Drew An AZ Desert Sheep Tag!!

Last Wednesday night I got a call I have dreamed of getting. After putting in for sheep tags in 11 states for 13 years, the owner of my application service Larry Altimus called and asked "Are you sitting down?" Against all odds, I had drawn a coveted NR Arizona Desert Bighorn sheep tag! I am beyond excited and beyond words!

The hunt will take place over two weeks in December in Unit 43B-which is a top unit, though not THE top unit as the top two or three units are either residents only or near impossible (as opposed to merely astronomical) odds. Rams are 160+ quality and Larry guided last year's NR tag to a ram that just missed the record book. Larry and his crew will be my guides on the hunt.

I was out if town and waited to share the news until I got back to my computer and saw "Draw Successful" by my name with my own eyes. Words can't express how blessed I feel to get a chance to hunt these magnificent animals.

Sounds like a good one

A very hearty congratulations. Look forward to your "hunt report" on here.

Well done NP!!!! Can't wait ro see those pics!!!!

The rest of your summer just got busy!!!!

Congrats!!!!!!

That's awesome!!! I'd love to get a chance to hunt a desert bighorn some day.

Yep! Basically 4 months to lose the belly and get in some semblance of "sheep shape". Thanking the Good Lord it's not an Alaska Wrangells Dall hunt. Larry said I would be fine as the unit is no pushover but not nearly as arduous as some of the units. At this point it's do what I can and "Mind over matter-if I don't mind it don't matter!"

Aw snap! This is sweet. I cant wait to see your pics in December!

That's awesome, congratulations!

Please take lots of pics. I regret not taking more pics of the landscape when I went elk hunting. Beautiful country!

What elevation will you be?

Awesome!

Well buddy, if you can't handle it I will certainly take my well conditioned tail up there. Its only the hunt of a lifetime.


Congrats

Congrats I'm sure it will be a hunt you’ll never forget

Wow!!! That's awesome and congratulations... I thought I'd draw a sheep tag myself this year as I'm going on 15 years with putting in now! You lucky dog, you should go buy a Lottery Ticket this week too!!!!

That's wonderful news NP. Wishing you the best of luck.

Thats awesome. Its like hitting the lottery. Congratulations.

Good For you I Have a second home there great hunting ot there.

Amazing. And just the other day I told you that you were just getting started. And you drew a desert bighorn, not just any ole sheep tag.

I expect a full write up with pictures on this hunt.

Wow! That's awesome! Congratulations!

Nice!

That's some fairly rugged country - mountains aren't tall, but there is very little cover and it is D-R-Y. It won't be a pushover unit to cruise around in.

I had a project a couple hundred miles upstream from there in Havasu and spent a lot of time driving around western AZ when I lived there. Pretty country, but extremely rough country - even in the lower elevations of the Kofa Range that you'll be in.

Not sure JG I think in the 5500-7000 range but that is a guess. Larry said the biggest challenge is not the elevation but the harshness of the desert terrain-rocks and everything sticks, stings or bites.

Yessir expect a full report with pics. I can't wait to share the hunt with you guys!

Great to hear. Congrats! Make sure and get this trip on film to share with the rest of us.

Yes sir that's what I'm picking up on. Thank you for that info. Pretty sure these guys know the country, cache water, and do all they can to get back and stay back in some tough country. Will be a tent camp hunt obviously and Mountain House meals, etc. Good optics, good eyes, and the ability to judge rams from a LONG way away are all paramount.

X2!!

Might as well get you some Mountain Extremes to keep your ankles happy with you.

Good unit since they restock from it.

I hope they don't take my ram off before I get there!

I "13" is your lucky number LOL , What an adventure and some crazy odds.

Watched a show where it took some guy 20+ years (24 iirc) to draw an AZ elk tag, by the time he got it (took a great bull BTW) he was older, said "I wouldn't have done it, if I knew it would take that long". Guy was almost 70 I believe.

Pretty cool you get to go and have many years left to saver the victory. (you are going to be victorious right)

Congratulations on the draw. That ought to screw up your sleep for a while.

Thank you sir. Funny you say that every morning since I heard I have awoken at about 4 AM and cannot go back to sleep for thinking about the hunt. May be that way till December IDK.....

I would be willing to go by "proxy" for you counselor, you know, purely out of concern for your health of course

Might get worse if the guide starts sending you pics of rams they've found. Fly out there and help them watch water for a week or so before the cool fronts start blowing in.

Congrats! Tough tag to get. Had a buddy go 18 yrs and he finally drew his AZ Desert Bighorn. Then just a little bit later got drawn on a Montana Bighorn in the same year. He hunted in an southern arid area of AZ and they told the biggest limitation was taking in potable water. He killed his sheep in 4 or 5 days IIRC and it went 167.

AZ doesn't let many Nonresident tags loose. Congrats. Where will you be hunting?

I never fully understood the whole hunting/hiking in the desert thing till I made it up to a 6000' mountain in Southern Arizona and ran out of water. [censored] gets real out in the desert.

Kofa Range north of Yuma.

My buddy had his outfitter hire a local, IIRC to take in extra water to their camp the week before he started his hunt. His area was by foot only and that meant no horse, ATV, vehicles, etc.

Yes it does. Temps can get you too. I was mule deer hunting at the base of the Hill (Unit 20C - high desert more or less) back in 2008 when a norther blew in over night. We were expecting low 40's/high 30's for lows and planned for that - it dropped down into the single digits that night. One of the coldest nights of my life. I laid out on a rock when the sun came up like a damned snake trying to get warm enough to move around while the fire was picking up some steam.

Worst part is we found sign of mule deer all over the place, but never saw a single living thing resembling one. Ran into a good sized pack of javelinas, and that's it. A few weeks later I was back in the unit javelina hunting and ran into nothing but mulies. Go figure.

Water is the most important when running around the Sonora - planning for the weather is the second most important.

Thanks for that info! I will be bringing my 0 degree Western Mountaineering bag in that case then.

Congratulations.

Congratulations NP. That's nothing short of Awesome! Of all the animals in North America, Bighorn would be my ultimate dream hunt.

Incredible! Big congrats, already looking forward to the report.

CONGRATS & Good Luck!

Awesome! Proof that God loves u even if I don't!

Let me assure u tho, if you hunt this animal over water I'm gonna give u nine kinds of sh** because we ALL know that ain't fair chase!!

Havaball!

I don't know if it's sunk in yet, but you have drawn the holy grail of North American hunts. Get in shape, square away your rifle, and pleeeeeeeeze post pictures when you're done. I wish you all the best!

IDK if it's sunk in either. I promise to do my very best. As I've told others, I'm hoping to re-create this scene from my 2006 Yukon Fannin hunt-with both the ram and myself being a little thicker.

Awesome awesome news, congratulations !! Can't wait to see and hear about the hunt and the results, I know you can't either.

No frickin way! That is awesome! I don't think I could ever stop thinking about it! I prob wouldn't be able to sleep for a couple days if I got that kinda news. So is this going to be all rifle hunt or bow?

Congratulation on a wonderful hunt NG. Now you have your work cut out for you. Good luck and looking forward to the story and pictures.

Congratulations!! I'm super jealous, Big Horn, Dall and Mt Goat are my top three most coveted hunts. Good luck, I hope you get a big boy but either way it should be an adventure.

Congrats NP looking forward to the photos

That's awesome, congratulations!!!!!!!! that's my dream hunt.

Hunting over water in Southern Arizona is probably not going to be an issue. haha

Rifle.

Congrats, NP! I am friends with the guy that 'barely missed book' last year. You are going to have an epic hunt!

Congrats!