DIY aoudad hunts and units?

graybird

Active Member
Feb 22, 2011
388
119
Colorado
I'm thinking of applying for a DIY aoudad hunt, but I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into, if I were lucky enough to draw.

Could anyone give me some helpful information regarding these hunts and the units they are in?

Thanks in advance!

Graybird
 

Jeremy

New Member
Apr 3, 2012
36
0
NM & TX
It's easy to draw the tag but not so easy to harvest if you haven't spent much time there. Everyone, including myself, are pretty tight lipped about the good public spots. PM me and I can narrow your search into a few good units.

Jeremy_AoudadI.jpg
 

Jeremy

New Member
Apr 3, 2012
36
0
NM & TX
The Glass Mountains and Palo Dura Canyon both of West Texas is some of the best. There are a few other good areas, all are in West Texas. 99.9% of it is all private. I personally don't hunt sheep in Texas, it's way cheaper in NM. I have killed all of mine in NM.

Oh and that link you listed above for Texas Aoudad......that is one of those chicken sh*t high fenced operations. If you have ever done it the right way you know how much BS that is.
 

fenella_stanley

New Member
Nov 5, 2012
2
0
I agree with jeremy that it is quite easy to draw the tag but it is not easy to harvest when one has not spent much time there. So, it will be imperative to spend some time on researching which will surely help.

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aoudad hunting
 

Shane13

Active Member
Aug 8, 2012
345
273
Hawley, Texas
My dad and my son and I drew an archery aoudad hunt at Devil's River in Texas. We're supposed to be there right now, but my dad had a heart attack a couple weeks ago, and my son had a football game tonight. We had to miss the hunt. (Dad is doing great, but a rugged hunt right now wouldn't be the thing for him to do.) I'd really hoped on just getting another preference point for that hunt, but it didn't work that way. Figures.
 

Doe Nob

Very Active Member
Feb 21, 2011
565
0
Houston, TX
My dad and my son and I drew an archery aoudad hunt at Devil's River in Texas. We're supposed to be there right now, but my dad had a heart attack a couple weeks ago, and my son had a football game tonight. We had to miss the hunt. (Dad is doing great, but a rugged hunt right now wouldn't be the thing for him to do.) I'd really hoped on just getting another preference point for that hunt, but it didn't work that way. Figures.
I drew the rifle hunt there several years ago. Never saw a ram in my compartment, killed an old ewe. Archery hunting some of that stuff would be next to impossible unless the weather conditions were ideal, and even then difficult. I hunted hard for 2 days before even seeing anything.
 

Shane13

Active Member
Aug 8, 2012
345
273
Hawley, Texas
I drew the rifle hunt there several years ago. Never saw a ram in my compartment, killed an old ewe. Archery hunting some of that stuff would be next to impossible unless the weather conditions were ideal, and even then difficult. I hunted hard for 2 days before even seeing anything.
It would be a very tough hunt for sure. I talked to one of the biologists, and he said that one guy last year killed four aoudad - including a pretty good ram. He found a trail they were using to go to the river to drink and just found a good hiding spot next to it. He kept shooting as they went by. That turned into some serious work, I imagine. :D
 

Doe Nob

Very Active Member
Feb 21, 2011
565
0
Houston, TX
Yes and no, since they are exotics the managers don't really care if you recover any or all of the animals. A big ram can get over 300 lbs and auodad are near the bottom of the list of barely edible. They told me in not so many words I could shoot them and leave them lay if I wanted to.
 

Shane13

Active Member
Aug 8, 2012
345
273
Hawley, Texas
Yes and no, since they are exotics the managers don't really care if you recover any or all of the animals. A big ram can get over 300 lbs and auodad are near the bottom of the list of barely edible. They told me in not so many words I could shoot them and leave them lay if I wanted to.
Wow. Every draw hunt I've been on, they always require you to bring everything you shoot back to the check station - hogs included. I grew up hunting them in the Panhandle. We ran cattle on a big ranch on the Caprock. The canyons were full of them. I've had aoudad cooked every way imaginable, and it's horrible table fare. I've eaten young ewe to old ram. It's just different degrees of tough and nasty. Heck, I've seen carcasses rot, untouched by coyotes. :D The only reason to kill one is to mount it, IMO. I don't like to let meat go to waste, but aoudad is one animal I won't eat. I hear people occasionally saying how they love it. More power to them. It's nasty. :D :D

I know TPWD would like to get rid of them since they are non-native. It would be hard to talk people into shooting them if they were required to eat all of them I guess.