Montana Unlimited

[CO_jakrabt]

I think you boys trying to make this a cheap way to get a bighorn are dilusional. Sheep hunting is hard. Hunting sheep in the unlimited units in MT is the hardest hunt in North America. You are not just going to stroll in cold and see a ram, much less kill one. There is a reason (many) this is an UNLIMITED tag. The LEAST of your worries is the quota being met!

I spent a month hunting bighorns in Colorado with my recurve a few years ago. I have a boatload of MT sheep points; when my kids are done with college in a few years I’m going to cash them in on a ewe tag I a nice “easy” unit; there is no way I can pull off an unlimited hunt as a NR, just based off of prior sheep hunts.

Just trying to be the voice of reason. If you do go for it I wish you the best of luck!

I'm not trying to imply this as a cheap hunt. I'm going after Dall in 2020. The cost of the hunt is the cheapest part of the hunt and the least of my worries. I was just asking in the event that you stumble upon a ram, what the procedure is because i know it changes daily and if perhaps the quota to be met prior to you shooting, which would mean an overtake of rams.

 

[CoyotieKiller]

Better at least hang the meat in a shady spot, or your fine will be for wasting the meat. It isn't impossible to make that requirement, you just ain't going to get much sleep in that 48 hours. And really, if dropped I dropped a Bighorn sheep, I'd be so amped up that I couldn't sleep that first night anyways. Might as well make use of the time that first night instead of tossing and turning and replaying it in your head over and over.

 

[justinspicher]

I wanted to do this hunt, but it sounds like it’s a huge pain in the ass.

 

[MtGomer]

It’s a hard hunt and takes dedication to have a chance at it.

That said, I’m going to kill a ram there - this year, next year, the year after, I don’t care but I’m killing one- and there’s no doubt in my mind about it.
And if you’re going to kill a ram there, there’s no doubt in your mind either.
90% of this hunt is mental. But the 10% that is physical will kill you or make you quit if you’re not ready.

 

[kscowboy01]

Better at least hang the meat in a shady spot, or your fine will be for wasting the meat. It isn't impossible to make that requirement, you just ain't going to get much sleep in that 48 hours. And really, if dropped I dropped a Bighorn sheep, I'd be so amped up that I couldn't sleep that first night anyways. Might as well make use of the time that first night instead of tossing and turning and replaying it in your head over and over.

Easier said than done. On my Dall packout, we put many, many miles on that day--a lot were climbing miles. You know it's bad when your guide says, "If I didn't know we were an hour and fifteen minutes from camp right now, we'd lay down and sleep for a bit." Packing out in grizzly country in the dark is not fun. We had numerous blackies come through our camp once we had meat hanging. Trying do a packout while already running on fumes is a tough ordeal. I hope everyone gets to experience it someday. That being said, you can only run on excitement and adrenaline for so long.

 

[MtGomer]

I'm not trying to imply this as a cheap hunt. I'm going after Dall in 2020. The cost of the hunt is the cheapest part of the hunt and the least of my worries. I was just asking in the event that you stumble upon a ram, what the procedure is because i know it changes daily and if perhaps the quota to be met prior to you shooting, which would mean an overtake of rams.

It closes on a 48 hour notice. If you check every other night you’re fine. Every night is better.
When it’s pending closure the hotline says so and it tells exactly when the season closes.

 

[MtGomer]

It’s about that time. Good luck

 

[stagliano]

You get fined and don't get to keep your sheep. Being slow isn't the FWP's problem.

You don't need the whole sheep to check in. Just the head/cape. You strap the head to your pack, grab your truck keys, leave everything else where it is and haul ass to the nearest FWP station. Go back for the meat and camp.

Jeremy

It was my understanding that bringing the head/trophy out before the meat opened you up to wanton waste. Is that incorrect?

 

[MtGomer]

It was my understanding that bringing the head/trophy out before the meat opened you up to wanton waste. Is that incorrect?

No, being wantonly wasteful opens you up to wanton waste.

 

[minengr]

A buddy and I are going to try and do this next year or the year after, depending on a variety of factors. figure it's never to early to start the research. Living in Illinois pre-season scouting probably isn't a reality.

In the Hunting Fool article from 2015, he publishes the harvest locations for the past 10 years or so. Is that available to the public somewhere, or do you have to call Montana FWP? Or is my google-fu weak? Having the locations for 2015 onward would be helpful.

Thanks,

 

[COSA]

I just got back after 5 days up there. Finally saw some sheep (1 banana horn ram) after a couple years at it (the weather last year was limiting). I think I'm finally figuring out the type of terrain and vegetation the sheep prefer - not mountain goat country. If your coming from back east, this is not a hunt like CO deer or WY high country deer. The country is so GIANT, thick blow down and doghair regrowth, and cliffed out; making it is basically impossible to move around after you don't find sheep. The "kill locations" are available, but I think most hunter's are just giving a general location. The country has very low densities of any game, so glassing can become boring. Any "kill areas" that are remotely accessible will have a lot of competition (Unit 300 along the park, 501-Cooke City, Unit 303). It's an expensive tag for a NR with little chance of success; but your in beautiful country and sheep hunting. I would count yourself lucky to even see a sheep, let alone kill one. Also have to check the quota and get a ram out within 48 hours, tough to do in a lot of the country if your alone. Always hear about grizzly problems, seen a few from afar, no problems keeping a clean camp.

 

[minengr]

Thanks. I'd be naive to think I truly understand/appreciate how difficult this hunt will be. I'm prepared for it to be an expensive camping/glassing trip. I want to try it at least once.

 

[dtrkyman]

Just heard a guy talking about killing a sheep in an unlimited unit, said he checked it in on the 48th hour after harvest, just made it! I say go for it, good attitude and the right expectations should be fun? It’s like the lottery, someone has to win!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[arwhntr]

I just got back after 5 days up there. Finally saw some sheep (1 banana horn ram) after a couple years at it (the weather last year was limiting). I think I'm finally figuring out the type of terrain and vegetation the sheep prefer - not mountain goat country. If your coming from back east, this is not a hunt like CO deer or WY high country deer. The country is so GIANT, thick blow down and doghair regrowth, and cliffed out; making it is basically impossible to move around after you don't find sheep. The "kill locations" are available, but I think most hunter's are just giving a general location. The country has very low densities of any game, so glassing can become boring. Any "kill areas" that are remotely accessible will have a lot of competition (Unit 300 along the park, 501-Cooke City, Unit 303). It's an expensive tag for a NR with little chance of success; but your in beautiful country and sheep hunting. I would count yourself lucky to even see a sheep, let alone kill one. Also have to check the quota and get a ram out within 48 hours, tough to do in a lot of the country if your alone. Always hear about grizzly problems, seen a few from afar, no problems keeping a clean camp.

I too just came out of the Unlimiteds and can second everything COSA has to say. It was my first trip in there and to to be honest, the hunt sucked. It was 100% Type 2 fun (definition: an activity that's only fun after you've stopped doing it). The hiking is brutal, super windy, cold, and mentally fatiguing from seeing such limited game and the constant worry about grizzly bears. Like COSA said, the area is oddly devoid of life besides for bears/sheep/mountain goats. After basically a 1.5 day hike into "sheepy" areas I was able to find sheep but nothing remotely close to a legal ram. The scenery is breathtaking and you will snap unbelievable photos. It's certainly a pricey tag for a NR but the money goes right back to the sheep so it's impossible to think of it as a "waste". My recommendation is: Do It Once. Then you'll know what it's like and never regret or be left wondering. Who knows maybe you'll get lucky and punch your tag

 

[orionthehunter1]

It's not that hard

 

[slick]

Holy Shmoly. Congrats! What a trophy.

 

[Shrek]

It's not that hard

Congratulations ! Lets hear the story.

 

[orionthehunter1]

All joking aside this hunt is as hard as they come. Miles upon miles void of anything. The sheep live and move in isolated little pockets that are not easy to find. Don't rely on the harvest stat locations as most guys aren't going to give exact locales to honey holes so they can become public information. There are 180 Rams in the unlimiteds I know guys who have killed them. Without intimate knowledge of the area and or sheep you are going on a camping trip.

 

[applepie_eli]

This sounds pretty cool actually. I understand it would be one of the hardest hunts ever, but at the end of the day you're sheep hunting. I am from PA and have been backpacking in the Beartooths twice now. I love the area and would gladly pay $1250 just to go camping with a sheep tag and a rifle. I'm still in college so financially, it's not going to happen for a couple years. But I'm going to school to be a teacher and I could see myself spending a few weeks every summer scouting and then determining whether or not I should get a tag that year. Like I said, I would love to give it a shot. It may not be ideal, but it may be the best option for someone like me who doesn't want to wait until my middle aged years to be able to afford a hunt in AK or Canada. This thread may have just started a yearly, lifelong addiction for me...

 

[kad11]

Make sure your principal is cool with you being gone for 2 weeks at the start of the school year... I could never figure out how to get away that time of year when I was teaching.