High Country Domestic Sheep Hunting

[manitou1]

I am located in Idaho, and have had multiple experiences in the past where I hike into a high country area to scout or hunt only to discover hundreds if not thousands of sheep accompanied by potential sex offenders/sheepherders.

Any tips on how to know where the sheep are, or might be before I show up to the trailhead and/or glassing point?

Look for dead Bighorn sheep?
If domestic sheep get within 1/4 mile of Bighorn sheep, the wild sheep must be slaughtered to prevent contact with the home herd. Yes, domestic sheep are That Dangerous to wild sheep... yet they still allow domestic sheep grazing on public lands.

 

[digger]

Elk and Deer do not like to be where sheep have been.

 

[manitou1]

This^^^

 

[SDHNTR]

I agree that is annoying, and I feel the same way about cattle on public property.

Are sheepherders known for being sex offenders?

If they are wearing rubber boots and Velcro gloves, surely.

 

[Poser]

Elk and Deer do not like to be where sheep have been.

This appears to be true as far as I can tell as well. It’s a shame to see thousands of aces of prime tundra getting no use from elk and deer.

 

[Customweld]

If they are wearing rubber boots and Velcro gloves, surely.

Have y’all heard the one about the guy that ran into a sheepherder on the hill?
Fella says to the herder “ I can talk to animals”.
The herder gives him a look of distrust.
The guy says watch. He walks over to the sheep dog and asks him a few questions.
The herder says well what did he say?
The guy says he told me his name is Pete and he has been with you since he was a pup. He also says you take good care of him and fed him well.
The herder says you must have heard me call him by his name, nobody can talk to animals.
So the guy says ok, bring one of your mules to me.
The herder brings a mule over and the guy asks it some questions and gets the answers only the mule and herder would know.
The guy can see that the herder is still suspicious. So he says, ok let’s go ask the sheep some questions.
The herder gets pretty excited at the point and starts hollering SHEEP LIE,SHEEP LIE!

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

I hunted a big sheep area when I lived in ID. Still found elk. And bears. We’d come up on a hillside to find every blade of grass grazed down to the root, and the whole hill would be covered in sheep and dog shit. Made you think they camped on the hill for days. And we’d see elk from the same spot. Most of the herders were from Argentina. It’s a good reason to brush up on your Spanish, those dudes spend months out there.

But those Great Pyrenees dogs are no joke, they’d chase us down the road if we drove by the herd.