Circle S Leachman 600U

[K3ranch]

In my perusing of the internet, I saw a breeder that had been using this blast from the past this year. He is long before my time. What the skinny on this bull? The good, the bad, and the ugly?
He looks like he would make them big, Which would fit the era.
What were his sons and daughters like?

 

[Lucky_P]

He was around soon after we first started using Simmental sires, but I never used him, as I was not chasing 'black'. He was homo black and homo polled, without the diluter gene, which may explain why he was so widely used in his day. And... Leachman was a 'mover and shaker'.
He's definitely behind some good cattle - and I've seen some in recent years that had him fairly close-up, so some folks have still been using him, even though he's a 1986 model...
Looking at his epd profile... to my mind, today he'd be a 'specialty carcass' sire, and maybe not all that great of one, but he has a top 1% Shr (tenderness) epd, and looks to reduce backfat; not that great on marbling and ribeye, though.
Other than that, I don't necessarily see anything about him that would tempt me to use him today. Nostalgia is not always all it's cracked up to be...


Circle S Leachman 600U

 

[Ebenezer]

He makes them big. They stand up several times was my description of our calves. They grew well but we never kept any daughters. Still likely have a straw or two from that past time of seeking Xbred animals.

 

[kenny thomas]

I have used several of his sons. They add size to the calves but also have been some great disposition bulls. A CT member has said he has some 600U semen and will use it in hopes of getting me a bull calf. I definitely want more bulls from him.

 

[simme]

I have used several of his sons. They add size to the calves but also have been some great disposition bulls. A CT member has said he has some 600U semen and will use it in hopes of getting me a bull calf. I definitely want more bulls from him.

My last straw of 600U semen went in the cow about 5 weeks ago. I think she settled. Will be doing the biopyrn test soon to confirm. Cow is a 3 y/o that weaned a 701# bull calf as a 2 y/o and has a very nice HC Power Drive 88H (1998 bull) heifer calf now.

 

[kenny thomas]

My last straw of 600U semen went in the cow about 5 weeks ago. I think she settled. Will be doing the biopyrn test soon to confirm. Cow is a 3 y/o that weaned a 701# bull calf as a 2 y/o and has a very nice HC Power Drive 88H (1998 bull) heifer calf now.

Remember me if she has a bull calf.

 

[simme]

600U was very popular in his time. As stated, homo black and polled and a pretty good phenotype compared to other black simmental bulls at the time. He saw heavy use. His most popular sons were Nichols Blk Destiny D12 and LRS Preferred Stock 370C. I don't recall his progeny as being "big" at that time. I thought they were moderate compared to the other tall simmental bulls at the time.

The "Leachman" is Jim Leachman of Montana. He sold lots of bulls in that era including bulls from cooperator herds. Circle S was the cooperator herd that produced the bull. As I recall, the bull sold to a commercial operation. Leachman saw the bull later and bought him back to use in his simmental operation. ABS purchased an interest as well and sold lots of semen.

A few calves are still recorded each year. Less than 10 per year since 2017. The bull still has decent EPD's. A lot of the bulls from that time will have EPD's in the bottom 10% of the breed for growth and calving ease and birth weight. His API is 130 which is breed average.

600U is the great grandsire of my 17 y/o cow. I used that last straw of 600U on her granddaughter to try to get Kenny a bull calf. If successful, Kenny's bull will have 600U on both sides of the pedigree.

 

[cattleman99]

Try and trace a purebred Simmental pedigree back as far as you can on either the ASA or CSA website and you are likely to find him multiple times in every pedigree. Pretty much the foundation sire of the purebreds in many ways.

It's surprising how much of his semen is still floating around

 

[kenny thomas]

600U was very popular in his time. As stated, homo black and polled and a pretty good phenotype compared to other black simmental bulls at the time. He saw heavy use. His most popular sons were Nichols Blk Destiny D12 and LRS Preferred Stock 370C. I don't recall his progeny as being "big" at that time. I thought they were moderate compared to the other tall simmental bulls at the time.

The "Leachman" is Jim Leachman of Montana. He sold lots of bulls in that era including bulls from cooperator herds. Circle S was the cooperator herd that produced the bull. As I recall, the bull sold to a commercial operation. Leachman saw the bull later and bought him back to use in his simmental operation. ABS purchased an interest as well and sold lots of semen.

A few calves are still recorded each year. Less than 10 per year since 2017. The bull still has decent EPD's. A lot of the bulls from that time will have EPD's in the bottom 10% of the breed for growth and calving ease and birth weight. His API is 130 which is breed average.

600U is the great grandsire of my 17 y/o cow. I used that last straw of 600U on her granddaughter to try to get Kenny a bull calf. If successful, Kenny's bull will have 600U on both sides of the pedigree.

If any of you wonder about 600U I have made an agreement to buy his bull calf and never even ask what the cow was or the price. If it's even close to a reasonable price I'm going to buy it.

 

[cattleman99]

If any of you wonder about 600U I have made an agreement to buy his bull calf and never even ask what the cow was or the price. If it's even close to a reasonable price I'm going to buy it.

Was perusing bull sale catalogs this morning when my back woke me up early. High bluff has three sons for sale. Catalog is on Transcon Livestock's website. Your American dollar is roughly 1.25 Canadian and we all know you like to drive around the country. One of the bulls is even named Johnny Cash. That's why I noticed the sire.

 

[simme]

Was perusing bull sale catalogs this morning when my back woke me up early. High bluff has three sons for sale. Catalog is on Transcon Livestock's website. Your American dollar is roughly 1.25 Canadian and we all know you like to drive around the country. One of the bulls is even named Johnny Cash. That's why I noticed the sire.

Nice looking bulls from those old genetics.

High Bluff Stock Farm Charolais and Simmental Bull and Female Sale 2022

Quality Charolais and Simmental Yearling Bulls and Heifers on Offer March 18, 2022 in Inglis, MB

issuu.com

 

[K3ranch]

What were feet and udders like on those cattle?

 

[cattleman99]

Those bulls sell today. He still throws enough growth as they all weigh between 1550 and 1625 at 15-16 months.

 

[kenny thomas]

My last straw of 600U semen went in the cow about 5 weeks ago. I think she settled. Will be doing the biopyrn test soon to confirm. Cow is a 3 y/o that weaned a 701# bull calf as a 2 y/o and has a very nice HC Power Drive 88H (1998 bull) heifer calf now.

Update on this. Simme sent me a message earlier that it's a bull calf. Great, hope it weans at 900.

 

[simme]

Update on this. Simme sent me a message earlier that it's a bull calf. Great, hope it weans at 900.

Cow's first calf 2020:

Cow's second calf 2021 (my favorite from that calf crop):

Third calf 2022. Kenny's 600U bull calf about 4 hours old. Cow still bowed up from dumping the afterbirth.

The young cow has done ok with her first two calves. But that 900# wish for her third may be about 150# beyond her potential. But she did settle to my last straw of 600U semen and delivered a bull calf. So, good luck so far.

 

[Aero]

Those bulls sell today. He still throws enough growth as they all weigh between 1550 and 1625 at 15-16 months.

This has a lot more to do with feeding method than genetics. The worst growth genetics animal in a feedlot will outgain any animal in a desert.

 

[Travlr]

This has a lot more to do with feeding method than genetics. The worst growth genetics animal in a feedlot will outgain any animal in a desert.

I'd rather buy a bull/heifer raised on grass without supplements than any supplemented animal. They won't get much for supplements from me and they will have to perform without them.

 

[cattleman99]

This has a lot more to do with feeding method than genetics. The worst growth genetics animal in a feedlot will outgain any animal in a desert.

Ain't no desert around here. Their cattle work just fine in the real world. Neighbor just sold a 9 year old he got from that outfit. He was still in great shape. I hauled him to auction for them.

You can't sell a yearling bull around here that's not at least 1400 lbs on sale day which is 13-15 months. That's reality. Anything smaller is considered a dink.

 

[simme]

Everybody knows that the genetic worth of a bull is from the chromosomes, not from the feed bucket. I agree that many and maybe most bulls end up with a shorter life due to overfeeding prior to sale.

Even though bull buyers will agree with the above, they will tend to select big fat bulls. Do sellers produce overfed bulls because they are rewarded for that by the buyers? Or, do buyers purchase overfed bulls because that is what the sellers offer? Don't know if the chicken or the egg came first, but it is difficult to sell a smaller thinner bull. And sometimes difficult to find much of a selection of them.

 

[Aero]

You can't sell a yearling bull around here that's not at least 1400 lbs on sale day which is 13-15 months. That's reality. Anything smaller is considered a dink.

I'm fully aware. It's much the same in NC and it's a shame bulls are sold from such artificial environments to inflate numbers so buyers can think bigger is always better. If a commercial cattlemen could feed all of his calves like that bull was fed and turn a profit, it might have a chance of making sense.