I am trying to gather information about an Ibex hunt to Turkey. I have found numerous websites of interest but cannot find prices on any of them. What are ballpark figures for pricing? Any help would be appreciated.

From 9 to 11K is going to be the going rate on Bezoar hunts in Turkey these days..

Silent T,

Be aware that the fee for some of the hunts in Turkey is for an Ibex up to 36 inches. Each inch after 36 inches is almost $400 in extra fees. This sucks because a really good trophy will run $5000 in extra fees!!!

Hawkeye47

Maybe it will someday mean the end of my hunting days, but I don't see myself ever paying extra to hunt a bigger specimin. It seems bad wildlife management too as such a policy represents an outfitter who implicitly discourages taking the oldest specimins (unless broken horned). I just saw a Nyala outfitter who charged a $5000 trophy fee for any Nyala over 31". The ad promptly went in the "round file".

quote:

Originally posted by tendrams:
... It seems bad wildlife management too as such a policy represents an outfitter who implicitly discourages taking the oldest specimins (unless broken horned).

I'm not going to argue with you about the uncertainty that size-dependent trophy fees add to a hunt. This is undoubtedly true, and I can sympathize with you for your misgivings.

It would, however, be an over simplification to equate trophy size with proper management and selection crtieria for animals to be shot. It is entirely possible to select animals only over a certain age - be they bezoar, red stags, roe or whatever - and observe a large variation of trophy size within the part of the population acceptable for culling. The truely outstanding trophies owe a lot to genetics, and not all animals will display such attractive features. Yet to utilize the population, you aim to cull all animals after a certain age and have to accept that some will carry better trophies than others.

In many countries - Hungary springs to mind - the goal of the selection (from totally free range populations - I may add) is to improve the value of your area over decades by selectively culling according to age and trophy criteria. Thus inferior animals are often culled before they reach breeding age. Trophy animals are only offered for hunting after they have had a chance to pass on their genes.

On the issue of hunt price, I will ask you to consider the other side of the coin as well. In areas (e.g. in North America) where there are no trophy fees based on trophy size, prices are mostly set according to an "average" trophy size a client could hope to hunt for - or even collect. It won't take you long to figure out, that hunts in an area consistenly producing 180 - 200 pts Mule Deer are considerably more expensive, than in an area normally producing 150-160, say. The same goes for elk, antelope, bears - you name it. I'm not saying the hunts in the more expensive areas will be better, or are guaranteed to produce the trophies advertized, but the price an outfitter can claim over time has a lot to do with the trophy size he can consistently produce.

Have you priced sheep hunts in North America of late?? $15-20K is easily possible, and might even be considered cheap these days (and we are not talking desert bighorns, now). It is very easy to find free range mule deer hunts for, say, $7-9K. Elk hunts can easily go for $9-13K. In all of those hunts, if you happen not to find your animal, you pay at the cashier and keep a stiff upper lip. The hunter carries the full financial risk he has accepted with the hunt whether the outfitter produces or not. Fair enough.

On the other hand, if you were interested in taking a World class red stag in Hungary, say. Your total hunt costs would run around $1K plus any (size dependent) trophy fee due: maybe around $10K for a stag between 10 and 11 kg - a truely magnificent animal. If you were out of luck and did not manage to find the stag of your dreams (it happens), you would still only be out the hunt costs of $1K. The hunting area carries the risk if they don't produce a suitable stag for the client. Or if you were happy to settle for a nice stag of 8kg, say, your trophy fee would be significantly reduced - maybe 50%. Tell me where that is less "fair" than the sheep hunt where you saw nothing but still had to shell out $20K.

Hunting systems are different all over the World. It is our privilege to choose something matching our own preferences. If you happen to be looking for an Ibex hunt with no size-dependent trophy fees, head to Kirgistan, they have excellent ibex (albeit, not bezoar) at very reasonable prices, everything considered. Who knows, you might even shoot the next World Record...

- mike

Of course you are correct that there is not a perfect correlation between age and trophy quality and this shows up when a lot of North American outfits offer "trophy" and "non-trophy hunts". Everyone initially knows where they stand in such situations though. What gets my goat is the idea of hunting along and having a whitetail guide say, "he'll score 160, that'll be $4000"...thus forcing many a hunter to keep looking for something smaller that fits within his $3000 budget! Seems more like shopping and measuring the luck or skill of a hunter by his wallet rather than anything more abstract.

I do also get your point that there is a real difference in hunt prices according to trophy quality. There is a reason the White Mountain Apaches and other areas can get what they can for elk. Some areas are intrinsically better and some are managed better...that's the nature of the world. Still, I know an outfitter in Canada who routinely makes clients pass up 40" Dahl Sheep because they are too young. In the sliding scale world, he would have built himself a short run financial incentive to do the opposite and maximize inches taken over a season rather than "years of sheep". I do however, favor the trophy fee system generally as I think it keeps outfitters honest as you rightly point out. It's just the sliding scale that gets me.

As an aside, I think Mongolia or Kyrg. might be in my future.

quote:

Originally posted by tendrams:
What gets my goat is the idea of hunting along and having a whitetail guide say, "he'll score 160, that'll be $4000"...thus forcing many a hunter to keep looking for something smaller that fits within his $3000 budget!

Yes, I know what you mean. This is indeed the downside of size dependent trophy fees - unless you simply allocate $$$ for the highest possible fee... Sadly, economic reality normally rules out this option for me...

- mike

I too am always the guy looking for the broken horned bull or the worn down spiral horn.

Got lucky last year though. Signed on for what was supposed to be an easy cull hunt in an outfitter friends area. For various reasons, we got there and there were no females to be found. As the days wore on, I think the outfitter needed to get back to town and also didn't want to make it look like he took me for a ride. We found a herd of males the next day and he said, "well, you might as well shoot that really big bugger on the left for my brochure"!

BOOM!

Always another option for Bezoar ibex are the hunts through the State of New Mexico, they are free range and you have to draw but from what I understand it is a pretty tough hunt and all your out is the liscense and maybe another $3000 if you use an outfitter if you don't score one.

Ibex in Turkey get expensive fast.

When I lived in Eastern Turkey near the Iraq border we used to hunt wildboars and pidgeons and saw a ahell of a lot of ibex, we couldn't shoot.

Turkey is a nice place and an outfitter like Kaan Karakaya or whatever his name is will get you there and back again safely.

Talk to Safari Outfitters in Cody Wyoming about the hunt if you are interested.

"Talk to Safari Outfitters in Cody Wyoming about the hunt if you are interested."

Yeah, Clark posted what appears to be a real deal for Ibex.
LDK

We organize Bezoar Ibex hunt in Turkey in governmental area, not in common areas. Area is protected by government, therefore trophy records are best in that place. Location of hunt is Antalya, Finike or Ege. This is hunt 1x1. Includes 5 hunting days. Hunt season is September through March. That hunt can be upgraded with Dagestan Tur hunt in Azerbaijan, or any hunts which we offer on our web-site www.worldwidesafaris.net .Extra hunters welcome for same price. Non-hunters welcome for $2000. Accommodations during hunt are small hotels or tents. All permits and trophy fees are included. Excluded $150 charge per cm if the trophy will be longer than 90 cm. Arrival and departure point is Antalya Airport. Normal price of that hunt is $14000, but discounted price $10000.

Emil