The "Grand Slam"

For many years in the big game hunting circles, the ultimate goal for many hunters was to get a "Grand Slam". For the record books, the "Grand Slam" consisted of shooting one of each of the four species of wild sheep in North America in a one year period. This "Grand Slam" would include the Rocky Mountain Big Horn Ram, Desert Big Horn Ram, Stone (Stone's) Ram, and the Dall Ram.

This particular goal is very difficult to achieve today due to more restrictive hunting regulations and very limited permits. Occasionally special permits are issued for a particular specie and used as raffle or auction item in raising funding for wild sheep habitat and other projects. Today, to obtain a "tag" or special permit to hunt a specific breed, you can expect to spend multiple thousands of dollars just for a permit. The true "Grand Slam" is now history for hunters. I have not heard of one being achieved in a number of years.

However, with a camera you can still achieve a "Grand Slam" which was one of my ultimate goals for 2010.

Although, getting "close up" shots without the use of a telephoto lens is difficult, I feel very fortunate to get three out of the four of my rams with little or no telephoto. I found the Desert Ram the most difficult to achieve when you are on their home turf. I also feel fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time. Each of the species of rams will "hang out" together prior to and following the annual rut. I was able to observe and photograph a "Gang of Nine" Mountain Big Horn Rams in the Black Hills of South Dakota and a "Gang of Six" Desert Big Horn Rams in Nevada.

I am not a biologist nor an expert in regards to wild sheep. However, the Desert and Rocky Mountain Big Horn sheep are related. The Rocky Mountain Big Horn has more body weight and larger in size than the Desert Big Horn. However, the horns of the Desert Ram are larger and has a slightly different curl than that of the Rocky Mountain Big Horn. At times, the horns of the Desert Big Horn appear to be out of proportion to their body size.

"Gang Of Six"

Desert Big Horn Rams ~ Area of Beatty, Nevada

Desert Big Horn Ram ~ Area of Beatty, Nevada

Rocky Mountain Big Horn Ram ~ Black Hills, South Dakota

The Stone Sheep and the Dall Sheep are also related according to my research. Each of them similar in size and horn curl similar. The primary difference is their coloration, each of them taking on the camouflage color of the background of the area in which they live. Both species live at the higher altitudes during the summer, moving down the slopes as the winter snow accumulates and covers their feeding areas. The Dall Sheep can be found throughout Alaska and northern Yukon Territory. The Stone or Stone's sheep is found in the Yukon Territory and occasionally in northern British Columbia. Dall Ram ~ Turnagain Arm, Alaska Stone Ram ~ Toad River Area, Yukon Territory