Past Chelan Bighorn tag holders

[BAR C3]

Drew a Juvenile Chelan tag and just looking for some input for hunt. As far as I’m concerned, it’s my OIL for Bighorn. I won’t put in for mature ram any longer so I’m one less hunter putting in for those tags. Plus I’m a meat hunter.
I’m not the guy who puts in and races on here needing advice. I’ve worked for every animal I’ve harvested in this state. I have family and friends who actually live in Chelan, but haven’t hunted the bighorns. I hunt Swakane and Entiat, so I know the area.
What I’m looking for is Chelan Butte trail the ticket? Will there be some animal lovers hiking and not digging hunting the cute sheep? I know that area is getting quite yuppie!
Are the rattlesnakes a problem in mid October?
Any advice would be great! I’ll be scouting the area lots before October.

[ctwiggs1]

I’ve got nothing to add except dude, totally keep putting in for sheep tags.  You’re not doing anything wrong. 

And asking for advice for a sheep tag is a great use of this forum!

Good luck!  👍👍

[Romulus1297]

The Chelan Butte trail is definitely rough there are other options.

[BAR C3]

The Chelan Butte trail is definitely rough there are other options.

I know they stick pretty close to Hwy. Guessing that’s what your saying.

[Romulus1297]

Or get permission to go through the road through the fields in front of the butte

[Romulus1297]

Or find the apple acres herd or the bunch below trout or the herd by Beebe springs and then stayman flats and then the front of the butte

[BAR C3]

Or find the apple acres herd or the bunch below trout or the herd by Beebe springs and then stayman flats and then the front of the butte

Working on some of that now! Thanks for sharing.

[mp.hunter]

My son has a Ram tag there this year so we will be doing a lot of scouting, shoot me a PM for you cell will keep in touch.


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[Romulus1297]

May 2020 Chelan Butte Trail

[Ridgerunner]

I’d drive to the top of the butte and start poking around.  Drop in elevation as much as you need to till you find them, they are there.


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[phildobaggins]

Yep, drive to the top and glass. I often see them in the wheat fields below. 

[BAR C3]

Thanks guys! Didn’t know I could drive to top of Butte. That will be nice!

[grade-creek-rd]

Take the Chelan Butte L.O. (Lookout) road, it starts across from the gas station at Lakeside, drive up to near the top, where you will see a road to the right, with a cattle guard and a sign saying it is the WDFW Chelan Butte Wildlife Area (the entire backside and part of the front is within the Wildlife Area). Take that road and it goes down a ridge for a bit, and then a hairpin corner into a draw. At the hairpin corner, park (leave enough room to allow others to pass by) and walk about 50 yards out on the ridge and start glassing. The canyon off to your left has water in it, and tons of sheep...and a road which is gated at the bottom so only WDFW employees can drive up it. But you can hike down and be picked up at the gate! To get to the gate drive down the backside, after the hairpin corner I mentioned you will go down the canyon and then a road to your right which comes out at the Downey Canyon Road that hits the highway (97A). KEEP going downhill, past the road on the right, and you will enter into a steep canyon (for youth hunters they plant a lot of rooster pheasants here during the youth weekend). Eventually you come out to a big flat, and an old grain silo (another place they plant pheasants). keep going and at the end of the flat you will see a road that goes left, take it, and you will go along a very long flat (it goes for miles!) and about a mile after the turn you will come to a big orange gate...that gate is the one you can hike down to from that hairpin corner on top I mentioned. You should have no problem finding a sheep in that canyon or the surrounding hills. We have seen a group of around 70 ewes, lambs and juvy rams on that big flat...but that was before they transplanted (moved) the sheep off of the Butte two winters ago. At that orange gate you will see some poles out in a field, that was the catch pen where they captured the sheep for the translocation project...be advised you will be on several WDFW trail cams that the bio uses to monitor the herd, just wave and no worries.

Another spot is to hike down from the very tip-top, down the ridge that takes off towards Chelan Falls from the radio towers, which is a trail that meets up with the Elephant Rock trail...but instead of pissing off all the greenies that will be sipping wine at Elephant Rock you can continue down the ridge and eventually meet up on the Chelan Falls Road (be aware there is one section of private land at the road, use Hunt OnX to avoid it...or you can hunt the benches down to the far corner of an orchard and have a truck waiting...Google Earth it...but to get to that pick up point just drive down to Chelan Falls, take the paved road like you are going into "town" which runs along the river to the south...the "town" was a gas station but it is long gone now...keep going downriver on the Butte side and eventually it turns to dirt and goes along the edge of the orchard...keep in mind that harvest is in October so don't park anywhere that will block a tractor from hauling bins. This area is full of ground cactus! Take a pair of pliers to pull them out of your boots, and don't take a dog chukar hunting here...growing up I never had a bird dog so I got a lot of birds there, but then I tried it once when I got my Vizsla and never went back...

Grade

[jstone]

Snakes?

[Romulus1297]

Can you please be more specific and is there poison oak?

[Boss .300 winmag]

Can you please be more specific and is there poison oak?

If he gets anymore specific he’ll be guiding you personally 🤣, I don’t think poison oak grows in the desert.🤔

[Romulus1297]

Yes there is poison oak in places and I’m not hunting them anymore 

[grade-creek-rd]

Lots of snakes! And yes, even in October...some poison oak in the draws with water, obviously Rom already knew this... I understand why they put up that far gate but back when you could drive up it in the early 1990's (when they still farmed wheat back there) and get into huge coveys of chukars...

Good luck and updates with photos are always appreciated! You might run into me back there, chasing birds.

Grade

[BAR C3]

Lots of snakes! And yes, even in October...some poison oak in the draws with water, obviously Rom already knew this... I understand why they put up that far gate but back when you could drive up it in the early 1990's (when they still farmed wheat back there) and get into huge coveys of chukars...

Good luck and updates with photos are always appreciated! You might run into me back there, chasing birds.

Grade

Thanks for the advice! May get some snake gaiters 😂
Will definitely post photos with success! Chris