ARIZONA DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP
ARIZONA GAME & FISH DEPARTMENT
Callie Cavalcant - Terrestrial Wildlife Branch
P: 623.236.7355
E: chartson@azgfd.gov
BOOTH# 465
Looking for a quality Mexicana desert bighorn sheep? Arizona is the place to go, producing an astounding number of large, older aged rams. On average over a third of Arizona rams taken make the B&C book every year with several scoring better than 180”. The 2021 season was a great year for Mexicana bighorn sheep hunters in Arizona with 31 rams scoring more than 168”, 30 of those greater than 170”, and there were 5 rams scoring over 180”. Predictions for the 2023 seasons are every bit as good. The 2021 Special Tag holder took a 10-year-old ram green scoring 183 5/8. There is no finer opportunity than Arizona for taking an exceptional Mexicana desert bighorn sheep.
Arizona’s desert bighorn sheep country is some of the most picturesque in the West, and an excellent backdrop for the desert bighorn sheep hunt of your life. Bighorn sheep are managed very conservatively in Arizona. The winning bidder for this tag will have 365 days to pursue a desert bighorn sheep in Arizona’s best Mexicana sheep units. The units open for this hunt include: Units 16B, Desert Hunt Area in Unit 22, 24B, 28 (south of U.S. Hwy 70), 31, 32, 37A, 37B, 39, 40A, 40B, 41, 42, 43A, 43B, 44A, 44B, 45A, 45B, 45C (including the Kofa NWR), 46A, and 46B (including the Cabeza Prieta NWR) as described in Commission Order 29. The buyer of this tag must provide the name of the hunter to be printed on the tag to the Arizona Game and Fish Department within 60 days of the auction. The hunter to be named on the tag is also required to possess or purchase a valid Arizona hunting license (the hunting license is no longer included with the tag).
All proceeds from the sale of this tag are used to fund on-the-ground bighorn sheep projects such as translocations, water developments, surveys, habitat enhancements, and highway mitigation research. No administrative expenses incurred by either the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society or the Wild Sheep Foundation come from this sale; it all goes on the mountain. To date, this tag has raised more than $6.3 million strictly for bighorn sheep management: Arizona’s entire bighorn sheep special tag program (3 tags in total) has raised over $13.4 million. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is grateful to the individual hunters and the wildlife conservation organizations that continue to help fund Arizona’s bighorn sheep management program! It is a huge success.
The Arizona Special Big Game Tag is valid for any desert bighorn sheep ram in the hunt areas listed above as prescribed in rule R12-4-120, from August 15, 2023-August 14, 2024; that’s a 365-day season. Please contact the Arizona Game and Fish Department (azgfd.com) or the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society (adbss.org) for more information.