Good source on how to judge bighorns

[azhuntnut]

A friend of mine drew a sheep tag and will be helping on his hunt. I haven’t hunted sheep before, just like most of us. I’m hoping people can pass along good sources to learn how to judge them. David

[trphyhntr]

What hunt did he get 

[SwarovskiCoues]

watch videos and become obsessed. the more you see the better you become.

[bonecollector]

Go Hunt has an article and pictures written by Jay Scott. Sheep clinic put on by the sheep society will have plenty of rams on display with scores, you could get a good idea. 

[azhuntnut]

58 minutes ago, trphyhntr said:

What hunt did he get 

44a east.

[stillatmaxpoints]

You can watch videos, go to clinic's etc, but hunting them a lot! and seeing several dead rams on the ground, is the only way you will finally be able to judge rams scores with any consistency. There is a lot more than just looking at rams to judging sheep.

 

[trphyhntr]

I’m sure you both know what a nice ram looks like, find one like that and shoot it

[Chef]

Be realistic with your expectations.  

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Don't let emotions get in the way of your scoring either. 

We've seen it on this site where rams were over-scored through emotion rather than taking basic fundamentals into consideration.

Remember, mass starts with the bases & length can be the same on multiple rams that look way different due to their curl disparities.

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Whenever possible, compare rams when together. 

Small bodied animals do exist & makes their headgear look bigger than it actually is.

(ask me how I know)

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IMO there is way more to a ram than just the score.

From the overlay to the flare to the color, I've seen rams in the 160's that were just beautiful.

There are way more experienced people than I on this subject. 

Good advice so far on this thread.

 

[stillatmaxpoints]

mass hides length

[jdown]

16 minutes ago, stillatmaxpoints said:

mass hides length

Always been been problem too

[Chef]

19 hours ago, azhuntnut said:

44a east.

Looks like a bruiser was harvested in 2018.

[azhuntnut]

I have been watching videos and I’m sure we will have a lot of time behind the glass learning more about these animals. Thanks for the help.

[Huntandfish]

If you want to see some desert sheep up close in person go to Boulder City Nevada May threw September the bighorns hangout in hemenway vally park every day. I have seen as many as 75 at one time there. This helped me as you can see all age class up close. Just a short drive from there is the muddy mountains unit 268 Nevada where the largest population of Desert sheep live. My brother had that tag in 2010 the biologist told me there were 1600 sheep their. I have been on this hunts four times now and have seen over 40 rams in a single day there when I had the tag. Go to Vegas for a weekend Evan just to see the park rams it will help you judge.  You need to look at all angles sheep hunting if score is your thing. They always look bigger from the back front and side view most important to see. my brother was hung up on score he wanted a 170 plus ram and got one, but said if he had to do it again he would take a prettier ram that wasn’t so broomed off longest is only 32.5 but lots of mass last quarter is over ten inches! 

[HyNoon]

Jay Scott has some really good info on field judging rams. 

[azhuntnut]

I’m heading to vegas in August, so I will stop at the park and check them out. Thanks for the heads up.