LAST EDITED ON Sep-14-19 AT 02:49PM (MST)[p]First time posting. However, I have looked around this sight for years. My wife has drawn the zions late hunt for desert sheep. To say we are excited is an understatement! Heading down next week to do some scouting in the poverty flats area.
Deseret sheep tag
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Zeke
Long Time Member
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>We?re not worried about your spelling.
> Just send pictures of
>your wife! With
>a dead ram!
>Enjoy!
>
>Mackey.
Some of us want pics of your wife, others want pics of your wife with her ram, others want just pics of her ram.
So.... share whatever you want us to enjoy and we'll be happy to get it....but share you must! Them's the rules (as we say around here)!
BEST of luck to you and your wife! I'm sure I don't have to tell you how special the hunt is for a desert sheep.
Zeke
#livelikezac
> Just send pictures of
>your wife! With
>a dead ram!
>Enjoy!
>
>Mackey.
Some of us want pics of your wife, others want pics of your wife with her ram, others want just pics of her ram.
So.... share whatever you want us to enjoy and we'll be happy to get it....but share you must! Them's the rules (as we say around here)!
BEST of luck to you and your wife! I'm sure I don't have to tell you how special the hunt is for a desert sheep.
Zeke
#livelikezac
LAST EDITED ON Sep-19-19 AT 08:12PM (MST)[p]well back from 3 days in the poverty flats area. Neat country to say the least. We managed to find around 30 head of sheep with 7 total rams. 2 of which might be okay. im going to figure out how to post pics here and see what you guys think of them. obviously this is our first and probably only time we will get to hunt sheep and frankly im not sure if i can tell what is good and what is a young ram!
littlebighorn
Long Time Member
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Horn mass is king in sheep judging and age goes right along with that. If a ram is thin horned it is very likely a young ram even if it's horns are long. Broomed tips are often a good sign of a ram getting some age. Big bases on sheep are also a strong indication of a good scoring ram.
Try to get close enough to count annuli (rings on the horn) with a spotting scope. It generally takes at least 8 years for a sheep to be fully mature and trophy rams are often 10 and older.
Hope that helps a bit. Best of luck!
Try to get close enough to count annuli (rings on the horn) with a spotting scope. It generally takes at least 8 years for a sheep to be fully mature and trophy rams are often 10 and older.
Hope that helps a bit. Best of luck!
ddsflyfisher
Active Member
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Love looking at pics of rams. There are lots of websites to find aging ram info. From my experiences, your first pics show a ram at least 6yo. It usually takes them 6years to just get 3/4 curl with lamb tips intact. Each year thereafter the spaces in true annuli get less spaced. Some years there is poor feed, or water, or an injury and the space in that years growth annuli with the next year can be very tight. I would recommend looking for something that looks heavy and with at least 3/4 curl with some brooming- that will get you at least an 8yo ram. Good luck and enjoy the moment- it goes by fast!
Cheers- Dave
Cheers- Dave
ddsflyfisher
Active Member
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Btw- My bet is that first ram is about 8/9.
Cheers- Dave
Cheers- Dave
man i didnt think it would be quite that old. i have searched the internet, listened to pod casts, and even read a couple books... Everything i thought i was lesrning about them when it came to aging and scoring went out the window with the first couple rams we found!! I guess thats the appeal to sheep hunting and i believe i am now starting to get addicted to it!!
littlebighorn
Long Time Member
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Having seen the sheep in that unit I would not guess that first ram 8/9. Those sheep are from Nevada stock and they grow pretty fast.
3200, I would say your estimate is probably closer, but unless you can see rings well enough to count, putting an age to a ram is impossible.
The biggest mistake most novice sheep hunters experience is looking at length more than mass. (full curl rarely happens in desert sheep). It sounds like you at least know the basics and that is enough to come away with a good ram in that unit. So don't second guess yourself too much.
By the end of the hunt, if you are not addicted, you don't have a pulse.
3200, I would say your estimate is probably closer, but unless you can see rings well enough to count, putting an age to a ram is impossible.
The biggest mistake most novice sheep hunters experience is looking at length more than mass. (full curl rarely happens in desert sheep). It sounds like you at least know the basics and that is enough to come away with a good ram in that unit. So don't second guess yourself too much.
By the end of the hunt, if you are not addicted, you don't have a pulse.
it may be to me late.. i think i may be addicted already and it aint even my tag!! were headed down again in a couple days to look the area over on the Hurricane side. i have not spent anytime in that country so it will be a learning experience for sure. i appreciate everyones help looking some of the pictures over it really helps to hear what some of you sheep guys have to say.
Onelegwonder
Active Member
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Great pics! That first one looks good to me. But I have very little sheep experience. I defer to the other guys in here. I'm certainly looking to following this thread. Good luck! Keep the pics coming.
yoteduster
Very Active Member
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It all depends on the unit your in but imo I would keep tabs on the ram in your first pic for sure
