It is extremely hard to draw a bighorn sheep tag as the demand vs supply isn’t even close to being in balance. This typically leads to many hunters drawing sheep tags when they are indeed past their prime. There isn’t a cure for this dilemma, it’s simply the math.
Red H. called us in the summer of 2023 after he found out he had drawn a 41 east desert bighorn sheep tag. Red’s good friend Larry hunted with us in 2020, so he knew he was getting a great sheep hunting crew but his main concern were the mountains themselves. Red like many others was past his peak mountain climbing days. Red was open about his concerns of being able to get to a ram, which was indeed the biggest obstacle. We assured him we would find a solid ram where he could accomplish his goal of harvesting an old desert ram.
After several days scouting, EPO Guide Jon Green turned a solid ram in a good spot. Jon sat on the ram for days but on the opening morning of the hunt the ram disappeared into the large mountain range. Later that same day the team turned an even older desert ram & after a quick discussion the decision was made to pursue.
Arizona desert bighorn sheep hunts are once-in-a-lifetime hunts which really make them unique compared to any other species. We were honored to assist Red in accomplishing his goal of harvesting a trophy old desert ram!