Tag Archives: exotic hunting in oregon

Oregon Aoudad Hunt – “The Bone Man”

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        Bone’s last minute Billie!

Shot with 340 Weatherby 600 yards.

“Bone, you have to take the shot now, there’s not time to measure the horns at 600 yards, once he is the run, you won’t get another chance at a shot”. “Sometimes I think they’re worst then hunting elk.”  “Once spooked they won’t stop until they’re up in The Canyon.”  If one thinks they can track Aoudad’s in these canyons, they have something wrong with them. You do have to glass and look in logical places from previous knowledge and get the jump on them.  Once on the move they will simply disappear.  I have always said that the Aoudad’s have “caves that they hide and live in.”  This was going to be the course taken this weekend with Bone.  Bone was having trouble deciding on whether to take the shot or not on the big Billie Aoudad that we spotted above the Flats. Bone had the opportunity to shoot and kill the “Bell Wanger” as I had named the largest Aoudad Billie that I have ever seen.

The Billie was not going to be hanging on Bone’s trophy wall this season!

It was going to be a grind to find another Billie anywhere near the size of that one.
To this day I do not think anyone ever got the “Bell Wanger” Aoudad.  I had missed him 2 years back while hunting The Ranch.  Dr. Warnock, Jim August, Larry Spring, Chuck Megeske, Darrel Friend, Steve Biggs, Dave Brill, Mike James and Tim O’Meara are just a few that missed the biggest Aoudad that I know of or had ever seen in pictures and in the field.

By now “Bell Wanger” and his spirit roam The Canyon.

“Bone, it’s the witching hour, that’s not a bad Billie on the other side of the canyon”

You wonder why I call an Aoudad male a Billie, when some people call them Barbary Sheep.  One would think that males should be called Ram’s.  The Aoudad is closer to the Goat family, so in my circle, I have always called them Billie’s.

Oregon Aoudad Hunt – The Canyon – Junior

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Frankie’s pack-out from The Canyon – 102 degree day!

With Rod and the boys we stood on top of The Canyon into the creek bottoms  looking for Aoudads.  It had been worked out for Frankie to shoot an Aoudad with the owner of the ranch.  The two boys, Frankie and is friend from High School, Gabe quickly glassed into the canyon and the surrounding rims.  Frankie was quick to say, “no Aoudads out there dad.” I glassed the rims, creek bottoms, draws, and the two drainages from afar for about 40 minutes with Rod, as the boys walked around looking for thunder eggs, which were lying around almost everywhere. “Give me a break boys; there have to be Aoudads around somewhere.”“Boy of boy, you guys just don’t know what to look for do ya!”  “I got about 6 Aoudads out on that South facing just laying around, about 800 yards out.”  The boys quickly came running and made comment “where are they at”, as I point my arm in the general direction. The hunt was on, we would have to drop down into the canyon and transverse up the opposite draw and get close to the open facing on the rim for Frankie to get a shot on an Aoudad.frankie-richardsons-ranch-high-ground-01.jpg

Frankie with Billie  – 257 Weatherby