Anyone Ever Draw a Bighorn Sheep Permit -- Must it take Years?

[sunny hill archer]

Originally posted by Robert Honaker:
not only just bighorn , but all the sub- species also.

How did they get drawn for all those?  Doesn't seem possible to me.

Not in one lifetime.

Congrats to them, but just seems odd.

The two "Draw" hunts are Desert Bighorn and Rocky Mountain Big Horn. The three Thin Horn hunts are pay hunts.....


Having said that you can buy both Big Horn hunts. Desert in Mexico and Rocky Mountain in Alberta. Both are gun or bow.

[Burnsie]

Originally posted by sunny hill archer:
 

Originally posted by Robert Honaker:
not only just bighorn , but all the sub- species also.

How did they get drawn for all those?  Doesn't seem possible to me.

Not in one lifetime.

Congrats to them, but just seems odd.

The two "Draw" hunts are Desert Bighorn and Rocky Mountain Big Horn. The three Thin Horn hunts are pay hunts.....


Having said that you can buy both Big Horn hunts. Desert in Mexico and Rocky Mountain in Alberta. Both are gun or bow. [/b]

Thanks, Sunny Hill, that answers a lot of my questions. It's not all about luck (although some is needed) seems to be more about what you can afford.  More power to the ones that can make it happen.

[Bowwild]

Thanks fellows. One of you even sent me an e-mail with some local information and I really appreciate it.  I'm a little familiar with the Canmore (Sp?) area in Alberta. I recall also a tag can be obtained there spending more money than time. Last I looked I think it was about a $17,500 hunt. My brother lives in Alberta but he doesn't hunt a lick! Of course as others have written, a thin horn Stone or Dalls doesn't require the lottery angle.

I would imagine, if a person drew a Montana tag hiring a guide for this once in a lifetimme proposition would be a wise investment? If so, I would imagine that would cost $10K or so?   Of course I would be able to make 2-3 trips to the mountains to scout if regulations allowed me to hunt without a guide.

Sheesh, I should have been having this conversation 15 years ago!  But the kids were in High School then, college on the way, just had made the 14th move in my career....

[Steve O]

Bowild,

Most of the guided sheep hunts in the lower 48 are around half your figure.  The hard part is drawing the tag.

The thing to remember about the Governor's tags is they provide most of the money for the sheep research and habitat improvements for the various game department.  There are a small set number of sheep tags.  Taking one or two to auction off or sell to the highest bidder does much, much more good than harm.  The money from these Gov. tags along with funding from places like the Wild Sheep Foundation have provided 100 fold tags to the one or two taken away from the average Joe like you and I.  This is done by expanding the sheep range and population, enhancing the habitat of said range, and help eliminate threats to wild sheep like predators, disease, and domestic sheep.

You have a lot of research to do and decisions to make.  I've been passionate about hunting sheep for almost two decades, so if you have any specific questions, please PM me and I will be happy to help.

[Bowwild]

Thanks Steve O.

I support the concept of Gov. tags whole-heartedly. $300,000 for a sheept tag goes a long way towards taking care of these animals and their habitats. Kentucky issues about 10 Commmissioner tags for elk each year which raise lots of money for elk management.

In fact, I'll probably be alerting everyone here in a few weeks about an opportunity to draw one of those elk tags that was issued to the National Archery in the Schools Program for fund-raising. Our state record is broken almost every year!  It takes a BC bull to break it now.

[elkken]

I drew a big horn tag my first try back in 1977. Back then the state of Washington seperated the draw for archers from gun hunters and your odds were much better. I hunted 10 days, saw lots of rams, and unfortunately missed my only shot, over his back, on a very BIG ram. It was not a once in a life time draw like it is now, and now all user groups are lumped together so the draw for an archer is so much more difficult than when I was drawn.

A friend of mine drew a Montana tag a few years back and hired a local guy to help scout and pack gear, it did not cost him that much, not like paying an outfitter. He hunted 10 days or more and eventually shot a full curl, but with a rifle. After many unsuccessful stalks with his bow he did not want to go home empty handed since it was once in a life time. He had it mounted full size. My buddy is one tough hunter but he said the area he hunted was by far his hardest hunt ever. He shot his ram 11 miles from a road and he said every thing was straight up or down. Sorry I do not know the name of the area.