Big Horn Sheep Pic

YoungBuck · Mar 2, 2003

Here is a picture of a bighorn that i took a couple weekends ago...The picture is going in my senior project for high school..tell me what you guys think.

YB

toddrice · Mar 2, 2003

Great pic, Rocky Mt. ?

ColoradoBob · Mar 2, 2003

What state, YoungBuck ? Bighorn Sheep are my favorite big game animal !! Lots like a 6 or 7 year old ram. Could you count the rings with your bico's ?

Great photo.

YoungBuck · Mar 3, 2003

This ram is from the great state of Idaho. I took it about a month ago up in Hells canyon. I have some other pictures of him, I just have to upload them to the net so i can post them. I didnt know you could tell the age by counting the rings...so I dont really know how many there were..maybe you can see in one of the other pics..you'll have to tell me since i dont know what to look for
YB

YoungBuck · Mar 3, 2003

OK I uploaded another picture for you. It is the same ram just a different view..what do you guys think? These are my first live animal photos.

Bura Nut · Mar 3, 2003

Fantastic. I think you did a great job especially for your first time. I am going to try and become a better photographer, it really is important to get quality photos....... Allen Taylor......

ramslam · Mar 3, 2003

Hells Canyon sheep??? Probably 3-4 years old.

YoungBuck · Mar 3, 2003

Yes this is a hells canyon sheep. I took some other photos of another ram. The other ram was a little bigger but the pictures didnt turn out as well.. He was a lot farther than this one was. I did see one that was bigger than both of the ones that I filmed and took pictures of. He was on the other side of the river though and I had no idea how to get over to them. Maybe next time I'll do a little more walking and find some bigger rams. Has anyone ever hunted muleys down around the hells canyon dam? is it a draw only hunt or a general hunt?
Thanks
YB

PotatoWhisperer · Mar 4, 2003

Great job and keep the great pics coming! Good luck on your project, too!

Scott G.

joebuck · Mar 4, 2003

Very cool for your first pics. Keep on scouting that area, you'll find some good rams eventually.

Splash · Mar 4, 2003

Youngbuck,

Nice pic's. On the Oregon side it is a draw unit for deer. Tough hunt and very tough country as you saw.

ColoradoBob · Mar 4, 2003

Youngbuck----Each year with have a dark band on the rams horn. The first few rings are easy to see, the older the ram gets the rings get closer & closer--- much harder to see & count unless you get a good piece of glass. The ram I shot here in Colorado was about the same size, he had six rings---DOW said he was a 7 year old ram.

honker · Mar 6, 2003

Think that ram is more like 3 years old. Still has lamb tips (no rubbing), no scars, no dings in the horns, hind quarters still rounded off. Hormones kick in about this time - lots of little bands, then the Fourth year a deep dark band start countin years from there.
Nice picture!

Ramchaser · Mar 8, 2003

Great shots, is that a california bighorn or a Rocky Mtn bighorn there are both species in Idaho State?.It looks like a fairly young ram from the shape and diameter of it's horns. The annuli, or the dark rings that grow on the horn develop during the rut. It's a combination of testosterone and lack of feeding, and searching for females that cause the annuli to form.The activity of rams increase dramaticly as the rut approaches, and during the height the rams are continuously on the move in the day light hour. The four year is the first real obvious annuli, due to maturity and the level of testosterone. Although North America sheep are sexually mature at 2.5 years of age. The lenght of the horn is not always an indication of age, horn lenght can be influenced by several factors, habitat, health, an increasing or stable or decreasing population. On older age class rams you can determine sometimes if they have experenced difficult times(bad winters, lung worm, ect...) by two annuli being close together, although the annuli do become smaller with age. After the rut and into the winter months the horn grows very slowly, and not until spring do you see alot of new horn forming. This new horn is easily identified by the colouration. Cheers, Ramchaser

NMhuntnutt · Mar 14, 2003

Youngbuck , your pictures are great . Your doing a real good job , we always enjoy looking at pics , whether it be hunting or just our loved wildlife in their natural habitat . I agree with Bura , I need to put more time and effort into taking better quality photots . Thanks for sharing youngbuck , and keep em coming ...NMhuntnutt

oldoregon · Apr 17, 2003

I have hunted the oregon side for deer, it is called the Snake River unit, and odds are extremely good for drawing, everybody is to scared to hunt there. Huge Bucks down there. I live in Wallowa county, wich is the county you saw acrosss the river. If any questions, email me. I'm gonna do my senior project on widlife photography, so maybe you can point me out to some good spots.