Quick Tips
- Be physically prepared, it is rough country
- This is excellent horse country with lots of good trails
- Bring good optics and good quality clothing
| species | general Size | trophy potential |
|---|---|---|
| Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep | 140"-160" | 165"+ |
On The Ground
This district is north of Yellowstone National Park and just north of Gardner in south central Montana. It runs from the Yellowstone River on the east to the Gallatin River on the west. Much of it is a rugged mountainous area with many high peaks and numerous alpine basins to all the way down along the area adjacent to the Yellowstone River.
The wonderful thing about this district is it is unlimited, which means anyone can buy a bighorn sheep tag and go hunting. Sheep can be difficult to locate in the district, making the past success highly variable. This district has spectacular scenery and is beautiful sheep country. The sheep population in this district was on the increase, but is experiencing a die off.
Terrain
There is beautiful high elevation sheep country in this district. Large rocky peaks with numerous alpine basins of grass and adjacent timber for escape cover. A horse trail is on top of the divide in high alpine open grassy terrain. There are many basins of subalpine habitat that are lush. There are numerous rocky outcroppings and talus slopes. The mid elevations are mostly forested. The lower elevations are mostly open grassy hillsides.
Roughly 195 square miles
75% public land
Elevations from 5,000-10,300 feet
Vegetation
On the Yellowstone side, the area adjacent to the Yellowstone River and immediately upslope are open grassy benches and hillsides. On the Gallatin side, the long drainages are mostly grass and sagebrush. The mid elevations are mostly timbered with spruce, fir and pine trees. The subalpine country is lush basins of grass and intermixed with scattered patches of timber. The high country is rock and short alpine grasses.
Access
There are numerous access points into this district, both from the Yellowstone and the Gallatin sides. The majority of the hunters access from the Yellowstone side. There are good Forest Service trails throughout the district. Some of this district is hunted adjacent to the Yellowstone River. Most of the hunting will be on foot and or horseback. Most of the district is National Forest, but the Tom Miner Basin has a lot of private ground.
Camping and Lodging
You need to bring all of your camping gear if you are hunting and camping in the high country. There are spectacular places to camp throughout this district. Hunting can be accomplished by day hiking from Tom Miner and Big Creek. Ramshorn Lake is good camping close to sheep and good fishing. Motels, gas and restaurants are available in Gardner.
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