By Joe Ferronato
Hunting bighorn sheep is one of the most coveted pursuits for outdoorsmen. There’s a problem, though. So many of us wish that we could become a sheep hunter, but with such high demand of a limited resource, opportunity remains minimal.
For most of us, the fraction-of-a-percent odds for state draws will take years to land a tag in our pockets—unless you’re one of those annoyingly lucky folks. That’s not only a problem for hunters, but also for the resource. Game agencies use money from licenses and tags to better habitat and bolster populations. With so few tags and licenses sold, the funding for betterment projects is limited.
Due to this, state agencies turn to organizations like the Wild Sheep Foundation to either auction or raffle hunting opportunities to pad the funding. The WSF auctioned Arizona’s last donated tag at the Sheep Show in January. Now the state is stepping away from auctioning off tags and moving to raffles, so WSF is hosting a raffle for a special Rocky Mountain bighorn tag that will encompass nearly the entire state between Aug 15, 2025 and August 14, 2026. All proceeds from this raffle will go directly back to the Arizona Fish and Game Department; WSF isn’t getting nil.
Rare Opportunity, Benefits Resource
Why Arizona did away with auctions, I’ll never fully comprehend. But the court of public opinion wants more opportunity for the average guy rather than the few who can afford several hundred thousand dollars on a sheep tag. I like the opportunity, since I’ll be putting my name in the hat now, and a successful raffle can raise more money for these animals than a single auction tag. So, get you wallets out and go buy some tickets—even if you don’t win, your money will be used to better habitat and ensure that we will be able to hunt sheep in Arizona for years to come.
Right now is the time to go buy your tickets. The raffle will be ending on June 30, so don’t miss out. You can buy a single ticket for $50, or if you’re feeling lucky, you can buy 120 for $2,000. No matter what you can afford, a single ticket must be drawn, so you have a chance if you go put your name in the hat. Since this is an online raffle, state gaming laws prohibit residents of Kansas, Hawaii, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington from entering, but you Canadians are in luck.
If you dream of hunting sheep or just want the opportunity to hunt sheep to persist through future generations, you need to put your name in the hat. The odds may not be great, but the sheep will win big.
