Butte Sheep notes

[NOCK NOCK]

In the regs for sheep, footnote says "Hunters are requested to avoid harvesting animals wearing collars"

Do you take that as .....
1. Do Not
2. Prefered not, but still Ok

Interesting!

[Katmai Guy]

Preffered you didnt but still legal.

[Mfowl]

Preferred not, don't think there is a written penalty for it though. It does defeat the purpose of that being a research animal. I have also read that the tranquilizers they use contaminate the meat and make it inedible for many months afterward. I recall a post several years ago where a hunter was complaining about having shot a big bull in Central Wa that was collared earlier that year and the meat was still inedible months after the fact. DFW had even made announcements not to shoot collared elk in that area that season.

[jackelope]

I probably would hold off but I’d also hope they didn’t collar the biggest 2-3 rams on the hill.

[Stein]

I looked into it once, some data said wait 24 hours, some game agencies say 1 year.   

If I thought I might not get another chance I would do it in a heartbeat.

[huntnphool]

I probably would hold off but I’d also hope they didn’t collar the biggest 2-3 rams on the hill.

 Biggest rams are not! If you see one with a collar you like, know there are bigger you should be looking for!

[huntnnw]

Was just a couple years ago a sheep either in unit 11 Idaho or the WA side was taken with a collar. I can’t remember which sheep it was but there were 2 taken that same year near or over 200” and 1 had a collar.

[NOCK NOCK]

That was my thought. Eventually a younger study sheep is gonna become bigger, at that point they would have got plenty of data.

Like I will ever get drawn before I die. 

[trophyhunt]

If I ever have a sheep tag and I see a ram with a collar anywhere near 200", I don't care if he identifies as a ewe and wearing a dress, he's going down!

[phildobaggins]

Super interesting the regs say that. I also wouldn’t hesitate on a collared 185+ ram.

[huntnphool]

Super interesting the regs say that. I also wouldn’t hesitate on a collared 185+ ram.

 I wouldn’t either, but we are talking about the butte!

[grade-creek-rd]

I was just gonna say the same thing about it being on the Butte...collars or for easier data retrieval but in reality a day hiking the butte with binoculars and you can find the sheep being studied. it's a small, wide open area and the sheep are easy to find, even the ones that migrate towards Union Valley are seen regularly (and likely no hunter would go across 97A anyway, as the majority are on the butte itself). I could see them saying no shooting any ewes with collars, and that would be a good sheep to collar since they can show the same data and nobody shoots a "trophy ewe".

Grade

[GOcougsHunter]

A really deep dark part of my personality would enjoy harvesting a collared animal and then getting a drone and attaching the removed collar to that drone and just fly the thing all over and in random areas.  Then imagine the reaction of the analyst who opened up that data for the first time.