Chelan sheep

[Huckleberry]

More.

[Huckleberry]

A rough attempt at score.

[pianoman9701]

Amazing animal. Well done.

[LDennis24]

Hmmm... I'm still saying 10.5

[Alchase]

Beautiful Ram, thank you for the great write-up and sharing your adventure with us 

Can't wait to see it mounted, have you decided what type of mount you want?

[Mfowl]

Awesome ram, great write up! 

[Pathfinder101]

I tried aging him... but if you guys can tell where the lamb tips start, you're a better man than me  .  I only see 8.5 rings, but he's so broomed off, I'm sure he's older than that...
Fun speculating though 

[LDennis24]

I tried aging him... but if you guys can tell where the lamb tips start, you're a better man than me  .  I only see 8.5 rings, but he's so broomed off, I'm sure he's older than that...
Fun speculating though 

It's definitely hard when they are so beat up but that usually means it's an older scrapper too. This shows how difficult it is to tell an old ram from a young one at first glance. I hope the OP posts the age.

[Huckleberry]

I checked the ram into the biologist this morning and then dropped it off at the taxidermist. Consensus on age seems to be 9 though there may be an extra year that wasn’t counted. Photos will be sent to Olympia for better opinions. Everyone who saw it agreed it was a nice, older representation of what our fine state has to offer. For now it will be a long waiting game for him to come back home. I’m keeping things relatively standard with a right turn wall pedestal and no landscaping. Something like this photo. I’m sure Garth at Fidalgo Taxidermy will do a fine job.

[LDennis24]

It's gonna look awesome! 

[Huckleberry]

Just some food for thought for those who read this post in the future about hunting in the heat and the issues that come with it. September sheep are problematic. I haven't seen many posts of what folks are doing to operate in a more comfortable environment so I thought I'd share something I've been doing for a number of years now.

On all my hunts, be it a short day hike with a belt pouch, or a minimalist wilderness hunt I raid my wife's linen closet. All old pillow cases and bed sheets are up for grabs.  The in-laws have also been instructed to save them for my use. I always carry 2-4 pillow cases and if packing, one flat sheet. I have used them for many things from hanging food to extra sleeping protection on very cold nights but most importantly for game processing. The sheets are nice to keep the animal out of the dirt and sand. The pillow cases are my game bags and how I pack an animal out in a single trip.

My packing strategy has evolved over the years to the shuffle method. Fill each pillow case with 35 or so pounds of meat. Tie two together with 550 cord. I like to throw an extra wrap or three around the bottom for additional support and if I have 4 pillow cases double them up to help wick blood and stay clean.

To pack the animal out I load my pack to a comfortable weight, preferably less than 100lbs, and walk until I get tired. Set the pack down and go grab the two pillow cases. Through them over your shoulder, adjust to fit and hike to your pack. You're tired but now you have to walk until you don't enjoy it. Set pillow cases down and go back for the pack. The first leg is the worst since you have to go past the previous point of being tired. After that the stages get shorter. Base how far you walk past the previous drop off stage to the ground conditions. Somehow your resting while hiking with no weight. It's very important to mark with GPS and flagging. Make it obvious or you'll really regret doubting if you've gone far enough or missed it. Trust me. A camo backpack, even with horns, is not always on your mind when your watching your footing. When your tired your brain is not operating at 100%.

This is a much more enjoyable approach vs. two separate trips and a long empty pack to the original kill site. With my sheep hunt this year I found another use for the flat sheet. As the sun came out and I realized I would be working in full sun I made a tent. The original set up worked until I noticed the sun moves around the earth readjust and back at it.

At the truck I had the largest cooler I owned filled with frozen milk jugs from Costco. The square style packs well. Half gallon juice jugs were in place where I could fit them. The cooler is heavy to the point of don't move it but stayed cold with ice in the jugs despite several days of 90 plus temperatures. It's free and I could get things cooling immediately. Typically I'll swap out the now blood soaked pillow cases, and wrap any larger pieces loosely with a thin bedsheet to allow them to cool clean and insect free. If bedding is trashed toss it, if it's decent I wash it for later reuse. I also use the sheets to wrap whole animals if I’m able to get them out and hang them for a few days. The bedding system is fun and I’m able to pick thin/light when weight matters and save the thick heavy ones for cold weather.

[Falcon]

Some great advice there.   Congrats again on a great adventure.   I envy you for getting that tag

With max points, if God humors me with a tag, I hope to do it similar to your style

[Gentrys]

Just getting around to reading some of these incredible hunts!  Congrats and thanks for sharing!
What a cool experience!

[Wanttohuntmore]

Congrats on the sheep and great write up.   I also have been using pillow cases for over 30 years and always thought a sheet would help.

[Huckleberry]

Sharing the final product: After the usual waiting period my 2024 adventure has wrapped up. It was interesting to feel the weight of the horns a year later. I never gave much thought to that aspect. This was also my first chance to see the animal in a more lifelike fashion from an angle other than the initial shot. Thank you to the taxidermist for the amazing work.