Split Dall Horns

[Ray]

Attended Joe Want's sheep seminar at the SCI banquet this last weekend. Remembered to take a few photos. Joe said that the numbers didn't have anthing to do with the age of the sheep, but every horn that I held the number and age matched.

Here is a 6 year old right at full curl by the spiral tangent method. I am not holding it in a true circle so its missleading just a bit. This is a really tight curl.

Same horn and not appearing legal and also not in a decent circle. However, the tip does come back through 360 degrees and matches the angle of the horn base so it is a full curl by that method. If you were to stick method this ram from straight on the face he would be about an inch below the horn bases.

Inside of horn showing the growth cones.

Here is a close up of the notch that makes the annual ring obvious from the outside and the contrast in the interior growth coloration.

 

[Ray]

Here is a horn that had me confused for a long time. Its just over half curl and is twisted all kinds of crazy. I finally figured out it is the inside or backside of the split horn. So when guys say to age judge a sheep from the back this is the side of the horn they are looking at as it has less damage from being in fights and smacking rocks.

This horn has been marked on the inside at each age ring. Here are two true age rings and one false ring marked on the cut face of the horn.

Here is the tip of the horn. I had thought I had a pic of the full cut face but I don't. Without a cut face photo it would be hard to line up the age rings between the photo above and the one below. This horn is nearly broke off just after the 18 month ring lump. Don't know if it happened during the sawing or in real life.

So based on just the top photo how old is this sheep? Its the inside/backside of the horn and is perfect for age judging, so should be easy to determine. But it is also a very far from full curl so would you even bother giving it a serious look?

 

[duchntr]

Cool stuff,,thanks for posting this

 

[Larry Bartlett]

i say 8 y/o

 

[Stid2677]

I say 8 but was a winter kill or killed just after winter. If you use the segment method, you can age from both ends.

 

[Bambistew]

I get 7.

 

[Stid2677]

Just to clarify I believe that sheep died in the early spring and was closer to 8 than 7, but he is NOT a ram I would have shot based on age rings.

 

[Ray]

That half curl was marked with 8 clear age rings, and Stid is probably correct that the last year was short.

 

[R Miller]

Going with 7 on top photo.

 

[JP100]

thanks for the photos. great to see them like this. Id say 7 1/2 or 8 but I dont know much