I've hunted PC and shot aoudad. I'd take the 300 if for no other reason, in that country you don't want them running very far at all. 50 yards could be strait down and very hard to get to.

It’s a Horizon Switch barrel.... this is it getting a 300WSM barrel a few weeks ago... the 6.5 PRC barrel is laying beside it.

This has been my experience as well. I’ve killed two personally and guided hunters to several.

They can take a bit of a beating.

I’ve seen them get shot right thru the shoulders with a 7mag and tear off for 150 yards before going down.

My two took three shots and two shots with a .257 wby before giving up the ghost.

That said, we did kill one with a .22-250 and a .223....but I would hedge my bets and use either the 7mm or the .300. No point in intentionally undergunning yourself

I had a trophy white tail run straight off a cliff and land half way down on a shelf into the devils river. I thought I lost him, the manager said “no you didn’t were going to get him”, and we did. Poor shot placement like mine, or undergunned is not a scenario you want in canyon country

Shot mine with a 270 wsm and 140 gr Accubond. Made it about 30 yards with a hard quartering to me shot. I'd take the 300 if its not too heavy to tote around. Lots of walking on these kind of hunts

I'd be much more concerned learning to dope wind if I were you, given the 5-600yd scenario, no matter which cartridge you choose out of those listed. That will be much more of a concern than the cartridge.

Exactly.

If I see a game animal at 500 yards he might as well be on the moon in most cases if I can’t get closer.

400 is a true max and 300 yards and under is much preferred

This!

I grew up in this country and the guys I knew that hunted aoudad regularly shot either 300's or 7 mag. It's not that a 6.5 won't kill them but that 50 yard run might turn into a long walk or worse.

I'd take what is lightest but you shoot the best. I drew Devils River last year and hunted it with a Kimber Mountain Ascent 270 win/6x leupold. Averaged 3-5 miles each day. Good glass/spotter is more important. The kimber was very pleasant to carry.

Longest shot I took was 330 yards. Killed a very nice aoudad at 130 yards after stalking it, they weren't hard to get close to. Took 4 total and not one went more than 30 yards.

Granted I put 100+ rounds downrange before my hunt but nothing we hunt us bullet proof... just my $0.02

what adkhunter said .

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I set up both the .300 and 7mag to shoot this weekend then we’ll go from there.

You can take this advice to the bank. No matter what caliber, there's potentially enough wind deflection for you to make a big mistake if it's not accounted for. So basically, any of the rounds you mentioned will get the job done if you put the bullet in the right place...... and that takes PRACTICE. I'd be picking which gun is the most conducive to practicing before you go on your trip.

Or, just don’t take a 500-600 yard shot you prefer not to take anyway. Try to get closer, wait for that one to move, or find another animal in a more accessible position.

We had a hunter show up to camp with a .300 wm shooting 180 grain accubonds in a lightweight browning rifle.

After missing his 3rd deer, I asked him why he brought a rifle he couldn’t shoot? He said ( he was from North Carolina) that he read that in south Texas you better be prepared for big bodied deer and long shots.

He killed his deer a day later at 80 yards with a model 7 in 7mm-08.

Its the same with aoudad hunting....they hype it up in media that it’s a long range game in all scenarios

You certainly can shoot at a sheep at 500-600 yards but I would reckon than 90% of them are killed under 400 yards and probably 75% of that number is killed under 300

500-600 is a long ways shooting animals and further than I would shoot a sheep based on my level of confidence, but I am not you. Personally I would be choosing from the lighter weight rifles if I planned to carry it 10-15 miles a day. Any of the calibers you listed will work if you put the bullet in the boiler room.
Contemplating reliably taking animals at 500-600 yards, there are a lot more good rifles than shooters.

^^Yup

That shot would give me pause. What is the wind? What is the terrain (updrafts possible) Am I rock solid? Is the sheep standing still? Is it broadside? Yes all this can be answered in a matter of 2 seconds. If all those variables are good news, the shot is still a serious matter. I practice is 52 weeks a year and feel quite good about it. But that's because I practice it 52 weeks a year...

During my pronghorn hunt there was a day where the wind was near 30 at times. I kept glancing at the wind chart-that's a whole ton of correction and a whole lot of room for error, even at 400, let alone 600.

Respect the animal.

300win