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5 Reasons to Consider Hunting Barbary Sheep

Travis Baker

| September 14, 2020

Travis Baker
September 14, 2020

Barbary sheep or Aoudad, native to North Africa and introduced to Texas and New Mexico after WWII, are growing in popularity every year among the hunting community. It just might be your best bet for getting into sheep hunting! Here’s why:

1. Affordable

Mountain sheep hunts can easily top $25,000-50,000. Or, you can apply for a tag in the lower 48 for years and maybe get to go for less. Barbary sheep, known as the “poor man’s sheep hunt, range in price from about
$4,000 – $8,000. Plus, the license can be purchased over the counter!

2. Great introduction to sheep hunting

Many of you may be a little gun shy to book a Dall sheep to Alaska or a Stone to B.C. That’s understandable. Most sheep hunts require excellent fitness and years of saving your hard earned money. Aoudad hunting will give you a taste of what sheep hunting is all about, and you won’t break the bank. These animals are found in some of the most spectacular and rugged terrain in the West, yet can be done by anyone regardless of their age.

3. Great “off season” hunt option

Sheep season is typically short, but aoudad hunts are available year-round in some places with most hunts taking place from mid September through early April. If you’re itching to do some big game hunting in the late winter or spring (when nothing else is in season), an aoudad hunt is a no brainer. Plus, it’s another excuse to go hunting!

4. Easy to get to

You won’t need to charter a plane while traveling or take two weeks off of work. Let’s face it, time away from family is precious. Most aoudad hunts will also allow you to stay in a lodge with hot showers and all the amenities you can’t have while staying in a spike camp. You’ll enjoy the mountains, but still be able to stay in comfort at night.

5. Great weather during the off season

Escape the frigid temperatures in January and February and enjoy the high desert weather of West Texas and
New Mexico!

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From Argentina to Idaho

My wife and I had just returned from an incredible trip to Argentina with WTA last April, and I wasn’t planning another hunt so soon. But when that Idaho draw result came through, everything changed. Now I’m planning two hunts a year, and my whole outlook has shifted. WTA doesn’t just book hunts; they help you build a hunting life.

October 1 found us in Idaho. The setup was perfect for us: a smaller, family-run operation with two cabins out back, a bathhouse between them, and the whole family was involved in the operation. Mike guided me, his father-in-law took the other hunter, and Mike’s wife and daughter helped run camp. After hunting at a bigger operation in Wyoming where I took a nice mule deer (another great recommendation from Jeremy), this intimate setting felt just right for a moose hunt.

Mountain Moose

Going in, I had no idea we’d be hunting at 5,000 feet above sea level. In my mind, moose meant swamps and willows, not mountain clear-cuts and steep terrain. But that’s where Idaho’s Shiras moose live, and Mike knew exactly how to hunt them.

Day one brought rain, cold, and long hours of glassing. We saw five moose total, including one bull that Mike immediately identified as “maybe a last-day bull, definitely not a first-day bull.” We also spotted a grizzly and some black bears. Idaho’s wild country was showing off! The terrain was brutal but beautiful, though after a full day of hiking those mountains, the word beautiful becomes relative!

Day two, Mike had a specific plan: a four-mile hike to a four-year-old clearcut he’d been watching. The timber gets so thick in Idaho that these clearcuts become magnets for moose. “We’re not going to do as much glassing today,” Mike said. “We’re going to do a lot of calling and listening.”

The Moment

Four miles in, calling and listening the whole way, we finally got an answer. Things happened fast after that. First, a cow appeared, then the bull at 250 yards. On the second morning of the hunt, I had my Idaho Shiras moose down. It was an unforgettable moment.

As most moose hunters will tell you, the real work begins after the moose is down. While we quartered and caped the moose on that steep mountainside, Mike’s wife and father-in-law were gathering horses and mules at the trailhead. The pack-out was something I’d always wanted to experience, and it lived up to all of my expectations. Idaho’s backcountry is stunning in photos, but once you’re off the trail, dealing with deadfall and near-vertical slopes while loading hundreds of pounds of moose meat onto mules, “beautiful” takes on a different meaning. I’m in good shape, and I was completely exhausted. It was fantastic.

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