Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game lets talk about the unlimited sheep tags

I know there are many of you who have a little know on theese and prolly don't want to spill any info, so if you feel you need to pm the info...cool. Anyhow, I have a two year plan to score a sheep or at least sheep hunt. I figure I can scout next year and hunt the following. My father-in-law has a bunch of time in the absorkee's and he explained the nastyness of the terrain/weather. He really could care less about shooting anything but game birds so sheep scouting info from him is pretty negligable. I would appreciate any info you are willing to share, expieriences, don't hunt here....try this...watch out for this group of guys....anything would be great. I have always wanted to hunt sheep and dropped the ball when I lived in Alaska so I will have to make it up with a tag that has a 2% sucess rate....oh well.

Thanks.

I am in the same boat! I would be happy to give one of these hunts a try!! It might be the only way I ever get to hunt sheep.

c'mon guys share a little......please

I'm not in the know.. doesn't eastmans still run a help DIY section that covers sheep issues for XC tags.... I know they did when Duncan Gilchrist was around.....

Personally I'd call the area biologist if no one comes forth, get some info, a topo map, alot the whole season, and preferably take vacation DURING season at least 1-2 years prior and then carry camp on your back and have at it.

Good luck, Jeff

STOP READING MY MIND!!! it freaks me out.

that is exactly my plan. I have a few other resources but I figure someone here has to have hunted it before and perhaps offer some pointers.

Did you hear that one of the Unlimited sheep districts filled it's quota almost as soon as it opened?

http://www.huntthewest.com/updates/updates-MTclosure.htm

Somebody had done their homework.

I'm just back from a mountain goat hunt in an unlimited sheep area. The place was crawling with hunters. Just when I was trying to edge within shooting distance of a very large billy three renegade teenagers showed up, yelling, talking, and rolling rocks off the mountain. The billy, of course, disappeared to a high and inaccessible ridge. A friend of mine hiked 8.5 miles into an adjoining area and set up camp. He is a serious sheep hunter who is halfway to his second Grand Slam. All he saw were hunters. That said, the area I hunted goats in did have two legal rams killed that first weekend. The quota is three rams. A few years ago a storm came in early and the Absaroka-Beartooth areas had no rams killed in them. I could tell you a long and funny story about that but it would take some time -- it involved an out-of-state hunter and lots of snow. Anyway, these areas are no cake walk. The competition is intense. Even on my goat hunt of last week I made friends with a sheep hunter who had been to the area scouting seven times this past summer. So, if you plan on doing this you need to understand the competition. From what I'm told, one guy who got a sheep last weekend practically lived with that ram until opening day.

souds right up my ally....thanks

Jack Atcheson, Jr. and Larry Altimus http://www.hunterapplicationservice.com/index.htm (altimus's website) have spent more time in the unlimited sheep areas than anyone else.
The reason those areas are unlimited is that the habitiat is so extreme and forrage is so poor there are very few sheep in there.

unlimited borrego ares where...?

Grins

Dober

I'll second that one!

I look at it like this,

I can't take 12G's from my family right now, if ever. I can pull a $800 tag and some fuel. I can hump my ass off and not shoot a sheep and have a good time doing it. I camp the high country often so scouting is not really a "cost" to me.....just a new place to camp.

I live in washington, we have a 10 day elk season and 250,000 elk hunters.......I know crowds.

I have a craving to hunt sheep that NEEDS to be filled, and if I don't win a tag in the lottery I am faced with the unlimited....that is it.

No problemo here, lots of us in the same darn camp.

Dober

You will indeed see some beautiful country and there is always a chance for a deer, elk, or bear depending on the tags you buy. The fellow I met missed a big black bear near Goose Lake this past Monday morning. I suspect his scope was off. I see the Unlimited Tags as Extreme Hunting. There are those rare few who just happen to get lucky, but mostly it is a game for the super-fit and super-tough. And getting in that type of shape is reward in itself.

I have hunted and guided the unlimited areas many times and have seen legal rams several times. I was going to go this year in 500-20 but it closed last night and it has not closed in a number of years. One of the best articles on hunting these areas is in a new publication called Montana Sporting Journel. It is in the May/June addition. One would have to write them and purchase a back copy or maybe just buy the article. There are no honey holes given but then there are no honey holes. http://www.montanasportingjournal.com/archives.html

Another subjestion is to use the library at Montana State University and read all of the master thesises on sheep in the unlimited areas. The authors are now the biologist.

abc, you can expect a few pm's in the coming years.