30 years old, dreamin of big horns...what options?

[TX_Eric]

New guy here, been lurking for a while. As the title says, I turn 30 next month, and am hoping to get my feet wet with western hunting this year with Antelope in Wyoming.

#1 on my bucket list is a Big Horn sheep hunt, which i'm starting a little late in the game for, but hoping its not too late(I know i will likely be 50 before I ever get drawn). I am wanting to start accruing preference points this year, and right now am looking primarily at Wyoming and Montana due to cost. Next year finances should be a little better off (getting married in a couple months), and that will open up other states for the large up front application costs. Does anyone have any better suggestions on where i should start?

 

[406LIFE]

If you search the forums, this has been asked a few times. Most answers are save up for a guided hunt.

Otherwise, look at ID for the random draw.

Or if you are really feeling froggy, look at the MT unlimited areas for bighorns.

 

[BuzzH]

The advice I would give, if you want to hunt bighorns in your lifetime at this point...go to school, get an education, and land a job that pays obscene amounts of money.

The kind of money that allows you to spend 20-50K a year on sheep hunts and its no big deal. Don't be tricked into thinking you can jump in line with guys like me, that are 30 years in front of you. My advice is to advance your spot in line and bully your way past me...the way you do that is with $$$.

Outside of that, keep dreaming at this point...its about as close as you'll get to a bighorn.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Welcome, it all depends what kind of sheep hunt you want. You never know with these draws anymore, you could draw your first year or 50th year. Unlimited hunts suck in Montana very few sheep enormous amounts of country to cover. ID and NM I believe don't have a points system so every year is random. Good luck.

 

[MThuntr]

I'll add Lottery tags are also an option if you don't have the $...your odds increase the more you buy.

 

[NoWiser]

Best bet.......Powerball.

You were born a generation too late to hunt sheep without a ton of luck or a boat load of money.

If you really want to hunt sheep, start putting away $250.00/mth. By the time you are 50 you may be able to hunt them.

It's a tough reality to swallow, but it's still reality. Don't bother with preference point states. You'll never catch up. There are 20 year olds that are 10 points ahead of you right now. Your only chance is to apply for states with bonus points or random draws.

Or you could hunt sheep the next 10 years in the MT unlimited areas. Your chances of killing a sheep will be much better than your chances of drawing a tag in your lifetime.

 

[brownbear932008]

There is an ongoing thread on this within the last month take a look at it. You would do good to seriously investigate for a while before you jump into some states and throw hard earned money away on useless points. A lot of these state systems are 20-30 years in deep. Buzz gave some solid advise. Having said that I could see in the next 10-20 years several of these states throwing long time applicants under the bus when they realize new applicant's aren't joining the game because they hardly have a chance of drawing a tag. We all have that bighorn dream I guess but only a small handful ever get to actually experience it in a lifetime unless your ultra rich and have money to blow.

 

[ovis2]

As discussed above, you're decades behind in the points game, but I'll add that with most states, there is always a chance you can draw with no or few bonus points - it does happen every year, not to me, but I hear stories. Only you can decide how much disposable (flushable) you can drain from your bank account. Dream don't usually just fall into your lap.

 

[MTGunner]

Regardless of age and desire it is difficult to draw a bighorn tag in the lower 48. But, it can be done albeit your chances are slim. Have you hunted Aoudad? This is a doable free range hunt in TX. My suggestion is to start with the Barbery sheep. Then put in for each state that offer bh hunts and purchase bonus points. This, in itself, can be very expensive. Next, I would consider the unlimited hunt in MT. There is an outfitter that does know the Absoroka range area. Be aware that his services are expensive.
Having digested all of these forum suggestions I would consider a Canada bh hunt. This too is costly.
I have been buying bonus points in MT, as a resident, for 14 yrs. I am not deluded into thinking I will be successful, but I can dream.
Do not be dissuaded by what has been offered by the knowledgeable members of this forum. I can be achieved but does take time and perseverance. Good luck young man. Keep your dream alive. MTG

 

[El Serio]

I have considered this at length, and I don't think accruing points is a viable path to getting a bighorn tag, unless you are a resident of the state and start buying them as a young child with a family history of incredible health so you can outlive the competition and still hunt in your extreme old age. Point systems for sheep are like a pyramid scheme that concentrates the majority of the tags in the hands of those who got in on the ground floor. I started buying points in my home state in my early 20's (about 8 years behind max points) and my current projection is that I will draw at about age 70 if current tag allocations and hunter attrition rates hold. No idea if I will actually have the health to hunt (or even be alive) at that point. For non-resident draws the odds are much much worse and the cost to apply is much higher. You can apply, hoping to draw at random, but I don't think that you should consider points an investment, getting into the point game late is like purchasing a lottery ticket as a way to fund your retirement, it could happen but is really unlikely. The posters above all have good advice. One other option: move to Alaska and hunt Dall sheep as a resident.

 

[TX_Eric]

I didn't realize my chances would be this poor haha. I wish i would have gotten into hunting sooner, but as in the other thread mentioned above, hopefully my future kids will have that opportunity. I am fortunate right now in that i do get an exorbitant amount of pto from work so maybe my best option would be the Montana unlimited option. Would be a good excuse to spend a few weeks in the back country and least I would be "hunting" even if I don't see anything other than grizzlies.

 

[mr_steve]

First off, do not be dissuaded by the comments above. If you want to bighorn sheep hunt you will have to beat some bad odds but it is doable and it starts by giving yourself the highest chance possible. I see people complain they have been applying for a tag for 30 years and never draw but they only apply in their home state. You have to get in everywhere for you have a chance.

Any state that gives a portion to a random draw is worth entering. Then there are raffles too (worse odds but still a chance). Lastly you can buy a hunt ($30k plus). My plan is to build points, enter raffles and save for a sheep hunt for when I get to 50 or so. This helps maximize my chances. I also plan to hunt the unlimited units in the next 5 years or so.

Lastly I feel there is a large wave of people around the age of 48 and above that make up a majority of the point holders that will at some point have to drop out of the point race due to health or money. It won’t be for 20 years or so until we see the true impact but if you can stomach the point costs I think there will be opportunity from improving populations and aging generations dropping out.

 

[LWC55]

If you are just starting out, you can have plenty of fun chasing lopes, deer, and elk out west for the next couple decades. Start a savings account for a sheep hunt and go for your 50th bday! Don't get too caught up in the big three. Unless you have lots of $$$, it will be a very long shot. But the "little three" are a lot of fun too!

 

[Trial153]

Apply for every tag you can afford and hope to get lucky. Than Start saving, get 15k together for deposit then lock in a date like 3 years out and pay the rest off monthly.

 

[brownbear932008]

Apply for every tag you can afford and hope to get lucky. Than Start saving, get 15k together for deposit then lock in a date like 3 years out and pay the rest off monthly.

Lol I know when I was 30 years of age saving 15k for anything had about the same chance of me drawing a bighorn sheep tag. As a matter of fact I'm not far from that now 14 years later. We gotta be realist here 90% of us DIY guys live a little better than pay check to pay check most months. I couldn't even begin to afford an outfitted sheep hunt for bighorns. Last time I looked they were somewhere North of 30-40k.
Tx Eric there are states to look into that won't break the bank to bad with crappy odds ID MT NV NM to name a few long odds but someone has to draw the tags. Look at each one and study stats big time and make a decision. Maybe one day you can get really lucky and take a great sheep.

 

[CampRipleyLF]

You're almost better off saving some coin and going through a outfitter for Dall Sheep.... But remember that its going to cost over 10,000 in Alaska. Cheaper way is just to move to Alaska and hunt them yearly....

 

[Doublecluck]

Look on the bright side, your chances of drawing in two of the best zones in Montana is .0008% compared to a resident .006%... I would still apply... my daughter drew a moose tag first year applying in Montana. .008% chance..

 

[brymoore]

Besides all of the above, move to a bighorn sheep state to be in the resident draw.

 

[ccc23454]

Dont buy points just play lottery (megamillions and sheep randoms/raffles, someone has to win!) if you set on hunting sheep in lower 48 your going to have to move to really help your odds.
These 2 were next to my truck after fishing other day, no zoom with a cell phone..lol. i have never truly understood the craziness around sheep hunting, just something different to hunt..not better not worse just different. Good luck and hope you get hunt your after!

 

[LopeHunter]

First off, do not be dissuaded by the comments above. If you want to bighorn sheep hunt you will have to beat some bad odds but it is doable and it starts by giving yourself the highest chance possible. I see people complain they have been applying for a tag for 30 years and never draw but they only apply in their home state. You have to get in everywhere for you have a chance.

Any state that gives a portion to a random draw is worth entering. Then there are raffles too (worse odds but still a chance). Lastly you can buy a hunt ($30k plus). My plan is to build points, enter raffles and save for a sheep hunt for when I get to 50 or so. This helps maximize my chances. I also plan to hunt the unlimited units in the next 5 years or so.

Lastly I feel there is a large wave of people around the age of 48 and above that make up a majority of the point holders that will at some point have to drop out of the point race due to health or money. It won’t be for 20 years or so until we see the true impact but if you can stomach the point costs I think there will be opportunity from improving populations and aging generations dropping out.

The "wait for all the guys older to die strategy in a preference points game" means you also will be an old man by time hit max points pool so you need good health so you are not thinned as well. NM has 2 or 3 bighorn ram sheep tags for NR DIY pool. Wyoming sets aside 20% or the NR bighorn allocation but that is a handful of tags. MT unlimited takes a very fit hunter with weeks of time off. CO has archery-only tags so need to be a bowhunter and for three years are not really in the draw action.

Canada has sub-50% harvest rates so might need to save and buy two hunts.

My advice is to toss money at all the bighorn gambles you can afford. State draws, raffles and buy the MT Unlimited a few times. Put aside $3000 or more yearly into SPY stock index for buying a Canadian hunt 20 years down the road.

I enjoyed my free range Aoudad/Barbary ram hunt in TX on state land. Was a draw tag. NM has a draw hunt for Aoudad, also, and is way cheaper than MT unlimited tag. Odds are about 30x better to draw.

Also consider a mountain goat as an option when applying for sheep. Is also an alpine mountain hunt which is part of the allure for bighorn hunting. Only ID makes you choose between sheep or goat as apply so goat is usually a small amount to include in application budget unless draw the tag but those are good challenges to have.