I have been thinking about a Bighorn sheep for several years. I have done a lot of hunting in the Americas and I feel that a sheep would add nicely to my collection. I think I would be getting too old to wait roughly 20 years to draw in the lower 48. I am therefore after suggestions as to where else I should look, from my limited knowledge about sheep I believe they can be hunted in B.C. and Alberta? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Bighorn sheep
- Thread starter Alpineman
- Start date
brianboh
Active Member
Either one but you better bring the check book. A stone in BC would be awesome. If i was going to hunt Alberta or BC I would also put Mexico in there too. So the question would be do you want a Stone, Rocky Mountain or Desert sheep. When you spend that much money might as well pursue the species that you have the greatest desire to hunt
sneakypete
Veteran member
I agree with brianboh, a stone is by far the best looking. The dessert may be the most costly in Mexico. If you're interested in a Stone pm me the outfitter I use for moose in northern BC is right up there with high quality Stone's.
SGM
Active Member
Have you thought about Dall Sheep? Alberta, BC and Alaska have them and might be the least expensive of them all.
brianboh
Active Member
Hilltop
Veteran member
Dall Sheep hunts can be found for well under 20k... But those stone sheep so look great. Won't hunt either unless I win the lottery.
Ok so I was thinking Bighorn as in Rocky Mountain Bighorn I don't have a lazy 100k for a desert sheep.
tim
Veteran member
Umpqua Hunter
Veteran member
Alberta or BC with an outfitter is your best option. Another option is with the right outfitter in the unlimited sheep areas in Montana. I am sure the wait list if long for any of these.
You used to be able to buy a conservation permit in Wyoming and even go DIY. I haven't heard much about it for 10 years or so, so I am not sure what is up with that today. These were not the same as Governor's permits, the lone auction permit you see in some states. There were a few of these and they were far more affordable. By affordable, I mean $25K for the tag like 10 years ago. A good Wyoming outfitter should be up to speed with this option. At the time the costs were somewhat comparable to hunting bighorns in Alberta.
You used to be able to buy a conservation permit in Wyoming and even go DIY. I haven't heard much about it for 10 years or so, so I am not sure what is up with that today. These were not the same as Governor's permits, the lone auction permit you see in some states. There were a few of these and they were far more affordable. By affordable, I mean $25K for the tag like 10 years ago. A good Wyoming outfitter should be up to speed with this option. At the time the costs were somewhat comparable to hunting bighorns in Alberta.
SGM
Active Member
sneakypete
Veteran member
I think Alberta is your best bet! Good hunting either way. I just watched last night the Ram Outdoors, that guy hunted big horn in BC. With Carter's outfitting. He took a chocolate ram. Very nice.
Thanks for the info, I just looked at Carters outfitting $55,000 + 5%GST ....... I think I will look at Stone sheep, a friend successfully bow hunted those in B.C. last year and the total was $35,000
This information is very interesting, I would love to find out more about both Wyoming and Montana options if anyone can shed anymore light on this. Thanks again.
brianboh
Active Member
You can hunt Montana with an over the counter tag in the unlimited units. They are very difficult hunts with only a few rams. However the quotas have been met or almost met the past few years
Umpqua Hunter
Veteran member
Yep, bighorns are quite expensive. Dall's are the least expensive, then Stone, then Bighorns, then Deserts. The price of sheep hunts has gone nuts the past 20 years. I'm glad I did my stone in the mid 1990's. I figured it was then or never.
wy-tex
Veteran member
Not sure what you mean by conservation permit in Wyoming. Other than the draw the only tags would be Governors tag through auction or raffle. 5 max bighorn sheep licenses can be issued by the Governor and they almost always are auction licenses. No outfitters can issue you a sheep license or facilitate acquiring one other than pointing you in the direction of auctions. This is addressed on G&F website.
Is this the Tendoy herd eradication programme? If so they would be all killed I would imagine by now as there were only around 30 animals.
Are there any other opportunities in any other state?
Umpqua Hunter
Veteran member
I believe we are speaking of the same thing. I commented that outfitters could likely steer him in the right direction, which is to the auctions or raffles that you mentioned. My recollection was that there were eight tags available, but that was 10 or more years ago. Due to the higher number of tags (5 tags? or 8 tags?) and that Wyoming is not known for producing the giant rams of some other states, these permits don't tend to go for the astronomical amounts that they do in states like Montana. When I last heard about them, they were in the price range of hunting Alberta and Wyoming sheep hunts typically has better success than in Alberta. That info is 10+ years old, and could be vastly different today but worth looking into. If you want to hunt sheep, it's worth exhausting the various options.