How to Judge a Trophy Bighorn Sheep
Four species of big game sheep exist in North America: the Dall, Stone, Desert, and Rocky Mountain Bighorn. In the field, each species is judged differently by the hunter to determine if the animal is a trophy or an average sheep. Bighorn live in rugged, remote mountain country and are usually spotted by hunters from a distance of several hundred yards. Judging the trophy will be done through binoculars or a spotting scope so the hunter must understand what makes a trophy sheep and be able to make those judgements from a distance. Curl, horn mass and horn length are the judging factors.
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Instructions
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Study the side of the head to determine the curl of the horn. The tip of a full curl horn will sweep up to the bridge of the sheep's muzzle. A full curl scores more points; horns that do not come up to the muzzle are not full curl.
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Examine the sweep of the horns. Horns that grow straight up from the head before curling back create a tighter curl and less inches. Horns that sweep back from the head and make a symmetrical curl have more inches when measuring the length of the horns. A wider curl that sweeps back from the head is preferred as it looks better and scores higher.
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Determine the mass thickness of the horns from the base to the tip. The circumference of the horns is part of the official scoring: heavy, thick horns score higher. The horn has good mass if the ear hole looks tiny in comparison to the diameter of the horn.
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Look at the sheep from the front of its face to determine the spread between the horn tips. A curl that stays close to the face will score fewer points than a curl that is spread away from the face.
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Study the horn tips for brooming. A full curl sheep with the horn tips intact can score higher than horns tips that have broken off. If two sheep are equal in horn dimensions but one is broomed, take the sheep with the tips intact.
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Obtain the official Boone and Crockett Club scoring sheet before hunting to understand how the horns are scored. Horns are scored for their length, spread and circumference at four quarter spots.
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Tips & Warnings
Bighorns will snap off the tips of their horns if they grow up too high and obstruct their vision. This is referred to as brooming and can cost trophy points as opposed to unbroomed horns.
Study mounted heads of trophy bighorns to understand how a good set of horns looks. It will make it easier to determine a good head in the field.
Bighorn rams will often gather in bachelor herds or have more than one ram in a mixed herd. More than one ram makes it easier to compare one head to another.
Sheep hunting is done in rugged, mountainous country in thin air with a great deal of climbing involved. Do not attempt to hunt sheep if you are in poor health or suffer from heart issues.
References
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