Blue Sheep hunting
11 hunting trips from 4 outfitters starting from $22,000
Where to hunt Blue Sheep
Blue Sheep, not unlike Dagestan Tur, takes a somewhat intermediate position between sheep and goats. This amazing animal calls home some of the highest mountain ranges in the world, right next to Mount Everest, Himalayas, and the Tibetian Plateau. Its range covers a number of countries, but Blue Sheep hunting is currently legal only in Nepal and Pakistan.
Countries
Price distribution
In both Nepal and Pakistan blue sheep hunting trips are priced at about $20,000, give or take one or two thousand. Nepalese outfitters often offer Muntjac Deer as a complementary trophy. A Blue Sheep hunt could be combined with a Himalayan Tahr hunt in Nepal and Ibex and other mountain game hunts in Pakistan.
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Learn more from our blog story
All over the planet there are examples of successful conservation programs which use money from trophy hunting to protect charismatic species and empower local communities. One of the most impressive cases is the Hunting & Conservation Alliance Tajikistan, with trophy hunting leading to increase in numbers of the prey species, which in turn benefited the critically endangered Snow Leopard.
21 Jul 2017 How Hunters Saved Markhor in Tajikistan.When to hunt Blue Sheep?
Blue Sheep hunting season usually starts in October and lasts through the winter to the end of March. The best time for hunting is probably the rut, which takes place in November and December. Incidentally, these are also some of the coldest months, and on the altitude of over 3,000 meters the temperatures may be unforgiving.
Hunting methods All hunting methods (4)
Except for the extreme altitudes, for which the hunter should be prepared, Blue Sheep hunting does not differ much from any other mountain hunt. The animals are diurnal, that is, most active in the mornings and in the evenings, so the hunters try to spot a suitable animal, by observing the area with the help of powerful optics, in the morning, then approach it as it beds to chew the cud in the afternoon, or, failing that, to intercept as it moves again in the evening. Good optics and a flat-shooting accurate rifle are necessities.
Why hunt Blue Sheep?
The famous quote about Bighorn Sheep hunting by Jack O’Connor is perfectly applicable to Blue Sheep hunting as well: an old ram “will lead the hunter into the most beautiful country he’s ever seen. He’ll wear him out, give him buck fever, and break his heart; but if the hunter is the type that’s susceptible to sheep fever he’ll never be completely happy hunting anything else.” The numbers of the Blue Sheep decreased due to habitat loss, diseases it shares with domestic sheep, and indiscriminate slaughter for food, but carefully regulated community-based trophy hunting, as practiced in Nepal and Pakistan, can be a great boost to their well-being. So you can hunt Blue Sheep knowing that the money you’ll pay to take out one old ram will contribute towards the future of the whole species.
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