Van Horn Aoudad

11 February 2020, 05:15

Big Wonderful Wyoming

Bill,

Thank you I had a wonderful time. Killed a couple rocks at 200 just to make sure I could figure it out first morning.

If you are driving by Van Horn and get to mile marker 162 or so look to the right and you will see the big mesa I killed the ram from. He was on the West side of the Mesa about 370 yards away, Leupold TBR 1600 range finder said to dial up 3MOA for a 300 yard shot since the huypotenuse doesn't matter, I did and he didn't take a step.

12 February 2020, 19:56

Bill/Oregon

Great shot, Seth. I have not been down to the Van Horn area yet. Hear it has a few Texas hogs, but is currently about the western edge of real hog country.

12 February 2020, 20:32

Big Wonderful Wyoming

Bill, I have no idea what they would live on down there.

It is as dry and desolate as WSMR is.

15 February 2020, 06:44

squeezenhope

I saw two boars this week north of Valentine, which is about 35 miles SE of Van Horn. The country is so tough that I doubt it will ever support a lot of hogs, but they are out there.

16 February 2020, 05:36

zebrazapper

I’ve got clients in that country and they don’t really have hogs to speak of. Maybe an odd one now and again but that’s it.

18 February 2020, 00:27

Hogbreath

Good job!

18 February 2020, 05:23

LHeym500

Great pictures BWW. Strange country to this Appalachian boy’s eyes.

Beautiful in some way.

18 February 2020, 05:32

Buglemintoday

Awesome! I am so glad to see the report after your original post. Which rifle/caliber and load did you end up using?

19 February 2020, 03:05

Big Wonderful Wyoming

I killed him with a 300 Winchester in a: American Rifle Company Nucleus
Proof Research carbon fiber 28 inch barrel
CG-Xtreme 2 stage trigger
CDI AICS bottom metal
McMillan A-5 stock
Tier One One piece scope mount
Meopta ZD 6-24x56 scope.

Used a Leupold 1600 range finder and Minox 8x56 binoculars.

Load was 82 grains of H1000 under a 150 Grain Hornady GMX and magnum Federal primers.

Hit him in the shoulder and it broke his neck on exit.

19 February 2020, 20:54

Atkinson

Ive cowboyed in most of that Van Horn and Valentine country and never seen a hog, but wouldn't be surprised if some were turned loose..Its all good cattle country so don't know why hogs couldn't survive if the water is good...Javalina sure do well in that country and it has a lot of big Mule deer..The Senorian desert has lots of wildlife..Ive shot some big Muleys there some years ago on the McCado ranch probably owned today by Woodrow Bean??Awesome deer hunting..And the State of Texas has a huge property draw hunt out of Van Horn, that borders McAdo, Also some awesome desert sheep..

03 March 2020, 02:13

LHeym500

Big Beautiful: Have you got your mount squared away?

03 March 2020, 02:17

Big Wonderful Wyoming

He is at the local.

Should be done by Christmas.

The form is something like this. Maybe a slight turn.

03 March 2020, 02:18

Big Wonderful Wyoming

My ram is no where near this big.

This one is a monster!

03 March 2020, 02:42

LHeym500

Looks great. Yours is more Aoudad than I got. I really like aoudad with a pronounced “mane”.

Has science decided of these are sheep or goats?

03 March 2020, 04:14

Big Wonderful Wyoming

They are ammotrogus. Sheep-goats!

Smell like a goat for sure.

03 March 2020, 04:16

Big Wonderful Wyoming

The Blue sheep of Nepal, Pakistan and China is a sheep goat as well.

But I think it has more sheep than goat in it.

They have similar horns to one another.

19 October 2021, 11:01

georgeld

Fine pictures, nice to see you got
them posted. This is my first time back.

Guess I missed the water holes and feed
driving thru that country in 73-75.

Looked mighty dry and rocky, damn little
grass that I saw.

I know it rains hard down there. Got caught
one night and spent a few days while the hwy
dept dug the roads out from under the debris.

Too long ago to recall exactly where that was.

Somewhere between Del Rio and van Horn it seems.
Then there was just a tiny shack on the N side
of the hwy selling soda and snacks. Don't recall
even a gas pump, might have been though. t that point the hwy was running E-W, a couple miles E, it turned S across a wide valley.

I stopped for a soda and stretch my legs, kick
the tires and it started DUMPING rain. Falling
too hard to drive so I just crawled in the sleeper and went to bed. Next morning the clerk said they'd had 12" of rain and the hwy was closed to the east in the next valley.

When word came the road was opened. I saw debris
washed up on the hillsides that I believe was
at least 50 feet deep water across a half mile valley. Man I was glad I'd gone to bed as I'd of likely drove out in it before seeing the mess.

Seth, sounds like you made a very good shot. Hope to see the mount once it's done.

George

23 October 2021, 05:39

Big Wonderful Wyoming

Thank you!

24 October 2021, 04:15

Atkinson

Some great Aoudad south of Marfa. Its Van Horn, Valentine, Marfa, Alpine,Marathon, Sanderson, Del Rio on the lower highway and in that order...

Elephant Mt. South of Marfa between Marfa and Presidio and is on the tucker White ranch and he has awesome Aoudad, some outfitter out of EL Paso has the hunting lease I think, and he has a good reputation, but can't recall his name off hand..

Get into the South Texas border region and Texas Hill country and lots of Aoudad but under high fence, The Big Bend country is too large to fence so its low fence and fair chase on 20,000 to 50,000 acre ranches and larger..Great Mule deer, Whitetail, Coues, and the alleged Del Carmen whitetail and elk are available on some ranches in the Marathon, alpine and ft. Davis area..Seems the bear population has grown in the Big Bend Nat'l Park over the years since I left the area..

01 November 2021, 03:12

Skyline

Hunted in that area around Ft. Davis/Alpine a number of years ago for Aoudad. Beautiful country and chock full of game. The ranchers we met were all very friendly and helpful. Shot a ram that went 30 1/2 inches.

It’s definitely free range and fair chase, and I saw a lot of Aoudad. Javelina were also very plentiful, and I saw a good number of whitetail, some desert mules, pronghorn in the flats and a few feral hogs as well. Turkeys were fairly plentiful as well.

Hope to get down there and hunt again one of these days.

01 November 2021, 07:45

Big Wonderful Wyoming

Are you thinking of Elephant Mountain south of Alpine?

The state owns a wildlife refuge there that has desert bighorn sheep on it.

They have killed off all the aoudad.

01 November 2021, 21:20

Atkinson

Nope Elephant Mt. south of Marfa towards Presidio on the west side of the road close to Shafter or Ciballo creek....

Black Gap game reserve is not south of Alpine, its south of Marathon next to stillwell crossing..I was all but raised on a ranch bording Black Gap to the south, The Adams ranch, and still some of my best friends in this world.
Black Gap had no Audad back then as any intro to the desert sheep met with disaster as they couldn't not handle deseases..Lions have always been a problem with the sheep programe..I day worked on Black Gap from time to time growing up..Aoudad are not native to Texas they were stocked in later years and I suspect some could have migrated to Black Gap and in which case were quickly shot out of there..

I cowboyed for EP Eppenaur in Madera canyon next to the obseratory one summer in my youth, place was crawling with both whitetail and mule deer, a few bear, Certain parts of that Big bend country have Coues Deer but they are only in certain areas such as North of Marathon, and near the Big Bend park on certain ranches..

When you think that land is desolate and nothing can live on it, take a look at the condition of the cattle, deer, and antelope!! Those ranchers prosper as well or better than all that beautiful country up North or anywhere else in the world..animals eat more than grass and in grass lands when the grass goes the cattlel have to go...In the desert the strong black grammer may go, but the animals will survive on the various weeds, cactus etc without going into detail the Senorian desert is a cornacopia of food sources unless abused by overgrazing...

02 November 2021, 06:33

Big Wonderful Wyoming

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwil...d=7&activity=hunting

I hunted Javelina here in 2019.

It is in between Alpine and the Mexican border 26 miles south of Alpine. 68 miles north of Mexico.

07 November 2021, 00:37

Atkinson

I checcked that out with a friend and he said we are both right there are two elephant moutains..The one at Shafter is a flat top with a outcrop that resembles a elephant...

07 November 2021, 23:06

Big Wonderful Wyoming

I am with you.

Back home in Wyoming and Montana there are about 30 places named Rock Creek.

11 November 2021, 01:46

Atkinson

Im not sure exactly where this property is and I cowboyed all around Study Bute, LaJitas, the 06s Ben Love and his son and others, My ranch, the Rosillas Mt. ranch that I had leased would have been due East as the crow flys of this loacation but on the Marathon to the park hiway and it would very close to the Park border according the map..The west side of that location is some very good deer hunting NOrth of Lajitas store..Hunted there many times.

that area has been developed to death and sold off in blocks, and I guess the state bought it or had it and developed it at some point...Rex Ivey had the Study Butte store at that time and ranched some of that country and Maggie Smeth also had an interrest in that store at one time and she was the Justice of Piece at some point, a fine lady as there ever was..

25 November 2021, 15:59

eezridr

Back about the early 80's I hunted mule deer on a place called the 33 cattle company ranch.
It was 180,000.00 acres. The Mule deer season lasted about 1 week and was at this time of the year (Thanksgiving). The ranch bordered I 10 ( north side) from about Sierra Blanca going west about 1/2 way to EL Paso. As I recall about 18 miles along I-10.
One of the roughest places I ever hunted. Most ranch roads were comprised of rocks from the size of grapefruits to soccer ball size. Very few roads through it. Did a pretty good job screwing up my fathers 4X4 truck. I liked hunting a little bowl at the base of Sierra Blanca mountain.
Also had to jump the rise on the rails of the train track paralleling I-10 about daily.
This was prior to the stump jumper truck designs with +37" tires where a big tire on a truck was a 31X10.5x15.
Amazing the wildlife you would see in that country if you just sat still on a rock for 30 minutes. Quail, road runners, ground squirrels, bobcats, coyotes, javelins,all sorts of doves, hawks, incredibly colorful birds.
First time ever saw a mountain lion in the wild (fleeting glance).
Snowed all three consecutive years I hunted there. Took 3 mule deer but none were giant.
One I had to drag close to a mile. Could not do that any longer. Rubbed all the hair off one side of his body.
Looks desolate. Greasewood and rock but a magical place if you just sit still and watch.
Do not recall any Aoudad back then 40 yrs. ago.
There were some incredible lakes back in that place that were stocked full of BIG bass. Seldom if ever fished.
Ray with all your years out there you may be familiar with this property perhaps a bit further north than your stomping grounds.
40 years ago; Place may not exist as it was (Ownership). Who knows? 33 cattle company may have been a business that managed multiple properties that made up this land I hunted.
I could not find it by google.

EZ

26 December 2021, 05:49

Big Wonderful Wyoming

quote:
Originally posted by eezridr:
Back about the early 80's I hunted mule deer on a place called the 33 cattle company ranch.
It was 180,000.00 acres. The Mule deer season lasted about 1 week and was at this time of the year (Thanksgiving). The ranch bordered I 10 ( north side) from about Sierra Blanca going west about 1/2 way to EL Paso. As I recall about 18 miles along I-10.
One of the roughest places I ever hunted. Most ranch roads were comprised of rocks from the size of grapefruits to soccer ball size. Very few roads through it. Did a pretty good job screwing up my fathers 4X4 truck. I liked hunting a little bowl at the base of Sierra Blanca mountain.
Also had to jump the rise on the rails of the train track paralleling I-10 about daily.
This was prior to the stump jumper truck designs with +37" tires where a big tire on a truck was a 31X10.5x15.
Amazing the wildlife you would see in that country if you just sat still on a rock for 30 minutes. Quail, road runners, ground squirrels, bobcats, coyotes, javelins,all sorts of doves, hawks, incredibly colorful birds.
First time ever saw a mountain lion in the wild (fleeting glance).
Snowed all three consecutive years I hunted there. Took 3 mule deer but none were giant.
One I had to drag close to a mile. Could not do that any longer. Rubbed all the hair off one side of his body.
Looks desolate. Greasewood and rock but a magical place if you just sit still and watch.
Do not recall any Aoudad back then 40 yrs. ago.
There were some incredible lakes back in that place that were stocked full of BIG bass. Seldom if ever fished.
Ray with all your years out there you may be familiar with this property perhaps a bit further north than your stomping grounds.
40 years ago; Place may not exist as it was (Ownership). Who knows? 33 cattle company may have been a business that managed multiple properties that made up this land I hunted.
I could not find it by google.

EZ

I think this was the north side of the highway from where I hunted. I was on the Mexican side.