Oryx free range hunt

Sooooo, I assume an oryx can be hunted free range in Texas. Any thoughts of the best chance and value might be?

AFAIK at best you'll find a few Gemsbok stragglers coming in from New Mexico in far West Texas.

I did however see a free range Scimitar in Rocksprings just a few weeks ago, just trotting by its lonesome.

Actually, there are no free range oryx in Texas.

I thought Mulie-Mike was running some free range simitar oyrx a couple months back

I guess someone needs to explain to me how you can have "free range" oryx in a state with absolutely no "free range"... on an animal that doesn't jump 4' fences.

Even if they do go through a hole in a fence, they are then trapped by the next fence. Any animal that won't jump a 4' fence in Texas is IMO not free to range anywhere.

Rancher, are you under the assumption that a Scimitar or Gemsbuck cannot jump at a standard 4-strand barbed wire fence that is 4' tall?

Both species can do it easily if they want to.

Both species can also knock down or break a cedar fence post, or rip up the fence with their horns.

No, I'm not under that impression. Blackbuck can actually jump fences even more easily than oryx. But they typically don't.

My point is, there is no "free range" in Texas. And if an animal is prone to not jumping fences, they are truly not free range.

I stated that I know they escape from time to time. But when they do, the next 4 foot fenced in area is their new "trap". And therefore they are not free range.

Are you saying there are sustaining herds of free range gemsbok and scimitar in Texas?

I watched a hunt in South Texas last night for Oryx and Nilgai on Peterson's Hunting. They never showed the "perimeter" fence but they claimed it was low fence/free range. They did show an Oryx that ran down a 4 strand fence and looked like he was going to jump it but turned off and went back away from it.

So are you saying there are no "free range" whitetail, mulies or antelope in Texas?

Ok. I guess if we're gonna classify any large animal that can be forced to jump or run through a 5 strand barbed wire fence as "free range"... Then every by gawd skinny cow in Texas is in fact "free range"!

I did NOT know that.

Just goes to show, if u hang around here long enuff you'll learn some pretty cool chit!

You don't have to force deer to jump fences. Big big difference. See my above post

Basically if you put oryx and whitetail in a 4ft fence the oryx will run a fence line looking for a hole the whitetail will clear it, the blackbuck can jump a 5ft cattle panel, I know I saw my buck jump out, he was pressured which makes him a free range buck, the oryx would be stuck in that tap can't get out, the whitetail can go wherever he wants and my blackbuck can go wherever he wants also

Yes, there are most definitely free-range sustaining herds of Gemsbuck - herds cross freely back and forth from New Mexico. Lots. Their "free range" includes Texas.

So far as Scimitar - I haven't heard of any sustaining free herds in Texas - yet.

However, I do know of at least one south Texas ranch turned their Scimitar loose when that USFW debacle happened two years ago. They just didn't want to deal with it or them anymore. They shot/sold hunts for as many as they could. The remaining 12-15 they took out of the HF pasture and pushed off the ranch - they opened a gate on the LF pasture. Interestingly, they had a cow and calf show back up -either jumped or pushed through the LF. This is near Rocksprings. Supposedly someone who saw them said there was a new "this years" calf either them.

Another incident on a HF near Del Rio ended up with some scimitar escaping and are roaming in Val Verde county.

I'm sure these animals will be shot if anyone sees them. But that is some remote country out there. It is not out of possibility that these herds can self-sustain and reproduce after a few years.

And if you have ever been in Val Verde county - you could go a LONG way before you found a fence - and even if you do, chances are it's not intact. Betcha I could walk 50 miles north out of Comstock and never have to open a gate

And BTW, you don't have to "pressure" them to jump - they jump when they want to. Cows don't jump fences as a rule - but more than few times I've heard of cows jumping into feed pens for deer - if they want to.

Same with Blackbuck.

Once the animals escape HF environment they will get more "wild" and the docile behaviors will change. Unlike cows, which have years of domestic breeding, these are "wild" animals and once those missed-meal blues set in, they will jump fences prolly more than you think.

We have a small group of blackbuck in Boerne - they are NEVER in the same pasture two days running. No pressure, they just jump fences every day - probably a dozen times every day.

Hey. I admitted that I now know that all cattle in Texas are in fact "free range".

Really looking forward to the next time the neighbors angus yearlings find that droopy fence line. You want me to give you a call? I've heard free range angus is pretty good vittles...

Whew, I'm glad we got that cleared up!

I can only add to this conversation this: If Mulie Mike told me there was a free range wooly mammoth frequenting a waterhole and I was hunting said critter, I would sit where he told me to sit as long as he told me to sit there....

Yeah. Me too. But I'm not sure what the Mulie Mike connection is. I just have a different perception of free range. Has nothing to do with MM. He's an awesome outfitter in an awesome area.

"FREE RANGE" in Texas ....is simply NIT PICKING the terminology! 96% of the land in Texas is privately owned, so ....yeah....the term FREE RANGE would be an oxymoron!

Well, only on animals that don't routinely jump normal fencing unless pushed IMO. ie white tails in low fenced areas are in fact free range.