Barbary Sheep – Kiowa Hunting Service

Public Land Barbary Sheep (Aoudad) Hunt

This hunt is for free ranging Barbary Sheep (Aoudad) in New Mexico. It is an excellent hunt for high quality animals. This is a “park the vehicle and hike” style hunt and the vehicle is seldom seen again until dark. This is a physically challenging hunt with numerous miles of walking done each day.

New Mexico Game and Fish has made some changes for next year and this will make it easier for you to draw a tag. The number of tags went up by 20% in 2023, due to an increase in populations, and the number of hunts will increase while the number of days hunting will be reduced from 14 days down to 5 days. A hunt unit is composed of multiple big game units combined into one hunt unit and we can hunt in all the listed big game units. These units are comprised of 1: Unit 28 McGregor Range, 2: Units 29 and 30, 3: Units 32, 36, and 37. Each of these hunt units will have multiple hunt dates and you can mix or match hunt units on your application and all will be valid to be drawn.
All three of the different hunt units are good. Probably the best area to draw a sheep tag, with the least pressure, is on McGregor Range, as limited Ram hunts occur there. The department is putting pressure on the ewe herd to reduce the number of sheep in the area. We define the hunts as in units 32, 36, 37 be prepared for long hikes over rolling mountainous terrain and long pack outs. In Units 29-30, be prepared for a lot of glassing, long hikes and then up to reach the sheep. In unit 28 lots of glassing, access is good from multiple roads but once the sheep are sighted it may be a long hike to reach them.

Cost of the hunt includes: Courtesy transportation during the hunt, drinks, snacks, and lunches during the hunt. Accommodations and meals can be provided if a camp out occurs, which is usually in units 29-30. You may bring your own camp and meals, or we will charge you for providing the camp and meals for you.
The hunter is responsible for: Travel to the city that we choose to operate out of for the hunt or previously arranged meeting location, motel accommodations if out of a city or camp accommodations if no city is close, meals, unless previously arranged, weapon, personal gear, and licenses. Hunters should bring comfortable packs to carry water, storm clothing, and other personal items. The pack should also be capable of assisting in packing out the sheep. All the harvests will come out on the backs of guides and hunters.

Public land licenses are by draw. The odds of drawing this tag utilizing an outfitter number offer the best opportunity of all three drawing pools to be successful in the draw.