in texas, exotic hunting is anything not native game, which includes the american bison and elk,  oddly enough, as both had been extinct from texas for a long time before reintroduction.  most exotics are from africa, but some are from india (barasingha deer and axis), and some are european (fallow, red stag, russian boar).  one of my hardest hunts was for axis, all day in the heat of south texas.  loading up a huge eland was not as much fun as hunting it, either.  some of these hunts are not that hard as they are on game farms and it is just a matter of driving around and finding a good specimen.  it is better to do it on foot.  since we hunt whitetails over feeders, exotics can be just  as challenging or not.  i really liked my eland hunt.  what a monster.  ::hello1  

I've never thought about hunting exotics in the states. Now, hunting in Africa after native game is a different story. A safari hunt is on my short list of hunts I want to go on before I die.

The only "exotic" hunt I would want to do in the US is for Oryx in New Mexico.  Mainly, it's because they are free ranging.  I have a buddy who drew that tag this past year and got a really nice one.  Thing of beauty.

All of your exotics in Texas will be fenced, albeit it thousands of acres.  I still don't like the idea of growing animals just to hunt.  Something about the wildness of it all.

That oryx hunt is on White Sands Missile Range right?

Oryx are handsome creatures. I think that hunt would be amazing. Do you know how much $ they keep every year when you apply or do you get it all back if you don't draw?

When I get the chance i hunt buffalo up in Northern Australia and any pigs along the way.

A normal hunting day will be fishing out at the mangroves, if lucky we will pick up some mud crabs (best food in the world) maybe a few ducks and egret or brolga (very large bird). If we get 2 or more brolga that’s enough for every one to eat and that might end the days hunt. If it is not enough we will head over to the flood plains and hunt for a young buffalo calf. Most of the hunting is done on foot. We tried spearing buffalo this year as some of the old aboriginal men said that thier father’s had done it. After trying it; I don’t think it’s possible. The spears we made the traditional way, except for the spear head, as flint had not been traded for generations so we used steel. (very intresting to learn all the skils. Well the buffalo hide is an inch or more thicker in the critical kill zone, so the spears either bent or the bounced off and just made the bull really peed off. (Which get the heart pounding in the scrub). (bull Subdued with 7.62 x54r) Have now come up with a different type of spear design. Much heaver shaft and has a sleaved head instead of a split shaft. Will see next year if the young boys are will to try again, (elders allowing as it was a bit hairy last time). Cant upload photos from work, but i will up load some from later.

This is sort of an old thread but I missed it before and I just wanted to comment on the Texas exotic situation. It is true that probably 99% of tehm are high fence down there but not all of them are. The aoudad hunt I will be going on in south west Texas is 100% free range animals that have beeen so for decades. Just like the one in New Mexico they have always been free and unfenced in some of the roughest terrain Texas has. I would never go after them if it was a fenced ranch hunt no matter hoe big the property.

They also have free range axis deer slightly farther to the north. I think I read somewhere there are around 15,000 of them that are totally free range. Most of the axis and aoudad are pen animals but the others are out there. I also kow that a handful of oryx are killed every year that wander into Texas from New Mexico, the only difference is that if you kill it in New Mexico the tag is about 1,600 but once it crosses the border into Texas the tag is 45 dollars. Same free range animal just a couple of miles difference. The last case is elk which wander in over the border as well and also a few resident herds far to the west. Again 45 bucks for the tag until it crosses the border.

Just a minor point here but I don't want any confusion as I believe the same as most of the guys here and want nothing to do with high fence or captive animals. And since I will be hunting down there I don'r want anyone to think that's what I'm doing. The hunt I'm going on is supposed to tougher than almost anything I've ever done before due to the terrain and type of animal that lives there. Texas is a huge state and a lot of it is just like anywhere else but the parts that are not give a bad name to the rest.

Okay nuff said that should clear it up some.