What a beauty! Here is a brief note on the hunt sent to Mr. Echols.

DArcy:
Thought you might be interested in seeing a couple of pictures of a Desert Big Horn sheep I shot on opening day in Colorado. I had spent many days scouting my area and had seen this ram before. We., my son and a very good friend from Wyoming, had walked in before daylight and found the sheep not far from where we had seen them the day before. We got to within approximately 600 yards right at day light and were able to cut the distance to 356 yards. I was shooting the 300 Wby Legend you had built for me and I got on my belly and sent a 180 Barnes TSX in his direction. I want you to know that this was probably the most important hunt in my life and I have a bunch of really good rifles in my safe, but I chose the very best rifle I own for this hunt. I own the 25-06 Classic you built for me and it is a wonderful rifle, but this was crunch time and I wanted the best in my hands. This is the same rifle I used in Alaska 10 years ago to take my Dall ram at 488 yards. It is a fantastic rifle and all I can do is say thank you for your commitment to building the very best.

Great Ram!!

Nice ram, I didn't even known Colorado had desert sheep.

I wish they did a points thing there. I have points going in Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, California, and I think I am going to start in Washington this year.

That way you don't get blind sided by a tag when you can't go.

Washington might be a good idea. Buddy of mine smoked the SCI world record California sheep right in our back yard( Swakane Unit) in 2010. There are a couple that may go the streach next year if a guy could draw and get on one.

Beauty of a ram! Way to go.

Beautiful ram!

Nice rifle.

Awesome ram, congrats on the trophy of a lifetime! someday....

quote:

Originally posted by SMACK!!!!:
Washington might be a good idea. Buddy of mine smoked the SCI world record California sheep right in our back yard( Swakane Unit) in 2010. There are a couple that may go the streach next year if a guy could draw and get on one.

Are those CA sheep in WA considered desert sheep?

Where in Colorado was your fine ram taken?
dmw

Drawing that tag ranks right up there with winning the powerball, about the same odds.
C.G.B.

Awesome ram.

Fine ram, congrats!

That's a big desert for Colorado. Congrats!

"Are those CA sheep in Washington considered desert sheep? Tony Mandile"


No, Tony. They are a separate subspecies of bighorn with their own category in the SCI record book. They formerly were lumped with Rocky Mountain bighorns. -- Bill Quimby


Here's what that book says about them:


California Bighorn Sheep --- Ovis canadensis californiana
Borrego de California (Sp), California Dickhornschaf (G), Mouflon du California (F)

DESCRIPTION The California bighorn is considerably smaller than the Rocky Mountain bighorn, with rams of the same age weighing as much as 50 pounds (23 kg) less. The horns are shorter and less massive, and tend to have more flare. The ears are longer, the coat is not as heavy, and the color is lighter, being more gray than brown. Normally a dark stripe extends from the dorsal area through the white rump patch to connect with the dark tail, whereas in the Rocky Mountain bighorn this stripe is usually interrupted or absent.

HABITAT Less steep and rough than that of the Rocky Mountain bighorn, with more grass and less browse.

DISTRIBUTION Formerly from the Caribou region of south-central British Columbia southward in eastern parts of Washington, Oregon, and California, and in northwestern Nevada. Present United States populations are largely the result of transplants from British Columbia through the cooperation of the B.C. Fish and Wildlife Branch.

British Columbia: Southern part, in the Caribou, Thompson-Nicola and Okanagan wildlife regions. California: Mono and Inyo counties on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada (not hunted). Idaho: Southwestern part, south of Interstate 84 in Owyhee and Twin Falls counties (non-indigenous). Nevada: Northwestern part, north of Interstate 80 in Washoe, Humboldt and western Elko counties. North Dakota: Southwestern part, in McKenzie, Billings, Dunn and Stark counties (non-indigenous). Oregon: Southeastern part, mainly in Harney and Malheur counties. Washington: North-central part, near the B.C. border in Okanogan and Ferry counties; central part, in Kittitas and Yakima counties; and southeastern part, in Asotin, Garfield and Columbia counties (please note that in the Tucannon and Cottonwood Creek areas, California bighorns interbreed with, and therefore must be recorded as, Rocky Mountain bighorns).

REMARKS All California bighorn entries must show the name and number of the game management unit in the province or state where they were taken. Many populations are the result of introductions and/or transplants, but we treat them as indigenous for record-keeping purposes.

Tony: Here's what the SCI book says about its desert bighorn category:


Desert Bighorn Sheep -- Ovis canadensis nelsoni

Borrego cimarron (Sp), Nuslen Dickhornschaf (G), Mouflon du desert (F). The subspecific name was given in 1897 for American naturalist E. W. Nelson.

DESCRIPTION (male) Shoulder height about 36 inches (90 cm). Weight 150-170 pounds (68-77 kg). Females are about 60 percent as large as males.

Essentially, the desert sheep is a bighorn that has adapted to a hot, arid environment with limited forage and water. It is smaller than the Rocky Mountain bighorn, with a smaller skull, bigger ears, paler color and a short coat. (Desert bighorns are also smaller than Stone sheep, Dall sheep, and Siberian snow sheep.) The white rump patch is smaller and usually is divided by a dark tail stripe. The horns are almost as large as those of a Rocky Mountain bighorn and tend to have more flare. This-combined with the smaller body size and shorter coat-makes the horns of a good desert ram appear huge and almost out of proportion to its body. Females have short, thin horns.

HABITAT Desert mountains with sufficient permanent water. Water is essential. While desert sheep may forage for considerable distances, they must return to drink every few days during hot weather.

DISTRIBUTION Arizona: Most of the state. California: Southeastern part, mainly in the Mohave Desert, but also in the Colorado Desert in the far south. Colorado: Southwestern part, south of the Colorado River and west of the Gunnison River. Nevada: Southern part. New Mexico: Southwestern part. Texas: Western part. Utah: Southwestern part. Mexico: Baja California, northern Sonora, and locally in Chihuahua and Coahuila.

REMARKS The desert bighorn is usually the last ram of a "grand slam" to be taken, and is often never taken at all. It must be hunted on foot in steep mountains with crumbling rock and under hot, waterless conditions. But the greatest obstacle is the lack of permits. Limited permits are available through drawing in Arizona, Nevada and a few other states, but few permits are allotted to non-residents. The surest place to bag a desert ram is Mexico, where good hunts are operated by the government at prices that, unfortunately, are more than most sheep hunters can afford.

TAXONOMIC NOTES Our desert bighorn sheep category consists of four subspecies listed by Cowan (1940): Nelson bighorn (nelsoni), from southeastern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and northwestern Arizona; Mexican bighorn (mexicana), from most of Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, northern Sonora, and locally in Chihuahua and Coahuila; Lower California bighorn (cremnobates), from north of about latitude 29°N in Baja California Norte, extending northward into southern California; and Weems bighorn (weemsi), from south of about latitude 29°N in Baja California Norte, extending southward through Baja California Sur. The name nelsoni Merriam, 1897, has priority.