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#1fishslayer
02-21-2009, 09:35 PM
These pics are from December . Highway sheep.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r100/daveanddar/PC270040.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r100/daveanddar/PC270041.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r100/daveanddar/PC270040.jpg

6616
02-21-2009, 09:56 PM
These pics are from December . Highway sheep.

Kicking Horse eh....????

#1fishslayer
02-21-2009, 10:32 PM
Right at the top of the hill at the pull out.

6616
02-21-2009, 11:56 PM
Right at the top of the hill at the pull out.

I recognized the spot from the lock block in the background. Been there hundreds of times.

There's been some super rams in that herd over the years. Look in my gallery to see one of the biggest.

kennyj
02-22-2009, 06:08 AM
Nice photos.Some nice rams there!
kenny

crazysheephunter
02-22-2009, 06:13 AM
I agree, definitley some nice heads there.

mark
02-22-2009, 08:19 AM
Those rams are darn near petable, last year we got within 10' of them, was pretty cool!

Rock Doctor
02-22-2009, 08:23 AM
They look very relaxed, nice pics.

sawmill
02-22-2009, 09:02 AM
Watch out for "cerimonial purpose" hunters.

6616
02-22-2009, 11:28 AM
Watch out for "cerimonial purpose" hunters.

There have been a couple, maybe more, rams poached out of this herd over the years. One incident just occurred last Oct, they caught the perpetrator. It has not been ceremonial purpose hunters yet, that I know of anyway. These critters just too visible and too tempting and so many people see them on the Trans Canada Highway.

There is no sheep hunting season in the Kicking Horse. This herd numbers from 30 to 50 animals and is not considered large enough to sustain a hunting season. This herd occupies a very small and inadequate winter range and is supplimentally fed by the Golden R/G Club, thus some of these rams live to the ripe old age of 10 to 14 years. They are highly habituated as well and hunting them would just not be realistically a fair chase hunt.

The herd is valuable from a conservation standpoint as a source transplant herd. MOE did two transplants in 2007 and a third one is planned soon to suppliment herds further south in the Trench. MOE also traps sheep at Radium for translocation further south. There are some photos in my gallery of some of the bigger rams we've had over the years, including the one that got poached last Oct.

huntwriter
02-22-2009, 01:01 PM
Nice pictures, my wife took many of these rams and as Mark pointed out she walked almost within touching distance of the critters. Each time I see them I get frustrated that you can’t hunt them there. Sure would look nice on the wall and no over hill and dale dragging involved.:lol:

6616
02-22-2009, 02:12 PM
Nice pictures, my wife took many of these rams and as Mark pointed out she walked almost within touching distance of the critters. Each time I see them I get frustrated that you can’t hunt them there. Sure would look nice on the wall and no over hill and dale dragging involved.:lol:

Are you coming up tomorrow HW? Come before lunch, it might not take too long, only 10 to 12 this time.

GoatGuy
02-22-2009, 02:24 PM
I recognized the spot from the lock block in the background. Been there hundreds of times.


Only a couple hundred times?

Have fun tomorrow.

Tell those boys I bet they can't tackle one of them big rams.:lol:

huntwriter
02-22-2009, 02:43 PM
Are you coming up tomorrow HW? Come before lunch, it might not take too long, only 10 to 12 this time.

Would love to come up but I am busy all of Monday and Tuesday, sitting in meetings with the school board to hopefully get an archery course going at the schools around here.

6616
02-22-2009, 05:15 PM
Only a couple hundred times?.:lol:

Actually probably thousands...!

6616
02-22-2009, 05:16 PM
Would love to come up but I am busy all of Monday and Tuesday, sitting in meetings with the school board to hopefully get an archery course going at the schools around here.

Good luck with that HW, sounds like a very worthwhile project.

mark
02-22-2009, 06:41 PM
Nice pictures, my wife took many of these rams and as Mark pointed out she walked almost within touching distance of the critters. Each time I see them I get frustrated that you can’t hunt them there. Sure would look nice on the wall and no over hill and dale dragging involved.:lol:

I feel the same, if theres a decent population, why couldnt there be 1 or 2 LEH's per year??? Maybe archery only??? Anyone know why not???


Only a couple hundred times?

Have fun tomorrow.

Tell those boys I bet they can't tackle one of them big rams.:lol:

Id be willing to giver a whirl! :lol:

6616
02-22-2009, 08:13 PM
I feel the same, if theres a decent population, why couldnt there be 1 or 2 LEH's per year??? Maybe archery only??? Anyone know why not???

These sheep are very habituated to humans, pretty much the same as Park sheep, they're basically town pets, it's really a question of fair chase and social acceptability, you wouln't need a gun or a bow, a ball peen hammer would probably be enough weapon. There is no biological or conservation reason, there's actually an excess of rams in the herd and lots of them are very old, very big, trophy quality rams.

6616
02-22-2009, 08:19 PM
Id be willing to giver a whirl! :lol:

Are you sure, did you ever watch those guys struggle with just a small ram or a ewe, and they're young tough guys too? It's real rodeo and fairly dangerous, you get flailed around, bashed into the chute walls, trampled, butted, peed on, pooped on, and ground into the mud.

mark
02-22-2009, 10:04 PM
These sheep are very habituated to humans, pretty much the same as Park sheep, they're basically town pets, it's really a question of fair chase and social acceptability, you wouln't need a gun or a bow, a ball peen hammer would probably be enough weapon. There is no biological or conservation reason, there's actually an excess of rams in the herd and lots of them are very old, very big, trophy quality rams.

Ya, ok, so are the kamloops herd of sheep, and theres a couple draws over there!!! I figure after a few years of whacking a couple a year they would smarten up a bit!
If its sustainable, why not make a harvest??
It would also reduce the chance of car incidents, as well opportunistic poachers!!! So why not I ask????


Are you sure, did you ever watch those guys struggle with just a small ram or a ewe, and they're young tough guys too? It's real rodeo and fairly dangerous, you get flailed around, bashed into the chute walls, trampled, butted, peed on, pooped on, and ground into the mud.

I am one of those guys in the recent videos, tackled a 2 year old last year myself no problem, Im itching to tackle a bigger ram :smile:

Dirty
02-22-2009, 10:10 PM
Ya, ok, so are the kamloops herd of sheep, and theres a couple draws over there!!! I figure after a few years of whacking a couple a year they would smarten up a bit!
If its sustainable, why not make a harvest??
It would also reduce the chance of car incidents, as well opportunistic poachers!!! So why not I ask????



I am one of those guys in the recent videos, tackled a 2 year old last year myself no problem, Im itching to tackle a bigger ram :smile:

Make sure you wear velcro pants and scratch behind the ear!

GoatGuy
02-22-2009, 10:40 PM
I am one of those guys in the recent videos, tackled a 2 year old last year myself no problem, Im itching to tackle a bigger ram :smile:

Rockies are a lot bigger than Calis. With a big mature ram you're probably looking at a critter that's ~2.5X bigger than a young cali yew.

I'd like to see you try it though.

Reminds me one one guy who went into a deer trap after a 4 pt wt. Hahahahahah.


I'm always up for entertainment.

6616
02-22-2009, 11:24 PM
Ya, ok, so are the kamloops herd of sheep, and theres a couple draws over there!!! I figure after a few years of whacking a couple a year they would smarten up a bit!
If its sustainable, why not make a harvest??
It would also reduce the chance of car incidents, as well opportunistic poachers!!! So why not I ask????



I am one of those guys in the recent videos, tackled a 2 year old last year myself no problem, Im itching to tackle a bigger ram :smile:

The Golden R&G Club floated the idea of a limited hunt once and the crap really hit the fan, the townsfolks raised a big stink and nearly tarred and feathered us. I don't know if they could actually be un-habituated enough to really call it a fair chase hunt as long as they're being fed all winter?

Were you guys doing a drop net capture or a corral trap capture? Was that the Okanagan operation? We had three guys in the corral trap chute to grab those guys and get them under control. When you open the chute gate they run in at full speed thinking they've found a way to escape. Once they were down and blindfolded one guy could control them.

I'll see if I can get time to take a few photos tomorrow.

ibehuntin
02-22-2009, 11:58 PM
I hope I don't get peed on (again) tommorrow. Its been my experience that the old ewes are way more of a handfull than the 2-3 year old rams.

6616
02-23-2009, 07:32 PM
Well the capture went down without a hitch, got somewhere around 12 to 14 total, I lost count. They should be runnin' free on their new home range near Wasa by now. I don't know if Ibehuntin got peed on again this year but there was some pretty heavy bangin' and crashin' going on in there at times. Took two 3 year old rams, one of them caused quite a commotion. The corral trap system sure beats heck out of the old drop net method, much fewer people required, less chance of injury to sheep, no chance of escapes, very orderly, an organized and methodical process, etc.

The MOE and FWCP people said it was a piece of cake, of course they've been capturing elk all winter in the same trap. I'd imagine that could get pretty hairy and dangerous at times especially with a few big 6 pointers in the trap.

We'll post some pics in a new thread in a few days when we get everyones pictures sorted out.