One of the biggest Dall sheep taken in Alaska over the last decade has earned a spot in Boone and Crockett Club record book, according to Tim Mowry of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
The horns of a ram shot in August by Fairbanks hunter Bill Foster in the Brooks Range scored 174 4/8 points – more than 14 points higher than what's needed to qualify. Scores are calculated using a series of measurements after the horns have dried.
The left horn was the longest, measuring 45 3/8 inches. Of the 7,000 Dall sheep sealed in Alaska since 2004, according to Mowry, only two have had a longer horn.
"After I shot him I lost control of all my emotions," Foster told the News-Miner. "It was like, 'Holy cow, this could be something big.' "
Foster's sheep appears to be the biggest taken from the Brooks Range in the Boone and Crockett record book. There are currently 19 Brooks Range sheep in the book. The biggest scored 173 6/8.