RAPID CITY - John Cammack, of rural Union Center, casually decided to check his junk e-mail folder.

Near the bottom of the ready-to-delete e-mails was a message from the Game, Fish & Parks Department in regards to a bighorn sheep license. Expecting to be denied the license, he was surprised to read the following word: 'Congratulations.'

"I was shaking, and the adrenaline was going through my body," said Cammack, 31, who is one of five state residents to receive a South Dakota bighorn sheep license.

After trying to calm down for an hour, Cammack and his wife, Melanie, decided to check the GF&P Web site and verify his selection. Bighorn sheep hunting is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To be eligible for a license, a person must be a South Dakota resident who has never had a state bighorn sheep license. The selection is completely random.

The e-mail was not a hoax, and the celebration continued.

"It's one of those things people should video," Cammack said, adding that he called five people and did not get to sleep until 3 a.m. "I didn't remember where I should have been the next day."

"It was the most excited I have ever seen him, that's for sure," Melanie Cammack said.

A person can only receive this license once in a lifetime, and usually it is later in life. Hunters can accumulate a preference point each year, and better their chances at obtaining the license. Most license holders have more than 25 points. Cammack had six.

Cammack put in a preference for an elk license when applying this year, and although he knew it was a long shot, he applied for a bighorn sheep license.

"I really never expected to draw it in my lifetime, and if I did, I thought I would be in my 70s," Cammack said. "I guess I've never won anything in my life, and that's winning something."

Cammack, a father of two daughters and a son all under 9 years old, is an avid hunter who has already hunted antelope, deer, turkey and hogs. He is going to Alaska in September, and he may bring back a caribou or moose.

"I thank the Lord for the opportunity I am going to have," he said.

Cammack has not made many preparations for the bighorn sheep hunt, which must take place between Oct. 3 and Nov. 30. And this includes the selection of hunting partners.

"About everybody I tell," Cammack said about people's interest in being his hunting partner. "There will probably be quite a few guys helping me scout. There may be only one other (hunter). I know there are a lot of my hunting friends that would like to go with me."

Cammack said he will look for the biggest bighorn sheep he can find.

One friend is Black Hills resident Al Kraus, of Black Hills Archery.

"I'm just happy for him," said Kraus. "I'm envious, but I'm very happy for him. It's fun to get to know people who have those tags."

Kraus said Cammack will try to be the first hunter in the Black Hills unit to kill a bighorn sheep with a bow. Cammack plans to use a 67-pound Mathews Switchback bow on the hunt.

"All I hunt with is a bow," Cammack said.

Kraus said Cammack may have a camera crew from Realtree Productions film the hunt.

According to the Game, Fish & Parks department, South Dakota's original wild sheep was the Audubon bighorn, but it became extinct around 1920. A herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep from Colorado were introduced to the Custer State Park area in 1959. Bighorns have recently been released in the Badlands.