Ready for The Sheep Show? Here’s What You Need to Know About the 2022 Wild Sheep Foundation Convention

Every year, hunters far and wide come together in Reno, Nevada to celebrate the amazing sheep conservation efforts of the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF). The Sheep Show is a time for hunters to see what’s new in the sheep hunting world, talk to world-class guides and outfitters, check out some vendors, and win some amazing auction prizes.

The 2022 Wild Sheep Foundation Convention and Sporting Expo, more commonly known as The Sheep Show, will take place this year, in person, from January 13 to 15 at the Reno Sparks Convention Center and Peppermill Resort Spa and Casino in Reno, Nevada.

What is the Wild Sheep Foundation?

The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) was founded in 1977 with the mission to rehabilitate and restore wild sheep populations across the United States after dwindling to historic lows in the 1950s. Based in Bozeman, Montana, The Foundation aims to keep the wild sheep population healthy and growing in the name of conservation and to provide hunters with challenging quarry.

Bighorn sheep used to be plentiful, especially in the west. As settlers moved in, wild sheep became prone to devastating diseases and had to compete with domestic herds for resources. Soon, wild sheep populations, once a variety of thriving species, began to decline.

With the help of WSF, the populations are again growing. In fact, between WSF’s efforts, state and provincial fish and game departments, Crown land-management agencies, private landowners, and funds from hunters over the past 40 years, wild sheep numbers have grown from 25,000 to more than 85,000.

The WSF focuses efforts and dollars to monitoring herds, relocating sheep to disperse the population, enhancing the sheep habitat with prescribed burns and water development, and disease research across North America. They also host youth programs (Shooting, Hunting & Ethics Education Programs (S.H.E.E.P.) and the Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE) to help raise a new generation of conservationists.

The Sheep Show

The annual Sheep Show is where the NSF raises most of their money. As the largest conservation and mountain hunting expo convention in the U.S., the Sheep Show features hundreds of outdoor vendors and exhibitors, educational opportunities, a silent auction, book signings and hunting celebrity presentations, and more. Attendees can find anything from elegant furs to taxidermy to new guns. It’s an awesome trade show!

Money raised at the event goes right back into wild sheep conservation efforts including habitat preservation, sheep research, and more. On average, the WSF contributes $4 million dollars a year to wild sheep preservation, much of it coming directly from the annual convention in Reno.

The 2019 Sheep Show attracted more attendees than ever, breaking the trade show record. The 2022 event will be both in-person and virtual due to COVID protocol. This year will feature a variety of talks, seminars, and the well-known silent auction that features coveted land tags, outfitting trips, big game safari trips, artwork, and so much more.

Check out this year’s auction sneak peek here, the seminar schedule here, and the overall program schedule here.

Prime Revolution | 2022 Wild Sheep Foundation Convention and Sporting Expo

The Prime Revo team loves the Sheep Show! We will be in attendance this year checking out the awesome vendors in the exhibit hall and attending seminars. This is a time to talk to old friends in the industry and make some new ones, too!

Hope to see you there!

What: The 2022 Wild Sheep Foundation Convention and Sporting Expo/ Sheep Show

When: January 13-15, 2022

Where: