Ibex Hunting In Spain
By Flemming Rolin
A couple of weeks ago while hunting Barbary sheep in Spain with Iberhunting, a full service outfitter, I met the owner, Antonio Teruel, and we quickly became good friends. When it was time for me to return to Sweden, where besides my regular job I also run a small hunting lodge, primarily for wild boar with eight blinds and baited areas, Antonio mentioned he had received a cancellation to a hunt for Gredos Ibex scheduled for April 26-30. He asked if I was interested. I would only have to pay 2/3 of the price, since this was the third time this hunter had cancelled and he would now lose his deposit. After pondering the pros and cons, I regretfully had to decline his offer. I had my own company to run, dogs that had to be taken care of, and besides I already had three hunters scheduled for a wild boar hunt on that weekend.
As fate would have it, my brother had taken a few vacation days during this time, and he offered to take care of the dogs. I called Antonio in Spain and asked if we could possibly move the dates from April 26 to April 28? That was OK with Antonio. Next I called the three hunters who were booked for a wild boar hunt with me and asked if they minded me taking off Sunday night, and luckily, they did not object. Now things were starting to fall into place. I quickly arranged for tickets, and soon I was sitting in Copenhagen Airport waiting for my flight to Madrid.
As I mentioned at the beginning, this was a hunt I initially had to decline because of previously arranged schedules and time constraints, but with lots of help and cooperation from everybody, I now sit here one day later, at 10:31am Monday morning, and I have just shot a trophy Gredos Ibex.
This is how the hunt unfolded.
Sunday April 28, I land in Madrid where Antonio picks me up. Spring has not yet arrived here, and he tells me we can expect a snowstorm overnight. The drive to Gredos, Southwest of Madrid takes roughly two hours through the beautiful La Sierra de Gredos mountain range with snow capped peaks reaching 6000 feet.
After getting settled at the hotel, I am invited to a six course lunch at a Michelin restaurant, which I do not think possible to find in such a small town with a population of only 400 people. The food and service is superb.
After a well deserved rest, it is time for dinner at the hotel, which incidentally also sports a Michelin restaurant. Two Michelin restaurants in this little town? I am astonished. After another six course dinner with all the accompanying trimmings and wine, it is time for some more sleep. The room I have been assigned comes with a large double bed, and I ask my host in jest if he has arranged additional benefits for me, but alas, I get to sleep alone.
By Flemming Rolin
A couple of weeks ago while hunting Barbary sheep in Spain with Iberhunting, a full service outfitter, I met the owner, Antonio Teruel, and we quickly became good friends. When it was time for me to return to Sweden, where besides my regular job I also run a small hunting lodge, primarily for wild boar with eight blinds and baited areas, Antonio mentioned he had received a cancellation to a hunt for Gredos Ibex scheduled for April 26-30. He asked if I was interested. I would only have to pay 2/3 of the price, since this was the third time this hunter had cancelled and he would now lose his deposit. After pondering the pros and cons, I regretfully had to decline his offer. I had my own company to run, dogs that had to be taken care of, and besides I already had three hunters scheduled for a wild boar hunt on that weekend.
As fate would have it, my brother had taken a few vacation days during this time, and he offered to take care of the dogs. I called Antonio in Spain and asked if we could possibly move the dates from April 26 to April 28? That was OK with Antonio. Next I called the three hunters who were booked for a wild boar hunt with me and asked if they minded me taking off Sunday night, and luckily, they did not object. Now things were starting to fall into place. I quickly arranged for tickets, and soon I was sitting in Copenhagen Airport waiting for my flight to Madrid.
As I mentioned at the beginning, this was a hunt I initially had to decline because of previously arranged schedules and time constraints, but with lots of help and cooperation from everybody, I now sit here one day later, at 10:31am Monday morning, and I have just shot a trophy Gredos Ibex.
This is how the hunt unfolded.
Sunday April 28, I land in Madrid where Antonio picks me up. Spring has not yet arrived here, and he tells me we can expect a snowstorm overnight. The drive to Gredos, Southwest of Madrid takes roughly two hours through the beautiful La Sierra de Gredos mountain range with snow capped peaks reaching 6000 feet.
After getting settled at the hotel, I am invited to a six course lunch at a Michelin restaurant, which I do not think possible to find in such a small town with a population of only 400 people. The food and service is superb.
After a well deserved rest, it is time for dinner at the hotel, which incidentally also sports a Michelin restaurant. Two Michelin restaurants in this little town? I am astonished. After another six course dinner with all the accompanying trimmings and wine, it is time for some more sleep. The room I have been assigned comes with a large double bed, and I ask my host in jest if he has arranged additional benefits for me, but alas, I get to sleep alone.
Ibex Hunting In Spain
Monday morning at 0730 I get up to a snow covered landscape. Two inches of snow has fallen during the night. After a quick shower I go down for breakfast. Unbelievable! Three different kinds of freshly squeezed juice, homemade yogurt, croissants and several other delicacies I can't believe. I eat heartily, because I do not know when I will return to the hotel.
We meet up with two local guides from the reserve, by law compulsory in Spain, who have to guide us on the hunt.
The trip takes us up and down along narrow gravel roads, and the car is rocking back and forth. I am quietly hoping my breakfast stays down. Arriving at a turn-a-round down in the valley we dismount, and it is time to suit up. I have bought a GoPro camera to film the day's adventure.
Off we go along narrow rocky trails. Approximately 500 yards from the car we make contact with the first Ibex, huge rams, but not at all within my budget. They range between $20,000 and $ 30,000. Man, I would love to shoot one of these monster trophy rams. Ah well, maybe next time.
We move on, and find a herd with trophies more suited to my bank account, no more than 90 yards away, which I find strange. Normally game would have run off, so in a quiet voice I ask how come the animals haven't fled. The answer is: Low hunting pressure. Only one Ibex has been shot here this year, measuring 282 CIC points. Cost $ 40,000 and shot by an American hunter with bow and arrow.
The animals get restless and start moving down towards the river. We follow, not crouching, but walking normally. Incredible, but true. We make contact again 100 yards further down, and I get in position. I place the knapsack on a boulder and put the rifle on top and get ready to shoot. The animals start passing in front of us 90 yards out, but 'mine' is not among them. They have separated! The herd in front of us head towards the mountains on the right, and the rest have gone down to the riverbed. Quickly I put all my gear on again and get ready for a stalk.
We are walking along the edge of the mountain facing the riverbed, and see where the animals have turned down toward the river, and they are now only 25 yards below us. While the guides are discussing a plan of action, the animals emerge some 50 yards in front of us, but 'mine' is not among them either. These are all rams 'on the other side of gold' and not what I have in mind.
We wonder where the ram has disappeared to, when a herd of animals appear on the far side of the river. The guides look for a suitable ram, and I must say they know their stuff. They can judge an animal at 100 yards to within + or - 5 points. The problem though, is these are either all too big or too small.
We meet up with two local guides from the reserve, by law compulsory in Spain, who have to guide us on the hunt.
The trip takes us up and down along narrow gravel roads, and the car is rocking back and forth. I am quietly hoping my breakfast stays down. Arriving at a turn-a-round down in the valley we dismount, and it is time to suit up. I have bought a GoPro camera to film the day's adventure.
Off we go along narrow rocky trails. Approximately 500 yards from the car we make contact with the first Ibex, huge rams, but not at all within my budget. They range between $20,000 and $ 30,000. Man, I would love to shoot one of these monster trophy rams. Ah well, maybe next time.
We move on, and find a herd with trophies more suited to my bank account, no more than 90 yards away, which I find strange. Normally game would have run off, so in a quiet voice I ask how come the animals haven't fled. The answer is: Low hunting pressure. Only one Ibex has been shot here this year, measuring 282 CIC points. Cost $ 40,000 and shot by an American hunter with bow and arrow.
The animals get restless and start moving down towards the river. We follow, not crouching, but walking normally. Incredible, but true. We make contact again 100 yards further down, and I get in position. I place the knapsack on a boulder and put the rifle on top and get ready to shoot. The animals start passing in front of us 90 yards out, but 'mine' is not among them. They have separated! The herd in front of us head towards the mountains on the right, and the rest have gone down to the riverbed. Quickly I put all my gear on again and get ready for a stalk.
We are walking along the edge of the mountain facing the riverbed, and see where the animals have turned down toward the river, and they are now only 25 yards below us. While the guides are discussing a plan of action, the animals emerge some 50 yards in front of us, but 'mine' is not among them either. These are all rams 'on the other side of gold' and not what I have in mind.
We wonder where the ram has disappeared to, when a herd of animals appear on the far side of the river. The guides look for a suitable ram, and I must say they know their stuff. They can judge an animal at 100 yards to within + or - 5 points. The problem though, is these are either all too big or too small.
Ibex Hunting In Spain
Out of nowhere comes my dream ram walking. The ram stops and starts grazing. The guides are debating the size of him, because it has now started to snow and visibility is diminished. They judge it to be in the upper part of silver, and give me permission to shoot.
I get down prone, put the rifle on top of the knapsack, take a quick peek back to make sure everything is 100% OK. I push the safety forward, take a deep breath and touch the trigger. The ram signals a solid hit, and lurks forward. I choose to fire once more, and the ram runs 15 yards before falling behind a large tree, and out of sight.
The guides choose to bring the rifle with them across the river to search for the downed ram. Minutes pass, the wait is killing me. I want to know if everything is alright, when I see one of the guides wave and confirm the animal is there, dead.
Now the hard part begins, to get the animal back across the river, but with combined effort and some rope we manage to bring it over. The guides are pondering the size thinking it may be on the wrong side of gold, but after some recalculating they arrive at 223.75 CIC points. The ram is skinned in case I want a full mount, and we leave for the trip back to the hotel for a champagne lunch, and my, what a lunch. Six courses with champagne, wine and cognac. Later today we drive back to Madrid where my host, Antonio, will try and get tickets for the soccer game tomorrow between Real Madrid and Dortmund.
Facts and references:
The hunt was arranged by Iberhunting www.iberhunting.com, a full service outfitter. They also arranged for my Ibex to be full mounted in Spain, and shipment to Sweden.
I borrowed a rifle on site, a Blaser R8 .270 Weatherby Magnum with Zeiss Diarange M 3-12x56 scope.
I used Weatherby factory ammunition with a 140 gr Nosler bullet.
A good set of binoculars are invaluable for glassing the mountain slopes. I used a pair of Swarovski 10x50 with built in rangefinder.
I bought a pair of Meindl comfort fit hunting boots for the trip, and have not regretted it.
Spain is probably not on the top of your list when it comes to hunting, but the opportunities are endless at reasonable prices
There are 4 types of Ibex in Spain: Gredos Ibex, Ronda-Tejeda Ibex, Sierra Nevada Ibex and Beceite Ibex. The supply of all 4 is plentiful.
I get down prone, put the rifle on top of the knapsack, take a quick peek back to make sure everything is 100% OK. I push the safety forward, take a deep breath and touch the trigger. The ram signals a solid hit, and lurks forward. I choose to fire once more, and the ram runs 15 yards before falling behind a large tree, and out of sight.
The guides choose to bring the rifle with them across the river to search for the downed ram. Minutes pass, the wait is killing me. I want to know if everything is alright, when I see one of the guides wave and confirm the animal is there, dead.
Now the hard part begins, to get the animal back across the river, but with combined effort and some rope we manage to bring it over. The guides are pondering the size thinking it may be on the wrong side of gold, but after some recalculating they arrive at 223.75 CIC points. The ram is skinned in case I want a full mount, and we leave for the trip back to the hotel for a champagne lunch, and my, what a lunch. Six courses with champagne, wine and cognac. Later today we drive back to Madrid where my host, Antonio, will try and get tickets for the soccer game tomorrow between Real Madrid and Dortmund.
Facts and references:
The hunt was arranged by Iberhunting www.iberhunting.com, a full service outfitter. They also arranged for my Ibex to be full mounted in Spain, and shipment to Sweden.
I borrowed a rifle on site, a Blaser R8 .270 Weatherby Magnum with Zeiss Diarange M 3-12x56 scope.
I used Weatherby factory ammunition with a 140 gr Nosler bullet.
A good set of binoculars are invaluable for glassing the mountain slopes. I used a pair of Swarovski 10x50 with built in rangefinder.
I bought a pair of Meindl comfort fit hunting boots for the trip, and have not regretted it.
Spain is probably not on the top of your list when it comes to hunting, but the opportunities are endless at reasonable prices
There are 4 types of Ibex in Spain: Gredos Ibex, Ronda-Tejeda Ibex, Sierra Nevada Ibex and Beceite Ibex. The supply of all 4 is plentiful.
