Sheep are classified into four categories for the purposes of Pope and Young. Only a few bowhunters have ever completed the grand slam of sheep, let alone the super slam of all 28 North American big game species. Pictured here is Tom Hoffman with his Desert Bighorn.
Getting permits can be a life long challenge for drawing a desert sheep permit
and some at actions have went for nearly $500,000 recently - just for the
permit! Drawing a bighorn tag in the Lower 48 can also takes years, if not
decades to accomplish. There are a certain number of permits available in Old
Mexico for outfitted hunts; these too are not cheep.
Sheep provide the bowhunter with a truly significant challenge in several ways.
The P & Y club recognizes Dall, Stone, Bighorn, and Desert Bighorn
classifications. Other record keeping organizations also recognize Fannin and
California Big Horn sheep as well. Some things to keep in mind when considering
sheep hunting:
1) Sheep hunting can be tough physically, and in many cases, in the high country
where sheep are often found, the topography is wide open, taking stalking to an
all new level, not to mention excellent vision the sheep possess.
2) Sheep hunting requires outfitters to get into hard to reach places. Bush
planes, helicopters, horses, jet boats - all are expensive to charter, own, fix
or feed! Hard to reach places, coupled with tough physical conditions, and
longer duration's all add up to more money. Sheep hunting isn't out of reach to
everyone, but you've got to be committed to bowhunting a tough to harvest
trophy.
3) There are always the auctioned permits that also are available for those who
can afford it. It is worthy of noting that literally millions of dollars have
been raised to put wild game on more mountains through the generous donations at
sportsman at auctions around North America. Three items to remember - Physical
condition & skill, Cost, and Time.
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