Best Simmental Bulls right now

What about the American Pride bull ? There should be some calves out there by now how do they look ?

I was able to look at Broker at the Royal and then watched him online at Louisville.  VERY impressive specimen.  Loaded with functional muscle, width and moved really well.  Quite the bull and from the looks at some of his early offspring, they are really impressive as well.  Many females selling with pretty high $ amounts.  As far as functional offspring in the pasture, plate and feedlot.....time will tell.  I like him even more now that I have seen him a couple of times.   

Will semen be available on Broker, or is it one of these "only at auction deals"?  Thanks.

Some of the best are Dual Focus, Combination, And Comfort Zone. Great EPDs and great on heifers.

Never used him myself, but TNT Tanker animals have really stuck out. Crazy thickness on a smaller frame

Sparty-On said:

Will semen be available on Broker, or is it one of these "only at auction deals"?  Thanks.

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I was told he is going for $1250 for a cane of semen.  (10 straws).

To me, there's a big difference between the "best bull" and what you might say is the most exciting bull. The best breeding bull would have to be a proven bull that has several progeny in a number of herds...that's the only way to know a bull's true breeding value and his potential impact on the breed. Some of our best cows are sired by Nichols Legacy...we also have some good Preferred Beef daughters, good Jokers, and good Lucky Dices. I don't think anybody would try to argue these are the most exciting bulls going right now. From a production standpoint, I like our Tanker calves as much as anything we've had born lately. They're not the showiest, but they're good production cattle. Got a couple of Singletary babies on the ground now, and Top Grades coming in January...I'm excited about both of those bulls. Still like the Olies, and our Blazin Hots & 3C Southbound calves stand right in there with the rest of em.

This is going to be a long post, but there is no shortage of quality Simmental bulls that breeders can use. I cannot address them all, but I'll do the best I can. I am including a few that I'm curious about, as well. Those are listed first.

WS A Step Up- I saw this bull's video on Steerplanet a while back and I was very impressed. I like his pedigree (he's a Grandmaster x Macho), and if he's as good as his video suggests, he may be worth that $150 a straw he is going for. I didn't buy any semen initially because I wanted to see if he could prove himself. The Step Up heifer that sold at Jones' Show Cattle was flat good, and she revitalized my interest in the bull. I know she is out of a great cow, but does anyone else have progeny on the ground?

HOC Broker- He was Grand Simmi Bull at the North American and looked great. I LOVE the cow family and saw some really nice heifers in Louisville out of him, as well. What are everyone's experiences with him? I am hoping to flush a few cows to him this spring.

Optimus Prime- I bought some semen on this bull at Denver last year. I haven't used any yet because I am still looking at his calves and seeing what he works on. From what I've seen, he does not seem to work as well as Steel Force. His calves are fancy, but IMO, I don't know if they are going to have enough to them. I hope this is not the case, but time will tell.

Montecito- I am a big fan of this bull, and at this point he seems to be the better choice over Optimus Prime, his full brother (especially considering the price difference in semen). His calves are just starting to hit the ground, and I have a couple already. I love the look and completeness of them. They came easy and are really coming along. I am looking forward to seeing more progeny.

Excalibur- I have a few of my better cows bred to him for Spring calves. I used him on softer made, easy fleshing, sound females that need a shot of power. I haven't heard much in the way of offspring yet, but there are a few in the Ruby's sale.

Lock N Load- I will admit that I probably will never use this bull. I saw his video when he sold, and although videos can sometimes be misleading, this bull just was not sound enough for me. I hate to say that because a baldy outcross bull like him could sure have a place.

Felt Next Big Thing- His females caught my eye at the North American. He's got a good outcross pedigree and his semen is reasonably priced. I will probably sample him. Has anyone else had/seen calves?

Steel Force- What can I say? He won't fix everything, but he seems to be very consistent and I have not seen a dud by him yet. I saw S.F. when he sold at Sunset View and loved him then. I haven't seen him since, but I sure wish I would've bought him that day for 18,000  . IMO, he's worth that 200 per straw and he is a very safe bet.

JF Milestone- This bull caught my eye from the beginning. He's sure sound and stout enough, two qualities that rarely come in the same package it seems like. You can't argue with what this bull has done in a short time. His calves have come at a premium, and a female just recently sold in the HPF sale for 42,000 for half interest. This bull is going to leave his mark.

Navigator- I love his calves from the shoulders back. He makes them stout, high performing, and massive. I have a few of my "prettier" halfbloods bred to him, and I have a couple on the ground. This is the first time I've used him, and I am impressed. The calves stand out and are growing well.

Voyager- I finally sampled him on some cows due this spring. I have seen quite a few of his progeny at shows and sales over the past few years, and although they won't blow you away from any one aspect, they are some of the most complete cattle I've seen. They are consistent and are my kind of cattle.

Explorer- Oh Explorer. I immediately used this bull when he became available. I had high hopes for him, but from my experiences, his calves underperformed. They have a nice look, but they are too frail boned and small footed for me. My number one issue with this bull is the temperament of his calves. Has anyone else noticed this?

leanbeef said:

To me, there's a big difference between the "best bull" and what you might say is the most exciting bull. The best breeding bull would have to be a proven bull that has several progeny in a number of herds...that's the only way to know a bull's true breeding value and his potential impact on the breed. Some of our best cows are sired by Nichols Legacy...we also have some good Preferred Beef daughters, good Jokers, and good Lucky Dices. I don't think anybody would try to argue these are the most exciting bulls going right now. From a production standpoint, I like our Tanker calves as much as anything we've had born lately. They're not the showiest, but they're good production cattle. Got a couple of Singletary babies on the ground now, and Top Grades coming in January...I'm excited about both of those bulls. Still like the Olies, and our Blazin Hots & 3C Southbound calves stand right in there with the rest of em.

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I have 22 Top Grades on the ground. They are 2 months old and so far I really like them. Moderate birth weights, tons of vigor at birth and so far not a dud in the group. I might speculate that he doesn't add much body depth, but the calves are so young right now it's hard to say.

The Z053 calf is out of the L101 donor in my avatar and Top Grade. All the calves from that flush are really nice.

Z066's dam is a purebred Simbrah and he is by Top Grade. I would say this is the best calf this cow has ever produced and she's no slacker.

mego said:

This is going to be a long post, but there is no shortage of quality Simmental bulls that breeders can use. I cannot address them all, but I'll do the best I can. I am including a few that I'm curious about, as well. Those are listed first.

WS A Step Up- I saw this bull's video on Steerplanet a while back and I was very impressed. I like his pedigree (he's a Grandmaster x Macho), and if he's as good as his video suggests, he may be worth that $150 a straw he is going for. I didn't buy any semen initially because I wanted to see if he could prove himself. The Step Up heifer that sold at Jones' Show Cattle was flat good, and she revitalized my interest in the bull. I know she is out of a great cow, but does anyone else have progeny on the ground?

HOC Broker- He was Grand Simmi Bull at the North American and looked great. I LOVE the cow family and saw some really nice heifers in Louisville out of him, as well. What are everyone's experiences with him? I am hoping to flush a few cows to him this spring.

Optimus Prime- I bought some semen on this bull at Denver last year. I haven't used any yet because I am still looking at his calves and seeing what he works on. From what I've seen, he does not seem to work as well as Steel Force. His calves are fancy, but IMO, I don't know if they are going to have enough to them. I hope this is not the case, but time will tell.

Montecito- I am a big fan of this bull, and at this point he seems to be the better choice over Optimus Prime, his full brother (especially considering the price difference in semen). His calves are just starting to hit the ground, and I have a couple already. I love the look and completeness of them. They came easy and are really coming along. I am looking forward to seeing more progeny.

Excalibur- I have a few of my better cows bred to him for Spring calves. I used him on softer made, easy fleshing, sound females that need a shot of power. I haven't heard much in the way of offspring yet, but there are a few in the Ruby's sale.

Lock N Load- I will admit that I probably will never use this bull. I saw his video when he sold, and although videos can sometimes be misleading, this bull just was not sound enough for me. I hate to say that because a baldy outcross bull like him could sure have a place.

Felt Next Big Thing- His females caught my eye at the North American. He's got a good outcross pedigree and his semen is reasonably priced. I will probably sample him. Has anyone else had/seen calves?

Steel Force- What can I say? He won't fix everything, but he seems to be very consistent and I have not seen a dud by him yet. I saw S.F. when he sold at Sunset View and loved him then. I haven't seen him since, but I sure wish I would've bought him that day for 18,000  . IMO, he's worth that 200 per straw and he is a very safe bet.

JF Milestone- This bull caught my eye from the beginning. He's sure sound and stout enough, two qualities that rarely come in the same package it seems like. You can't argue with what this bull has done in a short time. His calves have come at a premium, and a female just recently sold in the HPF sale for 42,000 for half interest. This bull is going to leave his mark.

Navigator- I love his calves from the shoulders back. He makes them stout, high performing, and massive. I have a few of my "prettier" halfbloods bred to him, and I have a couple on the ground. This is the first time I've used him, and I am impressed. The calves stand out and are growing well.

Voyager- I finally sampled him on some cows due this spring. I have seen quite a few of his progeny at shows and sales over the past few years, and although they won't blow you away from any one aspect, they are some of the most complete cattle I've seen. They are consistent and are my kind of cattle.

Explorer- Oh Explorer. I immediately used this bull when he became available. I had high hopes for him, but from my experiences, his calves underperformed. They have a nice look, but they are too frail boned and small footed for me. My number one issue with this bull is the temperament of his calves. Has anyone else noticed this?

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My Explorer's have temperament problems too. Especially the bull calves.

I have a handful of Upgrade calves on the ground and those calves are really really nice. I didn't use too much of him last year because semen was $45/straw and I use time AI. I flushed one of my Simbrah donors to him and bred him to a SimAngus cow. My best calf this year is an Upgrade 3/4 SM 1/4 BR heifer (pictured below).

WLE Uno Mas X549 - was Reserve Champion Simmental Bull at the recent N.A.I.L.E.  70lb. BW and 755 lb. WW.  Available through Select Sires.  Looks as good on paper as in the ring IMO.

http://www.selectsiresbeef.com/index.php?option=com_php&Itemid=114&id=202

http://www.livestockexpo.org/images/Beef/Beef%20Open/Open%20Simmental/Reserve%20Grand%20Champion%20Bull%20Open%20Simmental.jpg

mego said:

This is going to be a long post, but there is no shortage of quality Simmental bulls that breeders can use. I cannot address them all, but I'll do the best I can. I am including a few that I'm curious about, as well. Those are listed first.

WS A Step Up- I saw this bull's video on Steerplanet a while back and I was very impressed. I like his pedigree (he's a Grandmaster x Macho), and if he's as good as his video suggests, he may be worth that $150 a straw he is going for. I didn't buy any semen initially because I wanted to see if he could prove himself. The Step Up heifer that sold at Jones' Show Cattle was flat good, and she revitalized my interest in the bull. I know she is out of a great cow, but does anyone else have progeny on the ground?

HOC Broker- He was Grand Simmi Bull at the North American and looked great. I LOVE the cow family and saw some really nice heifers in Louisville out of him, as well. What are everyone's experiences with him? I am hoping to flush a few cows to him this spring.

Optimus Prime- I bought some semen on this bull at Denver last year. I haven't used any yet because I am still looking at his calves and seeing what he works on. From what I've seen, he does not seem to work as well as Steel Force. His calves are fancy, but IMO, I don't know if they are going to have enough to them. I hope this is not the case, but time will tell.

Montecito- I am a big fan of this bull, and at this point he seems to be the better choice over Optimus Prime, his full brother (especially considering the price difference in semen). His calves are just starting to hit the ground, and I have a couple already. I love the look and completeness of them. They came easy and are really coming along. I am looking forward to seeing more progeny.

Excalibur- I have a few of my better cows bred to him for Spring calves. I used him on softer made, easy fleshing, sound females that need a shot of power. I haven't heard much in the way of offspring yet, but there are a few in the Ruby's sale.

Lock N Load- I will admit that I probably will never use this bull. I saw his video when he sold, and although videos can sometimes be misleading, this bull just was not sound enough for me. I hate to say that because a baldy outcross bull like him could sure have a place.

Felt Next Big Thing- His females caught my eye at the North American. He's got a good outcross pedigree and his semen is reasonably priced. I will probably sample him. Has anyone else had/seen calves?

Steel Force- What can I say? He won't fix everything, but he seems to be very consistent and I have not seen a dud by him yet. I saw S.F. when he sold at Sunset View and loved him then. I haven't seen him since, but I sure wish I would've bought him that day for 18,000  . IMO, he's worth that 200 per straw and he is a very safe bet.

JF Milestone- This bull caught my eye from the beginning. He's sure sound and stout enough, two qualities that rarely come in the same package it seems like. You can't argue with what this bull has done in a short time. His calves have come at a premium, and a female just recently sold in the HPF sale for 42,000 for half interest. This bull is going to leave his mark.

Navigator- I love his calves from the shoulders back. He makes them stout, high performing, and massive. I have a few of my "prettier" halfbloods bred to him, and I have a couple on the ground. This is the first time I've used him, and I am impressed. The calves stand out and are growing well.

Voyager- I finally sampled him on some cows due this spring. I have seen quite a few of his progeny at shows and sales over the past few years, and although they won't blow you away from any one aspect, they are some of the most complete cattle I've seen. They are consistent and are my kind of cattle.

Explorer- Oh Explorer. I immediately used this bull when he became available. I had high hopes for him, but from my experiences, his calves underperformed. They have a nice look, but they are too frail boned and small footed for me. My number one issue with this bull is the temperament of his calves. Has anyone else noticed this?

Click to expand...

I have an Explorer heifer this year that I posted in another post labeled "The New Heifer" Yes she can get a little antsy. But she is plenty big boned but that is mainly because she was out of an extremely stout female. The main knock on her that I would think is from the bull's side of the family is her front end: short, masculine, and sloppy. I think he would work to soften one up but only if they are stout to the extreme and are good fronted. If you would like a picture refer to the other post. I haven't seen very many of them so those are just my thoughts. I hope this helps

LN
The Z053 calf is pretty nice! I really like her!

firesweepranch said:

LN
The Z053 calf is pretty nice! I really like her!

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I second that! LN...u called Top Grade out for not adding depth, and I will agree as far as what I've seen which was just a few calves back in the summer at River Creek's. Like yours, they were young, so I wouldn't write them off yet. What I liked about them was they were really pretty fronted with no major faults. I only saw a few but they were very uniform. After seeing this picture of ur little heifer, I'm kind of excited about January getting here!

We also have some Upgrades coming. I like those calves a lot...I just didn't want to put myself in a hole with that milk EPD until he gets some daughters in production and we know what they'll do. I like the Singletary babies, too, quite a bit right now.

jd720 said:

What about the American Pride bull ? There should be some calves out there by now how do they look ?

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Curious that there is no response.  There has been a lot of hype about him.  I was at Janssen Farms sale and there were some females out of him.  They looked good, can't say they were showstoppers, but for someone looking to upgrade their herd, they looked like they should work.

Nearly every bred that sold at the sale was AI'd to him, many of them had Dream On a generation back.  Have not seen that much line breeding personally in a Simi herd before. 

I really went hoping to see AP, not knowing he had been sold to Canada.  His dam sold as Lot 1 and brought $20k to the same outfit.  I think AP is like Sasquatch...there have been rumored sightings... .  Kidding...

I was impressed with the Janssen Farms operation and quality of females on the sale.

Again, please check:  WLE Uno Mas X549 - was Reserve Champion Simmental Bull at the recent N.A.I.L.E.  70lb. BW and 755 lb. WW.  Available through Select Sires.  Looks as good on paper as in the ring IMO.

http://www.selectsiresbeef.com/index.php?option=com_php&Itemid=114&id=202

http://www.livestockexpo.org/images/Beef/Beef%20Open/Open%20Simmental/Reserve%20Grand%20Champion%20Bull%20Open%20Simmental.jpg

Cattle Cards said:

Again, please check:  WLE Uno Mas X549 - was Reserve Champion Simmental Bull at the recent N.A.I.L.E.  70lb. BW and 755 lb. WW.  Available through Select Sires.  Looks as good on paper as in the ring IMO.

http://www.selectsiresbeef.com/index.php?option=com_php&Itemid=114&id=202

http://www.livestockexpo.org/images/Beef/Beef%20Open/Open%20Simmental/Reserve%20Grand%20Champion%20Bull%20Open%20Simmental.jpg

Click to expand...

Not trying to be overly critical, and I'll agree this bull has some good things about him. I can't get too excited about him on paper, though, from a performance standpoint...his weaning and yearling EPDs leave a lot on the table. Yes, he puts together a decent profile otherwise, but for folks who look at growth performance, Uno Mas doesn't come across as particularly special.

leanbeef said:

Cattle Cards said:

Again, please check:  WLE Uno Mas X549 - was Reserve Champion Simmental Bull at the recent N.A.I.L.E.  70lb. BW and 755 lb. WW.  Available through Select Sires.  Looks as good on paper as in the ring IMO.

http://www.selectsiresbeef.com/index.php?option=com_php&Itemid=114&id=202

http://www.livestockexpo.org/images/Beef/Beef%20Open/Open%20Simmental/Reserve%20Grand%20Champion%20Bull%20Open%20Simmental.jpg

Click to expand...

Not trying to be overly critical, and I'll agree this bull has some good things about him. I can't get too excited about him on paper, though, from a performance standpoint...his weaning and yearling EPDs leave a lot on the table. Yes, he puts together a decent profile otherwise, but for folks who look at growth performance, Uno Mas doesn't come across as particularly special.

Click to expand...

Just think that a winning show bull with a calving ease 14.8 that turns around and gives you WW of 62.8 & YW 82.8 is not too common.  To top it off his maternal numbers look good (MCE 10.6 & Milk 17.7).  Again, all from a "show" bull.  And no, I didn't breed any cows to him.  No I don't own or show him.  As a past breeder of quality Simmental Cattle, you rarely see show winning and performance in the same package.  Might I use him on my Angus heifer?  Yes, I'd consider it.  I just think he'd be worth a try on an nice heifer if you wanted to keep the looks and hopefully get a good mamma in the end, too...agreed he's young and he might not turn out as good as he looks but then again he could be the next big thing.

Call Hartman for HOC Broker semen. I bought 10 units. It's 1250 for 10. I have seen some heifers and the Hara brothers have had some stellar heifers from him and the show heifers at the NAILE I saw were impressive. Not to mention the bull himself looking great. I plan on throwing him on my Hairietta daughters after I saw the success the Hara brothers had with him. Hope he continues to he used I think he has a lot to offer.

Does anyone know anything about "Drake Game Changer"?  Bred by Drake Cattle Co. and Owned by Rolfes Simmental.  Do not confuse him with the other "Game Changer".  Saw this on Facebook but I can not find them online.  I did talk to the Breeder.  He's a great looking bull.  His first crop should be on the ground...

https://herdbook.simmental.org/simmapp/action/animalSearch.AnimalSearchAction?eventSubmit_displayAnimal=T&animalNumber=2565606