DIY West Texas Aoudad 2019

After a 13 hour drive from my home in Northern Arizona my brother Nick and I were pulling into a large private ranch in West Texas we would be hunting the next 7 days for Aoudad Sheep. Aoudad had been high on my list for quite some time and after finding a DIY option I opted to book the hunt and go on my own first sheep hunt! 

Aoudad sheep in Texas are an interesting story in which they were introduced in the early 1950’s and have thrived in the state to populations now estimated at 25,000+ animals. Their native range is in Northern Africa in Algeria, Tunisia, Northern Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan. 

Being that the hunt was a DIY hunt I did my best to educate myself on the characteristics of an old mature ram as I would have to make the decision to take a specific ram on my own most likely. In my search for knowledge I learned that the first and best indication of a mature ram was a full set of chaps and beard. A mature ram will have a beard and chaps that blend together and should be 12”-14” in length. A 30”+ ram will also carry his mass well through the first two thirds of his horn length and the smaller the gap or tuff of hair between his horns is also a good indication of a heavy ram. 30”+ rams will also have a wider sweep to them rather than a tight curl and when they turn sideways should meet or exceed the shoulder and can even have wear marks in the hide where the horn rubs when the ram turns his head. Another great indicator of a 30”+ ram is the tips of his horns will start to curl in towards his body for the last few inches. While these are all good indications of an old mature ram. No single one of them should be used solely to make a decision on taking a ram and rather multiple measures should align on a mature 30”+ ram. 

Day one had Nick and I up early stuffing our packs with camera gear, food and essentials for a day hunt then loading them into my Polaris General I brought down from Arizona to allow us to access the ranch and navigate the roads needed to get us into sheep country. The Rancher was up early to show us the ranch and get us into sheep country before turning us loose. A couple weeks prior to our arrival he had seen a big ram way back in the corner of the ranch and would take us there to start the hunt. At first light we picked up sheep right away sky lined on the cliffs above us. The sheep were at 650 yards and after getting the spotting scope on them I could see a couple young rams, ewes and a couple lambs. After a few minutes of watching the sheep feed we spotted what appeared to be a mature ram! He had a wide and deep curl to his horns, carried his mass well and had a great set of chaps/beard. After letting the sheep feed into the draw out of sight we made our move to get a closer look. I threw my rifle on my pack and grabbed my bow to close the distance. The wind was good and we had all the cover we needed to get a closer look but when we crested the cliffs to get a better look at the ram the sheep were gone! We carefully glassed and maneuvered through each draw trying to pick the sheep up again but could not re locate them… Before heading back to the Polaris we bumped two Desert Bighorn Sheep Rams out of a draw while trying to locate the Aoudad. At that moment I knew this was going to be a great hunt! I had heard other hunters refer to an Aoudad hunt as a poor mans Desert Sheep hunt but seeing a couple Desert Rams in the same exact country we were hunting Aoudad Rams really made that a reality. 

For the evening hunt we decided to explore a different area of the ranch known to hold sheep. The country was impressive to say the least, giant cliffy draws a mile long and rising upwards of 1500’ from the valley floor in some places. There were giant boulders, folds in the terrain and caves covering the landscape all of which gave the sheep plenty of places to hide as did the Comanche Indians while inhabiting this same country in the 1600’s and 1700’s. 

While hiking we found several fossilized sea shells and stones from the Permian period some 265 MILLION years ago when this very landscape was beneath the sea and a thriving reef!! We know that Dinosaurs went extinct 65 MILLION years ago and that in Permian times mammals had not yet even come into evolutional existence so this was very neat to me to be hunting in such an area rich with history and for evidence of those times to be lying around for us to experience today. 

The evening produced a young ram that Nick spotted from a couple miles away but no other sheep appeared to be with him. We’d take note to come back and check on him later to see if we could locate some other sheep with him. 

Day two had us back in the same canyon we spotted the mature ram the first morning, hoping we would be able to pick them back up again. We looked, looked and looked some more but never did locate that band of sheep again so off we headed for the other end of the ranch again to check back up on the young ram we spotted the night before. On the drive into the area Nick picked up a group of seven rams just 200 yards off the side of the road making their way up a small mountain in the lower hill country. I got a quick look at the rams with my binos before they crested the mountain and could tell one of the rams definitely looked like he was worth a closer look. We quickly grabbed the packs and made a move on them but to our surprise once again the sheep were nowhere to be found! The evening produced the same young ram again along with three ewes and two lambs but no big rams. 

Day 3 we decided to switch it up and explore the West end of the ranch. Overnight a small storm had been moving through and we woke to rain, fog, wind and colder temps in the morning. When daylight broke the fog and rain had us socked in for the most part and glassing was difficult at best. After the fog broke and the weather cleared a bit the rancher gave us a few pointers and we were off to go hike some country for glassing spots to locate sheep. The morning yielded a ewe, a lamb and several Mule Deer but no other sheep. Nick and I decided to hike back to the Polaris and head up another canyon and continue glassing for rams.  On our way into the the next canyon Nick suddenly said “Sheep!” A lone Ram was bedded up on the hill near the wash we were driving up and he had spooked at the sight of the Polaris. Once again I got a quick look at him as he crested the mountain with my binos but couldn’t tell if he was what we were after with such a short look. Again we quickly grabbed the packs and high tailed it to the top of the mountain he was on to try and get a better look at him, and again to our dismay he was gone, nowhere to be found… After glassing for 20 min Nick wanted to go look on the front side of the mountain in the direction we originally seen the ram, I thought it was a hail marry so said id be there in a min… Sure enough 5 min goes by and I look in Nicks direction to see him frantically waiving me to him and signaling that the ram is right there!! When I get to Nick he tells me he walked right up on the ram bedded at 15 yards! Still not knowing if the ram was a shooter I didn’t like that he was going to be so close and would likely blow out at the sight of us. As I cycled a round into my gun and started to make my way to the cliffs edge I heard the sound of hooves on shale rock below us and knew the ram was making another exit on us. We quickly got the the edge just to see the ram running over the hill not to be seen again. 

It was now the heat of the day so we made it back down into the wash where the Polaris was parked to get a bite to eat and drink. While taking a break in the wash I spotted a Javelina and decided we would make a play on it as the season there is year round with a 2 pig bag limit! After getting Nick behind me with the camera we closed in to 21 yards and I put a perfect shot on him with the bow. It was getting close to prime time now so we rushed to get him cut up and back on our way sheep hunting for the night! On our way out of the canyon we were in we were stopping to glass the cliffs when I spotted a lone ram walking the ridgeline. He looked good in the binos but he was over a mile away. We quickly got the spotter on him and could tell he was a great ram! We looked at the clock and noticed we only had an hour and a half of shooting light left in the day. Again we quickly threw on the packs and I grabbed the rifle expecting the shot to be around 300+ yards by the looks of where he was feeding and the route we would have to take to get into range. After 28 min of non stop climbing Nick and I crested the ridge where I figured id have a shot on him across the canyon. As we slowly moved forward while gassing below to pick up a visual on the ram Nick wispered “he’s right there!” I turned to Nick and looked down to see the ram standing there looking right at us at just 50 yards!! I raised the gun to get the ram in my crosshairs and asked Nick if he had the camera rolling? “yes” he said and my bullet was on its way. The ram spun at the shot and started to move downhill towards the next set of cliffs where I put a second shot on him and anchored him before he ran off the edge! 

As Nick and I approached my ram we could tell we had made good judgement and had taken the perfect mature ram. He was long with his mass carrying well throughout his horn length, smoothed off from years of rubbing and a great cape with an awesome beard and chaps. The view was incredible and we spent the last 30 min of light to take photos. I quick Garmin message to the rancher that we had killed a ram and we would be back late then we got working on breaking down the ram under headlamps. It was 2am before we came rolling back into the bunkhouse at the ranch but we were all smiles. I couldn’t have asked for a better hunt and to share it with my brother made it that much better.