First off, good for you for following your dreams and making it happen. I sure hope you truly love sheep hunting. It is fun, its an experience but I think sometimes it can be made out to be bigger than it really is, and the fire is only fueled by those who dream of going but are unable to do...
I drove through SW OR and Northern CA last week on the way to Tahoe to go skiing and all I thought about during that part of the drive was the big blacktails that were roaming the hills and mountains all around me. Looks like a fun place to chase them too.
I've had really good luck skipping the opener and hunting later. Still seen and killed some nice bucks on those trips. Much more enjoyable experience imo.
What's getting lost in all this is the impact the very shortened season will have on the hunt. 9 days is not alot of time at all. Crowding is going to be a very real thing for the duration of the hunt, consider two years ago these units had over 3 weeks to spread everyone out in. Bunch more...
Howa alpine rifle in 6.5 CM topped with a Leupold vx3 HD 4.5-14x40 scope. Less than 100 rounds through it. Will package with four boxes of Hornady 143 eldx and five boxes of black hills ammo 143 eldx. $2K for the entire package. Also open to selling only the rifle and scope, or rifle only.
I think one of the things you need to decide is if you want a black bear or a color phase bear. Some areas have a mix and others, especially closer to the coasts seem to be predominately all black.