Over the years since 2010 I haven't seen much discussion about the Stone Sheep. I always liked the color of the Stone's better than the others.
The Dalls certainly are pretty, white contrasted by the horns. The Rocky Mtn and or Desert Big Horns sure can be majestic but.....

I'm talking about the appearance of the Stone Sheep.

Is there something about hunting the Stones that's different? Is it personal preference ? Are the conditions different ?

If I had MY choice of ALL the sheep--- I'd choose to hunt the Stone Sheep.

Opinions? NO opinion is wrong.

Limited area and availability. There is also some confusion on what is a pure stone sheep and what is an integrade form. Jack O'Conner's second largest Ram was a stone sheep I believe. I think they are beautiful too, as are all wild sheep.

The $40,000 price tag kinda limits how many people can enjoy stone sheep hunting

This coupled with the limited number of permits mean very few have had the opportunity to hunt them, thus not a lot of discussion.

SAY ... WHAT.....?. Holy Moly Andy.

Well, THAT would STOP my pursuit before I went to Wal Mart !!
I don't have ANY words fit for public ears to describe my SHOCK. XXX XXXX , XXX XX X XXXXX!!!

S H A Z A A M !

Oh YEAH ! That SPLAINS alot.

edit >> I'm really disappointed.

Jwall,

If Stones at $40k shock you ( and that is the starting price, can be as high as 60) don't even think about desert bighorn in Mexico, $80k to $100k

Mr. Woody

Mexi------who?

I'm sure I'm not the only hunter who feels.........

there is not ONE game animal on the PLANET worth $ 80k---$ 100k. ATST to me, there are some B G animals I'd rather hunt than Desert B H regardless of that astronomical price. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing the Desert B H.

Beauty is in the eye..... I've always liked the looks of the Stone sheep better than the others.

Thanks for the info, even tho it is disappointing.

I like the looks of the thin horn sheep. But my Bighorn has a special place in heart. A DIY hunt here in Colorado.

I agree the stones are the best looking of the sheep.

J, These guys are right.. Even dalls are very expensive compared to the 80 when I went.. A good stone is awesome.. My 89 sheep was a Fannin, it had lost of gray in the shoulders, so some have said it could be classed as a stone, but not dark at all.. I think you are near my age.. Sheep hunting is really tough.. My days of chasing them are over as of this season..
Deer, blk bear, turkey, and upland game are my meat from here on.. Plus some fishing.. When I had the ability to hunt sheep no cash.. Now I have some cash and not the ability..This sucks..

Actually the cost of sheep hunting is higher. If you book today, which means hunting in one to two years, the prices are:
Dall’s $25,000
Stone’s $45,000
Desert non-draw $45,000-80,000
Add travel and licenses...$2000-3000. The northern sheep usually require a charter bush flight $1500-2000.

W C H

I began this discussion per Stone Sheep out of curiosity. Sure I'd like to hunt them but I'm in the same boat you are.
My knees won't take the rugged mountains. I have a health issue that has DECIMATED my stamina for exertion. I can do it but NOT for long.

Yes - you & I are w/in months of being the same age. I DO have a hope of being drawn for an Ark Elk hunting permit. I've been applying since 1998 - our 1st year of Elk hunting - NO LUCK. It's supposed to be a FREE drawing but $$$$ contributed has influence.

I like to see REAL hunting, not the staged stuff. I have 2 episodes from past TV shows.....the FAKE is easy to spot if you simply pay attention.

Africa, Alaska, New Zealand etc. are dreams I can enjoy.

Have A Great Hunting Season

Jerry

Thanks RinB

I didn't say to WCH, I've been wondering WHY Stone Sheep hunting has received so little <near none> attention.

I guess I know. Still disappointing.

Guys keep the conversation going. Don't stop on my account.

Thanks J.. Elk hunting can behad at a very reasonable cost, but for cows only.. They are the best eating anyway.. I am going Dec. 10th.. I don't care much for elk hunting, but my step daughters love it..

I was lucky as heck to live in CO for 35 yrs and arrow two bighorns during that time frame (6 ram tags) without a guide! I also drew a NR tag for Desert bighorns in NV and arrowed one way back in '91. My buddy had drawn the year before and went along...again no guide but he knew the area, so as good as a guide.

I never dreamed of hunting Stones due to the cost...but ended up moving to BC for work in late 2009. After waiting the year, I could hunt Stones! I ended up hunting them for 6 seasons and 8 back pack trips. Finally arrowed a ram in 2016, again without a guide. I agree, they are gorgeous sheep.

After I had 3/4 of a sheep slam I just had to chase a Dall ASAP! We have Dalls in BC but a resident has to draw a tag and the odds are about 1 in 12 and getting worse by the year, so didn't want to wait on a tag here. I booked a 2017 NWT Dall hunt with Canol Outfitters and it turned out to be great! I arrowed a Dall on day 7 of a 12 hunt. Rough country with a lot of big loose boulders in the slides....glad I didn't wait to go on the hunt as retirement age legs only have so many more mountains left in them.

I'll keep putting in for the Dall draw in BC as I'd like an opportunity to hunt them without a guide. As a note, not many have a Grand Slam with the bow as there are 68 archery slams registered with Grand Slam the last time I looked...I was #66, and it took me 34 years from my first bighorn in '84 until the Dall last year. As a further note there are slightly more than 2000 Grand Slams registered in total.

I went with a young buddy this year on a Stone hunt (left my bow in the truck)...he arrowed a full curl 10-yr old ram on the 6th day! Took us 3 days to pack it out, but that is what its about!

In BC we can hunt Stones with over the counter tags every year in most of the Stone range. We do have a few draw areas. Bighorns (Rocky and California subspecies both live here) are over the counter for part of the range and draw for some others parts. So, if you want a cheap Stone, live in BC and buy a $60 license, good for one sheep...Stone, (or Bighorn or Dall, limited to one sheep per calendar year).

Kurt

F A N T A S T I C !!!!! I have more to say but gotta go now.. Back later.

Kurt52,


Thanks for that post, and well done on your archery slam.
I had no idea stone sheep are over the counter for residents, amazing in this day and age. I suspect like our unlimited tag units here in Montana the terrain and or remoteness discourage most people?

Man I’m almost speechless !!!!!! Archery Grand Slam Sheep !!!!!

HATS OFF to you.

I guess I’ll have to move to BC for 1 1/2 yr. I’m SO jealous. Not just getting a Stone but with Stick & String. 1 out of 68. UHHH no Words come to mind.

Here again, ‘Beauty in the Eye’. Stones are my FAV.

Will you adopt me ? I’ll come home.

Always thought the Stones were the handsomest of our sheep, based mainly on the color plates in Old Jack's Big Game Animals of North America, which I first obtained courtesy of the Outdoor Life book club. Had to replace my original copy because I loaned it to someone who moved away, taking my book with him. It's worth looking for.

Sheep of any sort are off the menu for this old fat man now, unless I shoot one of those Texas mouflons someday.

Gents, thanks for the kind words! Appreciated! As per what Stone country is like: I have spotted them feeding on plateaus, but rough country was always a short distance away....cliffs, shale slides, etc. They are hard to bowhunt feeding on a plateau....easier in the rougher stuff. They like to bed in massive (shale) slides most of the time. Hard to stalk in that stuff.

Hunter numbers are variable. Some years walkin hunting is OK and the next you will be over-run with hunters. No way to know. Fly-in hunts, the air taxis try to manage the high lakes a bit by only booking one group at a time to a given lake. Doesn’t mean some other taxi won’t fly in there. Anyway, I know I have it good here!

The Texas Hill Country is my happy hunting ground. Plenty of exotics to be had at affordable Blue-Collar prices.

I have stopped watching 90% of the hunting shows I once enjoyed once I realized that people like me don’t have multi-thousand dollar sponsors, motor homes, trade show itineraries, ad nauseum.


Pappy348,
Lots of good sheep hunting here in Texas for us old fat hunters.

Boy times sure have changed. I went on a mixed bag hunt back in the early 90's in the Pelly Mountain area of the Yukon. Everyone told me I was nuts to work and save the money for such an expensive hunt and was advised to wait and go when I retired. I was about 35 years old at the time. I had my mind made up and ignored the advice(?) I was given and went. It was great! Some of the best 2 weeks of my life. Success, yes. 37" very dark Fannin (classified as Stone), dandy 61" Moose, and B&C Mtn. Caribou. Now I'm retired and really don't think I'd be up for that hunt physically. Oh, and did I mention the cost to book that hunt. At the time the American dollar was real strong and the outfitter quoted me Canadian. With the exchange rate at the time my total to the outfitter was about $5900 U.S. Glad I went when I did.

STEVE

I read this immediately after you posted it. I gave others time to chime in first.
Less than 30 yrs has made great changes and not all for the better. I wonder what the COST would be to hunt & KILL those
3 animals today on ONE hunt ?? $ 5900.oo. might not make a down payment.

I’m tickled for you. It’s DONE & PAID for. Fantastic.

I have done similar tho NOT hunting. Vehicles, Guns, Motorcycles etc.

KUDOS to you.

I watch the European driven hunts on YouTube and it always tickles me to see flocks of Mouflon skedaddling through the woods along with the stags and boars. Not my notion of sheep country, but they seem to be doing fine.

Texas is a maybe someday notion for me. I know I'll never be able to afford a hunt for the big whitetails, but a nilgai might be doable, and maybe a blackbuck, besides the pretty little rams.

Looks like you did the right thing. Great story.

When in doubt, whip it out, as they say, in this case the cash and the effort.

Glad I went when I did, couldn't swing it now.....

Beautiful ram!! Well done!

GORGEOUS. !!!

This is my Stone ram, taken a few years ago when a nonresident hunt cost only(!) around $14.5K. Shot it near the top of a peak in BC, not far from the Yukon Territory boundary. Not archery, but with my trusty Wby. .257.

Bighorn

Not just a Gorgeous Ram

Gorgeous Scenery too.

Oh ! So Very Nice !

Congrats. aalf

Nice sheep guys!! I love em hopefully I draw one day....

Nice sheep!

Anyone know why it seems like Desert Bighorns are almost always broomed while it seems like Stone Sheep rarely are?

Congratulations on an absolutely phenomenal accomplishment. To arrow one ram would be a dream, a slam is hard to even comprehend. Well done.

Archery Grand Slam -- respect!

We are not worthy.



John

jpb

Let me join you with this quote:

That's a stud of a ram right there. I did the same thing as stevevan1 pretty much. I'd dreamed about the NWT since I was a kid. My father always talked about and did go to Africa 8 times, but everything I wanted to hunt, and still want to hunt, was above the Canadian border. Sheep, Caribou, Mt. goat, mule deer, elk, moose, etc. I worked my tail off and finally was able to book a hunt with Gana River in 1995 at 36 years old. A 10 day backpack hunt for Dall sheep and caribou. It was the hunt of a lifetime because there is no way I can afford those prices now. It was half what it is now. It's crazy. I did take a nice 36-1/2 x 13 Dall, but never found the caribou I wanted. We only saw a few raghorns and I was determined to get one that scored over 400".

For me, there is not a more beautiful animal than the wild sheep and the country they inhabit. My preference is Dall, Rocky Mountain bighorn, Stone sheep, and then Desert Bighorn. Alas, my days of sheep hunting are pretty much over having had a hip replacement this past summer. I don't imagine I'll ever get to goat hunt either, but I'm looking at trying to book a caribou hunt for probably 2020 so maybe I can at least get one off my bucket list.

We have free ranging aoudad in west Texas. I had a mule deer lease north of Van Horn for about 30 years and we killed a bunch of them. Mainly because the TPWD biologist said to kill everyone of them you see since they compete with the mule deer for food. I'm not on that lease anymore, but my current lease has them in the area as well as free roaming barbado/mouflon cross roaming around. My .257 Roberts loves to eat them.

Stone sheep have always been at the top of my sheep bucket list, but the hunt will probably never happen for me.


Absolutely stunning animal IMO.

Stone are beautiful animals, the price tag is what keeps most folks away. You can get in draws for bighorns but the stones take $$$ and lots of it these days.

Personally,I like the Altai Argali.


And no,that is not me in the pic.

With second place being the Marco Polo.


Not me in the pic.

SHOW OFF ! ! grin

Great Pix

I just like the Asian sheep.

Another I like,the Transcapsian Urial.

What a BEAST! That sheep's momma must have been a moose.

The High Altai Argali are the worlds largest sheep.

You’re absolutely right Kurt, we have it good here in BC. My brother and I have been hunting sheep yearly as BC residents for 15 years. This year we took our 14th stone ram between us, along with a few that others got with us. I’ll be 50 in a couple months and I’m not ready to give up my stone sheep obsession just yet🤪

In my experience a lot of the stone rams above 8 years old that we have found have been broomed to some extent. It seems like at 8 and older is when their lamb tips start to splinter and get broken off. With the 10-12 year old rams we have taken, it’s common for as much as the the first two years of horn growth to be broomed off. 4-6” of horn. Our oldest ram is 12 with 2 years broomed off on both sides, but amazingly both horns still rise above the bridge of the nose.

Mine was aged at 10 1/2, and luckily still had most of the lamb tips. Both sides were barely starting to round off, and the right side a small finger nail sized piece broke out, and a 6" crack had formed from the tip back.

You guys are NOT making it easy on me. Like I've said of all the sheep, Stones are my FAV.

Thnx for joining this thread.

Jerry