Hunting Aoudad in El Paso: An Untapped Adventure

Hunting Aoudad in El Paso: An Untapped Adventure

Exploring the Hidden Hunting Opportunities in Your Backyard

You may not realize it, but there are substantial hunting opportunities right in your backyard! Nestled between the Franklin Mountains, Organ Mountains of New Mexico, and the Hueco Mountain range, Fort Bliss offers a unique hunting experience with thriving exotic species like the Aoudad, better known in the Southwest as the Aoudad Sheep. To hunt Aoudad sheep on Bliss you have to put in for a lottery, typically there are two lotteries, one in March and another in August. To hunt Aoudad on the Texas side of Fort Bliss you must enter a lottery which is run in August. The spring drawing that closes in March is for the New Mexico side and is run through the New Mexico Game and Fish Department.

Half of available tags for each species are awarded to active-duty military and half are awarded to civilian or youth entrants. Over the past three years of lotteries, there have been 300-400 military entrants each year and 800-900 civilian or youth entrants. Draw rates have varied due to the number of tags awarded each year. 

• Military Oryx draw rates: 1.74% - 2.08%

• Civilian/Youth Oryx draw rates: 0.66% - 1.05%

• Military Aoudad draw rates: 1.06% - 9.12%

• Civilian/Youth Aoudad draw rates: 0.56% - 3.30%

A Chance Encounter with an Aoudad

Veteran Chance Bailey was awarded a Aoudad sheep tag for the 2024 fall season and let me go along with him to document the experience. Chance, a seasoned hunter, approached the Aoudad Sheep hunt with an open mind, saying, "I’d be happy to just see one." His cousin Gary, an El Paso resident and fellow veteran, sparked his interest in the Aoudad Sheep lottery offered through bliss.isportsman.net. Among the two who applied, Chance was the only one awarded a tag.

From Combat to Conservation

Chance, who enlisted in the U.S. Army with aspirations of joining the Special Operations community, eventually became a Combat Engineer (MOS 12B). He deployed to Iraq during the Global War on Terrorism and, after four years of honorable service, transitioned to a career in the offshore oil and gas industry. This new career allowed him to balance family life and his passion for hunting, spending two weeks on a ship and two weeks off. This year chance thought this hunt fit perfectly into his fall hunting plans. First stop in El Paso hunt Aoudad sheep and pick up his cousin then head to Colorado to chase big bull elk with bow in hand.

Family Hunting Ties

Chance and Gary grew up hunting and fishing for small game, white-tail deer, and waterfowl in the eastern flatlands of Texas. Recent family losses, including Gary's father in a motorcycle accident, and Chance's father-in-law to Cancer had fragmented their family. Both men remembered the importance of family to their fathers and sought to reignite family connections through hunting experience. There was never a dull moment with these two on the mountain. Constant jabs were thrown at each other to keep the grueling mountain hunt lighthearted.

Nature's Healing Touch

Nature, as brutal as it can be, has a magnetic healing effect, drawing people during traumatic times. Whether spiritual, religious, or not, it's hard to deny the grounding benefits of nature. Escaping the comforts of home and the stresses of work for the outdoors provides healing and rewarding experiences.

Military members are often displaced to new duty stations around the world which make it challenging to locate recreating areas to escape to. With 1.2 million acres of land, Fort Bliss offers hunters, hikers, birders, horse riders, scouters, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts many opportunities. While the much of the land is often times reserved for training areas, people registered through bliss.iSporstman.net can check in to areas not being utilized by the military. The easiest way to see what land is available is to use the interactive map option when checking in.

The map shows the 1.2 million acres of Ft. Bliss owned land split up into different training area names. If anyone is in the military and familiar with Range Facility Management Support System RFMSS this interactive map is very similar to what the display looks like.  

Hueco Mountain Range

Properly caffeinated and filled with anticipation, we discussed a game plan as we entered the military land owned by Ft. Bliss. Headed towards .gps coordinates given to us from a hunter who had a successful Aoudad sheet harvest from the year past. We held onto our coffee cups to absorb the bumps and avoid spilling our energy sources. Bouncing around our seats, we followed our headlights and map coordinates to our spot. It was a good thing Chance had a high clearance 4x4 truck to absorb the washed-out roads or we might have had to park a lot further than we wanted to get up the mountain before sunrise.

The steep mountainous incline to our glassing location was a nice warm up and introduction to how this hunt was going to play out. To Chance, these mountains reminded him of going from Ft. Rucker Alabama, his duty station in the Army, with an elevation of under three hundred feet, to deploying to Iraq, which has mountains as high as nearly twelve thousand feet. Except, he only has three days to adapt to this elevation versus his nine-month deployment.

Even more like his military experience, we climbed to the mountain top with a ruck and weapon on Chance’s back. Gary took off at a pace that I could tell was only sustainable for a short distance. Chance and I took a more consistent pace and eventually caught up to him.

“Gary were you like the guy that during the two mile physical training test, sprinted the first part of the run then slowly crossed the finish line?” I asked.

“Yeah, that was me” “A mentor helped me pace myself later in the service to get my fastest time, but I obviously need to work on it still” Gary replied.

A Winter Hunt in Summer Heat

Typically, hunters chase Aoudad Sheep during the cooler winter months. However, Chance's hunt took place in the middle of breeding season when temperatures reached nearly triple digits by midday. These extreme conditions made it challenging to locate the crepuscular sheep, which seek cooler temperatures under yuccas or sagebrush during the day. Despite the heat, Chance saw this hunt to get into "Elk hunting shape" and to reconnect with Gary while exploring the Chihuahuan Desert.

On top of the mountain, we found most of the glassing spots did not offer a comfortable place to sit. Finding a place to sit without a cactus or plant that will poke you is darn near impossible. A small chair, pad, or extra item of clothing will help you sit longer when glassing on this hunt in the desert.

Not long after daybreak and the initial climb, we located a prospect. “Ohp, we’ve got one” Chance said pointing to where he was looking out his spotting scope.

“What I’d like to do is get over that knob, see if we can’t close the distance while having a good spot to glass” Chance said.  

The Southwestern Ecosystem: A Unique Outdoor Experience

Introduced in the 1950s, by ranchers to provide hunting opportunities, Aoudad have thrived in the West Texas region. Native to North Africa, Aoudad are classified as an exotic species by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). This classification allows hunters to harvest these animals with less regulations and at a substantially lower cost compared to other states offering Aoudad hunts. One main reason for the open bag limit and low cost for barbery sheep in most of West Texas, is because of the threat Aoudad sheep pose to their native cousins, the Desert Big Horn.

Aoudad not only compete for the same resources as the Desert BigHorn, but the exotic sheep has also been known to spread disease to the bighorn. With Desert BigHorn being reintroduced to the Franklin mountains in El Paso TX, the Ft. Bliss lottery hunts help the TPWD efforts to secure a safer space with less of a threat of disease transfer from aoudad.

With my camera on record, I followed closely behind Chance and Gary, documenting each step, with anticipation that we’ll see a sheep, once we get to the knob.

“I don’t see one, let’s move around this hill and keep looking” Chance said.

 Rocks crunching under our feet, we inch forward around a plateau. I’m stopped by Chance’s hand and I immediately hit the record button. “There’s one right there, it jumped out of a draw and is standing looking at us, don’t move” Chance whispered.

“197 yards”, Gary whispered as he pulled up his range finder. Slowly crossing his walking sticks into an x, Chance rested his Remington 30-06, loaded with a 150 grain bullet, on the sticks and took aim”

Locking my tripod down, I could see the sheep in my camera’s view finder and red record button on, in the top right of the screen. I was on her, just as Chance let out a round. She lifted her two legs up and kicked, a good sign she was hit. Running off the screen I hear Gary say, “She’s down”.

Shocked at how the event unfolded, I turn the camera toward the two Cousin’s laughing and fist bumping, amazed at what had happened. “I can’t believe that just happened” Gary said, “The final push” Chance responded.

With the temperatures reaching nearly one hundred degrees we all made quick work towards the downed animal, located her, spent little time reminiscing the situation and started to quarter the meat and pack it down the hill.  Each of us taking a turn with the meat pack on our backs we made it to the truck, checked in the animal with the iSporstman app and got the sheep on ice.

Chance and Gary got the meat to a shop, and I pulled up the footage of the big screen to properly reflect the great opportunity we were all able to experience and to relive the hunt. The next day Chance and Gary loaded up there truck with gear, also filled with confidence, they headed north to Colorado after Elk. When the Elk hunt is finished, Chance and Gary plan to pick up the meat and wall mount. Then, try Aoudad meat for the first time before heading back to the Oil Field. With many hunting stories to tell, Chance is looking forward to his next possibility to get out in the woods. Gary will most likely apply for the next lottery on Ft. Bliss. Gps coordinates saved, I too will put in and hope I am one of the two percent of active military members that gets a tag.  

A Thriving Exotic Species

The lottery system at Fort Bliss offers hunters a glimpse into high-elevation, spot-and-stalk western-style hunting at its finest. Despite the challenges, Chance successfully harvested an animal after climbing many mountains and battling the heat.

Camping Opportunities for Out-of-Staters

For out-of-state hunters, there are many camping opportunities at Hueco Tanks State Park. Also, you could check in to other training areas on Ft. Bliss that you are not hunting on to camp. You’ll just have to get familiar with the road system to navigate your way to the hunting spots.

The southwestern United States, particularly Fort Bliss, offers unique and affordable hunting opportunities for the adventurous hunter. Whether you're a local or willing to travel, the chance to hunt Aoudad amidst stunning desert landscapes is a rewarding experience. Disconnect from the daily grind and find solace in nature, while creating lasting memories with family and friends.

For more information go to bliss.isporstman.net