I finally drew my poor mans sheep

[Shane]

If you can hit one in the spine in the neck, a .223 would do the trick. But if you are hunting in really rough and rugged canyons, you may not get close enough for a high percentage chance on a precision shot. If you end up having to shoot 300+ yards, you'd want to aim at the shoulder. You will be much more likely to kill and not wound the animal if you have a bigger/faster bullet that will generate a lot more hydrostatic shock and tear up bones and vitals. If you just poke a small hole in an aoudad, he'll probably die eventually. But you may never find him. They really are tough and unbelievably agile go-anywhere-for-days animals.

Take the gun you want to take. If your shot placement is good, a .243 will definitely kill an aoudad. But if the shot doesn't disable the ram, he won't die where he was standing when you shot him. If you want to recover the dead aoudad for sure, hit him high shoulder/base of neck in the spine. Regardless of the gun you choose to take, be ready for a follow up shot if he doesn't fall after the 1st shot. If he does fall, don't take your scope off of him for a while and be ready to shoot again if he gets back up. They are tough critters (have I mentioned that?).

Best of luck to you! Can't wait to see the pics of your trophy!

BTW, what other guns do you have at your disposal?

 

[JWP58]

I'm going to upgrade to a .270 after consideration. I need an all around rifle anyway. I thought about a 7mag, but I don't enjoy recoil.

 

[CLICKBANGBANG]

Wow. I came into the Sheep subforum to see if an Aoudad thread was around. I'm looking at trying to do the same. Poor mans sheep hunt. It's unlikely I'll ever pull a WY or NV tag, and I don't make the coin for a Alaska trip.

I see privet property guides still get quite a bit. Maybe I'll start putting in for public land. What is the norm for waiting on tags?

And did OP go yet? When is the public land season?

 

[JWP58]

My hunt period is 1-25 through 1-27-17. I'm using chukar and elk season to get into shape.

I had two preference points and I've heard of people needing 10 to draw. I drew on the second drawing somehow...more than likely by pure luck.

 

[Doghed]

The OTC tag is all year, but only in the non-draw units. The draw hunt is in Feb. (in NM.)

 

[JWP58]

So I picked up a TC Venture in 308win. After sighting it in with Nosler 165gr Accubonds (running a Nikon Prostaff 5 2.5-10x40 w/bdc reticle), I was pleased with the accuracy. I plan on practicing out to 400yds off of improvised rests to prepare for my Barbary sheep hunt.

I might just make this a mini blog covering my prep and actual hunt, could be fun. Im actually excited about tasting one of these critters, as all I hear is how bad they are. Certainly done barbacoa style they should be tasty.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Texans,


Did you feel that it was too small? Why/why not?

No, don't think it was to small(actually had a passtru). No matter what caliber you shot the TTSX excels when ran hot and lighter.

The only thing about PD canyon is it some rough country some pretty nasty holes in there. If you don't typically or won't take a shot over 250 yards then the 243 with the 80gr ttsx is some nasty medicine, if you take 300plus yard shots the VLD is probably a better choice, just due to better BC.

If you are a confident in your shot placement abilities don't stress about enough caliber. No point in stressing over big enough 243 has been wacking stuff effectively and efficiently for decades.

I'd be more concerned with having good glass and boots then caliber.

Oh take water with you, you can find water in the bottom of some those canyons but your not going to want to drop off in them a bunch

 

[cuerro viejo]

Wow. I came into the Sheep subforum to see if an Aoudad thread was around. I'm looking at trying to do the same. Poor mans sheep hunt. It's unlikely I'll ever pull a WY or NV tag, and I don't make the coin for a Alaska trip.

I see privet property guides still get quite a bit. Maybe I'll start putting in for public land. What is the norm for waiting on tags?

And did OP go yet? When is the public land season?

Texas is about 6 year draw, and you don't have to have license to enter draw it's like $3-5 bucks

 

[JWP58]

Or if you get lucky, 3 years.

 

[4IDARCHER]

Or you can take your bow and just go......

 

[rbljack]

I might just make this a mini blog covering my prep and actual hunt, could be fun. Im actually excited about tasting one of these critters, as all I hear is how bad they are. Certainly done barbacoa style they should be tasty.

Please do make the blog about the prep and trip. would enjoy that!

 

[Shane]

Texas is about 6 year draw, and you don't have to have license to enter draw it's like $3-5 bucks

Or if you get lucky, 3 years.

It took me 20 years to draw the Exotic hunt. You can draw the first time you put in though. Points just put your name in the hat more times. Just gotta get lucky.

I drew the desert bighorn hunt with just 6 points. You never know....

 

[TexanSam]

The way Texas works it that you're not drawing for the tag, you're drawing for the hunt on our limited public land. If you want to hunt exotics, mule deer, whitetails, javelinas, feral hogs, pronghorn you can if you have the money to spend on access to a place. Heck there's even a few bighorn sheep tags given out to landowners that you could try and buy from, only problem is that they don't publish the list right now so you would have to track them down. On top of that I bet the tags go for a half million dollars too.

Like I said, what you are drawing for is access to the limited public land in this state. With that being said, the point system is different in which for each point you get your name gets added to the hat another time for each point, thus increasing odds. You can win on your first or you can go 50 years and never win. That's how it works.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

 

[realunlucky]

When is the application period

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[TexanSam]

When is the application period

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Really late, if I remember correctly it starts in like July or August

 

[JWP58]

One ram down, 25-27 incher. Two days left, hope slay a few more. Hiked probably 6 miles up and down. Full write up coming in a few days

 

[JWP58]

My hunting partner knocked down two today. We saw two more that were as big as the one I shot on the first day, but they made it over the rim before we could get our rifles out. This is a physically gruelling hunt.

 

[robie]

My hunting partner knocked down two today. We saw two more that were as big as the one I shot on the first day, but they made it over the rim before we could get our rifles out. This is a physically gruelling hunt.

Congrats keep at it.

 

[robie]

Really late, if I remember correctly it starts in like July or August

We have a bonus point system and all tags are random. I just wish they would up the charge for non-resident like every other state. They could make it 10x and it would still only be $30 per hunt. Texas apps are dirt cheap but most have very long odds.

 

[JWP58]

Well my ram is just over 25 inches and about 6.5 years old. Shot him at about 250yds with a 165gr accubond out of a tc venture 308win. We saw two more rams that were probably as big or bigger than the one I shot while packing out my buddy's two rams, but they made it over the top of the canyon. We didn't hunt the last day because we were physically shot. By the morning of day three both of us couldn't hardly walk let alone hike another 8-10 miles. We hunted hard for two days, and when we left were the only ones to kill rams, and besides two other hunters the only ones to see aoudad. It is an extremely physically demanding hunt, but a blast. I'll be back.