RECENT POSTS
Welcome to the WSF Hunting Blog
The stories of the hunt and our celebrated big game species are the stories of conservation, family, and a lifestyle that teaches self-reliance, self-determination, self-restraint, and self-respect. These stories are meant to be shared, and it’s been that way since man first documented tales of the hunt on cave walls.
Boone and Crockett Club Welcomes Wild Sheep Foundation as Presenting Sponsor of the 32nd Big Game Awards Banquet
4.4.25
The Boone and Crockett Club announced today that the Wild Sheep Foundation is the presenting sponsor of the 32nd Annual Big Game Awards banquet that will be held in Springfield, Missouri on July 25, 2025. The 32nd Big Game Awards recognizes the most impressive heads, horns, and antlers accepted into the Boone and Crockett Club’s record book over the past three years and is a celebration of Fair Chase hunting and conservation of North American big game. WSF is also sponsoring the Wild Sheep display, which showcases the top Rocky Mountain bighorns, desert bighorns, Dall’s, and Stone’s sheep from the Awards period.
10 Things Hunters Need To Know About Aoudad
4.3.25
A mature aoudad ram is an impressive animal. With thick, sweeping horns, a sandy-brown coat, and a long mane that runs down the chest and legs, aoudad are prized by many hunters. But there is more to aoudad than meets the eye, as these animals create a gigantic ecological footprint across the desert Southwest and beyond.
Here are 10 things hunters should be aware of when it comes to these African-imported mountain ungulates.
WSF Signs Horn Plugging Agreement with Mongolia Wildlife Association
2.3.25
During the recent Sheep Show® in Reno, NV, The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) and Mongolia Wildlife Association (MWA) signed a landmark agreement where WSF would supply the horn plugs, drill bits, and training to the MWA. The MWA will implement horn plugging per their MOU with the Ministry. This collaboration marked an important step in conservation, focusing on implementing horn-plugging for the legal harvest of argali, the largest wild sheep and a prized game animal for international hunters.
Ol’ Wonky
11.25.24
By Tori Roberts
THE HUNT FOR A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OREGON BIGHORN
With hunting being such a big part of my life growing up, there has always been the excitement of big game draw day. I woke early in spring of 2024 to see if I had drawn any tags. I passed the word UNSUCCESSFUL a few times and then launched out of bed when I saw SUCCESSFUL in green beside bighorn sheep. After 17 years, I had finally drawn an Oregon ram tag. I immediately called my dad, mom, and brother to tell them the great news, knowing they would be as excited as me.
The Mountain Will Speak
11.7.24
By Craig Boddington
Mountains aren’t taller, nor steeper… they just seem to be.
The mountain will tell me,” says legendary sheep hunter Rex Baker. Rex is a decade my senior. Recently, he confided to me that the mountain was starting to whisper, hadn’t yet blocked his trail. Couple years ago, Alan Sackman decided it would be fun to take one more FNAWS…in his 80s. He set to work and accomplished his goal. Early this year, I sat next to Dr. Gerald Warnock at the Weatherby banquet. He was excited that he was headed to Mexico for a desert ram. At our Sheep Show I talked to his outfitter, Bo Morgan. Yes, Jerry Warnock took a fine ram.
Kicked Out - The Twelfth Day Ram
10.3.24
What happens when a handful of raffle tickets collide with a little opportunity and a lot of good luck? The answer: someone is kicked from the <1 Club! Ray Maack is one such someone. After winning an Alberta bighorn sheep hunt at the 2024 Sheep Show®, Ray drove from his home in Oregon to Alberta, Canada, where he battled harsh weather, steep mountains, and blisters, all for a shot at one magnificent rocky mountain bighorn. In typical sheep hunt fashion, this one came down to the wire.
"Be Sure" Campaign Makes Impact In New Mexico, Texas
9.16.24
Squeezing the trigger on an aoudad hunt demands more than a clean shot and a steady shooting position. If it's in a state where bighorn sheep roam, aoudad hunters must be 100 percent confident it's actually an aoudad (Barbary sheep) they are putting the crosshairs on.
WSF Partners with MTNTOUGH for the TOUGH SHEEP Workout at the 2025 Sheep Show®
9.3.24
The Wild Sheep Foundation is partnering with Montana-based MTNTOUGH for a new event for the 2025 Sheep Show® in Reno. TOUGH SHEEP will be a physical workout event for anyone looking to test.
Sheep Camp
8.30.24
By Craig Boddington
Stuff memories are made of!
So long as you know what you’re getting yourself into and prepare accordingly. Whatever form it takes, the sheep camp is critical to the experience and the memories.
A Divine Ram
7.11.24
Even before I applied, I had a feeling that the 2023 California big game draw would be the one! Believe it or not, I actually posted on my work calendar “bighorn sheep hunt” before submitting my application.
Field Judging Wild Sheep
7.1.24
The opportunity to hunt a wild sheep ram is special. Consequently, the prevailing opinion among sheep hunters is that all rams are special. This reflects our respect for this iconic species and how rare it can be to hunt them.
Is That My Ram
6.10.24
By Craig Boddington.
Take the Shot.... or Keep Hunting?
This call should have been easy. Except: With wild sheep, it’s never easy! Much pressure rides on the shot. Lots of pennies saved and invested. Maybe decades of waiting for a permit. Then comes sweat equity.
