A Desert Bighorn hunt, not just a tag, is up for grabs as part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s “Big Time Texas Hunts” raffle program. The winner of the Texas Grand Slam raffle package will receive four separate hunts, one of which is for a Desert Bighorn ram on the Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area, just outside of Alpine, in West Texas. Entries are only $10 each but you must purchase your entry (or entries, as there is no limit on the number you may purchase) by Midnight on Saturday, November 6, 2004.

The odds are pretty long, but somebody has to draw (and you can’t draw if your name’s not in the hat). The figures for 2003 are not posted anywhere that I could find, but the three years prior to last year looked like this: 2002 = 17,095 entries, 2001 = 19,380 entries, 2000 = 25,482 entries.

The webpage to start at for additional information is: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/hunt/public_hunting/btth/grandslam.phtml

Just a reminder that the deadline to get in on this drawing is Midnight on Saturday, November 6.

Paraphrased from a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department News Release:

Nov. 22, 2004

Texas Big Time Hunts Winners Announced

AUSTIN, Texas — For some of them, it could be the hunt of a lifetime.

That would appear to be the case for Ron Marsh, a Fort Worth-area aircraft maintenance support engineer, who was at first puzzled when a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department employee called to say he had won a contest. Puzzlement turned to astonishment as the employee explained to Marsh that he had won the Texas Grand Slam, one of the seven hunts offered the Texas Big Time Hunts program that raises money for wildlife research and conservation.

"This is unreal," Marsh said. "I can’t believe my stroke of luck and what it all entails. I thought I put in just for the white-tailed hunt, but after I figured out what it was and read through the stuff it just floored me."

Marsh was selected from among 20,588 applicants, in 2004, to win the Texas Grand Slam, a series of four separate guided hunts for all four big game animals in Texas-white-tailed deer, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and desert bighorn sheep.

Marsh paid $10 to apply for the grand slam drawing. The desert bighorn sheep hunt alone is priceless, something only a handful of people ever get a chance to experience. For his four hunts, Marsh just needs to bring hunting gear and a valid hunting license. Guide service, food, lodging, and on-site transportation for himself and a non-hunting companion are all provided.

Here is the winner and hometown:

Texas Grand Slam — Ron Marsh of Lakeside.

January 14 2005
Green Score 167 1/8
Elephant Mountain WMA, Alpine TX