NM Female/Immature Barbary sheep

[CMF]

Two of my kids (group ap) drew the F/IM Barbary tags for McGregor Range in January.
The only additional requirement I see so far is hunter orange, but I'm sure there are probably some range-specific regs. and I'm not sure about scouting days yet.

Question for you guys is,
The Immature is defined as less than 18". Does anyone have rams either under or slightly over with know measurements they could post up for reference? I've never put my hands on one. Just saw them for the first time in January.

Here are some pics of some Barbary we saw on the way into Carlsbad Caverns this past January.(on NP land)

 

[TX Trophy Hunter]

Google isportsman, you’ll need to register.

19” ewe

 

[Valley1320]

Both ewes I've killed were 18 1/2 and 19" usually it's perty easy to tell a ram from a ewe unless it's a young ram. I don't think it will be much of a problem. If you shoot a ram 18" or less it will be legal anyways.

 

[CMF]

So, I guess we should probably just go for a decent ewe then and not risk breaking the 18" on a ram?
My initial thoughts were to go for a young ram and keep more you ewes on the ground to increase population and opportunities. But I'm guessing they may be close to capacity if they are issuing ewe tags.
Thanks for the Pics!

 

[Valley1320]

Youall pry see lots of sheep. I've hear there is no shortage of sheep there.

 

[CMF]

Youall pry see lots of sheep. I've hear there is no shortage of sheep there.

I hope so, 2 tags in 2 days will be a challenge with the kids. The wife hunts too, so hopefully we can get it done, even if we have to split up.

Any thoughts on doubling up? What do you think the chances are they'll run off after the first shot? I see they hung around after you dropped the one in your pic. Are those all ewes in the pic or is that a ram or two above the dead one?

 

[TX Trophy Hunter]

So, I guess we should probably just go for a decent ewe then and not risk breaking the 18" on a ram?
My initial thoughts were to go for a young ram and keep more you ewes on the ground to increase population and opportunities. But I'm guessing they may be close to capacity if they are issuing ewe tags.
Thanks for the Pics!

I wouldn’t be too selective, those things are tough to sneak up on and filling 2 tags will be challenging enough without trying to avoid ewes. There’s no shortage of those things and they breed year round. You’re not gonna wipe them out. Should be a lot of fun!

 

[CMF]

I wouldn’t be too selective, those things are tough to sneak up on and filling 2 tags will be challenging enough without trying to avoid ewes. There’s no shortage of those things and they breed year round. You’re not gonna wipe them out. Should be a lot of fun!

Yea, after seeing the pics and thinking about it, we'll just go after the first decent one we see. At first, I was thinking the ewes would be way smaller than 18" but targeting a grown ewe will probably result in a bigger animal than trying for a small ram. I should have paid more attention to the ewes in January, but the ewe hunt wasn't on my radar then, I was just watching the rams.

 

[Valley1320]

I hope so, 2 tags in 2 days will be a challenge with the kids. The wife hunts too, so hopefully we can get it done, even if we have to split up.

Any thoughts on doubling up? What do you think the chances are they'll run off after the first shot? I see they hung around after you dropped the one in your pic. Are those all ewes in the pic or is that a ram or two above the dead one?

Those are all ewes in that pic. The pic thru the binos has a ram tho

 

[Valley1320]

I think they will stick around unless they have jus had a a bunch of hunting pressure before that

 

[colinstewart]

Congrats on your kids drawing. I also put in but drew my second choice so doing unit 29/30 instead of the ewe hunt. Keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[Hawk Tuah]

Congrats on the tags. Hope you fill them and have a good hunt.

 

[Nm252525]

Yea, after seeing the pics and thinking about it, we'll just go after the first decent one we see. At first, I was thinking the ewes would be way smaller than 18" but targeting a grown ewe will probably result in a bigger animal than trying for a small ram. I should have paid more attention to the ewes in January, but the ewe hunt wasn't on my radar then, I was just watching the rams.

Will start with any tags a good tag so congrats. People put in for these expecting a similar experience to on range oryx…not the case. Country is big and sheep can be hard to find. If you find sheep your best bet is shooting sheep especially with kids. This correlates in the low satisfaction rates reported compared to all the other draw tags.

 

[Valley1320]

Will start with any tags a good tag so congrats. People put in for these expecting a similar experience to on range oryx…not the case. Country is big and sheep can be hard to find. If you find sheep your best bet is shooting sheep especially with kids. This correlates in the low satisfaction rates reported compared to all the other draw tags.

I find this interesting cuz my buddy and some friends of his said when they were in there, that it was overran with sheep and they had no problem finding lots and lots of sheep. Maybe they just got lucky

 

[flyfishmadison]

My son has this tag as well. I sent you a PM.

 

[Chingon]

I hope so, 2 tags in 2 days will be a challenge with the kids. The wife hunts too, so hopefully we can get it done, even if we have to split up.

Any thoughts on doubling up? What do you think the chances are they'll run off after the first shot? I see they hung around after you dropped the one in your pic. Are those all ewes in the pic or is that a ram or two above the dead one?

My buddy and I doubled up on a small herd of ewes. The key was that we used suppressors. After my (humblebrag) one shot kill at ~575 yds, the herd actually ran towards us...

 

[CMF]

My buddy and I doubled up on a small herd of ewes. The key was that we used suppressors. After my (humblebrag) one shot kill at ~575 yds, the herd actually ran towards us...

Nice! I hope something like that works out for us as well

 

[CMF]

(Fort Bliss/Mcrgregor Range)

Does anyone have coordinates for the designated campsites?

Do any of the phone mapping apps have the actual training area boundaries?

They've only provided a pdf map. we'll make do, but with so many boundaries, it would be nice to see the boundaries on OnX or another app if one provides it.