tim
Veteran member
I have heard of guys remorgating there house for a sheep hunt. Sheep fever makes a person do some amazing things.
Ground level sheep
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FitToHunt
Active Member
So this question will show my ignorance when it comes to sheep, but.... What are the differences between hunting the different types of north American sheep? I.E. Big Horn vs Stone vs Dall vs Desert? I see that Dall sheep in AK seem to be substantially cheaper than the others. I do know that you have to draw for any in the lower 48, but what makes one more popular or expensive over the other? Rarity, terrain, ect?
AK has Stone, Dall (OTC Tag guide required)
Canada has Stone, Dall, Big Horn (OTC Tag guide required)
Lower 48 Big Horn, Desert (Draw Only, no guide required)
Is that right?
AK has Stone, Dall (OTC Tag guide required)
Canada has Stone, Dall, Big Horn (OTC Tag guide required)
Lower 48 Big Horn, Desert (Draw Only, no guide required)
Is that right?
Alabama
Veteran member
AK has Dall maybe Fannin (thought to be a Dall/Stone cross) in the extreme Eastern part of the state. Must have a guide if a non-resident but if you're a resident you can hunt em DIY. There are OTC tags but also draw tags for the better areas. For US citizens we must have a guide to hunt in Canada. Canadians can hunt DIY. NWT has Dall and maybe Stone. Yukon has Dall and Stone. BC has Dall, Stone, Rocky Mountain BH and California BH. Alberta has Rocky Mountain BH. As NR we don't need to draw just pay thousands lol. There is a big price difference in hunting the same species from AK to Canada and even province to province. You're right about the lower 48: no guide required and tags are draw, except unlimited units in Montana.
Much of it is supply and demand. Some of it can be trophy quality in various areas commanding a premium, or difficulty of access, or outfitter lesse/concession costs, etc. You have hunting districts in AK and Canada that give out more Dall tags than many/most states, sometimes several states combined. Not as many Stone or Fannin tags. That helps keep Dall sheep cost down in some areas vs another less common species.
Dall are also considered thin horn sheep I believe, along with Stone and Fannin if I recall vs the big horn variety. The Big Horns are known for more mass, aka plain old Big Horn or the California sub species or the Desert variety.
Dall are also considered thin horn sheep I believe, along with Stone and Fannin if I recall vs the big horn variety. The Big Horns are known for more mass, aka plain old Big Horn or the California sub species or the Desert variety.
FitToHunt
Active Member
You could check on Yukon and NWT, I'm not sure if they have BigHorn, some of the others are there. Mexico has Desert Sheep. Quite a bit of Sheep hunting going on in Russia, Snow Sheep, aka Russian Bighorn, are available. Not sure how they relate to our BH in terms of size, I think they may be a bit smaller, but regardless, they are very appealing to my eye.
tim
Veteran member
fit
your thin horn sheep are your: dall and stone sheep. A fannin is basically a dall with dark hair, some circles will consider the fannin in exchange for the stone in the grand slam.
the bighorns are the, rocky mountain big horn; desert bighorn and California bighorn.
your thin horn sheep mainly live in the northern part of the continent and your bighorns are from mid bc, alberta to mexico.
There are roughly 5-6 species of sheep in north America. the dall, stone, rocky mountain bighorn and desert bighorn. The California bighorn will be considered a rocky in the grand slam and a fannin will be considered a stone in the grand slam. I am saying 5 0r 6 mainly because the fannin can be the question mark as to what it actually is. Different circles have different definitions of the fannin. Some call the fannin a cross between the dall and stone, some call the fannin a dark haired dall. That discussion is beyond me.
your thin horn sheep are your: dall and stone sheep. A fannin is basically a dall with dark hair, some circles will consider the fannin in exchange for the stone in the grand slam.
the bighorns are the, rocky mountain big horn; desert bighorn and California bighorn.
your thin horn sheep mainly live in the northern part of the continent and your bighorns are from mid bc, alberta to mexico.
There are roughly 5-6 species of sheep in north America. the dall, stone, rocky mountain bighorn and desert bighorn. The California bighorn will be considered a rocky in the grand slam and a fannin will be considered a stone in the grand slam. I am saying 5 0r 6 mainly because the fannin can be the question mark as to what it actually is. Different circles have different definitions of the fannin. Some call the fannin a cross between the dall and stone, some call the fannin a dark haired dall. That discussion is beyond me.
tim
Veteran member
My rocky came from central Idaho. My dall came from Alaska. My stone came from northern british Columbia.
FitToHunt
Active Member
tim
Veteran member
fit
the dall was a fun and challenging hunt, from a couple of standpoints. My guide was a marine who used the gi bill to go to guide school and taxidermy school. The packer was a very out of shape, fat kid from ohio who trained with fifths of booze. The guide, who had never guided a hunter before(he was a packer the season before) asked the packer to pack the food. I acutally had more expierence in the mountains of Alaska than the guide did. The packer did not pack much food and the guide never checked on what the packer had packed.
We found rams and we where out of food. I had the guide go to this cabin and get food and meet me, at the confluence of these 2 creeks. The cabin was a five hour hike from where we where. you should of seen the packers face when the guide did not come back that night. I split the last mountain house with the packer and shared the rest of my trail mix I had brought. The next day at noon we met at the confluence, left the out of shape packer at the confluence and me and the guide went and got my dall. We got back to camp at the confluence around midnight. The packer was very glad to see us show up. We had to leave the packer at camp because he was to out of shape to hunt. The next day we humped to the cabin and ate a lot of food. Luckily someone had packed a 24 pack of bud light and a half gallon of rum to the cabin. I drank the beer, the guide and packer drank the rum. WE then made a fire and roasted sheep meat on sticks. Dang that meat was good. I learned a lot on that trip.
the dall was a fun and challenging hunt, from a couple of standpoints. My guide was a marine who used the gi bill to go to guide school and taxidermy school. The packer was a very out of shape, fat kid from ohio who trained with fifths of booze. The guide, who had never guided a hunter before(he was a packer the season before) asked the packer to pack the food. I acutally had more expierence in the mountains of Alaska than the guide did. The packer did not pack much food and the guide never checked on what the packer had packed.
We found rams and we where out of food. I had the guide go to this cabin and get food and meet me, at the confluence of these 2 creeks. The cabin was a five hour hike from where we where. you should of seen the packers face when the guide did not come back that night. I split the last mountain house with the packer and shared the rest of my trail mix I had brought. The next day at noon we met at the confluence, left the out of shape packer at the confluence and me and the guide went and got my dall. We got back to camp at the confluence around midnight. The packer was very glad to see us show up. We had to leave the packer at camp because he was to out of shape to hunt. The next day we humped to the cabin and ate a lot of food. Luckily someone had packed a 24 pack of bud light and a half gallon of rum to the cabin. I drank the beer, the guide and packer drank the rum. WE then made a fire and roasted sheep meat on sticks. Dang that meat was good. I learned a lot on that trip.
y02MDM
Member
There is a lot of good suggestions on here. I buy points in WY. Your right it will probably take twenty years to draw. The other states I apply for sheep are CO, NM, UT, NV, AZ, MT and ID. It might be a waste of money but you gotta try. If I was to ever purchase a Canadian tag it would be for stone sheep. Good luck.
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RICMIC
Veteran member
That's a great story Tim; it's often those toughest situations that are the most memorable. Let me know if you ever decide to go on another hunt/float trip as I'd like the chance to see the inside of my tent again.
tim
Veteran member
will do.
the sheep bug is starting to bite again, the sting of the unethical piece of shet Alaskan outfitter named terry overly of pioneer outfitters is starting to subside. (I bought a combo moose\sheep hunt and the outfitter never showed, I got my hunt cost back, but not the other cost.)
Business is good, it might be time to research, the Yukon or northwest territorys. One of the great aspects of chasing sheep, is the, where they are at. I did apply for California bighorn in my home state of Idaho.
