Hunt 575A (South Central)
Oregon Hunting Guide — Bighorn Sheep
South Central is a huge southern Oregon bighorn hunt over all of Unit 75, part of Unit 71 and part of Unit 73, with Gearhart Mountain at 8,356 feet. It's mostly public land and has two separate hunts.
Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 575A
Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Oregon Unit 575A guide around your hunt: three ranked spots with morning, afternoon and evening plays, a day-by-day plan, topo maps with every pin numbered, a camp and access plan, the legal and retrieval rules for this unit, shot discipline, a meat-care and pack-out plan, and a pre-trip checklist. Every coordinate sits on land recorded as public.
Free accounts get one report a year with the top spot unlocked. ProHunt Pro includes unlimited reports, all three spots, the full camp plan, and GPX/KML downloads for onX and Google Earth. Prefer to see one first? Open the builder and pick any unit.
Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit 575A
South Central is a huge southern Oregon bighorn hunt over all of Unit 75, part of Unit 71 and part of Unit 73, with Gearhart Mountain at 8,356 feet. It's mostly public land and has two separate hunts.
Where to Find Bighorn Sheep in the South Central Unit: Gearhart Mountain and the country around it
Three pieces, one hunt
ODFW's hunt description puts this together from Unit 75, the part of Unit 71 north and west of Jack Mountain Road, and the part of Unit 73 south of Lake County Road 5-14. The Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge is excluded. Counties are Lake, Harney and Klamath. That's a huge area, and most of it is public. Read the written boundary and confirm that your scouting area sits inside it.
Peaks and breaks
Gearhart Mountain, at 8,356 feet, is the high point. Cougar Peak, Slide Mountain, Grizzly Peak and Bald Butte follow, from about 7,500 to 7,900 feet. The named range starts around 4,088 feet. Sheep country is rock, ledges and steep grass, so focus on those features. With a huge area and few tags, don't try to cover it all. Pick one or two peaks, glass them thoroughly and learn what the animals are doing before the season opens. Gearhart Mountain is the hub of the unit, and Cougar Peak, Slide Mountain, Grizzly Peak and Bald Butte give you a wide range of rock to watch. Expect long drives on forest and county roads, so a good map, a full tank and a spare tire are part of the plan.
The ground ODFW draws for this hunt
ODFW's boundary for this hunt covers about 6,542 square miles, 90% of it public land by ODFW's count. Named features inside the line fall in Lake County, Harney County and Klamath County. Elevation runs from about 4,088 to 8,356 feet. The highest named points are Gearhart Mountain (8,356 ft), Cougar Peak (7,912 ft) and Slide Mountain (7,763 ft). ODFW's description reads: "90% public lands. Unit 75; that part of Unit 71 north and west of Jack Mountain Rd, excluding Hart Mtn NAR; and that part of Unit 73 south of Lk Co Rd 5-14." ODFW's line is the legal one, so check it against a current land-ownership map, and get permission before you cross private ground or a locked gate inside it.
Unit 575A terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 4,244–6,834 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,984 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 6,541.9 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- BLM — 15%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 17%
Roughly 83% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 1,173 tanks
- 11 springs
- 7,117 stream segments
- 231 lakes
Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Gearhart Mountain (8,356 ft), Cougar Peak (7,912 ft), Slide Mountain (7,763 ft), Grizzly Peak (7,762 ft)
Holding ground: Government Harvey Pass (7,090 ft), Round Pass (6,797 ft), Myers Meadow (6,717 ft), Mud Spring, Hotchkiss Springs
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Bighorn Sheep in the South Central Unit: scout hard and shoot only when you're sure of the line
Bighorn Sheep Success Rates
575A1 S Central No. 1: 2 taken on 2 tags; 575A2 S Central No. 2: 3 taken on 3 tags. Figures are ODFW's own 2025 harvest statistics.
Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery — Controlled ram only (resident) | 1 | 1,118 | 0.1% | — |
| Archery — Controlled ram only (resident) | 1 | 675 | 0.1% | — |
Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.
Open in Draw Odds EngineODFW's 2026 regulations give no first-choice applicant figure we can tie to a single hunt here. See ODFW's point summary reports.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
What ground does this Oregon bighorn sheep page cover?
When is the 2026 bighorn sheep season here?
Plan Your Hunt with ProHunt Pro
Unlock advanced tactics, the Tag-to-Trail Planner, AI hunt strategy assistant, and personalized camp and trip execution plans.
Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-30.
- 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: Hunt areas and boundary descriptions, Seasons, bag limits and 2026 tags · accessed 2026-10-30
- Big game hunting harvest statistics, 2025 — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: Hunters, harvest and success · accessed 2026-10-30
- Wildlife Management Units (ArcGIS) — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: 6,542 square miles · accessed 2026-10-30
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the boundary — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Gearhart Mountain 8,356 ft, Cougar Peak 7,912 ft · accessed 2026-10-30