As long as it's a free range hunt, I would be happy with those.  I have a friend out here that did the New Mexico Oryx hunt this year and got a nice bull.  He's a beauty, and my buddy said the meat was awesome.  Very expensive in terms of tags, but it's worth it for a once in a lifetime hunt!

After hunting them in Africa I have to defeinitely go with the Oryx gazelle.  They are just amazingly hardy.  The vitality is incredible.  Unfortunately I never got to taste one.  The deal on the land where I bagged my oryx was that the meat went to the land owner for sale in the local butcher shop.   

I was going to ask my guide to buy some for us (I would have paid for it of course) when I saw the local butcher shop help literally spraying insecticide on the meat to keep the flies off it!

That ended any interest I had in buying ANYTHINg from that butcher shop!

If I could bag a gemsbok in the US and process the meat myself that would be jsut about ideal.

What is the cost of the tags if you don't mind my asking?  Is it safe to assume that they are issued with some sort of lottery drawing as well?  i can't imagine that there would be enough free ranging gemsbok in New Mexico for an over the counter tag to be available. 

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Aoudad and Gemsbok.

Aoudad look great in at least a half body mount to show off all their hair with their leg chaps (and of course their hanging neck mane).

Gemsbok are so neat looking with their markings and colors, plus those long horns. $1600 or so for the NM permit, but what the heck if you only do it once in your lifetime!

Oryx is at the top my list and I just applied for the first time this year. 1,630 for the tag and if you draw I think the White Sands access fee is another 150.

This is the most expensive tag I have ever applied for but figure it will be worth it if I ever get drawn. I believe the odds are only around 5% but I'm always optimistic.

Second is Aoudad with a much cheaper license.

are a great looking trophy too and black blackbuck also.

Plus since they are basic exotics, the costs are reasonable.

1 in 20 actually sounds like way better odds than 5% does when you look at it that way. But I have found any odds much less than 1 to 1 I don't do very well.

We had a 60% chance to draw the antelope tags we wanted in Wyoming last year and still came up empty handed. Second choice worked out but there are usually leftovers in that unit.

Although there have been a few exceptions I have found it seems to take me one more year than what should be possible with most draws. lol

But the way I see it my luck can only get better and I'm sure this is the year for the good ones.

I enjoyed my Oryx hunt.  i have done it 3 times and enjoyed it every time.   I all so like to hunt Barbary Sheep in south New Mexico.  The Hunt i really want to go on is Ibex in Southern New Mexico Down my Deming.

A gemsbok is a spectacular animal to hunt.  If the ones stateside are anything like those in Africa, they are one tough animal.  They do not go down easily and don't just stand around waiting for you to slip up and shoot them. 

As far as eating them, I would rank them right up on top.  I've eaten lots of buffalo, elk, moose, caribou and a plethora of deer and antelope, and I found the Oryx to be as good as or better than any of them.  It is the staple meat where I hunted in Africa and I got to eat some almost every day I was there.  I had it in just about every manner you can think of and it was delicious every time. 

When you consider the great time you'll have hunting it, the incredible trophy mount you will get and the fabulous meat you'll end up with, it's a bargain at $1600+.  Go for it.  Don't delay.  And then post pictures on this site so we can all see it.

I took a gold medal bull and was as happy as I could be.  It was one of my top animals to harvest in Africa and I was fortunate to take him on my first day out.  My hunting partners were not nearly so fortunate.

As far as an exotic I'd like to get, I am eyeing the blackbucks down in Texas.

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