Celebrating 75 years -- The Chadwick Ram 1936-2011

[Call of the Wild]

Since it’s stone sheep hunting right now, I tough to share this. It’s from the B&C trophy watch and what an amazing animal!!!



Right horn: 50-1/8 Left horn: 51-5/8. No other mountain sheep on record of any species has recorded both horns over 50-inches.

The World's Record Stone's sheep is considered by many big game enthusiasts to be North America's greatest trophy. L.S. Chadwick took this unbelievable specimen while on expedition along the Muskwa River draining in British Columbia on August 28, 1936.

At a final score of 196-6/8, in 75 years of hunting and records keeping no other Stone's sheep ram has come close. The #2 all-time B&C ram was taken in 1962 and scores 190, which is also the only other ram on record to score over 190.

Why is it that one animal, that now lives only in pictures and on a mounted form, is so celebrated? Perhaps it is that the days of the month-long expiation hunts on horseback, deep into the "never hunted" are long gone. It could be that this particular trophy stands as a testament to these once untouched and unspoiled wildernesses? Maybe it's because this one trophy represents our long fascination with the biggest and the best.

Will this World's Record ever be bested? Within the top 20 rams on record (183 - 196-6/8) only three rams have been taken since 1970. From this list it appears the decade of the highest-ranking Stone's was the 1960s.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/ChadwickEnews2.jpg

[leadpillproductions]

Ive been looking does any one know the age of the ram , betca its not a dink lol

[ThinAir]

That's one trophy I personally think will never be beaten. Deer,moose,elk,caribou,....yes. Stones sheep no.

[fireguy]

That's one trophy I personally think will never be beaten. Deer,moose,elk,caribou,....yes. Stones sheep no.

I agree with you on this one, I saw a picture of a stone sheep once that a biologist took from a helocopter that would rank right up there but still wouldn't have scored near as high.

[Marlin375]

Where is the Ram today? anybody know?

[TPB]

Betcha that was one sheep were the guide wished he could shoot first! I think his name was Ray Hargreaves or something of that sort.

[porcupine]

Where is the Ram today? anybody know?

The ram is owned by the Boone & Crockett club and they have it on display.

[porcupine]

There is a full sized statue of the ram in Fort Nelson. The little museum there also has items from the hunt on display.

[yugo111]

That's one trophy I personally think will never be beaten. Deer,moose,elk,caribou,....yes. Stones sheep no.

I like to think I might get a bigger one lol or do I have a better chance at winning the lotto

[Call of the Wild]

Sorry guys the Chadwick ram is in my back yard. :-D:-D:-D

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/DSC00203.JPG

Anyway that's from Fort Nelson. That's what dreams are made of; mass, big curls and long long horns!!!!

[Ozone]

Not being a sheep guy, I cant remember if this one is it or not. It is from BC and is in the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming (a place every gun enthusiast needs to go)

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh127/SVTreasure/IMG_0420600x450.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh127/SVTreasure/IMG_0419450x600.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh127/SVTreasure/IMG_0422600x450.jpg

[sako_300]

wicked ram - $10 says there is one in the hills that scores over 190 right now...

[guest]

Willy said this is what were all supposed to look for before pulling the trig.

This Rams genes live on, now any Stone over 40 inches is considered a cranker.

Still incredible to look at. Hard to believe it was harvested on a meat hunt, and there is still debate on who really should have credit on this Ram. Chadwick or the guide as Chadwick could not keep up to it after he wounded it. Cool story though.

CT

[RJ]

all dinks!

[urbanhermit]

what rifle did Chadwick use?

[goatdancer]

Awesome ram but it begs the question - how come he's not broomed off at all?

[BlacktailStalker]

How old was the Chadwick ram ?

[Weatherby Fan]

what rifle did Chadwick use?

Jack Oconnor says in his book Chadwick was shooting a .404 Jeffery Magnum as he was weary of Grizzlies while sheep hunting,Hargreaves finished it off with a 30-06.

[urbanhermit]

cool, thnx.
not a weatherby? :)

[Weatherby Fan]

cool, thnx.
not a weatherby? :)

LOL if Chadwick was shooting a Weatherby it would have been dead after the one shot !

[urbanhermit]

bang flop baby!

[358mag]

In your dreams thats one world record that will never be broken kind of likes the Canaucks or the Maple Leafs winning Lord Stanley Cup

[Moose Guide]

LOL if Chadwick was shooting a Weatherby it would have been dead after the one shot !

If he was using a weatherby, the paper bag over his head would have prevented him from shooting at all and it would have still been killed by one shot from the guides .30-06

[diharv]

I was in Cody Wy last summer and visited the Buffalo Bill Museum. Yes the Chadwick ram is there in the firearms section of the museum. It was the most impressive mount I have ever seen.
diharv

[Buck]

Well i know what i'm looking for in two weeks.Don't need the lamb tips just give me the mass.
The OP is a cruel man.

[BCbillies]

A freak of nature . . . we now dream of rams 10" shorter! :)

[RAMIFICATION]

I think one day it will be beat,there are rams killed every year with the same or more age than that monster. Living down low in the bush,good food & genes.....one day!

[325]

Awesome ram but it begs the question - how come he's not broomed off at all?

The Chadwick ram, although he has a huge set of horns, was probably not aggressive, and spent his life as a subordinate ram. Probably did not butt heads much, and thus the pristine horns. In other words, he was somebodys b!tch

[hntcrazy]

The record will be beaten one day ....oh yes it will........

[Big7]

Out of all the guide/outfitters in sheep country, resident hunters etc. in the past umpteen decadades roaming the hills and still not a sniff???? One would dare to say the record will never be touched! The only ram that I've seen that would even come close lives in the Sewell Valley Game Ranch - ooh soo sad!! If someone ever breaks this record it will be worth more than the lottery!

[moose2]

The record will be beaten one day ....oh yes it will........

I think you may be right I can see it now. The Chadwick family will be on this site discussing the new world
record "MOOSE2" ram. lol you can't blame a guy for dreaming.
Mike

[Canadian Hunter]

It'll be interesting to see. Though I believe records are meant to be broken, I can't imagine what a Ram would need to beat the Chadwick. Only time will tell us. Call of the wild good luck on your upcoming hunt.

[blindcast]

Pretty good account of Chadwick's hunt on the Outdoor Canada website.
See http://outdoorcanada.ca/13988/blogs/wild-about-the-west/legend-of-the-prophet-75-years-later

[proguide66]

Remember how long the 'Jordan Buck ' stood as #1 whitetail? lots of people doubted it would be beat.
I believe a bigger stone will live one day as I am deffinitely NOT capable of dictating 'it will never'. A sheep grew em once , proof a sheep can grow em one more time...SOLID proof. Now who's good enough to not pull the trigger on less and be lucky to find the bugger?? hehe

[whitetailsheds]

[QUOTE=Big7;96342 The only ram that I've seen that would even come close lives in the Sewell Valley Game Ranch - ooh soo sad!! [/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, not any more. That big Stone ram, and the even bigger Dall, are no more. Old age was not there friend.

[kevan]

Any ram that would beat the Chadwick Ram would be a sight to behold...

[twoSevenO]

Pretty neat thread to be reviving after so many years .... that thing looks like a marco polo ram more than a stones ram!!

I thought the special tag winner a couple years ago hired guide Dustin Roe and got a new #1 hunting the rut... I guess I am wrong in remembering that correctly... anyone know where that ram placed if not #1?

[bighornbob]

Pretty neat thread to be reviving after so many years .... that thing looks like a marco polo ram more than a stones ram!!

I thought the special tag winner a couple years ago hired guide Dustin Roe and got a new #1 hunting the rut... I guess I am wrong in remembering that correctly... anyone know where that ram placed if not #1?


It was the #1 archery stone ram. I believe it went something like 179 and change. The world record shot by Chadwick is 196 and change.

BHB

[twoSevenO]

Ahhh #1 archery. That makes sense! Thanks!

[ACB]

The Chadwick Ram is rated as the number 1 big game trophy ever taken in North America and the chances that it is ever beaten is slim to none. Someone mentioned that the #1 whitetail record was broken after almost 80 years, when the Jordan buck was taken there weren't very many whitetails living around Bigger Sask. I have a friend that I used to work with that was born and raised around P.A. Sask. who's over 80 now, said that when he was a kid in the 1950's when he first started to hunt there weren't any whitetails only Mule deer. What I'm trying to say is that to use Whitetails as a case point won't work because whitetails are expanding their range constantly, their in the Chilcotin now. Stone's sheep range isn't growing, if anything it's getting smaller.

[Jordan f.]

K, somebody answer me this...

You hire a guide to take you into the area. Get on this monster. You shoot it, but the guide then has to finish it off for you. And you get claim of shooting the record stone?

The whole guide/client relationship in sheep hunting is odd to me when it comes to situations like this.

Would you claim the ram as yours if this happened to you?

[twoSevenO]

I'm not sure I follow.... who says he guide finished it off for you? Or that this happens often? I'm sure it happens on occasion but I've seen no evidence that it happens often?

And yes ... I'm sure that someone who pays $300,000 for a tag to hunt any ram anywhere he wants is gonna do whatever it takes to claim that ram under his name.

People who pay $300k to hunt an animal want it known.

[Jordan f.]

Jack Oconnor says in his book Chadwick was shooting a .404 Jeffery Magnum as he was weary of Grizzlies while sheep hunting,Hargreaves finished it off with a 30-06.


I'm not sure I follow.... who says he guide finished it off for you? Or that this happens often? I'm sure it happens on occasion but I've seen no evidence that it happens often?

And yes ... I'm sure that someone who pays $300,000 for a tag to hunt any ram anywhere he wants is gonna do whatever it takes to claim that ram under his name.

People who pay $300k to hunt an animal want it known.

I guess I worded that poorly. In this situation, posts here have led me to believe the guide had the final shot (see above quote). I'd have trouble putting my name to a ram someone else had to shoot after me.

Not saying it happens often, but if it did happen to you...would you claim it and feel good about it?

Edited to not derail a sweet thread

[twoSevenO]

I guess I worded that poorly. In this situation, posts here have led me to believe the guide had the final shot (see above quote). I'd have trouble putting my name to a ram someone else had to shoot after me.

As for my guide/client comment. I mean some of these guides spend months locating a ram for someone with a governor's tag. Then the guy flys in, hikes into the area, shoots it, and claims the record. Even though someone else did all the prep and figure out where it was? Always been odd to me. But then again, I'll probably never have 300k for a hunt haha

Oh ... absolutely. This is the Utah governor's tag mule deer from a couple years back. I've watched this hunt .... the guy is 75, can barely get to the shooting spot on his own. So yes, he paid like $350k for the tag, but the guides did 99.9% of the work. The guides watched this deer for like 2-3 years if i remember correctly ... waiting for the governor tag client to sign with them. I doubt he could even carry out the rack let alone the rest of the deer .... but you know what, when you surround yourself with other rich guys who do the same on all their hunts then you don't really stand out .... you're just the guy in the group who shot the biggest mule buck of all time. That's their version of hunting and to them there's nothing strange about it.


I must have missed that about Chadwick .... he was probaly in the ditch recovering from the .404 recoil so the guy had to help him out ... lol

https://jdheinerdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/10171865_10152808136096900_233984038569651830_n.jp g

[Jordan f.]

God damn that is a buck. I guess you are right though "to each their own". At the end of the day he put a good chunk of cash into wildlife conservation.

[albravo2]

Interesting point someone made about the Chadwick ram not being an alpha. It would explain why there hasn't been a similar ram if he wasn't able to breed and spread his DNA.

Sort of like those gym rats... so freaked out on steroids their junk doesn't work.

[Walking Buffalo]

The Chadwick ram, although he has a huge set of horns, was probably not aggressive, and spent his life as a subordinate ram. Probably did not butt heads much, and thus the pristine horns. In other words, he was somebodys b!tch


Interesting point someone made about the Chadwick ram not being an alpha. It would explain why there hasn't been a similar ram if he wasn't able to breed and spread his DNA.

Sort of like those gym rats... so freaked out on steroids their junk doesn't work.


325's theory is possible, but there are other explanations.

The current WR Bighorn from Alberta and other big Dominant rams are known to have subordinate sidekicks that do the fighting for them.
The "associates" clear the path for the King to feast, f and get fat....

Ram culture is much more complicated than most would believe.

[twoSevenO]

How old was this ram? Do his rings show any accelerated growth patterns that might have made him just grow his horns faster than the others? ... doesnt look like it to me, but I dont know rams.