Rhodes Canyon Oryx

My wife drew the September RC oryx hunt. I have never been on an oryx hunt and was wondering about logistics. Best places to stay, type of vehicle needed, try to bring an atv, etc?

Decent taxi and processor in the area? If we drive we will be coming through Colorado and I can probably keep the meat cold. But we will still need a taxi to drop it off at if she is successful. I try to hunt Colorado every year so the closer the taxi is to Colorado the easier it would be to pickup.

I assume it will be hot the end of September but we will bring warm clothes also just in case.

I appreciate any info that will help with the planning of the hunt.

Regards,

We are in a very similar boat. My wife drew the December tag. Unless her lucky horseshoe sticks around for the Utah and Colorado draws this will be her first big game hunt. No pressure right?

First of all, Congrats to your wife.

Best Places to stay-
Close proximity-Hotel on White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) if you are able to access.
Close to restaurants and stores- Any in Las Cruces or Alamogordo

Vehicle needed-
4WD with ability to carry a large animal would be best due to some rough trails and soft sand in places

ATV-
Not sure if allowed, call the game wardens on WSMR

Taxidermist-
Majors Wildlife Studio is a premier taxidermist and the one I would recommend. Attached are my ram and my son's first Archery harvest that Majors did for us.

Processor-
Can't help with this one since we do our own.

Lastly, the question is not if, but which one and how big is the one your wife wants and/or gets. This hunt will be a great hunt and over before you know it. Spend time glassing and picking the one she cannot live without. Anything is good, better is 30" plus, great is 31"-36", amazing is 36" plus, ridiculous is 40" plus in my opinion.

Have fun and good luck!!!

As Big Daddy mentioned, there are plenty of places to stay in Alamogordo. It's about a 20-25 minute drive to the gate. There are taxidermists at the gate however i do not remember if there are game processors there. At the area where the mandatory orientation is held there are frames there where you can hang your oryx to skin it. Not sure about ATV's but you are only allowed to drive off road to recover your animal although that could cost you a tire or two.

You will begin receiving emails from the wildlife biologist (if you haven't already). You can send emails to him and ask some of these questions. There will be a LOT of information coming your way over the next few months.

The weather will still be warm so meat care will be critical. My daughter drew the youth tag there last year. She shot her bull at 65 yards (average shot is 350). I was worried because the temperature was around 90 degrees (hunt was Sept 7-9) and we were about 3/4 of a mile from the truck. We worked to get it skinned, quartered and hauled to the truck as quickly as possible so we could put it on ice.

I have the October hunt (25-27) so i am glad the weather will be a little cooler.

It's going to be a great hunt! Good luck and enjoy!

LAST EDITED ON Apr-19-19 AT 07:54PM (MST)[p]Most of your questions will be answered in the updates you will get from Gilbert. Pick a motel in Alamogordo to stay at. There have been Taxidermists and game processors at the gate every time we have been. You are allowed 4 people on base. Highly recommend you bring someone with you. More hands help when it is work time. It is a great experience, especially if the weather cooperates.

LAST EDITED ON Apr-19-19 AT 08:33PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Apr-19-19 AT 08:30?PM (MST)

Dirty Tough - PM sent.

Sept in Alamogordo is quite warm, you will be in T-shirts most of the time, maybe a thin longsleeve in the early mornings.

Bring a full size truck with 10 ply tires if possible. Also bring a game cart. Just because you are allowed to drive up to your downed oryx, you may not want to as some fauna on Rhodes is not necessarily friendly to tires.

Bring 120 qt coolers to put the meat/boned quarters in. Buy dry ice to keep it cool and put a thick blanket on top of the meat before closing the lid

Do not make the mistake most oryx hunters in warm weather do - putting bagged ice on the meat. We will freeze gallon jugs and insulating them as described above and keeping on dry ice will keep it pretty froze.

Oryx is the best meat on any North American animal you will ever eat, congrats to your wife and have fun!

Edit: there are some things about oryx that may not be covered in the info sent to you prior to your hunt...

>We are in a very similar
>boat. My wife drew the
>December tag. Unless her lucky
>horseshoe sticks around for the
>Utah and Colorado draws this
>will be her first big
>game hunt. No pressure right?
>


Ha none at all. My wife has hunted a little but this was her first time applying in NM. She also drew elk.

BigDaddyL thanks for the info. And really nice animals/mounts.

ixsolracxi thanks for the info and good luck on your hunt.

Thanks Elkman80

Roadrunner Pm'd returned.


Thanks for the info. Its definitely appreciated.

Couple more questions. I am assuming its fairly open and was thinking she will be shooting prone. Is there vegetation she will be shooting over or does prone work out there for most shots? The post above about 350 yards being average shot distance got me thinking. She's fine shooting that far prone. Shooting that far using a tripod sitting or standing might be stretching it right now for her.

How big is an oryx? From the pics I have seen it looks bigger than a deer but smaller than an elk?

Again thanks all for the info. It is really appreciated.

Regards,