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I just bought a hunt in an auction last night. Does anyone know of any videos or books on hunting the desert big horn? Preferably in Utah, if not then other states. Thanks. | ||
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Go to youtube and search on desert bighorn sheep hunting you will find about 8 video clips...if you want to see some action. I have never hunted sheep but two things come to mind... Get in very good shape and practice to 300 yards at a minimum. If you are in very good shape and can hit an 8 inch circle from prone and sitting over sticks you will be ready. Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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I am going with Wade Lemon. I have known him about 15 years and have hunted pronghorn, elk, mule deer, black bear, mountain lion & bison with him. Always had good hunts except for a couple of weather problems. Not much he can do about that. | |||
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Larry, A call to Garth or Jason Carter at the Huntin' Fool may be a real good idea. Their number is 435-865-1020. They publish, IMO, the best magazine highlighting Western hunts. They have a wealth of knowledge to pass onto you. Good luck on your sheep hunt. You will have the time of your life! Please let me know how you do. "You only gotta do one thing well to make it in this world" - J Joplin | |||
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Good luck on your hunt. I am hunting with Wade for MT Lion next December. I am hoping to hear from him soon letting me know that I won a conservation tag Good luck again, W.  | |||
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WOW Larry! Congrats... Wade runs some great hunts for sure. My guess would just be in the best shape you can be in and put in lots of shooting practice and you will be good to go. That is an exciting hunt to prepare for. Good Hunting, Tim Herald Worldwide Trophy Adventures tim@trophyadventures.com | |||
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So much for just "agreeing to bid" on a desert bighorn hunt. Oh well. Congrats Larry. Will J. Parks, III | |||
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Thank you all. I have applied for about 15 years for the sole non-resident tag in Utah. Of course, the chances of me getting that tag are only slightly greater than my ex-wife calling saying she wants no more alimony. When I was told about this tag, I thought I would bid for a lot of reasons including that I am not getting any younger and I thought the prices may be down with the economy. I am really excited. The only down side is that it will be in some of the better time during our deer season. | |||
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Congrats on your purchase! Sounds like you will have a great hunt. | |||
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Larry, did you happen to see what any of the other tags went for? I heard, not officially, a mule deer tag went for $265,000. I was curious about moose, | |||
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I wasn't there. My girlfriend just had heart surgery last week. We bagged the trip. Wade handled it over the phone. I can find out though. | |||
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Which unit did you buy. I've hunted a couple of the units. Both for friends and my own tag. I never found any videos that did more than boast about the guides. I did the hunt myself with out a guide. I spent a lot of days learning how to hunt sheep. Would be glad to share my knowledge. And No you don't need to be able to shoot 300+ yards. We saw lots of sheep that you could have shot with a bow. They are more curious than scared. So if you approach them carefully you can close the gap. Although you will do fair amount of scrambling to close the gaps You will sit on ridges like this and glass for hours, Once you spot a ram and decide that he is good enough, You need to close the distance. And that my friend is the challenge.   The 3 rams that I have witnessed being shot were all shot at less than 100 yards. I don't know the Dirty Devil if thats where you bought your tag, But I have hunted both the North and South San Rafael. The trick to these hunts is to get up high where you can spot from. Then look at sheep 2-3 maybe even 4 miles away.   If you want a guide, let me know and I'll send you the name of some GREAT sheep guides for that area. | |||
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Most of these photos are from the South San Rafael Unit. In this photo we were spotting over near the large hunk of rock in the distance. Saw a herd of sheep near this water hole and had to hike in the couple of miles to get close enough. The ewes were still al there, But ram vanished during our 2 hour hike. It may look flat, but there are LOT of deep ravines and draws beteeen these two points.  This is looking from the opposite direction. The line shows where we had spotted the sheep and where the water hole was.  And this is what the sheep were drinking out of. There are indian bathtubs like this all over the desert that trap rain water.  This will give you an idea of some of the canyon you have to descend down into and climb back up the opposite side to close the distance. Here are a couple of ewes running along the canyon wall. Use the size of the ewe to help you understand the size of the wall.  Most of the San Rafael unit is between 4000 and 7000 foot elevation. By halloween ( when I recommend you come hunt) the sheep will be pushing toward their rut and winter ranges which will be more the 4000-5000 foot elevation. So you shouldn't experience a lot of elevation sickness. But you will need to be in shape to climb those hills. | |||
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Here are some photos from the North San Rafael   We ride the horses out there during the winter and spring, So you excuse my firends in the photo.  | |||
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Nice pictures of Desert Sheep country very nice pictures. Funny how Desert Sheep country looks similar in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona. | |||
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Painted Horse, Thank you for those great pictures. You pumped yet Larry? "You only gotta do one thing well to make it in this world" - J Joplin | |||
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Those are great photos and will put the whole shebang into perspective. I tend to use more than enough gun | |||
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Fantastic pictures. It looks pretty rugged. | |||
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It's incredibly rugged country. But it has it's own beauty. Sheep on the terraces, Wild mustangs, donkeys, mule deer and antelope on the plataue tops. Rattle snakes during the warmer weather, Which unless you come very early in your hunt, you won't see.  If you are going to do the hunt your self, I can give you some maps of where to hunt. If you need a guide, I can recommend a great one. And while I never used a guide, he was very willing to talk to me. And we've developed a relationship over the years. I see him each year at the Sheep banquet and we trade emails.  The area is rich with history of old mines, outlaws and settlers who tried to make a living off this rugged land.   Monoithic Butts  And deep narrow canyons  Natural arches  And incredible sunrises in the morning.  | |||
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I just spoke with Wade. It is the South San Rafael tag. | |||
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Let me know where he takes you. I suspect you will spend a day on Pride Rock looking out over Chimney Canyon, Also Poor Canyon off the Ireland Mesa, Segers Hole and maybe down on the Moroni Slopes. We saw a nice ram over on the opposite side of the unit near gobblin valley. But we just couldn't close the gap on him. | |||
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UT Statewide Mule Deer tag went for $260,000 and Arizona went for $177,000. If I'm not mistaken the UT Statewide Moose permit went for $24,000. Larry, if u want an extra set of eyes and your hunt is during a time when I'm free I'll head over and glass for you. I enjoy hunting desert sheep, got lucky in Mexico about 10 years ago and helped a man complete his grand slam with a 182" ram. They are FUN to hunt Best of luck and congrats on the tag! Drummond | |||
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Awesome looking country! Good luck with your tag and take lots of pics. | |||
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