Chugach Dall taken in August '03. My outfitter was Guy George. Keith Atcheson helped put the trip together. The rifle was a custom 700 in 6.5x55. I was using 140 Nosler Partitions. He was basically facing me at a bit over 200 yards and you can see where he was hit. My guide initially thought the 6.5 was a bit light, but after he saw that I could shoot it pretty accurately and the ram only went about 25 yards after the shot, he was satisfied it could do the job.
We spotted him on the face of the mountain in the background from about a mile away. We watched him until he started to come down to feed. Then we sprinted to get into position. When we came over the little hill that should have looked down on him, there he was. We watched him for a while as we discussed him and then I made the decision to shoot.
He went 38" on both sides and the bases after about 2 months of drying measured 14" and 13 3/4". A very proud hunter I am.
Posts: 306 | Location: Originally from Texas | Registered: 17 March 2001
Nice Ram! Not to be a smart-ass but is it a legal ram? I thought they had to be full curl. Hard to tell from a picture but it looks a little short. What are the requirements in AK?
Posts: 2122 | Location: Arkansas | Registered: 03 June 2000
Believe me, the guide and I debated for quite a while as to whether he was full curl. He was feeding and we were able to observe him for close to 30 minutes. We even were able to count the growth rings to satisfy us he was legal (a ram must be 8 years in Alaska to be legal).
To answer your question, yes he is a full curl. The angle of the photo is deceiving, but the right side just makes it to 360 degrees. Before I shot, we also determined he had at least 8 growth rings. It turns out he was 8 1/2 years old, so he's legal in that respect as well.
Posts: 306 | Location: Originally from Texas | Registered: 17 March 2001
B. I don't want to disclose any info that you aren't comfortable with, but would you mind telling us which outfit you booked with and what area of the Chugach Mountains you hunted?
Beautiful ram, by the way.
Posts: 1508 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 09 August 2002
With regards measuring sheep, can anybody explain (better yet post link with diagrams/pictures) as to what makes a 360 degree horn? From what i have read on these forums, it seems they can be very difficult to asses even by expirienced hunters due to angles. Also can somebody explain how you age these sheep on the hoof?
I am in no way doubting B's sheep, just trying to learn a little so i can fully appriciate some of the trophys posted in these forums,
thanks in advance,
Pete
Posts: 5684 | Location: North Wales UK | Registered: 22 May 2002
Thanks for the link...coincidentally when I got home, I discovered I had just recieved a book I ordered called: "Wild Sheep of the Great Arc" which looks as if it will be interesting reading....
Regards,
Pete
Posts: 5684 | Location: North Wales UK | Registered: 22 May 2002
I hunted with an outfitter named Guy George. I believe his hunters are booked exclusively thru Atcheson and sons. We were in the eastern Chugach mtns south of Glenallen toward Valdez. It was a fun but challenging backpack only, and I do mean only, hunt. Those beautiful horns got darned heavy after carrying them out for a day and a half.
Posts: 306 | Location: Originally from Texas | Registered: 17 March 2001
Nice ram! I too had the "Is he legal?" question but I could tell from the second picture after you added them that he was legal on one side for sure. Must have been a long 30 minutes of doubt! LOL. Counting growth rings at a distance is not easy as there can be "false" rings.
That is a beautiful ram as I like the way the horns spread out. They have character!!Yep be proud of it!! It is just flat pretty!!
Posts: 23 | Location: Tok Alaska | Registered: 16 October 2003
