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What are ram hunts really like? #8091412 12/16/20 08:39 AM
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FXfromTX Offline OP
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Let me preface this by saying I'm no treehugger. I'm not an "anti-highfencer", etc. That said, part of the fun in hunting to me is the challenge, not just letting the arrow fly. That's why I laid the rifle down when I was 15 and have bowhunted 95+% of the time since then. I love a challenge.

I've been considering doing a ram hunt for a couple years now and have been considering two well-recommended ranches to go to next year with a family member who recently took up bowhunting. However, after watching some videos on youtube of hunts at one of these ranches I honestly wonder if it is for me, assuming these videos actually depict realistic ram hunting. Do the rams really not care at all about being hunted? I saw 5+ people hanging out and talking in an "open-sided" tower blind 35 yards from the feeder with 30 rams around it, shooting 3 or 4 rams and the others still just casually stroll away like it's just another day in the life. Or guys getting to 15-20 yards away in the wide open and a group of 10-20+ rams just standing there, giving him minutes to lay down his gear, draw and get the shot off before they casually stroll away.

I'm just trying to decide if this is the right kind of hunting for me. I hunted deer over a feeder for a long time and still occasionally do so, but the deer legitimately try to stay alive. It takes some level of effort to take a deer at 20 yards.

If you've been on a ram hunt I would appreciate any info/experiences you care to share. Thanks guys

Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8091472 12/16/20 12:37 PM
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Most of the places that advertise bowhunts for rams keep their places fully stocked. The acreage is usually smaller, high fenced, and barren of any natural vegetation due to overgrazing. The young rams that live there are 100% dependent on the hay and corn that the rancher provides them with daily. Hence, they are not scared of people. At all. These places usually charge around 500 bucks to shoot one and provide you with a trailer or something to camp out in while you are there. I don't know. If you are with a kid or your wife or girlfriend and want to introduce them to bowhunting it may not be a bad deal. Or a bachelor party where everybody gets to shoot something and gets to BBQ and get drunk. But if you are a serious bowhunter looking for a challenge, I would look into bowhunting freerange aoudad in West Texas. Or a ranch that is larger with other game available besides juvenile rams. Good luck.


Rob Valle
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Originally Posted by Texsun
The three things you need in life are a good doctor, lawyer and taxidermist.

Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8091508 12/16/20 01:07 PM
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If you want a challenge, try and take a Aoudad Ram with a bow. Very challenging hunt.

Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8091645 12/16/20 02:54 PM
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FXfromTX sounds like you are describing Thompson's Temple or some such site. I've read good and bad about that place. But I'm like you, im not exactly the internet hunting police. It's up to you if you like it or not.

If I read your OP correctly, you might be looking for a guided trip on a large ranch. There are a lot of great guides in the THF and you can find them in the Outfitter's and Guides forum. I have hunted with West Texas Hunting Org (WTHO), and wont hesitate to recommend them. Here's a link Mulie Mike put up a couple of days ago.
https://texashuntingforum.com/forum...er/8088101/gonew/1/success-photos#UNREAD

Mike and team will work hard for you and what they offer sounds like what you are looking for.


Press [Linked Image] for an AMERICAN.
Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8091692 12/16/20 03:31 PM
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I have hunted a high fence a couple of times. Had a customer out on a trophy axis hunt, but could not keep the aoudad away. I actually got out of the blind (twice) and threw rocks at them to try and run them off the feeder. They would run into the wood line and wait until I got back in the blind, then back on the corn. Pretty sure I could have killed one with a bayonet. Had a big male in the red dot of my 10mm pistol for probably 10 minutes @ 15 yards.

Having said that, the ranch also had a separate area with no feeders. The aoudad in that area were as wild as could be. If they saw something out of the ordinary, they disappeared instantly.

So, the answer to your question is it depends. A small put-and-take operation will probably be like the first experience I shared. If you want a challenge, free range aoudad might be your style.

Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8101932 12/24/20 03:00 PM
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Originally Posted by FXfromTX
Let me preface this by saying I'm no treehugger. I'm not an "anti-highfencer", etc. That said, part of the fun in hunting to me is the challenge, not just letting the arrow fly. That's why I laid the rifle down when I was 15 and have bowhunted 95+% of the time since then. I love a challenge.

I've been considering doing a ram hunt for a couple years now and have been considering two well-recommended ranches to go to next year with a family member who recently took up bowhunting. However, after watching some videos on youtube of hunts at one of these ranches I honestly wonder if it is for me, assuming these videos actually depict realistic ram hunting. Do the rams really not care at all about being hunted? I saw 5+ people hanging out and talking in an "open-sided" tower blind 35 yards from the feeder with 30 rams around it, shooting 3 or 4 rams and the others still just casually stroll away like it's just another day in the life. Or guys getting to 15-20 yards away in the wide open and a group of 10-20+ rams just standing there, giving him minutes to lay down his gear, draw and get the shot off before they casually stroll away.

I'm just trying to decide if this is the right kind of hunting for me. I hunted deer over a feeder for a long time and still occasionally do so, but the deer legitimately try to stay alive. It takes some level of effort to take a deer at 20 yards.

If you've been on a ram hunt I would appreciate any info/experiences you care to share. Thanks guys


I've been on one so take it for what it's worth but I couldn't get off the place quick enough, it was a group hunt with THF members at Thompson Temple. There's allot of ranches offering Ram hunts but I will not recommend Thompson Temple.


Yes! A Weatherby does kill them deader.
Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8101958 12/24/20 03:33 PM
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A lot of places will buy rams/sheep at auction and turn them loose to be hunted. I know a guy who raises them to be sold at auction to hunters and they will walk right up to me and let me pet them.

You have to remember that most of the breeds ( Corsican, Black Hawaiian, Texas Dall, ) are domestic sheep breeds. In layman's terms, they are like Malamutes and Huskys.....they are wolf-like but they are not wolves. They are popular for bow-hunters and beginning hunters because its really not much of a challenge to get a kill. I've seen them in 100% free range wild environments and they act the same way...pretty docile and although they won't let you pet them most are not terribly wary, getting within bow range ( 40 ish yards ) is fairly easy to accomplish.

Mouflon sheep are different entirely and tend to be pretty wary in a natural setting. They are a wild sheep breed, not a domestic sheep breed although most taxonomists agree that domestic sheep breeds originated from Mouflon thousands of years ago.


Aoudad is another extremely challenging quarry, anyone who can spot and stalk a Aoudad sheep successfully with a bow I will buy them several beers. They are a challenge even with a flat shooting rifle


For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8102268 12/24/20 08:05 PM
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A number of years ago, I went on a ram hunt with an experience that was similar to those presented above. I was hunting with a handgun, and we did the whole "spot 'em and sneak up" thing. After the ram was shot, and we went to collect him, the other rams in the herd actually walked up to our truck ... the outfitter had the grace to blush and explained they were used to being fed from the truck. Essentially the "hunt" was entirely theater. I had a good laugh over it, but couldn't bring myself to keep the horns, etc. Incidentally, rams make about the worst eating meat in Texas, unless somehow roadkilled possum is worse ... I doubt it though.

Anyway, it's a hunt for kids only, unless you find a place that's really doing things differently. In the pix below, from about 12 years ago when I was thinner and less gray, I'm still laughing about the absurdity of the whole situation while the outfitter takes my picture.

[Linked Image]


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Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8102350 12/24/20 09:32 PM
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Like Txtrophy85 said. Mouflon, Urial, Red Sheep, Transcaspian Urial and Aoudad are wild Sheep. The rest are just naturally tame to a certain extent except on some of the larger ranches where they haven't been hand fed.

Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8102567 12/25/20 01:57 AM
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Another interesting note......I’ve only been around bighorn sheep one time, herd in a National Forest, no mature rams in the bunch but they were right off the side of the road and not wild acting at all. We got to within 50 yards of them and 3 of us got out of the truck and started snapping pics and they just looked at us

[Linked Image]

Last edited by txtrophy85; 12/25/20 01:58 AM.

For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: don k] #8105629 12/28/20 04:25 PM
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Originally Posted by don k
Like Txtrophy85 said. Mouflon, Urial, Red Sheep, Transcaspian Urial and Aoudad are wild Sheep. The rest are just naturally tame to a certain extent except on some of the larger ranches where they haven't been hand fed.


This!

Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8106125 12/29/20 12:54 AM
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Just pick a big ranch, not a 200 acre high fenced postage stamp, that has wild rams on it that aren't dependent on the food truck every day. They'll be skittish and will run if they see a human moving close to them. It can be a real hunt with a real spot and stalk experience, especially if you're planning to stalk within bow range.

Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: syncerus] #8106308 12/29/20 03:02 AM
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Originally Posted by syncerus
A number of years ago, I went on a ram hunt with an experience that was similar to those presented above. I was hunting with a handgun, and we did the whole "spot 'em and sneak up" thing. After the ram was shot, and we went to collect him, the other rams in the herd actually walked up to our truck ... the outfitter had the grace to blush and explained they were used to being fed from the truck. Essentially the "hunt" was entirely theater. I had a good laugh over it, but couldn't bring myself to keep the horns, etc. Incidentally, rams make about the worst eating meat in Texas, unless somehow roadkilled possum is worse ... I doubt it though.

Anyway, it's a hunt for kids only, unless you find a place that's really doing things differently. In the pix below, from about 12 years ago when I was thinner and less gray, I'm still laughing about the absurdity of the whole situation while the outfitter takes my picture.

[Linked Image]


Sounds like the one I went on

Re: What are ram hunts really like? [Re: FXfromTX] #8114972 01/04/21 08:05 PM
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My friend has Aoudad at his high-fenced ranch (2,000+ acres) and while they do occasionally come to feeders, they're extremely skittish and anything out of the ordinary sends them off. I think that might be a better challenge, especially with a bow.

I've never been on those ram hunts but was very tempted when I first moved to Texas and was looking for ways to hunt on the cheap. Luckily, friends warned me about it and I passed. I've always thought "you get what you paid for", if an Axis hunt is $3K+ and a ram hunt is as low as $200-$300, we can draw our own conclusions.


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