Marble/Clipper MTNS Sheep

[cali_hornhunter]

As the title says and previous post father drew a sheep tag for this unit! Excited is an understatement.

Can't anyone reccomend any good articles or books about judging or providing any insight to judging? Or any first hand knowledge of the area or hunt feel to pm or what not. I'll try to return with any knowledge of the areas of ca if I can be of help

Thanks,
Tony

 

[Horniac]

As the title says and previous post father drew a sheep tag for this unit! Excited is an understatement.

Can't anyone reccomend any good articles or books about judging or providing any insight to judging? Or any first hand knowledge of the area or hunt feel to pm or what not. I'll try to return with any knowledge of the areas of ca if I can be of help

Thanks,
Tony

Congrats to your father on the tag! I drew the same one! Your dad has most likely been contacted by many of the outfitters by now as I have. I haven't had a chance to talk to many of them yet but they all offered to help out with information. My cousin had the tag like ten years ago and I was able to go along on his hunt for a few days. Fun hunt for sure! Eastmans just had a good field judging article in the latest sheep issue and if you can find any of the old Duncan Gilchrist field judging DVD's they are very good too.

Anyhow congrats to your dad! Good luck to you guys and hopefully I will see you on the mountain if not before at the orientation meeting or something...

Horniac

 

[Sfjeeper]

Congratulations on the draw! I've been blessed to go on two sheep hunts in California. I drew Old Dads in 2013 and my brother drew San Gorgonio last year.

Field judging sheep is not easy task. Being able to tell a 155" vs a 177" sheep when they are a mile away can be extremely difficult. It helps if you have top notch optics. It will save you miles and miles of hiking just trying to get close enough to properly judge an animal.

Because we didn't have enough vacation time to scout, we both opted for an outfitter. It's not cheap, but I feel it was worth the money. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and you don't want to come home empty handed.

I'd be happy to answer any questions I can. Let me know.

 

[6mm Remington]

Duncan Gilchrist has some good books on sheep and sheep hunting. Three or four of them and I have three I believe. I'll poke around and see if I can find them. Maybe shoot me a PM with your name and address and I'll try and look here in a day or two. If I locate them in boxes I'm sure (moved in November) I'll just mail them to you.

David

 

[cali_hornhunter]

Congratulations on the draw! I've been blessed to go on two sheep hunts in California. I drew Old Dads in 2013 and my brother drew San Gorgonio last year.

Field judging sheep is not easy task. Being able to tell a 155" vs a 177" sheep when they are a mile away can be extremely difficult. It helps if you have top notch optics. It will save you miles and miles of hiking just trying to get close enough to properly judge an animal.

Because we didn't have enough vacation time to scout, we both opted for an outfitter. It's not cheap, but I feel it was worth the money. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and you don't want to come home empty handed.

I'd be happy to answer any questions I can. Let me know.

What did you feel was the hardest part of judging sheep?

 

[sneakypete]

I'd being calling outfitters, I'd also be calling DFG's Sheep boiologist and pick there brains. You may also ask for a list of previous draw winners to contact them. Another option is getting in contact with the Calif. chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation. Good hunting.

 

[Sfjeeper]

What did you feel was the hardest part of judging sheep?

The challenge is being able judge the mass. Especially if you don't see a lot of sheep together. Two sheep that look similar in length can 15" to 20" difference in score. When we were glassing sheep at well over mile away I could tell which rams looked bigger, but it was difficult to judge scores. It took hours of vertical hiking to get within range. Being able to accurately judge from a distance will save you many miles of hiking.

If you are planning a diy hunt, you'll want to spend as much time scouting as possible. Call Regina at Fish & Wildlife and get the biologist's number. I can give you the number to the outfitter we used. He's a great resource. He can help you even if you don't hire him.

 

[sneakypete]

X2what sfjeeper said!

 

[Muleys 24/7]

Cali hornhunter, congrats to your dad on a great opportunity. For any questions about desert sheep including field judging Desert sheep I would definitely contact [email protected] with any questions you have. He's a very friendly,successful and knowledgeable Arizona sheep guide that is always willing to help with any questions regarding sheep.

 

[Muleys 24/7]

SFjeeper, not to high jack the tread but if possible,I would love to see some pictures of your brothers ram from San Gorgonio.

 

[Sfjeeper]

Muley24/7 I posted a picture of my brother's sheep in the sheep section titled "So this happened". I have another picture in that thread I can post as well.