Soul-searching - pursuit v. budget

[Steve H.]

G:

The situation I mentioned is the sole mtn goat hunt that doesn't require a drawing tag that I know of that a working man can reasonably afford.  That said, I don't know if Johnnie would still consider that or not.

[rappstar]

GMMAT,

You can hunt bighorn sheep over-the-counter in Montana.  I believe the tag is about $700 bucks.  Its a quota hunt which means when the quota is met, you have something like 24 hours till the season ends.  

I've read that it is the toughest hunt in the lower 48 states.  Big time grizz country and deep in the backcountry.  

So there you go.  You can do the homework and hunt DIY bighorn sheep in Montana for probably less than $1500 bucks!

Let me know if you get serious about doing it!

[ChuckC]

I need to look it up.  I can't believe that an out of state tag for ANYTHING in Montana or Wyoming is only $700, much less a bighorn sheep.  

Wyoming for certain has gotten to be a serious rip off on non-residents.
My opinion
ChuckC

[Earthdog]

Last year I had the opertunity to go on a hunt I'd dreamed about for years,,,but the $$$$,,wow.

I'm still paying for that one,but I did it an I'm never going to regret it.

You only live once,let us know how you do

[rappstar]

ChuckC,

I believe its the only OTC Bighorn Sheep hunt.  The disticts are somthing like 300, 301, 500 and 501.

A lot of guys consider it a sucker tag.  MT makes some money but thats about it.  I believe its an any weapon tag as well.  If you see a sheep outfitter in MT that "guarantees" a tag, they are hunting these districts.  A guy named Jack Atcheson made a name for himself hunting this area...

All of the odds are stacked against you; HOWEVER, you can hunt sheep in the lower 48 if you want to.

[raideranch]

In West Texas/the Panhandle we can hunt free range Aoudad along the Caprock anytime because they are exotics.  They have got to be one of the toughest things to bring down in the states.  They are big sheep and have large horns.  I don’t know their whole range in the states but I wouldn’t imagine it to cost near as much as a Bighorn to hunt and they are just as big and you don’t have to draw a tag.  You can hunt them free with a Texas hunting licenses on public land in South Texas near Lake Amistad certain times of the year.

[Biggie Hoffman]

Title Pawn

[ethan]

I think "fence" is a relative term when used in a hunting context.  An elk or sheep in a pen that consists of 5 acres or so is alot different than a critter living inside of a 5000 acre "pen".  But it's still a slippery slope I guess.

[GMMAT]

rapp:

If it's the zones/areas I'm thinking about (like I said...I checked Montana's site), they clearly tell you on the website that the OTC areas DO NOT guarantee you that you will be able to access those areas.  It's a land-lock issue.

[James Wrenn]

I guess it just boils down to what you want.If mainly wanting an animal to put on the wall I would just go to game preserve and shoot one.If you are looking the chance to hunt them in the wild then you neede to save more pennys.  :D  

I read somewhere that even with the best guides taking a sheep or goat with any bow was very low percentage.So just because you save the money for the very best hunt chances are you probably won't get an animal.Just something to think about.

I would take the cheaper route myself if I wanted such an animal in the first place.They are not really something I would want to hunt in the wild so I would have no problem going to a preserve and whacking one.  :D

[Lenny Stankowitz]

Originally posted by GMMAT:
Like many, I have a conflict.  No drama here - just a discussion.

My conflict is my desire to hunt a goat/sheep v. my bank account.

I've always been (and it grows stronger, each year) a "manner of taking" guy in lieu of an "end result" guy.  But, I can't sit here and tell you I wouldn't like to take a goat/sheep.

If the above is  really  the way you feel, go and hunt them with your camera.  If you get within bow range, you will no doubt get some AWESOME pictures.  Do everything just like you would with your bow, and do it for the price of a camping trip.  At the end of the day, the only difference is the possession of a carcass.  Let's face it, unless it's a controlled hunt, most goat/sheep hunts with traditional equipment end with just pictures anyway.

[longbowman]

I've always wanted to moose hunt.  My problem is that if I'm going to spend thousands of dollars on something fun I'd just as soon take my wife.  Since she doesn't hunt we end up going hiking somewhere in the US and I can still have my dream.  It all depends on how much you feel you "need" your hunt vs other things in life.

[dragon rider]

I couldn't agree more.  A good camera hunt requires all of the woodcraft and hunting skills that any other kind of hunt does and unless you're carrying the kind of lenses that cost more than the actual hunt would, you need to get to damn near bow range to get a good shot.

The other upside of camera hunting, of course, is you don't have to pack out anymore than you packed in.

[hunt it]

First off, if you find a penned Mt. Goat or other wild sheep harvest. It will be more exspensive than the real deal. These are generally taken buy people with money that cannot physically do a true wild sheep/goat hunt.There tends to be an extremely high $$$ attached to this ability. Most likely the penned sheep hunts you have seen are for corsican type sheep.

As mentioned above the free ranging sheep in Texas can be one of toughest hunts out there. Well worth considering.

[rappstar]

G,

They can't guarantee you access b/c you might get ate by a Grizz on your way in.  

You have to go about 8 miles before accessing the unit.  But the 8 miles is through Wilderness...at least to one of the units.  

Sent you a PM.

[doeboy]

Why not just put it on a credit card and pay it off when your done? not the smartest thing to do but guys do it!

[Danny Rowan]

Only place I know of where you can hunt a Mountain Goat is in the West/North. Do not know of any in enclousers, same with true wild sheep like bighorns,Dall and Stone. Now, you can hunt regular goats and exotic rams in an enclouser and some free range. for me I would love to hunt mountain goat and the mountain sheep but am too old and too fat to handle the mountains like that, plus the expense cannot be justified by me, same with the yukon/canadian moose, I just do not have 15,000 to spend on a hunt. I will stick to whitetails,hogs in Texas and the sambar deer and hogs here on Guam and planning a trip to Australia in a couple of years though.

Danny

[hunt it]

There are several high fence operations that offer big horns and mt.goats but as I stated prior, you will pay more for these hunts than wild/free range hunts. Last I read goat was $10,000.00 - $15,000.00 and big horn $25,000.00 - $50,000.00 pending size. Many a good goat hunt and sheep hunts for less than those $$$.

[Mint]

To me I just can't justify the expense for going after sheep with the success ratio being what it is. I wouldn't shoot past 25 yards. However I have a lot of animals of my list for less that I would be more than happy to go after like pronghorn, javelina, elk, mule deer, black bear etc.

[calgarychef]

I try and do whatever I can to make my dreams come true.  I'd love to bag a sheep but if it meant that I'd be looking at my trophy and thinking that all I did was "buy" it I'd feel disappointed with myself.  Sometimes dreams are what keep us going and if we try to take a shortcut to attain the dream we've cheated ourselves.  

As I get older I've attained a lot of my "want list."  It's been a small list and doesn't include a ferrari or big ticket items.  I've noticed that once I've agotten the thing I've lusted after,it loses some of its allure.  So a couple things on my list go unfulfilled on purpost.....just so I can keep dreaming.

the chef