39W Sheep - Is this tag any good?

OK, that was a joke. Any sheep tag in hand is a good sheep tag, and it looks like lighting struck for me after 18 years.

I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of experience in the unit (I bird hunt in the unit quite a bit, but primarily on the east side), however, I'm a short 90 min to 2 hr drive to various points in the Gila Bend mountains from my house, so I'll be spending a lot of time in there over the next 4 1/2 months trying to find an old warrior ram. Just picked up a new spotting scope, so a sheep hunt sounds like a great way to break it in.

Since this is a once in a lifetime deal and likely the only sheep tag I will ever have, I would love to hear about others experiences in the unit. Feel free to PM me if you have any insight or suggestions, especially if you or someone you know has had the tag in the past. I have the biologist's phone number and I'll be chatting him up this week. I know the unit is going to get surveyed in Oct, which is another nice plus. I am planning on heading over there this weekend (early and with a lot of water) to try and get some trail cameras out before the rut gets going.

Also, for those more familiar with the sheep and terrain in 39W, do you think there is a decent chance I could get close enough to kill one with my recurve? I've killed quite a few animals with it (couple Coues deer, javelina, bear, pronghorn, some others) and I'm good to about 30 yards with it. I'm planning on letting the 7mm bark, but I'm wondering if its worth it to try with my bow for the first couple/few days or not. I love bowhunting, and killing a desert sheep with a recurve would be the ultimate, but I'm also a pragmatist and I would love to have my 9 year old son with me for the hunt, which isn't going to happen if I'm carrying my stick and string, unless I can set up a ground blind I suppose.

Thanks gents, and best of luck to you all this fall.

-Luke

Congrats on the tag, it's a fun hunt. Not the easiest sheep unit that's for sure will be tuff with a bow let alone traditional. Expect rams to move a lot over the 4 1/2 months you scout. Also the unit can be very physical depending on where you choose to hunt, some spots will be very tuff to make it in and out in one day. Ram quality, score wise will be in the 160's for top end with the obvious chance for bigger but don't expect it. 160-165 has been top end for the last several years. Also don't expect to see a lot of sheep, you can go days without seeing one or you can go to the more popular areas and see more sheep. There are some very remote areas that you may find a ram that has not been hunted but take a sleeping bag to effectively spend time in throse spots. Good luck and have fun let me know if you have more questions.