Anyone in Alberta having any luck? Seems a lot were out this weekend of course. Share your successful stories? Or, even unsuccessful.

One story on Alberta Outdoorsman. legal, but nothing special. Not many big rams killed these days, just too much hunting pressure.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca...wthread.php?t=386854

Grizz

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams1:
One story on Alberta Outdoorsman. legal, but nothing special. Not many big rams killed these days, just too much hunting pressure.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca...wthread.php?t=386854

Grizz

So what qualifys as a special ram to you, any pictures of the ones you have taken you can share.

Any legal ram is special these days, unfortunately. If you're lucky, you'll get drawn for one of the limited access hunts, for which you're looking at decades, but even those are declining in quality for various reasons. It takes age to grow rams and they just don't get to live long enough, unless they live in a sanctuary, where hunters line the borders, hoping they'll wander out, like the mine at Cadomin.

Grizz

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams1:
Any legal ram is special these days, unfortunately. If you're lucky, you'll get drawn for one of the limited access hunts, for which you're looking at decades, but even those are declining in quality for various reasons. It takes age to grow rams and they just don't get to live long enough, unless they live in a sanctuary, where hunters line the borders, hoping they'll wander out, like the mine at Cadomin.

Grizz

Grizz I have to agree with you. These days any legal bighorn ram is a trophy to the lucky hunter, and should be. That said, the open zones and curl restriction, along with the heavy hunting pressure, ensures that the majority of rams are shot off the year their horns make the legal curl requirements.

This has been the situation for many years and it has just gotten worse with time as the number of "sheep hunters" increase. The open zones are of course an attempt to maximize hunter opportunity and continue to rake in the license fees on a hunt that has a very low hunter success rate.

There is a similar situation in British Columbia for California bighorn in a few management units in Regions 3 and 5. It is an open season with a minimum full curl restriction...a restriction that pretty much assures that hardly any rams will be taken. Full curl California bighorn rams in these units are extremely rare and you could spend a lot of years hunting these units and never see a legal ram. In my view it is rather disingenuous of the game department, but it keeps the license fees rolling in and gives the illusion of hunter opportunity to the masses that are tired of putting in for draws they have little or no hope of drawing during their lifetime.