March 2026
Lucky In The Draw Again | Nevada Bighorn Sheep
Story By: Robert Mays Jr.
When the big-game tag application period opened for Nevada in the spring of 2025, I reflected back on the luck I had experienced in the draw the two previous years. In 2023, I was awarded a bull elk tag and desert bighorn sheep tag. In 2024, I was awarded a mule deer tag. Would my good fortune continue?
I had discussed my application strategy with friend and outfitter Keith Montes of Nevada High Ridge Outfitters. With Nevada having a bonus point system and not a preference point system, it is truly a surprise to obtain a tag. On Friday, May 23, I was informed by the Nevada Department of Wildlife that I had been successful in the draw for a California bighorn sheep tag. I couldn’t believe it! Two sheep tags in three years!
I immediately texted Keith a screen shot and simply said, “Book me a hunt!” I also contacted friend and guide Mike McKinnon with the good news. I was hoping he would be available for this hunt. We’d had a great time together two years prior on my Desert bighorn sheep hunt. A couple of days later, Keith called and we discussed the opportunity. I had drawn a very good unit. I asked if it was possible to have Mike along on this hunt. Keith had already spoken with him; Mike was available and was really looking forward to getting together again. The Nevada Department of Wildlife allows a two-month season—plenty of time to connect with a good ram. A plan was made to hunt opening week. If we did not connect with a ram, we would plan on returning in mid to late October when the weather was cooler and the rut was starting to kick in.
Mike and I kept in contact through the summer. He informed me that Tom, Kevin, and Cameron were also going to be available the first week. The crew from our Desert bighorn sheep hunt was back in action! Plans were made to go out three days before opening day to set camp and scout. We met up and caravanned to our campsite in the Nevada desert. Once we were set up, Mike told me he had seen two rams that we needed to try and relocate.
Unfortunately, smoke from wildfires in neighboring California made spotting at a distance more difficult. We found one of the rams. He was hanging out with four other rams. Through the smoke, at a distance of approximately two miles, we could tell he was definitely the largest ram of any that we had seen. By the end of the third day, we had not been able to locate the second large ram Mike wanted to see. He recalled that both of the large rams had been very similar, and he could not tell which one was larger. He just wanted me to be able to pick the one I liked most. I had already looked at twenty-six different rams. We made the decision to go after the one large ram we’d seen on opening day.
Opening morning found us on the ridgeline looking into the basin where we’d seen the ram two days prior. Fortunately, the smoke had cleared, making it easier to see. Unfortunately, we could not relocate the ram. Finally, around 9:30 a.m., he appeared with his four buddies right where we had seen him before. It is really incredible how well the sheep blend into their surroundings! We had a long discussion debating the wisdom of going after the ram. It was forecast to be close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit that day. Our approach from below could expose us visually or give us away by scent. Also, with the late start, we might be getting back out well after dark if we were successful. The ram had been living in this basin for over a month, and we had not seen anyone in the area over the last three days, including today. The weather forecast for the next day called for cloudy skies, temperatures in the upper eighties, and a light wind all day. We decided to leave the rams alone. A plan was made to come over the top the next morning and approach from above. This would give us all day to pursue the ram. In the meantime, we decided to go and check another area in the afternoon. Nothing better showed up in the afternoon.
Mike, Cameron, and I were up early the next morning and drove to the edge of the wilderness. We had seen a few other sheep in the area the day before and did not want to spook them, so we took off just after daylight. Three rams were spotted as we carefully worked our way over the top. After an hour and a half, we spotted our group of five. The largest ram was the last to show himself. We were approximately 800 yards away. Once I got him in the spotting scope, our impressions of this ram were confirmed. He was heavy, with a long, deep curl. Definitely a ram to take early in the season!
The wind was constantly at our faces, and we had some cover allowing us to get within a good shooting distance. We slowly and carefully worked our way closer. At 400 yards, we ran out of cover. The sheep were in an open sagebrush draw, feeding. I set up for the shot, reconfirmed the distance, and adjusted my scope. When my ram cleared the others and presented a good angle, I touched the trigger of my 300 Jarrett. The hit was perfect, and he went down in short order.
My ram was everything I’d thought he would be. I was surprised at how big of a body these sheep have. We admired the ram, relived the stalk, and took a lot of pictures. We caped the ram for a life-size mount and boned out all of the meat for the pack off the mountain. Four and a half hours later, at 5:30 p.m., we arrived back at our wheeled transportation. I was the slow one on the mountain and was very grateful that we had decided to wait a day for cooler weather!
Many thanks to Keith, Mike, Tom, Kevin, and Cameron for my second great sheep hunt in three years!