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bsmith said:
We worked and hiked our butts off. Hadn’t planned on hunting the South end of the unit at all but luckily had done some research and we ended up liking it down there much better. Spent some time in some nice places and wished we had another week because we felt like we were getting into the right areas finally. Our first stop was tough glassing and down South we had some folks point us to some decent places that lined up with the biologists advice also. It was definitely an experience and we are hoping to connect on a black bear next September when we return but if anybody needs help packing I’ll gladly share my in reach info. Packing that moose out for someone else actually became the highlight of the trip for us. Painful but very cool to see that animal up close and give those guys a hand.
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I like your attitude!
 
BigHornRam said:
I know at least a few guy's are doing the Unlimited this year. Good luck, and stay safe!
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Thanks for initiating a wonderful thread six years ago!

Perhaps it doesn't reflect well upon my character, certainly not my familial loyalty, but I feel more affinity for many members of this forum whom I've yet to meet than I do my still-living relatives (cousins: 1st, 2nd and etc.).

And if a few lurkers have gleaned a hint or two from a trio of trees, broken topped or otherwise, they still have to work to access those locations. If they do so packing upon their backs sufficient gear to hunt Bighorn rams, then I think they've earned membership in the community.

The one thing I would urge hunters who appreciate this unique opportunity do is lobby to expand the concept to other locations including other states and additional species.

My own opinion, admittedly biased though not necessarily invalid, is that Unlimited Permit Hunting, while not without administrative hurdles, is as an egalitarian opportunity as exists in North American big game hunting for a prestigious species. Moreover, I believe expansion of the concept will actually generate more conservation funds than draw-tag application fees. It will also generate more hunter interest, which we all should recognize is a two-edged sword. However, added hunter interest generates more new hunters too--without them, public hunting opportunities will continually wane in our country. While protecting hunting is not the intent of The Second Amendment, ancillary arms rights can hardly benefit by declining numbers of hunters.
 
Regarding an unlimited mountain goat hunt. Just based on the two I have taken, many years ago. They are not difficult to see. As often as not, they are in an untenable place. But in my experience you'll see goats every day.

I also remember the feeling of solitude of having the mountains to ourselves. That is not a small part of a back country hunt.

I have never applied for the tag again after taking a second goat, so whatever happens won't affect me. But I like the process the way it is. There used to be units that had decent draw odds, because the units were remote and hunting was difficult physically. That is the route I took.
 
Unfortunately I don’t think an unlimited goat hunt would ever work, unless the biologists are trying to eradicate the goats in an area. They’re too easy to find and kill.

You could make it billy only and on a quota system that closes at sunset the day the quota is met. I still think the risk of massive over quota harvest and nannies getting killed is too great of a gamble for sustainable management. People seem to be useless at distinguishing billies from nannies. Whack a bunch of mature, breeding nannies out of a herd and it will take many years from them to recover.

I am a huge proponent of making more unlimited bighorn areas across the west. There are plenty of limited quota units that have dismal harvest success rates, just make those unlimited!
 
Unlimited tags work best when it is a bit of a snipe hunt. When the sheep get to doing well it can result in over harvest. This happened in 300 and in the Spanish peaks years ago. In 300 they split the unit and made the north half 1 permit and made a 1 week season in the south half. In the Spanish peaks they went to permits.

In the areas that I am familiar with an unlimited goat season would result in gross over harvest. Especially when you consider it takes 48 hours to shut it down, after a 48 hour check in.
I would be very surprised to see an unlimited goat or sheep season initiated anywhere else at this point. The country doesn't get rough enough, it is a lack of legal game that makes an unlimited hunt possible. With the level of interest today, I am amazed they are still open.

If there was an unlimited hunt in the Spanish peaks today they would kill multiple rams the first day.
 
I believe is someone really wants to go shoot a goat they could go to Kodiak and whack one or maybe two. I've heard there are plenty there to shoot.

The only place I could think of where an unlimited sheep hunt might work in the lower 48 would be in the Frank Church. That is some tough ass country. I really think they could do it there if they really put some thought into it. Better yet. Make it an archer only hunt!!!!! I'm in!!
 
neffa3 said:
You missed your chance homey.
nwsportsmanmag.com

21 Teams Picked To Help Lethally Remove Olympic Nat'l Park Mtn. Goats In Fall -

Twenty-one teams of the "most highly qualified", WDFW- and NPS-vetted volunteer outdoorsmen have been chosen from a large pool of applicants to help lethally remove mountain goats in Olympic National Park in early fall.
nwsportsmanmag.com
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That's not how I'd like it to go down. Would've been interesting for sure.

That hunt probably would've ruined me on the dream.
 
recurveman said:
I believe is someone really wants to go shoot a goat they could go to Kodiak and whack one or maybe two. I've heard there are plenty there to shoot.

The only place I could think of where an unlimited sheep hunt might work in the lower 48 would be in the Frank Church. That is some tough ass country. I really think they could do it there if they really put some thought into it. Better yet. Make it an archer only hunt!!!!! I'm in!!
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I think the church would be tough if you had a similar check window to
what MT does except for those utilizing planes. The airstrips would also lead to tons more aerial sheep scouting. I would bet you would see outfitter clients fill the quotas pretty much every year

I’d almost rather see it in some of the “easy” sheep units just to mess with outfitters that have an exclusive territory where every ram is killed by a client of theirs and the auction tag gets bought by the same people almost every other year
 
TheTone said:
I think the church would be tough if you had a similar check window to
what MT does except for those utilizing planes. The airstrips would also lead to tons more aerial sheep scouting. I would bet you would see outfitter clients fill the quotas pretty much every year

I’d almost rather see it in some of the “easy” sheep units just to mess with outfitters that have an exclusive territory where every ram is killed by a client of theirs and the auction tag gets bought by the same people almost every other year
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Good place for me to jump in here! I actually just got back from a week in the Church on a successful sheep hunt! I like the idea of the Church being an unlimited area because of the way Idaho does their draws and you have to remember that its a true OIL state so that might keep some age class in there. I don't know how the outfitter pool would play into that I can totally see a concern. The great thing about that country is its lack of accessibility where we killed a sheep this year it took us a solid two days of packing to get it to the airstrip then from there had to catch a plane given a day of bad weather I could see getting a ram checked in even in 72 hours could be a challenge. So really I don't know the best answer but would be cool either way! I know my grandpa hunted back in the Frank in the day when it was open and over the counter ( he also killed an unlimited ram in 1982) something I strive to follow his footsteps in one day!
 
TBoschma said:
Good place for me to jump in here! I actually just got back from a week in the Church on a successful sheep hunt! I like the idea of the Church being an unlimited area because of the way Idaho does their draws and you have to remember that its a true OIL state so that might keep some age class in there. I don't know how the outfitter pool would play into that I can totally see a concern. The great thing about that country is its lack of accessibility where we killed a sheep this year it took us a solid two days of packing to get it to the airstrip then from there had to catch a plane given a day of bad weather I could see getting a ram checked in even in 72 hours could be a challenge. So really I don't know the best answer but would be cool either way! I know my grandpa hunted back in the Frank in the day when it was open and over the counter ( he also killed an unlimited ram in 1982) something I strive to follow his footsteps in one day!
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You can't take a sheep and not post pics.....otherwise only the ram knows.
 
Also since I no longer qualify as a lurker of the thread I wanted to jump in here (I don't do Forums normally) but regardless this unlimited endeavor is a pretty sweet deal and I have already meet some amazing like minded people because of it.

This year I have spent 16 days in there between scouting and hunting I loved every bit of it and am itching to get back out there I can totally see how it consumes a guy. I saw a G bear every trip in there until hunting season so that was pretty cool. even sent Shawn a cool vid of one flipping rocks at 9500 feet in July! what I don't understand is how I saw zero trash all summer then I came in there after a week of unlimited hunters were in there and saw trash all over the place. I got to one spot where some people had set up a camp and left tooth flossers all over the place along with burnt jet boil cans and peak refuel trash. Ill add pictures if anyone knows where there is a Gunnies that sells Peak I would guess that it is out of state because who craps in their own back yard like this? I did pack their trash with me for the next few days just drives me nuts that this still happens....

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