Free: Contests & Raffles.
It's an extreme hunt. The sheep are remote, the country is rugged, and the hunting stops when the quota is filled. You need to check daily to see if the quota has been met.I read the following from an old Sports Afield article:In the 1980s, before there were any limited-draw sheep-- hunting areas in Montana, there were often 100 to 120 licenses sold in each of the unlimited areas. Today, the number of permits sold may vary from only one or two in one area to forty to sixty in another. Because only about 60 percent of people who purchase a tag actually hunt, and many who do hunt go home after the first day, these areas are not subject to a great deal of pressure. Depending on how successful the hunters have been, sometimes the unit's quota will be reached within ten days or two weeks; other times it is never reached at all. Because the regulations limit the harvest to rams of three-quarter-curl or better, hunters can't over-harvest sheep. The harvest controls itself through the number of mature rams available-and, of course, through the quota system. Most rams reach three-quarter-- curl at five and a half or six and a half years old, and start to broom at six and a half. They will typically reach the end of their lives at eight and a half to ten years. The oldest ram I ever saw shot was eleven and a half years old. It may take an unguided person five to seven years to kill a sheep in one of the unlimited areas. A hunter must do his homework and learn the country, which is why I believe this to be the world's ultimate sheep hunt. Someone who takes a ram in the unlimited area belongs to an elite club. Hunting in the unlimited areas typically means driving to one of the many trailheads, shouldering your backpack, and hiking into the high country. This is wilderness country where no motor vehicles are allowed, and most of it is inaccessible to horses. Most people underestimate the rugged nature of the mountains in the unlimited areas. Nowhere have I hunted more challenging terrain: In addition to the steep slopes and high altitude, hunters must contend with endless boulder fields and glaciers. Sheep have great eyes. If they see a hunter coming, they will leave the area, and may continue to travel for five or six hours. It's important to take sheep seriously-use cover when moving and stay off the skyline. Remember, too, that sound carries well in the high country. Within forty-eight hours of a kill, a hunter must report to FWP that he has taken a sheep. After that, he has ten days to get a possession permit. Inspectors will check the meat carefully to make sure the hunter has brought all of it out. The typical sheep yields fifty-five pounds of boned-out meat, and the head might weigh forty-five pounds. When a hunter is ten to twenty miles from his vehicle, there is often a temptation to leave some of the meat behind. Don't! It's a violation of the game law. The law also requires that the hunter be able to physically return to the kill site if asked to do so. The best way to avoid having to do this is to take a lot of pictures at the kill site. Photograph the location, the boned-out carcass, and even the packs to avoid questions later. Jack Atcheson Jr. has hunted Montana's unlimited areas since the age of nine and spent twenty-seven years as a guide and outfitter in the area. He is a partner in Jack Atcheson 6 Sons International Hunting Consultants, 406/782-2382; atcheson.com.
