Your best sheep hunting advice

[bounds]

I'm going on an archery aoudad hunt next month and was wondering what your best piece of advice is for getting in bow range of sheep. I've hunted them once before with a bow but didn't get close enough. I've got a good idea of how I plan to hunt them, but just wanted to see if I'm not thinking of something that would be beneficial.

I'm guessing that quite a few of you have been able to chase sheep with your bow, so let me know your strategy. Thanks!

 

[magpie]

take a rifle hahahahahaha good luck!

 

[Shane]

Where are you hunting them? Free range in rough country?

 

[tstowater]

take a rifle hahahahahaha good luck!

I had the same thought. Never hunted them before, but the people that I know who have say that they are flighty as can be. Good luck which ever way you go.

 

[Shane]

They're very hard to get close to. Extremely good eyes, ears, and noses - and they're almost always in fairly large groups. Lots of eyes, ears and noses to fool.

If you can set up on a trail to a food source or water hole, that would probably be the best way to get within bow range. I've rifle hunted them, but never hunted them with my bow. I would imagine that aoudad in rough country on a spot and stalk bow hunt would be about as tough a hunt as you could ever do. It would be AWESOME to kill one like that.

 

[bounds]

Thanks for the input guys! My hunt got pushed back another couple of weeks so it will be late February before I get to go.

Shane - it's on a small piece of public land outside of Burnet. It just opened up this year to public hunting.

One of my best friends has a ranch north of Del Rio where the country is a lot more rugged. I've killed a 30" ram with my rifle and got to about 80 yards with my bow on another that was around 30". They have an amazing place and great rams, but I don't get to go very often. Having hunted them a few times, the rumors are true. They are very spooky and are very hard to get close to.

I've never been on the land that the hunt is on, but it should have more cover. Since it is a small tract and public, I hope to be able to get somewhere where I can glass and find something bedded. I'll keep yall updated!

 

[Shane]

I don't know much about Eachus. I may be wrong, but I'd bet that there will be more hunters than aoudad on that deal. You never know though. Might not be too bad. Good luck!

 

[Manosteel]

Hope you hunt was successful. But for Sheep hunting with a bow, the limited success me and my partners have had was always been by spotting them, letting them bed down, and coming in from the top with the wind in our face (the mountains we hunt, its alwasy windy). Basically we hunt them the same as a mule deer in the mountains. We usually get behind the mountain they are bedded and come over the top when possible. Moving real fast when out of sight and real slow when coming over. The last sheep we stalked up on took us an hour to get up on from another mountain side and 2 hours to get from 200 yards to 50.

 

[Rackmastr]

Hope you hunt was successful. But for Sheep hunting with a bow, the limited success me and my partners have had was always been by spotting them, letting them bed down, and coming in from the top with the wind in our face (the mountains we hunt, its alwasy windy). Basically we hunt them the same as a mule deer in the mountains. We usually get behind the mountain they are bedded and come over the top when possible. Moving real fast when out of sight and real slow when coming over. The last sheep we stalked up on took us an hour to get up on from another mountain side and 2 hours to get from 200 yards to 50.

x2...some good advice here.

Funny story, I drew a Canmore bowzone bighorn tag and hunted hard in -35 to -40 temps for a 5-6 day period. I got in on a few rams, had a few missed opportunities, and had a few close calls. One day we got some advice to walk right into the herd and let them see us the entire way, rather than 'sneak' around on them. Beind that Canmore sheep are used to seeing people, this seemed like solid advice. Sure thing, we walked upright into a herd of rutting sheep and they were less spooky than if we were 'sneaky' with them. Doesnt work every time, but was a pretty neat situation!

As for the Aoudad....man that could be tricky for sure. I'd say intercepting them on trails would work, or wait till everything is right and use wind and vegetation/hills to your advantage.

 

[Snyd]

i had a guy ask me this question over coffee when he came to alaska for his dall sheep dream hunt. Here,s my answer.....Take your time and soak in every moment of every moment cuz before you know it you will be on the plane headed home.

 

[Jdog]

i had a guy ask me this question over coffee when he came to alaska for his dall sheep dream hunt. Here,s my answer.....Take your time and soak in every moment of every moment cuz before you know it you will be on the plane headed home.

yep...those flights outta the bush and back to the lower 48 are very quiet...I hate leaving Wild Alaska...

 

[rubberfist]

My hunting partner and I have had the good fortune of double-headers, two years in a row on Stones (2011 & 2012) here in BC, with our bows (DIY, not guided).

Your chances of success will correlate directly with the following:
1 - get in as close to the opening of the season as possible - lead rams become increasingly wary and flighty in response to pressure;
2 - find rams in areas where the topography offers steep elevation differentials allowing you to avoid wind streams and line of sight - above is better;
3 - identify exit routes the rams might take and use push strategies to bump the rams to each other;
4 - identify feeding routes or bedding areas and wait in ambush - reading the wind is crucial;
5 - be in shape and be prepared for that 2 or 3 second window of opportunity, because that's about all you'll get;
6 - balls - going after rams in the cliffs will put you in harms way.

 

[Manosteel]

6 - balls - going after rams in the cliffs will put you in harms way.

Great detailed advice.

And x10 on needing balls - I have stopping telling my wife the whole story of how we got to the sheep because after telling it to her I even sometimes sound like I take dumb risks to myself. Plus I have heard the you now have a family and career and an't 20 anymore lecture from the wife enought times now
But what do you do, once you get into hunter mode, focus takes over and you just do what needs to be done.

 

[swat8888]

Get as close as you can. Sounds dumb but twice on the same sheep I settled for a longer shot when I had the wind in my face and a bedded sheep. The second stalk I started at 100 yds, once I got to 80 I was wide open with NO concealment...I got into my max range window and ended up giving him a hair cut, don't think I took the headwind into account enough from the distance I shot from. I will never settle for a shot I am not fully comfortable with. It still haunts me, can't wait to get back and try again.

 

[VernAK]

Do it while you're young!

I did my last one at 69 and I had to settle for a decent ram while knowing there was a bigger one another couple miles beyond.

 

[rubberfist]

Do it while you're young!

I did my last one at 69 and I had to settle for a decent ram while knowing there was a bigger one another couple miles beyond.

69! All I can say is f*ck yeah sir! I hope I'm chasing rams in my 50's, let alone 60's!