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Aoudad Hunting South of the Border: A Cactus Filled Adventure

A hunt for wild aoudad in remote Mexico.

Aoudad Hunting South of the Border: A Cactus Filled Adventure
(Photo courtesy of Erik Petersen)

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When we rolled up to our rendezvous point and found a small, hand-built corral made of gnarled mesquite in the middle of the Mexican desert, with an entire drove of donkeys milling about, we knew we were off to a good start. The four of us had been operating under the assumption that we would be packing our food, water, camping and hunting gear, and, in my case, too much weight in camera equipment, up the mountainside where we planned to backpack hunt wild aoudad for five days. The donkey pack train came as a welcomed surprise.

I suspect our hosts, Geno and Eduardo, had made arrangements, but like any good adventure in a foreign country, much was lost in translation. No matter, we did a quick pivot, shoved even more food and water into our already overstuffed Stone Glacier packs, and watched as they were loaded into burlap sacks turned panniers.


The slow but steady beasts of burden looked like a line of ants climbing their way up switchback after switchback along a path carved into the side of the mountain from hundreds of years of just such travel. We marveled at the view as we wound our way up; nothing but mountains, sage, cactus and desert falling away below us. The mesa we climbed was enormous (picture a volcano with a buzz cut). While the sides were incredibly steep and rugged, once on top, it was flat and relatively easy walking for miles.

Easy walking, that is, except for the pokey stuff. Everything in this region seemed to be armed with razor sharp ends. Saguaro, western prickly pear, and organ pipe were just a few of the cacti we encountered.

Sharp Flora Galore

hunters glassing from a ridge
(Photo courtesy of Erik Petersen)

Then there’s all the different types of cholla, which, when listed off, sounds like Bubba's shrimp list from the movie Forest Gump.

You’ve got your Buckhorn Cholla, Whipple Cholla, Tree Cholla, Christmas Cholla; then there’s your Teddy Bear Cholla, Jumping Cholla, Silver Cholla, Chain Fruit Cholla, Diamond Cholla and Devil Cholla…that’s about it.

Fortunately for us, Eduardo and Geno are from the region, and had hunted here before. They sent us a list of must-haves ahead of time, which included knee-high snake-proof gaiters­—not so much for the snakes, but for all the pokey plant life.

The Cast

old architecture
Hunting aoudad with archery equipment is a monumental feat, often taking many years and attempts to find success. (Photo courtesy of Erik Petersen)

Eduardo and Geno grew up in Mexico and had been chasing aoudad in this area for several years. The two are avid archers, having traveled the world with their bows, chasing everything from mountain goats in British Columbia, to elk in New Mexico. Eduardo had been successful aoudad hunting in the past, but this would be Geno’s fifth year of trying to bag a sheep with his bow.

Rounding out the trio of hunters was Dustin Diefenderfer, founder and CEO of MTNTOUGH Fitness, an online fitness app developed for backcountry hunters. MTNTOUGH’s ethos is helping people become functionally fit to be able to carry heavy loads for multiple days over rugged terrain at high altitude. They also focus heavily on mental toughness, believing that a strong mind can help you overcome the challenges that life throws at you. Whether those challenges are at home, at work, or on a multi-day mountain hunt like this one.

I was there to capture the hunt with my camera. A photographer and filmmaker for the past 24 years, my role was to document the hunt for a MTNTOUGH film.

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Viva la Mexico!

aoudad head
(Photo courtesy of Erik Petersen)

The hunt came about after Eduardo and Geno reached out to Dustin via email. They found MTNTOUGH online when they realized the gym training they had been doing wasn’t properly preparing them for the kind of difficult mountain hunts they relish in.

“I did my first aoudad hunt five years ago. I thought I was ready for the hunt,” Geno said. “When I got back, I was surprised at how unprepared I was. I found MTNTOUGH and have been hooked ever since.” They reached out to Dustin to let him know how effective his program has been and invited him to Mexico to show him the proof on an aoudad hunt.

We flew out of Bozeman, Montana on a crisp October morning. After a long day of travel and a fair amount of hassle from the customs agent, we stepped out of the airport into the warm Monterrey air.

Setting Forth

morning sunrise behind peaks
(Photo courtesy of Erik Petersen)

As we topped out on the mesa on our trusty steeds, we approached an old handmade rock corral where the rancher could contain his stock when needed. Strung across the entrance was a single strand of barbed wire between two six-foot posts. The donkeys began passing beneath the wire without incident. I watched as Geno ducked a bit to be certain his backpack, with bow strapped to the back, would clear beneath the wire.

Dustin, however, didn’t see the wire. I was a second late in pointing it out and watched in horror as the cam on his bow caught the barbed wire. The donkey, who had been reluctant to carry Dustin’s weight up the mountain, suddenly smelled the proverbial barn on top and began to really lean into it.

The donkey was pulling Dustin forward as the wire hooked to the bow, which was connected to the pack, was pulling him backward. The tug-of-war continued as I tried a quick dismount in an attempt to help with the predicament.

I was too late. Before I could get off, Dustin’s donkey gave one last surge and crow-hopped to the side, sending Dustin flying to the ground where he landed on his bow. There were broken pieces on the ground, and at first glance, it appeared our hunt had just ended before it even started.

Assessing the Damage

glassing from high up
The hunters had vast landscapes to glass to find a mature wild aoudad. (Photo courtesy of Erik Petersen)

Dustin dusted off and took stock of the situation. The broken pieces turned out to be from the limb foot he had attached to the bottom of the bow; one of the few pieces that weren’t mandatory to operate the compound. Crisis averted, we left the donkeys at the corral and set off on foot with packs on our backs and bows in hand.

Aoudad, also known as Barbary sheep, are now rare in their native habitat of North Africa, according to Outdoors International. But they have been successfully introduced around the world including southeastern Spain, the southwestern United States and Mexico. They are now considered an invasive species in these regions. The sheep thrive in the rugged, cliffy terrain of southern Texas and Mexico. Our hunting technique was to sneak along the rim of the mesa and peer over the cliff edges. Picking them out from the surrounding vegetation was no small task. Their buff color acting as a natural camouflage in this country.


The light began to fade as we picked our way through the cactus on the rim edge. We fell into a rhythm as the three hunters leap-frogged each other, picking apart the terrain below them. Suddenly Geno stopped and pointed. “Dustin, right there, there’s a sheep down there, shoot him.”

Dustin was one cliff ledge below us, and it took him a second to locate what Geno was pointing at. The sheep was broadside and in range, but had Dustin pegged. It appeared ready to bolt at any moment. I watched as Dustin slowly drew back his bow and picked a spot.

Go Time

hunter with aoudad
(Photo courtesy of Erik Petersen)

We watched the arch of Dustin’s arrow as it found its mark on the big ram. These animals are sturdy, and, even with a well-placed shot, the sheep soldiered on. Dustin was able to get a second arrow in the ram, finishing the job. Day one and Dustin had already tagged out. But now the real work began.

Darkness enveloped us as we began the long, arduous process of climbing down the cliffs to try and get to the trophy. We had a lot of ground to cover and most of it was straight down. We took turns handing down packs and gear, then searching for safe hand and footholds with headlamps on. An hour later, we were admiring the broad sweeping horns of Dustin’s trophy, its battle scars a testament to just how old this ram was.

dressing out an aoudad
(Photo courtesy of Erik Petersen)

We even got a surprise bonus—a rusty old horseshoe lay just inches from the ram’s final resting place. An appropriate sign of just how lucky we’d been on day one.

We boned the sheep out and loaded hide, horns, and meat into our packs before beginning the grind back up to the top of the mesa. By 2 a.m., we had made it to our camp location. Tents were quickly assembled and we crawled into our sleeping bags, exhausted from a full 
and fulfilling day.

The Grind

fire back at camp
(Photo courtesy of Erik Petersen)

The next two days were spent similarly, up early and scouring the cliff edges in search of the wary rams. We endured pouring rain, more pokey plants, and eventually, searing heat. Ancient petroglyphs on cliff walls were proof that other archers had passed this way before us.

On the third morning, Eduardo connected on a nice ram in the rain. The following morning, Geno made a deadly 40-yard shot on a big old ram that had been wallowing in the mud, finally punching that ticket after five years of trying.

On the final night, we stretched out in front of a roaring fire under a canopy of stars, the dancing flames glinting off the caped sheep skulls. As hunters have been doing for time immemorial, we sat around that campfire, laughing, dreaming of future hunts and recalling highlights from the past few days, etching 
our own petroglyphs in our minds.





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