Texas Public Land Aoudad

[tjr]

Well, I unexpectedly pulled an interesting tag: Aoudad in Caprock Canyons State Park in the Texas Panhandle, southeast of Amarillo.

As a NW guy who typically hunts ID, MT, and WA for elk, deer, and bear, this is wildly foreign to me. Seems like a tough hunt in really neat country. 6 tagholders get to hunt for 4 days in tens of thousands of acres of public land- in a part of Texas that looks a lot like southern Utah. Most of my hunting is in the jungles of N. Idaho with a bow, so my spotting scope hasn't seen action in years. Reckon I'll need to dust that off and reacquaint myself with sitting still and glassing.

Does anyone have experience hunting in this country? Did you see sheep? Looks like there are more mule deer permits/hunters than Aoudad, so I'd love to hear from those guys.

However it goes, I'll share my successes and failures here. Hopefully, future tagholders can benefit from any insight gained.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Be ready to glass and get a tripod if you don't have one. Some terrain they stand out in and other terrain they blend in notably. In the places their coloring blends in well very good/clear optics are useful. Strong optics save you walking (usually rougher terrain) if the country supports that kind of glassing.

 

[ACHILLES]

Well, I unexpectedly pulled an interesting tag: Aoudad in Caprock Canyons State Park in the Texas Panhandle, southeast of Amarillo.

As a NW guy who typically hunts ID, MT, and WA for elk, deer, and bear, this is wildly foreign to me. Seems like a tough hunt in really neat country. 6 tagholders get to hunt for 4 days in tens of thousands of acres of public land- in a part of Texas that looks a lot like southern Utah. Most of my hunting is in the jungles of N. Idaho with a bow, so my spotting scope hasn't seen action in years. Reckon I'll need to dust that off and reacquaint myself with sitting still and glassing.

Does anyone have experience hunting in this country? Did you see sheep? Looks like there are more mule deer permits/hunters than Aoudad, so I'd love to hear from those guys.

However it goes, I'll share my successes and failures here. Hopefully, future tagholders can benefit from any insight gained.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to that area. But I hunted mule deer in similar country last season not far from it in the Canadian breaks just north of Amarillo. Bring a spotter and some 12 or 15x binos. Your going to need them.

 

[wyosteve]

Agree- spotter and patience. They can be tough to see/find. I hunted that general area last spring for birds and its intriguing country. Good luck and have fun.

 

[atmat]

Very big country. You’ll absolutely want a tripod, good glass, and sunscreen.

 

[JGRaider]

I hunted very similar country for 16 years SW of there near Post and Fluvanna. You can be quite successful with 10x binos and a spotter, obviously a tripod is a huge advantage. I've driven through the CC State Park quite a few times including this past May, and often have to wait for aoudad to cross the road in front of you. Plenty of sheep there, lots of cover. Find a high spot and be patient and can't imagine not finding sheep. Good luck!

 

[Theringworm]

The ground and rocks in that state park and almost the exact same color as the aoudad are for the most part. Very reddish brown color to it. Excellent Glass will be to your advantage. Weather wise, prepare for anything, it can get down right nasty up in the panhandle depending on the time of year. If you don’t get a lot of replies on here I would chime in on The Texas Hunting forum. Might have more folks over there that have down that hunt. Looking forward to your hunt review. Good luck.

 

[tjr]

Thanks for the tips. I'll pin all the good viewsheds on the map and collect all my glassing gear. Looks like there are some really good master vantage locations.
I've been looking for an excuse to pick up one of those SIG stabilized spotters or stabilized binos. maybe I'll use this hunt as justification.

 

[tak]

Congrats!!! I have hunted nearby there and applied for that tag, but haven't hunted the park specifically. There are really good aoudad and mule deer though.

Make sure you have a good truck, roads are rough, even just getting to your compartment. Call the office, and they are generally helpful on these public hunts. Most all of these public hunts you have to check in and out daily, but on this one they will let you camp if you are in a remote area (at least that used to be in the description). Either way, take an inreach and let them know you'd like to camp. Seems way more efficient. Also take plenty of water. Also as others have mentioned, weather can be really bad that time of year - heavy wind/sleet/ice are possible.

I'm curious how many points you had.

Good luck and keep us updated.