Just for the fun of it, I thought I would ask your opinions on what I should shoot for for on my Guided New Mexico Oryx hunt this March on the Stallion Range of the White Sands Missle Range, if I am lucky enough to get a shot oppourtunity.
I am told this is quite a difficult hunt, in terms of success.
If you had your shot oppourtunity would you try to shoot for a male with with smaller horns, or a female with longer horns.
The reason I ask is becuase I normally dont have any female animils displayed in my trophy room, but maybe this is an instance I should make an exeption.
Your opinions very much appreciated.
Thanks,
W.

It is all personal preferance. As far as being a tough hunt with low sucess rate that is incorrect harvest rate runs around 80%+ and of the 20% most are due to not being able to shoot. I have been on the Stallion a number of times (7) and have run 100% 36-37" cows and 32-38" bulls. I will be there Feb 11-12 with a buddy. Just take your time do alot of glassing you should have a number of oppourtunies. If I may who is your outfitter? If you have questions PM me your number and I will give you a call.

Double K makes it sound a little easier than I beleive it is but your belief that it is a "tough" hunt isn't on target either. Be prepared to shoot 200+ yards and be ready to shoot. DblK is correct in that the #1 reason not to get an Oryx is not being able to shoot. In my opinion, the #2 reason is not being ready to shoot when the opportunity presents. It is a lot different than whitetail hunting, they're not going to hang around and give you a couple of minutes to get all situated. Enjoy and have fun. PM me if you have any questions.

I hunted there in August. Glassing is definitedly good but getting close to them isn't always easy and once they decide to move it's over. Seems to me when Oryx are not well hit they can soak up quite a bit of lead so bear that in mind.

I really enjoyed myself there but wouldn't go in August again to save my own life!

good hunting.

jeff

You will have shot opportunities, and the rest of course is up to you.

On a trophy room wall, the males and females don't look that different. I managed to take a 42" cow on my WSMR hunt, and have that mount in my trophy room next to a 38" male from RSA. They both make great mounts, and few visitors can tell the male from the female. Don't get hung up on the male / female issue. Shoot a nice, long horned oryx and be happy.
Bill

quote:

Originally posted by llamapacker:
You will have shot opportunities, and the rest of course is up to you.

On a trophy room wall, the males and females don't look that different. I managed to take a 42" cow on my WSMR hunt, and have that mount in my trophy room next to a 38" male from RSA. They both make great mounts, and few visitors can tell the male from the female. Don't get hung up on the male / female issue. Shoot a nice, long horned oryx and be happy.
Bill

quote:

Bill Phifer is a liar and a thief

Phifer,

I will not stop reminding those here of that fact until you ooze back into whatever orifice you dropped from.

My apologies to the original poster. But you do not want any of Phifer's advice, unless it is how to screw a PH and hapless african villagers.

I hunted the small missile range awhile back. I shot a 38 1/2 inch female by noon the first day. That was after two other truck loads of hunter came down from the area I was driving to. I had a South African hunter go with me to helpe me judge them. I meet him by chance in a taxidermy shop in town. Seems he guided for elk in the off African season. Best deal I could have made. I was going to turn around and go to another area but he wanted us to glass the area first. He was spot on when he said those hunters probably didn't glass the area very well before they left. Within five mins of glassing we spotted two hurds of them. in the rocks above us. We closed the distance to the first hurd and ranged them at 217 yd. I laid my rifle on my backpack while he judged them. One shot with my 338/06 ended the deal. About a 1/2 mile backpack with the meat back to the truck. It was very cold that Feb morning and he said they don't like to move around until the morning heats up. Hard to tell a male from a female unless you can see his balls hanging down. The bases of female horns are not as thick as the males. Either make a very nice trophy. Glass, Glass, Glass and be ready to shoot to 250 yd. A premium bullet is a good idea on these animals. I used a 200gr Barnes X. My animal never took a step.
Good Luck.

I hunted the Stallion a few years back---lots of oryx. Pick the one you like & make a good 1st shot. One piece of advice I would give is what the weather. It's only a 2 day hunt. If Sunday is going to be nasty----pop a cap on a good one on Saturday. They don't like the wind & will hole up in the coulees.

I shot a bull with 39" horns. He was the biggest male on that hunt & the longest was a female that was 40".

I haven't hunted them in New Mexico, but have had the pleasure in Namibia. Ironically, it's cheaper, you can hunt them 10 months a year, and you can take two! Nonetheless, hunting them in NM is a great opportunity which has its own advantages.

I have skull mounts of three oryx arranged "artfully" together on a wall. The center one is a female that my son killed with its typically longer, slightly thinner horns. We had not intended to take a female, but our guide, who was quite competent and born on the place we hunted, made the all-too-common mistake of misidentifying the sexes. Either sex is legal game, so no harm, no foul.

As you can see, all are attractive. My advice would be to shoot whatever animal is attractive to you and presents the opportunity. Any .30-06-class rifle is adequate, but oryx do seem capable of absorbing a lot of lead and energy -- none of the four our group took were one-shot kills despite reasonably good shot placement.



By the way, although tenacious to life, their meat is anything but tough. Some of the very best eating we had in Africa was smothered oryx steaks and butter grilled oryx medallions. Whatever you do, preserve the meat and treat it well as it is better than even our elk.

I agree a tag in NM is $1500 plus a $1500 guide fee.

That's $3000 plus driving there, hotels, and all the other BS makes this a $4500 hunt.

Another $2000 and you can kill 2 of them and a bunch of other stuff in Namibia or South Africa.

Oryx have a relatively small lung area tucked tight and low in behind and just aft of the lower front leg. Hit them well and they die easily, hit them too high or too far back and you'll likely never find them. In short, make the first shot a good one.

Just remember African animals heart/lungs are further forward than N.A. animals, so put the shot on the 1/3rd of the shoulder. Break 'em down!

At the request of the base commander, Fish and Game has been issuing a lot more licenses with the intent of lowering the population from about 6,000 down to 1,500. With all those licenses out there for the last few years, the herd size is substantially reduced and the hunting is harder. Not to say there aren't some nice oryx there (I've shot one on base and one off base) but finding a nice one isn't as easy as it was.

Have no preconceived notions. Hunt hard and shoot the best one you see, male or female. I've got both hanging on my wall and they're equally pleasing trophies.

Last time I was on Stallion (a couple years ago) there were still plenty of oryx. As stated though, they've been hammering away at them nearly year-round for the past 5 years or so. Get away from the roads and road hunters, glass a nice herd, make a stalk, and kill one. Shoot low and forward with a stout bullet and you'll have your oryx.

Get above the terrain and glass, glass, then glass some more. I carry a step ladder in the bed of my truck to glass from. As has already been said, once you see them don't take too long in making your shot or they'll be on the move. I recomend a .30 caliber "magnum" cartridges shooting 180 grain bullets as a minimum for reliable kills. The .375 H&H works great, but shot placement is absolutely critical.

Thanks Guys,
I have decided to shoot the first mature animal that gives me a shot, wether its a male or female.
Thanks again everyone, I really appreciate it.
W.