quote:

Originally posted by squeezenhope:
Not what you asked, but I thought I would throw in a supplemental observation. Not talking about rams that spend their entire life visiting supplemental feeders! 27" or 28" is probably a good average for a fully mature ram. I say probably because how can you know? You sure can't measure them all. 30" is good almost anywhere and over 32" is pretty special, with all the caveats about mass.. Rams vary in configuration and some areas where they typically grow long they are not exceptionally heavy, as a rule. I suspect it is the age old fact that genetics and nutrition will tell the tale.

quote:

Originally posted by nmhunter4life:
I used to guide for aoudad here in NM on a private ranch and my brother is a taxidermist who mounts a bunch of aoudad every year, mostly from NM and a few from far west TX. I have seen many more sets of aoudad horns than most people will in a lifetime.
Most big, 28-32", aoudad are 6-7 years old when counting the growth rings. About the oldest you ever see are 12-13 years old and often these are on the smaller 27-28" range. In this country, where we have definitive winters with poorer quality feed, they lay down growth rings just like a bighorn or dall sheep does. I do not know if the aoudad in the hill country of TX that are visiting protein feeders constantly would do the same. The initial 4 years they put on a ton of growth and then it tapers off quickly. The best way to check is from the back side of the horn and there is a definitive deeper groove that will go all the way around the horn. (Year 1 and 2 are the hardest to see and the front portion will sometimes be broomed down, but the back side is still visible.) It is pretty laughable when many outfitters and hunters claim that their aoudad broomed off a few years of growth and throw out ages in the 15-20 range. These people are either lying, ignorant, or both. When you see a really old one in the 10-12 range they are often putting on less than 1/2" per year at the base and probably brooming more than that off the end.

I just checked one on his taxidermy mounting stand that was easy to get at. Here is the growth by year for a 28" NM sheep. 1 - 10", 2 - 6", 3 - 4.5", 4 - 4.5", 5 - 2", 6 - 1"

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
I think you want them to be 8 or more for full size.

The one on my wall is 6, and has dried out to 25.5 inches. He was 27.5 when we originally measured him (according to the outfitter).

He needs more mass and more length.