My First Sheep Hunt - NV Desert Bighorn

[longrunner]

We chatted a while ago, sounds like he has a good start on scouting.
There is a good mom-n-pop pizza place in Hawthorne, not too far away.

 

[Gr8bawana]

View attachment 284717
View attachment 284718
View attachment 284720

It is definitely steep country!

It's sad that a-holes on atv's have made a trail to the spring in the first pic.

 

[eshunt]

It's sad that a-holes on atv's have made a trail to the spring in the first pic.

It is actually an older road that was cut into the sides of the wash. Looking at the area through the binos, there was a mine located there at one point. Some of the old wooden structures could still be seen.

The BLM maps do show that a road went up to about where the spring was. Not sure the current status of the road and if it is legal to drive it or not. From where I parked, it was only another 1/4 mile or so up the wash. And looked to be washed out just upstream of where I parked.

 

[littlebighorn]

Very cool pictures. I haven't been on an easy sheep hunt and getting in shape was a big part of success for me.
Keep us posted.

 

[eshunt]

Last week I had a chance to talk sheep a couple of different times. First, I was finally able to connect with the biologist for my unit. It was great to talk with him about what I have seen and heard regarding the unit so far. He basically told me there aren't really any secrets when it comes to sheep in my unit. The three main drainages that hold animals are where a majority of the the sheep are killed year in/year out. There's a couple bands of sheep that hang out in other areas, and its worth checking out the areas to see if there are any rams that are mature and interest me, but for the most part there shouldn't be any big surprises. He encouraged me to have a mt lion tag in my pocket and to kill one while scouting if I find one. Lion predation is increasing in the area and is a limiting factor in herd growth.

Then on Thursday I went to the NDOW sheep seminar. A lot of the information was the same as what I watched in the recorded versions from the last couple of years. But the big difference was in the "hands on" portion where we went outside and looked at 10 different sets of sheep horns. It was a great exercise in looking at them and trying to age/score them from 100yds away. And to have the biologists there describing the way to identify the rings, count them accurately etc. was very helpful. I learned a ton! I encourage anyone who has an NV sheep tag to attend one of the in person seminars.

The NDOW biologists really want to make sure that the hunters have a successful and enjoyable hunt!

As a bonus, I even was able to talk to the biologist for my antelope units. And the game warden that was present was helpful in showing me legal access to an area that I was under the impression I had to hike a lot further to get into.

 

[undercover]

Following, saw my first ever Big Horn in S Dakota October 2023. Couldn’t imagine even being able to hunt for one. Thanks for taking us along

 

[Gr8bawana]

OP-If 202 is your hunting unit
Driving to and from Reno last week I noticed there are still a couple of good size patches of snow up near the top of Grant Mountain.
We also saw a young half curl ram on the shore of Walker lake last Monday. We were surprised he was still out because it was about 10:30 am.

 

[eshunt]

Had some fun looking over a few rams yesterday afternoon. The group of 4 were fun to watch for a while, but I was never able to get a good side profile of all of them. They are a little on the younger side with only one of them maybe 6 years old?? I'm still working on my aging of the rams. The solo ram on the skyline was long ways off and I wasn't able to get a solid look at him. He appears to have a fairly tight curl, although he does appear broomed off a little bit.

Also working on getting photos through the spotter. Have a new set up that I still don't have all figured out to make quick adjustments.

The third ram in the first photo appeared to be the oldest of the group. Maybe 6??

Anyway, was great to get a chance to look around a little more and actually see a few rams!

 

[eshunt]

OP-If 202 is your hunting unit
Driving to and from Reno last week I noticed there are still a couple of good size patches of snow up near the top of Grant Mountain.
We also saw a young half curl ram on the shore of Walker lake last Monday. We were surprised he was still out because it was about 10:30 am.

Yeah that's where I'll be hunting. I know there will be some sheep up high on Grant, just have to coordinate a day to get the gate key on the base. It might not be until Sept that I get a chance to get up there.





Lots of sheep trails in these two photos.

 

[mevertsen]

I can get to 7, likely 8 for the one of the 4 that's higher and nearly broadside in the second pic.

I am not sure of score, but knowing your unit, I'd take him. Unlikely you're going to find much older of a ram than that.

 

[eshunt]

I can get to 7, likely 8 for the one of the 4 that's higher and nearly broadside in the second pic.

I am not sure of score, but knowing your unit, I'd take him. Unlikely you're going to find much older of a ram than that.

He is definitely the oldest of the bunch and probably the best scoring. That age of 7-8 is what I am looking for. Goes to show that I still have a bit to learn when aging.

 

[duckhunt]

He is definitely the oldest of the bunch and probably the best scoring. That age of 7-8 is what I am looking for. Goes to show that I still have a bit to learn when aging.

Just curious what makes a legal ram in Nevada?

 

[eshunt]

Just curious what makes a legal ram in Nevada?

A set of nuts! Seriously though, it's any ram. They don't have a minimum age or curl. But they encourage you take the oldest ram you can find.

 

[Jofes]

Total novice, but when trying to age based on pic 2, I get roughly, from top to bottom, 8, 7, 6, 5... But the two in the middle may be the same age.

 

[littlebighorn]

View attachment 288282
View attachment 288283
View attachment 288284
View attachment 288285
View attachment 288286

Had some fun looking over a few rams yesterday afternoon. The group of 4 were fun to watch for a while, but I was never able to get a good side profile of all of them. They are a little on the younger side with only one of them maybe 6 years old?? I'm still working on my aging of the rams. The solo ram on the skyline was long ways off and I wasn't able to get a solid look at him. He appears to have a fairly tight curl, although he does appear broomed off a little bit.

Also working on getting photos through the spotter. Have a new set up that I still don't have all figured out to make quick adjustments.

The third ram in the first photo appeared to be the oldest of the group. Maybe 6??

Anyway, was great to get a chance to look around a little more and actually see a few rams!

According to the Nevada Checkout summaries, the average age of sheep taken last year in Nevada was 6.8. I have seen that average as low as 5 some years in the past, yet their average score is always above 150.
No doubt holding out for as old of a ram as you can is the best practice, but it's also noteworthy that Nevada sheep seem to grow horns faster than most. It's exciting that you have seen a good group or rams. It's a fun adventure already. Thanks for the ride.

 

[Caseknife]

Never noticed this before, and maybe it is a Desert Sheep trait, but the coloration down the back of their legs is kind of cool. More of a contrast than I've noticed before.

Looks like it will be a fun hunt and neat that you are finding rams.

 

[littlebighorn]

Never noticed this before, and maybe it is a Desert Sheep trait, but the coloration down the back of their legs is kind of cool. More of a contrast than I've noticed before.

Looks like it will be a fun hunt and neat that you are finding rams.

That color contrast occurs on all NA sheep, except the Dall for obvious reasons.
"White long-johns" is what every sheep hunter is looking for. You can only see it when they are feeding away, but even at long distances it's a dead give away. Otherwise the Bighorns and Stones blend in to their surroundings amazingly well and are very hard to spot. Indeed they are fun to hunt.

 

[eshunt]

Had some fun looking over more rams yesterday afternoon. It seemed that everywhere I looked I was finding sheep and sheep sign! I'm narrowing down some of the areas that I wan to focus on I think. Ran into one of the locals that comes out looking at the sheep all the time. Had a good chat with them about the sheep and what to look for in the good rams.

I filled my antelope tag last week on the opener and have a muzzleloader elk hunt in CO in a week. After that, it will be all sheep for me until my tag is filled.

 

[eshunt]

Here's a young one that was just chilling in the rocks.


There was definitely a little posturing as this guy ran off the young ram.


This guy was pushing this other little ram around as well.

 

[mevertsen]

You'll do well