DIY NM Aoudad hunt need advice

[Metzger]

I am throwing around the idea of a diy Aoudad hunt in NM. What have been your experience with visual number of animals and quality? What are some better units?

 

[FLAK]

I've thought of doing the same since I cant draw a tag.
Booked a guided TX hunt for Feb., instead, this year.
Probably my favorite hunt.

 

[NMframed]

The only thing I can tell you is that the OTC hunts for NM Barbary sheep are hard hunts with a very low success rate and the people that are successful and know where to find them are very secretive with information. My cousin knows of a spot and doesn’t share info with anyone. A few years ago he was back in there glassing and ran into a guide with a hunter and the gist of their conversation was pretty much what are you doing back here and how the hell did you know about this spot. I know that doesn’t help you out at all and I’m sorry but I think that’s pretty much the kind of info you’re going to get on this topic.

 

[FLAK]

Pick a unit, order maps and go.
Be a helluva adventure whether you see any sheep or not.

 

[NMframed]

I will say I would think that there is a higher concentration of sheep in the units adjacent to or close to the draw units.

There used to be a lot of Barbary in Largo Canyon area in unit 2 and some people say there are still some in there but I have worked in that area on a semi regular basis for the last 15 years and hunted for deer and elk and cats in there a fair amount and have never seen a Barbary sheep or what I thought was a Barbary track

 

[Mkabrich]

Definitely subscribed to this. Keep tossing around the same idea and can’t figure out if I should go all in or bite the bullet and go guided. OTC is just co much more rewarding!

 

[TX_Diver]

When I lived there the people who hunted otc kept their spots secret! Like not even mentioning what unit or county type secret.

good luck!

 

[gwh97]

It's doable, but the quality has gone down drastically in the last couple of years. This is my 5th NM barbary (also my smallest lol) that I got last weekend. I wanted to test out a new load with the nosler ABLRs and decided not to pass the opportunity on this ewe. 3 of the 5 have been otc.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Garryett]

Definitely interested in this topic as well. Sounds like a tough hunt!

 

[FLAK]

They have been handing out a LOT of tags the past decade.
As if they want to eliminate them instead of treating them like a trophy sp. that they are IMO. At least you have a realistic chance of hunting them , unlike native Desert Sheep.
Another reason I look to TX. private land guided hunts.
The rams seem to be MUCH better quality there.

 

[Northpark]

Save your pennies and do your research and go to TX either guided or some outfitters offer a DIY trespass option though to be honest the DIY stuff isn’t much cheaper than guided. You can find excellent Aoudad (Barbary) hunts for between $3,000-$5,000 and the success rates will be high. Many hunts in TX you will work for it.
My Semi guided (Trespass fed hunt) TX ram.

 

[FlyGuy]

Save your pennies and do your research and go to TX either guided or some outfitters offer a DIY trespass option though to be honest the DIY stuff isn’t much cheaper than guided. You can find excellent Aoudad (Barbary) hunts for between $3,000-$5,000 and the success rates will be high. Many hunts in TX you will work for it.
My Semi guided (Trespass fed hunt) TX ram.
View attachment 221408

That’s a good looking Ram!


You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[FlyGuy]

I’m sure it’s not easy! I drew a Barbary tag for Late February and I’m excited to get after them DIY. I haven’t really done my e-scouting in earnest yet (1st elk, then an archery Nilgai tag in South TX in Dec, then I’ll focus on this one), but even with a drawn tag this is not going to be easy.

Everything I look at is large tracks of public but with no access from any public roads? It’s like they sold off every single thing that borders a road. Again, I haven’t put the time in yet, but this looks like it’s going to be a real challenge. I did drive through my unit(s) on the way home from my CO elk hunt a couple weeks ago. Already had all the glass in my truck so I figured I could scout some and did find a couple ewes & kids.

You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[jspradley]

The grounds around Carlsbad Caverns has some monster rams if you want to practice your stealth hunting skills...lol

 

[Zackw]

I’m a recent transplant to Oklahoma, and with all of the moving this fall, my hunting season has been ruined. An otc spring hunt looks awful temping.

 

[jonny5]

Save your pennies and do your research and go to TX either guided or some outfitters offer a DIY trespass option though to be honest the DIY stuff isn’t much cheaper than guided. You can find excellent Aoudad (Barbary) hunts for between $3,000-$5,000 and the success rates will be high. Many hunts in TX you will work for it.
My Semi guided (Trespass fed hunt) TX ram.
View attachment 221408

Sweet ram, Northpark! If you are open to sharing, shoot me a PM on who you hunted through. Would love to do a trespass style hunt early next year.

 

[clkress5]

Tough tough hunt. Been on it and seen some sheep but no shot opportunities. Make sure you're in great shape. Good luck!

 

[Deer hunter]

I am throwing around the idea of a diy Aoudad hunt in NM. What have been your experience with visual number of animals and quality? What are some better units?

Metzger let me tell you something brotha I asked for help on this forum for the same thing . I ran in to some people like everyone says they won’t give up any spot and some that just said you have to get out there and look I just wanted a general area . I also was told I need the biggest and best of optics . Yes I fairly good optics but I’m a strong believer On having really really good scope . You are going to shoot long range . if you are still interested in it for this upcoming hunting season pm me I’ll give you some pointers . We are suppose to be here to help our fellow hunters . If we can’t stand together here as a big family Then why put in your 2 sense . I’ll give you a hand

 

[Nickofthewoods]

People helped me as well a few years ago on this topic. PM's work better. I wasn't asking for where people hunt though, mostly tips and tactics which was very valuable to me.

I'll draw a comparison of OTC Barbary Sheep to OTC Elk in Colorado. I feel like I can go to any unit in Colorado and have a good chance at finding and seeing Elk, even if I have never stepped foot in the area before. Not so from my experience hunting these Sheep. Just because a unit is listed as OTC for Barbary Sheep doesn't mean they are there, or enough of them there to make the hunt more than a needle in a haystack search. I spoke with a NM Game and Fish Employee about some of the more obscure units listed and his response was something like "Young Males will sometimes wander over a hundred miles and so it's an opportunity hunt". I'll translate the rest of that conversation to this;

Say you are hunting Elk, Mule Deer, or Pronghorn in NM and you happen to see a Barbary Sheep and you have a tag, so there's the opportunity. Kinda like in Colorado where people can pick up bear tags that run concurrent to their late rifle Elk and Deer seasons. You aren't really hunting for bears but should you happen to see one then you can be an opportunist.

Hope that info helps In some way. In general, the farther south you go the better your odds at seeing some Sheep.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

A few guys had a great write up of an otc hunt in NM back....heck it must have been like 5 years ago now. I remember it being a great read. You should look for that thread.