Drawn for Palo Duro Canyon Aoudad

Looking for tips from anyone who has hinter for aoudad in this park or at least this terrain. I've basically be advised to find the highest spot and start glassing

Thanks

Hunted the Feb 8-10, 2012 drawn hunt with my partner. Great hunt and we saw quite a few aoudad and some big pigs. You could probably do a search on Google and find my old thread for some more info. We drove around the Park the day before to see what the country and canyon looked like. Went up to the lake and the North side of the area and saw a bunch on private land anytime you found rocky points. Very rough country and tough hiking. We had the farthest unit away (5), and He killed 3 of them and I missed a monster ram on the last day. There were a couple others killed that hunt. Couldn't bait at the time, and we didn't care that much about hogs anyway. The area was divided into 5 compartments, with 1 and 2 being the easiest to get to up top from the office area. 3,4, and 5 were down in the canyon and required about a 1-3 mile walk down the old road bed, and climb over a big slide area. The canyon has about an 800-1000 foot elevation change and is a tough climb back out at the end of the day. Two of the hunters in unit 3 quit after the first day! I believe they make you hunt in pairs now, because of the rough country. I would take about 10-15# of corn down with me the first trip and broadcast it far and wide if you just wanted to bust some huge hogs in those draws and brushy flats. You can glass a lot of them (aoudad) from the bottom, but then it is tough to get up on them. Better to get up high and glass and have good binoculars and a spotter. Pack plenty of warm clothes if it turns cold while you are sitting for long periods. If you can find a good vantage with 200-400 yard shots, set up a shooting rest and watch; they will move most of the day and you might get them to walk to you. There are a few nice ones killed every hunt (28+" rams), and sometimes they are close to the flat tops and easy to get on.

Good luck and be careful. There are some nasty washout holes in that country you could break a leg in.

great write up thanks Blank

Congrats on the draw! That one is at the top of my wish list.

Just looked at the hunt brochure in the catalog, and it has been updated to accurately reflect how hard this hunt is physically. The comment about allowing overnight camping intrigues me. If I were lucky enough to do it again, I would be trophy hunting seriously and I would take a bivy sack and sleeping bag to spend the night in order to avoid one or two of the walks back up the hill to the top. We stayed right there in Canyon at the Best Western, and even tho it is pretty close it was still driving in the dark both ways and made for short sleeps.

Good luck. Been trying to get drawn there for over a decade now. One day all those loyalty points will pay off

Thanks for the help everyone

Hunted last yr. If you don't own a spotter, buy, borrow, or rent one. Glass from the highest point you can. Prepare to hike rough country.

For those that bust their [censored] and hike, the sheep are there. For those that are lazy, you won't have much fun.

The state parks guy said he was pushing for overnight camping. That wouldve saved us about 3 miles a day just to get into out compartment. I live in WY (from texas) and backpack hunt regularly here, it wouldve made the hunt 5 times easier.

Hey BCJ... You'll drive right through the ranch I managed to get to that hunt. Congrats on the draw! Send me your contact info via PM. If I'm in town that weekend you'll have to stop in to get warm and grab a cup of coffee.

Thanks, I sent you a Pm

Hey BCJ,

I also drew a tag this year at Palo Duro. I live just down the road from there about 100 miles and have hunted Caprock Canyons for several years for Aoudad. I look forward to the hunt. I can tell you from experience and agree with the others about glassing. Go early, find a high spot and glass.. lots of glass.. The last couple of years we have averaged 12-15 miles per day. It's hell for hunting but even more rewarding.