Non-trophy exotic hunts?

[MikeR]

I've always been interested in hunting exotics, but I've got to admit that I'm not at all a trophy hunter.  Are there any ranches that offer non-trophy exotic hunts at reduced prices?  I really want something challenging - not a put and take operation.

[markc]

Maybe some of the others will have a good answer for you.  In my limited experience, the more affordable hunts are put n take hunts.  That doesn't necessarily mean that the game animals are tame pets though.   Some are quite wild and offer a good hunt.  What type of exotics are you looking to hunt?  If you can narrow it down a bit, maybe someone will know of a hunt for you.  Are you talking deer? Axis, fallow, sika?  Sheep, corsican, new zealand billies?   Whats your flavor?
markc

[Tom]

define, "something challenging"   You mean hills, you mean running animals, you mean bow?

[Graybeard]

The short answer is NO! Sorry but that's the facts.

Now for more help in deciding if it is for you.

The cheap hunts are usually mass operations where the animals are killed only a short time after they hit the ranches. At the worst and especially in states other than TX they might not even be put there until you set up the hunt and that's the ONE you'll hunt and kill. Hunts of this nature stretch the use of the term hunt. Still at times you'll find a few animals that that some wariness about them and can be interesting to hunt.

I rate these by and large as being best reserved for new hunters, youngsters or maybe bow hunting. With gun an experienced hunter is not gonna feel challenged or feel he "really hunted".

I've see it run the gamut from quite honestly being able to feed them or pet them by hand to animals that run as soon as they see or hear you.

Now there are some places that are not put and take but you need to realize these really are the exception NOT the rule. This is especially true with sheep which make up the majority of the cheaper hunts. Move to the axis and fallow deer and black buck antelope which are often breeding populations on the larger ranches and you'll see a totally different story here. Fallow are a bit dense at times. Axis can be more wary than white tails. I've seen all three on the same ranch and have to rate the axis as more wary than white tails in that instance. So perhaps as a non trophy hunter you'd like to consider a hunt for the doe deer of one of these species. These are usually far cheaper than buck hunts and at times as cheap as the cheaper sheep hunts.

On a ranch of 1000 or more acres especially if dense cover is available you might find this an interesting hunt. With bow or iron sighted handgun more so than scoped rifle.

Aoudad and true Mouflon are very wary animals. Given room and cover to escape they are a challenge you'd enjoy. They are NOT cheap however. Maybe if you could arrange a ewe hunt on a ranch where they breed naturally you could have both challenge and cheap. I was once on an 80 acre ranch, yeah they actually called it a hunt, with mostly sheep and goats on it. Cover was seriously thick and terrain rose sharply. From above with a scoped rifle you could really cover most of it. With an iron sighted handgun as I was using there were a couple of moulfon I think I could have never taken. They were always as far from me as they could be on that much land. No way we could get close. Most of the sheep I had to almost kick in the butt to get them out of my way. The goats were almost as bad. But one they called an Ibex but which looked to be a Catalina based on horns I saw but once in several hours. No shot could have been made with an iron sighted handgun. Same for a couple of addax I saw once.

So even there if you were a bow hunter or handgun hunter and wanted to "go after them on foot" you could have had a challenge. Now I'm sure I could have set down and had the guide walk and they'd likely have been driven by as there just wasn't that much room. I chose instead to leave and hunt on a larger tract of land.

Coincidentally just as I was leaving a family came in using Weatherby Magnum rifles and within the first 15 minutes had maybe a dozen  animals on the ground. It was more slaughter than hunt for them.

GB

[MikeR]

Graybeard,

Thanks for the answer.  I expected that this was the answer I'd get.  I'd really like to hunt aoudad, nilgai, or blackbuck and hadn't considered axis deer, but will after your recommendation.  I'll save my money and apply it toward a quality hunt - I've no real desire to shoot tame animals.  By the way, I think I remember that you hunted Carter's Pasture in Florida some time ago.  Was that a quality operation?  It's close by and I'd considered it for a handgun hunt for hogs.

Mike

[Graybeard]

Yes it really is a quality operation. Mike Carter is a bit of a horse's butt as he and his wife readily admitted    but he and I had no problems. We came to an understanding early on and got along fine. Now one of the other guys on the hunt took a wrong approach and boy did he and Mike clash. I don't blame Mike for that however.

Most of their hog hunting is done from blinds (at least some of which are metal shacks) placed over bait. Since I was after a meat hog and not sport when I was shooting a hog that was fine with me. I believe you could make arrangements to hunt otherwise if they weren't booked too solidly while there. Any other type of hunt in that thick jungle on Carter's Pasture is gonna be a SERIOUS hunt. No doubt about it.

I hunted fallow from a tree stand near a water hole. Was no different than a white tail hunt I'd normally do in that regard. I waited and when I was presented a shot on a buck I wanted I took it. I passed on others before the right one happened by. After I took mine and while waiting for Mike to come pick me up a whole bunch of them that must have been spooked by something came running by and into the shallow pond. They stopped for a brief moment in that pond posed for me and WOW! There were at least three in that bunch that would have made mine look well almost small in comparison. Those were true world record class bucks. I Forget exactly what mine measured now but I think it missed gold by mabye 3 points or so. Books don't have much meaning to me so I've not tried to keep it in my head.

Food is excellent and accomodations fine in a rustic log cabin. At night we went out and sat in the swing on the back porch and a big huge hog came up to eat the scrapes the cook had tossed out. Must have been a 400 pounder.

GB

[Tom]

I remember once a ranch that had aoudad ($750), axis and fallow at $1000.   After years, people could not get the aoudad and they were taking over the habitat and became the majority population.   The owner discounted them and brought in big groups of hunters to get them out.

Another ranch had a heard of 200 ibex at $750 each with a man who leased the ranch with a 15 year contract.   The lease ran out, the owner wanted to switch to deer, so the ibex were discounted to get them out of there.

These things are pretty rare.   I agree that the doe hunts are a good option as they are desireable meat and less money.   A hog would be good too, but its a different sort of hunt often also, which can be interesting.

[ahunter55]

I have just finished a video on Exotic Bowhunting day lease ranches-no kill fee- to be released in the near future.
We had excellent Bowhunts at Sweetwater Creek Bowhunting (45 min. from Dallas/Ft. Worth area)& thou not trophy hunting took some very good animals.  We have booked two Bowhunts for this coming fall with them.  We have Bowhunted several operations (3 states-9 hunts)for wild hogs & exotics & must say, from "OUR" experience, Sweetwater was the most enjoyable for Quality, quanity  of game along with excellent facilities & staff.  We have made friends from Maryland & Mo. that have also Bowhunted this ranch on more than 1 occassion with nothing but good comments.
I do not usually reccommmend places as weather & other factors can change your hunting but have no problem with this Ranch.  They do have a web site & are VERY reasonable.  I am a paying hunter the same as anyone else.   Good luck in whatever you choose.

[MikeR]

Thanks - I'll check them out.

[ahunter55]

I have 2 articles on this site right now on Texas exotic & a hog dog bowhunt.  sweetwater is where the Exotic hunt took place.

[howie1968]

he  had  an  abundance  of  Sika does    409-283-3909   i  took  a couple  hunters  who  paid 50.00  for  the  animal  and  25  to  hunt