Non trophy Sheep

[bighorn1]

To all you sheep fanatics out there, I have been looking to wet my feet in the sheep world for years so to speak.

I gave general rams a go and realized that I needed to invest a lot more time and boot leather into this before anything realistic is ever going to transpire period.

I would however love to go on a non trophy sheep hunt just to wet my whistle and see if sheep is something that I may like to eat. I have been told that a good ewe rivals a good elk. Grits wise i could live on Elk so if sheep's better that's a wow factor for me.

In any case I have been building priority points and have lots in the non trophy sheep world so I guess my questions is , if you were looking to get into the sheep world and give it a true effort where would you head to ?

I live in decent sheep country but would travel many hours to have a better chance, any info or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I am not looking for anyone's secret stash I am just looking to have a realistic chance at bagging a sheep and am willing to put the time, effort and boot leather into this. I am asking well in advance as I would like to get scouting and see where things may point me come fall.

Please let me know if you have any insight or pointers as to where i should head.

Thanks gents .

[mad mountain mike]

Bighorn this is no secret or anybodies sweet spot, if you want to try ewe sheep meat then draw your tag in zone 422 quad up the Hummingbird shoot your ewe and be back in Rocky for a late supper.

[Full Curl Earl]

Can you still quad in the Bighorn Back country around Hummingbird? I was thinking they had it closed down during the hunting season now.

[woods_walker]

Ya you can loop onion lake through hummingbird or the Canary. Just can't get into the headwaters or quad all the way down to the ram. That gets you into a lot of ewe habitat. Check the srd sites for bighorn back country maps.

[walking buffalo]

Just what are you looking for?

The easiest hunt possible?

Or a hunt that will give you more insight and experience ?


Almost every area with ewe tags offers easy and harder hunts. The difference is usually just based on how far from the road you are willing or want to go. It is up to you to decide if you want to have the easiest hunt possible or do you want to go past the easy sheep and have a hunt that offers the flavours of both the meat and sheep hunting.


As you are willing to travel, burn leather and do your research, I'll suggest that you choose an area where you want to hunt sheep in the future, then seek advice, research and scout. Put in the effort and you will have a great chance to fill the ewe tag while learning the area for future hunts. You might even fill your ram tag at the same time.



Elk meat is great, but it is simply not the same as what you will experience with flavour from a Rocky Mountain ewe. IMO, ewe (or lamb ) is the best tasting wild big game meat available in Alberta.

[crazyfish]

Agree with WB ! Every time I've hunted Rams I've seen ewes somewhere along the way ! The more you invest into an area the better prepared you will be in the future when you do see a ram because you will have a better familiarity with the terrain / escape routes etc ! Good luck and enjoy !

[Keeleclimber]

Originally Posted by mad mountain mike

Bighorn this is no secret or anybodies sweet spot, if you want to try ewe sheep meat then draw your tag in zone 422 quad up the Hummingbird shoot your ewe and be back in Rocky for a late supper.

I wouldn't suggest shooting a ewe in this zone. I spend a lot of time in there and the cougars, eagles, coyotes, wolves, wolverines and bears are taking their toll on the ewe population, so much so that I don't feel that this area could sustain a ewe harvest. The winter range grass is belly high but void of sheep in most wind swept slopes. The sheep population in this area needs some serious help via predator management and habitat enhancement. Carrying capacity is not an issue in WMU 422 therefore I would suggest looking for an area (WMU 400 for example) with high densities and shoot an older ewe who is beyond reproducing age.

Good Luck,

[Dr Death]

There is no ewe season in wmu 400.

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by Dr Death

There is no ewe season in wmu 400.

But there should be. Jorgenson wants a ewe harvest in 400 due to density dependance concerns, Greg Hale disagrees. It is interesting that Jorgenson believe there is a density issue in SMA 1 effecting horn size and recruitment but not elsewhere in the province.... Maybe it is the surplus of mature rams in 400 that is causing the problem (horn growth reductions and age concerns are greater in 400 than in any other SMA)?

[Diamondhitch]

According to our Bighorn sheep management plan. A long boring read but very informative, we are well below sustainable numbers.

http://esrd.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife...ep-Jul1993.pdf

This indicates to me that Ewes should not be harvested until numbers are increased, however we still have plenty of ewe tags available. This is part of our provinces strategy to "increase" hunter opportunities by adding the ewe season. Im not really sure how killing females "increases" opportunity??? Back before the human population influx when Wilmore ewe tags were grossly undersubscribed, the population was below sustainable levels, now that there are more applying for this draw than available tags it is not a good thing.

Decisions like this are part of the reason our F&W is considered one of the most reactionary regulators. They need to become more pro-active and intuitive if we are to truly improve our opportunities.

Having said that, if hunters who drew tags self regulated by only taking ewes >9yrs old they would have no affect on the population and the ewe harvest would truly be an increase in hunting opportunity.

[tracky]

Originally Posted by Dr Death

There is no ewe season in wmu 400.

Correct

[Diamondhitch]

Originally Posted by bighorn1

I would however love to go on a non trophy sheep hunt just to wet my whistle and see if sheep is something that I may like to eat. I have been told that a good ewe rivals a good elk.

Ewe is fine but Sheep is the one meat that I prefer males, its hard to beat a Ram, even an old one. Sheep is the "king of wild game" you will love it.