White Sands NM Oryx-Any Experiences Good or Bad

[uplander01]

This has always been on my list of things to do. Has anyone here ever been there and done this hunt, if so with which outfitter? Going to see whats all involved and start the process with drawing this winter......

 

[BourbonTrail]

There are a couple of people on the forum. @rookhawk ’s son got the tag for off-range IIRC. There’s actually an outfitter for that area that is a forum member too.

It was one of my bucket list items until I shot one in RSA. There are definitely a bunch of them in WSMR and around it, and there’s nothing like needing a UXO (unexploded ordinance) briefing to go hunting (on WSMR).

Good luck!

 

[JG26Irish_2]

The current President of our local SCI chapter told me that he bagged his Oryx at White Sands. His had horns that were a bit shredded along their length and were shorter than typical for RSA but it was still a lovely beast and a bit closer to home. I failed to ask but would assume that you can keep the meat on those harvested in New Mex? That alone is a plus as Gemsbok is fine eating.

 

[JimP]

One of the hardest things to do is to just draw the tag to go hunt them.

I have a couple of friends who have been putting in for years with no luck.

 

[BigGame]

I applied every year for 10 years and no luck. I gave up and went to Africa.

 

[Buckums]

I drew this tag in 2019, hunt was in January 2020. I put in for NM elk every year for the last decade, no luck. I put in for Oryx and I drew the first year. Draw odds suck, 5% or so, but it is purely a lottery so it can happen. It is an amazing hunt. We hunted Rhodes Canyon Range. It is a tough hunt due to the openness of the county and very little cover to help hide your stalk. Also, expect long shots as a result. (300+ yards were typical). At least this was the case for me on Rhodes Canyon. I would assume similar at Stallion Range but I'm not certain. We were supposed to hunt Stallion Range, but they canceled it at the last minute due to military exercises - last min cancelations are a risk since military ops come first. It is only a two day hunt, maybe 2.5 if you wrap up the intro and training part early. I hired a guide, since I had no idea what to expect. Honestly, I don't think a guide is necessary at all. Drive the roads and glass until you find a group then you plan and put a stalk on them, typically at least a mile away. They are as skiddish as anything I've hunted. They see you or wind you they are gone i don't care how far away you are. then you go back to the truck and do it again. there is some competition as well, and I had other hunters botch up one of my stalks as they were trying to beat me to the herd and shot and missed from a half mile away. that only happened one time. Hunter orange is mandatory so you can see if other hunters are making a stalk on a group of oryx from a long way off. I finally killed on the last afternoon. Yes you can keep the meat and yes it is amazing. I put my son in for the draw every year with no success. If someone on this forum draws a tag I am happy to give pointers or heck i would even try to drive out to NM for the hunt and "guide" you at no charge - because its a hell of an experience and i would go back in a heartbeat. My son and I with my NM White Sands Missile Range Oryx below:

 

[rookhawk]

One of the hardest things to do is to just draw the tag to go hunt them.

I have a couple of friends who have been putting in for years with no luck.

So here's the thing, my son pulled the 1600:1 odds non-resident off-range Oryx tag. Do you know what that accomplishment was actually worth? ZERO DOLLARS.

Because you still have the problem of access to the land. What did we pay in tresspass fees to get access to the land adjacent to WSMR? About the SAME DAMNED PRICE as calling the outfitter, buying his tresspass rights, guide service, and his landowner tag.

If you're going off range, don't waste time trying to draw a tag, its all nonsense. Just call Iron Sights outfitters or another similar guide service and get access to the tag/land/professional whenever you want to do so. Draw is irrelevant.

 

[fourfive8]

I’ve driven RR 7 between Small Missile Range gate over Mockingbird Gap to Stallion gate at least a few hundred times and most all the two track roads in between countless times . All during the earlier years of oryx on the range and during the early period of oryx hunting there. After they started moving off the range, the off-range hunts were pretty good but required some scouting. Once the private landowners discovered $ for oryx hunting trespass fees and outfitters entered the picture, that changed, Been a long time since I’ve had any first hand knowledge of the oryx hunting down there but seems like there is still off-range possibilities without doing the outfitter/landowner thing… but they are very limited and require a lot of time, scouting and study of accessible public land.

Soooo it appears the best bet may be drawing one of the on-range hunts. The oryx there are from the Kalahari, IIRC near the Botswana-RSA border, captured and moved in the 60s with the first hunts in the mid-70s. At one time, it was common to drive around WSMR and cause them little concern. After a few years of hunting, that changed and they can be as challenging as any of those hunted in Africa if not more so.

I was lucky enough to draw a license when i worked down there- many moons ago! Shoulder mount top pic below. I think the draw odds now are quite a bit lower. Sorry, not much help because of my dated info but IMO, WSMR hunts can be challenging and are worth the effort and frustration of low draw odds, I did go hunt the WSMR ancestor direct relatives in the Kalahari of Botswana a few years ago, Glad I did for perspective of the NM oryx. Bottom pic below.

 

[Lee M]

What do tags cost? I thought they were in the $2000 range. If that is the case and you add in flight, hotel, car rental, and food you can fly to Namibia and shoot two for a similar price. Getting the meat is a bonus though.

 

[BryceM]

I’ve been applying for a few years. No luck….. in fact, no USA draws at all for 10 years now.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I drew a Stallion Range tag after applying for 15+ years. That also included a bunch of years where I applied for the military only tag which has significantly higher draw odds. For an on range non resident tag you’re looking at sub 1% draw odds even in the outfitter pool. Youth odds are slightly higher. Off Range tags are much high draw odds but still tough, same with the Broken Horned Tags. There are Private Land Hunts, I’ve looked at them and you can go to Namibia and shoot multiple for the same price including your airfare.

My Experience:
I always heard/read WSMR was overrun with Oryx but that was not my experience at all. One of the more difficult hunts. Most shot opportunities were 500+yds. It’s very open, we saw less Oryx in 2 days than most hunters see on the first day. I spoke to someone who saw 200+ in the first hour or two of their hunt. I don’t think we saw that many the entire 2 days. It’s also a mad rush out the gate, other hunters can be absolute d-bags. People pass you, try to cut you off, will shoot towards you, take a long shot when you’re stalking in, etc. I had one guy get out slam his truck door then start yelling while I was on the sticks 50yds off the road about to a shoot. He admitted to seeing me and knowing I was on the sticks as well.

That said, since I’ve used my OiL, I’ll probably still apply for a Broken Horned tag going forward. I’m already applying for everything else in NM what’s tying up a little more money …. Feel free to PM me for more info

 

[rookhawk]

I’ve been applying for a few years. No luck….. in fact, no USA draws at all for 10 years now.

Why not just go hunt right now with a landowner tag instead? You’re saving virtually nothing playing NM lotto versus paying the $6000 for tag/guide/tresspass rights versus “winning” the $1400 tag, then paying the same tresspass/guide fee to get access to where the Oryx live.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

What do tags cost? I thought they were in the $2000 range. If that is the case and you add in flight, hotel, car rental, and food you can fly to Namibia and shoot two for a similar price. Getting the meat is a bonus though.

Tag is $1623, there’s the Habitat stamp you’re required to have, as well as the WSMR Access Fee and stuff. So before you’re even hunting/traveling you’re almost at $2k and that doesn’t include, travel, guides, hotels, meals, lodging, processing, etc

 

[fourfive8]

Stallion Range generally has been hunted harder than the other primary on-range areas, because from the beginning, it was not considered a premium “trophy” area like Rhodes Canyon. Additionally there has always existed a fairly large resistance to having “exotics” like oryx anywhere in NM, including WSMR. Likewise obviously a resistance to providing a quality hunting experience for any game. There are valid reasons for this resistance on WSMR not the least of which is mission interference. There has been and will likely continue to be an ever evolving management strategy on WSMR for both native and non-native wildlife,. The lure of better draw odds at Stallion has at times given the false impression of higher animal density and easier hunting. If you choose private land with a “guide” make sure there are enough oryx there, you are comfortable with the guide/outfitter and the private area is large enough. All that will require due diligence. A certainty remains- conditions affecting oryx hunting in NM including those on WSMR will continue to change,

 

[rookhawk]

When we were there a few years ago (year 1 for son's oryx, year 2 for pronghorn) we were directly adjacent to WSMR on private land. The nonsensical and uncourteous on-range hunting behavior only enhanced the oryx densities of the adjacent private land. The oryx were far less skittish than the on-range descriptions I'm hearing about, my son's shot was at 240 yards on the Oryx and 160ish yards for his very nice pronghorn. I think the going rate is roughly $4000 for guide and trespass rights, $2000 for landowner tag or get your own by winning the lottery. (obviously buying the landowner tag is the better deal)

 

[fourfive8]

There’s an interesting side note comparing the oryx in NM with their ancestral brethren in the Kalahari. Occasionally you’ll find a New Mexico oryx with slightly cropped ears. A condition attributed to periodic exposure to frostbite, maybe only randomly happening to some animals every few years??

Ref; original OP- another consideration for hunting WSMR is that for all intents and purposes it is “free range”… save for some “people barrier” fencing along the western boundary (including Jornada area and NASA site) and a type of oryx “resistant” fence to help keep oryx out of the White Sands National Monument. WSMR proper is over 2 mil acres and the oryx come and go within and across exterior boundaries at their will. It is a huge, diverse area.

Note left ear on this WSMR oryx “nipped” by about 1/2-1 inch.

 

[Buckums]

Realistic cost breakdown - on base oryx hunt with drawn tag, based on my experience in 2019.

$1623 WSMR Oryx tag
Habitat stamp, Misc: $265
Almogordo motels <$100x2.
Outstanding Almogordo Mexican restaurant <$30x2.
Cheese Whiz, Crackers and two Mountain Dews <$10
No guide needed $0
Process your own meat $0
Since you will want to bring the meat home, we drove from Arkansas <$300

All in cost: $2,458


From my experience, it was well worth it if you get lucky enough to draw. I would go back for sure.

 

[rookhawk]

Realistic cost breakdown - on base oryx hunt with drawn tag, based on my experience in 2019.

$1623 WSMR Oryx tag
Habitat stamp, Misc: $265
Almogordo motels <$100x2.
Outstanding Almogordo Mexican restaurant <$30x2.
Cheese Whiz, Crackers and two Mountain Dews <$10
No guide needed $0
Process your own meat $0
Since you will want to bring the meat home, we drove from Arkansas <$300

All in cost: $2,458


From my experience, it was well worth it if you get lucky enough to draw. I would go back for sure.

Your flawed math is how many years you have to buy the tag that is mostly refunded to you (time value of money each time), plus the many, many years of trying, plus the cost of your hunting license to attempt to draw every single year that you didn't.

Your math works best when you are committed to hunting every year in NM and therefore you try to draw EVERYTHING every year. If you fail, you still go to NM and small game hunt. Then the opportunity cost is simply the time value of $20,000 for 90 days each year as you try to draw everything, and then the $19000+ they refund you for failing to draw your tags.