Nevada Desert Bighorns

Nevada Rocky Mountain Bighorns

Nevada California Bighorns

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When it comes to sheep, and especially sheep hunting opportunities... Nevada is leaps and bounds out in front. Nevada offers more nonresident desert bighorn sheep permits each year than all of the other states combined. If you want to draw a desert bighorn permit, Nevada is hands down the top choice due to the number of tags available and the trophy quality throughout the state.

One look at the graphic below and you'll see that when it comes to the total number of ram tags in the West, Nevada leads the way.

2016 Ram Harvest Statistics

Opportunities for Both Residents and Nonresidents

Nevada is unique due to the fact that it has three huntable species of wild sheep; Desert bighorns, Rocky Mountain bighorns, and California bighorns.

Each year, residents are allowed to apply for all three species of sheep and nonresidents are able to apply for Desert bighorns and California bighorns.

Total sheep populations for each of the subspecies are up based on the most recent survey results by the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). Desert bighorn sheep herds are up 4% with a total of 10,100 animals. California bighorn sheep herds also increased by an additional 100 animals, bringing the total count to 1,900 animals. Even the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, were up by 30 animals, bringing the state total up to 240. It a great time for wild sheep conservation success stories in the state of Nevada!

All Nevada desert bighorn sheep are classified as the Nelsoni, or Nelson subspecies, and there are giant rams available across the state. Rams scoring well into the 170s are taken every year in many units. Nevada is clearly the land of opportunity for desert bighorn sheep hunting. With several unit groups to select from, there are more nonresident desert bighorn sheep tags in Nevada than all other states combined.

Total number of Nevada Desert bighorn tags per year - 2019 app strategy

A Historic Look at Desert Bighorn Sheep Entries

B&C DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP LOCATIONS ALL TIME

B&C DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP LOCATIONS SINCE 2000

Nevada has a limited population of huntable Rocky Mountain bighorns that are only found in Units 074, 091, 114 and 115. Rocky Mountain bighorn tags are only available to Nevada residents.

Total number of Nevada Rocky Mountain bighorn tags per year - 2019 app strategy

* Slightly skewed due to a two-year-old 91" ram

Located in the northwest corner of the state are 13 different units that offer California bighorn sheep hunting. Out of these 13 hunt areas, there are 61 total ram tags. California bighorn sheep are considered a smaller subspecies of the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, but are not recognized as their own species by B&C.

Total number of Nevada California bighorn tags per year - 2019 app strategy

In Conclusion

After all of that said, there should be no doubt on why you need to apply for sheep in Nevada! Hopefully, this quick dataset highlighted why Nevada truly is the king of sheep in the West! Without the help of NDOW, The Fraternity Of The Desert Bighorn, Nevada Bighorns Unlimited, hard-working volunteers, and plenty of other groups, these sheep numbers wouldn't be possible. This dataset is also a small sample on the amount of research material you will find using goHUNT's INSIDER set of tools. For an even further breakdown, I highly suggest checking out our Nevada Draw Odds, and Filtering 2.0 tools to locate the perfect unit, as well our application strategy articles. Once you're finished with your research, you can also apply online here.