2025 Colorado Bighorn Sheep Hunt

[npaden]

Just put a deposit down to start my place on the wait list with Trapperman Antlers in Utah for the replica horns. Heard back from Wyobackcountrydecor and they are considerably more expensive (like 75% more). The reviews for Trapperman Antlers seem to be good and their wait list is only 7 months compared with over a year for Wyobackcountrydecor so I'm going to cheap out and go with Trapperman. It's still not exactly cheap as it will cost more for the reproduction horns than it will for the shoulder mount. I'm thinking I may go ahead and get a second set done while I'm at it just because it is significantly cheaper to do the second set. ($10 per inch for the first set and $4 per inch for any additional sets). They do charge an extra $200 for it to be a euro instead of a skull cap so the 2nd set would be $840ish but I think it would be kind of neat to have a replica up at the office.

 

[npaden]

Horns are slipped! Wasn’t too hard. First one came right off with some easy pounding on the floor, second one I did a tiny bit of prying with a screwdriver and that did the trick.



Some maggots were already starting on it. I put the skull in a cooler and started the sous vide on it. Couldn’t get both horn cores completely submerged so left one sticking up a little for now. Figure I might swap sides in the morning.

On the horns themselves I’ve seen people fill them with borax and just spray them out. I’m thinking of filling them with water for now and after the sous vide has made some progress and the water in the cooler is running fairly clean I might throw them in the cooler.

Sous vide is set on 147 for now.

I didn’t drill holes to help align the horns or cut the cores off. I am thinking I can get them aligned pretty close without a screw or nail in them. I want the euro to weigh the full weight so not cutting the cores off to save weight.

 

[Oak]

I would not submerge the horns in water.

 

[Oak]

I would not submerge the horns in water.

But I would take the advice of someone with more experience than me.

 

[npaden]

But I would take the advice of someone with more experience than me.

Watching YouTube videos right now.

 

[Oak]

Watching YouTube videos right now.

I just watched a Whitebone one and he boiled them.

 

[npaden]

I just watched a Whitebone one and he boiled them.

Yeah, I’m not boiling them.

I’m going to fill them with hot water and dawn dish soap and let them soak overnight. Everyone says to drill the hole to help align them when you put them back on but I’m going to live on the edge and not drill them.

The skull should be easy with the sous vide, I’ve done several deer and it is nice to not worry about getting the antler color messed up.

Seems like bondo is the go to method for gluing them back on. I have a couple pronghorn and my bison that I need to do that to as well so going to buy some bondo and do the mop n glow treatment. I have some 40% peroxide to whiten it.

 

[npaden]

Kitchen sink is good for something!

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Just curious, why did you choose soapy water over borax?

 

[npaden]

Just curious, why did you choose soapy water over borax?

I'm going to do the borax, just not going to fill the entire horn up with it like I saw in some of the videos.

Current plan is to use my cheap electric pressure washer to put a big dent in the nasty on the skull after it will have been in the sous vide for about 24 hours and when I'm doing that I will spray the inside of the horns and after that I think let them dry and put some borax in them.

I like the cheap electric pressure washer because it isn't really strong enough to damage anything but a lot more effective than just spraying with a hose.

 

[npaden]

First run with the sous vide and it came out pretty clean. Just some stubborn stuff on the back of the head I need to cook a while longer.

Horns fit back on really well right now. Nasal bones look good. That cartilage in the nose came out way easier than usual.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Are you going to bondo the horns back on?

 

[npaden]

Are you going to bondo the horns back on?

That’s the plan. Seems like that’s what all the cool kids do.

I had thought about just using Elmer’s glue but will probably do the bondo. I have 2 pronghorns and a bison I need to do as well so will probably start on the smallest pronghorn and work my way up!

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

I like the idea of not cutting the horns cores, but I've heard that the horns won't fit as well when you put them back on. Do they shrink that much?

 

[Big Fin]

Just a fantastic thread. Thanks for sharing your story on HT, @npaden. Congratulations.

 

[npaden]

Got him butchered tonight. When I said very high shoulder shot I guess I was right. Both backstraps were completely intact and no wound channels at all. This is the opposite shoulder and for sure it went through there.



Should have done a better post mortem in the field because I’m not sure how he gets a hole like that in his scapula without something else getting hit. My original thought that I could see part of the scapula through the 50 cent sized hole was correct.

The entrance hole was a little higher and that shoulder didn’t have a hole in it. Sure looks like the right side for sure is under the backstrap.



Sure glad I got him in the end!

 

[npaden]

I like the idea of not cutting the horns cores, but I've heard that the horns won't fit as well when you put them back on. Do they shrink that much?

Maybe if you let them dry for a long time? I’m thinking a few days and I should be good to glue them back on. I’ll let you know if I run into any issues.

Just a fantastic thread. Thanks for sharing your story on HT, @npaden. Congratulations.

Thanks. Appreciate the platform to document and share. Sure glad it all turned out in the end. I had some tough decisions ahead of me if we hadn’t found him!

 

[rjthehunter]

Without taking that 12.5-13k feet into consideration at 700+ yards you just missed, or wounded it worse.

Yeah, obviously... Now, you'd be more likely to miss than a guy who utilizes the pressure instead of altitude. Altitude can help estimate pressure, but pressure is always a better number to use. You probably knew that though!

RJ would have taken the shot

Not at 1,100... But at 700, I'd take another shot at an already wounded animal. Now I'm not sure why that's a tough thing for some to hear.

I'm all for killing an animal as humanely as possible. If a guy can take a 715 yard follow up shot effectively, then do so. If that's not in the cards, then get closer, I won't judge.



@npaden Thank you for sharing your hunt. I loved the live updates. Pretty cool to hear it live vs a write up after the fact! Great ram and great success given a low success unit.

 

[npaden]

I like the idea of not cutting the horns cores, but I've heard that the horns won't fit as well when you put them back on. Do they shrink that much?

Mine seemed to fit back on perfect and I didn't do the pilot holes in the back of the horn or cut the horn cores off.

My first experience with bondo and it went really smoothly once I figured out that you have about a minute after adding in the hardener to get it spread out and stuck on. I mixed up a big batch and got one horn sheath on the pronghorn I decided to practice on before the whole tub of it turned solid.

Then I started mixing up just enough to do one horn at a time. Once I started doing that it worked out pretty well. They were on there pretty solid within minutes. I waited for just a few minutes for the excess to harden up and then just pried it off. I think it turned out pretty good.

I took him up to the office to show him off before I take him to the the replica place in a couple weeks. Setting it on the rock is the only way to keep him from rolling over backwards.




Got some euros done that I've been meaning to do for several years while I was at it.

2019 Alaska Bison.


Wyoming Pronghorn from 2019 on the right that has been in the barn for a LONG time.