This is the position the author used to take a desert sheep. The rifle is a Remington Model 700 rebarreled to .300 H&H by Geoff Miller. Many rifles would have been suitable, but look at the cramped position: If you have too much recoil you're going to get a scope cut.

I have made no "bad" choices in rifles and cartridges since the rifles I have carried have never prevented me from getting a ram or goat (other things have). On the other hand, some choices have been better than others, and I have learned a lot in my three decades of sheep hunting. I have especially learned a lot during the last 10 years, when I have been doing a lot more of this type of hunting and, as the years advance, when the mountains have been getting steeper.

Whether this is of interest to you is worth discussing. There is actually more sheep hunting going on today than there was in O'Connor's time. Permits are more limited in both Canada and Alaska, but more U.S. states offer permits. With the Iron Curtain down, there is much more opportunity in Asia. Even so, sheep hunting is limited, so this is a limited subject. Potential interest is broadened by the fact that sheep hunting is a very high-profile adventure, traditionally sparking more armchair interest than other equally limited pursuits.

The other aspect is that, while we are focusing on rifles and cartridges for wild sheep because of the (perhaps inflated) value we hunters place on wild rams, it is important to note that the "perfect sheep rifle" is good for quite a few other things besides sheep and goats. A good sheep rifle is also a good rifle for high-country mule deer--and, most likely, an equally good rifle for any deer hunted in relatively open country. A good sheep rifle is probably not ideal for moose and grizzly, but it can certainly be pressed into service for elk and will most likely be ideal for caribou.

So, while we're talking about sheep rifles, it's important to keep in mind that the sheep rifle is not a specialized tool. It will do just fine for hunting any medium-size big game in open country, with emphasis on country that is steep and tough to get around in. With this in mind, let's talk about sheep rifles and cartridges.

CARTRIDGES
I could keep this extremely simple and just say O'Connor had it right. He is best known as the champion of the .270 Winchester and certainly believed it was the ideal choice for mountain hunting.

This conclusion was not arrived upon in a vacuum. He also hunted sheep with the .30-06, 7x57, .257 Roberts and almost certainly a couple of belted magnums. He also used at least one wildly unsuitable cartridge, taking a desert ram with a .348 Winchester (hard to believe, but it seems likely that even O'Connor, once in awhile, had obligations to do stories about particular rifles and/or cartridges).

As stated, my own most wildly unsuitable choice was the .375 H&H. I have also taken sheep and goats with the .25 WSSM, .257 Weatherby, .270 Winchester, .270 WSM, .270 Weatherby Magnum, 7x57, .280 Remington, 7mm Remington Magnum, .30-06, .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 H&H, .300 Weatherby Magnum, 7.82 (.308) Warbird and 8mm Remington Magnum. Maybe some others.

Left to right: .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, .270 Weatherby Magnum, 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm Remington Ultra Mag, .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum. These are just a few of the standard cartridges and standard, long, belted and unbelted magnums that provide all the power and reach needed in sheep hunting. Cartridges over .30 are never called for, and the most important thing is that your choice gives you confidence when it counts.

In years gone by I have written that .30-caliber magnums are the best overall choices. This was based on a situation that occurred during my first bighorn hunt, in Montana in 1994. We got pinned down at sunset by a band of rams at almost exactly 400 yards, and I lacked the confidence to take the shot with the .270 Winchester I was carrying. We eventually got the same ram at little more than 100 yards, but it took several days to find him again.

I swore that if I ever drew another bighorn tag, I'd carry a .300 magnum. I did, and I did, taking my second ram with a .300 Weatherby Magnum. As noted, I've used other fast .30s as well, including a .300 H&H with hot handloads on my (probably) once-in-a-lifetime desert sheep and a Lazzeroni Warbird on a Yukon Dall sheep hunt and blue sheep hunt in China.

Although I love my 8mm Remington Magnum and have used it on sheep in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Chad, there is no justification for hunting sheep with any caliber above .30. Even the largest Asian sheep simply aren't that big, and regardless of race, sheep aren't all that tough. Goats are very tough, but they're also narrow through the body; the answer for anchoring them isn't a larger caliber but bullets that will open up fairly quickly.