USA: Aoudad Hunt On The Mexico Border

[Green Chile]

Here's a couple of photos to show you how the terrain got vertical quickly. The ram fell off the cliff in the video above and landed down here.

 

[Green Chile]

For those who care about numbers, I've never put a tape to this ram but Stephen did and said it was 34". I love the mass and the character/age of this ram. Next up is my friend's ram.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Good shooting Chile. This kind of hunt is on my bucket list. It looks like a fun hunt.

 

[Rare Breed]

A few years ago, I started feeling like a mortal man…recovery times were slower…aches were more noticeable….hills seemed taller…ack, I’m getting older! As I thought about that and how I wanted to do a lot more hunting, I read some articles on aoudad hunting. Some articles, in particular by Boddington, caught my attention. He was writing about how it’s the cheapest entry point to sheep hunting and a good warm-up for other mountain hunts. The hills in south Texas aren’t high in altitude but they are rugged and test the spirit. I called a hunting friend and said let’s go chase some aoudad before we wake up someday with regrets.

I called some guides that Boddington recommended and we ended up booking with Stephen West for a late September hunt. Stephen said that time of year was good for early season rutting activity. This area was on the very southern border near Big Bend and had a good population of 8-11 year old rams that were averaging 31”. Thirty inches is kind of the magic number for aoudad and Stephen said that should not be a problem to get a couple of rams at least that big.

I worked up some loads for a custom 6.5 PRC (now owned by @ AZ Dave) and got the ballistics sorted out to 1000 yards and verified on steel at those distances. I was on a pro staff rifle team at that time and we had the range to work out to those distances. That’s MUCH further than I would ever expect to shoot on game but when you practice that far, 500 yards or less seems much easier!

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The hunt dates quickly arrived and we made the drive down to Marfa, TX to meet the guide. He said fill up your gas here as it’s going to take awhile to get to the ranch. We drove about another hour to the end of the road and a locked gate. He unlocked the gate and pointed way back to the mesas and said, the ranch headquarters is behind that mesa. We drove 47 miles on dirt roads before we stopped at the ranch bunk house where we would be staying. Along the way, we saw a lot of desert quail, coyotes, javelina and mule deer…along with a few skinny half-wild cows scattered in the hills.

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The ranch buildings were simple but comfortable and up high on a bluff where you could see a long distance. Stephen pointed south and said that’s Mexico just a few miles from here. The country was severe looking but beautiful as only the desert can be. It was late in the day and we got the rifles out to check zeros. By the time we got back to camp, there was a great meal cooking with grilled steaks, beans, onions and peppers and home made tortillas and salsa. As the sun dropped below the horizon, the coyotes started singing and I knew it was going to be a good experience.

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I spent 9 great years living in TX and hunting WT deer there…never got tired of that sunset!!!

 

[Rare Breed]

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Wow!!! Congratulations!!!

 

[Green Chile]

By the way, if you are wondering what aoudad tastes like...I have no idea! Stephen said it tastes terrible...I asked the cook and he said, that stuff stinks to high heaven! Hah...so we didn't try it. We went back to eating beef and good home made Mexican food.

 

[Green Chile]

The next day was our last day of the 3 day hunt. Now that we knew where the herds had moved to, we just went further the next day. We got on the edges of these mesas and glassed all over...looking down into the shadows and folds of terrain all over them. Where do you think we found them...on this side or the far side? Of course, the far side! I ranged some rams at 600 plus and we weren't going to shoot that far. It's hard to be irritated though when you are glassing scenery that looks like it came straight out of a Western movie. This place is just beautiful.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Nice shooting Tex!…seriously frontal shots in the wind can be tough. Well done.

HH

 

[Green Chile]

While we were glassing some rams across the canyon, someone said wow, look at that. We turned to our right and there was a single old ram walking towards us on our side! He kind of had his head down and seemed like he didn't have a care in the world...or maybe another ram had knocked him silly and he was just looking for a place to nurse his head ache. You don't turn down a gift like that so my friend pivoted 45 degrees and shot him in the chest. The ram turned and ran towards the cliff edge and my friend got another shot into him dropping him just a few yards from the edge.

 

[Green Chile]

Good shooting Chile. This kind of hunt is on my bucket list. It looks like a fun hunt.

Thanks. It was a good hunt and I recommend people consider it. They aren't getting cheaper!

 

[WAB]

I wish the season didn’t sit right on top of our whitetail rut. That looks like an amazing hunt.

 

[Green Chile]

Reflections on the hunt:

These kinds of hunts need to be defined clearly by the hunter and what kind of experience they are looking for. There are many different kinds of aoudad hunts. You can go to Morocco or Chad and hunt Barbary sheep in their original habitats…for $40k and I highly recommend medical and evacuation insurance for this part of the world. You can hunt them free ranging in Croatia for around 8k. You can try to draw a tag in New Mexico for free ranging aoudad. You can hunt them on some TX ranches that are free ranging as I did and those prices vary depending on the guide you want to hunt with and their backlog. Be aware, the better guides are booked out 2 or even 3 years. You can hunt them in high fence operations as well or even on flat ground around water sources. Each experience is different so decide what you are looking for and budget accordingly.

Be prepared for longer shots. Know your loads and ballistic dope…particularly in varying winds. Practice in the wind…practice at distance. Be prepared to create shooting positions in a variety of field conditions.

As for any hunt, have good footwear that is broken in…be in the best condition you can. Aoudad favor the steep rocks so be prepared for that. The guide can recover the aoudad most likely (not always!) but he can’t carry you to a shooting position. Guides tell me there are clients who just can’t get to a shooting position on aoudad hunts because it’s too difficult for them. Also, if you miss a few times, those sheep might pick up and move over a whole mountain range or go off the property you are on.

As always, listen to the guide. He knows the area and what is needed. I love making hunt plans out in the field with the guide but I never guide the guide. If I’ve done my research correctly, I won’t have to! Go in with humility and you can learn something from every guide…especially on the mountain hunts.

Final thought is don’t put off your dream hunts any longer than absolutely necessary. I’m so glad I did this hunt and didn’t keep putting it off. I can still do them but you never know for how long your health will hold. Get out there and make some memories!

 

[Green Chile]

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Awesome hunt! You did this hunt a few years ago, during September. How hot was it? We had a heat index of 102F today in Louisiana, and West Texas can be warm to hot all the way until the end of the year.

 

[Green Chile]

Hunt was in late Sept 2021. I would say it was upper 90's during the hunt and pretty nice in the mornings. Could easily have gone over 100 that time of year.

 

[WAB]

Hmmm, I just realized you hunted September. I had been told that it was a January hunt which is a no go for me. If you don’t mind, PM me the outfitter info.

 

[Green Chile]

I will get his cell for you.

 

[Trophyhunter01]

Nice work! I love hunting those jokers they are fun to chase around. Beautiful country.

 

[Green Chile]

Hmmm, I just realized you hunted September. I had been told that it was a January hunt which is a no go for me. If you don’t mind, PM me the outfitter info.

I would hunt them again sometime if you wanted to consider a 2x1.

 

[WAB]

I would hunt them again sometime if you wanted to consider a 2x1.

Absolutely. Shoot me a PM.