeah, so on stones, you're looking around that $40,000 to $45,000 mark.

Moose, I think, have jumped up significantly. Most of your moose hunts right now are basically from $18,000 to $26,000, somewhere in there. They have jumped up a ton. Alaskan moose, okay? Yeah. Now, if we're, if we, the further south we go, our price is going to drop, you know what I mean? So we're going to go from, from a, you know, a $20,000 hunt up in Alaska. We're going to be working around, you know, and we do have a couple guys that are right still in that $15,000 to $18,000 range. Some of those areas are draw areas. So it's not like, you know, you're just, you're guaranteed a tag. But there are some dry areas in Alaska where you can't just buy it. You know, you have to draw it. So, um, working down around, you know, we've got hunts in, in, uh, Yukon that are, a lot of those Yukon hunts are still up in there.

Now that's, you're shooting a bigger moose, you know, shooting a Yukon moose. Now, granted, there's imaginary lines there that separate, you know, your Canadian from your Yukon, you know, um, where, you know, just because you drove past a line on a map doesn't mean you, you know, you significantly decrease the size of the moose. But, but, you know, a 70-inch moose in, in the Yukon is a pretty tough find. And, you know, it's a pretty tough find in Alaska too. But, but, you know, as you move further south, they're getting a little bit cheaper. All the way down, you know, you're looking in the 15 to 18 range, um, you know, right there around the border of British Columbia and Yukon. You know, a lot of those Yukon hunts are, are right there in the $20,000 range. You know, shooting down past British Columbia, coming down, you know, $15,000.

Down into Alberta, where, you know, those guys are maybe averaging a 40 to 44-inch moose. You know, those can get all the way down to $8,500. You know what I mean? Most of those spots are tough to get. You know, moose hunts are fairly in demand right now. So, you know, you're looking at kind of a, kind of a, I don't know if it'd be an artificial spike. But, you know, a lot of guys, a lot of outfitters are telling me, man, they're booking moose hunts like crazy. They're booked out two, three years. So that is something that if you, if you are looking for that, you know, especially the prime dates, you know, those late September, you know, dates are, are pretty tough to, to nail down, um, when it comes to moose. Cause those are great rut dates. Um, but yeah, basically all the way down to 8,500 bucks, but they'll, you know, significantly smaller moose.

That's, that's, you know, bordering on Shira size, you know, down in Alberta. So, um, you know, we're seeing price ranges everywhere in between, but they've spiked a lot. Uh, yeah, we covered all sheep. Where are we on goat? Mountain goat, still probably one of the best values. I mean, to me, mountain goat's one of the best values out there. Um, if you're looking for a straight up mountain, mountain goat hunt, you know, a $14,000 hunt is an expensive hunt. I've seen them all the way up to $20,000. If it's like a boat based, you're staying on the boat, kind of more of a luxury thing. Luxury, yeah. Yeah. You know, you can get all the way up into 20, $22,000 for those. And those are great hunts. I mean, uh, you know, you're, you're working late season, long hair. Those are good hunts. Um, if you are just looking for great opportunity hunts, you can still get them 7,500 up to about 10,500.

You know, there's a lot of hunts in that price range. And when you consider maybe drawing a mountain goat hunt in, in Wyoming and hiring an outfitter to take you in there, you're not that much more to go to Alaska and guarantee you tag. You don't have to jump in the draw. You don't have to wait. Yeah. You don't have to wait. If you really put it in perspective, consider like Utah, that's a once in a lifetime species. Yeah. So, I mean, you could go to British Columbia or Alaska and do the same hunt for, you know, in that $10,000 ish range. Yeah. And there's some draw areas. You know, now granted, a lot of times when you're booking those hunts up there, you need to be prepared because, you know, sometimes the price of the hunt is one thing. Then you're going to have anywhere from $660 to $1,500 in charter flights to get you there and, and your flight to get up there.

So you, you're going to have some connecting, you know, getting from here to there prices. You know what I mean? That you're going to have to deal with. But still, you know, if you're looking at a mountain goat, looking at a great hunt, you can buy the outfitter for $7,500, $8,000. You know, it's worth it. You can get into some dry areas. You know, there's some dry areas like on Kodiak and whatnot where, you know, you're not too far off the road system. You can get to Kodiak pretty cheap, right? You're not too far off the road system to get out, either jump on a boat straight from there and take off or, you know what I mean, or, or small, like one guy, he's got a hunt open right now. You jump on a ferry, you, you, you're right across and you're hunting. It's an $80 ferry flight. So once, you know, so once you get to Alaska, it's really cheap to get out and get to the next spot.

So, so there are some of those, a lot of those units can be draw units. So, so that's something to think about. Maybe it's a good time to break. And give a shout out to one of our sponsors, Outdoor Edge. You know, I first started using those Outdoor Edge knives this last year through the hunting season.

And I got to say, I'm fair, I was very impressed with the ability to hold onto my knife and not pop a blade. And granted, I mean, okay, I'm a plumber, construction guy, whatever, by trade. I am not easy on tools. A little heavy handed. Like, I'm a little heavy handed in pretty much everything I do. I am not. Just look at your trucks, Jeff. Yeah. You have one that doesn't have a giant dent. I don't know if I do. I don't know if I do. So, so my hunting truck is, my, my Nevada desert truck, that thing's now granted, that was my, that was my employees that smashed most of those. I'm going to say that. But, but I, I do, I'm a pretty, I'm a pretty heavy handed guy. Like, you know, it's got to be pretty significant for me. You're soft on gear. I am not soft on gear. Absolutely not. You could ask, you know, the guys that worked around me, you know, I am not soft on gear.

But, but that was a nice thing about the outdoor edge knife. I can get a hold of it and I can go to work and I don't have to worry about that blade popping off. So, so just having a knife that you don't have to stop and sharpen, that you can just throw the next blade in and go is great. Not having a knife that I have to worry about the blade coming off is nice. Have you ever tried to skin a deer with a dull knife or forgot your sharpener? Oh my God. Everybody that's hunted has. I mean, it's just, you're going to deal with it sooner or later. That's the great thing about those. You don't have to worry about that. And you don't have to worry about your blade breaking. You don't have to worry about popping it off. Knife, it's, they're super simple, easy to run, easy to order new blades. I mean, they are, they are a great knife.

We chopped up a deer in Nevada, a guy that Jason guided out there. We cut up, we cut up that deer with him. Cut up my boy's elk with Chris. And then cut up, oh, cut up a couple more deer actually. One Idaho deer and one Utah deer. All last year, man, I was impressed with them. They're great. That hunt of your sons was the first time I ever saw the knife. And I was, I was immediately a fan because as, as someone who's filmed hunts for a living for the past 10 years, I cannot tell you how many blades have flown my way. I think I'm the designated leg holder, you know, hold that leg. So I'm grabbing, holding the leg. Like, seriously, I cannot tell you how many blades have flown my way. Popped off. And I'm shooting at you. Yeah. I swore I would never use those knives. And then Jeff was using the Outdoor Edge and I saw how thick the blade was and how sturdy it is. And I'm like.

You get a hold of it. Thank you. Finally. I might have a chance of not getting stabbed one of these days. Well, it's replaceable and there's support on both sides. So it's not flying off the side. Yeah. And you can get a hold of it. You can get a hold of that knife. You know, and they're, they're plenty sharp. Trust me. My thumb. Did you get hazard tape for that, Chris? No. No. No. No. So check out their stuff at OutdoorEdge.com. They've got several other awesome tools. We visited them at the SHOT Show. And they've got a new, like, combo set for a spoon and a fork and a knife that fold together in some transformer type way. Just lighter than that. And I've never tried the gut hook thing. Like, they got that. Yeah, that knife that'll flip around. Yeah, on the switchblade. They have a switchblade knife. So, but on the backside. They're going to be cringing that we don't know the name.

Oh, well. They've got this awesome knife. Yeah. It flips around. Well, no. I've got one. Like, I bought one. But I want to try it, like, for caping. You know what I mean? Cutting up the backbone. You know, I watch the videos on it. It's amazing. Like, it looks amazing. So that's going to be, you know, one thing I'm going to chop up stuff with this year is that. So. Go check it out. It's just fun to have partners that are obsessed with what they do. And these guys, you talk to them, they're obsessed with knives. And they're obsessed with the tools and how they work. And, yeah, just make quality stuff. Yeah, that's good stuff. That's good. Where were we? Well. Did we cover all of the prices, the rough prices on guided hunts? I would probably say we're pretty close there, aren't we? I mean, we've got, we've got like bear hunts and things like that.

To me, bears are kind of in that category almost with antelope where you can find hunts that are very reasonably priced. Oh, and fun hunts. And go on a great hunt. Yes. Bear hunts are probably something that, you know, almost every outfitter that I talk to that does black bear hunting has hunts available. You know what I mean? And so, so it's, I would say it's protected that price from, from climbing like a lot of the other hunts. You know, basically, I mean, you can get into black bear hunts for anywhere from $3,500 to $6,500, you know. And, and some of those $3,500 hunts, I'm like, man, I'm thinking about doing that one. Like that, you know, I, I want to go to Alberta and kill a bear. Like, I don't know why it's in my brain. I want to do it.

You know, they kill, not saying that they're, you know, there's seven foot plus black bears everywhere, but, but I wouldn't mind going up there and killing one. You know what I mean? Or a couple, you know, and that's, and that's, that's an affordable hunt. That's a $3,500 hunt. And, you know, those guys are talking to me about seeing, oh, 10 bears a day, you know, stuff like that. And I'm like, this place is a bear mecca. You know, Alberta really is. It's a bear mecca. You know, I want to do it. And then down here in the States, you know, you can, you can get into bear hunts for great prices. They're fully guided. They're paying for your food and, you know, and your camp and everything like that. And it's hard to beat for the price on a five, six day hunt. You know what I mean? That's great prices. Caribou is going to depend a little bit on where you're at.

A lot of guys don't like doing raw caribou, just a straight caribou hunts. They're going to, they're going to give you the option to combo those up a lot of times. The ones that you do, you know, they're going to be pretty priced. They're going to be 12,000 and up on most of those caribou hunts. So, is what you're going to see, you know, most prices. So, a lot of guys kind of rely more on that DIY stuff on caribou if you're just looking for a hunt. But if you're going to an area that is a multi, you know, kind of a multi-bag area. Yeah. You know, a caribou is a great addition. You can add a caribou on for 5,500, you know, to 8,500 most places. And so, you know, if somebody's going up north for any other species and you can add that on, it's probably a great add-on on a 12-day hunt or something like that.

You know, something to, you know, just another one to get knocked off the list like a nice mountain caribou or something. Speaking of combo hunts. John. Yeah, that's a good intro right there, Chris. That was smooth. It's like, you know, you're like on the B-plus team, man. But we are giving away a combo hunt. Oh, that's right. Yeah, we've got a membership drive going on right now. And this one's hard to get in because you've got to refer somebody or you've got to join. And so. Be a brand new member. The odds are going to be incredible on this one. Yeah. You know, just great. You can't buy tickets. There's no, you know, you can't buy tickets to get in. So, that combo includes what? So, it's a 14-day hunt. One-on-one guided. The main hunt's a doll sheep hunt, but it's a combo hunt. So, you choose three of the following. You can choose doll sheep, grizzly bear, black bear, or caribou.

And then we've also got some bonuses in there. You can kill a wolf and a wolverine if you get the opportunity. And all, you know, all that's paid for. All the trophy fees are paid for. And so, you choose. You know, it's a combo hunt of a lifetime, man. And the dates on this hunt are August 28th through September 10th, 2019. We're drawing June 1st, 2018. So, you'd have a year, you know, to prepare yourself to go on this hunt. A couple things that are unique about this giveaway. It's kind of an addition to our normal membership drive. This one is a referral drive. So, you either have to join or refer a new guy to get in. So, it's really hard to get in. And so, it's, man, 14 days. What's that sucker worth? Oh, that's a $28,000 to $34,000 hunt. That'd be quite a prize, huh? Oh, man. So, the main hunt on that is the doll sheep, obviously. But then you can add on combo of other species. Yeah.

Right. And those caribou are giant. He kills some big caribou. And this is with one of our approved outfitters. Oh, yeah. Yep. He's awesome. Yeah. So, that's a great hunt. The actual doll sheep is one that we had another video. And we featured Aaron Bronson on his sheep hunt with this same outfitter. So, it's a great hunt. So, don't miss out on that. We got another story in the June issue of the Epic Outdoors magazine that's coming out of a guy that went on this hunt. And just awesome. They kill some great rams. Great rams. Great opportunity. I mean, Aaron killed his two days in, maybe. Something like that. Anyway, he killed a nice, big, mature ram right off the get-go. So, they are, you know, he's a legit operation. Jason and Adam are both hunting with him over the next couple years, too. That's pretty cool. So, if you're not a member, go check out our website, epicoutdoors.com.

And if you join, you're going to be entered to win that 14-day hunt. Save yourself 30 grand. There you go. When's the last day you can jump in on that? June 1st. June 1st of 2018. All right. Let's take another break and talk about our sponsor, King's Camo. One of the things I love about King's is they have a full line of youth hunting clothing. It's pretty tough to find, but they've got it covered. So, if you need any gear, any clothing or backpacks or whatever, especially for youth, they have got you covered. And really affordable. They fill that niche, you know, really affordable quality stuff. So, yeah, visit their website. They've got so many products, you know, too many to mention. Go ahead and check out kingscamo.com for some great gear at a great value. We'll probably do another podcast coming up here and maybe talk about after you've nailed down what you want and you're booking.

Yeah. And calling us. And we'll walk through that process. How that works. Yep. And one of the things, just to kind of back up a little bit of what we do, is we do the legwork of finding great outfitters. Yeah. And that's what Jeff does all day long. I mean, you can sit and you can read internet forums and you can call and interview outfitter after outfitter. And then you can, you know, find past hunters that have gone with them. You can call them. You can interview them. You can spend hours and hours. Or you can call us. We've done that work. And, in fact, Jeff is doing it all the time. Checking out new outfitters. Doing research. Vetting people. These guys are extreme, vetted extremely hard. Yeah. You know, most of our guys that we're pulling in, the only way they even make it to us usually is member referrals.

You know, if a member refers a guy, I start doing a little bit of work on him. You know, sometimes there's a void and I'll go out and I'll actively try to find him. You know, that happens sometimes. But most of these guys that we're dealing with, Jason and Adam have dealt with for years. I mean, these guys know him personally. They know their kids' names and everything. I mean, you're talking a lot of these outfitters, you know, they've dealt with for a long time. We've had multiple people hunt with them, you know, and be successful with them. So, that's the biggest thing. That relationship that we've built with these guys over the years, you know, we know what's going on. And I don't know another industry where 70% of everybody in it, they suck. You know? And they're horrible. And they can still stay in business. Maybe lawyers. You know? I'm not going to go there.

But I don't know another industry where it's that bad. I mean, and from year to year, it can change. A guy can start drinking too much, get a divorce. His business goes to pot, you know. It can happen. And if that happens, we hear about it so fast. You know, and we do everything from talking to the outfitters themselves to talking to clients to come home to talking to the outfitters' competitors. You know? I mean, everything. You know, just because we are in the communication loop with, you know, we're in these loops. You know what I mean? So, we do keep an ear out. We see what guys are killing with them, you know. So, we just kind of know what's going on because we do, you know. You couldn't do what we do on your own on a day-to-day basis and have the general knowledge all the way across. It's just, you know, I've been on both sides of it. I know.

There's no way I could study guys out like I do now. So, anyway, that's a big reason to call us and work with us when you're going to, you know, when you're looking at getting a hunt booked. That's just basically one of the perks of being a member. You call us. You say, hey, I drew a, you know, 7 West elk tag and I need an outfitter. You know what I mean? And so, basically, or you call us and say, hey, you know, brown bear's on my bucket list. I need a brown bear hunt. So, keep me on the list or send me somewhere right now. And I will give the name of that outfitter directly to you. You call that outfitter. You make a deal with him. But basically, what I'm going to do is I'm going to give you the right outfitter for you. You know what I mean? And if you're, you know, I mean, let's just face it.

If you're like me in an office dork for so long already this winter and you packed on a few extra pounds, well, maybe a high mountain mountain goat hunt is not the best option for you. You know, because right now a mountain goat hunt would probably kill me, most of them. But there's some that I know of that I'm like, man, I could do that hunt tomorrow and do well at it. So, anyway, keep that in mind. You know, like we can make sure you get in the right spot. You know, if you're, man, you're taking your wife and kids or something like that, those are things you need to think about. You know, that you kind of got to know how these guys' operations work. You got to know how many guys are in camp, stuff like that. So, that's what we do is we make sure you book the right outfitter for you. Try to keep you from booking that hunt. I heard about a guy the other day.

Try to keep you from booking a hunt with a guy that shows up with, you know, a hot box in his car in the morning when he can get a truck in the morning when he comes to pick you up. That might have to be edited out, Chris. But that, I've literally heard about that happening. All right. So, I'm a little naive. I don't even know what a hot box is. Oh. Well, when you smoke weed, when you smoke weed in the truck, the dad jumps in the truck. Kids jump in the truck. And the dad turns back, looks at the boys, and the boys are like, he's high as a kite.

I heard about that just like two weeks ago. A guy called and told me about that. It was awesome. Oh, my gosh. That guy is not one of my epic approved afters. I'll just let you know that right now. He's not on the list. I've never even heard of that guy before. And our job is to keep you out of those kinds of experiences. We want to keep you out of those experiences. That's our goal. It's what we get paid to do. So, anyway. But we do. We have heard of the bad guys, too. Yeah. So, we hear about a lot of bad guys. We can save you some grief. We've got some stories, man. We've got some stories. Let's give a shout out to Hilleberg Tents. Oh, yeah. Hilleberg. They're awesome. Some awesome tents. And I have spent night after night. I remember one hunt we went on, Jason's Escalante Hunt, where we stayed in those. And we honestly didn't need it for the weather.

We needed it for the scorpions and the spiders. I'm serious. I would not sleep without it. Because, I mean, we had spiders bigger than your hand outstretched there. And scorpions. That place was nuts. Insane. Yeah. And the nice thing was, they're just lighter than heck. Pack really nice. And, you know, we didn't need them to be bomb-proof on that one, but they are. The good thing about Hilleberg is they've got a tent for any condition. Yeah. From mountain climbing to desert hunts. Whatever you need, they've got something for you. Tough, tough tents. And they've got some new ones coming out. I think they're just brand new for this year. I'm going to try to get me a couple of them. Yeah. Go check out their website, hilleberg.com. That's H-I-L-L-E-B-E-R-G.com. You won't find better people that are more intense about tents. There's a niche for everybody. There's a tent.

Their phone number, 866-848-8368. So the whole reason we wanted to do this podcast episode was to help guys that are, you know, not sure about booking a guided hunt and where to start and where to go. There's so much more that we would like to cover, and we're going to cover in the following episode. I mean, we had a whole list of things that we're going to dive into, and we barely scratched the surface. So be looking for that in an upcoming episode. We're really going to dive into, you know, things to look for in an outfitter and what you can do personally, even if you're just researching on your own how to find an outfitter and things like that. Maybe I'll recap how to find the UA video that we just did that's pretty funny. We're testing out the gear at the car wash. You go to youtube.com slash epicoutdoors, all one word, and you go right to our channel. And don't forget to subscribe.

We'd really appreciate that. Don't forget to subscribe. And that's free. So it doesn't cost you anything but helps us out too. So that's another way you can support us, share our videos, and that helps us. Let's get back to work.

All right, over and out from the Epic Outdoors crew. Yeah, be looking for that next episode covering guided hunts and booking an outfitter. We'll be throwing that at you in the future. Thank you.