Silver Bullet,
I hope you understood my earlier comment that while hunting National Forest where I had free reign to go anywhere I wanted to or could reach, it still took me 3 weeks to find the ram I wanted and then to be able to successfully stalk in on it. Only 9 days to figure out where rams might be, then try to get in on them is not a long time. In 5 months of scouting my area weekly I only found rams a handful of times.
I would note that summer scouting, at least in August might be very fruitful in indicating where the rams may be come the season opener. They will typically not leave summer range until the weather forces them to. In your unit there may not be as much need for elevational migration for winter.
The Laramie Pk. area is not as high as typical CO or even most of WY sheep range, therefore you will have generally warmer conditions there due to less adiabatic cooling. Sheep will likely be bedded in shade or in a good breeze. Bedded sheep look like boulders. Rams do not normally hang out in the same areas as ewes with lambs and during most of the hunting season will remain in bachelor groups, sometimes quite distant from the ladies. If you are finding ewes with lambs in the early season, look elsewhere. Come the rut it is different.
25) They are (usually) more active in the evening than in the morning. Probably it is more accurate to say they are least active in the middle of the day. If you are glassing you need to be glued to optics at first light and then by 3:00 PM until dusk. Where you put them to bed, look hard for them close by come morning.
26) Rams can weigh up to 350 lbs, but are only 40” tall at the shoulder. True, they are like barrels on short legs.
27) In order, they rely on Eyesight, Hearing and Smell ...ALL of which are Excellent. I am not sure hearing is so high on the list, but eyesight and smell for sure. You might be able to fool eyesight, but not smell. As far as noises, depends. Falling rocks are common in sheep habitat but snapping sticks are not. If you skylight yourself you are done for the day with those sheep.
28) They will bed in timber (or cliff shade) in the daytime and often on open ridges, for the night. That might be regional of a thing of herd "tradition". Some sheep don't like being hemmed in with timber, some sheep don't mind that. If it is hot they probably will seek available shade. That may be the shade of a single tree trunk or dense shade.
When a group [of rams] bugs-out ... the largest ram leads; the others follow.
What’s a normal (daily) travel distance for an undisturbed group ? Depends on the range they occupy; a mile or two in some areas would not be unusual. Sometimes much less. If they get spooked, it could be 5 miles or more.
How far will they travel for water (in September) ? Depends how scarce water is.
How “hard” was the 2015-16 Winter in the Laramie Range ? ... above/below snow/cold levels ? Winter wasn't bad, spring has been wet, feed ought to be OK. But keep in mind most sheep do have summer range and winter range (lower elevation where the snow is less).
Is this a good (water) year for horn growth ? This is not really relevant. Each year, while the ram puts on more mass at the bases, the horn length added is not that great as the ram ages. He gains the most length the first few years, and gains the most girth his last years. Better to ask how the last 8-9 years have been. You need to read up on horn growth in bighorns.
Your cousin needs to figure out what look in a ram he likes, then try to find that.
