GAR Xceptional

[J+ Cattle]

Does anyone on here have any personal experience with GAR Xceptional, likes or dislikes about him or his calves?

G A R Xceptional

He's a Ten X son with LBW and good growth and excellent carcass qualities but is he a good cow maker or herd improver?

J+ Cattle

 

[GoWyo]

Cowmaker is not what comes to mind when I see Ten X close up in the pedigree. Daybreak on the maternal side may mitigate that to some extent. Foot score for Claw is terrible if it has any accuracy. Looks like a good terminal sire to me with progeny going straight to the feedlot.

 

[J+ Cattle]

So what is your go to Angus sire for keeping replacements, must be currently available for AI?

 

[GoWyo]

I have a couple of upcoming daughters of this guy

Bruin Torque 5261

Haven't used him yet, but I like a few weaning age daughters I have seen

Circle L Gus

A couple daughters (just 2 year olds now) are doing a nice job

LD Capitalist 316

Have a few heifer calves on the ground showing some promise by this old guy

Mohnen Substantial 272

Have bred cows for the second year to this grandson of Substantial and I like the heifer and bull calves a lot

Sitz Resilient 10208

And finally after a test run last year, I am looking forward to the daughters of this bull dropping calves in a couple years -- will be watching feet on them

Ox Bow Ozzie 3233

Several of these are pretty young bulls, so I am proceeding with caution on them. I make a few mistakes as I go, but we can always eat the mistakes.

Quite a few of my current best cows are sired by a home-raised son of BC Lookout 6024. His mother was a granddaughter of EXT. That doesn't help much on looking for current AI sires, but they are rising to the top as they hit their prime even if they have a few faults. Also Redland Emblazon 2134 is the sire of some other top cows here. Unfortunately, 2134, like some other sires aren't available as AI sires by the time we figure out how good they were.

Another bull I like for a maternal AI sire is KCF Bennett Absolute. http://bullbarn.com/angblkepd.asp?ID=2379 He is a little more proven and I like the Wulffs EXT 6106 on the maternal side.

SAV Resource is one I resisted using for several years, but a couple of 2-year olds are showing promise this year.

Hoover Dam is still available and has been a strong maternal sire.

 

[J+ Cattle]

GoWyo,

I appreciate the time you took to post all of these good suggestions. Straws of Hoover Dam and SAV Resource are on the high side for me.
Strictly from the carcass standpoint I like the ones with the better marbling scores like; LD Capitalist, Sitz Reilient, OxBow Ozzie and KCF Bennett Absolute.
KCF Bennett Absolute and Sitz Resilient have a little less back fat plus KCF Bennett Absolute boasts a top feed efficiency score so those will probably be where I focus.
One that I plan to keep an eye on is GAR High Security JSF 4005. http://bullbarn.com/angblkepd.asp?ID=3905 I'm interested to see what happens as more progeny get reported. It's not a problem for me but if you're at altitude, he probably wouldn't be a good choice.

J+ Cattle

 

[GoWyo]

J+ -- We are trying to increase carcass value as well while not losing maternal function and keeping performance and cow maintenance costs reasonable. We are at 4800 feet, summer at 6200 feet and have bull customers at 7000-8500 feet, so PAP is high on my watch list to the extent the EPD is accurate, so here that rules out a bull like High Security with his PAP EPD.

Another bull you might consider that is relatively close to your location is B3R Electorate A229 at Bradley 3 Ranch. He is double bred Gardens Wave. [On edit -- he is only top side Gardens Wave] I used him two years ago when he was still available through ABS. Three of four sons made the bull sale pen and were the first to sell -- really robust and masculine bulls with good rib shape and big cajones. I retained 3 daughters that are in the bred heifer pasture now and they look real good, and have a bull calf by him that is doing well. His EPDs say they may be a little low on performance, but not here. When I emailed Bradley 3 this spring they said the bull hated being at the stud, so they brought him home. You might be able to get semen directly from them at Memphis, TX. If I was to buy a bull (which I have not yet in 13 years running registered Angus), I would look at one of his sons from their next sale.

 

[J+ Cattle]

GoWyo,

Memphis, TX is only a couple of hours drive away from me and I respect their operation as one that culls extensively which makes many problems go away. Some operations do everything to make the WW and YW look good and then when a commercial cattlemen like me gets them we wonder what happened to the performance? I don't think B3R does that like some other breeders do which may explain why you're getting more performance than you thought.
B3R Electorate A229 has a couple of things that I look for in the numbers, CW>MW and YH>MH. When both of these returns a positive number it seems to indicate (at least to me) faster early growth versus a later spurt in growth. I'm trying to raise quality commercial replacements and quality freezer beef. In my area there are some people that sell bred heifers that they picked up at the local sale barn and ran on wheat pasture for a few months with a bull, this isn't my idea of a good replacement female. I've had better luck raising my own replacements but they don't all work out the way I would like and want to improve my odds and quality with some selective picks to AI with.
For many years I was using a registered Angus bull that had N Bar Emulation EXT on the top side and bottom side but 3 generations back. Now I have a Ten X son that I'm hoping will add more growth and carcass quality but like you said "while not losing maternal function".

J+ Cattle

 

[PBAngusOkie]

Does anyone on here have any personal experience with GAR Xceptional, likes or dislikes about him or his calves?

G A R Xceptional

He's a Ten X son with LBW and good growth and excellent carcass qualities but is he a good cow maker or herd improver?

J+ Cattle

I've an G A R Xceptional bull calf that I'm pretty happy with. Bar RC Riverbend Blackbird. Weaned 7-19-21 at 672 lbs. 7-4 and 7-23 photos.

 

[PBAngusOkie]

I've an G A R Xceptional bull calf that I'm pretty happy with. Bar RC Riverbend Blackbird. Weaned 7-19-21 at 672 lbs. 7-4 and 7-23 photos.

Here is the 7-23-21 pic.

 

[gizmom]

A bull that is growing on me is Coleman Engage especially for use on heifers. I confess the first year I used him I didn't go back with him the following year. Then the heifer calves out of him started coming on and wow were they nice. I used him the next year first heifers are now bred so now I will see how they are as mamma cows. Have one bull calf in the keeper pen and he is a stud out of a first calf heifer.

I am not a fan of Exceptional in pedigree or phenotype.

 

[J+ Cattle]

Here is the 7-23-21 pic.

I've an G A R Xceptional bull calf that I'm pretty happy with. Bar RC Riverbend Blackbird. Weaned 7-19-21 at 672 lbs. 7-4 and 7-23 photos.

PBAngus,

I'm estimating here but 672 lbs at 198 days would get you a 205 adjusted weight of around 693 lbs. Just curious about the weaning weight ratio as compared to the dam's weight, just something that I like to track.
His numbers look really good with all of the $ value indexes in the top 35% of the breed.
Good WW and YW growth numbers, good Marb and REA with a minus back fat number...excellent! I would say that you have every reason to be happy with him. Please post more pictures of him as he grows.

J+ Cattle

 

[J+ Cattle]

A bull that is growing on me is Coleman Engage especially for use on heifers. I confess the first year I used him I didn't go back with him the following year. Then the heifer calves out of him started coming on and wow were they nice. I used him the next year first heifers are now bred so now I will see how they are as mamma cows. Have one bull calf in the keeper pen and he is a stud out of a first calf heifer.

I am not a fan of Exceptional in pedigree or phenotype.

Gizmom,

I'll admit that Coleman Engage looks good but I'm trying to find a bull that is higher in marbling and lower in back fat than what he provides.

 

[WB Angus]

ABS is running a their thank you special right now with some nice bulls.
SITZ Stellar
RAVEN POWERBALL
SITZ RESILIENT
EB PLUS ONE
TEHAMA PATRIARCH
just to name a few. If you have an ABS rep in you area you might give them a call. It runs from Aug 1 to Sept 15 and you are limited 10 straws per bull but some good deals. We take advantage of this special every year.

 

[WB Angus]

We like our Sydgen Exceed cattle as well. He will definitely add some carcass traits and his daughters are performing very well for us. His foot scores aren't the best but we haven't had any issues with feet yet.

 

[J+ Cattle]

ABS is running a their thank you special right now with some nice bulls.
SITZ Stellar
RAVEN POWERBALL
SITZ RESILIENT
EB PLUS ONE
TEHAMA PATRIARCH
just to name a few. If you have an ABS rep in you area you might give them a call. It runs from Aug 1 to Sept 15 and you are limited 10 straws per bull but some good deals. We take advantage of this special every year.

WB thanks for the heads up, I searched online and found the flyer for the special and there's some good deals on there.
Powerball, Plus One and Patriarch will meet the CAB targeting the brand requirements which isn't an absolute selection criteria for me but it's pretty high on the list.

J+ Cattle

 

[J+ Cattle]

We like our Sydgen Exceed cattle as well. He will definitely add some carcass traits and his daughters are performing very well for us. His foot scores aren't the best but we haven't had any issues with feet yet. View attachment 6790View attachment 6791View attachment 6792View attachment 6793

WB Angus,

I like the pictures of your cattle, I like them because they're in real world conditions in the pasture unlike some of the photo shopped bull pictures they put in the semen catalogs. Sydgen Exceed has been on my radar for a while but I'm a little afraid of his high milk number which doesn't work well in my drier part of the country. It can lead to cows that don't breed back on time and that sends a cow to the sale barn in my pasture.
In all my years of running cattle I've only had one cow that I culled for bad feet, but I've sent lots to the sale for bad udders. IMO the Angus Association is doing all of us an injustice by not publishing udder and teat scores. I hear it is coming but when???

J+ Cattle

 

[WB Angus]

You're welcome and thank you. I understand that on the milking epd. We try and stay in the 25 to 30 range here in our area so we try and pair our breeding to accommodate that although it doesn't always work like that lol.

 

[WB Angus]

And I agree on the udder and teat scores.

 

[PBAngusOkie]

PBAngus,

I'm estimating here but 672 lbs at 198 days would get you a 205 adjusted weight of around 693 lbs. Just curious about the weaning weight ratio as compared to the dam's weight, just something that I like to track.
His numbers look really good with all of the $ value indexes in the top 35% of the breed.
Good WW and YW growth numbers, good Marb and REA with a minus back fat number...excellent! I would say that you have every reason to be happy with him. Please post more pictures of him as he grows.

J+ Cattle

Location:		MGT:	Non-Creep Fed
Group:	A	Weigh Date:	07/19/2021
Weight:	672	Adj Weight:	727
Ratio:	100	Contemp Total:	1
Age:	198	Custom:
WDA:	3.39	Secondary:

 

[PBAngusOkie]

A bull that is growing on me is Coleman Engage especially for use on heifers. I confess the first year I used him I didn't go back with him the following year. Then the heifer calves out of him started coming on and wow were they nice. I used him the next year first heifers are now bred so now I will see how they are as mamma cows. Have one bull calf in the keeper pen and he is a stud out of a first calf heifer.

I am not a fan of Exceptional in pedigree or phenotype.

Would you mind giving me some pointers on faults you see in this bull? Also may be you can give a quick evaluation on one of my Home Town bull calves, "Bar RC Home Town".