Bighorn Sheep Hunting

Joe Boucher and I met a couple of years prior to me drawing a Colorado desert bighorn sheep tag in 2001. We hit it off right away when I found out he was a guide and he found out I loved to hunt. So when I drew my desert tag in an area of Colorado that I wasn’t familiar with I called Joe to see what he could do to help. Although Joe wasn’t permited to guide in that unit he said he could team up with someone who was. Joe knows many people in the outfitting business so it didn’t take him long to make the arrangements. With Joe’s help I was able to take a respectable 3/4 ram on the 5th day of the hunt. Joe and I really began a friendship during our time spent together on this hunt. He and I live in the same town so we started to stay in touch more frequently. Joe invited me to a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Society Banquet in 2003. While there he and I spent time with a friend of Joe’s who guides for dall sheep in Alaska. Long story short Joe and I booked a dall sheep hunt for August, 2005. Although Joe was also a hunter and not the guide on this hunt I once again got to experience sheep hunting with Joe. That to needs to be considered. Why? Because this was a physically and mentally challenging backpack hunt in the Wrangell Mountains. We would leave camp at 4am and return around 10pm after hiking many miles. The good news is that we both filled our tags. Once again Joe really impressed me with his knowledge of sheep and his enthusiasm for sheep hunting was quite impressive even after an exhausting day of hiking and hunting. Most recently I drew a Rocky Mountain bighorn tag for the fall of 2010 in a unit Joe and I call home. This turned out to be a tough yet very rewarding hunt. What made it so difficult was the weather was too hot and dry. Joe and I decided to start hunting on opening day and see what we could find. What we discovered after four days was that the sheep were living in the timber where it was cooler and their food sources more appetizing. Sheep are almost impossible to hunt in the timber so we decided to pick up the hunt again later in the season. Finally with five days remaining in the season the weather changed to cooler temperatures and periods of rain and snow. Joe’s strategy worked as we started to find sheep every day. Joe located a small group of rams that had at least three legal rams on the second to last day. The next morning and after a two hour horse ride and one hour stock I took a 12 1/2 year old ram. He is an impressive ram. I’m sure Joe would love to show you pictures if you asked. In conclusion I have shared with you just a fraction of my three sheep hunting experiences with Joe Boucher. He and I have spent about 20 days together during those hunts. You will not find a better guide or person. You will not find a harder worker or more motivated guide. You will not regret hiring Joe to be your guide whether you fill your tag or not. He will give you every opportunity you could hope for (those things he can control) to fill your tag. His knowledge of sheep is second to none. You will get out of your hunt what you put into it and how you prepare. Get in shape! Joe can and will motivate you physically and mentally if you will let him. Most sheep hunters who do not fill their tags do so because they fail to hire a guide. So if you are fortunate like me to draw a sheep tag hire Joe Boucher to give you every advantage you need to be successful. Your sheep hunt may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I guaranty your sheep hunting experience with Joe to be some of the most memorable you could hope for.