Mouflon Sheep

BigBlue · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:25 am Post subject: Mouflon Sheep

My Brother-in-law Scott invited me on another hunt with him today. We went to the same hunting preserve where I had gotten the elk last fall, but this time we were after something a bit different, a Mouflon Sheep. The owner of the preserve maintains two separate herds of these sheep and hunting them was a very new experience for me. My first lesson was they run in an extremely tight group and this herd had about thirty sheep. Now when I say sheep, they aren't the type of sheep your used to seeing at the farm. These have fur that very closely resembles a deer but longer, they also have somewhat of a mane and the animal looks more like a goat. We got a good deal on the animal, at $500 for our pick. They are extremely skittish animals and they stay so close together that it's hard to single one out for a shot. We tried stalking close enough for a shot and every time we tried they would just take off running and we had to hunt the herd down all over again. We finally split up and took up positions to wait for them while the owner used his Kawasaki Mule to drive around behind them and try to push them our way. While we waited for the herd, we had at least 60-80 whitetail and fallow deer run by us. I first saw the sheep way off in the distance, about 300 yards, but the woods were very thick so I only got a glimpse now and then. It was enough to give me an idea of the direction they were headed so I tried to scope a more open area ahead of them and wait them out. I wanted to be a bit choosy as to which sheep I took so that also complicated things. I finally got a shot at what looked like a good one from about 120 yards away through those heavy woods. It was like threading a needle to get a shot through there, but it worked and I got my first Mouflon Sheep. I saw him stumble at the shot, but couldn't tell if he went down because the other sheep took off running and I couldn't see if he was among them. I did however find him right where I shot him, stone cold dead. He has some great horns and a beautiful coat. The shot clipped his front leg and entered the chest low enough to get both the heart and his lungs. Another very enjoyable day and some fresh blood on the new Tikka Lite in .270. I used a handloaded 130gr. Sierra Gameking over 58.0gr. of H4831SC.
Don

That's me on the left.

Pumpkinslinger · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:03 pm Post subject: Re: Mouflon Sheep

Good story and pics! Thanks!

hunterjoe21 · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:31 pm Post subject: Re: Mouflon Sheep

Interesting critter....and a good story....

Are the "flats" at the bottom of the curl a desirable trait?? I've not seen taht before....

Vince · Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 2:59 am Post subject: Re: Mouflon Sheep

Great yarn BB. He is certainly an interesting critter. I have to be honest, I would never have picked him as a sheep....he is all goat to me.

Looking at his hair/fur...does the farmer shear or clip the sheep?

Cheers, Vince

BigBlue · Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 4:33 pm Post subject: Re: Mouflon Sheep

Vince wrote:

I would never have picked him as a sheep....he is all goat to me. Looking at his hair/fur...does the farmer shear or clip the sheep?

These are wild sheep and are a fur variety unlike the domestic sheep of the wool variety. They have long thick hair called kemp and do get an undercoat in the fall that somewhat resembles wool, but is called fleece and sheds in the spring. They also have a mane and in this ones case the hair was at least 6" long on the mane.
Don

Vince · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:44 am Post subject: Re: Mouflon Sheep

Thanks mate....a nice trophy.

I take it that the meat is good value as well.

Cheers, Vince

frontier · Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:36 am Post subject: Re: Mouflon Sheep

Hey Big Blue, thats a nice looking sheep, is it a pure Mouflon or a Hybrid? The Mouflon that we have on the Island of Lanai look very different.

Axis

BigBlue · Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 4:58 pm Post subject: Re: Mouflon Sheep

From the pictures I've seen of Mouflon Sheep, they do appear to come with different markings. Here's a few pictures I had seen on the net. The first two appear much like the one I got, but the rest have very different characteristics, yet all are labeled as being mouflon sheep.
Don

frontier · Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 9:45 pm Post subject: Re: Mouflon Sheep

The Mouflon found on Lanai look more like the last picture you posted. The horns on the Mouflon from Lanai are ussualy alot closer to the body of the animal. Anything with a curl of 30" or beter is considered a trophy by most, but to me any animal taken with friends and family is a trophy! Congratulations on your Ram and Happy Hunting!

Frontier