Texas Parks and Wildlife has opened the application process for one (1) Texas desert bighorn sheep permit in early 2019. Early in the year, the department noted that there may not be a draw tag available, as sheep were being conserved for transplant purposes. In fact, a draw tag was not available in 2018 for that very reason.
After the August surveys, the Department authorized a single permit for desert bighorn sheep in one of the Wildlife Management Areas in West Texas. Online applications are being accepted on the Department website (www.tpwd.texas.gov) with a deadline of October 15, 2018. Application fees are $10, and if you are the lucky applicant you will be guided by department employees to a Class 4 trophy desert bighorn ram. The draw hunt is available through the public hunting option on the website.
The only other public tag for desert bighorn sheep in Texas is through the Big Time Texas Hunt Raffle. One bighorn sheep tag is included in the Texas Grand Slam package (along with a mule deer, a whitetail and a pronghorn). Other packages in the raffle include an exotic hunt, a nilgai package for two hunters, two different bird hunting packages, several deer hunting packages and a hosted alligator hunt. Raffle chances are $9 each online (plus a service charge on the entire purchase) and can also be purchased online. The deadline for these hunt packages is also October 15.
