I am leaving for a Texas exotic hunt on Wednesday. I was inquiring if anyone had any tips on field judging either of these critters. I've done quite a bit of research on the sheep, as I've been planning on hunting them for several years. My taxidermist partner has a set of sheep horns that tape 27 1/2. These look huge. I believe that this sheep was free range near Marfa Texas. The bases or bosses are really thick, which make them look outstanding. Most other pictures look really long and thinner than I'd like. I'd take the set of horns over most others I think. Chaps and "wooliness" will make a difference on wall appeal to me if I do get into some sheep.

The axis never really occured to me. Hunt is free range Hill country. It's going to cost me some cash, and a buddy is coming all the way from PA. Axis frequent the place, and some are still hard horned. This is the only other critter I'd take for the cash it's gonna cost. Any tips on telling a 28" from a 34"?? Trophy fee max's out over 32" I think, and I am not going to try and price shoot one in between to save money. If I am going to blow the cash for some trophies fees, I just want to shoot big ones!

Jesse,
I leave on thursday to hunt Aoudas in Texas the Marfa area to be exact.I ask the same questions you ask and booked this hunt 18 months ago.
Heres what I've found,the older rams are usually alot darker in color with more pronounced Chaps,anything over 27" is trophy sized.I saw a 35 1/4" ram mounted at the Eastern Sports Show last year and it was huge.Do a bunch of searches and look at all the rams you can on the web.I told my guide I'd like a 30" which he said was doable and the possibility was there for a 32-36" ram,said they kill 1 or 2 of the 32+ rams a year,said they are there but don't expect one but be thrilled if I do get one.
I know about what I'm looking for but I'll have to trust my guide for his field judging expertise.
Well I hope this helps but I'm really in about the same boat your in,Good Luck get a Monster!!!!

If you don't mind me asking, what did you give for a free range hunt. Got a lot of brochures from guides. York advertised some of the biggest rams I've seen, but they wanted $3500. Mine is more of a bucket hunt, but my trophy fee will only be $700.

We actually have free range here in NM, but there are pretty scarce.

Jesse,

Give Ben Miller of Fluvana, Tx a call. I will not be home until the end of the month and do not have his phone number with me. But call Information, he should be listed under Fluvana or Gail, Tx. He runs 3 day guided hunts out of a nice lodge with excellent food. He is a straight shooter and has a large free roaming Auodad herd. He will be able to tell you what size Trophy you can reasonably expect. I am fairly certain the hunt is quite a bit less than what you have been quoted, but I could be wrong.

Suerte with your hunt.

Frank

Jesse,
I booked with Gene Nixon thru Cabela's Outdoors 18 months ago.The price then was $2800,I just recieved the new Cabela's Outdoors Hunt Catalog last week and the same hunt is now $3250.
I heard good things about York too!But decided to try the Cabela's services this time and they hooked me up with Gene Nixons Desert Mountain Guide Service.Heres Genes website so you can see where we are going ect. www.desertmountainhunts.com Check out my hunt report in a couple of weeks in Hunting Reports. Our hunt is actually Jan 27-30th we are leaving on the 23rd and driving there to hook up with Gene in Marfa Tx. Good Luck

As far as Axis go, I think you will have problems finding a mature buck in the Hill Country, but look for a big one to have a rack that "squats" when you look at him head on. If his horns are straight up he may be as good as you will get, but he's not full grown.

The only thing I will say in regard to aoudad, is don't expect that color difference in a large ram to be pronounced. At the same time, if you see a big one, you won't be staring at the color of his coat anyway. Those horns are pretty obvious.

Get ready to have your eyes burn, staring at a lot of open country for aoudad. You may not be able to see them, but they are there.

The best example of that I saw was when I was mule deer hunting southeast of Van Horn. The rancher-lady allowed you to take an aoudad free at that time.

I saw a jeep load of friends stop and wave at me. We were about 400 yards apart. Between us, and about 150 yards from them, was a huge ram standing frozen in some sparse cactus and mesquite. The ram was staring at the jeep. I was doing everything I could to draw their attention to the ram. They just waved, turned around, and drove off. I already had a nice ram on the wall so I just watched him. The ram started walking, crossed the jeep trail and dropped over the rim.

Don't expect to surprise aoudad. They will nearly always have already spotted you.

One of the few times I surprised them was when I creeped over a ridge and saw about eight mule deer bedded in a saddle. There were about fifteen aoudad mixed in with them. That was quite a sight. People told me the two species stayed away from each other. I guess there is a exception to every rule.