California Bighorn Sheep — Zone 8
South Bristol Mountains
California Zone 8 covers 128,804 acres and lies 87 miles east of Victorville. 95% of it is public land, mostly BLM (91%) and state land (3%). In 2025, hunters took 0 bighorn sheep here. The 2025 draw put up 1 tag here for 380 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every bighorn sheep license type on offer in Zone 8, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2025 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
<1% Point builder
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 508 ↗ Zone 8 - South Bristol Mountains - General Method - Ram | <1% Point builder | — | 1 / 380 | Dec 6 – Feb 1, 2026 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2025 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2025 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2025 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $227.94 | $227.94 | $2,350.69 |
Application window: opens Apr 15, closes Jun 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- BLM 117,587 ac · 91%
- State land 3,856 ac · 3%
- Other public 593 ac · 0%
- Private or other non-public land 6,767 ac · 5%
Source: California Protected Areas Database (CPAD) 2026a -- Holdings by Agency Classification
How the hunting has gone
What California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season.
| Season | Harvest |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
Boundary: Bighorn Sheep Hunt Zones [ds784]
Harvest: Bighorn Sheep Hunting (CDFW landing page) -- 2025 Desert Bighorn Sheep Tag Drawing Statistics table
How we compute draw odds · All California bighorn sheep hunts