14 sheep points

You have a great chance at a tag on the South San Rafael. Lots of sheep down there. The DD can be a tough hunt and not near as good of odds. Just my opinion
 
With 14 pts you are in the game,There are not that many max guys ahead of you. I would hold out for the best units...Virgin River,Henrys,Dirty Devil,Kaiparowits Escalante & West. These are the units that offer you a better chance at a 160+ ram, If you want a great hunt and not worried about score the San Rafaels are FUN!!!
 
Treed,
I'm in the same boat. 14 hard earned points for Utah Desert Sheep. I've been putting in for Kaparowits/Escalante.

I know from talking to a few people who have been in the area, they said after a few days the quit hunting sheep and started hunting drinking water :)

I would love to find someone who draws this year and offer to go help pack gear, scout, glass and help them so I can learn it so when I draw. Even if they draw another unit so I can learn, learn, learn.

When you draw, do you plan to use a guide or go it on your own? I personally would take the guide if I could afford it. But.... plan to take off as much time and as many trips as it takes.
 
With 14 pts. you have a good chance of drawing if you apply for the Escalante. However, don't apply for this unit unless you are in great physical condition, love backpacking and want to hire a guide. Both the Pine Valley and West Kaparowitz Units offer an opportunity to harvest a trophy caliber ram but there are not as many tags available on those units. The Henry Mt. Unit has some great rams but it is also physically demanding, there is only one tag, and you need to know how to access the unit. The Dirty Devil and North San Rafael still have some big rams but you really need to know where to hunt. Good luck!
 
I had the Escalante in '06. I had hunted this area twice before with friends and I can agree with the statements that have already been posted. It is one nasty unit and you will work hard. I would be happy to share what I know with anyone thinking about applying for or that draws this permit.

Jon
www.HuntersTrailhead.com
 
Shadowhunter,
Sounds like you've hunted them before??? I haven't and any info/advise I can get from those that have will be greatly appreciated.

I do like to backpack and love hunting the most remote hard to get in areas, which are few and far between anymore. Guess that whats held my interest in the Kaparowitts Escalate for so long. Big area, horrible access, and usually not 100% success harvest. It has to have some good rams in it. Thats the main reason I keep putting in down there. Most people won't put in for an area that takes 2-3 days walking just to get into the area.

I'm pretty sure that the kaparowitts units will have two major, major challenges other than just finding a good ram. Accessing the tops of Plateaus from the ravines and finding drinking water. I've hiked in areas similar to there where you may have to walk up a drainage several miles just to find access to the top.

I've killed a nice Dall ram years ago on a 25 day back pack hunt in NWT, spend two weeks on a solo moose fly-in hunt in Alaska, and hunted almost everything else the rocky mts have to offer, I've guided deer, elk, moose and bear in Wyoming, and the last few year guides a few Utah hunters for Mt Goat (9- billies so far, all but one over 9 1/2". BUT...I know for sure the desert hunt will be a entirly different ball game.

So again... Any info /advise anyone who has hunted them is willing to give me, will be greatly appreciated.

I would absolutly love to accompany someone who gets a tag this year and wants an extra pair of eyes and backpack no matter what unit (but preferably Kaparowitts Escalate or East, and help them, so I can learn how to hunt them.
 
JDC,
I would surely appreciate any info you care to share about the unit. With 14 points this year I'll probably still have a few years before I'll get a bonas point tag, but want to be ready.

I've talked to guy who entered the unit westward from the burr trail a couple of times and seen rams. He ended up killing his ram after entering from the west and hiking east a couple of days hike into the unit, from the hole in the wall route.

He said that one of the major obstacles was finding a way up on the plateaus but marked a few on his maps which he'll share. I'm hoping to head down there on spring break and if the river is not too high, I plan to hike in as far as we can get in one full day and locate one of his access point from the ravines to the top.

Would you suggest waiting until Oct to start the the hunt? I keep hearing that from people but don't know. Think I'd rather be hunting as soon as it opens, and then plan on being there there last 30 days and thru the rut and the hunt if I haven't connected.

How did you and your two friends ended up doing on the three hunts you've been on?
 
Waiting,
Sounds like you have "the right stuff" for that unit. You're experienced and apparently are willing to put in the time that it will take to successfully harvest a trophy caliber ram that you have been "waiting" to draw a tag for. Give me a pm and I would be happy to share some thoughts with you. Good luck, you deserve to draw a tag.
 
Patient,

I hunted several different areas over the course of the 3 hunts. The first was back in the early 90's. I think that it was '93 or '94. We were young and stupid and had no idea what we were doing. We tried to go up the Escalante arm of Lake Powell in a boat to access Stevens Canyon. The lake was too low and we were still miles from the canyon when we ran out of lake. We hunted the accessible canyons from where we ended up and found nothing. I know that sheep have since been transplanted into this area, but don't know how many are still there. We hunted cow and fence canyon. We did not get a sheep on this hunt.

The second was in '98 or '99 and we went into the Moody Canyons. The guy I was with this time had been in once before and found a couple nice rams but couldn't get it done then. This time we found a nice ram and finished the job. This is probably the easiest area of the entire unit to hunt but still requires some work to get on top of the plateaus. Once there, you still need to be careful not to get ledged up. There are plenty of places to get into trouble.

For my hunt, let's just start by saying that I still get sick thinking about it. After applying for 17 years and to have it end the way it did stills causes me grief. We started the hunt with a 15-20 mile boat ride on Powell. The biologist told me of an area that held few sheep, but had a couple of real bruisers. He had been seeing them for years on their population counts and felt one would be very close to 170 and the other only a bit smaller. The boat dumped us and our gear on the shore and we hiked up and over the wall and back into some remote canyons. The first night out, I am quite sure that it was one of the big guys that came around the dome above us. With my second shot I knocked him off the rock and he fell onto a ledge below him. His head was still up so I hit him again and he tipped over. It took about 40 minutes to climb up to him and when we got there, all that was left was a blood trail going off through the rocks. We followed it until dark but figured that we would easily find him in the morning. The trail was easy to follow and it was more than just a few drops. Where ever he stopped it was running down the rocks. Unfortunately, the sky opened up the next morning and washed everything away. We actually had to climb up under some ledges and the water was shooting over the top of us. We spent the next two days looking for any sign. I sat the high point with a radio directing the 3 three guys with me into each and every canyon. We found nothing. I hiked a few canyons that I thought that they had missed but found boot tracks in the sand. I spent the next 2 weeks struggling with whether I had any business shooting another ram. I later went back into the same area hoping to find a wounded ram or even some crows circling a carcass. No good.

I did go back into the Moody?s later in the season and did find 2 more rams. Nothing like the one I lost but still good rams. Both were too far off and I was unable to get it done.

Anyway, that is my story. I wouldn't change anything except for finding the ram I hit. It was a great experience in some incredible country. I had the opportunities but just didn't get the job done. Now I need to get rich so that I can purchase an auction tag. I don't want to leave my desert sheep hunting experiences with that type of ending.

I know a couple other areas that we scouted if you want to chat about them. (Millers Canyon and upper Stevens). They are quite tough to get into, but hold the bulk of the sheep on the unit.

Good Luck,

Jon
 
Deerlove,
I'm sure everyone agrees, we'd love to hear about your hunt and see some pics.
 
I hunted the DD a few years back and if someone draws it and needs some help I will be happy to help. I saw about 5 rams that were 160 or better. I saw one monster that well above that and should have killed him. I hunted strictly with my bow, but a rifle guy could have killed every big ram I saw, with the exception of one. Even that one he could have killed but you would have had to rappel to get to him. We spent the best part of a week trying to find a way down to him, but without gear we could find no way.

It's a good unit and parts of it are pretty easy to hunt, but it requires some long day hikes to get to the sheep.

Have a good one. BB
 
Treedagain........don't feel bad. As a non-res.....I have 16 pts (max.for Non-res.) going into this years draw and because the way Utah has chosen to reduce the number of permit...just to get more money in the Expo drawings......I doubt if I have enough life left in me to ever draw.
I had a good shot....when there were two permits in San Raf.....but for the last two years its been cut back to 1 and when I see the people that are lucky enough to draw with only two or four pref. points.....I wonder why the heck I even try. I sure wish I was a resident with this many points....at least I'd have better odds in the game. Hope the Expo goes away next year and more permits are allowed for non-res and (residents). I'll keep trying until I die ...or go broke.... or they take our guns.
Good Luck with your choices this year...I'm sure you will draw.
 
Good luck and I hope you draw soon. I was very fortunate to have drawn one of the two non-resident Desert sheep tags this past year. I hunted with shadowhunter on the North San Rafael and harvested a great ram, yes he knows where to find the big rams.
 
patientlywaiting, you are my idol. You put the "patient" in your screen name. I can hardly wait to hear about your hunt after you draw. People like you deserve the tag. I wish you well. The Escalante has to be one of the most unique hunts in the world. I love photos from that unit.

Since this is the sheep and moose forum how about a few pics of your stone and moose.
 
gznokes,

I don't have alot of options other than to be patient and wait for my turn at a tag. But thanks..

I have a Dall not a Stone. I'll have to dig some pics out and scan them and then figure out how to post them. My Dall is from 1987 I hunted with Arctic Red River Outfitters in NWT. I talked to them at the Hunting expo last week and they now charge $19,800 for a hunt. When I went in 87 they were $3500 or $3700.

My Utah moose (mid 1990s) is a small one at 37" but the biggest I seen after hunting the whole season on two sections of private land in Chalk Creek. I was the only hunter on the guys property and had the pick of 8-10 bulls.
 

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