I’m now able to think about hunting those things I’ve never hunted because I gave up hunting white tails..

I have never really thought about exotics in Texas, but I now am looking at things I normally wouldn’t go after so …

I like to eat great meat, but don’t want to shoot something in a zoo…

Thoughts ?

I heard axis deer is tasty, and you can find them on a pretty big ranch, big enough to be fair to hunt.

ingwe and some others have me convinced a Nilgai hunt is worth doing…..

Check out a Nilgai hunt. Meat is incredible and you get a lot of it. But the biggest thing is that you can find a hunt for a very reasonable price. I’ve been lucky enough to be an invited guest on two Nilgai & Deer hunts in South Texas on a private deal, so I can’t recommend an outfitter, but I enjoyed the hunt and the meat so much that I’ve looked into it. Last time I checked about $2500 would buy a bull hunt, which is far cheaper then almost anything else out there. They also make a very neat mount that is rather unique. And I can assure you that you won’t have to worry about feeling like shooting a tame zebra. Those things are like ghosts. Only catch a glimpse every now and then. Most of the time when you see them they have already seen you and they are headed for cover. I wasn’t interested in them until I got the chance to hunt them. Now I know better.

Plenty of free range axis in Texas.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


THIS

If you hunt axis and eat them, you'll never hunt whitetail again.

^^^^^^^^^^^


This too...

There are opportunities for Oryx in NM as well. Free range auodad and axis in TX and others on ranches in TX that are big enough where even though they are fenced, you honestly won’t be able to tell,

Axis is great eating, Aoudads are not, Black buck wasn’t too good either.

Don't forget about sika.

Nilgai is great table fare. Also good are fallow deer does. An old Sika buck, on the other hand, is to be avoided!

You can hunt free ranging exotics, if you want a hunt

As others have pointed out there are several outfitters that offer free range Axis hunts in Texas. They are a great eating animal and make a beautiful mount.

Auodad aren't even fit to be ground for tacos. Ask me how I know..........LOL

But they ARE fun to hunt and a real artist can make edible sausage from them....

A free-range Auodad hunt can be a really good challenge, and the scenery in West Texas is pretty awesome.

They taste fine, even older rams. Taste like meat.

Get the hide off asap, and get the quarters on ice asap. Ya, if you load it up in the pickup, hide on, guts in, and drive to the processor, it probably does taste like schiet.

The actual truth is, most folks that hunt them don't want to take the time or make the effort to cut one up. It's way easier to say they taste like crap and leave them lay.

Elk’49 that is a gorgeous axis.

GreggH

A Nilgai hunt on one of the wildlife refuges would be fun I would think.

That's a stud Axis Sir.

This one is my first, hopefully of many. Was free range and delicious. Very close in flavor to my Scimitar Oryx also taken inTx.

Any recommendations for a ranch/outfitter/guide for a Nilgai hunt? A buddy and I have been wanting to put a trip together, but everything we find seems to be a lot closer to 5 grand than $2500. Feel free to PM.

Adam

Everything's bigger in Texas and 5G is way too much to pay for an exotic unless it's elephant or hippo.

I'd look into hunting on the island of Lanai Hawaii.

Exotics can be fun for hunting in the off season or for testing new loads/bullets on as long as you can get them for a reasonable price

Eventually going to have to do a spring trip to Texas for a few exotics. They really do brighten up a trophy room. Not to mention everyone’s raving on the table fare.

GreggH

There are some other exotics, like elk! They are not considered native game in Texas and can be hunted year round. Plus cow elk is quite tasty, as is red deer cow.

Another super tasty one is Sika, as is Scimitar horned Oryx....

There's a lot of exotic animals I would like to hunt but, I ain't paying what they want.

I hear ya. It's incredible to me the coin wanted by some outfits to take some wild hogs which are invasive pests. I'm not going to fill someone's pockets with cash to hunt pests and exotic non native species. I'd love to try one of those concession hunts like those on the Aimpoint wild boar series in Europe but hunting their moose, deer and boars are probably costly as well so I'll just have to do without that experiance.

Trophy hunting with a twist of adventure, culture and new cuisine. Yes, Texas is worth the effort and $$$$. This is NOT a dress rehearsal. Enjoy yourself. Memories, excitement and new adventures. Go for it! MTG

Ingwe,
You get a discount on that disabled oryx? 😁
Still super cool. Would make a nice rug.

GreggH

Thanks for the kind words on the Axis guys!

Tom I agree that the Oryx hunts are a great time and will fill a freezer with some mighty tasty venison!

Never tasted Sika, but it’s sure hard to beat Oryx for table fare.
Probably my favorite wild game meat.

Too many years ago to think about, I won a TPW hunt on one the prettiest Tx Hill Country SP's in the state. Showed up for check in and draw for a blind ....and was given a blind nobody else wanted for the next day. !st day had been a total bust, 2nd day I came in for lunch and another "hunter" took my blind after I'd been watching a 10pt WT all morning who was on the Not Available list. So the Hunt Master gave me another spot nobody wanted, way up high up a jeep trail....late that afternoon, right at dark on top of the hill where the jeep trail ended I scored a tan colored critter all covered in white spots...and drove my 2wheel drive Suburban with slick city tires down the Jeep trail off the "mountain": standing on the running board so's I could jump off when the truck went over the edge....BUT I was King for the day with the only Axis taken in the 3 day hunt.

Got back to Dallas the next day. Picked up the critter from the Processor couple days later and gave some of the meat away to a couple of my usual Deer Lease Pards...and heard for the 1st time "you'll throw rocks at Kobe Beef to get some more of that Axis meat you might wanna save as much as you can. Yes I do believe that to be a true statement...and have never been able to score another on a TPW Hunt where Axis were on the ticket....and cannot afford the going rates on the high fence Hunts.

Where I live now about a 100 miles SE of Dallas there is a high fence game farm that apparently is an Axis Breeder around the corner from the Gun Range I use...and nobody will tell me who the owner is, but a nearby processor get's the whole herd to process occasionally...they are a really pretty herd to just sit and watch, but step out of the truck and they disappear in the Pine forest PDQ.

This season, 21 years later I scored a Permit to hunt on the same place in the Hill country, on the last Hunt date offered. 2 weeks earlier I had talked to some guys who'd been down there a couple weeks earlier and 4 of the 10 Permit Winning Hunters had scored 15 Axis in a 2 1/2 day hunt apparently cause everything in south Texas was starving from the drought.

My favorite saying in situations like this go's ... " Rose Ann ...Rose AnnaDanna Always sez " It's AWAYS Sumthin".
Mebbe I'l get my turn next year ....but I'll have a 18 wheeler reefer on call for the ride back to North Central east Texas IF I can draw another Permit 'cause ya never know....and Axis meat is really THAT good to eat.
Ron

I quit eating WT deer at least 25 years ago. Axis is that good.

Like many here I've eaten lots of different game animals here and African. Axis is absolutely fabulous, my favorite, especially the big, fat doe variety. Took this one at my buddy's place this past Saturday. It's so good I don't like wasting any meet......7-08 and 120 BT at work.......



Exit after smashing through neck bone....

You need to go, kill something, hunting them is fun, no place like Texas.

Same here Bev...buts its only been six years since I started hunting axis...

Yes..Ive killed three that were sub-par for that reason.....horns were wonky, but the meat was there!

Definitely would be doing that! For the fun and the eats sign me up.
Beautiful animals nonetheless.
GreggH

If everyone that applied for a tag, anywhere for anything, was to get it except for 1 person, I'd be that 1 person! Lol! I have had a terrible run at drawing any tags, even with points! For that reason, and the fact that I'm old enough now that I don't have the years that some tags take to get anymore, I'm considering an "exotics" hunt.

Wow those are SUPER!!! I've got a 33" on the wall and it looks like a baby compared to those.

I'm thinking a week in Texas, while winter has Montana in its grip, sounds great. Shooting some feral critters and hanging out with my boy would top it right off. All of the raving about axis meat has me interested, but I believe that's more of a summer endeavor. A couple of auodad and blackbuck would surely fit the bill though. It's something I'm definitely going to do.

I'm in Montana watching it snow right now, in balmy 11 degree weather. Headed to Texas in a couple weeks for feral hogs. I heard a rumor that there are some down there I haven't killed yet .

Bring lots of bullets, even the great Poobah cannot kill them all! I hope you try to though.

nilgai gets my vote. i did one last year in texas. had a good time, killed a decent bull, the meat taste about like deer to me, maybe a little less "gamey". i'll do another in a year or two. i want a bison next.

I'm not done yet Johnny!

Getting to be so many Axis around that I see more roadkill axis on US 290 between Johnson City and Fritztown than I do whitetails. Just waiting for em to show up on the NE Blanco county ranch. Shouldn’t take too much longer. Had a blackbuck show up last December. But I havent a clue where he ended up. Suppose a neighbor shot him. And several years back som aoudads were walking down the county road. Hopefully someone eradicated them bastids.

I hate Aoudads also, them SOB’s are a pain in the ass. I kill everyone I see!

Hanco have seen you mention several times about Aoudads.
What makes them such a pain? Destructive?

GreggH

I couldn't imagine giving up hunting in Montana for a game farm hunt in Texas.

To each there own I guess.

Aoudads can be hell on fences. Now! Before all the badazzes jump my azz about it. Im not talking high fences. I’m talking livestock fences. We don’t have or need high fences for anything. All we have are bovines.

I talked to a guy from Texas who was paid to shoot Aoudad from planes. He claimed to have shot hundreds that way.

That sounds like a damn good time to me!!!

Sticking with the theme -- my son and I accompanied a friend and his son to a ranch Saturday and shot some Blackbuck does for the campfire. There were other exotics, but the Blackbuck herd was between 60 and 100 and when one ran, they all ran. We all scored and they were cleaned for us and dropped in our coolers. Mine are at our neighborhood game processors being trimmed and frozen for the freezer. My buddy could not wait and grilled some tenderloins and said they were great.
Anyone that thinks they are not good to eat just does not know how to cook them .
.

Hanco
The second from the left would be dropped. Kinda thinking I need one on the wall.

GreggH

There, their, they're...don't jump to conclusions.....

Ingwe
My thoughts exactly.

GreggH

Sitting in a box blind inside a high fence is not for me. I’ve seen it first hand. I’ll stick to Montana mountains and elk and deer.


Maybe ok for some.

How about sitting in a stand on a no fence ranch where axis have been there for 50 years free range?

GreggH

Nope

Sitting a box blind for a non native critter does nothing for me. I will stick to the mountains and my deer and elk.

Well then, perhaps you should be posting on the deer and elk hunting forums and quit trolling this one.

Nilgai is on the list for me.

Some may not know this but elk and deer are considered big game and this is the big game forum so that box is checked.

The OP asked if hunting exotics were worth a run, I stated my opinion that for me it was not. Next box checked.

Carry on.

i like the pictures and someday maybe even next winter want to go hunt Nilgai and maybe a few other neat animals too . i sit in a so called box blind for deer now and shoot some very nice Whitetail bucks . thanks for posting the pictures. Pete53

Perhaps I should have said "thread" instead of forum. My bad.


GFY

LOL

The Santa Rosa ranch down in Kenedy county was doing the same thing to Nilgai because of the tick fever. They were using choppers. I put down a young bull suspected of having tick fever this past season. He was a really sick fellow. Poor guy.

Nilgai took a pretty big hit in South Texas during last years hard freeze but still a very huntable population. They are not only on high fence ranches but since the majority of Texas is private property, you will still have to pay for most hunts. Our hunter's favorite meal is not beef ribeye night but nilgai and axis hamburger night.

Not to thread jump but I need to hear about that drop tine whitetail in the back!

The good thing about exotics in TX is you can hunt them year round. So if you want to go hunting and the season is closed in your state you can hunt in TX and you don't have to buy the regular non-resident license. If you want to test bullets or loads on game rather than paper TX has that covered. And you can make it as hard or as easy as you want. Yes there are high fenced places with blinds but you can also go for things like aoudad in the Davis Mountains and that is some really rugged country. I grew up in Co and hunted mule deer and elk yearly and also pulled a bighorn and mountain goat tag. The Davis Mountains are every bit as tough to hunt as the Rockies, they just aren't as high and don't get much in the way of snow.

TX provides opportunities to hunt that most states do not.

I gotta disagree with you Hanco. My buddy shot an Aoudad this year and it was some of the finest meat I’ve ever eaten in my life. Even my picky wife and daughter thought it was incredibly delicious. They won’t even eat venison anymore. I think a lot of it had to do with field preparation?

I've hunted exotics several times. My largest trophy was a 355 lb red stag with 12 points on antlers. I've also hunted fallow stag and a female Pere' David deer (meat hunt). All these hunts took place on ranches well over 400 acres. I chose to hunt with my 30-30 carbine to make it more challenging to have a good shot within reasonable distance. I had a great time and brought home much meat. Sometimes discounted hunts are available for animals with broken antlers from fighting during the rut. It doesn't hurt to ask.

I have admired axis deer for many years but never hunted them. They're very numerous in Florida.

Sherwood

Maybe so, damn few people eat them. Are you sure it was an Aoudad?

Hanco-

I agree. A rancher asked me to shoot any Aoudad I saw. Shot 2 nanny's about to pop out a kid. Wasn't fit to eat even for tacos. Tried to give them away and the all the locals said they would pass and smiled. They didn't taste like anything edible. Someone suggested grinding into sausage. Maybe that works. I'm happy for those that have had good ones to eat. I'd like to know what those critters were eating. Maybe sweet feed?

Several boys on deer lease have tried, even small Dads, they gave up! Maybe we don’t know cshit about cooking???

LOL, yes I’m sure. I think people repeat things they hear over and over without any real experience of it themselves. Not saying that’s the case with you but maybe others who’ve heard it and never actually tried it just parroting what they’ve heard from others.

Also, I bet the majority who have tried it and gotten bad results didn’t really put a lot of thought into prepping the carcass immediately after the shot. Doesn’t take meat long to spoil in the southwest sun.

Well, I've killed over 100 aoudad, culling as many as I possibly could from friend's places who hated them with a passion. They told us to kill all of them if we could (no way possible) so we tried. That was over a 20 year period. I've tried every way possible and I've personally never found one remotely close to what I'd call good eating.

What can I tell you? Completely different experience here and at my buddy’s place. He’s got two young girls and a wife and they had the same results there. No hint of a “gamey” flavor and honestly as I said before some of the finest meat of any kind I’ve ever tasted. No strong flavor to it at all. And I’m saying this with a wife and kid that don’t even like oryx. I found I liked it better than oryx myself.

Maybe he lucked out and shot the one magic unicorn-Aoudad on earth that tastes good? Lol

I seriously doubt it though and I’m gonna try my damndest to get one of my own from now on. So by all means you guys please keep telling anyone who’ll listen how shiddy they taste. It’ll keep the competition down… 🤣

I'm not saying you're lying, but I will gladly trade you all my future aoudad for your oryx!

Have killed more than a few Aoudad, they are not tasty, we tried making Sausage out of a couple, didn't work out to well, i'm with JGRaider, you can have and eat all the Aoudad, you can kill and carry. Rio7

When I first moved down here, one of the guys gave me some frozen aoudad cuts he’d killed a year or two prior. It tasted like literal schitt . I figured it was either freezer burned or not cared for properly in the field or both. When my buddy gave me his I wasn’t expecting much but I was floored with how good it was. I know my bud and he’s very good with field care so I have to believe that’s the difference. IDK. But next time I try one that I know for sure was cared for properly I’ll let you you know if this was a fluke or not. Maybe these particular animals feed on something different out there, again who knows? I’m damn sure not turning my nose up on it though. . .

They sure are a blast to hunt though aren't they? Good luck with your quest DryFly

They are and they make beautiful and unique trophy’s as well. Thank you and good luck on all your coming hunts as well…

I have only taken one aoudad. Pulled the backstraps and loins for the grill and made sausage out of the rest. It wasn't the best game meat I have eaten but it wasn't really that bad. Meat had a slight odor but it ate alright

Does anyone know of a good outfitter for axis or blackbuck?

Plenty of outfitters for exotics in Texas. Don't overlook draw hunts on public lands. My BIL and I have hunted Axis and Sambar on public lands. We haven't been drawn for Nilgai though.

Looking now for an outfitter for the spring for Axis.

GreggH

We have lots of free-range axis in the Texas Hill Country. As others have said, axis meat is excellent! I often have axis and whitetails in my backyard which is just three blocks off main street. The freeze early last year killed a lot of axis but a couple nights ago, I had 17 axis in back including several fawns. Here's a couple pics.

https://i.imgur.com/nugx5Xk.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/22pkzL9.jpg

Tex
Those are simply gorgeous.

GreggH

Great pics!!! Love those axis.

Great axis pics