USA: West Texas Aoudad, February 2026

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Aoudad has been on my bucket list for several years. I, along with two friends, booked this hunt with Wildlife System about a year ago. What made this hunt especially nice was that it didn’t require getting on a plane. Although, it did remind me how big Texas is. I drove five hours to the Austin area and then another three hours to spend the night in Sonora. The next morning we drove another three hours to near Marathon. We started the first hunt the afternoon we arrived and were scheduled for three more days after that.

The three of us were all hunting one on one. We’d all be hunting different ranches too.

One of my buddies scored first, taking an impressive 31 inch aoudad, on the first afternoon. The next morning, I connected on one really nice ram that measured 32-1/8”. I had a 240 yard shot and dropped it with my 7mm REM Mag with a 175 gr Trophy Bonded Bear claw bullet. The last guy got his aoudad later in the day, a 30 inches. Three hunters, three aoudad in a day and a half. All in all, a great hunt.

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Congrats! It's an interesting hunt for sure. Some are very very tough and there can be a lot of glassing and climbing to get shots. I've only done it once but it was memorable for sure.

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Congrats, great animals! I really enjoyed my hunt, definitely want to go do that again.
 
Congratulations, beautiful Rams!, That’s one of my favorite hunts, will do it again soon
 
Beautiful ram. Sounds like a great hunt with some good trophies.
Bruce
 
Congrats, nice ram !
 
I am jealous-I’ll get there “someday.” Love your caliber and bullet combination!
 
Those are nice rams. I killed one out there near Fort Stockton on a 500,000 acre place in February of 2020.

Saw nothing close to as nice a ram as yours is.
 
Waidmannsheil! Great trophies
 
I am jealous-I’ll get there “someday.” Love your caliber and bullet combination!

My guide hated the 7mm mag! I brought my 338 WM as a back up rifle and he really preferred I use it. I declined because I have a 3-10 power scope on the 7mm and a 1-6 power scope on the 338. We were told to be prepared to shoot out to 400 yards, so I wanted the 10x available. According to the guide, a very experienced guy, aoudad are super tough and a 300 WM or bigger was his preference. The outfitter's website says 270 or larger.

I had a lot of trouble getting on the right animal, as aoudad rams herd up and there were 15-20 on the mountain side. The sun had just come up, over the ridgeline, and I was looking almost straight into it. Fortunately, the aoudad didn't move and after finding the right one, I got comfortable on the sticks and fired. The guide almost immediately said, "Great shot, you dropped it in its tracks!" I turned to him and said something along the lines of the 7mm mag, in the right hands, is a killing machine. :)
 
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I recovered the 175 gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, just under the skin of the aoudad. The aoudad is the first animal I have taken with the TBBC bullet. I weighed it on my powder scale and it was 155.2 gr. That’s 88.7% retained weight.
 
My guide hated the 7mm mag! I brought my 338 WM as a back up rifle and he really preferred I use it. I declined because I have a 3-10 power scope on the 7mm and a 1-6 power scope on the 338. We were told to be prepared to shoot out to 400 yards, so I wanted the 10x available. According to the guide, a very experienced guy, aoudad are super tough and a 300 WM or bigger was his preference. The outfitter's website says 270 or larger.

I had a lot of trouble getting on the right animal, as aoudad rams herd up and there were 15-20 on the mountain side. The sun had just come up, over the ridgeline, and I was looking almost straight into it. Fortunately, the aoudad didn't move and after finding the right one, I got comfortable on the sticks and fired. The guide almost immediately said, "Great shot, you dropped it in its tracks!" I turned to him and said something along the lines of the 7mm mag, in the right hands, is a killing machine. :)
I think people hit them badly.

I dumped mine in his tracks with a 150 grain Barnes X at 300 yards. I was on a big Mesa and he was off the side of it near a water tank.
 
I think people hit them badly.

I dumped mine in his tracks with a 150 grain Barnes X at 300 yards. I was on a big Mesa and he was off the side of it near a water tank.
Guide works for wildlife systems so I’m not surprised he was very pro .300wm
 
If anyone from outside of Texas is considering this type of hunt, I'll give you a little travel advice. Texas is BIG! I live in Shreveport, LA and it's 20 miles to the Texas state line. It was 690 miles from my house to the ranch near Marathon, TX.

If you were to fly, probably Midland or El Paso are the best options, then rent a car and you'll have a 3 hour drive. Wildlife Systems offers hunts in the Balmorhea and Marathon areas.

I found out that aoudad meat is not good and typically not processed. My guide told me even the birds and coyotes hardly touch it. Not sure why.

My home is at 200 feet above sea level. The hunting around Marathon is 4500 to 5000 feet. Even though I am in good shape and exercise a lot, I felt bad the first couple days. Thought I was getting sick, but I think it was the altitude.

We were located on the A. S. Gage Ranch and it has an interesting history. Something I found particularly interesting is one of the granddaughters of A.S. Gage is a lady named Joan Negley Kelleher. She was the wife of Herb Kelleher, the guy that started Southwest Airlines. I wish SWA would have flown to Marathon or even Alpine!


https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/a-s-gage-ranches

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I shot mine about 5-10 miles SW of you on Baracho Peak Ranch.
 
The terrain there is certainly very interesting and the variety of wildlife supporting is pretty amazing.
 
I saw red sheep, mule deer, elk, aoudad, javelina, and pronghorns. Plus predators. Was quite a trip.
 
The terrain there is certainly very interesting and the variety of wildlife supporting is pretty amazing.

When people go to Namibia, a common comment is, "Looks like West Texas." It's true! West Texas looks a lot like Namibia, too.

This is the view from the front porch of the guest house on the ranch.
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Lovely animals. I’m doing a Sheep and Hartman’s Zebra hunt in the Asbestos Mountains in three months. Reading this post really kept the embers hot.

Thank you for sharing.
 

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