San Rafael N. Ram

[gznokes]

Had a great experience hunting Desert Bighorns with a friend who drew the tag on the San Rafael N. We went the first week of November. It was cool being out during the rut with the rams pushing the ewes.

The first day we had a clean miss on this ram. We spotted him when we turned our attention in the direction of the sound of two rams crashing horns a long way off. Based on my research I thought this would have been a respectable ram for the unit. I thought he was probably a 140 class ram. He is broomed or broken on one side but we both agreed he was a nice mature ram. Since this was my first time hunting and judging sheep in the wild I'd be interested in the feedback from some of the more seasoned sheep hunters on this site about the age class, what this ram would score, and whether he is a good one for the unit.

This is the 5 year old ram my friend ended up harvesting. Before the shot I shared that I thought it was a 120 class ram. After it was down I measured it 126" by doubling the side you see in the photo. He had 13 1/2" bases w/ length just over 24"

Overall, a very enjoyable hunt for unique animals in a spectacular setting.

 

[patientlywaiting]

Congrats. What day did you kill him.

 

[treedagain]

congrads....once in a lifetime experiance

 

[bighornhunter]

Congratulation on a harvesting beautiful Utah Desert ram!!

 

[gznokes]

the ram was shot on Tues Nov 3

 

[Zeke]

gznokes;
Are all the live sheep photos of the same ram? Based on your story my guess would be yes.
When it comes to GUESSING sheep score I'm as bad as anyone. But I'll make my guess that the ram would probably score ALMOST 140". The pix are a little distorted on my computer but you're possibly pretty close.
Did you guys only get to hunt 2 days? Short but sweet?
BTW; Your buddy shot a very beautiful ram, congratulations! Don't let the "tape" decide if you had a good hunt. I've been known to throw around a few numbers myself but I should throw out the tape! (if you hadn't included the score I would have asked! LOL)
Congratulations again to you and your friend for harvesting the greatest big game animal in the world!
Zeke

 

[TOOTHandTINE]

congrats, nice ram, thanx for sharing

 

[Mounts02]

Congrats on your Ram.Thanks for the pics.

 

[gznokes]

Zeke, I was only out with my buddy for 2 days but he had hunted three before that in the middle of October. It was awesome to be out there in the rut. All the live photos are of the same ram.