A friend of mine invited me to hunt Aoudad around Van Horn.

We are doing this in February.

Based on my recent javelina hunt near Alpine, and driving through that area I am planning on 300 yard shots.

Any other words of wisdom?

Take a couple hundred rounds
and your rifle to a prairie
dog town and get in good
practice first.

Good luck,

George

1) Dress in layers. Temperatures can shift greatly over the course of the day in the West Texas desert.

2) Aoudads are tough. Some will tell you to shoot them with a .300 Win Mag or similar. I don't think that's necessary, but I would avoid flimsy cup and core bullets. Something along the lines of a Partition, a TTSX, or even an Accubond will be great. If the animal doesn't don't drop at the shot, shoot it again.

3) Someone else will probably say I'm wrong, but I sure wouldn't bother trying to save any aoudad meat, unless I had dogs to feed. Yes, I have eaten it a few times.

Thanks!

I was thinking of grinding it and doing a aoudad, jalapeno, and cheddar sausage out of it.

A couple years ago I shot a young ram here in New Mexico. I found the meat to be relatively "blah" tasting, with little flavor. It was, however, tough as a boot. Even the backstrap was nearly unchewable, and forget it if you have less than perfect teeth and a box of toothpicks.

I ended up doing just what you're thinking Seth - I cut in some pork fat and ground it all into sausage. Now that worked.

I hear/read that older rams can get quite unpleasant tasting, but I have no firsthand experience with that, yet (I hope).

Sausage would be the only way to go on an old ram, and personally I would not bother. Just think of eating a 10 or 12 year goat. Er, no thanks. I have had decent sausage which came from a fairly young ewe.

There are too many really good food choices to bother with an Aoudad.

I bet there are a bunch of cat guys in the area that would gladly take the meat for their hounds.

Hunted that area a couple years ago in February. If the area was similar to where we hunted it was very similar to a desert sheep hunt. Bring good optics and a pair of quality boots. A quad or side by side allowed us to access some glassing areas that would have been inaccessible with a pickup. Be able to shot 3-400 yds with an adequate caliber rifle and quality bullets. Was very hot in late February when we hunted and carried lots of water in our packs.
Great hunt. Good luck.

Everyone has pretty much covered the basics. Good boots, Good binoculars! Some rough country and the weather can swing cold (Even though it is "desert").

Bring a Magnum, and shoot for the shoulder. Need to anchor them in a good spot for recovery so they don't hail mary off a cliff. I'd guess the shots would be around or over 300y. They have very good eye sight.

I have a 300 and a 308. The 300 weighs 15 pounds.

The 308, probably weighs 10 all up.

I ordered a case of 308 match ammo to practice with, and I am going to build dope with my scope based on a 165 grain Nosler Accubond.

308 rifle is a Remington 700 varmint with a Greybull Precision stock, and a Geissele 2 stage trigger. Shoots little groups.

I have downsized and only have a few rifles (6mm BR, 223, 308, 300). I am going to test a 264 this weekend, and see how it shoots. If it works for me it might be my rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Buglemintoday:
Everyone has pretty much covered the basics. Good boots, Good binoculars! Some rough country and the weather can swing cold (Even though it is "desert").

Bring a Magnum, and shoot for the shoulder. Need to anchor them in a good spot for recovery so they don't hail mary off a cliff. I'd guess the shots would be around or over 300y. They have very good eye sight.

I have killed zebra, pronghorns, mule deer, kudu, oryx, baboons, hartebeest, springbok, and quite a few other things with a 308. The baboon and kudu at over 400 yards.

I would prefer to use the 300, but my back isn't well enough to pack it.

We hunted Aoudad last year around Valentine, halfway between Marfa and Van Horn, with Bubba Glossen. Beautiful country and it was a great hunt. Agree on clothing and boot advice. My shot was about 250 yds with my 300 wm. I shot my ram well, but he was tough and slow to give it up. Never tried the meat as Bubba said it is inedible. That was enough for me.

.308 is about as good as you can get in my opinion. I shot my aoudad with my .30-06. It worked great.

I used my guides .308 on a Plains Game hunt a few years back and I really liked the results.

An aoudad hunt is very underrated.

Please give us the play by play/after action report.

February, especially late can be pretty hot, but it can also be pretty cold. If you do a lot of hiking stay hydrated, doesn't matter whether it's hot or cold.

I was raised in that country and hunted a lot on some friends ranches..A young Aoudad is good eating bar b qued over mesquite, of course a trophy isn't fit to eat, neither is a billy goat, but a kid goat on milk, or a half grown Javalina is good bar g cued over an open fire of mesquite...What did you expect, ever eaten a rutting buck deer or Pronghorn antelope..Lots of variable when classifying meat of any kind, I always heard Gemsbok in RSA was bad, but a Phs wife I know made it a gormet meal...Zebra is etable also...just depends..Thats why breedidng domestic bulls are used for sauage..

I was riding fence just So. of Van Horn back in 1950, to keep trespasser out of the ranch during deer season, had a tent but no stove..temps in the 70s and 80s...one morning I woke up and had 3 ft. of snow in Quitman Pass, could drive my truck and hors trailer out, it was about 15 miles to the nearest ranch owned by a retiree judge and his wife, I saddled up and headed out, at some point the jingle of ice on my horses reins literllly put me to sleep, all I had was a Levi jacket..My hors "Tac" went to that house and stood out by the corrals about dusk, and the lady saw me, they were old but she and the judge dragged my frozen carcass and pilled cover over me by the fire, they couldn't get the phone lines to work, so just let me sleep or whatever you want to call it, until I sorta woke up and she made me drink some coffee, I started coming around, the next morning they told me the story, another neighbor had a tractor and got my truck and trailor out...I went back later and got my tent and gear...Always be prepared this young kid learned a lesson that winter, it was a close call..Being a working cowboy ain't a room full of roses...

Go prepared for summer and winter, snow, rain, what ever mother nature can dish out..but chances are it will be in the 70s and 80s..A blue norther is always lurking in that country, but if you have a guide or the ranch owner and are not camping out, you don't need to be over prepared, a warm house on a cold day is handy.

You've spent lots of time in Southern New Mexico and El Paso, you know whats there.

We have snow on the mountain near Las Cruces, at least on the 7500 foot level on the East side.

The hunt is the 2nd week of February. I am like Ray said, going to pack for a Wyoming snow storm, and for a Mojave summer.

I hunted them east of Kent. we could see Van Horn in the distance at night. Don't get in a big hurry while moving through your hunting country. I've watched through glasses while a jeep full of my hunting party drove right by a very large ram that had been moving across the flats, and simply stood like a statue in plain sight, I would guess about 100 yards from the jeep, until they moved over a rise. Aoudad are colored the way they are for a reason. They can blend in perfectly.

As mentioned, don't just throw lead at them. Anchor them, or you will have a lost aoudad, or a trek that will wear you out. For their size they can absorb a lot of punishment.

Some great varmint hunting in your hunting area most likely.

The largest Aoudad I have seen are on the McAdoo ranch that borders the big game reserve, the name of which I can't recall, its been about 50 or so years since I hunted that area..I hunted deer on the McAdoo back in the 50s with Wood Bean, now judge Woodrow Bean if he is still alive and kicking..He was a grandson of the McAdoos and probably owns that ranch today, dunno? They shot some awesome Aoudad, when nobody else had them or had ever head of Aoudad...Most Aoudad in Texas are transplants except in that one area as I recall.

.

Look forward to a report with pictures ! Cool animal.

Good hunting.

Charlie

.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
I hunted them east of Kent. we could see Van Horn in the distance at night. Don't get in a big hurry while moving through your hunting country. I've watched through glasses while a jeep full of my hunting party drove right by a very large ram that had been moving across the flats, and simply stood like a statue in plain sight, I would guess about 100 yards from the jeep, until they moved over a rise. Aoudad are colored the way they are for a reason. They can blend in perfectly.

As mentioned, don't just throw lead at them. Anchor them, or you will have a lost aoudad, or a trek that will wear you out. For their size they can absorb a lot of punishment.

Some great varmint hunting in your hunting area most likely.

Looks like politics isn't the only thing your clueless about Kensco. I've killed over a hundred of them (guided for at least that many more), benefitting from ranchers who hated the things and told us we cold "kill 'em all" if we could. Of course we couldn't but we tried to cull as many as we could. All of this was done with .243, 30-30's (when I was young), 7mm08's, 7mags, and a scattering of 270 kills. I'm partial to accubond and partitions personally, but my son killed a slew of them with a 7mm08 and 120 ballistic tips through the lungs. If you put any well designed bullet (controlled expansion, monos) in the right place from any medium sized big game cartridge and even the biggest ram will die without any great fanfare, just like most African plains game.

We had them on ranches south of Marathon and Ive shot lots of them with my 25-35 took shots up to 150 to 200 yards, mostly under a 100..We tried to keep them trimmed down to a reasonable number..Never commercialized on them but had some great bar b ques..All of ours were escapees from high fenced pastures in the beginning...Fun to hunt. Some of the best Aoudad hunting Ive seen is South of Marfa on the presidio road ranches..they have gone commercial and seem to have great results, Somebody out of El Paso books those hunts and some around Van Horn also as I recall...

I've killed them near Sanderson, Marathon, Ft Davis, Valentine, Kent, Van Horn, Post, and Fluvanna. They are a badass animal, but hardly bulletproof. They are more of a pest than anything, IMO.

The "fine cost delicatessen' in north east El Paso, Texas will make you some fine smoked Polish Sausage from Aoudad, or Mouflon.
I use a Ruger No1 bull barrels 7mm Mag with a 3-9 scope and a fiip-down try pod with 150 gr Nosler partitions. Takes them down for the count right in their tracks.
Good luck! Let us know how you do!
...……………...………...…………..MacD

Raider, stop letting your ass hang out. We're talking hunting here.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Raider, stop letting your ass hang out. We're talking hunting here.

Your dumbass follows you around. Stick to something you know.....kissing libtard's asses you moron.

Poor baby. I own you.

....………………..
…………………………………………………………………...

Auodads are from N Africa. I forget what they called them over there. Perhaps barbary sheep.
All are considered exotics.
I had no idea there were any over here prior to the 60's. I have driven south bound out of Ft Stockton and had to wait 10 minutes for a herd of over 100 to cross the roads in front of me.
Never have considered them game animals.

EZ

They are called Aoudads by some North African groups, and others have a different name.

Aoudad is something like Ah-ooo-Deed.

Most Americans that know of them refer to them as AHW-DAD.

Up until a few years ago, they were shot on sight, Ive shot them and left the lay as they just get to be too many for the land to support and they are not native to the land, they multiply like cockroaches in Texas, Only preditor that will work on them is a Lion and he would sooner jump a javalina or deer I suspect, as Ive only found young Aoudad Lion kills and one big ram Lion kill..but a lion can kill about anything it decides to, its a killing machine..

Today, the Aoudads have become a source of income to the ranches in Texas, and that and that alone will insure their survival, and I,m glad to see that, they are an outstanding trophy and fun to hunt..The Aoudad in far West texas are more of a challenge than those on the fenced ranches in other parts of Texas IMO, the terrain itself makes them harder to locate and the shooting ranges are longer in some cases I guess...I shot most of them with a 25-35 or 250 Savage, but they were not being hunted, they just happened to be targets of opertunity as raider indicated whilel working cattle or sheep....

IMO they are a valuable product today along with the ranchers deer, Javalina and antelope, which today is a must income to the ranching community to go hand in hand with livestock production...

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Poor baby. I own you.

Guess again snowflake. How many libtard asses have you.kiased today?