Got draw for Devil's river 23-26 Jan any information on how to hunt it would be greatly helpful. Thanks

Went out there on a archery hunt last year. I missed a aoudad but shot a mix/cross sheep of some kind. Nobody could figure out what it was.
A good pair of bino's is what you will need. Either glass from the bottom, or climb to the top and glass the bottom. But all the goats are usually on top or somewhere along the edges, just below the top of the ridges. Locate the animals and make your move according to the wind. Take everything you will need. It takes an hour and half just to get to town, one way!!!

We put in for youth at devils river again. Be the last time we can apply so maybe we will get lucky.

Congrats! Looks like a great hunt. We are pending second draw.

Do you think you can do this hunt with a muzzle loader out to say 100 yds. I have read this going to be a tough hunt. I hunted at black gap archery mule deer 3 -4 years ago and that was a tough fun hunt

My father and I got drawn for the exotics hunt at DRNA a couple of years ago. One of the best hunting experiences I've had here in Texas.

Yes you could do this hunt with a muzzleloader. I shot an Aoudad at less than 40 yards, and could have taken a nice Corsican sheep at far less than that. However most of the shots are going to be like 250+ yards, so taking a frontloader is going to really limit you.

This place is remote, so you have to bring everything you need with you. Forget something and its well over an hour to Del Rio to get a replacement. There are no hotels nearby so you have to stay on site. We stayed in the bunkhouse, did all our cooking in the camp kitchen next door. IMHO this is better than camping out as it saves time and you don’t need to haul in extra gear. The bunkhouse fills up fast, so you might want to call them now and see if you can get a reservation.

They assign you a section based on what type of vehicle you drive and your physical condition. Those of us with yuppie SUV’s got the easier terrain, the guys with beat up Jeeps and trucks got the hardest stuff. My 4Runner would have been fine on far worse terrain.

There were maybe 12 hunters that weekend and 4 of us got animals. One couple got seven Aoudad. They had also done their homework, spending two weekends before the hunt scouting the area and really knew where they wanted to be (and had an old Wrangler). There seemed to be a direct correlation between the effort put in, willingness to hike the hills, and success rates.

The hunting itself was rough. We basically went up one hill (mountain if you prefer), walked the top, glassed everywhere, went down, and started up the next hill. Did this all day long. Grades are steep (I would bring a rope to assist on some of the downhill’s), there’s lots of loose rock, they are covered in vegetation, and everything has some kind of thorn to stick you with. We had some hunters who quit after the first day because they weren’t physically prepared for the hunt. That said, I’m middle aged and not in great shape, my father was 69, and we did fine.

Call the rangers with any questions you may have. They don’t get many visitors and really like to talk when someone expresses an interest. And they want you to succeed as they really want all animals that aren’t native to the area gone.

PM me with any particular questions you may have, and I will try to answer them. Or I’d be happy to talk about my experience over the phone.

Good luck and have fun.

Should be a fun hunt.

It can get tough. If you walk to the top of a ridge, go slow and take your time. Those goats and sheep can pop out of nowhere in no time at all. Where I hunted, looking up looked tough, but once I started up, it really wasn't bad at all. A lot of those rocks are like stepping steps. A muzzle loader will do if you can close the distance. I had 3 aoudads come in on me at 70 yds. I closed the distance to 21 yds and my arrow clipped a cactus, causing a miss. Then, while playing cat and mouse with those for another chance, I walked up on this nanny sheep at 32 yds and drilled her. After gutting her, it was a CHORE dragging her back to the truck. It would pay to take a back pack with everything you would need and just quarter it out there and pack the meat out. I hunted section #3. Another guy was in 6 & 7, or 7 & 8, can't remember which, but he was covered up with animals. He killed a Corsican ram but got shots at other goats everyday.

Awesome! How many points did you have?

I had 15 points and the other guys had 4 & 1 points each for a group average of 7.

Thanks for all the information. Keep it coming. I'm thinking of using my T/ C Scout w a scope I can group the shots at 3 inches at 100.

i got drawn for devils river as well this year. dad had 15 points and i had 8. cant' wait