Bighorn Sheep?
 

Who has hunted them? Let’s see some pictures and here where you got them.

I would love to get one, but it will never happen. Draw tags are rare and outfitted hunts are way out of my budget. Cool animal though.

I've hunted both sheep and goat in my native CO. Sheep in 1986 and goat in 2001.



Fun animals to hunt but I have no desire to shoot another of either. They are specialized game and one is enough. I'd rather let someone else get one than shoot another for myself. For what it is worth I also got a stone sheep in the extreme northern part of British Columbia but they are way out of my price range now.

That’s cool Flags. Congrats on some nice animals! No mount of the Stone?

Not the best mount. Back then I was early in my navy career and didn't have much $$$ for taxidermy. Went with a guy who was cheap. Learned an important lesson. The neck is too skinny and a little too long. I think he used a form that wasn't a sheep form.

I could probably get it re-mounted but most likely never will. Had a good set of horns and good color on the cape and the cape may not be wide enough now for a proper form and I don't want to put a cape from a sheep I didn't take on it. The whitetail is a PA deer I got on a hunt with a really good friend of mine. In that area of PA the deer don't get real big due to pressure and that buck taped 18 inches on the spread. He'd been fighting and broke a couple of points so I had him done as is to honor his fighting spirit.

Nice trophies flags. I like the rational for the PA mount. When it all comes down to it the memories are all that count.

Always like seeing peoples mounts. I don't have anything mounted myself. Don't know if I ever will. But I like seeing peoples game rooms.
-Jake

I was lucky enough have lived in Montana back when we could buy an Unlimited area bighorn ram tag every year for $25. The seasons opened the first of September and if the quota wasn't filled, it lasted through November. Back then I didn't realize how good that deal was and I would usually just go for a long first weekend hunt.


It took me several years to figure out where the rams were, but I finally ended up filling three ram tags. The late 70s and 80s were good to me as I was also able to fill a couple of Montana Shiras bull moose tags and a mountain goat tag. And I got all of those animals within 100 miles of my home.


About 20 years ago, an outfitter friend called me about a cancellation Dall ram hunt in the Mackenzie Mountains in the Northwest Territories. It was a fly-in backpack hunt, and I ended up getting a great ram, a good Mountain caribou, and a Wolverine.


Mountain sheep hunting is some of the best hunting in the world!

I can't post pictures from this computer, but I will after the holidays.


Merry Christmas to all!

Buffybr that is incredible that you could get tags like that. Awesome that you were able to take advantage of that. Look forward to seeing your pics.

Finally! Here's some pics of my sheep...


My three Bighorn rams from Montana's Unlimited tag units, and my Dall from the Mackenzie Mountains in Canada's Northwest Territories.

And my Mountain Goat from Southwestern Montana. The Mule deer is from Northwestern Colorado, and I shot the Wolverine while packing my Dall ram out.

My other sheep include this West Texas Aoudad

And this Arapawa ram from New Zealand.

Aoudad are fun to hunt ain't they? Now that I live in TX I can apply for a tag to hunt them in several areas such a the Palo Duro Canyon. Only costs $3 to apply. Not the best eating of animals but they make decent sausage and jerky. I got mine in a rough rocky and hilly area down by Pearsall, TX on a place an old Navy buddy's grandfather owned. Totally free range animals. Got a nice black buck there as well. The mounts are shown in my first pic and this is what they looked like when they were laid out on the ranch front yard after the hunt,





I also took a nice Texas Dahl over by Zapata, TX when we were after hogs. The landowner didn't even know he had any or where they escaped from but I told him I saw one and he told me I was welcome to shoot it. Took it with a Mannlicher Schoenaur Model 1903 in 6.5x54MS. A really classic rig. Didn't mount this sheep, just cut the horns off.

buffybr and flags, I jealous, you both have some very nice trophies and as it sounds some great stories and memories. For now I'll stick with PA and FL for the normal and my yearly MD muzzleloader hunt for Sika deer. Sika are non native but run wild all over the eastern shore. Have yet to kill a real Stag but did get a spike a few years back.
Again congrat's on all your beautiful trophies and maybe someday I'll get mine.

Buffybr, that’s a slammer Dall! Bighorns aren’t too shabby either :)

Nice Aoudad’s fellas. I have often thought of hunting them in West Texas. Sounds like a tough critter.

Thanks Rob. I got those Bighorns on DIY solo hunts in several of Montana's Unlimited tag units north of Yellowstone Park. I also got that Mountain goat on a DIY solo hunt from one of those same units.

Awesome mounts! Congrats on these hard-earned trophies! I'm rebuilding my game room and will be able to mount my flags again soon!