New Mexico Exotic

2025 New Mexico Barbary Sheep Season Dates

**Season dates vary by zone. Barbary sheep hunts vary by region. For more information on a legal hunt, visit the New Mexico Game and Fish Department website.

Hunting Barbary sheep in New Mexico has become very popular over the last few years. People are starting to realize how fun and challenging these animals are to hunt. With other species getting so hard to draw, especially in the sheep world, people are leaning towards applying for New Mexico Barbary sheep tags. With way more tags available and way better draw odds, these sheep are becoming a very hot topic.

One reason is you hunt them basically the same way as you do the bighorns, spending a ton of time behind glassing some beautiful high desert, rough country. New Mexico offers both draw tags and OTC tags for Barbary hunts. In the main OTC units, like unit 34, we have seen a decline in the numbers just due to a lot of hunters and higher harvest numbers. However, that’s not to say you can’t go harvest a great sheep; just be prepared to put in the time and effort to find them. It does seem that the pressure on these hunts took a dip in 2024. Not as many hunters were in the field on the OTC hunts. This could be because the numbers are lower than when they first made it an OTC unit or because it's been a few years now and it has lost its hype. Either way, if you are OK hunting hard, hiking hard, and spending time behind glass, this is a great option for anyone looking for a fun sheep hunt in 2025.

The draw units are still doing very well. 2024 produced some great rams in almost all of the units available. The best unit for big rams is still going to be unit 28 (McGregor Range). The state offers very few tags on range, which allows the rams to get some great age to them, and it shows every year with some of the rams that we see coming off the range hunts. There are some special regulations for the hunts on range, so be sure to read through the regulations for 2025 before applying.

One of the most sought-after hunts in New Mexico for Barbary sheep is units 29 and 30. These two units seem to continually produce great rams every year. The population in these units has taken a small hit, but the trophy quality still seems to be holding strong. The state offers a good number of tags for these hunts with multiple hunt dates to choose from. The rut hunt in October is probably the best hunt to glass up big rams as they will be with the big groups of ewes and easier to find. The later hunts in the year are still awesome and fun, but they tend to be harder to find the small groups of rams. After the rut, the rams tend to get back in small bachelor groups and head to more of the secluded country to be left alone. Harvest success on the late hunts is still great, just be prepared to get back in some rougher country and not be focused on the bigger groups of ewes, you will see closer to the roads.

Another great hunt for Barbary sheep in New Mexico is the unit 32, 36, 37 hunt. This hunt can be a little more frustrating with the amount of private land you will need to navigate around to get into the sheep. OnX is a must for this hunt. Not many roads get you around the private land, so be prepared to hike. Most of the sheep will be in 32 and 37, bouncing back and forth between private ranches and BLM lands. The population is doing well in these units. Typically, the average size of rams is lower in these units than in 29, 30, but this cluster of units produces some great rams as well. These units offer multiple hunts as well, but the October rut hunt can be very productive with the rams bumping the ewes around and bouncing back and forth between private ranches. This hunt has better draw odds typically.