https://www.krqe.com/news/new-...-steep-mountainside/

LINK HAS VIDEO, great recovery.



Dramatic video shows hunters lowering Ibex down steep mountainside

NEW MEXICO
by: Brittany Bade

Posted: Jan 6, 2020 / 10:23 PM MST / Updated: Jan 7, 2020 / 07:04 AM MST

DEMING, N.M. (KRQE) – In a small mountain range in rural New Mexico, a teenager got an incredible start to her hunting career by shooting an Ibex high up on a mountainside.

“The Ibex hunt was only my second hunt ever,” said 14-year-old Payton Grimes of Texas.

In the Florida Mountains, south of Deming, Grimes first had her sights set on a different Ibex.

“The shot had missed and I was like, ‘Okay, well, dang I missed and I don’t get one,’ but then we looked over and we were like, ‘Okay he’s big, we should do this,’ so we did,” said Grimes.

Grimes hit the Ibex from 820 yards away, but the battle was far from over. The Ibex fell near the top of a 320-foot mountain face and two professional climbers had to come in and help get the more than 100-pound Ibex down.

“They went around to the back of the mountain and climbed down the front of it with the Ibex,” said Grimes.

It took more than three hours to get the Ibex down, and Grimes couldn’t believe what it looked like up close.

“Very good. I think it’s one of the biggest you can get down here,” said Grimes.

The 42.5-inch horns were much more than this second-time hunter was expecting to get in New Mexico.

“Yeah, honestly, I mean it’s cool, but I wasn’t expecting that at all,” said Grimes.

Payton now plans to mount her Ibex and come back to New Mexico for another hunt very soon.

wow! Great stuff there. Thanks for posting this.

I know AR has a tendency for jumping on the negative so I guess I'm going to be the "that guy" this time around.

Second time hunter, 14 years old, taking a 820 yard shot at a live animal? And in a spot where they had to hire professional climbers to retrieve it?

Just not the way I would do it or how I taught my boys to hunt.

Long range shooting has a whole lot more negatives than positives. But unfortunately that ship has already sailed. Technology is a one way path.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:
I know AR has a tendency for jumping on the negative so I guess I'm going to be the "that guy" this time around.

Second time hunter, 14 years old, taking a 820 yard shot at a live animal? And in a spot where they had to hire professional climbers to retrieve it?

Just not the way I would do it or how I taught my boys to hunt.

I guess I'll be a naysayer too Todd. I've hunted those mountains and understand the need to stay aware of recovery options. I passed on shots (and shots at Barbary sheep in similarly rough terrain) because of limited recovery potential. That's tough terrain, and opportunities to get closer may not be available. I'm glad this young lady got her ibex (if you consider hiring professional mountain climbers "got"), but I think the circumstances send a negative message to other young hunters. Without a reasonable way to recover the animal, my daughter would have passed on that shot, and I would have applauded her.

But who knows, maybe I'm an old fogey who doesn't keep up with the times. Shoot first, ask questions later, right?

+2 Todd.

+3 Todd

I have hunted that mountain numerous times. An ethical hunter always has to be aware of the ability to recover an Ibex off that mountain.

You mean you are not supposed to teach your kid that you kill the animal at any cost and worry about recovering the meat and the "trophy" later? Sarc.

my take.
PROFESSIONAL climbers.
professional means paid.

any bets on how much of this animal was eaten versus how much of it went to the taxidermist.

I'll go a different route with this.
She MADE the shot then did what it took TO RECOVER the animal. It was absolutely a success.

I probably would not taken a 800 yd shot, never have. I doubt I'd have professionasl recover an animal for me. BUT is that any different, in theory, than hiring packers with a horse team???? Or hiring a fishing guide with a boat???


Perry

I’ll play devils advocate. It may of only been her second hunt. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t been shooting for several years. She obviously has done some practice in order to make a 800 yard shot. As far as the ability to recover the animal that happens. You take a shot when the animals is in a good place and then it runs off a cliff. At least they had the respect to do what they could to recover it safely.

She made the shot and the animal was recovered.

By the sounds of it very few here ever had help getting a animal out.

If you have used a guide or PH you had help or about all then trackers on a safari.

I for am very grateful if people show up heck I even thought about paying someone.

IE a horse and packer the list goes on.

Whoever said, "take the (820 yard) shot", and keep shooting until it disappears, is the guy to blame. A 14-year-old girl on only her second hunt would probably do what she was told. Pretty sad really. The adults didn't do their job.

Ah yes,belittling the achievement of someone is absolutely heart warming.I do not shoot long range but admire those who can successfully.Kudos to the young lady for getting her Ibex and recovering it.OB

She may well have been experienced enough to take that shot. Her parents may have planned and budgeted for professional retrieval services. If so, she is certainly in a very small minority of her peers. And if all true, then kudos, great job, hurrah.

However, I still believe that it smacks of a stunt and sends a negative message to young, inexperienced hunters. We have an obligation as conservationists to teach up-and-comers the inherent value of the game we pursue, the importance of sportsmanship and keen woodscraft, and now more than ever, the critical nature of positively portraying hunting. It's easy to get caught up in the glamour of the social media generation and forget about some of that stuff. I hope the successful hunter uses that success to speak positively amongst her peers.

If that solid foundation is there, and she still pulled this off, then hats off. I don't really get that feeling though. I'll say two things. If she made that 820 shot, with a one-shot kill on the first shot, I need her to teach me lessons! Second, those climbers are badass.

I haven’t watched the video so I maybe it confirmed that it was really an 820 yard shot, but I’m wondering if it might have been a typo?

After all, doesn’t a 280 yard shot make a lot more sense?

The video is a news story. They state in that story that it was an 820 yard shot. In those mountains, an 820 yard shot wouldn't be hard to find. 280, maybe harder. The closest I ever got to those crazy things was 160 yards on a bow hunt. I got into less than 400 many times though. Had I been rifle hunting, I'd have one. Maybe not as big as this gal's though - it's a dandy.

That's totally awesone she is the future of hunting .Ibex are one of the toughest animals in the mountains and are not easy to hunt !

I would have caped the animal, took the skull and kicked the rest off the mountain, then gone down and retrieved the meat...Just saying..

Now why wouldn't that work, Ive done it with goats more than few times..Before Im challenged I better state dead meat does not bruise, only live meat bruises..