Confiscated sheep in 2021

[twoSevenO]

Just find it strange you want reg changes etc yet dont hunt them. cant find any place to really educate your self, start with the regs it even says dont use age/annuli in the field to determine if legal.
For some reason sheep are but on a pedistal which would make one think people would respect them more and make sure there legal but no seems more concerned about having to kill one.
No different really then the 5 point bulls and smaller shot in 6 point season or 3 point and smaller bucks shot in 4 point season or even mulie does shot in whitetail season people just
need to kill some thing.

Well, maybe I want to get into hunting them one day. Besides, a guy can educate himself on something regardless of his involvement in it.

Though with the state of things as they are, and the entire sheep hunting season seeming like one giant rat Race, I probably won't ever get into it.

All that gas money and effort just to run into a bunch of other instagrammers on the mountain doesn't sound appealing at all

[upperleftcoaster]

Montana has a “bear identification” course you have to pass before you can punch your tag. https://fwp.mt.gov/hunt/education/bear-identification

I would support something like that for sheep in BC

i would also be curious on the breakdown of these confiscations, and it would be interesting for a biologist to point out some features that made it illegal, especially if it looks close.

[boxhitch]

Pretty simple really, the CI is looking at either not full curl or not enough rings to count 8
a confiscation at inspection may only be temporary, if the inspector has a problem making a determination he calls on the regional manager to make a call, that can take time.

other confiscations up the road somewhere could be for a whole list of infractions

[Tuffcity]

Maybe its time to dump the "or 8 years old" rule and leave it at full curl. Sure a couple of broken horn old rams will die of old age on the mountain but really, it would probably reduce legal harvest by what? maybe 15-20% if that?

Sadly there also seems to be a growing sentiment of entitled to attitude. The "I spent X thousand of dollars on gear, gas and other stuff and I'm owed a sheep". You're not owed anything. Your hunt shouldn't be viewed a failure I you come home light.

When I started sheep hunting 1987 the tongue in cheek adage was the ram you kill was born the first year you start sheep hunting. Silly slogan, but it supported more of an outlook to sheep hunting versus a truism.

[Brez]

Well said.

Just find it strange you want reg changes etc yet dont hunt them. cant find any place to really educate your self, start with the regs it even says dont use age/annuli in the field to determine if legal.
For some reason sheep are but on a pedistal which would make one think people would respect them more and make sure there legal but no seems more concerned about having to kill one.
No different really then the 5 point bulls and smaller shot in 6 point season or 3 point and smaller bucks shot in 4 point season or even mulie does shot in whitetail season people just
need to kill some thing.

[horshur]

ya at the wildlifes expense is that what hunting is all about the wildlife is just out there to practice and learn on. I guess
that explains all the dead stuff found out there. Lots of the illegal sheep shot are not by first timers.

Like I said before..those who throw stones tend to live in glass houses...

[AllDay]

I have hunted sheep for 4 years and watch tons of videos, read, and study how to age them every year and still feel like I hardly no anything about them. Judging them can be difficult even if they are over the bridge of the nose, at least for me. I take videos of them with a phoneskope-like device and review the video a million times and can catch myself questioning even rams that are beyond full curl. One second they look like they are easily above the bridge of the nose, then they turn their heads at a certain angle that makes me question it, then the thermals come into play and make it hard to see, then the next angle it looks like its a no-brainer. Maybe its just all the fear I have of shooting an illegal ram, but without having a mentor/coach with lots of experience who can help you make sense of it all, it can be very difficult, at least in my experience. Ideally I think sheep hunting would build a stronger community if those with experience took newer sheep hunters out and taught them what to look for, but I know that is not realistic.

[ElectricDyck]

People just need to be ok with walking away, its greed and selfishness, it's the same with all hunting, you cant put the bullet back in the gun...sheep hunting has been built into another level of achievement because of a legal sheeps scarcity, guys want that social media badge of honor.

[j270wsm]

sheep are but on a pedistal which would make one think people would respect them more and make sure there legal but no seems more concerned about having to kill one..

because people have put sheep on a pedistal, some feel that killing a ram makes them special almost god like in the eyes of their followers.

[Linksman313]

Montana has a “bear identification” course you have to pass before you can punch your tag. https://fwp.mt.gov/hunt/education/bear-identification

I would support something like that for sheep in BC

i would also be curious on the breakdown of these confiscations, and it would be interesting for a biologist to point out some features that made it illegal, especially if it looks close.

Me too, seems a little suspicious and the story seems incomplete