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Aoudad-Barbary Sheep & New Mexico ?

1100 Remington Man

1100 Remington Man

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
Messages
335
Location
Iowa
Well I applied for a tag in New Mexico unit 32 because my Best Friend has always wanted to hunt them. We settled on this Unit because of the public land available.
We have done a lot of Western Hunting and all DIY hunting.
In hunting Western States we will scout out places for our next hunt some times for different species but this will be different as I never have been to New Mexico.
Any and all advice appreciated ! I am planning on using my .264 Win Mag with Nosler's 120gr BT as it has worked on Mule Deer & Antelope I hope it works on Aoudad or should I use a bigger bullet 130 or 140gr ? As I have no idea how tough they are.
Should I plan on hunting out of a Base camp or should it be a back pack hunt ?
In CO, ID and MT & WY I have put in between 8-12 miles a day hiking according to my GPS in moderate MT to rough country ID.
What type of country do they like the Ridges or what is there preferred habitat ?
I will say when I got done filling out the application, I just started to laughing thinking what has my Best Friend gotten me into.
The season is in Febuary is it better to be there on opening day or better later in the season ?

Thanks and my your next season be Great.
 
I can't give you any first hand experience as i'm just now doing my research for a possibly Aoudad hunt in Texas myself.

but what I have learned is they are similar to other sheep. they like the rough country and blend in very well. Ive seen it said multiple times that the success of your hunt is directionally proportional to the quality of your optics. A lot of the articles I've read say a min .300 for caliber, as its often windy and very good chance of a longer shot.

If I go, i'll be mostly on my feet I expect, but ive heard a buggy/4wheeler etc is a good way to go. drive a bit, glass the canyons then drive again.

I wish ya luck! be sure to report back how it went!
 
The unit you want to hunt is vast desert...but there are many county roads. An ATV or UTV to travel is a good idea. As for your rifle/caliber choice I would use a bit heavier bullet of good construction as aoudad can absorb a lot of punishment. Perhaps an Accubond, SST or something of this nature. I took an aoudad with my 300WSM, at 240 yds., with a 180 Accubond. One and done. Good optics are a must. Be sure to take a tripod for your spotting scope as you will spend a lot of time glassing.Aoudad blend very well into the desert environment. Plan well, hunt hard and enjoy! MTG
 
MTGunner said:
The unit you want to hunt is vast desert...but there are many county roads. An ATV or UTV to travel is a good idea. As for your rifle/caliber choice I would use a bit heavier bullet of good construction as aoudad can absorb a lot of punishment. Perhaps an Accubond, SST or something of this nature. I took an aoudad with my 300WSM, at 240 yds., with a 180 Accubond. One and done. Good optics are a must. Be sure to take a tripod for your spotting scope as you will spend a lot of time glassing.Aoudad blend very well into the desert environment. Plan well, hunt hard and enjoy! MTG
Click to expand...

Sst is similar to the bt nosler. If choosing hornady use the interbonds.
 
For aoudad I shy away from nosler ballistic tips and the silver tips. My first experience wasn't pleasant, range was about 130 yards out with my 7mag using the ballistic silver tip which worked amazing on whitetail but the rounds came apart far to quickly on the sheep. Now similar shots with a 270 worked fine, I'm guessing from the lower impact velocity and holding together. I really like the accubond's and Sirocco's myself. Also the vitals are slightly more forward than American game.
 
Ya' know, bullet placement trumps all. The bullets afore mentioned are all adequate for Aoudad. Some are better constructed than others. I took my aoudad with a 180 grain Accubond from my 300WSM. One and done! There are many adequate calibers/bullets combinations. IMHO, use what you are comfortable with, keep your shots under 300 yds. and enjoy the hunt. Have fun and take a good one. MTG
 
It really does but when you have a slightly larger area than a soft ball that's completely destroyed from bullet blow ups and one 1 of 3 makes it through it can be quite frustrating. Especially since shot one flattened him for 10 minutes looking dead as could be until he stood back up...

Perhaps it was just a freak incident but I switched bullets shortly after that and never looked back.
 
TXauodadklr is correct insofar as the aoudad can absorb lots of punishment and vigilance after the 1st shot is indeed necessary to assure that the animal has been put down permanently. I stand by my previous statements. My 300WSM was adequate and my aoudad was down for the count. IMHO only, I believe your 264 Win. mag, with a well constructed projectile, is adequate for aoudad. A quick story...I took my 260AI with hand loaded 120 gr. BT to Africa this past April 2015. This is used to take a Red Lechwe that tips the scales around 300+ pounds. I shot this Lechwe in the chest @ approx. 155 yds. stepped off. The 120 BT entered the chest and exited above the anus. A complete pass through the animal. Now, by all standards the 120BT is not the best constructed bullet, but this is the accuracy load for this particular rifle. I have full confidence in this rifle and the load. Yet, would I use it on an elk, perhaps not. I would utilize my 300WSM with the 180 gr. Accubond for elk and moose. Therefore, my thought process is to use what I have confidence in to humanely take a certain animal down one and done. If you have confidence in the .264 Win. mag I would for sure hunt the aoudad with this firearm. Indeed a well constructed bullet may be in order. But, confidence in a firearm that you have employed in the past trumps other. Again, this is my opinion only. BTW, I have taken 18 African plains game animals. Only 4 were taken with my 260AI... the others were put down with my 300WSM. Larger, tougher animals required larger caliber and stouter bullets. I do not profess to be a firearm guru. I know what has worked for me. This merely my .02 cents. Hopefully this will help in the determination process. Good luck, good hunting and have a grand adventure. MTG
 
On more than on occasion have me and my dad flattened aoudad to have them get back up. A 264 will work fine we've put down I think 9 using 270 win with only one needing a follow up.
 
I am not going to enter the fray as to what calibers are adequate for aoudads, but I will say if you put a marginal hit on a big mature ram you are in for a rodeo. Pound for pound I know of nothing tougher. They live in tough rocky country and rarely can be tracked. Shoot well and pay attention, even if the ram goes down.
 
Fray?

Please pardon me if this has been misinterpreted as a some sort of fray. I believe it is merely an exchange of information and opinions. In no way do I mean this discussion to be a fray, argument or difference of opinion. I want to help and extend information. Not my intent. MTG
 
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