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Mark Freeman Commentary On the trail of No. 44 ENTERPRISE � When Dave Prock and his friends led their horse-and-mule team deep into the Wallowa Mountains shortly after Labor Day, they talked about how bizarre it would be to come across a famous sheep known to hunters across Oregon as "No. 44." No. 44 is a Rocky Mountain bighorn ram ear-tagged and marked with that number by a state wildlife biologist in 1993, when the animal was then just another young sheep in the region�s famed Lostine River herd. But as No. 44�s horns grew immense, so did its almost mythical reputation as a future state-record ram among sheep-hunters who for years have failed to find him during the hunting seasons. "We knew everyone was going out trying to get him and we were joking around, saying how great it would be to find No. 44," says Prock, the only sheep-tag holder in his three-man party. "We never dreamed we�d find him." But the dream came true Sept. 9, when the 44-year-old Prock found and shot the elusive ram and, in the process, jammed his name atop Oregon�s big-game hunting record lists. Prock, a Milton-Freewater man who drew one of two sheep tags for the Hurricane Divide Unit, likely will claim the all-time state record among Oregon sheep-hunters with No. 44. The ram�s horns generated a green, or unofficial, score of 202-5/8 points on the Boone and Crockett Club�s measuring system. If the score holds up as expected after a two-month waiting period, it will break the previous Oregon hunting record for Rocky Mountain bighorns of 200-6/8 taken by a hunter in Lower Joseph Creek Canyon in 1989. However, 44�s horns measured just shy of Oregon�s all-time largest and most legendary ram, which was nicknamed "Spot" or "Scarface." Spot, also a member of the Lostine River herd, was a 14-1/2-year-old ram who died during a pneumonia outbreak among the region�s sheep in 1986. Spot�s horns were scored unofficially at 202-7/8. Prock believes the current score is a tad conservative. When No. 44 is officially scored for Boone and Crockett in November, the old ram may even replace Spot atop the sheep-hunters� list of all-time animals. "I�m really anxious to see what happens after the 60-day (waiting) period," Prock says. Even if the horns don�t eclipse those of Spot, Prock still owns the top spot among hunters. "Any ram that scores over 200 points is an awesome trophy," says Vic Coggins, a Medford native and current Wallowa District wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "There have been a lot of hunters after this particular bighorn sheep the past few years," Coggins says. The success of Prock, who supervises the inmate farm at the Washington State Penitentiary, also shows how the state�s top animals are not simply for sale to the highest bidder. States like Oregon regularly auction off coveted sheep tags to raise money for bighorn management. Many Oregon auction-tag holders bid thousands of dollars specifically for a chance to shoot No. 44. And along comes Prock, who paid his $4.50 controlled-hunt application fee, earned the tag in the regular lottery and ended up tagging Oregon�s most sought-after ram. "Everybody figures it�s the rich guys who are getting all the trophies, but they�re not," says Norm Hesseldahl, an ODFW spokesman in LaGrande. "(Prock) is not a millionaire who bought (the tag). He�s just a guy who got lucky and drew a tag." Prock was one of 616 hunters who applied for one of the two Hurricane Divide tags in the June controlled-hunt lottery. The tag allows its owner to hunt the unit beginning Sept. 9, more than three weeks after the winners of the auction and raffle tags can legally hunt. He packed in with Galen Clark, a shirttail relative who is a former sheep-hunting guide, as well as 25-year hunting partner Bob Peterson of Hermiston. Two days before the opener, they spotted four large rams during a scouting hike through the steep, rugged country. They watched the rams until the hunt could begin, never knowing it was No. 44 they had seen. The trio took turns keeping an eye on the sheep until Saturday morning, when they spied the foursome along a ridge at sunup. After an hour�s horse ride and a 5-1/2-hour hike, the men finally worked their way to an area where a canyon narrows into a rough, rocky chute in hopes that the rams would wander by. Around 1 p.m., the rams did make their way into the chute. Through his binoculars, Clark could see that the largest of the rams sported an ear-tag, but he couldn�t see the tag clearly enough to read the number. "That�s when everybody said, �This could be the one. This could be No. 44�," Prock says. The men sneaked within 20 yards of the biggest ram before Prock shot. They all scrambled over the rocks, with Clark the first to reach the fallen ram. "Galen let out a big scream, �THIS IS NO. 44!�" Prock says. "It just felt incredible, seeing how big he was." No. 44 is not just big for Oregon; it�s one of the Top 10 rams of the world. The 1999 edition of "Records of North American Big Game" lists seven other Rocky Mountain rams larger than old 44. The world record Rocky Mountain bighorn was taken in 1911 at Blind Canyon, Alberta, and scored 208-1/8. Boone and Crockett scoring for sheep is done by adding the circumference of each horn at the base and at three intermediate points to the horn's overall length. The total for the two horns, minus any difference in circumference measurements between the two, gives a final score. That night, the men sat around camp feasting on tenderloins and trying to let the day�s events soak in. "They kept asking me if we were going to measure the horns that night, and I said no," Prock says. "Instead, we drank a toast to the animal." (Staff writer Mark Freeman covers the outdoors for the Mail Tribune. Call him at 776-4470, or e-mail him at: [email protected] ) Outdoor Journal Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA