Bighorn Sheep Hunt 2011

This year, my sister and I both drew out for bighorn sheep in Nevada. Not only is this tag incredibly hard to draw, but it is incredibly rare to draw out with another person in your party in the same year. To give you an idea, my dad has been putting in for this tag every year for the past 30 years and has only drawn out for this tag once. He has also put me in for 13 years, and my sister in for 21 years, and we just barely drew out. It was an incredible and rare opportunity for this to happen, especially if you understand hunting!

We hunted opening morning and were both successful. These sheep are found in very rocky and steep terrain and can see up to a mile away. Getting closer than a 1,000 yards to them is difficult and getting even closer to get a shot off takes serious hunting skills! We were successful, and I killed a 9 1/2 year old ram, and my sister killed an 8 1/2 year old ram. It was a great hunt that I will always remember. It is a little bittersweet that it is over so quickly, but it was an amazing experience.

 If you don't know much about Desert bighorn sheep, here are a few fun facts...

The most conspicuous feature of the desert bighorn sheep is the large brown horns that continue to grow. Both rams (males) and ewes (females) have horns, though the horns of rams are much bigger and more curved. Each horn is in a “C” shape known as a “curl”. The horns are permanent and consist of a sheath of keratin (a hard protein found in fingernails and hair) covering a bony core.

Desert bighorns are located in mountain ranges throughout the southwest. Besides the southern region of Nevada, populations exist in Arizona, southeast California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and Mexico. Typical desert bighorn terrain is rough, rocky and steep, broken up by canyons and washes. This type of terrain affords them the advantage in coping with predation. Desert bighorns live in regions marked by hot summers and little annual precipitation. Bighorn sheep require access to freestanding water during summer months, and in drought conditions they may water throughout the year. They often break open barrel cactus with their horns and eat out the inside.

During the rutting season in July through September, dominance among rams is established in contests in which two rams may clash horns. It has been estimated rams may meet head-on at a combined speed of approximately 30 mph. 

Amazing animals!