Sheep Hunt Drawing History

[MP.hunter]

I apply for sheep in a few states. Here in WA it’s a bonus point state so anyone can draw any given year. In 2006 my dad drew a tag in a unit with only one tag and over 1,200 apps. This year my 12 year old son drew a great tag. I know a witness for the WA draw and there were over 20,000 applications for 30 tags in the entire state, all units. My sons number was 11, crazy lucky to say but I really don’t care now if I draw, seeing my dad and son, hopefully, kill rams is awesome.


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[Hoot]

Over the last 9 years, I have applied for 64 individual sheep tags, and I have drawn 1. I apply only for hunts where I have a chance of drawing a random tag. I am a CO resident, and that is where I drew my tag this year. I hope that I will be able to draw 2-3 more sheep tags in my lifetime.

 

[happycamper]

As the years slip into decades the unsuccessful applications really pile up. So far I've applied for sheep tags in 321 separate draws and every time I still get my hopes up. I don't apply for the super hard to draw, well known trophy units with the slimmest chances to draw. I try instead for areas with better odds and even so I've managed to pull a grand total of two sheep tags in my lifetime. While that might seem pretty good, consider that when I started this habit 40 years ago the draws odds were MUCH BETTER than they are nowadays. Add to that the fact that I've been riding at or near the top of the points pool wave in several states.

I've drawn one nonresident tag in an area where I was guaranteed to draw as I was at one less than max preference points and I drew a resident tag after 33 years of applying.

Now lets factor in the countless raffles I've entered...on second thought let's not. Let's just say i could have bought a dall sheep hunt with what I've spent on sheep hunt lotteries.

Has it been worth it, hell yah. But knowing what I know now and studying the trends...today I would suggest you apply for sheep tags in your home state, work smart, save money, invest wisely, withdraw funds for dream hunt, repeat.

 

[Blockcaver]

CO: drew six resident archery ram tags, arrowed two bighorn rams, believe that was out of 34 applications, with about 15 of them for Desert sheep (didn’t draw Desert). Drew one second choice archery ewe tag, never hunted it as I had 5 other good tags that fall.

NV: Applied for one NR Desert sheep tag, drew it and arrowed a ram!!!!

BC resident: apply every year for a California Bighorn tag but am 0 for 11 in the draw.

Also apply for the Dall sheep and am 0 for 7 in that draw.

The good news is over the counter tags sheep tags are available and I arrowed a Stone on my eighth hunt and helped my hunting buddy out to arrow one a few years ago as well.

The same sheep tag…,one tag per year can be used in over the counter Bighorn or California Bighorn areas that is used for hunting Stone sheep. Seasons are about 2–1/2 months long for Stones and typically 2/3 of that for Bighorns.

In summary, out of 53 applications I drew 8 tags. 52 of the applications were for CO or BC resident tags. All 7 Bighorn tags were drawn in CO.

Was one for one on NR tag draws….NV Desert sheep.


I also went the guided route twice on Dall sheep. Had a really crappy unsuccessful archery Dall hunt with Tom Shankster in Alaska. Then went on a great NWT archery Dall hunt 20 yrs later and arrowed a Dall with Canol Outfitters. I enjoyed the NWT hunt with a great guide and certainly rate it up there with all my unguided sheep hunts.

 

[Gadjet]

CO: drew six resident archery ram tags, arrowed two bighorn rams, believe that was out of 34 applications, with about 15 of them for Desert sheep (didn’t draw Desert). Drew one second choice archery ewe tag, never hunted it as I had 5 other good tags that fall.

NV: Applied for one NR Desert sheep tag, drew it and arrowed a ram!!!!

BC resident: apply every year for a California Bighorn tag but am 0 for 11 in the draw.

Also apply for the Dall sheep and am 0 for 7 in that draw.

The good news is over the counter tags sheep tags are available and I arrowed a Stone on my eighth hunt and helped my hunting buddy out to arrow one a few years ago as well.

The same sheep tag…,one tag per year can be used in over the counter Bighorn or California Bighorn areas that is used for hunting Stone sheep. Seasons are about 2–1/2 months long for Stones and typically 2/3 of that for Bighorns.

In summary, out of 53 applications I drew 8 tags. 52 of the applications were for CO or BC resident tags. All 7 Bighorn tags were drawn in CO.

Was one for one on NR tag draws….NV Desert sheep.


I also went the guided route twice on Dall sheep. Had a really crappy unsuccessful archery Dall hunt with Tom Shankster in Alaska. Then went on a great NWT archery Dall hunt 20 yrs later and arrowed a Dall with Canol Outfitters. I enjoyed the NWT hunt with a great guide and certainly rate it up there with all my unguided sheep hunts.

7 Bighorn tags in Colorado? Wow, that's amazing! I know someone who has drawn 5 and I've been fortunate enough to draw 2 bighorns and a desert. But I've never heard of anyone drawing as many as you. Are you a Colorado resident?

 

[Blockcaver]

Gadjet, I was a CO resident from 1975 thru 2009. BC resident since 2010. 4 of my CO archery sheep tags were second choice tags....three in the Sangre De Cristos in the early 1980s and the Georgetown ewe tag I never hunted on in 1996 or so. Draw was not as heavily subscribed way back there, but I was lucky as well. On top of the sheep, I drew a WY Shiras tag in 12 years and a UT Henry Mt Bison tag, also in about 12 years of applying. Got lucky and filled both tags with the bow, even though they were any weapon tags.

 

[Blueman]

8 years, 5 different states, zero tags. This thread really makes a guy do some thinking ...

 

[Alaskan89]

I started applying for sheep tags here in Alaska back in 1990 and stopped when I moved out of state in 1996, I never drew a tag during that timeframe. Then I moved back up here in 2000 and started applying again in 2001 and in those 20 years I have drawn the DCUA sheep tag 3 times, 2009, 2011 and this year. I use to put my wife in for sheep tags starting in 2005 but stopped about 5 years ago at her request, she never drew a sheep tag in that timeframe.

 

[inquisitiveram]

Growing up my grandpa had a finished basement adorned with 3 Dall sheep rams he and his 2 sons (my uncles) took on the same trip, in AK, back in the 70s. I tell people that that hunt will never happen again.

Times change, and there’s simply not enough sheep to accommodate that type of experience anymore. But I hope I can at least draw 1 tag in my lifetime. I jumped in applying/buying points for sheep for the first time this year (5 states). I’m 34 and wish I started a lot earlier, but I can afford to put a few hundred bucks in draws where I’ll mostly be applying for other species anyway, so it’s not a total loss—and hey, I could get lucky. If you were only going to apply for sheep your whole life, might be worth saving up. But me I figure I’ll apply for a bunch of Western stuff and put in for sheep as a bonus. I’m also gonna put my kids in, so maybe between the three of us we’ll draw one before I die.

I don’t know if I saved 40K if I could spend it all at once on a hunt. Seems crazy put that way, but I guess that’s what it amounts to over decades of applying.

 

[mdoolin]

Man listening to all the stories is really amazing and shows how large the sheep hunting bug goes! It still amazes me at how some people seem to be a little more lucky than others but that's the application game as a whole.

My take aways so far:
1)Apply early and where ever you can
2)Save what you can for guaranteed opportunities
3)Get creative and go sheep hunting even if you're not the shooter! (love this idea)

 

[Marine4life]

I started applying for sheep in the mid 80s as a resident of NM. After I graduated from college and went in the Marine Corps in the early 90s I started to build points in a couple states. I am 52 now and likely will never draw as I am not a max point holder and need to simply get lucky. A few years ago I made up my mind I wanted to hunt sheep so bad I was willing to start saving for a Alaska Dall hunt. It took a couple of years but was easier than I thought. I just needed to make some adjustments and keep my truck for a couple more years. I went on my one and only sheep hunt last year and had the hunt of a lifetime. It was amazing. The problem now is trying to go back. I would love to kill a Stone but with the money it would take I could enjoy two more Alaska Dall hunts. Maybe another sheep hunt will be in my future.


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[Jimss]

I think your best bet for a sheep tag is generally best in the state where you reside (if you live in the Western US). Some states have archery sheep options that may have a little better draw odds. Montana has general sheep units with quotas that you can likely hunt every year.....I haven't kept tabs on them but believe they still offer them. If you hire a guide you can hunt dall sheep every year in Alaska or Canada. Plenty of options but drawing sheep tags can be expensive to apply with terrible draw odds. Save your pennies and you may be able to afford a guided hunt some day?