Last October, with COVID still not under control, I arranged for another S.W Texas hunt on OX Ranch with my favorite guide, Dylan. My primary quarry, once again, included the illusive Aoudad, a North African mountain sheep, and the Nubian Ibex, a rare goat that is highly prized and also found in North African mountain terrain. I decided to add a third full day to the hunt this year in the event that Aoudad and Ibex were difficult to locate, or bad weather hindered the hunt. I would have been happy with one animal but two in my freezer was the plan.
Day 1: The Mountain Aoudad
After dropping my COVID-free daughter off at the Airport and giving my wife a hug and a kiss (mandatory for hunters since the last Ice Age), I turned my Ford F-250 around and headed west for 2 ½ hours down I-90. The weather was dreadful. Drizzling rain, thick fog, and windy – this was not prime hunting weather. Luckily as I turned off the main road towards the ranch, the fog lifted, and it warmed up a bit.
I arrived early around 12:30 and quickly met up with my guide, Dylan. We immediately headed to the range so I could sight in my 300 win mag prior to lunch, easily hitting the 300-yard target, which is a requirement on Ox Ranch when going after sheep or goat. Then, after a wunderbar lunch consisting of a thick porkchop on a bed of wild rice, we were glassing for sheep by 13:45 along the rocky sides of tall West Texas Hills.
During our first 4 hours of glassing, we saw a lot of Aoudad groups, but they contained small rams. Around 17:45 we spotted 2 fairly good-sized rams on the side of a mountain about a mile away and jumped into the Jeep to get a closer look. The path to get a better view took us approximately 5 miles around a deep dry wash where we spotted a single Aoudad on the side of a mountain. It also looked like a shooter, but I still wanted to get a look at the other 2, so off we went. Once we got to within 700 yards, we stopped the Jeep behind some rocks and brush and walked very quietly to within 350 yards to check out the two rams. They were good rams, but not as good as the solitary one we passed on the way to view these, so we back tracked and luckily, he was still there, standing broadside at the top of a rocky hill at about 433 yards. It was nearly dark now as the sun had already crested the mountain, but the sheep was still visible. Once again, we stopped the jeep short behind a rocky hill and walked several hundred yards up the steep incline, creeping from one shrub to another so he would not spot us and run over the crest of the hill. Once in place, Dylan set up his shooting sticks and I positioned my rifle on them, a little worried as this was the first time, I would be shooting off sticks; also, I was breathing hard from the quick climb and had trouble keeping the cross hairs on the ram. I remove my hat as it was in the way, and Dylan told me to take my time, but we were nearly out of shooting light as the sun set behind the mountain 10 minutes ago. Dylan said the distance was 331 yards, so I set the ballistic turret and took the shot. I hit him in the back left leg, and he began limping up the hill not really knowing what happened. I took a second shot at 350 yards, but it went high, so I quickly reloaded and shot a third time at the same distance. This time we heard a sold report as the sheep went over the crest and we were out of light.
We got to the top of the hill where I thought the Aoudad crossed over at around 19:25, and it was very dark under the thick clouds that had moved in. I honestly did not think we would find the sheep and I would end up paying for a wounded Aoudad we couldn’t recover. Dylan had other ideas. He took his blood hound Ruger out of the Jeep and led him to where we thought I hit the sheep. Ruger is an amazing young dog. Less than a year old, he quietly sits in the back of the Jeep and waits patiently until he is needed. Immediately he picked up the scent and was released from his leash. Dylan had a GPS collar on him and said Ruger would not bark until he found the animal, then he pointed to a crevice between two hills about 100 yards away and said the sheep probably went to hide there. Within 5 minutes we heard the bark, and my heart jumped! Ruger had found the animal dead in the ravine Dylan pointed too earlier, surrounded by mesquite trees and prickly pear cactus. After viewing the Aoudad, we saw where my third shot entered the left cheek and exited the right shoulder traveling, the length of the body and through the lungs.
After dropping off the Aoudad, we had a late dinner consisting of an Eland cheeseburger, fries, and apple pie alamode. During dinner we recounted the days hunt, the stalk, shooting off sticks for the first time, and the first time I took a shot of 350 yards! We also talked about our hunt for Nubian Ibex the following day and the need to retrieve my hat which in the excitement of the hunt, was still on the hillside where I shot the Aoudad. The forecast was for heavy rain starting around 1000 hours, so we decided to be glassing by first light at 0715. Following dinner, I returned to my cabin, aptly named the Aoudad cabin, and called my wife to share in the excitement. My plan on smoking a victory cigar was thwarted due to cold, wind, rain, and exhaustion.
Day 2: Nubian Ibex Hunt
After getting up at 0545, I could not find a coffee maker that worked! The one located in my cabin leaked water as fast as you could pour it in, and the ranch’s public buildings’ coffee makers were out of service! If you know me, I need 2 gallons of coffee to get started in the morning! Returning to my cabin disappointed, I met Dylan at 0715. It was still rather dark as the weather looked ominous; thick dark clouds, drizzle, windy, and about 500, again not the best hunting weather, but for late January, what could you expect?
We headed to the back range of the 18,000-acre ranch known as the ‘Elk Pasture’. The Elk Pasture is located far from the lodge, has few roads or paths through it, consists of high rocky peaks and mesquite forests and difficult terrain. For these reasons, there were no other guides or hunters in this remote area, which was good for me! We immediately saw lots of animals on the move, to include groups of blue wildebeest, aoudad, and ibex. We spotted the ibex traveling with other goats to include a lot of Catalina, about 15 or 16 in the group. Every time we spotted them, from 900 – 1000 yards away on a mountain side, they would see us and move away. They were usually feeding or moving on the crest of a hill, 300 – 700 yards up at a steep angle. Once, at nearly 1500 yards, we saw two ibex rams fighting. They would rear up on their hind legs and lurch toward each other. It would take a couple of seconds before you would hear the impact. This was a sight I have only seen on the nature shows and I was happy I invested in a good pair of binoculars.
Soon after Dylan spotted a larger group of aoudads crossing a mountain side across from us, and one of them was a monster. He offered me the opportunity to bag another one, but I already had one in the cooler and really wanted an ibex. We continued to watch their movements until 0900 when we decided to have breakfast and discuss our plan of attack.
During our meal we decided the best course of action would be to return to Elk Pasture as that is the only location where the Ibex appear to be moving. If I did not shoot one today, we would try again tomorrow, and if not then, I would go after a black buck the following morning. I really did not want to shoot a black buck, although they are a beautiful animal and supposed to be quite tasty. Unfortunately, on OX ranch black bucks are numerous and appeared to be almost tame. I felt the hunt would not be sporting or satisfying like an aoudad or Ibex hunt.
Immediately after breakfast we headed back to our private hinting range, Elk Pasture. The weather report was not good. It called for dropping temperatures, heavy rain and wind, starting around 1400 hours. We glassed the high country from 1130 to 1400, spotting the ibex near the crest of a mountain that Dylan thought they would cross to feed. He gave me a choice; hike up the backside of the mountain and ambush them or keep glassing. I knew it was going to stretch my physical ability to the limit, but I chose hiking the mountain - I was going to be sore tomorrow, goat or no goat.
Dylan and Ruger took off ahead of me to scout as I hike at a much slower pace and did not want to hinder their scouting efforts. It was a very steep climb on loose rocks through thick brush with no defined paths, but after 1:20:53, I made it to the crest. I thought I heard Ruger barking, so I headed towards the sound coming from behind some mesquite trees and over larger rocks when suddenly I saw Dylan below me to my left with his hand behind his back signaling to stop. Turns out it was not Ruger I heard, but the Ibex grunting. I slowly moved behind Dylan who was not moving an inch, as he had eyes on the ibex which luckily were upwind. I had my gun and was not moving either – my adrenalin was pumping, and I was still breathing heavy from the climb. As we stood there, every goat, and ibex walked in single file out of the brush, turned right, and disappeared over the mountain crest. At no time did I have a shot! After the flock had passed, Dylan crept around the edge of the brush and saw the last one crossing over the crest. He surmised they would go about halfway down the slope, 300 or 400 yards, and start to feed or bed down as we have observed them doing for the last 2 days. We then crept up to the edge of a cliff face and found a place where I could lie down for a shot.
Best laid plans don’t always work. The flock was already over 400 yards away and were moving at a fast pace along the mountain crest. By the time I setup to take a shot, they were 550 yards away and still moving. We were not going to be able to keep up with them, so it was time to descend and try to head them off a few miles away. This effort was not a total loss, as we got a good view of the ibex as they passed close by us. There were three shooters in the group, a classic tan ibex with one large horn and the left one broken off about 9”. The largest was white with a good set of horns, and there was a black one also with a good set of horns, nice wool, and a slightly smaller body. If we ran into this group again, that would be my shooting priority.
If you could have seen how steep and difficult it was to climb to the top of this West Texas peak, you would understand why it was too hard to try and go down the same way we came up. We followed the well-worn path of the ibex along the crest and noticed it was a sheep and goat superhighway. There were sheep and goat scat; some old, some newer, and some still steaming in a pool of goat pee.
We followed the trail looking for a way down and saw an animal path that looked like it was heading toward the road where our Jeep was waiting for us. Taking one last glance at our missed opportunity we watched as the last of the flock walked over the crest of a distance hill about 3000 yards from our location – they were moving fast. I unchambered my gun and used it as a walking stick for the trip down.
I got skinned against rocks and bumped against trees for over an hour. I almost fell down a steep bank several times, grabbing tree limbs just in time to stop my fall. Dylan even caught me once to help balance me, but in the end, we made it, and only a half mile from the Jeep!
Once back on the road we drove around to the mountain where we thought the flock was heading, but only saw four Catalina sheep on the hillside. We glassed for a long time expecting the ibex and other goats to show up, but they never did leading us to think the group split up. These goats were approximately 900 yards away up a steep hill, so I was silently happy not to stalk them at this time as I was still recovering from the last stalk. It was nearing 1430 and we had to make the decision to halt and return to the lodge for lunch or keep hunting. The weather was turning for the worse, so I decided to skip lunch and keep hunting.
At about 1500 we spotted a group of mouflons with one big ram. I told Dylan if we could get close enough, I would like to try for the big ram, but they were never seen again. Soon after, while sitting still behind a rock formation, we saw a large group of wildebeest and about 5 large elk running from one mesquite forest across a clearing to another thick brushy area. There were no hunters within miles, and we never saw what spooked them, possibly a mountain lion.
As the cold rain started we continued to search for the ibex, glassing and re-glassing every mountain side and crest privately concerned I may have to hunt black buck after all. At 1545 it began to drizzle hard, was cooling down, and the wind was picking up. The thick clouds made it appear twilight was approaching – once again the weather was not in our favor. That is when Dylan said excitedly, “there they are!” The entire group that had passed by us earlier in the day was 653 yards away feeding on the side of a mountain, and only one was staring at us. Dylan slowly backed the Jeep behind a group of trees and rock formations, and like the aoudad stalk, we began moving slowly from one bush to another for about 350 yards. He setup the shooting sticks and I began looking through the scope to see my ibex. Now I was still recovering from a 2 ½ hour mountain hike and a vertical climb of 500 feet, so I was once again huffing and puffing. I never saw the tan ibex with the broken horn, so I focused on the large white one, the largest of the group. I tried to get the crosshairs on him, but he kept moving behind bushes. We had to move the sticks several time to get a clean shot. This whole time there was a Catalina ewe towards the bottom of the group staring intently at us. If she spooked, they would all bolt, and they were starting to move. I spotted the black one with the nice horns and beard below the white one heading behind a bush. I decided to take the shot before this opportunity evaporated, after all, we had a proven bloodhound with us in case the shot was not spot-on.
I quickly set my Sig Sauer ballistic turret to 280 yards, aimed for center mass, controlling my breathing the best I could, and took the shot off the sticks – only the second time I have done so. It was a solid hit. The ibex took several steps, turned around, and laid down. I quickly chambered a second round and watched as he rose and started to follow the others. I fired once more at his shoulder, and you could hear the impact. Dylan yelled, “he’s down, you killed it”. The first shot hit him center mass and the second shot was a heart shot entering the shoulder exiting the lower neck. I had my ibex!
I figured we were about 300 yards from the dead ibex, as the crow flies, and over 800 walking yards when I heard Dylan say, “there’s no road up there”. Oh, did I fail to mention that he fell where I shot him on a 350 incline? My first thought was, ‘oh shit’. Dylan went back to the Jeep to see how close he could get it while I started towards my prize. As I approached the base of the mountain, I lost site of the game behind the rock outcroppings. Furthermore, there were numerous ravines and cactus patches that guided me at times away from the ibex. Add that to the fact it was raining lightly, the loose rocks were extremely slippery, and I was looking down most of the time to keep from falling. So no surprise when I end up off course over a ¼ mile away. I heard Dylan yell, “over here” as he guided me to the kill site. It took me 30 minutes to cover the distance, but I did.
We were still up a mountain and far from the Jeep. Dylan knew I wanted a shoulder mount, so he planned on field dressing and caping it on the mountain so we (he) could carry it down, but first he pulled it down about 50’ to where I was able to get a picture with my trophy.
Following the pictures my 170lb guide said he would carry and drag the 220lb ibex down to the Jeep, and he did, and I was impressed! The climb down was steep, on loose shell rocks, and it began raining harder making it very slick.
I used Dylan’s shooting sticks as a walking stick and after 20 minutes made it to the jeep, cold, wet, hungry, and very happy! In fact, we were both ecstatic and he congratulated me on the fine shooting, which was fine if I say so myself. Dylan also liked the fact I wanted a spot and stalk hunt in this area. Most just want to shoot an animal and are not keen on hiking long distances or climbing up rock faces to get a shot, but that is just what made this hunt so spectacular - in my wildest dreams, I did not expect this hunt would be so rewarding!
On the way back to the lodge to drop off the ibex at the skinners, we were amazed at all the animals moving in the Elk Pasture. Mouflon, aoudad, nigel, ibex, elk, and hogs. They were moving all day as if something were pushing them. We were also amazed that no other guides or hunters were hunting this location? It turned out to be a private hunting ranch for me. We arrived back at our cabins at around 1830, prior to dinner, so we could wash off the blood and generally cleanup. It was 200 cooler, raining hard, and the wind was strong. The weather held out for me to bag my two primary animals and I could not be happier. Now for a 20oz ribeye.
Day 3: Retrieving the Hat and the Rhinoceros
I decided to leave a day early as I had bagged my two animals and the weather was not pleasant. So, I packed all my gear and met Dylan for breakfast to discuss retrieving my hat from the first aoudad hunt. I was not sure if we could find it as it rained over 3 inches that night with gusts of wind over 20 knots. After a leisurely breakfast where we had engaging conversations with the camp cook, who hailed from San Antonio, and a young guitar-playing guide, Cory, we jumped in the Jeep and headed to the site where I shot the aoudad.
Why so worried about a hat? This one has special meaning. I obtained it in Laos in 2007 working with the Thai and Laos governments to curb human trafficking. It was a simple black jungle hat with a golden triangle emblem on the front. I could not believe I threw it off to take the shot and forgot about it. Well, believe it or not, Dylan recreated our stalk of the aoudad and led us right to the hat! We even found the shell casings from the hunt. Following our success, we headed back to the lodge, stopping by the Rhinoceros pin to view OX Ranch’s latest additions.
Two large, young Rhinoceros, one male and one female – the beginning of a conservation breeding program. I was then given a tour of their WWII Tank Museum, with live firing tanks, machine guns, and mortars. It was impressive, but I would have to wait until a future trip to play with these big toys, so we returned to the Lodge, shook hands, and I departed for San Antonio.
Fine additions to my trophy wall!
Sheep and Goats: Another OX Ranch Hunt
As you know from previous blogs, an African safari for classic African antelope with a real PH and native guides is at the top of my bucket list, but due to a lack of time, I instead headed to S.W. Texas in January 2020 for an Aoudad hunt that turned into an Oryx hunt. I had the time of my life but saw the need for becoming a better marksman when hunting game that likes the mountains of West Texas. So, I added a ballistic turret to my Sig Saur Tang04 scope and qualified at the local 300-yard range with a grouping I could live with.
