legal thinhorn sheep in BC

[moose2]

Would you be in favour of making a double broomed thinhorn ram legal to hunt in BC even if it is not full curl. ( they do this in Alaska)
Mike

[budismyhorse]

no........there is already enough room for error in judgement already.......

if double broomers are of age they will show the rings........if not, they should walk.

IMHO that is..

[tomahawk]

IMHO We are there already if you know what your doing when counting annuli rings. The warning after the statement about 8 yrs is for those who don't know the difference between real and false. There are some big mature thin horns that curl out like a cork screw or are possibly broomed off and don't break the bridge of the nose but they are legal by age.

Mountain Sheep - Full Curl Thinhorn Ram

- means any male thinhorn mountain sheep
whose horn tip extends upwards beyond the
forehead-nose bridge when viewed squarely
from the side or which has attained the age of
8 years as evidenced by yearly horn growth
annuli as determined by the Regional Manager
or designate. Do not use yearly horn growth
annuli to determine the age of a ram in the
field, because "false" annuli may be present.

[moose2]

I think it would be OK as long as there was a good definition of "broomed". I think it would allow a few older rams to be taken that are hard to count. This would allow resident hunters who have less experience or ones that are nervous of counting rings to feel comfortable on these older rams , an advantage that a guide /outfitter has over most of us. A broomed horn is really easy to identify so I think there would be less mistakes with this than the other methods of aging. I would't like to see a bunch of young rams being shot because of it though , but i am not sure how many rams would actually be double broomed at a young age. I would have to find some Alaska stats to find out I guess.
Mike

[bridger]

brooming doesn't always occur only in older rams. identifying a legal ram two age and horn curl is sufficient in my books. identifying a sheep by age is best earned the old fashioned way, boot leather and experience. that is what makes sheep hunting so much fun.

[6616]

I don't think it's necessary, the current regs cover it off nicely, and I think it would only complicate the matter further and open up the door for more mistakes.

Experienced sheep hunters can actually make a pretty good judgement on a rams general age by just looking at his body posture, if his back is swayed or belly hanging, by his walking stance, etc, but there's only a small number of hunters and guides with enough experience to do that and benefit from this idea.

[whitetailsheds]

I don't understand the question Mike.....in my mind, a double broomed ram IS legal.....IF it's of age. What's different in Alaska?

[Alpine85]

What if guys started shooting rams with just rounded lamb tips, that were younger then 8. I remember reading on an Alaska site one time where this was happening. Rams were being killed that weren't "broomed", more of a ruffed up lamb tip.

[luckynuts]

I don't understand the question Mike.....in my mind, a double broomed ram IS legal.....IF it's of age. What's different in Alaska?


I think he's implying that a newbie hunter can identify a double broomed ram a lot easier than count 8 years on a ram thus ensuring he is killing a legal ram. I think when you look at it no 2-3 people age a ram the same. I was in Corolanes and had a discussion with one of the owners a Dawson creek CO and another hunter and asked them to age the big heavy broomed ram hanging on the wall. All of us at 7-8' away looking at it came up with a different age:wink:.

So a new sheep hunter or even a fairly experienced one can make a mistake or think he's shooting a 8-9 year old and the CI says it's only 7?

Don't think I agree with double broomed either. In all honesty the only real solution to keep people from making a mistake would be to go to (blasphemy) LEH:eek:. But then you have issues with the first ram being seen or attainable shot, which would no doubt be an under age ram.

W.

[bigwhiteys]

There are some areas where broomed rams are a more common occurence because of the terrain they live in, other areas where you are much more likely to find rams with their tips in tact. In areas where rams are prone to brooming it can happen much earlier in their lives 5,6,7 not just brooming but broken horns too.

It would be nice to have some confidence in our CI process should a guy pull the trigger on an old double broomed warrior that he knows is 8+.

Carl

[whitetailsheds]

OK.....got it! Double broomed = old enough......BANG! I guess as others have said.....sometimes a double broomer may not be of age.
So in Alaska, this is legal?

[guest]

Brutal Idea !

Bad Idea !

This is how to put more examples of illegal Rams on a C/O's storage shelf

CT

[leadpillproductions]

I like the idea , but i want to have the tips on any sheep i shoot.

[6616]

I think he's implying that a newbie hunter can identify a double broomed ram a lot easier than count 8 years on a ram thus ensuring he is killing a legal ram.

Trouble is just because a ram is broomed doesn't guarantee he 8 years or older, so it actually doesn't ensure a hunter is killing a legal ram.

[mark]

I have another great idea! :lol:
Oops just shot a 7 year old ram that aint quite full curl????
Just break off the tips a bit and were legal again Bubba! :roll:

[moose2]

OK.....got it! Double broomed = old enough......BANG! I guess as others have said.....sometimes a double broomer may not be of age.
So in Alaska, this is legal?

Yes that is correct in alaska they have to be full curl , 8 years old or a double broomed a ram. If a ram meets any of these 3 they are legal. There may be some 7 year old rams shot because of it but they would still be legal. I know in BC alot of full curl rams are younger than 8 but still legal.
Mike

Alaska regulations link http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/ramid.pdf

[moose2]

Trouble is just because a ram is broomed doesn't guarantee he 8 years or older, so it actually doesn't ensure a hunter is killing a legal ram.

Thats what there doing in Alaska a double broomed ram is deemed legal regardless of age. Same as a full curl ram here in BC , if it is full curl it is legal regardless of age. This would be simular to having 3 different antler restrictions on the bull moose in 7B. It would just increase residents chances at a ram by adding one more option thats all.
Mike

[luckynuts]

Trouble is just because a ram is broomed doesn't guarantee he 8 years or older, so it actually doesn't ensure a hunter is killing a legal ram.

No different than shooting a full curl 7yr old or guys shooting 7 yr olds thinking they are 8-9?. Either way I am happy with the regs the way they are, and I don't see how we can avoid people making mistakes no matter what regs are introduced unless it was LEH any size.

W.

[bridger]

our present regulations keep everyone hunting. if we keep lowering the harvest standards leh is the next option. If that happens we all get tags once every five years or so. do we want that?