I took a client out this past weekend for a leisurely hunt for a trophy ram that was going to be close to 30" but not
over If we saw one and I never thought the hunt would turn out like it did. Morning one we work the south end of the ranch
spotting a few ewes here and there along with some young rams but nothing exciting. About the time we
were going to brake for lunch we check one last canyon and right at the bottom of it there was a group
of 32+ Aoudad making there way out of the bottom of the hill side to bed down. After giving them all a good
once over they just weren't what we were looking for. We head back and kill a couple hours before the evening hunt,
6:00pm we head out and its 102 degrees outside no breeze and humid- this is going to be a blast I think to myself.
I head straight to the nearest water tank in hopes of catching a few Aoudad coming down or leaving from a drink.
Before we even get there 2 rams were spotted with one being exactly what we were looking for, we quickly scrambled
to get into position and my client made a good shot putting the ram down. We took pictures and got the ram taken care
of then took a tour of the ranch as the sun was setting, long story short I forgot the range finder on a ledge we were
taking pictures from so we were going to head back in the Am to look for it.

Morning rolls around and on our way back to look for the range finder my client asked me if we saw a big old ewe he would like to take it
so we get to where I think the range finder is and we found it right where I left it. We threw the binos up across the canyon in hopes
to find an ewe and directly across the canyon a group of 10 rams were spotted bedded down with the biggest being about 28" , I look a bit south
and spot movement which I quickly realize they were 3 BIG chocolate colored Aoudad rams making there way up out of the canyon to the top.
My client quickly made the decision to take a 2nd ram and we try to get him on them but with the sun in our face and angle of the shot
I made the call to back out in fear of wounding an animal. Everyone was a bit bummed after that and we went back to looking for an ewe, I went
20 yards the other direction to check a pocket we hadn't seen yet and as I peaked over the edge immediately I spotted another band a rams with
about a dozen in the group and one ancient ram with them. I get my client into position he makes the shot hitting hitting a bit far back so we give
him some time, do a quick tracking job and finish him off. This is the biggest bodied ram I have ever seen on the ground, he was every bit of 400lbs
with a very thick hide.

He was taped at 34.5" solid maybe a hair larger and the 1st ram was a hair under 29".
It was a fantastic weekend of hunting

www.westtexashuntorg.com
915 328 0645 Mike







1st Ram

Now that's a ram! Very nice!

Well Done, very nice Ram.

Rams have always been on my "Hit List", both the sheep & truck variety.

This is the time of year when Aoudads are at their heaviest. He appears to have a nice cape and to be in great shape. Did you attempt to age him?
He does not strike me as being a real old ram.

squeezenhope

Yes it is very green with great rains so everything is at there prime. We do not have harsh enough winters to create very defined growth rings but the rings we could confirm we counted at least 11 on this ram. The pictures don't show it but he was a very old ram.

Most 30" or better rams in this free range environment are a minimum of 8 to 9 years old with several taken being 15+ years old.

Beautiful ram Mike, love the chaps!!!!

Mike, send me the particulars on email when you can. Well done and thanks!

Mike, I agree that the rams in that area can be very tough to age based on growth rings. That is such a pretty ram that I would be surprised if he is over 11 1/2. I personally have never seen a ram I thought was over 13 1/2, but I have seen some that were 10 or so and really ugly! Congratulations to you and the client.

Thank you much!

Awesome ram!

Good shooting too. That is exactly where you need to hit a Aoudad to anchor him. I see so many people shooting an Aoudad behind the shoulder then claiming that they are bullet proof. Hit them in the goods and they die like anything else.