Fort Bliss Oryx Hunt

[hntnfool]

I was chosen for a Fort Bliss escorted population management oryx hunt. If anyone has any experience on this hunt, what am I in for?

 

[coryb]

Don’t know about ft bliss specifically, but I did a jornada escorted population management hunt in March and it was well beyond my expectations. Tons of animals and a great hunt.


I hope it’s great for you!!

 

[Homer]

Curious....since it is a population control hunt and escorted, do they discourage treating it as a trophy hunt?

 

[NMPaul]

I was chosen for a Fort Bliss escorted population management oryx hunt. If anyone has any experience on this hunt, what am I in for?

Been on a bunch of depredation hunts with family, it should be a blast.

 

[coryb]

Yes, on my Jornada hunt the official rules required me to shoot the first oryx that I had a safe shot within a reasonable range. The rules also required me to follow my escorts directions. In reality, my escort was motivated for me to get a great animal and was very helpful. I followed his direction!

 

[hntnfool]

Thanks for sharing your experience, I hope my escort is as accommodating!

 

[JRABQ]

My nephew is going to Ft Bliss in September, we're not sure what to expect either. I've had 2 depredation hunts on WSMR, long time ago. One was very loosely "escorted", and fun. The other one was pretty strict and I was definitely required to shoot at the first opportunity.

 

[Muleman]

Your escorted the whole It’s a good hunt if you’re on one of the earlier hunts. There is plenty of oryx but they move into areas you can’t hunt after they have been shot at. If all is normal you should be able to kill a nice adult oryx

 

[ortegageno]

Those smaller horned oryx are very difficult to hit on that population reduction hunts. For some reason you can jerk the trigger and miss.

 

[bkhunter]

Sent PM

 

[BrianID]

I was chosen for a Fort Bliss escorted population management oryx hunt. If anyone has any experience on this hunt, what am I in for?

I've never had any population management tags or on range tags but have been able to go with multiple friends that have.

The population management oryx hunts are variable. The contact you are given for Fort Bliss would be the best person to ask on what to expect. If you are one of the lucky hunters that has 1st shot at oryx they are trying to remove, it will be like shooting fish in a barrel. If they have already had hunting pressure, it will be more difficult but much easier than off range oryx. The limited time to hunt will cause extra pressure but don't let that pressure get to you.

One of the most important things you can do is being a competent shooter from standing or kneeling positions. Guys that take too much time or have to get prone to shoot an oryx at 200 or 300 yards are really limiting themselves.

Having a friend that is good at spotting oryx and giving you a quick range and help with after the shot work will make it much easier than going solo.

 

[hntnfool]

Thanks for everyone’s posts! I let you know how it goes…… it will be a while, my hunt is December 28th. I’m hoping for a good experience!

 

[JRABQ]

Well damn, my nephew's hunt on Ft. Bliss last Saturday was a complete bust. There were 3 (maybe 4?) hunters and no oryx were killed, one guy missed a long shot at a single oryx. The 2 game wardens were very surprised, said this never happens. The only oryx we could find (5 or 6 adults) were in a restricted area, they would occasionally start walking in the right direction but never crossed the boundary. My nephew missed 2 days of school and his dad paid the full non-resident tag fee. But more importantly, this was his first "western" big game hunt and he never got a shot.

 

[bobby]

Perspective is everything , hunts are not a bust becuase you were unsuccessful . If that was the case no one would continue to hunt. It is called hunting for a reason and there are elements we cant control such as animal movement . If i judged every hunt as a bust because I wasnt successful , id never want to hunt again... Just saying

 

[cbat]

I drew the Jornada several years ago . 10 hunters and zero elk killed. I shot at a bull through a mesquite thicket. Found 2 small drops of blood . We tracked him 4 miles through the burning sand and never found another drop. Only reason we quit at 4 was they crossed the fence off the range. We watched the video my brother in law took later that night. You can see the bullet impact a branch and explode. The main part hit the sand below the oryx and he was just hit with a fragment. Non lethal for sure. I was the only hunter to see an animal.

 

[Homer]

I drew the Jornada several years ago . 10 hunters and zero elk killed. I shot at a bull through a mesquite thicket. Found 2 small drops of blood . We tracked him 4 miles through the burning sand and never found another drop. Only reason we quit at 4 was they crossed the fence off the range. We watched the video my brother in law took later that night. You can see the bullet impact a branch and explode. The main part hit the sand below the oryx and he was just hit with a fragment. Non lethal for sure. I was the only hunter to see an animal.

Probably not unusual that zero elk were killed on an oryx hunt….

 

[ktg]

Right after 9/11, unbelievably, my wife and I both drew oryx on WSMR. It was female only. Because of 9/11, they cut the hunt to 1 day and sent an escort who had to tell you whether you could shoot or not. Our 'escort' couldn't make up his mind, so we saw a lot of oryx and heard a lot of 'I don't know...' He finally sent me off to stalk a group with explicit instructions "don't shoot the one with the longest horns." It was a huge female, but whatever. I shot one of the others. He came in fuming, "why did you shoot that one, it's a male!?" Well, it was in fact a female. Then he was mad and pouted the rest of the day and my wife ended up with tag soup. Luckily, you probably won't experience that.

 

[cbat]

Probably not unusual that zero elk were killed on an oryx hunt….

Well I did not proof read my spell check pardon my mistake

 

[TXraider]

how was this hunt? got a ES tag for december, wondering if its worth getting a guide? (around 2k)