Sheep Shorts

Photo: Duncan Gilcrest

by Bobby Theis

NEW TEXAS STATE RECORD

In 2021, I was fortunate to acquire the Texas State auction tag from Texas Parks and Wildlife from the virtual auction at the Sheep Show® . Hiring Jim Breck Bean and Jasper Klein to help guide, along with numerous TPWD staffers including wildlife biologist, Cody McEntire and manager of the Sierra Diablo WMA, Josh Cross, we set the hunt date for the third week in March of 2022. The date was set knowing rams would be in larger groups up on the state-owned Elephant Mountain WMA at that time.

Upon arriving and checking in, we headed out for the afternoon to begin scouting. By sheep hunting standards this was not considered a tough hunt, so I requested there be no pre-scouting before I arrived so we could enjoy finding the oldest and largest ram on the mountain as a team. The weather was cold, and the first afternoon, we spotted a group of 20-plus rams. Being late in the day we decided to just watch from a distance and not disturb

the group the first evening.

The next morning, we woke up to an extremely windy cold front that blew in with gusts around 50 MPH— and it was just plain cold. We scouted most of the day and saw well over 40 rams, but not the particular ram that Cody had seen a month prior while on the mountain that we wanted to get a look at.

Late in the afternoon Josh spotted a group of bighorns on a different part of the mountain. Jim Breck, Jasper, Cody and I relocated to that part of the mountain to get a better look at the rams. We were about 1400 yards out and the air conditions were not favorable, but Jim Breck saw what he thought was an exceptional ram through his spotting scope.

We headed up top and walked awhile to get above the group of rams. We spotted the big ram about 400 yards below us. He was with four other really nice rams, and our group aged him at 10 to 11 years old and estimated him measuring in the mid to upper 170’s. At that time, the sheep were feeding toward us and we discussed the possibility of taking this ram. We had spotted a few other rams on the far side of the mountain range earlier in the day, so Jim Breck advised that he was not certain the ram was the largest on the mountain. However, he was certainly a great old ram and Jim Breck was being conservative on his score estimation. We had no idea we were looking at the new state record. I decided that the ram was just a super ram and I would be happy with him no matter what the score might be. My thoughts were to make the best shot I could once the decision was made. We were in a great spot and I had a superb rest and total confidence in my Mesa Precision Arms 6.5 PRC. So, at 305 yards I took the shot.

When we reached the ram, we were all thrilled beyond belief. It was a very exhilarating moment when the group got to the ram knowing he was certainly much larger than our estimated scores. After some quick measurements and photos, Jim Breck and Cody were certain the old ram was over 180. It wasn’t until Cody put the tape on the horns that night at the headquarters that we started thinking about a potential state record.

After the 60-day drying period, we had him officially scored. He was 12 years old and scored 187.2, which is the new Texas state record desert bighorn and the number one all-time Nelsoni. I love supporting our state in their continued pursuit of establishing desert bighorns, but I honestly never dreamt of harvesting the state record. All the credit goes to the Texas Bighorn Society, Wild Sheep Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife for their years and years of working to further our state’s population of desert bighorns. I was lucky to have acquired the tag in the right year. A big thanks to all involved for a truly once-in-alifetime desert ram. WS