I returned early Sunday morning from a hunt for the Ronda ibex and the South-eastern ibex in Spain. The following is my full report. I apologize in advance, I will have to post the pictures later.

Outfitter- Espacaza

Guide- Jose Mallo

Dates- December 13 to December 16, 2009

Location- Southern Spain

Gun- Browning X Bolt 270 with a Swarovski 2-12 scope

Ammo-Federal factory ammo with 140 grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaws

Day 1- We flew into Madrid on Delta. All bags arrived and Jose met us at the airport. Clearing the gun was very easy. We left for about a 5 hour drive south to a small town named Orgiva.

We arrived and checked into a nice little hotel. We organized our gear and took off to see if we might be lucky and get a chance at one of the SE ibex.

We drove to various vantage points and would glass. The terrain was rugged and quite steep in places. We probably saw 30-40 ibex that afternoon. Personally, I thought one was a shooter. It was laying on a ledge. I had an absolutely perfect place to shoot from. The range was about 325 yards. This would have been almost no effort. Plus it was the first afternoon. I passed.

On the way down, Tiffany (my girlfriend) and I were both falling asleep as we probably had no more than 3 hours sleep on the way over. We ate and went to bed.

That night we were awaken by a tremendous thunderstorm. Lightning was striking all around us. It was loud. Torrential rains were falling.

Day 2- I get up while Tiffany sleeps. We head to the mountains. The plan is to drive to a high vantage point, get out and hunt down the mountain. Sounded pretty good to me.

As we start up the mountain, I start to realize the weather is bad. REALLY bad. The top of the mountain is totally socked in. We are at about 6,000 feet. It is 26 degrees F. The wind is blowing an estimated 50-60 MPH! I was not overly anxious to get out. Jose receives a call and advises that we are going to the other side of the mountain to try and hunt from the bottom.

We get to the bottom and stop. It is light now. The wind is unbelievable. I could hardly stand up in the wind. After glassing a while, I tell Jose that I am willing to do whatever he thinks we need to do. Finally, Jose decides a stroll in the mountains is in order.

We put on our packs and take off. This country was tough. Loose rocks everywhere. Each time you put your foot down you were seriously risking falling or twisting your ankle. It was that bad. It was a tough climb. This wind was sapping the strength out of me. We stopped several times to glass. We saw some but not big ones. The top of the mountains were still socked in.

We stopped to rest and eat. I can see the truck. It is a small dot far away and far below us. I ask Jose how often he takes people up there. He laughs and said that he might get 2 out of every 10 up there. That made me feel better.

We take off and climb back down. I was scared a few times as I thought the wind was going to blow me off the mountain. I made it down. I was drenched but I made it.

Day 3- Up and off again. We go back to the top of the same mountain. It is 23 degrees F. It is clear and little wind. Thank goodness. We can see the Mediterranean.

We start to glass from a high vantage point. We see lots of ibex but no shooters. After a while we move to gain a different vantage. This involved climbing up then down. Up then down. Over and over.

After a while we received a call. Someone else had spotted a big ibex. We start to climb. We move several times which involved a lot of climbing. We stopped as we thought we were close but we couldn't see them. We decide to move lower.

A call was received. Another guide advices that he can see us and the ibex in a spotting scope. There are 2 young males close and a old one less than 100 yards away. We carefully move trying to spot the ibex. I spot the 2 young males not even 20 yards away. We try to get to a big rock that I can shoot from. I fell pretty hard and busted my backside just before the rock. This sent the ibex into convulsions. They were running like crazy.

I saw the big one in the bottom of the valley running. I shot, pretty close to straight down and hammered him at about 225 yards. He ran a few yards and fell, then slid to a stop.

We climbed down which took about 20 minutes and took pictures. The ibex was about 27 inches. Jose started giving me grief. He said, " Going uphill you are a beast. Going downhill you are like a grandmother." I laughed but it is true. I don't know why I am so slow going downhill especially as fast as I am uphill.

It occurred to me that we were a long way from the truck. We had to climb up and over the top to get out. Another option was continue on down and go out another way to a road where we could be picked up. This latter option involved several uphill/downhill climbs. It was about 3,000 vertical feet down. Either way was a very long way.

We decided to go down. I climbed for about 2 hours before I reached the farthest that I had been the day before. Remember, that point was where Jose could only get 2 out of 10 people to. I had to send several hours just to get there. Well, I finally made it just before dark. I was drenched with sweat. My feet were cramping. I was dehydrated but I made it.

I am in damn good shape. I exercise 2 hours a day. Many years ago, I ran a 4 minute mile. But damn, it is impossible to prepare yourself for this when you live in the flat lands at less than 50 feet above sea level and have no rocks.

Day 4- We are up early and head to another area to try for the Ronda ibex. I sleep most of the way. I am tired and stiff. I am thankful that Tiffany did not try and go with us the day before. She is going today.

Jose advises that this should be much easier. The terrain isn't as bad. The footing is better. A game warden has been glassing this ibex for 2 weeks. However it is raining.

We arrive at the area and get all of our gear. We take off. We haven't walked 10 minutes when I spot a band of ibex with a pretty decent male. They aren't more than 50 yards away. We look but pass. It isn't the big one. For the next few hours, we climb and glass. Climb and glass. Guess what? The big one is no where to be seem.

I am beat. The prior 2 days have taken a toll on me. It was raining and windy. I hate to admit it but I wanted to get this over with. I was so exhausted.

We confer. I tell them I believe the big one has left for some reason and that the ibex were behaving oddly. The first group ran away DOWNHILL. Seemed awfully strange to me. We decide to look for other males.

We spot what we think is the original band we saw and have a look at the male. I recon he is 26+. We decide to make a stalk. We cross some ground keeping cover between us and them. Finally we can see the females but no male. The weather sucks. It is raining pretty good. We move higher. I spot the male. We crawl behind a big rock. I lay across the rock and shoot from about 175 yards. Down he goes. We watch. He lifts his head and I decide to shoot him again. That did it.

Now the real luck. The guys go to retrieve the ibex to take pictures. Before they can get to the ibex, the fog settles in. I cannot see them from 75 yards away. If I had waited 3 minutes, I would never have got the ibex!

To summarize, this is a great hunt with very nice people. It is picturesque. Good food and magnificent country. I would highly recommend it.

I will post pictures later.

Nice report ,Larry. Tough hunts are the best and justify enjoyment of fine wine and good food. No Spanish high fences ,I take it on this hunt. THANKS. JIM

Weidmannsheil Larry! Sounds like you had your work cut out for you! A resounding well done, and we shall be looking forward to the pictures!

- mike

Weidmannsheil! Thank you for sharing your story with us. I'm looking forward to the pictures.

Thanks for sharing the story.

Sounds like a hunt to remember.