Sheep Hunting
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This was a lot more hard sheep work than most lower 48 sheep hunts I bet. The 2 minute mark gets pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGOGOxtN2lM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGOGOxtN2lM
genesis273
Well-known member
Buck Fever
Member
I would take my sheep hunt any day over this!!
passinthru
Active member
Awesome Schmalts
Gerald Martin
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All Montana sheep hunts are just like this. Way overrated in my opinion. Whitetail does are a much more desirable animal to chase. Spread the word.
havgunwilltravel
Active member
It is highly likely in his youth he did...i'm not sure he hit beast mode at any stage of the hunt though...although he could have had a make up artist on hand working on the wrinkles...i was cringing when they were discussing the virtues of a 2 hour stalk and whether to roll the dice or not..they decided to, straight up and under the animals..i guess if he had of head shot the ewe and double lunged the ram at the same time that would have made for really special viewing..suprised he even took the last shot, but i guess by then the guide was ready for it to be completed and i don't blame him.
David R.
Member
I am pretty sure the guide is required to wear hunter orange, even if he is just standing next to his vehicle !
That was my main thought as well brymoore, if it'd be better to close down some of these units by October 15. I do not think it would affect success rates much, however I do think it'd be hugely advantageous to get these hunts up off the pavement, which I would think this could accomplish.
I also wonder if these herds couldn't stand a lot more hunting pressure. Is there really a reason why a herd of 200 animals can only handle having 2-4 taken out of it yearly?
I would guess the number of sheep killed in MT by pneumonia the last ten years greatly outnumbers the amount killed by hunters. Is it selfish thinking that we should be hunting these sheep more? Would tapering these numbers off through hunters help reduce pneumonia outbreaks?
Is it strictly a trophy potential thing? Is the low harvest a direct result of people expectations on being able to kill a 180" ram?
I'm asking all these questions because I really don't know. I'm curious and would love to learn more if someone thinks they have the answers to some of these questions.
Bambistew
Well-known member
IMO, Montana could do a whole lot of things to increase opportunity for sheep hunters. I think the hangup is the trophy mentality... If you draw a tag you better damn well be able to shoot a B&C animal and fill your tag.... you "deserve" it.
I've read lots of studies that suggest that rams over 7-8 are surplus to a herd, and this is the approach that many places take with OTC or liberalized seasons especially when the harvest dictates that they can only shoot those old rams... i.e. full curl, or broomed, 8yo etc as in Alaska, and Canada. Mostly thinhorns, but a few provinces have limited OTC areas for bighorns as well. Also should note that very few of these places offer ewe tags. Maybe there is something to population management by lowering the number of rams you have? I've read studies that suggest that removing all the mature rams will actually lower the pregnancy rate because the young rams are going nuts chasing ewes all over the place and don't have an old ram to keep them in check, and breed when the time is right. With a healthy population dynamic the young rams dont' really get a chance to breed many ewes, they get their butt kicked and get to watch from the sidelines.
I think most all states have a size limit don't they? Having a size limit AND limited tags makes little sense to me. Who cares if the hunter kills a young or old ram, they can all breed. Those tags are for surplus animals. There are so many dying of old age in many areas already, a couple young ones getting shot doesn't really matter. I see very few bighorns killed that are older than 6-8 years old, is their life expectancy really that young? Honest question... The mortality rate of thinhorn rams increases after about 8 years, with very few living past 12. I would presume it would be similar with bighorns, so it makes sense that the majority of sheep killed are in the 6-8yo range, as thats the majority of the "mature" sheep on the mountain, yet I still see very few old rams killed. Maybe mortality is much higher/younger in bighorns? Where are the old sheep?
Those tag numbers are supposed to be for "surplus" animals anyway, who cares what its filled with. I am in awe when I see herds of MT rams in the 20-30+ range, it seems like a complete waste of a resource to let those rams die in the woods when a few of them could be taken by hunters, or at least chased around a bit. I've tagged along on a couple hunts in CO, the sheep there are a bit more skittish than in MT, for sure. More so because they get a bit more pressure, and the season isn't in the rut.
Couple things they could do to increase opportunity, while limiting harvest...
Break the season into rifle and archery.
Rifle season in September when the rams are hard to find and archery season in October when they start to move around. Going this route, I would presume they could easily double the number of permits issued and likely not increase harvest. They could even go so far as to have a "late" rut hunt and sprinkle in a few "premium" permits for the "old" people who need to hunt off the road. This would open up a whole lot of opportunity, and make tags a bit easier to draw, all while keeping harvest similar or a slight increase. They could massage the dates/permits to fit their population control.
Just my thoughts...
I've read lots of studies that suggest that rams over 7-8 are surplus to a herd, and this is the approach that many places take with OTC or liberalized seasons especially when the harvest dictates that they can only shoot those old rams... i.e. full curl, or broomed, 8yo etc as in Alaska, and Canada. Mostly thinhorns, but a few provinces have limited OTC areas for bighorns as well. Also should note that very few of these places offer ewe tags. Maybe there is something to population management by lowering the number of rams you have? I've read studies that suggest that removing all the mature rams will actually lower the pregnancy rate because the young rams are going nuts chasing ewes all over the place and don't have an old ram to keep them in check, and breed when the time is right. With a healthy population dynamic the young rams dont' really get a chance to breed many ewes, they get their butt kicked and get to watch from the sidelines.
I think most all states have a size limit don't they? Having a size limit AND limited tags makes little sense to me. Who cares if the hunter kills a young or old ram, they can all breed. Those tags are for surplus animals. There are so many dying of old age in many areas already, a couple young ones getting shot doesn't really matter. I see very few bighorns killed that are older than 6-8 years old, is their life expectancy really that young? Honest question... The mortality rate of thinhorn rams increases after about 8 years, with very few living past 12. I would presume it would be similar with bighorns, so it makes sense that the majority of sheep killed are in the 6-8yo range, as thats the majority of the "mature" sheep on the mountain, yet I still see very few old rams killed. Maybe mortality is much higher/younger in bighorns? Where are the old sheep?
Those tag numbers are supposed to be for "surplus" animals anyway, who cares what its filled with. I am in awe when I see herds of MT rams in the 20-30+ range, it seems like a complete waste of a resource to let those rams die in the woods when a few of them could be taken by hunters, or at least chased around a bit. I've tagged along on a couple hunts in CO, the sheep there are a bit more skittish than in MT, for sure. More so because they get a bit more pressure, and the season isn't in the rut.
Couple things they could do to increase opportunity, while limiting harvest...
Break the season into rifle and archery.
Rifle season in September when the rams are hard to find and archery season in October when they start to move around. Going this route, I would presume they could easily double the number of permits issued and likely not increase harvest. They could even go so far as to have a "late" rut hunt and sprinkle in a few "premium" permits for the "old" people who need to hunt off the road. This would open up a whole lot of opportunity, and make tags a bit easier to draw, all while keeping harvest similar or a slight increase. They could massage the dates/permits to fit their population control.
Just my thoughts...
I agree. They can structure the hunts so that the Breaks are a trophy unit.
.280 Remington
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- Aug 21, 2012
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So the draw odds could go from 0.4 to 0.8?
I'm not against your suggestions, but I really doubt if sheep could be managed in a way that would increase my draw odds in a meaningful way.
