Sheep Hunt

Ok please excuse my ignorance and forgive the question because the dream is now but the reality is well in the future!
How does an Aussie go about hunting desert big horns?, I've been watching you tube and the hard work, both physical and mental look like a true challenge.
What would you be looking at for
Fitness level
Equipment - boots clothes packs
Optics
Rifle calibre
I know some of these questions are answered by common knowledge but this is something that I will be looking at a 10 year plan for.
Thanks for any help or inspiration you can offer

Poz

1. Hire an outfitter. They are expensive but you can still hunt them in Arizona. Even more expensive in old mexico, but they have some great trophy's
2. Physically it is high altitude, and a lot of walking and climbing , look at Tom,s Elk hunting in Colorado thread for a lot of good advise on preparing for a hunt in the mountains
3.Again for equipment look at the aforementioned thread, a lot of good information
4. Rifle, 308, 30-06, 300 win, 300 H & H type's will all work well]
5. if it has a gold ring on the scope it will work for you and if it dont they will fix it

good luck

For desert bighorn sheep,your best bet is to save your money and hunt in old Mexico. Arizona is a draw and getting a tag is slim,very slim.

Get in shape,buy binoculars (8-12X range). I would use a .270 and a 130 gr bullet with a 6x scope. You can get pretty darn close to the sheep,but be prepared to shoot out to 400 yds. IMO,the whole point is to get close,that is where the fun is.

And practice,practice,practice with your rifle,it is a lot of money your spending and most likely your only desert bighorn sheep hunt.

I have the 300 win mag, swarvo z3 3-10×42 scope and just bought a pair of 10x42 SLC swarovski binos for hunting red deer here in Queensland, so not concerned with those, but will I need a spotting scope? Have tried to keep fit all my life but do you need to be ultra marathon fit and we live about 2200 ft above sea level so hopefully training here would be an asset.
Cheers
Scott

I haven't hunted desert bighorns, but I do hunt Dall sheep and a spotter is a necessity to evaluate trophy quality and/or legality from a distance. On my last Dall hunt we took 1 pair of binos and 1 spotter and we essentially used the spotter 10x more than the binos.

Any hunt in the mountains requires some cardiovascular endurance, maybe not ultramarathon quality, but better than an average couch potato. Lots and lots of hiking.

The recent craze in "mountain hunting" has resulted in a whole bevy of gear and clothing geared around high altitude, high endurance hunting and most of it is pretty darn good.

Any reasonable centerfire rifle in the 270ish class is fine and a .300 solves a lot of problems if you have one you like you shoot well.

Buy Jack O'Connor's book "Sheep and Sheep Hunting" some of the brands are out dated but,the info is still valid.

Ken, is correct. I think my son told me they gave out 110 or 120 tags this year in the draw and 100,000 or more put in for them.

You can book a hunt in Old Mexico and probably early as next year, 2019 for sure but the cost just for the hunt is over 50,000.00, But some of the trophies are spectacular.

We hunted them years ago before it was so difficult and expensive to do and we hunted the Dall in Canada. Personally I enjoyed the Dall hunt much more, but the Dall hunts are not cheap now either.

I agree with Hodgeman, the 270 will get it done, but the 300 ( something ) will solve a lot of problems.

Hodgeman, I missed that. Is the new "thing"--"mountain hunting" ?

Thanks for the feed back, as i said it's a long term dream at the moment but $50000 sure puts some reality into it!!! If I was to enter the draw( if I can as a foreigner) and be lucky enough to draw a tag do you then contact an outfitter? Please forgive my ignorance to your system as I am very lucky to have several friends with properties that I hunt on here and all within 4 or 5 hours drive.
Also are there any other less expensive sheep to hunt or methods to hunt them. I know in some countries foreigners are only allowed to hunt on private property or with an outfitter/professional hunter.

Yes,you can enter the draw,but count on waiting years for the tag. IF and a BIG IF you get drawn,you will be contacted by many outfitters.

A less expensive way to hunt desert bighorn sheep,possible,but you run the risk of shady outfitters or worse.

What I've found in price is $55,000-60,000.

Did just find this...
http://worldwidetrophyadventures.com/ou ... nt_id=1477

And this...
http://worldwidetrophyadventures.com/ou ... apon_rifle

Thanks Ken, i appreciate all the help

You're welcome Poz.

As an alternative, consider, as I am, a hunt for Auodad sheep. Still hunting the desert southwest of the USA, conditions are harsh.

Prices are quite reasonable!

Auodad or Barbary sheep were successfully introduced to the southwest and are now commonly hunted in Texas and New Mexico. Not sure about Arizona. Beautiful trophy. Hard hunt. Just not a native North American sheep.

Ya, I'm considering it, because I simply can't afford the Desert Bighorn sheep price.

Here in Washington, I keep applying for the bighorn sheep tag. There are numerous trophy quality bighorn here, but the odds of drawing the once-in-a-lifetime tag are real slim... I'll probably be about 80 years old before I have a chance at drawing that tag!

Guy

Thanks Guy, the estimates I'd heard had been in the $20000-$25000 range but at $50000 I have to say this will remain a dream for me. However I will keep dreaming and may 1 day come to hunt those beautiful elk instead

Elk are abundant, and far more attainable than a sheep tag.

I honestly don't know if someone from out of the country can enter the various state drawings for bighorn. Does it have to be desert bighorn for you? LOTS of other bighorn sheep, but none of the tags are easy to draw.

Let us know when you're coming!

Guy

IF you can draw a Washington State tag, I can get you on the rams. They're only a few miles from my home and I see them often while hiking, or even while driving the highway. These are the "California" subspecies of bighorns, and a few years ago the world record ram came from this herd. There are more like him...







And the world's record California Bighorn, taken only a few years ago by a friend of mine, just a few miles north of town after a LOT of scouting:


Regards, Guy

WOW look at the horns on that ram!!!! I looked at the desert big horns as the physical toughness of the hunt looked inspiring to me , the terrain in your photos though doesn't look like a walk in the park either.
I mostly get my enjoyment hunting for the reward of doing something others don't, won't or can't. I see hunting as a privilege, and the biggest privilege is the people you meet and the experiences you have, the size of the trophy is really not that big a deal but if it was hard work to get then I'm up for it.
Of course a legal sheep is going to be a trophy anyway so that part is really covered.
So no the area or specific species is not as important as the challenge if the hunt and doing right.
Very kind offer Guy, i can't tell you how much I appreciate that. If I can ever return that favor let me know!

I know we've got some experienced sheep hunters on this forum. Perhaps they'll weigh in?

What would you be looking at for

Fitness level: my buddy in the photo is a distance runner. He made over 20 scouting trips into the local hills, hiking in to learn the canyons and where the big rams lived. He lost a fair bit of weight doing so. Was always a lean sort, came out leaner. Then again, I get into and out of those canyons without being a marathon runner! Just have to be a strong hiker.

Equipment - boots clothes packs: Much side-hilling is required. Sturdy boots, 8" or higher, are a big help. Normally our sheep hunts are done long before the snow hits. Fairly warm, but... be prepared! Fleece & gore-tex! Packs big enough that two (or three?) people could haul out the head, hide and meat. These are roughly 300 pound animals, in my area. I understand desert bighorn are lighter.

Optics: I use 10x binos in that country, good quality helps. A spotting scope would be useful to sort out one big ram from another.

Rifle calibre: The record ram was taken with a .300 WSM Tikka, 150 gr ammo. I don't know but as I recall, it was a 150 gr Hornady factory load. I'd think any of the various 7mm or .30 cal cartridges commonly used for mule deer & elk hunting would work just fine. Be prepared for a longish range shot, 300+ yards. A heavy "long-range" rifle might become a problem in tough country. I'd likely choose one of my 700 CDL rifles, either the .30-06 or the .25-06, with good bullets.

There ya go, from a guy who is fascinated with the local bighorn population, but unlikely to ever draw the tag! :grin:

Guy

Poz":tknvz977 said:

Thanks Guy, the estimates I'd heard had been in the $20000-$25000 range but at $50000 I have to say this will remain a dream for me. However I will keep dreaming and may 1 day come to hunt those beautiful elk instead

Click to expand...

Desert bighorn sheep hunt's have been in the $50000-60000 range for the last 10-15 years. The reason the price is so high is simple,supply and demand. People looking to get their "Grand Slam" (demand) and the small numbers of desert bighorn sheep(supply). Think Arizona,New Mexico,Mexico and Texas have the only populations of them. Here in New Mexico there are 21 tags given out in 6-7 +/- units.

Think the "cheapest" sheep hunt is for the Dall sheep and those go for $10000-12000. Or,like Guy mentioned the Barbary sheep,which are in the $5000 range. The Barbary sheep hunts in Texas go for 3-4 days. Here in New Mexico they are about the same in price but,maybe a day or two longer. The tags are easy to get in both states.

For the price of hunting the Desert Big Horn in Old Mexico, you could hunt the Marco Polo and Ibex and have two LARGE sets of horns. I have not done this but have a friend who has and it was a challenging hunt. Dont overlook the Dall hunts in Canada. Magnificent animals, and wonderful people and beautiful country, especially where they reside.

But if you can draw a tag in Wash and have Guy guide you, now that would be a win-win.

Guy, Ken, I can not remember. If one of you draw a tag are you allowed to sell it ?