NM Oryx down!

[Svashtar]

I got lucky enough to draw three tags in New Mexico this year and Oryx on McGregor training area was one of them. It was a two day hunt beginning January 11th. We spotted several Oryx on the first day. The first one was a shooter bull at 450 yards that spotted us as we spotted him and he didn't hang around long enough for us to get a good shot. The next bull was a small bull on the wrong side of the GMU fence. We spotted a herd of cows and calves in the creosote covered dunes in the evening that we made a move on, but decided against taking one.

Day 2 was a challenge. We decided to stay in the creosote dunes hopping from high point to high point looking for an oryx up and moving. We spotted my bull with the Meostar 15s from a mile away at 2:30 in the afternoon. The bull meandered through a creosote covered flat, feeding on the grassy undergrowth. We decided that we had enough daylight to make a move, so we loaded the gear and hit the heel toe express to the next high spot to keep eyes on him. We made it to the next dune several hundred yards closer and spotted him bedded in the brush. We then made our plan to cover the last few hundred yards and moved out.

There was a patch of tall yuccas a couple hundred yards from the bull. We knew if we could make it to the yuccas without getting spotted in the flat, we'd have a chance to shoot him.

The tall yuccas provided the necessary cover to stay hidden from his sharp eyes as we closed the distance. We watched the bull with increasing intensity as we inched forward. We were 300 yards from the bull without him knowing we were there, unfortunately the thick brush kept us from a clean shot. At this point, I dropped my pack to go in light. I reached my target yucca a few minutes later and spotted the bull. I struggled to get a range on him with all of the brush between us, but I finally got a 200 yard reading and waited for a clean shot. I put a 270 grain ELD-X through his shoulder as soon as he cleared the brush. The shot dropped him instantly. It was the only Oryx we saw all day and fortunately he stuck around long enough for us to put a long stalk on him over flat desert country.
View attachment 169229

Man, that's awesome, congratulations! That's one of my dream hunts right there. Beautiful animal. The only game I want more is a Kudu, and I'm fresh out of a disposable $30-40K to go to Africa, for this lifetime anyway. Nice job getting that guy!

 

[Svashtar]

It has been a great season!
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Awesome! Educate me, (dumb question): Is that a Desert Bighorn, or a Dall Ram? I know there's also the Stone Ram, and a Rocky Mountain Bighorn, but was under the mistaken impression (old info obviously!) that you couldn't hunt any of them any longer. (So no more Grand Slams). This Ram looks huge enough to be a Rocky Mountain Bighorn.

(The closest I've been to a Bighorn Sheep is the handles on several hunting knives.)

Thanks for any info!

This thread is depressing me...!

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

I got lucky enough to draw three tags in New Mexico this year and Oryx on McGregor training area was one of them. It was a two day hunt beginning January 11th. We spotted several Oryx on the first day. The first one was a shooter bull at 450 yards that spotted us as we spotted him and he didn't hang around long enough for us to get a good shot. The next bull was a small bull on the wrong side of the GMU fence. We spotted a herd of cows and calves in the creosote covered dunes in the evening that we made a move on, but decided against taking one.

Amazing to get to hunt an animal that beautiful in North America. Can non-residents of NM put in for the tags? I know NM is very protective of their resident hunters, and not very welcoming of non-residents for other species.

 

[brentc]

NR can apply. The tag allocation is 84% to residents, 10% to NR contracted with an outfitting service, and the remaining 6% goes to at large NR. The odds are steep , but you'll never get it if you don't apply.

 

[brentc]

Awesome! Educate me, (dumb question): Is that a Desert Bighorn, or a Dall Ram? I know there's also the Stone Ram, and a Rocky Mountain Bighorn, but was under the mistaken impression (old info obviously!) that you couldn't hunt any of them any longer. (So no more Grand Slams). This Ram looks huge enough to be a Rocky Mountain Bighorn.

(The closest I've been to a Bighorn Sheep is the handles on several hunting knives.)

Thanks for any info!

This thread is depressing me...!

It's a Barbary Sheep/Auodad. They are free ranging in New Mexico and Texas.

 

[mnoland30]

Oryx aren't that hard to put down if you put the bullet where they tell you to put it. Not behind the shoulder, but into the shoulder even with the racing stripe. Their hearts and lungs are behind the shoulder. A head on shot that would kill an elk or deer is a gut shot. I know a couple that tracked one 15 miles after a frontal shot. I love that NM rewards veterans with a special oryx hunt. One of the few things our state does well. The meat of an oryx is the best game meat I've ever eaten. I hope they continue to spread and flourish.

 

[Tomg]

Nice bull, that's a great hunt. I've been lucky enough to bag 5 of these beautiful animals off the range. Never been lucky enough to draw the once in a lifetime hunts on the range.

I'll keep trying!

 

[sturner]

Beautiful animal congrats

 

[Indypendent]

That's awesome man, congratulations. Great post.

I regret not doing that hunt when I was on active duty, I only learned of it after I retired.

 

[WildRose]

Congrats, that's a great hunt with an excellent outcome. Terrific bull!

 

[M T Roberts]

I got lucky enough to draw three tags in New Mexico this year and Oryx on McGregor training area was one of them. It was a two day hunt beginning January 11th. We spotted several Oryx on the first day. The first one was a shooter bull at 450 yards that spotted us as we spotted him and he didn't hang around long enough for us to get a good shot. The next bull was a small bull on the wrong side of the GMU fence. We spotted a herd of cows and calves in the creosote covered dunes in the evening that we made a move on, but decided against taking one.

Day 2 was a challenge. We decided to stay in the creosote dunes hopping from high point to high point looking for an oryx up and moving. We spotted my bull with the Meostar 15s from a mile away at 2:30 in the afternoon. The bull meandered through a creosote covered flat, feeding on the grassy undergrowth. We decided that we had enough daylight to make a move, so we loaded the gear and hit the heel toe express to the next high spot to keep eyes on him. We made it to the next dune several hundred yards closer and spotted him bedded in the brush. We then made our plan to cover the last few hundred yards and moved out.

There was a patch of tall yuccas a couple hundred yards from the bull. We knew if we could make it to the yuccas without getting spotted in the flat, we'd have a chance to shoot him.

The tall yuccas provided the necessary cover to stay hidden from his sharp eyes as we closed the distance. We watched the bull with increasing intensity as we inched forward. We were 300 yards from the bull without him knowing we were there, unfortunately the thick brush kept us from a clean shot. At this point, I dropped my pack to go in light. I reached my target yucca a few minutes later and spotted the bull. I struggled to get a range on him with all of the brush between us, but I finally got a 200 yard reading and waited for a clean shot. I put a 270 grain ELD-X through his shoulder as soon as he cleared the brush. The shot dropped him instantly. It was the only Oryx we saw all day and fortunately he stuck around long enough for us to put a long stalk on him over flat desert country.
View attachment 169229

Nice Bull! Congrats ...

 

[Tex LR]

Well done. Heck of an Oryx Bull. Enjoy the great meals to come!