First ever Aoudad hunt for me. Really enjoyed it. Rugged territory for sure

Congratulations

Nice work. Who and where didja go? I gotta scratch that itch here someday

[quote=blairvt]First ever Aoudad hunt for me. Really enjoyed it. Rugged territory for sure

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SAAAWEET !

Love the Scene

Congrats


Jerry

NICXE!

I'm headed to Texas in a month for Aoudad.....or maybe something else!

South of Van Horn TX. The green is the Rio Grande with Mexico on the other side

Nice!

We have them on my deer lease. I think they thrive anywhere. We shoot them as pests, because they are crowding the deer out. Killed this one year before last.


republic commando wallpaper


Got this one with a bow a few years ago. Not big big they are more wary than a deer.




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Congratulations

Far West Texas can be a real sheep hunt. Hill Country, not so much.

They get real big in far west Texas.

That's really a nice one there Hanco. What did he measure? What's the nearest city (town) to your lease??

pest? Dang, I paid to hunt them! Need any pest control help let me know

Congrats! I drew another texas public land aoudad hunt for January (devils river)....pretty excited.

Already got one out of the pd canyon. Depending on the situation, they are the real deal sheep hunt.

[quote=brush_buster]That's really a nice one there Hanco. What did he measure? What's the nearest city (town) to your lease??[/quote

Never measured, it’s at the lease hanging outside the cook shack. Hunt near Burnet, northwest of Austin, by Lake Buchanan.

They look like tough critters. Are they hard to put down?

No. About like any other sheep.

Good job, OP. Self guided private land?

I drew 29/30 in New Mexico this past Feb. I saw a fair number, but not the "one". I also couldn't tell the ewes from mid sized rams. More prep work is needed the next time I draw (if that ever happens).

This herd of 6 was at 180 yards and I later learned the one on the lower right was a ~24 inch Ram. I couldn't see a nut sack on any of them, so I passed. I figured their nuts would be hanging to their knees like on bighorns (and myself of course).


Another lone sheep I spotted in another drainage but passed on.

This herd is at 350 or so. Same deal. I figured they were ewes but I was later told otherwise. Oh well. They were fun anyhow.

Aoudad, We kill everyone we see here, no matter what sex or size, they are almost as bad as pigs. Rio7

We do too

Judman, don't forget the M7 358 Winchester. Perfect test. be Well, RZ.

Perhaps a silly question here, but are the aoudads fit to eat?

Had DooDad sausage with my eggs this morning. Sure was good.

Congratulation.

If you like tough ass meat.

Most of the Aoudad, Are caped out and the meat left behind, Rio7

I heard they make tamales out of them.

Mine was left on the mountain after removing the head. Going to do a European mount. Ranch manager said the Mexicans won't eat them either.

Not generally...I guess young ewes are OK...Ive shot three rams and my first answer is NO.

That said..'Ive got a guy..." who makes sausage out of aoudad that is excellent, so guess where my next one is going.

We cooked up fresh backstops from one of mine and they were good...but REALLY chewy....

They can really jump. I surprised a group one day they took off, cleared fence with ease.

Rams are good for sausage and jerky. The ewes can be good in chili, enchiladas or any spicy slow cooking or grilling method.

Mine stunk so bad, can't imagine ever eating it. I wasw 20 yds away and could smell it. Like a car doing burnouts. Burnt rubber.

That’s a good way to describe them. I can smell them if I’m in my bow stand and they walk up.

Gee, our ranch cook really does a great job with the lambs we kill, every thing else we leave for the coyotes. Rio7

I hunted a ranch a couple times near Burnet years ago, and they had a few auodad on the place. The camp manager fed us some lasagna made with ground auodad. It was pretty decent, but I'm pretty sure it was from a ewe.

Congrats to the O.P. on a cool hunt!

As far as eating them about all the Rams are good for is putting through the grinder and making sausage. The flavor of the meat is good but it is just to damn tough and chewy no matter how you cook it. The Ewes are much more edible and the lambs are actually really good. They are beautiful animals but they breed like rats and way outcompete the native wildlife. We try to kill every one we see but like pigs we cant keep up with them to keep them in check. They have become a huge problem in the area I hunt and have really started to impact the native whitetail population.

Anyway a hunt out in far West Texas in the area where the OP hunted is an awesome experience in some rugged but beautiful country.

Congrats on the Ram.


BTW.........

Bohemian, Cajun, Polish and Jalepeno Cheese Smoked links and Summer Sausage are toothsome,



Pepper Jack/Green Onion Smoked links from Aoudad mixed with pork is my new fav!



Aoudad Boudin ain't too shabby neither!

ya!

GWB

There's to many critters that's meat makes better sausage, we have no reason to screw around with Aoudad. Rio7

They are fine to eat. Don't listen to the folks that just dont want to deal with it. (Like guides)

Steak from the backstrap is good, same goes for burger.

Some animals stink. I choose not to eat the hair, hide, and azzhole. The meats good tho.

I take it Texas has no meat salvage laws? I would sure think it would make good pepperoni, sausage or kielbasa’s

Congratulations on a great ram.

Congrats! Looks like it was aa fun hunt.

Nice ram. They're usually rutting pretty close to this time. I bet it was a fun hunt in some pretty country

I hope to get a bow shot this weekend. I like to kill them.

Nice pic, man, and very cool!

I tell folks I shoot a lot more with a camera than a rifle.

Mighty fine memory!

ya!

GWB

I'm told Aoudad is the most affordable sheep hunt out there. Unless you're hanco, then it's just part of a hunting lease! LOL! Hey hanco, hope all's well!

West Texas, Aoudad hunts are great hunts, success is close to 100%, a good contact is Mulie Mike, campfire member, he has some good hunting, bring 2 pairs of hiking boots, I have seen boots eaten up by the rock in a couple of day's , and you might be ready to shoot over 200 yrds, these are real free range hunts in rough country.
Rio7

Actually, Aoudad are quite prevalent in the Texas hill country. This is at Reagan Wells, say 20 miles north of Uvalde, Tx.








See them quite often.



One I took for sausage and Boudin in March of 2020.



One I took for the "chaps", opening day of rifle season 2019.

ya!

GWB

Aoudad seem to occupy two polar opposite niches. The extreme rough, canyon country and the whitetail like lowlands.

I'm sure they're wary on those leases and can be as spooky as anything else, but I just don't think the hunt would be the same as those in New Mexico public land or west Texas.

Good on you all though for shooting them. Keep on keep'n on.

geedubya, that's a beautiful mount.

It is what it is.










I pay for a trespass lease to which I can spend time at any or even all of the 365 days a year. Every thing there is DIY. No guide, no trophy fee. I like that.

I may spend as much as 60 days a year "afield". I carry libation, a camera, a side-arm, an audiobook, cell phone and a rifle, when I go out..

I can snare,



trap,



shoot (even at night with night vision or thermal)



Or just enjoy the beauty of God's creation....



Taking a decent critter is just a bonus!





ya!

GWB

I think I'd like that too.

Nice mount!!

Down here it's as flat as a pool table, all sand no rocks, really not what you would think of Aoudad habitat, they hang out in the heavy brush, and are very hard to see and hunt, and we don't hunt them we just shoot the ones we see. W. Texas and the hill country, are a lot better for hunting Aoudad than here. Rio7

Palo Duro canyon is rough azz country...will make you work for'em.

As I recall, there are wanton waste regs for game animals, but auodad aren't game animals under Texas regs.

Blairvt,beautiful pic,and congrats on the kill.

Is the meat gamey or just tough?
Was wondering if canning would be an option.

Is the meat gamey or just tough?
Was wondering if canning would be an option.

I was told by landowners and guides that the meat is no good. A friend shot a really big trophy animal and took the head and hide but left the meat .
I hunted a ranch near Hondo where I could have shot as many as I could afford, but I prefer game that is good to eat like elk, red deer, hogs, Nilgai, and such, so no Audads for me.

I've killed over 100 of the darn things and haven't found a way to cook them yet that I like. The more you chew it, the bigger it gets. They're nothing but coyote bait to me anymore.

Congratulations

I may be the odd man out here, but I've eaten off of several Barbery Sheep (as they are called in New Mexico) and have found 'em to be quite palatable. The ram was a little bit tough, but not unbearable. Perhaps it has something to do with the environment they live in.

I have the same hunt that TInman had for this coming Feb. I'm really looking forward to getting after them and hiking around the country they call home.

-Jon

I didn’t see any this weekend. We killed a few pigs.




courage poem

They taste fine.

I've also had people say pronghorn is terrible, wrong. Sage grouse inedible, wrong. Sharp-tailed grouse same...and again wrong. Large boar feral hogs are disgusting table fare, incorrect.

Its almost like these people either A. Dont know how to care for the animal in the field B. Cant cook for sheit. C. Are lazy and dont want to hassle with the "icky" game meat.

If you are hunting trophy Aoudad they will normally be 10-12 years old. Do you eat 10 year old goats? Not me. If you want one for eating shoot a young female.

We bbqed a small one. Wasn’t too bad!

They are really hurting the Desert Bighorn propagation program here in Tx. They can out breed them and survive on thorn brush after they have eaten all the choice browse around. They can form herds of up to fifty or so animals and have a large range.

" Do you eat 10 year old goats? Not me. "

I tried goat one time in a bar on the border. With enough beer, it went down. Last one for me UNLESS I am starving.