Big Desert Bighorn Ram

hillshooter

Member
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29
I'm a newbie when it comes to sheep, but I think that this guy would be a keeper. I found him while out deer hunting this weekend. How does this ram rate, is he a shooter or does he need to grow some more. I'll never have this tag, but hopefully my boy will in the next 100 years, so I'd like some input from those that are more experienced with judging sheep.

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Mevertsen is pulling both your legs! Mature class IV ram. Bang! He looks like rings show 8-9 yo. Can see them well enough in last pix blown up. 4th is clear and others can be faintly seen. Looks like upper 160's minimum... Good wheel (curl) and flare will gain length. Bang! Horns tower off base also, no sloping. Bang!
Not pulling any legs.

I truly dont believe he is 8 plus.

It appears to me the most prominent ring is just above his ear, visible on the picture where he's looking away. I would say that's the 4 year old ring.

I have also been of the knowledge that flaring usually shows younger age as the rest hasn't quite caught up yet.

But again the rings aren't super clear to me from what I can see.

He might score well where he's at, but it seems he could age a bit more.

Also has a young look to him, not a lot of scarring on the brisket and front legs, horns look clean.
 
Mevertsen is pulling both your legs! Mature class IV ram. Bang! He looks like rings show 8-9 yo. Can see them well enough in last pix blown up. 4th is clear and others can be faintly seen. Looks like upper 160's minimum... Good wheel (curl) and flare will gain length. Bang! Horns tower off base also, no sloping. Bang!
That’s a 5-6 year old ram with fantastic genetics
 
Both rams are nice they might be a little young but with a once in a lifetime tag I guess it depends on what else you've seen in the unit...
 
I've got some more footage of him that I can go through to see if I can get any different pictures of the rings that you guys are talking about. What are you looking at specifically for aging a ram like this?
 
I also wanted to pay it forward, and say that if someone has a sheep tag that is looking for a ram, I would be happy to share what information I have with them, regarding this ram and the unit he's in. When I had my OIL Moose tag, I had people on here that I didn't know helping me out and I couldn't thank them enough.
 
In NV or UT, my aim would be set on shooting a desert sheep ram that scores 155 or better. I may not be an expert on scoring sheep, but I’ve seen some impressive rams with ones at that size with well-developed bases, simply broomed on both sides.
 
My guess is that Utah has harvest reports with a history of past rams harvested in every unit. Harvest reports often include number of rings, length, and base circumference measurements. If you are looking at score, mass the entire length of the horn is extremely important. If you are seriously interested in B&C, take a look at the B&C record books listings by county.

Sometimes when rams are checked in to be plugged the biologists take photos. If you can get your hands on those photos it will give you an even closer view of what type of rams are available. The genetics of one unit may be for tighter curls while others may produce horns with wide curl, flare, more mass, etc.

That ram may be a total whopper in some units and likely passed up in others. The more time you spend researching and scouting a unit, the better you will know what rams are available. Draw odds are so low it's sometimes tough to devote a lot of time doing this if you never can draw a tag.

With that said, it's always exciting to watch and film rams! Nice photos!
 

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