nmtaxi
Very Active Member
- Messages
- 1,648
My boy had a tough oryx hunt on the Small Missile Range this weekend. The oryx numbers are way down from what I had seen just a few years ago. I've been beating myself up for not researching the area before putting my kid in, but that's how it goes. I recieved plenty of info after he drew that I knew it was going to be tough. I think the final count on the hunt was 23 of 48 hunters filled out. Pretty good odds if it was a mule deer hunt, but pretty low of a OIL oryx hunt. That being said, my boy did have some opportunities, and with any luck at all, would have come home with a filled tag. We only saw about 15 oryx all weekend, but some of that had to do with where we hunted. We decided to keep to areas that we knew didn't have a lot of oryx, but would be very huntable when we did find them. It was a good strategy, and led to a couple of really good stalks.
My boy did make a shot on a very large bull. In fact, put two shots into the chest. Amazingly, the bull was still running. I thought for sure he was going to tip over a couple of times, but even after taking a few nose dives, was still on the move. Those animals are incredibly tough. The last we saw him, he was a couple of hundred yards away, and made it over a hill. We looked for a couple of hours before calling in G&F for reinforcements. They helped us for a few more hours, then called it quits. My dad and I decided to continue looking and gridding the area, still optimistic that we would find him. After a total of 7 hours, and the hunt winding down, we had to admit that we lost it. It was really heartbreaking, but my boy handled like a man.
Whether you agree with our decision or not, we hunted the last few hours hoping to fill my boy's tag. The F&G even encouraged us to do so. That evening, we did see a few, and almost had a chance at one of them, but didn't work out.
On the bright side, we did meet some quality people, including Balz from this website. If you go on an oryx hunt, be sure to stop and talk to him a the gate, and if you're successful, be sure to leave your oryx with him. He provides a great service for the hunters on the range.
My boy did make a shot on a very large bull. In fact, put two shots into the chest. Amazingly, the bull was still running. I thought for sure he was going to tip over a couple of times, but even after taking a few nose dives, was still on the move. Those animals are incredibly tough. The last we saw him, he was a couple of hundred yards away, and made it over a hill. We looked for a couple of hours before calling in G&F for reinforcements. They helped us for a few more hours, then called it quits. My dad and I decided to continue looking and gridding the area, still optimistic that we would find him. After a total of 7 hours, and the hunt winding down, we had to admit that we lost it. It was really heartbreaking, but my boy handled like a man.
Whether you agree with our decision or not, we hunted the last few hours hoping to fill my boy's tag. The F&G even encouraged us to do so. That evening, we did see a few, and almost had a chance at one of them, but didn't work out.
On the bright side, we did meet some quality people, including Balz from this website. If you go on an oryx hunt, be sure to stop and talk to him a the gate, and if you're successful, be sure to leave your oryx with him. He provides a great service for the hunters on the range.
