My Willmore Ram

[alpineguy]

This is my first Ram! Shot on Sept. 22, 2010 in the Willmore Wilderness on a 12 day hunt with my buddy Sheridan (thanks pal). 2 guys, 6 horses and alot of snow which started on day 4 of the trip.
I spotted him 2 kilometers away at 60x (1st picture) and had him down 1 1/2 hours later. Big pack back to the horses and we were in camp before dark.
AWSOME TRIP!!!!
PS: Thanks to "Rocks" for the trail directions and advice.

More pics to follow.



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[shooter]

Very cool. Congrats on the success and great adventure!

[alpineguy]

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[westren]

Great Ram Great Pics Great adventure congratulations

[Stop Staring at my Rack]

Wow! Looks like you had an amazing trip! Very nice ram! Congratulations!

[Donny Bear]

Awsome, Great photos, Great ram and Great work!!!

Thanks for sharing and a big Congrats on a great trophy and memories to boot.

[Alpine Archer]

Congrats! Beauty Ram. Great photos! That's a fine looking steed in the first pic as well! Looks like you had quite an adventure. Thanks for posting.

[Okotokian]

Congrats. I have a lot of respect for sheephunters. Lots of effort and commitment.. There are no Sheep Roadhunters! Well, no legal ones anyway.

[Roughneck Country]

Great Ram and well deserved! Looks like a real adventure, I was wondering how you guys made out with all the snow.

[Duk Dog]

Congrats on a real nice ram! Holy snow.

[Albertadiver]

Wow. Sweet pics man. Congrats on your hunt.

[ram crazy]

Congrats on your first Ram!!

[trashheap]

Nice Ram!!! Congrats

[gunman300]

Congrat on a great sheep. Nice pics. I really like the one ith the goats.

[Rocks]

Right on Alpineguy. Wicked pictures and that's a gorgeous Willmore ram. Congratulations! The snow looks like fun, LOL.

[Rackmastr]

Great looking ram!!!

[Rockymtnx]

Congrats on your ram.
Some awesome pics too!
Thanks for sharing with us.

[Jonny O]

nice work man, looks like an awesome trip.

[Huntnut]

Congrats. That's a gorgeous Wilmore ram. Awesome scenery.

[SugarCreek]

Awesome.....congrats. I had heard that the Willmore got a good dump of snow. Love the pics of the goats. Amazing coats on them. Congrats on a great ram once again........Marco

[Huntingonthebrain]

wow good job and way to stick it out! The reward is always worth it.

[TomE]

How Sweet it is! :)

[trophybook]

good job. your very lucky i spent 33 days in there and didnt see to much

[bunnyhunter]

WOW!!! amazing trip and congrats!! thanks for sharing, I am sooooooooo envious ;)

J

[Booner Sniper]

great pics, and great ram, congrats

[depopulator]

Great setup and good for you guys to tough out the snow. Those rams sure are easier to find against that white backdrop. Congrats on a nice ram.

[209x50]

Nice! Very nice.

[goober]

Great pics!!! Congrats on the ram!!!

[Walleyes]

Awesome pics and a dandy ram.. Congratulations..

[pottymouth]

Congrats on the ram, great pics as well.

[bingo1010]

a nice ram for sure, man that country is beutiful with a fresh layer of snow.

[flyguyd]

tight curl on that ram . Well done

[gravedigger]

Congrats that is a sweet ram! Your photo's are spectacular! The snow makes for some tough climbing, perseverance did pay off BIG time!

[ol'trout]

awesome pics! congrats! thx for sharing.

[pope]

The old guy finally gets an old ram!
Way ta go!

[ishootbambi]

thats a good sheep anywhere.....by wilmore standards its huge! congrats on a great trophy.

[Brian Bildson]

Great photos. We had a crew cleaning trail up in Rocky Pass and they had to bail because of heavy snow....which is all melting now and creeks are rising.

[BrownBear416]

Beauty sheep and great pics...

Congrats on your trophy..

[ForestDweller]

Congrats on the sheep! Beautiful photos too! love the one with the goats

[medicmoose]

Awesome Ram, love the pics. The goats look curious. We saw 9 on our Bighorn trip but didn’t get with in 650yards of them, fun to watch thou.

Congrats.

Matt

[Frans]

Thanks for the photos and congrats on a great ram! Gorgeous country too, no shortage of snow, it seems!

[Rockymtnx]

Alpineguy, what did SRD age this one at?
For a bighorn the rings on his horns sure stand out to me. Looks like about 8.5years old.

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

I'm sooooooo jealous. CONGRATS on a successfull and rewarding hunt!!!

[alpineguy]

Alpineguy, what did SRD age this one at?
For a bighorn the rings on his horns sure stand out to me. Looks like about 8.5years old.

Just got back this afternoon from getting him plugged and both SRD and myself age him at 6 1/2.
I learned this past year that when aging a ram it must be viewed from the rear as sometimes there can be false growth rings in the side view.

[benrudmik]

Great Ram!!

We were up there the same time, but we decided to pack it in after 2 days in the tent and 18inches of snow. Those pics of your tent are very familiar!! ha. WE had 4 good days of Elk hunting after, but seeing this makes me wish that we stuck it out!

You must be glad you did and harvested a beautiful Ram

Congrats

[sheephunter]

Man, I'd question that one. That ram has some of the most distinct rings I've ever seen and carries way too much weight to be a young ram. I sat in on an aging session in the Yukon with their top sheep biologist a few weeks back and learned some very interesting things on early year rings. I'd give that ram 8.5 years with absolutely no question. Even with one false ring at age 4, he's still 7.5 years old but that is a big mature ram for the Willmore. I can see what appear to be two false rings that I didn't include. Sometimes early year rings are not overly distinct...definitely not as obvious as later years anyhow. Once again though, it goes to show why aging bighorns on the hoof is virtually impossible especially as you say without seeing the back of the horns. I suspect if you took that ram to two other offices you'd get two other ages. In a zone with an 8 year old minimum I'd have shot that ram without hesitation and I suspect got to keep it........

That a classic Class IV ram if there ever was one.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h44/sheephunterab/126age.jpg

[alpineguy]

I am going to get a friend of mine to look at it today or tomorrow as he is experienced with aging rams and I will get back to you.

[ramcrazy]

Right on that it what hunting is about!! Thats a great first Ram!

[alpineguy]

Man, I'd question that one. That ram has some of the most distinct rings I've ever seen and carries way too much weight to be a young ram. I sat in on an aging session in the Yukon with their top sheep biologist a few weeks back and learned some very interesting things on early year rings. I'd give that ram 8.5 years with absolutely no question. Even with one false ring at age 4, he's still 7.5 years old but that is a big mature ram for the Willmore. I can see what appear to be two false rings that I didn't include. Sometimes early year rings are not overly distinct...definitely not as obvious as later years anyhow. Once again though, it goes to show why aging bighorns on the hoof is virtually impossible especially as you say without seeing the back of the horns. I suspect if you took that ram to two other offices you'd get two other ages. In a zone with an 8 year old minimum I'd have shot that ram without hesitation and I suspect got to keep it........

That a classic Class IV ram if there ever was one.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h44/sheephunterab/126age.jpg

Just checked the horns again and there are 6 distinct growth lines (#4 isn't a growth line) making seven sections and from this info he should be 6 1/2.

Horns Tell the Age

Horns tell us the age of rams, and a little less accurately, the age of ewes. Since a lamb grows its first set of horns by six months, and its second horn segment by eighteen months, the number of horn segments of a ram taken in the fall is actually one more than his actual age. For example, a ram with ten horn segments is actually 9.5 years old. In old ewes, the horns may not grow every year, so their horns may only tell their minimum age. In young ewes, the count of horn segments is probably accurate.

Taken from Montana Government Fish and Wildlife website.

[Rocks]

I'm no expert, but to me the way I think I'm supposed to count, I get 7.5, that's what I thought when I first saw the pics. Be interested to hear more guys who are good at aging to see what they think... if we ever go to an age restriction on bighorns here it would be nice if we all knew for sure how old this ram is with good pics before we try aging them through a spotting scope!

Damn that's a nice ram. Got any length/base numbers?

[209x50]

I'm no expert, but to me the way I think I'm supposed to count, I get 7.5, that's what I thought when I first saw the pics. Be interested to hear more guys who are good at aging to see what they think... if we ever go to an age restriction on bighorns here it would be nice if we all knew for sure how old this ram is with good pics before we try aging them through a spotting scope!

Damn that's a nice ram. Got any length/base numbers?
Very nice ram! I too get 7.5 if you take the first ring as his first year. I can see by the amount of horn beyond it and the circumference why sheephunter believes it to be the second year ring and not the first. Ram age is sure an inexact science!

[ram crazy]

Very nice ram! I too get 7.5 if you take the first ring as his first year. I can see by the amount of horn beyond it and the circumference why sheephunter believes it to be the second year ring and not the first. Ram age is sure an inexact science!

And just think there are some people that feel that Bighorns should be hunted by age or full curl, go figure. Right here we have a prime example of differences in age.

[alpineguy]

Sheephunter Wins!!!!

I just sent the skull/horns and cape off to Artistic Taxidermy with a friend who also has guided and hunted sheep quite a lot. He aged my ram (hands on) and said that he is 8 1/2. Somewhat different reasoning than SH (different ages to lines 2-4) but the end result is the same.

THE END

[sheephunter]

And just think there are some people that feel that Bighorns should be hunted by age or full curl, go figure. Right here we have a prime example of differences in age.

LOL..yup and there are those complaining about the shooting of young rams and how those that do so are somehow unethical or should sit out for an extra five years. I still don't believe this ram is 6 but as F&W aged it that way, Alpine Hunter would be one of those despicable baby killers.....food for thought.

[sheephunter]

Just checked the horns again and there are 6 distinct growth lines (#4 isn't a growth line) making seven sections and from this info he should be 6 1/2.

Horns Tell the Age

Horns tell us the age of rams, and a little less accurately, the age of ewes. Since a lamb grows its first set of horns by six months, and its second horn segment by eighteen months, the number of horn segments of a ram taken in the fall is actually one more than his actual age. For example, a ram with ten horn segments is actually 9.5 years old. In old ewes, the horns may not grow every year, so their horns may only tell their minimum age. In young ewes, the count of horn segments is probably accurate.

Taken from Montana Government Fish and Wildlife website.

I think a couple things are being overlooked. At least one section is broomed off and needs to be taken into account. The second is that if my 4th year mark is not a ring, that seems to me to be an impossible amount of horn to grow, especially considering it would significantly exceed the previous year's growth and the weight it carries. The third is when you consider where this ram was taken, he has all the lookm and structure of a class IV ram. This is a big, mature ram from a harsh climate area. I ain't convinced but regardless, it's one heck of a trophy.

[sheephunter]

Sheephunter Wins!!!!

I just sent the skull/horns and cape off to Artistic Taxidermy with a friend who also has guided and hunted sheep quite a lot. He aged my ram (hands on) and said that he is 8 1/2. Somewhat different reasoning than SH (different ages to lines 2-4) but the end result is the same.

THE END

Sorry missed this post earlier. Without putting my hands on the ram, I agree that there is some room between 2-4 for moving the lines. These early year growth rings are far less distinct than those in later years and often require some close inspection. I can see how people might think this ram is 7.5 but I can't for the life of me see how he could be considered 6. I agree with your buddy.

This ram should be the poster child for why aging bighorns on the hoof wouldn't work.

[Rocks]

I think a couple things are being overlooked. At least one section is broomed off and needs to be taken into account. The second is that if my 4th year mark is not a ring, that seems to me to be an impossible amount of horn to grow, especially considering it would significantly exceed the previous year's growth and the weight it carries. The third is when you consider where this ram was taken, he has all the lookm and structure of a class IV ram. This is a big, mature ram from a harsh climate area. I ain't convinced but regardless, it's one heck of a trophy.

Sheep is right, there. I'm pretty familiar with this area, and have seen quite a few rams taken in there, and lots were 6.5 and 7.5 year old "squeakers". I'm at work, the consultant here is a long time stone sheep hunter where there are age restrictions, and he says this one is 8.5, and probably older, going by his experience aging stones.

[alpineguy]

Well all I know is I am quite happy to be wrong about the 6 1/2!!
8 1/2 makes for way better huntin' stories around the fire at elk camp at the end of Oct. Camp will be a little bit nicer too because I am taking the team and wagon so a couple lawn chairs and a few cases of beer are always packed along.

[ksteed17]

Hey sheephunter what do you mean by "class IV" ram?

[sheephunter]

Hey sheephunter what do you mean by "class IV" ram?

Scientist/biologists classify rams according to their maturity levels with class IV being the most mature/dominant. A 6 year old would be a class III. When aging rams, the rings are the most important determining factor but in some cases, you need to look at the bigger picture and see if the age matches the ram. Early rings can often be difficult to distinguish and false rings are not always possible to tell from true rings. Sometimes experience and gut feeling play a role in aging too, especially when brooming has occured.

[Huntnut]

Well all I know is I am quite happy to be wrong about the 6 1/2!!


I wouldn't worry about it if it was 6 1/2 if I were you. That's a beautiful wilmore ram that you obviously worked your butt off to get. Don't worry about what some people have to say about shooting 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 year old rams.