Devil's River

[Downwind]

Anyone know about hunting at Devil's River SNA? I was drawn for an Exotic Only hunt in January and wondered if anyone has been there and could give me some info. Thanks.

[Shane]

I've not hunted there, but from what I've heard the exotics are mostly (if not all) audad. Maybe there are other exotics there too, I don't know. I've always just heard it was audad though.

Free ranging audad in rough country like that is one of the most challenging hunts in Texas. I used to hunt them in the canyons in the Panhandle, and those suckers are the toughest animals walking. You don't get the full appreciation for just what they can do and how tough they are in rolling hills. When you see them in truly ROUGH country, it's amazing. I have pictures of a herd going off of a cliff that's close to 100 feet straight down from the rim of Tule Canyon - babies and all. As long as the ground isn't flat at the bottom of the cliff, they will hit the ground running. I've found skeletons before on a ledge below a big cliff like that. One was a 33" ram with 4 broken legs. He thought he could make it, but he hit flat ground.

Are you rifle hunting or bow hunting? If you are rifle hunting, don't shoot behind the shoulder in the lungs like you would with a bow. Shoot 'em in the the neck or top of the shoulder and break them down. I've never seen an animal that can absorb bullets and go farther than an audad if you don't spine him.

If you try to eat him, you'll get an even better appreciation for how freakin' tough they are. You might want to donate the meat to somebody that is VERY hungry.

Good luck on your hunt! I'd sure love to hunt there.

[Downwind]

Its a gun or bow as far as I know so I'm taking both. There are some Axis there also and some Corsican Sheep as well. I'd really like a nice Aoudad and an Axis for eating. Thanks for the tips on where to shoot them. Last year they had 102 percent success on critters but they did not say which ones. I am looking forward to the hunt.

[SteveM]

I was there during the second hunt period last year but I wasn't part of the 102% success. It is extremelly rough country. The unit we had could only be accessed by wlking into it. It is probably better described as climbing into it. It took 30-45 minutes to get on top of the hill where you could then walk to 4 or 5 canyon rims so you could glass the slopes. Walking/climbing was very difficult due to the loose rock, those little spiky cactus things that would stab you in the shins and other thorny and spiky plants that seemed to take delight in antogonizing us. My suggestions are to have very good tough boots with good ankle support. I would also recommend a good pack that you can carry enough stuff with you to stay out all day, something to strap the head to if you get lucky and a place to strap your rifle to so you can keep your hands and arms free if you need to do any climbing. You also will need a good pair of optics for glassing the sides of the canyons. Be prepared to take shots out to 200 yards or even farther. Make sure you have a good first aid kit. Always assume that if you see them they have seen you and are watching you very close to see if you are a threat. If you are not in the 1st hunt period they are extrordinarily wary and will start running at the earliest opportunity.

Even though we didn't connect on any animals it was a good hunt and I would go back again. Just go prepared for anything, make sure you are in decent shape and plan on a hard hunt.

Steve

[DFWarcher]

Thats a very hard hunt to draw, good luck. By the way, how many preference points did you have?

[SteveM]

I think I had 7 points. For me it seems like feral hog is a much harder hunt to get. So far I have 9 points for that.

Steve

[Downwind]

DFW I had 12 points when I was drawn this year. I was drawn for the Turkey hunt at Kerr WMA for 2 years in a row. I would like to make it 3 in a row this year. When my son was younger he was drawn every year for 5 years in a row for Javilina at Chaparral.