In 2015, my friend, Gary, drew a California bighorn sheep tag in my home state of Oregon. Gary invited me along on this hunt, and I was instantly addicted to sheep hunting. In Oregon, the drawing of a bighorn sheep tag is once-in-a-lifetime. I had been trying to draw my own tag in Oregon since 1973, 44 years. Like many others, I also apply for tags in other states, but again, I have been unsuccessful in drawing a sheep tag.
In 2016, I attended Gunwerks Long-Range University, a shooting school on the Ensign Ranch in Utah. After our second day of shooting, the ranch asked if anyone would like to pursue Mouflon sheep on the ranch. At the time, my work commitments did not allow for the hunt, so I returned to Oregon. After several months of thinking about the Mouflon hunt, I contacted Tanner with Western Lands and asked him if I could book a hunt for a Mouflon ram. Gary also wanted to hunt these sheep.
In May of 2017, we met Tanner at the Ensign Ranch for our sheep hunt. Gary and I both took excellent rams. Talking with Tanner, he mentioned that if I enjoyed sheep hunting I should consider a hunt for aoudad in West Texas. We continued to talk over the next several weeks, and the more I heard about aoudad hunting, the more I wanted to go. Tanner put me in touch with Zack Shrum from Pursuit Driven Guiding. Zack guides for aoudads in the Chinati Mountains and the foothills outside of Marfa, Texas. After talking with Zack, I booked a five-day hunt starting December 28, 2017.
I met Zack on December 27th at the entrance to the ranch we would be staying on. We drove a short distance to the ranch we would be hunting, and while I checked my rifle after its plane flight, Zack went glassing for sheep. For this hunt, I brought my new Gunwerks LR1000 rifle chambered in 28 Nosler. The rifle is pushing a 180 grain Berger Hybrid, at 3115 feet per second. I topped this rifle with a Nightforce ATACR F1 5-25x56 with a custom turret. I decided on this hunt to bring my Swarvoski 15x56 SLCs. The increased magnification over my 10x42 ELs would help me pick out this sheep in the vast landscape. Aoudad blend exceptionally well into the terrain of west Texas, making them difficult to spot. Zack devised a plan for the morning to get high and glass down for sheep.
The morning of the 28th, we drove onto the ranch and parked. I followed Zack up the hill and settled in to glass the surrounding hills. After a few minutes, I heard Zack say the words I had waited to hear for so many years, “I got sheep.” After taking a few moments to point out the sheep to me, it was determined it was a group of ewes and lambs. We spent the remainder of the morning glassing up other groups of sheep. However, we could only come up with ewes and lambs. Zack decided to move low onto the ranch and glass up into the hills, giving us a different angle. Again, after glassing from the bottom, we only came up with groups of ewes and lambs. We needed to find the bachelor groups of rams we knew were on the ranch. The plan for the following day was to move into the interior of the ranch, glassing for these bachelor groups.
The next morning at sunrise found Zack and me splitting up and glassing the interior hills of the ranch from different angles. We figured splitting up would double our chances of finding rams. After hours of glassing, we could not find any rams, just ewes and lambs. Zack decided to drive to Presidio to get fuel and, on the way, contact the ranch manager. During this conversation, the ranch manager, Ben, said he was seeing rams on the adjoining ranch. He agreed to meet us and show us where he had been seeing rams.
At 2:00 p.m., we met Ben and he drove us onto the adjoining ranch in his four-seater Polaris Ranger. After a short drive, we stopped to glass. I spotted sheep well over a mile away toward the top of a distant mountain. We moved closer, staying out of sight, and Zack looked them over with his Swarovski spotter. He determined that the ram in this group was not mature enough to pursue. Ben suggested we drive in the Ranger closer to the sheep to get a better look at the entire mountain. Ben said he drives the Ranger while working the cattle and the sheep are used to seeing him. We moved up to within a thousand yards of the sheep and spotted several other groups of sheep on the mountainside. Many were small rams, ewes, and lambs, but Zack spotted several rams lying down on the right side of the mountain. Zack said a couple of these rams were promising, we simply needed to wait for them to stand so we could judge their age. After nearly an hour of waiting, the two mature rams finally stood and showed that they were the age class of rams we were looking for. Zack believed we could use a fold in the land to move within 400 yards of them. Zack and I gathered our gear and began the stalk.
The first 200 yards were easy, moving out of sight of the rams. However, the fold was not as deep as we thought, and even though the rams could not see us, the other groups of sheep on the mountain could. We needed to move carefully between pieces of cover to get into position. It was difficult staying low or crawling on the rocky ground covered in cactus. We finally worked ourselves within 450 yards of the rams and could not get any closer without risking being spotted. I set up for the shot, lying prone in the rocks and cactus, not the most comfortable setup. Once we were set up we realized, we were looking directly into the setting sun. I could not see through my scope, so we would have to wait until the sun dipped below the mountain. Zack and I lay there, waiting for the sun to set for about 25 minutes, trying to stay as comfortable as possible. During this time, I reflected on my long-range shooting training and concentrating on making a good shot when it presented itself.
Finally, the sun went behind the mountain and it was time to find our ram. While waiting for the sun to dip below the mountain, the rams had joined up with the other sheep. Now the two mature rams were with approximately 40 other sheep. Zack did an excellent job communicating the position of the two mature rams, helping me keep track of them in my scope. Zack wanted one last good look at both rams to confirm their age and maturity. Once confirmed, I knew it was now up to me to do my job. Eventually, the two rams stood together, one above the other. Zack aged both rams at 10 years old. I asked Zack which of the two he would take. He said the ram on top, so I settled in at 457 yards, let my training take over, took a breath, held it, and lightly squeezed the trigger. I pulled the shot slightly, the 180 grain bullet hitting the ram just forward of the shoulder. Zack watched him as he moved to the left, stopping below a rimrock formation. With Zack’s instructions, I found the ram standing under the rimrock. As I looked at him through my scope, I could see he was hurt, but I decided to follow up my first shot. The ram was now 475 yards away at the same extreme uphill angle. I settled behind his shoulder and squeezed off another round, hitting him perfectly, taking out the ram’s heart and lower lungs. I watched my ram tip over in the scope.
Walking up to the ram, I was elated and a real feeling of accomplishment fell over me. I felt like I earned this ram. These sheep are very well adapted to this country, they see very well, climb very well, and blend in extremely well into their environment. I cannot tell you the admiration I have for these sheep. They are well suited to the mountains of west Texas.
The ram was exactly what I wanted when I came to west Texas; he was old, broomed back to just under 30", and carried the scars of age from the inhospitable land they live in and the fights with other rams to pass on his genes. He was everything I wanted in “My” sheep hunt. The hike down the mountain in the fading light was an adventure of its own, but Zack and I made it back down to Ben, waiting at the Ranger with my ram. If you are like me and can’t seem to draw a bighorn sheep tag, come to west Texas and hunt these Aoudad rams. You will not be disappointed. When you come, be prepared for a “real” sheep hunt.
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