Grand Slam Club/Ovis to Involve Youth Hunters in Pursuit of Sheep and Goats

According to a recent study by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, there are at least 20.6 million active hunters in the U.S. alone. But of those millions, less than ½ of 1% have attempted to hunt the mountains for wild sheep. There are many possible explanations for this small percentage - limited permit opportunities, physically demanding terrain - but invariably the biggest hurdle facing most hunters is the increasingly high prices. Since 1998, the cost of a Dall sheep hunt has more than doubled, leading most hunters to consider sheep hunting as a pastime of the wealthy. However, many have found ways around the “wealth and privilege” stereotype, and pursued rams relentlessly without breaking the bank.

Savings With A Purpose
In 1986, Russell “Rusty” Schultz traveled to Alaska for his first sheep hunt. “I had dreamed of hunting sheep since I was a boy,” said Rusty. “I was making about $12/hour at the time and had been saving for more than a year to afford that hunt, but the weather didn’t cooperate and I came home empty handed.” However, by then sheep hunting had gotten under the 28-year old’s skin. Rusty successfully hunted another Dall sheep in Canada’s Northwest Territories six years later, but by then the price had more than doubled. “I try to save enough money to take one hunting trip each year. It’s an expensive hobby, but now that my kids are grown, my wife and I can afford to spend some of the money we’ve been saving.” Rusty has traveled outside the United States on 10 different hunts, including New Zealand and Mongolia, and is planning a second trip to Africa this summer.

Drawing A State Tag
However, as hunt prices continue to climb, many hunters see their savings as insufficient. Thousands upon thousands of hunters apply annually for state big game tags, but their odds of winning can be 1 in 1,000 or as high as 1 in 100,000.

Mychal Murray of Houston, TX was still in graduate school when he was drawn for a public Texas desert sheep tag. “I hunted the Sierra Diablo WMA north of Van Horn for my Texas desert ram,” said Mychal. “It was the toughest hunt I had ever been on. It was the cheapest one as well: a $10 application fee and the gas to get out there! I am proof that it pays to apply even when the odds are tough.”

Texas Parks and Wildlife does not offer a public hunt for desert sheep every year, and the odds of being drawn may be 1 in several thousand. Many others have found better odds of winning with hunt raffles from conservation organizations.

Still, the age/money relationship remains a predicament for almost all sheep hunters. “The mountains can be very unforgiving, and you need to be in excellent physical condition for the hunt,” says Dennis Campbell, executive director for Grand Slam Club/Ovis, a sheep conservation organization. “It seems that by the time many hunters are financially able to hunt sheep, age is catching up with them. When we were young and in the best shape of our lives, we either didn’t have the money or we spent all of our time earning a living and raising a family.”

Increasing Your Odds
With more than 2/3 of its members over the age of 45, Grand Slam Club/Ovis is seeking ways to involve younger hunters in the pursuit of wild sheep and goats. “The idea actually came from one of our members. As part of the summer Members-Only Raffle, GSCO will award a guided Dall sheep hunt - designated as a SlamQuest™ hunt - to one of our under-40 members,” said Campbell. “By limiting ticket purchases per member and requiring the winner to be between 21 and 39 on the day of the drawing, we feel the odds of winning will be phenomenal.” Although membership is required in order to purchase tickets, the cost of a one-year membership is only $60. The summer drawing will take place on September 2, 2008.

Campbell stated that another under-40 SlamQuest hunt would also be featured February 20, 2009 during the 5th Annual Hunter & Outfitter Convention in Las Vegas, NV. If successful, the two raffles could become an annual event.

For complete details on the 2008 Members-Only Raffle SlamQuest Dall sheep hunt, visit www.wildsheep.org.

Grand Slam Club/Ovis is a 501(C)(3) organization of hunter/conservationists dedicated to improving and perpetuating wild sheep and wild goat populations worldwide. Founded in 1956, GSCO is the official documentation and records-keeping organization for Grand Slams of North American Wild Sheep®, Ovis World Slams®, Capra World Slams® and Triple Slams™.

Ruffed Grouse Society to hold Fall Tune-Up Shoot in Grand Blanc

The Keith Davis Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society will hold its 4th annual Fall Tune-Up Shoot at the Grand Blanc Huntsman Club, 2046 South Irish Road, Grand Blanc, Michigan on Saturday, August 16, 2008 beginning with registration at 8 a.m. (Shoot starts at 9 a.m.).

According to Scott Grush, rregistration for the 50 target shoot is $30 for adults and $25 for youngster’s age12-16. Registration fee includes lunch and award for Adult High Gun. (Walk-in’s are welcome).

As with all RGS fundraiser’s, proceeds from this event will be used to restore and protect grouse and woodcock habitat.

For more information and/or directions contact Grush at 810-845-9700, or by e-mail at: Scottgrush@msn.com.

Established in 1961, the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) is the one international wildlife conservation organization dedicated to promoting conditions suitable for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and related wildlife to sustain our sport hunting tradition and outdoor heritage.

Information on the RGS, its mission, management projects and membership can be found on the web at: www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.

Meet Hunting Celebrities and QDM Experts at QDMA’s Whitetail Expo, July 26-27

Bogart, Georgia - Got questions about Quality Deer Management? Get answers straight from the top when you meet and speak with nationally known QDM experts and hunting celebrities at the Quality Deer Management Association’s Whitetail Expo, part of the 2008 QDMA National Convention. The Whitetail Expo is open to the public and takes place July 26-27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Lee and Tiffany Lakosky of Scent-Lok’s “Gettin’ Close” will kick off the celebrity appearances at the show with a seminar at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 26. Nationally known deer researcher Dr. Grant Woods of Missouri takes the stage at 1 p.m. to tell the story of how one hunting property went from “Zero to 150 in Five Years” through Quality Deer Management. At 2 p.m., Realtree founder Bill Jordan will talk about his personal success with QDM on his hunting property and his experiences with QDM success across North America.

The Whitetail Expo seminars continue on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. with wildlife consultant Neil Dougherty of NorthCountry Whitetails. Neil will teach audience members how to select and lay out great hunting properties in a seminar titled “Great Whitetail Properties Don’t Just Happen - They’re ‘Made That Way’.” If you missed seeing the Lakoskys on Saturday, Lee and Tiffany return to the stage Sunday at 1 p.m. They’re followed at 2 p.m. by Hunter’s Specialties Pro Staff members Alex Rutledge and Eddie Salter, who will use highlights from their hunting video footage as they discuss techniques for calling and hunting whitetails.

A “meet-and-greet” opportunity will take place at 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday on the Whitetail Expo floor, including celebrity and expert speakers who will be available for photos and autographs. They are joined by dozens of other well-known QDM experts who will be among the crowd throughout the entire QDMA National Convention. Hunters who attended the QDMA National Convention in the past said they were surprised to be able to approach top deer experts for questions and one-on-one conversations outside of the formal educational events. Attending the 2008 National Convention, in addition to the speakers mentioned above, are more than 30 of the top deer researchers, consultants and QDM experts from around the nation, including David Morris of Tecomate Wildlife Systems, Dr. James Kroll of Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, Dr. Karl Miller of the University of Georgia, and Dr. Mickey Hellickson of the King Ranch.

Even the kids get to rub shoulders with celebrities in the Kid’s Corner, where the guys from Team Primos will be conducting the popular kids’ grunt-call contests and providing all the prizes.

Seminars are only a small part of the Whitetail Expo, which features exhibits by top manufacturers and service providers in food plots, habitat management, trail cameras, deer hunting gear, and more. Admission to QDMA’s Whitetail Expo is $10 for adults, free for hunters age 15 and under, and a coupon for “buy-one-get-one-free” admission is available at www.QDMA.com. Expo hours are Saturday, July 26, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, July 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The QDMA National Convention will take place at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, from Thursday, July 24 through Sunday, July 27. For more information about the many other events and educational opportunities at the Convention, visit www.QDMA.com.

Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization with more than 50,000 members in all 50 states and several foreign countries. Membership in QDMA is open to anyone interested in better deer and better deer hunting, and committed to ethical hunting, sound deer management and the preservation of the deer-hunting heritage. To learn more about QDMA and why it is the future of deer hunting, call (800) 209-DEER [(800) 209-3337] or visit www.QDMA.com.