Idaho OTC Sheep tags...

[Pinecricker]

...unfortunately you need a time machine to get one.

I was going through some old photos of my great uncle, Dell Hoffman, who recently passed away. I found this pic of him with a mountain goat and a sheep he killed on the same hunt in the Big Horn Crags in the 1940's.I will scan the whole set post a link when I get time. They are amazing. They brought out three nice rams.

Pretty interesting piece of history. Both tags were available over the counter. He always said that back in the day, in certain parts of the Salmon River country and in Hell's Canyon, Bighorns were more common that mule deer.

 

[257 Wby Mag]

Very cool pic!!! Share more if ya got em .Thanks for sharing..

 

[Mica Man]

Very cool indeed!

 

[passinthru]

Wouldn't that be sweet!

Nice pictures.

 

[HighDesertSage]

Very cool!

 

[Buck Fever]

Very awesome!! I know the country and your uncle did well!! Look forward to more pics....

 

[fishing4sanity]

Those old photos are always interesting to look at, good thing they took the photos. I heard the stories my grandfather and dad used to tell, but they took very very few photos. When you get those photos scanned please post the link to view them.

 

[Ultrahunter]

That is so awesome!

 

[----]

That is as cool as it gets.

I remember reading about the first guy that drew an archery goat tag in there when they started a permit system. He was the only guy that applied.

 

[Big Slick]

Very cool! I like listening to old hunting stories, unfortunately my family didn't take very many photos.

 

[T Bone]

Cool picture.

Those guys were tough. Hunting in jeans, flannel, and cowboy boots.

No high tech synthetics, shelters, or elevation turrets to dial.

I'd love to get back in there again before the knees get too rickety.

 

[idahofishnhunt]

Amazing! Can't wait to see the other pictures!

 

[1_pointer]

That's some amazingly rough country he got those in. Way cool picture. Thanks for sharing.

 

[smarandr]

Nice picture.

Getting into the Crags in 2015 is no easy task; I wonder what kind of an ordeal it would have been in the 40s.

 

[idelkslayer]

There were many places in Idaho that once had more sheep than mule deer. Many such places are now considered mule deer strongholds and even locals don't believe me when I tell them that sheep used to be more common. One such area is southeastern idaho in Caribou county.

I once read a report that estimated that Idaho once held 50,000 bighorns. If that is the case then the Bighorn population once rivaled the historical elk population.

You should send some of those pictures to Ryan Hatfield, he wrote the "Idaho's greatest Mule deer" book as well as an elk and whitetail edition. I think he is currently working on a book that would include Bighorns, Mountain Goats, Moose and other game. He is interested in including historical photos such as yours.