The North American Sheep Slam
I am not totally sure what it is about sheep hunting that gets so deep into the core of some hunters, is it the amazing scenery, the sheer difficulty of the hunt, the limited opportunities or the amazing sight of these animals in their native habitat. Regardless, hunters dream of the North American Sheep Slam. A slam includes at least one of each: Dall Sheep; Desert Bighorn Sheep; Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep; and Stone Sheep.
Sheep fever is a very real thing!
Dall Sheep
Dall sheep are the least difficult and least expensive North American sheep to hunt. Their population is steady and increasing and they are easy to glass.
Dall sheep hunts are available in the following areas:
- Alaska
- British Columbia
- Northwest Territories
- Yukon
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
The Rocky Mountain bighorn is the largest of the North American sheep. Most hunters play the waiting game for Rockies and hope to draw a tag and either go self-guided or hire an outfitter in the area they drew.
Rockies are found in:
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Oregon
- Utah
- Washington
- Wyoming
California bighorn sheep are a separate subspecies. They are considerably smaller than the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, their horns are shorter and less massive, and tend to have more flare. *California bighorns count towards your Rocky Mountain bighorn for the Grand Slam.
California bighorns are found in the following States and Provinces:
- British Columbia
- Idaho
- Nevada
- Oregon
- Washington
- Utah
Stone Sheep
- British Columbia
- Yukon Territory
A Fannin sheep is usually significantly lighter, but is technically still considered a Stone sheep. Their habitat is generally a little steeper and more rugged, but other than that, they are quite similar.
Desert Bighorn Sheep
The Desert bighorn sheep is usually the last ram of a“Grand Slam” to be taken, and is often never taken at all. The Desert bighorn can be tough to hunt, but the greatest obstacle is the difficulty of getting a permit… there aren’t many available.
Limited permits are available through drawing in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and a few other states, but few permits are allotted to non-residents. The easiest place to hunt a desert bighorn ram is Mexico, where good hunts are operated by the government. Unfortunately though, these hunts are VERY expensive.
How to improve your odds of getting a sheep tag.
Most of us are limited by cost and draws in our opportunities to pursue them and slake our fever induced thirst. But the fact is with some planning and diligence most of us can put ourselves in a position to complete a FNAWS or Slam depending on which camp you fall into.
- Put in for as many of the draws as you can afford and stay with it. If you are diligent you will pull a tag, on average it will take between 8-12 years to pull a tag depending on the state and the trophy quality.
- Play the raffles. In many states you have better odds n their raffle drawings than you do out of the normal draw. Set aside some money to put in for the different raffles as you never know when the hunting gods will smile on you. If you don’t draw, you made a charitable donation to conservation.
- Set up a hunt savings program! I wish I would have done this back when I was young and single as I would have a pretty nice hunting budget these days. Look at setting up an investment account to build a long term hunting budget and make it a goal to put at least $100 a month into something like a mutual fund. For shorter term goals, you may want to just set up a savings account that is automatically transferring a certain amount each month until you reach your target amount.
- Book a hunt now for a couple of years down the road. Nothing like firm commitment to force you to save money.
- Sell old gear to jump start your investment program.
- Win the lottery… ok just kidding, but for a sheep hunter how nice would that be?
We’re here to help!
Feel free to contact us if you want help booking your dream hunt, or just need some help on developing a strategy to make your dream a reality. Make sure to check out our sheep hunts.
