How to learn rocky mountain big horn sheep hunting?

[Desjard]

You'd better get a Hunter Host or hire an Outfitter, or we'll be talking about you on Alberta Outdoorsman .

Grizz

Grizz. Put your elitism away. This is the wrong thread. If your suggesting that I need to spend $40k every time I go into the mountains, then your living in fantasy land. Dont waste your time rebuttling about safety, there are plenty of optics snobs on this forum that you can flex your money with.

He's right, you DO need a hunter host or outfitter to hunt sheep in Alberta. I'm sure more AO members will come along and let ya know but they won't tell you which WMU is best for sheep either.

 

[trevj]

I nearly #### myself, when I saw the price when I googled Geist's book. Mine was bought at the U of C book store and says 22. Seems a lot of the authoritative books are out of print and highly sought after. Sheep Hunting is a lot of boots on the ground and learning curve, it's uphill both ways, that's why you admire the guy who has a ram hanging on the wall.

Grizz

There is something really effed up in the used book markets as far as the values vs. the prices asked, pretty near across the board.

I have seen some outrageous prices asked for books that were still in print. Still have not figured out what the game is for the sellers.

 

[tommy88]

I might be wrong, but I was under the impression that a residant could hunt ewes on a general tag.

In the past couple of weeks, while hiking, I've already located a few heards, so scouting isnt the issue. It's more so understanding the rut and their seasonal patterns.

 

[LittleBoyLefty]

Grizz. Put your elitism away. This is the wrong thread. If your suggesting that I need to spend $40k every time I go into the mountains, then your living in fantasy land. Dont waste your time rebuttling about safety, there are plenty of optics snobs on this forum that you can flex your money with.

He's probably referring to the fact that you have Toronto as your location. Different regs apply for AB residents, vs Canadian Non-Residents.

Ewes are draw only.

https://albertaregulations.ca/huntingregs/

 

[p.Rundle]

Haven't hunted them, but I will say having lived in berta all my life, spend as much time in the mountains as possible training. If you live in toronto that's a pickle for you to do. If you live in berta or interior BC then get out there and hike as much as possible. The biggest challenge in the mountains is the mountains lol.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

He's probably referring to the fact that you have Toronto as your location. Different regs apply for AB residents, vs Canadian Non-Residents.

Ewes are draw only.

https://albertaregulations.ca/huntingregs/

I can't think of any jurisdictions where you can hunt sheep on your own, unless you're a resident and sometimes that means a couple of years. Alaska might be an exception and you would still have to be an American citizen. Those rams are precious for a reason.

Grizz

 

[Nashville]

My understanding from his first post is that tommy88 has relocated to AB. as a resident. Correct me if I’m wrong?

Ewes are draw only in every WMU. Depending on WMU, there are OTC tags for 4/5’s curl (trophy sheep) and full curl rams. You can find the description around Pg40 or so in the regs explaining how to judge a rams legality.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, expect to learn on your own. This means boots on the ground. Some literature and E-scouting is a good place to start but being on sight is where you’ll learn. Unless you can find a retired sheep hunter that has no one to pass on his knowledge to, expect the rest to be very tight lipped. “The best sheep hunting in AB. is Brooks!”


I’m not much further ahead of you on the learning curve. This year was my second season out and while I have seen a lot of sheep, none have been legal rams when in season.

The best piece of advice I received is to let your (high quality) glass do the walking. Where you glass from depends on the topography. Lower wide valleys it’s easy to glass from below, steep high peaks I find is easier to glass from the top.

My advice, don’t wait! I put off trying sheep hunting, looking for a good partner. All I really did was waste time. The fact is that having a good hunting partner is probably best described as a good marriage. I realized that if I waited for a good partner to go, I’d probably be too old to go once I did. Point being, don’t be scared to go out by yourself.

If you want to talk further, feel free to PM me. I Don’t have the experience most of the others here probably have but I’m not far from where you are now experience-wise.