Off to Alpine, Texas - Audad Hunting!

W

Wyoredman

New member
About a year ago, give or take, my best friend bought an Audad hunt at the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation annual banquet. The next day, he convinced me and two more friends to also purchase a hunt!

Friday we leave the cold of Wyoming to drive to the great state of Texas! Now, me being me, I have never been to Texas. Can you imagine? Living in the west my whole life and never visiting Texas? I mean really!

Any how, are there any Texas TFL'ers who have hunted these Barbary Sheep around Alpine? What am I to expect? Also, what is the pig population in that country? I've never sluiced a swine, either, and am looking forward to the opportunity!

TEXAS BOUND!
 
Right on man, have a blast. Been looking into Audad hunts myself.

Post pics of the hunt when you get back, eh?
 
I've seen aoudad in the open grasslands between Marfa and Fort Davis. I've seen them down south of Alpine in some of the most rugged country you can imagine.

It all depends on where the ranch is.

Driving? If so, I guess you'll run I-25. I suggest cutting east, not far south of Santa Fe, and come down through Roswell/Carlsbad to Pecos. Then to Ft. Stockton and Alpine. Saves a hundred or so miles.

The overall quickest is to get off I-25 at Las Vegas, NM, and then on down to Roswell, but it's a bit tricky to find the turns. I've done it regularly on runs up to Colorado.

The nearest commercial air service for Alpine is Odessa, 150 miles away.
 
I was at a guy's house in October that cuts up wild game for people and he had one hanging that someone shot south of Cheyenne. Funny that the first time I heard of them was at home and now someone from Wyoming is going elsewhere to shoot one.

I think he said it was from an exotic game farm in northern Colorado that closed down a while ago.
 
I hope you get some big horns to hang on the wall as you'll probably not want to try eating one. As far as I know there is no way to make one palatable.
I manage some property just south of Ozona...and try not to go there often, but they have really been moving in there. The feral hogs have been moving into that area big time over the past couple of years too but I don't know why. Other than corn from hunter's feeders, there isn't much to eat other than cactus, mesquite or rattlesnakes. Deer do very well there though.
 
Art Eatman said:
Driving? If so, I guess you'll run I-25. I suggest cutting east, not far south of Santa Fe, and come down through Roswell/Carlsbad to Pecos. Then to Ft. Stockton and Alpine. Saves a hundred or so miles.

The overall quickest is to get off I-25 at Las Vegas, NM, and then on down to Roswell, but it's a bit tricky to find the turns. I've done it regularly on runs up to Colorado.
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Thanks, Art. We are driving. The heads up on the route is appreciated!

Old Stony said:
I hope you get some big horns to hang on the wall as you'll probably not want to try eating one.....The feral hogs have been moving into that area big time over the past couple of years too but I don't know why.
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I am curious how they taste. A friend of mine who makes cabinets in Salt Lake, UT hunted them a few years back and said they were pretty tasty! I'll see for myself, soon enough. A fun part of hunting a new species!

I am taking my Winchester Model 70 .270 WSM topped with a 3x9 Leupold for the Aoudad, and my Springfield M1A for hogs! It is good news to hear that the hog population is large! Never been part of any Hog Homicide, looking forward to it!
 
Terlingua locals who have killed and eaten aoudads have spoken positively about the meat.

I've not heard of many hogs in the general Alpine area. I have heard of a fair population around the Presidio area, along the Rio Grande.

As far as scenic driving, if you have time, it's much less boring to go from Pecos to Fort Davis and then take 118 for the 25 miles south to Alpine. Carlsbad-Pecos-Fort Stockton-Alpine? The only reason that land is there is to keep the coasts from drifting off into the oceans. Holds the country together. Even the buzzards carry rations in that country. :)
 
I don't know about feral hogs, but you'll probably run into the little wild pigs we call javelinas. They're fairly common in that area.
 
terlingua

hey art ... I love terlingua, Steaks and margaritas at the "starlight theater".
Is there any public land you can hunt in that area?
 
Young aoudad are quite tasty though the meat is very lean and some added fat is needed. They are not sheep but a unique species so they don't taste anything like mutton. Thank god.

They are also very tough animals, and you won't get close to them, so a 7 mag or 300 win mag is not out of the question. It's hard hunting so be in shape.

While you're in the area go to Ft. Davis and eat at the Cueva de Leon for good TexMex.
 
bcarver, TP&WD has drawings for limited hunting at Elephant Mountain WMA south of Alpine and in Black Gap WMA east of Big Bend National Park. Contact them for info about their deal.
 
I'm Back!

I am back from my Texas Aoudad journey!

The hunting was very, very tough. Not many animals, and even fewer rams.

While I very much enjoyed hunting west Texas, it just seemed we couldn't find any male Aoudad. Saw several bands of ewes, and had a great time with friends, but couldn't get any luck with the big boys.

Here is a picture of the small (only) ram I had a chance at:


My hunting companions didn't kill. One friend missed a ram about this size and another missed one a bit larger. The fourth guy in our party didn't even see one to shoot at.

The two rams that were missed were on the run, in a group of ewes, at around 300 yards.

All in all, the trip was pleasant, but I sure wish there were more sheep to look over!
 
It took my Father four trips to get his leopard.

Trips are about the experience, not about the kill.
 
We spent time on the Sears Ranch north of Alpine, near Mitre Peak, and on the Macyntire (Mo?) ranch south and west of Alpine. Ring any bells?
 
I've ratted around some on the Cathedral Mountain Ranch, just south of the McIntyre. Mo's brother lives down at Terlingua.
 
Art,

Thanks for correcting the McIntyre spelling!:) We did get to the south fence just north of Cathedral Peak! Beautiful cattle country.

BTW, thanks again for the driving route hints. We took the Las Vegas, NM exit to Roswell then to Van Horn. Guadalupe NP was an excellent route! We had some extra time and drove through the mountains north of Alpine where the observatories are. Saw a mangy coyote and some nice mule deer in the road near there.

All in all a good trip, just wish we saw more and larger Aoudad!:D

P.S. West Texas folks are a really friendly bunch! Met some strangers at one of the beer bars in Alpine, they took us home for a good Tex-Mex meal!
 
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