The ram taken by Prock was from the Lostine River herd and was ear tagged in 1993 with the number 44. As the ram matured, his unusually large size attracted attention and he was named "Forty-Four." Forty-four was sought after for a number of years but continued to elude hunters until this season.

"Any ram that scores over 200 points is an awesome trophy," commented Wallowa District wildlife biologist Vic Coggins. "There have been a lot of hunters after this particular bighorn sheep the past few years. The good news is that there are several other large rams in the Lostine herd."

Another well-known Lostine ram, "Spot" or "Scarface," was the largest Oregon ram, scoring unofficially 202 7/8 (green score). "Spot" died during a pneumonia outbreak in 1986 at the age of 14 1/2 years.

Prock was one of two hunters to draw resident tags for this year's Hurricane Divide Rocky Mountain bighorn ram hunt. There were 616 applicants for the once-in-a-lifetime hunting opportunity. The 11th Edition (1999) of Records of North American Big Game lists seven other rams larger than the one taken by Prock this week. The world record Rocky Mountain bighorn was taken in 1911 at Blind Canyon, Alberta and scored 208 1/8.

Boone & 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. Animals must be taken in fair chase to qualify for Boone and Crockett consideration. The minimum score for a bighorn sheep to be placed in the Boone & Crockett record book is 175 points.