Shooting and shot placement

Every hunter I have had in camp over the years has mentioned to me that they would love to be able to shoot prone, off their backpack, and on a sturdy surface. In a perfect world, I would really enjoy having that opportunity! But, as much as I would like that, it just isn’t always feasible. Months before coming on a sheep hunt, I recommend that clients practice shooting at the range on a set of three-legged shooting sticks. Ideally shooting 100-200 yards in three positions; standing, kneeling, and sitting. Being able to do this and having some practice will help if you in the event you get into a situation such as having a shooter ram 150 yards away staring at you and can’t get prone on the side of the mountain to take a shot. Regarding shot placement, I always recommend shooting these big burley rams square in the shoulder. Breaking down that impact shoulder with a solid bullet ensures that animal to not run up the mountain and makes it a heck of a lot easier to get a follow up shot in if needed. Also, a .300 paired with a 180 grain Nosler or Barnes bullet is my favorite Aoudad rifle/bullet combo. NO BALLISTIC TIPS. I have seen way too many rams wounded with ballistic tips.

Being in the elements

Aoudad hunting in the mountains can be a physical and mental challenge, and being in the desert elements elevates that. Always keep five to six bottles of water in your day pack if possible. The last thing you want happen is to be on a stalk and you run out of water and get dehydrated. The desert will take the moisture out of you very quickly, so be sure to keep hydrated. Also, sunscreen and chapstick will be your best friends on a sheep hunt, you’ll thank me later. Lastly, a good pair of well fitted hiking boots and trekking poles go a long way. Take care of your feet and knees, we only have two of each and no one likes to have blisters on their feet from poorly fitted boots.

Judging rams in the field

I’m sure if you asked one hundred different people on how to judge an Aoudad you would get two hundred different responses. The main thing I look for when judging Aoudad rams is overall body size and their chap hair quality and or length. Typically, we are looking at sheep over a thousand yards away through spotting scopes and there are at times several hundred sheep in a group. So, scoping out each individual sheep can be difficult and time consuming. I like to start off looking at the rams that have the biggest overall body size, then look at their chaps. Nine times out of ten, if a ram has a big body and has great chaps, he is worth looking at closer. When judging a ram’s horns, always judge the mass first. A young ram with little mass will sometimes appears long, until you walk up to it. Look for mass to stay relatively thick all the way throughout the horns to the tips. You will see a lot of older rams with broomed off or tipped horns as well. Younger rams will have mass that dwindles past the first quarter of their horn length. Another decent rule of thumb that has worked for me on judging if a ram is 30” or better is if their horn tips begin turning parallel with the ground, that’s a good indication he is right at 30”. If the ram is well past the parallel mark, get the gun out!

I hope these few tips and tricks help you in the field on your next Aoudad adventure and remember to always keep the sun at your back and the wind in your face.

By:

Calan J. Ahrens General Manager/CEO Ahrens Ranch & Wildlife, LLC.

Ahrens Ranch & Wildlife, LLC. operates on over 600,000 acres of Texas servicing landowners and hunters needs from exotic game capture/ management/sales, ranch/wildlife consulting, professional hunting, and much more.

www.ahrensranchandwildlife.com