{"id":99080,"date":"2025-08-21T10:12:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T10:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/99080\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T10:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T10:12:10","slug":"bowhunter-out-for-bighorn-stumbles-across-trophy-sized-rams-skull-with-intact-horns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/99080\/","title":{"rendered":"Bowhunter Out For Bighorn Stumbles Across Trophy-Sized Ram\u2019s Skull With Intact Horns"},"content":{"rendered":"

An archery hunter trying to fill his Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep ewe hunting tag in southcentral Wyoming ended up with what could be considered the trophy bighorn ram of\u00a0a\u00a0lifetime.<\/p>\n

Laramie resident Ethan Overton didn\u2019t shoot the ram. Instead, he found the huge \u201cdeadhead\u201d \u2014 an intact skull and horns \u2014 while stalking his ewe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He figures the deadhead came from a ram that died about two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he died of old age, that\u2019s my guess,\u201d he told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n

He kept the deadhead but made sure he followed proper procedure, which is alerting the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and getting an $8 Wyoming interstate game tag. That tag\u00a0is required<\/a>\u00a0to legally transport deadheads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Intact deadheads of any species are rare finds and can have monetary value as collector\u2019s items, sometimes selling for several thousand dollars apiece.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, the temptation is there to snatch them off the landscape without taking the proper steps with Game and Fish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unauthorized taking of deadheads is considered unethical and is also punishable as a misdemeanor crime with maximum penalties of a $1,000 fine and\/or up to six months in jail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"EthanEthan Overton of Laramie, left, and his friend, Colorado resident Jaron Bartoszek, were thrilled to find this huge bighorn ram skull in the Ferris-Seminoe area in south-central Wyoming. (Courtesy Ethan Overton)Good Hunting Outlook<\/p>\n

Overton has \u201cbeen on scouting trips\u201d for bighorn sheep with his father but had never gone on his own bighorn sheep hunt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drawing bighorn sheep tags is tough. Many hunters apply for tags for years on end without drawing one.<\/p>\n

So, Overton was happy to draw a tag this year for bighorn Hunt Area 17, the\u00a0Ferris-Seminoe unit. The tag is good for the archery season\u00a0of\u00a0Aug. 15-31, as well as for rifle season Sept. 15 to Oct. 31.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Ferris-Seminoe bighorn herd appears to be doing well, Overton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bighorns are vulnerable to pneumonia. The famed \u201cramland\u201d bighorn herd near Dubois has been\u00a0struggling for years<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0a persistent outbreak.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Overton accepted a pneumonia test-sample kit from Game and Fish to\u00a0take\u00a0on his\u00a0hunt. If and when he gets a ewe, testing can help determine if pneumonia is an emerging threat among the Ferris-Seminoe herd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Though his tag allows him to only shoot a ewe, Overton expected to at least get to see some monster rams.\u00a0The Ferris-Seminoe herd is known for producing great rams, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That could be because it has genetics from sheep transplanted from Montana\u2019s Missouri Breaks region and Hells Canyon in Idaho,\u00a0both legendary spots for trophy rams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bighorn sheep hunting is often associated with steep, rocky alpine terrain. However, much of the Ferris-Seminoe unit is in rolling foothills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a popular area to put in for tags, because it\u2019s easily accessible,\u201d Overton said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018I Let My Emotions Out\u2019<\/p>\n

On\u00a0Saturday, Overton was hunting with his close friend, Colorado resident Jaron Bartoszek.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They spotted a ewe from the road, and\u00a0Bartoszek urged Overton to try stalking it.<\/p>\n

During the stalk, at\u00a0about 9 a.m., Overton spotted the gigantic deadhead on the ground\u00a0and\u00a0was overwhelmed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI let my emotions out,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJaron was questioning why I was expressing my emotions. And then he saw it, and said, \u2018Oh, now I understand why,\u2019\u201d Overton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They couldn\u2019t believe the luck of finding such a prize, but they knew they had to go about things the right way if they wanted to keep it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t touch it. We took pictures and submitted a GPS location to the biologist and the game warden,\u201d Overton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had Game and Fish look at it, and then I bought the interstate game tag,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Game and Fish also put a plug in the horns, indicating that the deadhead had been inspected, recorded and cleared.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the green light from Game and Fish, the deadhead was his to keep.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Borderline Record-Book Ram<\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t yet had it officially scored according to Boone and Crockett (B&C) measurements. The B&C measuring system is regarded as the gold standard for hunting trophies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Overton took some measurements himself and estimates the deadhead to be in the 176-177-inch range.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a borderline (B&C) record-book ram,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com<\/p>\n

\"EthanEthan Overton of Laramie was archery hunting for a bighorn sheep ewe in the Ferris-Seminoe area when he discovered this massive bighorn ram skull. (Courtesy Ethan Overton)<\/p>\n

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An archery hunter trying to fill his Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep ewe hunting tag in southcentral Wyoming ended…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-99080","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}