J
johnb
Guest
As most of us only hunt sheep a few times in our life, how close would one expect a seasoned sheep guide to get on judging sheep? +/- inches?
Most guides will tell you a conservative figure of the score. They KNOW what it will score but errors can happen, so better to walk up on one that is bigger than you thought instead of smaller. I guess all guides are that way, but sheep guides seem to get it almost exact.
Alex
Alex
Some guides are very accurate. Nine times out of ten they can judge a ram on the hoof and give an estimate of B&C gross that is within 1.5%. These people are the exception and not the rule. Everyone makes mistakes. Remember what happened on the Kluane in 2008? The auction tag holder in 06 got a 175 inch dall and in 07 they took a 180 ram. So Doug Leech bid $310,000 to hunt in 08. The "team" of guides went in and scouted the area. On opening day they shot the ram they had scouted. The long horn went 40x13. A great trophy... But far from what the guides had judged the ram to be. What most qualitiy guides have going for them is experience in their given areas. Hope that your guide has really spent a lot of time in the sheep country where you will be hunting. It's more important that your guide be able to tell you the quality of a ram with respect to the area you are hunting in rather than its score. Instead of asking your guide to score a ram wouldn't it be better to ask how does this ram compare, bigger/better/older, to other rams in the area? This is when experience with the herd is worth more than the ability to judge inches through a spotting scope. Rather than score I think the goal should be to not have any regrets after you pull the trigger. If you harvest the best ram a given habitat has to offer then there should be no regrets, regardless of inches.
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roger
Guest
Very well said Uphill. I agree with your 1.5% number, and the guide should always be able to tell you if the ram is maximizing your tag. Judging sheep is an inexact science and missing the base by a small amount can make a big difference in the overall score. There are plenty of stories where "experts" have missed a total score by >10 inches, but that should be the exception.
A guided hunter should also go into a hunt well prepared to judge sheep. There is a lot of material out there to aid in becoming a better field judge. Learning to field judge and preparation for the hunt is all part of the fun.
Roger
A guided hunter should also go into a hunt well prepared to judge sheep. There is a lot of material out there to aid in becoming a better field judge. Learning to field judge and preparation for the hunt is all part of the fun.
Roger
