Hunting the "Cheap" Sheep

[Northern Safari]

I’d rather cut open my freeze dried meals and put them in another bag than chase most of those animals on that list.

Nothing more disappointing on a hunting forum than to open the sheep forum and see an aoudad hunt. Or a “sheep” from Hawaii.

Just being honest

Not all of us can afford or justify 6 figure hunts for the slim chance at a NA Sheep. These hunts offer the rest of us an opportunity to hunt an Ovis species at a fraction of the cost.

The last 3 especially will be a comparable experience to a Bighorn hunt.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

There was (is?) a ranch in Southern AZ or NM that had Mouflon hunts for dirt cheap. They were farm animals loose on several sections of rolling hills. No state tag required. Youth only though. My kid out grew it before I thought he needed that kind of success rate. I was wrong.

 

[Northern Safari]

There was (is?) a ranch in Southern AZ or NM that had Mouflon hunts for dirt cheap. They were farm animals loose on several sections of rolling hills. No state tag required. Youth only though. My kid out grew it before I though he needed that kind of success rate. I was wrong.

I'd like to hunt mouflon over in Europe. It looks like they are distributed across most of the European countries with some even in mountainous regions.

 

[flathead#2]

Aoudad are no longer "cheap", at least for me.
Would love one of those Mouflon, but Europe is proud of their critters.

 

[ndlawrence]

Yeah, with a rifle anything that HI has would be a slam dunk, because there is a ton of game (at least that’s been my experience), but man it sure is fun chasing stuff around with a bow.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What are the rules for bringing a rifle to HI? I keep seeing it’s a pain but no details…

 

[thinhorn_AK]

What are the rules for bringing a rifle to HI? I keep seeing it’s a pain but no details…

You just have to report it at a police station within a few days. really not a big deal. Can't use a silencer though.

 

[MTGunner]

Have done aoudad in TX. Mouflon in Spain. Tahr and arapawa in NZ. All cheaper than the four of North America. But, not inexpensive. Journeying to different countries has been an adventure. Hunting the exotics in these countries a true bit of adventure. Try the Hawaiian aspect DIY. You can hunt aoudad in NM but hard to find. If you are young I would put in for BH sheep in the lower 48. There are two OTC units n MT that all can hunt. The drawback is that this a difficult hunt to find sheep unless you spend lots of time in these units prior to the hunt. Then, the quota is two rams per unit. The irony is that opportunities are becoming difficult and expensive. We loved NZ and Spain. MTG

 

[idelkslayer]

I remember looking at snow sheep hunts a few years ago and seeing that a guy could go to Kamchatka and kill two snow sheep for the price of an Alaska dall sheep hunt.

That said, I never thought mid-Asia sheep would be cheaper than many North American hunts.

A wild mouflon in its native range would be a fun "cheap" hunt for wild sheep. I wouldn't be opposed to hunting them in some of the mountainous European areas either.

 

[MTGunner]

Hunting snow sheep on the Kamchatka peninsula was a dream of mine. But, when I was young enough, tough enough to do so one had to fly to Moscow to get permits. NOT this person. But, today it’s possible as there are flights out of Anchorage weekly to the peninsula. But, I would imagine still be expensive.
Apply for BH and desert sheep in the lower 48. If you are truly anxious to do so can be pricey to book any other sheep hunt. MTG

 

[z987k]

Hunting snow sheep on the Kamchatka peninsula was a dream of mine. But, when I was young enough, tough enough to do so one had to fly to Moscow to get permits. NOT this person. But, today it’s possible as there are flights out of Anchorage weekly to the peninsula. But, I would imagine still be expensive.
Apply for BH and desert sheep in the lower 48. If you are truly anxious to do so can be pricey to book any other sheep hunt. MTG

There are no flights from Alaska to Kamchatka. Yakutia Airlines was the last to go to Petro, that was in 2019, a few trips and seasonal.
Bering was serving some communities in Chukotka on a very irregular basis before the war, but that's been a bit now.

 

[MichiganMan25]

Meh, DIY NZ tahr for AU$2500 all told.

True adventure

Can NZ be a DIY hunt for a Non-Res?

 

[Mammoth Steppe]

Can NZ be a DIY hunt for a Non-Res?

From my understanding, yes.

All their big game are "invasives" that can be DIY hunted.

 

[ridgerunnerrron]

Aoudad are considered to be the fifth North American sheep now by many hunters. You could find many a hunt for them for 1/5 of what a Dall hunt will cost.
Many ibex species overseas you will definitely get more horn for your money than the outfitted hunts with guaranteed tag for the four native NA sheep hunts nowadays.

 

[Weldor]

Hunted Catalina island in the 80's, 3 day bowhunt $300 with the boat ride. It was a hoot, tons of animals. Goats and sheep pretty much everywhere, not to mention hogs. Friends hunted the Santa Cruz island same.

 

[260284]

I've been on 2 Barbary (Aoudad hunts), and was successful on both with
a 33" and 34".
LOVE LOVE LOVE hunting those things. About as close to a DBH as I'll
ever get.

I would like to do a DIY one of these if it is possible. That or pay a trespass fee.

 

[Spiral Horn]

To me, a wild, free-ranging Aoudad is currently the best bargain in Sheep Hunting today. In most places within the West Texas Mountains you’ll know you were on a real hunt, and a heavy-mass WT Aoudad makes a very impressive trophy.

If looking for an honest-to-goodness Ovis Sheep Hunt a Russian Snow Sheep is still the best deal around. Much less than a NA Sheep and at least as big on adventure. Yes, Russia is still open to American Hunters and a good number go every year.