Living Legend Dies

[blacktailer]

What a shame.  Not long after the idiotic driver took out 8 bighorns in Anaconda, MT (2 I believe were book rams) This old boy was supposedly taken out by a truck in Alberta.   Apparently he was well known throughout the region.  Reportedly was scored at 207 B & C.  He was a 12 year old ram that had 16" bases and horn lengths of 45-6 and 43-6.  One helluva a ram.  Been a while since I've looked at the Bighorn category in the B & C, but if memory serves me correct,  he would go top 5 all time.  Too bad a sportsman couldn't have hung a tag on him

[bearpaw]

Magnificent ram, too bad he was wasted by a vehicle.

[blacktailer]

A little sidenote:  For those always looking for good reference photos on learning to field judge rams, this guys obviously got it all.   2 of the key features being 1. a big open curl that you could fit a volleyball through and 2. a curl that drops to or below the jaw line.  look at the last picture and see how low the bottom of his curl drops.  He also has incredible mass.  Mass can be hard to judge and doesn't appear to be as massive when you stretch it out over 46 inches of horn.  Finally this ram, just like any other "whopper" of any big game species has the Holy S*%$ factor.  When they look big they are big!!!

[PacificNWhunter]

That's a shame, he was a stud if a ram.

[GoldTip]

Damn shame, that's one helluva ram for sure.  Was he in the Banff area or further up by Jasper?

[Pathfinder101]

That sux.  Wish someone could have tagged him. 
I am not a bighorn expert.  I notice that in some of the live pics he has really long tips, but in the recent shots he is very broomed off.  I know it comes from the horns rubbing on the ground while feeding, but his horns are HUGE in the pics where he is not broomed.  Why is he broomed now, but not before?  Anyone know?

[blacktailer]

Regarding the brooming of sheep horns:  The most accepted reason for brooming of horns is when they interfere with the peripheral vision of a ram.  From a predator/prey standpoint, this seems to make the most sense.

[bearpaw]

Regarding the brooming of sheep horns:  The most accepted reason for brooming of horns is when they interfere with the peripheral vision of a ram.  From a predator/prey standpoint, this seems to make the most sense.

That is the reasoning I have heard too, and it seems to make good sense.

[shanevg]

Wow, what a ram!  Bummer he had to die that way.

[let.it.fly]

that is super sad. its kinda funny how small the ears on a big ram look.

[180-GRAIN]

I wish we had genes like that in Washington.

[7mmfan]

In my opinion, its not just to bad that a truck got him vs a hunter, its just plain ol' to bad that he's gone. Animals like that don't come along everyday and its always a shame when one goes down, regardless of how he goes. Don't get me wrong, i'd love to drop an old mossback buck, bull or ram just as much as anyone else, but I always feel a little sadness when I see a monarch like that die. just my 

[7mag.]

In my opinion, its not just to bad that a truck got him vs a hunter, its just plain ol' to bad that he's gone. Animals like that don't come along everyday and its always a shame when one goes down, regardless of how he goes. Don't get me wrong, i'd love to drop an old mossback buck, bull or ram just as much as anyone else, but I always feel a little sadness when I see a monarch like that die. just my 

Me too. To get real big like that, they've had to survive a whole lot of life threatining situations, too bad one finaly got him.

[Bigshooter]

That is a stud ram.

[boneaddict]

Thanks for the pics BC and the info.