Big Horn Sheep Tag
 

Hi,

Would anyone have any thoughts or experience in putting in for a Big Horn Sheep tag. To be more specific, which state out west would I have the best chance to draw a tag over the next 5 to 10 years?

Thank you for any input.

Sheep tags are very, very hard to get even for residents. I drew a sheep tag in my native CO in 1986 and have been trying to draw another ever since I was eligible again which was 1991. CO makes you wait 5 years if you kill a ram to give others a chance, and, I've been passed over every time since 1991. So that makes 22 years and counting of not getting it. The guys that are really serious sheep hunters put in for every state, every year. This allows them to play the odds. In order to do this you would have to be able to front about $10K but would get most of it back when you don't draw.

MT does offer unlimited sheep tags in a couple of areas but I'm told the country is very rugged and the season closes when a set number of rams hit the ground. Most the time locals have been watching the sheep for months and they fill the quota in very short order. A non-resident just buying a tag and hoping for a sheep is probably going to eat that tag. If getting a sheep was really important to me (I already have one so it really isn't) I'd probably be looking at BC or AB. You can simply book a hunt and the tag would be provided by the outfitter. Such a hunt will run you at least $18K-$22K. Sheep hunts ain't cheap anywhere.

I filled 3 of those MT unlimited ram tags back in the 80's but I also ate a lot of those unfilled tags. Several of the unlimited units that I hunted back then are no longer open.

The last year that I hunted in one of those units, I spotted a great ram before the season opened. At first light opening morning I was in position on the rim of the basin where I had seen the ram. When it got light, instead of seeing the ram, I saw an outfitter with 2 hunters and a string of horses, a camp just below me in the basin, and 5 other camps out in the meadow in the opposite side of the basin. As far as I knew, NO ONE killed a ram in that part of that unit that season which was only open for 5 days.

I have been putting in for a Montana resident bighorn ram tag for the past 31 years. I've had the maximum number of "bonus points" for every year that they have had that system. I think I'd have a better chance of buying the winning lottery ticket then buying an Alberta tag.