How old is this ram?

[sneakypete]

5 1/2 -6

 

[Bluffgruff]

He was born in spring of 2015, so just over 5 years.

 

[sacountry]

Looks 6 to me.

I have a question....admittedly, I'm going on my first sheep hunt this year so I've been trying to bone up on stuff like this. I really thought I had the annulis rings figured out when I read this on ww.gohunt.com....https://www.gohunt.com/read/skills/how-to-accurately-age-bighorn-sheep#gs.exbtp4...If I apply what gohunt says, it would appear that the first annulis ring (about equadistant from the base of his ear) would happen at age 4.5, the tip of his ear practically touching the 5.5 ring. Then counting the rings toward the skull from there, I see two more rings so I would thought this was a 7.5 year old ram. So my question is, how old is a ram when the first prominent annulis ring is visible? Love to hear what people think the size of this ram is as well since I'm trying to hone those skills. I was thinking this ram was 170"ish....tips below the jaw line, carries decent mass through the 3/4 measurement, appears to have good length.

 

[ScottP]

Looks 6 to me.

Agree. Dandy 6 y-o

 

[bonedogg]

6 yo ram, tops.

 

[bigjohn]

I have a question....admittedly, I'm going on my first sheep hunt this year so I've been trying to bone up on stuff like this. I really thought I had the annulis rings figured out when I read this on ww.gohunt.com....https://www.gohunt.com/read/skills/how-to-accurately-age-bighorn-sheep#gs.exbtp4...If I apply what gohunt says, it would appear that the first annulis ring (about equadistant from the base of his ear) would happen at age 4.5, the tip of his ear practically touching the 5.5 ring. Then counting the rings toward the skull from there, I see two more rings so I would thought this was a 7.5 year old ram. So my question is, how old is a ram when the first prominent annulis ring is visible? Love to hear what people think the size of this ram is as well since I'm trying to hone those skills. I was thinking this ram was 170"ish....tips below the jaw line, carries decent mass through the 3/4 measurement, appears to have good length.

The lowest or first ring that is visible on this ram is the 3 year ring. Sometimes it is prominent as it is on this ram. The ring above is the 4 year, it is a deeper ring. As far as score, I like how my son, the sheep guide, says it, "Everybody sucks at scoring live sheep, some people just suck more." On this ram, it is difficult for me to tell if he has 16.5" bases or 15.5" bases. That difference alone would result in 8". If I were hunting, I would look for an older age class ram that I liked and then guess a score after I shot him. Good luck on your hunt!

 

[sacountry]

The lowest or first ring that is visible on this ram is the 3 year ring. Sometimes it is prominent as it is on this ram. The ring above is the 4 year, it is a deeper ring. As far as score, I like how my son, the sheep guide, says it, "Everybody sucks at scoring live sheep, some people just suck more." On this ram, it is difficult for me to tell if he has 16.5" bases or 15.5" bases. That difference alone would result in 8". If I were hunting, I would look for an older age class ram that I liked and then guess a score after I shot him. Good luck on your hunt!

Now I'm a just a bit more confused, so the first annulis ring appears at age 3....or I guess call it 3.5 since the rings apparently coincide with the rut....so is gohunt over stating that the rings start at 4.5 years and technically they start at 3.5 years?

 

[bigjohn]

If you look at Slatebuilders great first photo, you can see a deep ring at the 10 o'clock position, about where the ear goes behind the horn. This is the 4 year ring. There are 2 rings between that ring and the base, making him a 6 year old.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

looks like a very impressive 6 yr old.

 

[MT_elk]

I agree, 5 1/2

 

[geetar]

South Dakota....... Land of Good Looking Sheep... and Governor.

Facts! She’s a looker for sure. I’ll trade them Roy Cooper for her.