Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Trans Pecos Aoudad

So my buddy Big Al went on a hunt for big aoudad sheep in the rugged Davis Mountains of West Texas and I tagged along with him. The elevation won't kill you ( up to 6500' on this ranch), but the fact that you're stepping on unstable rock with most every step makes it tough going. IMO, free range aoudad are a spot and stalk hunter's dream. This sprawling ranch encompassed 400 sq miles, 250,000 acres. We put 170 miles on a polaris ranger, and 20 miles hiking/stalking in 4 days.....it was an absolutely awesome adventure.

First evening found us in t shirts and 82 degrees.....


By the evening of the next day it was 33degrees and snowing.....


Big Al was toting a Bergara B14 7mm08 in which I had loaded him up with 140 accubonds running 2810. I still cannot believe feral hogs inhabit this harsh, rocky, dry desert environment.


The spanish daggers were in full bloom.....the desert was stunningly beautiful in it's own way....and the aoudad love eating the flowers


But you better watch where you're going.....the catclaw will kick your asss, and the instability of the rocks with every step are a PITA....


There are other targets of opportunity though.......these guys have killed 16 lions on this property in the past year. We only saw a handful of mule deer over 4 days.


The sheep are there though, but you have to hunt hard and make good use of your glass.....


Snapped this through my Fury 5000 AB's....at 725 yds.


We finally located a really, really big ram that Big Al was interested in. We probably passed on 20, 30" rams. I gave Big Al the dope through the Fury AB's as the huge ram finally cleared a small group of sheep he was with. The 140 AB hammered home at 508yds, placed perfectly through the shoulder. The longest side was 34 1/2 inches......an absolute giant ram.

Nice……and with a Leupold too

Thank you for posting, beautiful pics, some on our deer lease, but nothing to compare with that.

3-15x VX5. He dumped another big pig at 718 with it as well.

Hell ya....that is my kind of hunt.

Stellar work.

Thanks for sharing the pics and adventure!

I will be down in a few weeks hunting Javelina and hoping to see an Auodad or two.

Aoudad might be my favorite critter to hunt. Sure wish tpwd would open a draw hunt at big bend sp.

Looks like yall had a great experience. Beautiful tight curl on that beast.

(Can't believe a little 7-08 could take down the mighty aoudad....people claim a 300 win mag is the minimum lol)

Great pics and write up but...................look at the cutters on that boar!!!!!!!!!!!! Dang, super trophy sheep and hog. Congrats

Awesome stuff man....

Very good Aoudad, 6500' doesn't sound like much compared to the Rocky's, but it will kick your Ass it's like walking on big marbles in some places, and steep, great place for a good long range hunter to test their Rifle and ability, looks like you had a fun hunt. Rio7

Awesome hunt! What a great ram! I’m curious was he in a bachelor group, solo or with ewes? It was always mind boggling to me that even on some of those big ranches, when the rams pulled off the herds they were GONE! you could find 300 head of ewes and a few mid twenty rams but the big boys had bachelor pads and they might on the neighbor. Pretty frustrating at times. Congratulations again! I love that part of the world! Definitely no country for wimps!

I have always been amazed how many giant rams show up that have never been seen before. I suppose it speaks to the size and type of country they inhabit. Hint, if you ever do see a true giant, you better do your best to kill him that day.

When traveling from Monahans, TX to Coyanosa, TX on highway 1776, you drive upon a rocky outcropping that suddenly drops off into a wide sweeping plain. At the bottom of the outcropping is a dry gulch. That dry gulch is the Pecos River!
As far as the eye can see, the horizon is a blue line of mountains.
I've pulled off at the top of the outcropping and pondered, "If I crossed several hundred miles of this God forsaken landscape on foot or horseback when I came upon this view? What would be behind me that I would push further into this great unknown?"

It's hot!
It's hostile! Not only the snakes, bears, cats and javelina, but the cactus, thorns, stickers and needles. Not to mention the lack of water and rocks that cut like glass.

The devil we're told, in hell was chained,
And a thousand years, he there remained.
He never complained, nor did he groan.
But was determined to start a hell of his own.
Where he could torment the souls of men
Without being chained in a prison pen.
So he asked the Lord if he had on hand,
Anything left when he made the land.
The Lord said, "Yes, there was plenty on hand,
But I left it down by the Rio Grande.
The fact is, ol' boy, the stuff is so poor
I don't think it can be used as a hell anymore!"
So the devil went down to look at the truck,
And said if it came as a deal he was stuck.
So the deal was closed and the deed was given
And the Lord went back to his home in Heaven!

Appreciate the pics! Looks like cool hunt for sure. Good shooting too.

It's never not fun to see Texans using the wrong scopes on the wrong guns with the wrong boolits somehow manage to slay the wrong critters.

Laughin'

But mostly jealous that I wasn't there.

Nice pics and great ram Johnny. Congrats to Big Al.

Not to be too dramatic, but NM Pistolero is spot on.....this country is no joke and he described it perfectly. That big ram was ironically (this time of year) with a group of about 5 smaller rams, 10 ewes, and 7-8 tiny lambs. Believe me those little guys can bounce around on those rocks with incredible ease. They are a blast to watch.

400 square miles and not one single head of livestock on the whole place. I've hunted quite a bit in my life around the Davis Mountains and have never seen anything remotely like this place. Free range aoudad are vastly underrated IMO. They are incredible animals.

Memories made!

Mighty fine, JG.

Best,

GWB

Nice Ram and hog. Tough hunt and typical Texas weather, hot one day and cold the next. Memories!!

Thanks for sharing.


Deans