Barbary Sheep hunting
48 hunting trips from 26 outfitters starting from $2,314
Where to hunt Barbary Sheep
Barbary Sheep, a.k.a. Aoudad, is originally an African sheep, with the native range in Atlas mountains in North Africa. Unfortunately, across its native range it is currently endangered. However, many sheep generations ago, it was introduced into semi-desert mountains of Spain and areas of the American Southwest, which are nearly identical to aoudad native habitat, and where it exists in a perfectly wild state. Opportunities for Barbary Sheep hunting also exist in South Africa and Macedonia.
Price distribution
Barbary Sheep hunting prices start at about $3,000. Free-ranging Barbary Sheep hunts in Texas usually go for between $4,000 and $5,000, and in Spain - from $5,000 and up. With some outfitters, the shooting fee may depend on the size of the horns, and influence the bottom line significantly.
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Many American hunters believe that if you aren’t lucky with the tag draw (where there may be hundreds of applicants for one tag), and can’t spend six figures on a Governor’s tag, you can’t hunt wild sheep. This is not quite so: apart from Barbary Sheep, there are other options for sheep hunting on a budget.
22 Jul 2018 Is There Such a Thing as an Over-the-Counter Sheep Hunt that Won’t Break the Bank?When to hunt Barbary Sheep?
On game farms and where the Barbary Sheep is treated as an exotics there are opportunities to hunt it all year round. In Spain, however, the hunting season for free-ranging Barbary Sheep is established at September - May, with the best hunting time in the end of the year, when the animals have the rut. This applies to free-ranging populations in the US as well. In South Africa the best hunting is May - October.
Hunting methods All hunting methods (15)
Barbary Sheep hunting uses much the same methods and techniques as hunting for other mountain game. Spot-and-stalk is the method of choice. This falls into two parts: location of the suitable animal, and a careful approach to it, taking into account the direction of the wind, available cover, and millions of other details. With Barbary Sheep, the spotting part is usually more difficult than the stalking part, as the animal blends with the landscape well and is not as much into showing itself against the skyline. Stalking Barbary Sheep is usually on the medium on the difficulty scale; for an extra challenge, try hunting Barbary Sheep with a bow.
Why hunt Barbary Sheep?
With its brown coat, long beard and impressive horns, a Barbary Sheep is a worthy trophy in its own right. It is also often considered a good introduction into hunting mountain game. Barbary Sheep or aoudad is one of the most affordable wild sheep to hunt. In addition, the lower altitudes it typically inhabits are often more suitable for stalking and do not put such demands on the physical condition of the hunter. Most areas where Barbary Sheep can be hunted are easy to travel to, and Spain, for instance, offers an interesting opportunity to combine hunting with other attractions of old Europe, such as sightseeing. If you want to try sheep hunting, but are not sure about investing into one of the more iconic species, Barbary Sheep hunt is for you.
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