This has been 7 years in the making.
I first hunted some West Texas aoudad country in Terrell County about 7 years ago. It was the first time I really started to learn about aoudad. I thought it would be pretty cool to kill one, but figured my chances were slim. Just one of those things I would always dream about, right?
I wound up getting on a deer lease in Val Verde County the next year, and I’ve been hunting/working/managing/feeding there for 6 years now. We were told there were some aoudad on the place, and we got a few pictures of them sporadically at feeders in the beginning but we rarely laid eyes on them, and most of the lease members NEVER saw them.
We have fed more and more protein every year and the big Rams have grown accustomed to it. They have become protein hogs, and after a few years I learned they camp out on the protein feeders and live on our place all spring. I hardly ever got a chance to really hunt for them because I was always working on feed pens or filling feeders, etc...
I killed a couple decent rams and European mounted them, but I have really been wanting a 30+ inch ram to do a half life-size mount.
I personally had a handful of sightings of big mature rams, but was never able to make it happen. I knew we had quite a few of them based on trail cam photos.
The stars aligned and I was able to bring one to camp on Sunday evening. I had almost begun to think I was cursed and it was never going to happen.
I put a second bullet in him and watched him go down in the skyline about 200 yards to the West of me, with the Sun setting behind him. It was almost like it wasn’t real life.
Moments like that happen so fast and I remember them so vividly that it is unreal. I’ve had a handful of experiences during my hunting career that I can remember like they just happened. This will be one of those that I never forget.
I was by myself, and couldn’t get my Ranger to the spot he went down in. I ran out of daylight and had to finish caping and packing him out on the dark without a flashlight. I used the selfie cam and timer on my phone to get a few pictures before I lost daylight.
He lived his entire life in a rough, rugged country that was just as wild as he was. No fence ever turned him. He is a true free-range DIY West Texas trophy aoudad.
I first hunted some West Texas aoudad country in Terrell County about 7 years ago. It was the first time I really started to learn about aoudad. I thought it would be pretty cool to kill one, but figured my chances were slim. Just one of those things I would always dream about, right?
I wound up getting on a deer lease in Val Verde County the next year, and I’ve been hunting/working/managing/feeding there for 6 years now. We were told there were some aoudad on the place, and we got a few pictures of them sporadically at feeders in the beginning but we rarely laid eyes on them, and most of the lease members NEVER saw them.
We have fed more and more protein every year and the big Rams have grown accustomed to it. They have become protein hogs, and after a few years I learned they camp out on the protein feeders and live on our place all spring. I hardly ever got a chance to really hunt for them because I was always working on feed pens or filling feeders, etc...
I killed a couple decent rams and European mounted them, but I have really been wanting a 30+ inch ram to do a half life-size mount.
I personally had a handful of sightings of big mature rams, but was never able to make it happen. I knew we had quite a few of them based on trail cam photos.
The stars aligned and I was able to bring one to camp on Sunday evening. I had almost begun to think I was cursed and it was never going to happen.
I put a second bullet in him and watched him go down in the skyline about 200 yards to the West of me, with the Sun setting behind him. It was almost like it wasn’t real life.
Moments like that happen so fast and I remember them so vividly that it is unreal. I’ve had a handful of experiences during my hunting career that I can remember like they just happened. This will be one of those that I never forget.
I was by myself, and couldn’t get my Ranger to the spot he went down in. I ran out of daylight and had to finish caping and packing him out on the dark without a flashlight. I used the selfie cam and timer on my phone to get a few pictures before I lost daylight.
He lived his entire life in a rough, rugged country that was just as wild as he was. No fence ever turned him. He is a true free-range DIY West Texas trophy aoudad.
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