Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Full curl sheep

I really enjoy reading stories of peoples sheep hunts,and they all pretty much mention about the sheep not being a full curl and therefore not legal, at what point does the sheep become legal?.

Dave

depends... here in Idaho if you have a tag for a ram any ram is legal.
In Alaska check this link: http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=sheep.fullcurl
Some places have � curl restrictions and/or age restrictions.

UKdave:

In Colorado, full curl rams are pretty rare. Here, 1/2 curl is minimum legal ram.

I hunted bighorns a few years ago and took the best ram in the unit. It is a 3/4 curl and spectacular.



KC

Full curl is tough to do, especially for those that broom back. Oregon used to be 3/4 but backed off to any ram due to the quantitiy of marginal calls made.

I've noticed on TV, and I think it's one of the Canadian provinces, that they went to an 8 yr age requirement. That demands that one get a really good look to count annuli, and there could be some judgement calls there.

I think the best plan for those limited opportunity things is to regulate hunter numbers and let each be happy with whatever. The real trophy fanatics will do whatever or put in the time to shake out the biggest of the pack. Those that apply on a whim due to some office encouragement, are likely happy with any sheep.

Full curl has many different definitions. A full curl Rocky Mountain Bighorn or California Bighorn is different than a full curl Dall or Stone sheep in British Columbia.

In MT it has to be a 3/4 curl to be legal. Look on the MT Fish Wildlife and Parks website then to the Bighorn Sheep regulations. It will show what is considered a legal ram in MT.

Here's a Montana ram from an "unlimited" unit that is well beyond 3/4 curl. We had this ram spotted six days before the season opened....killed him three days after the opener after waiting out a three day snow storm...

Full curl means that the curving horn has grown until it goes all the way around in a 360 degree circle.

The devil is in the details of exactly how and where we measure the 360 degree circle.

The definition of "full curl" is different in different states and provinces I'm told. I'll try to paste in a link to British Columbia's definition in their game regs, which has illustrations. From the page that appears, scroll down to page 3, definitions. (Edit: just noticed that the sheep definitons are down on p. 4). If this doesn't work you can google BC Game regulations and then go to page 3/4.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlif.../Hunting-TrappingSynopsis_0910_Part1.pdf

Also, what do we do when the tip is broken off, etc?

FWIW, most old timers consider the full curl definition for thinhorn sheep in the BC regs to be a true full curl.

AK is pretty specific about the curl definitions and gives plenty of examples... It requires the tip to grow through 360 degrees and that is when viewed from the side of the curl, through the center of the horn. If the view is a squashed oval that is not the correct view... It must be a circle.

Both horns broomed, or over 7 years old in full curl areas is also legal.

Some areas will put out full curl sheep at 5 years and some Chugach sheep will never close the loop, even though they are monsters.
art

Minimum age for a legal ram in Alaska is 8 years old. I've seen full curl horned rams at 6 years and I killed one this year that was 7 but was a full curl.

Okanagan

Thanks for the link, exactly what I was looking for and easy to understand.

Many thanks Dave

Over 7 is uh, uh, uh... like, like 8!

Hunted the Nabesna Road a lot years ago... That is THE home of tight spirals! I have several that made full at 5.

Shot a tiny ram some years back I assumed was much farther away than it actually was. Curl and a quarter at 8, but 32". I thought he was MUCH bigger...

Yeah, I know and I figured you were going to say that but 7 1/2 is older than 7 and that's not legal.

My ram was 7 years old and he was only 29" on the curl but declared legal by the AWT in Anchorage.

So what happens if you you shoot one that ain't quite legal (even though you really thought it was)?

I hold up a friends ram.....NWT.

scenarshooter that is a great ram. The unlimited hunt is known as one of the toughest hunts in the world, and it looks like you got it done on a monster.

Idaho changed their regulation to allow any ram. They feared too many rams were being shot and left in the field because they did not meet the 3/4 curl limit. It is a once in a lifetime sheep hunt in Idaho so its not like the hunters will have any experience.

Also, the California bighorns in the southern part of the state don't reach full curl. They heavily broom at 3/4.

Lots of nice rams posted. Figured I would post the one I shot this year - again.

Thanks and I agree it is one of the most challenging trophy hunts a guy can do....I started hunting the unlimited ares in 1978 and never even saw a legal ram until 1983!! Rams are scarce and they live in the timber....and there are lots of hunters looking for them. And a lot of years its only a two or three day hunt because the quotas have been filled.

That unlimited ram is a ram that I guided in 2006.

Nice ram Boise..and nice picture!

Here's a ram that doesn't quite go full curl. We found him at the bottom of what appeared to be a previous avalanch.


Here's mine. Look at the horn on the opposite side curling past full.