First season successful
Oct 8, 2012 23:12:30 GMT -5
Post by AJ on Oct 8, 2012 23:12:30 GMT -5
The first hunt I got to participate in this year was a friend's "Once in Lifetime" oryx hunt on Rhodes Canyon of White Sands Missile Range here in New Mexico. I was the spotter and helper. It was a tough but very rewarding hunt. Day one was orientation and they released us to hunt at noon but it was 90° and we saw nothing.
Saturday morning looked more promising as we saw a small herd of 6 but they were just over 1000 yards out. While deciding on the plan of attack, a pair of medium sized bulls ran in and we had them at 500 yards. My buddy was shooting a 35 Whelen, so he was only comfortable to 300 yards. We tried a stalk but the wind shifted and the oryx did not like what they got a whiff of. The rest of the day was uneventful other than stepping on a huge rattlesnake while clearing a thorn tree blocking the road. That got our attention and adrenalin flowing immediately.
Sunday a cold front moved in and the high was only 60° much better for walking the desert looking for critters. We kept turning up empty with the oryx. This was the last day of the hunt and it was 4:30 pm. It was not looking good. We decided to move to a new area and on the way spot an oryx about 600 yards from the road. We bail out and the stalk is on. The oryx got nervous and increased the gap to over 1200 yards as it tan into a thicket that was about 50 acres. We ran from bush to bush and closed the distance. The ground was hard so I had a very hard time finding its trail. We decided to push on carefully and keep an eye out. As we got to the end of the thicket, my buddy and I are discussing the next step in the plan when I spot the bull again. He was only 93 yards but facing us. I set the sticks up and said take him.
The .35 Whelen did the trick. One round through the neck and the bull was on the ground. It took us 2 hours to get the cart, gut, retrieve back to the truck (3/4 mile), load and get moving. It was truely 11th hour of the hunt. The check in station measured the bull at 36". Not huge but a very respectable sample of the species.
Saturday morning looked more promising as we saw a small herd of 6 but they were just over 1000 yards out. While deciding on the plan of attack, a pair of medium sized bulls ran in and we had them at 500 yards. My buddy was shooting a 35 Whelen, so he was only comfortable to 300 yards. We tried a stalk but the wind shifted and the oryx did not like what they got a whiff of. The rest of the day was uneventful other than stepping on a huge rattlesnake while clearing a thorn tree blocking the road. That got our attention and adrenalin flowing immediately.
Sunday a cold front moved in and the high was only 60° much better for walking the desert looking for critters. We kept turning up empty with the oryx. This was the last day of the hunt and it was 4:30 pm. It was not looking good. We decided to move to a new area and on the way spot an oryx about 600 yards from the road. We bail out and the stalk is on. The oryx got nervous and increased the gap to over 1200 yards as it tan into a thicket that was about 50 acres. We ran from bush to bush and closed the distance. The ground was hard so I had a very hard time finding its trail. We decided to push on carefully and keep an eye out. As we got to the end of the thicket, my buddy and I are discussing the next step in the plan when I spot the bull again. He was only 93 yards but facing us. I set the sticks up and said take him.
The .35 Whelen did the trick. One round through the neck and the bull was on the ground. It took us 2 hours to get the cart, gut, retrieve back to the truck (3/4 mile), load and get moving. It was truely 11th hour of the hunt. The check in station measured the bull at 36". Not huge but a very respectable sample of the species.
