Bighorn Sheep Hunting

Before 1900, Audubon’s bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis auduboni) inhabited parts of western Nebraska, including the Wildcat Hills, the Pine Ridge, along the North Platte River to eastern Lincoln County, and along the Niobrara River. Sources say the species became extinct in these regions in the early 1900s, with its last stronghold in the South Dakota badlands.

In 1981, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission began a project to return bighorn sheep to some of its native ranges in Nebraska. Fort Robinson State Park was the site of the initial release of a dozen individuals, and subsequent releases of bighorns in 1988, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2012 have established bighorns in the Wildcat Hills and Pine Ridge of Nebraska’s panhandle. The program has been widely supported among hunters and outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy watching the majestic animals in a natural setting.

Bighorn sheep hunting

Bighorn sheep management hunt

Lottery applications will be accepted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission between Dec. 31, 2024, and Jan. 13, 2025, for a bighorn sheep management hunt. This hunt is intended to balance the current ram-ewe ratio and provide additional hunting opportunity.

Two permits will be issued to Nebraska residents for the March 1-31, 2025, season, which will take place in portions of Scotts Bluff and Banner counties. A pre-hunt orientation is required. Guide service will be provided by Game and Parks.

The need for a season will be evaluated annually following the hunt, when recommendations would be made.

A $29 nonrefundable application fee must accompany each application. Only Nebraska residents 12 years and older are eligible. Hunters drawn for the permit would not be able to apply for another bighorn sheep lottery permit again in their lifetime. The permit is not transferable.

The bag limit is one male bighorn sheep that is half curl or less. Half curl is defined as having at least one “unbroomed” horn that does not extend past an imaginary line beginning at the point on the animal’s forehead where the front of the horn base joins the skull and continuing down and in a rear direction through the back edge of the eye. A “broomed” horn is defined as a sheep horn that has been broken, splintered, frayed or rubbed in the wild, thus shortening its length and disrupting its natural taper.

Bighorn sheep lottery

Limited hunting opportunities have been available since 1998 through the issuance of auction and lottery permits. Proceeds from these permits and donated funds from conservation organizations, including the Wild Sheep Foundation, Nebraska Chapter of Safari Club International, Iowa Chapter of Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, Midwest Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation, and the Nebraska Big Game Society, have allowed Nebraska to re-establish bighorns in five areas of the Panhandle. The exact hunting location within Banner, Box Butte, Dawes, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan and Sioux counties is determined by the Commission, depending on ram availability.

Proceeds from lottery entries and auctions have raised more than $1 million for the Bighorn Sheep Program. These proceeds are a critical revenue source for the program.