Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Rifle Choice for Barbary Sheep

I have a west texas barbary sheep hunt the end of february. I am looking for some real life pros and cons between two rifles on a barbary sheep hunt. I have the TC Pro hunter and also have the 270 barrel and the 300 win mag barrel for it. They both have the exact same scope and I can shoot both about the same.

What is the real life experience pros of using one over the other for a Barbary Sheep/Aoudad Ram hunt. From looking at the ballistic charts I found they seem to be relatively close as far as that goes.

Not looking to start a war of which is better just looking for some help in deciding which barrel I should use on this hunt.What are your thoughts?

Close your eyes and pick up one and go hunting . Just make sure you take the right ammo.
Myself it would be the 270

270

TobyJoe is the resident aoudad killer around here, so he'll know down to a gnats azz what it will take. Personally, either/or in my book which ever I shot the best with. Don't think you will be under gunned with either one. They may be tough critters, but they are not bullet proof.

Sheep hunting with a 270 would be classic!

Just my opinion.

ddj

270

I've only shot the one Auodad ram and was surprised how long he lasted after being hit with a 140 gr. Barnes through the boiler room. In addition, he wasn't in one of the easiest tracking terrains. I would suggest the 300 with a bullet that would put down the animal more quickly such as a partition or even a corelok.

Thanks for the imput guys. I love my 270. But I am not too experienced with Aoudad. I shot a ewe last year at about 6 yards with my 270. Was hard to gauge how it performed, couldnt see through the smoke/dust before she hit the floor.

Obviously, there is no incorrect choice in the two calibers. I used a .300 Win. Mag. as have all my friends. I was shooting over 400 yards from a mountain into a ravine with the wind blowing. In my experience they are tough critters. All of that said the son of the PH I hunt with in Africa shot his with a 243. Mine & buddies were in South Texas in the Davis Mountains, but there are some in the hills where I hunt in South Africa near Namibia.

.300. Aoudad are tough critters.

I shot a 30" Aoudad ram two weeks ago with my new .300 Weatherby and a 168 gr TSX bullet. About a 100 yd shot that broke both front legs at the shoulder. Definitely over-gunned, but I had just finished building it last year and hadn't shot anything with it.

I've made one shot kills on 4 Bighorn rams and a Dall ram with my .257 Ackley shooting 117 gr GameKing bullets. I would have used my .257 AI, but the new Weatherby was just begging to be shot. Sheep are not that hard to kill if bullet placement is good.

Place your shot 1/3 up in the shoulder and either your .270 or .300 Win will work fine.

Toss a coin - both calibers are more than adequate. I've taken four aoudad with .308's shooting 150/165 accubonds and none went farther than 30 yards. All were one-shot kills.

I haven't found them to be particularly tough to kill, but they are extremely wary and inhabit some tough terrain.

You should be in for a great hunt. Good luck.

We've killed a bunch of 'em, as has TobyJoe. Take the one you can shoot best. Shots are likely to be long where we go, and a big ram will go 300 lbs or so. We've killed them with 7-08 w/140 core lokts, up to 300sWSM. Free range aoudad hunting is a spot and stalk blast!

We kill 15-20 rams a year. Take the rifle you shoot the best, but if you shoot both equal, then take the 300. Just like anything, you put it in the right place, and you can kill them with a .22, but they can take a pounding, and dont bleed alot, with a less then good hit. The meat sucks, so there is not a such thing as over gunned. I pack a 338 rum, and have seen them take multiple hits with it through the boiler room. Just like many exotic animals, their vitals are more forward, you need to shoot them through the shoulders. As far as Im concerned, you need to shoot the biggest rifle that you can shoot good.

Toby Joe

Whacked mine at 380yds with a 300RUM in the front shoulder. I was fortunate that mine dropped as if it had been dropped from a helicopter.

JGRaider is absolutely correct....spot and stalk blast!!!

This years hunt we have some guests coming down from Ohio and they're going to use my rifles. I'll be shooting a .280 and letting the guests use a .270WSM, .284win and a 6.5/06. All more than adequate IMO

I'm leaving Saturday for my annual aoudad and blue quail hunt in the Big Bend country.

I'll be taking a 325 WSM and a 270. Propably deecide which I'll shoot when I get there.

I've taken ten or so aoudads with a .270, 300 win mag, and 325 WSM. I've also witnessed a few more shot with a 25/06, 308, and 7 mag.

My opinion? Shoot a good quality bullet in which ever you shoot best and take it.

If you shoot well with both, take the 300, aoudads are no doubt tough suckers.

That said, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot another with a 270.

Where we hunt they are basically a pest.

Bill

I'll help rid you of some pests!

The ranch we are hunting on borders the Big Bend State park. Whats the population of Aoudad like there?

Lots of em'.

Do you mean the Big Bend Ranch State Park or Big Bend NATIONAL Park?

If you mean the Big Bench Ranch State Park (I'm sure you do but some people get them mixed up) then I too am close to it. The NE border of the State park is about 5 miles to the SW of us.

What ranch are you hunting Jimmy? A ranch very close to us borders the state park.

Bill