quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
Fauna & Flora in New York finally has our Ibex trophies in their Possesion!!! Now they will shiop them to the Tannery after they receive my check because they don't take a credit card. On the good side they say no mold mildew or odor from our capes.

Hawkeye47

Glad to hear it!

To All Who Read and Posted about this Hunt.

Thanks for the comments and Help with posting the Photos. I hope some of the Info that was shared on here will help someone else going on this trip. To the people that are considering going on this hunt I recomend a couple things. #1 Check refrences!!! Make sure the refrences Have hunted there in the area you are going to(preferably the season before)
2# Make sure the Domestic and International flights aren't days apart(Domestic flights to Ghovd are only on Mon.,Wed., and Friday).
#3. Do not pay for the extra hunting Days because it is imposible to hunt extra days unless you Depart UB. on Wednesday and come back 10 days later on Friday.
#4. Be prepared to shell out extra money for Domestic overweight charges.
#5. Do not be intimidated by the list that the interpreter gives you suggesting the amount of tips for each person, Fire Girl, Maid, Cook, Skinner, Guide, Wrangler, etc. Give the tips according to service like you usually do.
#6. Do not let the interpreter talk you into buying Vodka to toast the hunt with. They have plenty and they will lay drunk if you buy more.

I hope this info will help anyone going on this hunt.

Hawkeye47

We received good news from Fauna&Flora today!!!
Our capes and horns are on the way to the Tannery in Michigan. The Tannery will notify my Taxidermist when the capes arrive. Although the chap at Fauna&Flora isn't a Taxidermist he handles many shipments of trophies and he assures me he can find nothing wrong with our trophies, no odor,no mold or mildew,no moisture.
I am as Happy as I can be and think I can relax now and wait for my Trophy to be mounted.

Hawkeye47

Great news! I look forward to your posting the finished mount one day.

Hi Charles,

I want to Thank You again for your help posting the Ibex Pictures and I hope to take pictures as soon as my mount is finished. I will probably need your assistance to post the Mount photo.

Hawkeye47

It was my pleasure and I am always happy to help.

Good work on the Ibex. Glad everything seems to have worked out.
Where are you hunting Sambar in Australia?

Alpine Hunter,

I am not sure exactly where I will be hunting but the chaps name is Trevor Willis. I have hunted in the Gatta Mtns. once before but this hunt is on private land. We are going on down to N.Z. for That and Chamois while we are that close.

Hawkeye47

Thats sounds pretty local to me. Trevor Willis is a local taxidermist who also runs hunts. Hope you have a great time and get onto a stag.

GREAT NEWS!!!

Our Capes arrived at the Tannery and the chap says that he thinks they will be fine!!! No Hair slippage that he can tell and no Odor so it sounds good. I can't wait to get my mount done.

Hawkeye47

Our Capes will be at the Taxidermist this week. The Tannery says both Capes turned out fine and they are in route as I write this. I am excited to see the mounts when he gets them finished.

Haw

Hawkeye,
I would appreciate it if you or somebody with similar experience could re visit the difficulty you had bringing the horns+cape into the US.
I always brought my candien trophies in without paperwork,I imported african trophies accompanied by african paperwork.

If I read your notes correctly,one has to have a Vet certificate from the hunt location to import the stuff either as luggage or seperate shipment later?

It would be nice to incorporate a provision to that effect into a hunting contract.

thanks

Sheephunter,
The contract called for us to purchase the Vet Certificate in UlanBatar when we came back from the hunting camp. The problem was that the chap that was supposed to issue the certificate didn't bother to come in that day so we were screwed. I am still amazed that our Capes survived the 6 week delay to the Tannery.
This was one of the most Dis-Organized hunts I have ever been on, from the missed connection on the domestic flight to the hunting vehicle being worked on before the hunt to getting to the hunting camp at 2AM and on and on.

Hawkeye47

Hawkeye,
thanks for the specifics.I am happy as yourself that your trophy survived the ordeal.
For public benefit one tries to learn from such events.

As difficult as it appears to get the proper folks to affix their stamps,we as foreigners cannot possibly know the detailed requirements and methods to smoothly sail out.
It seems the best way would be to include that in some package deal with the outfitter.And make payment dependant on satisfactory performance.
Of course its an extra burden the outfitter doesn't want to deal with.But for him its a recurrent problem and he can learn to deal with it.

Your other points re disorganized hunt emphasize this.

Missed local connection flight: could be due to inordinate arrival delay of international feeder flight or careless planning

Crummy or defunct hunting vehicle,I heard that before elsewhere.

You hunted with Ulchiin?



At least better than we.

Sheephunter,

Our flight missed flight connection was just poor planning. The Domestic flight left at 11AM and we arrived at 10:05 PM. The next flight was on Wednesday so it took us from 9:30 AM Sunday until 2AM Thursday to get from Kansas City to the hunting camp. We paid for extra hunting days which were spent sitting in UlanBatar waiting for a flight. The hunting vehicle was a good late model 4X4 (not the customary Russian Jeep)but they decided to change the shocks and springs the day we were supposed to travel to the camp. After we shot our Ibexon the 1st & 2nd day the whole camp got drunk until we left on Sunday. I really wanted to try for a Wolf but couldn't get anyone to get out of bed and hunt. I'm really thankful that I took my Ibex but aside from the trophy it wasn't what I would call a very well run hunt. I would caution anyone that wants to go to Mongolia to be careful to check refrences because we only saw 24 Ibex total and the refrences from 2 years earlier saw 250. The guides said off the record that the locals had poached the area out.

Hawkeye47

Hawkeye,
thanks for sharing further trip planning details.
We dont have an abundance of choices for Asain sheep hunts.
The oversight and planning you experienced sounds almost like a do-it-yourself from a far,which I am sure it was not

The info is quite valuable to check out.

But again,it appears we dont have that many choices.Would be nice if a Us agent took the effort and coordinated things a bit.
We all know in the 3rd world time runs on a different scale

sheephunter

Our Mongolian hunt was booked through one of the most experienced Agencies in Asian Hunting.
I think the problem was they book the more expensive Mongolian Sheep Hunts and Marco Polo
hunts in the Stan Countries. They handled the flights and the whole enchalata. I was really disapointed to say the least.

Hawkeye47

Hawkeye,
changing the shocks on your vehicle the day you are scheduled to head out ,on YOUR time, a camp staff that that is drunk / defunct , flight schedules that lack coherence are not signs of a agencies that we would like to entrust our time and money to.

Unless we are prepared to put public pressure on the outfits,it will continue.


The only way we can come up with that leverage is by truthfully reporting the joy and despair we encounter on our hunts.

We owe it to our community to educate.

We pay for service,that service should be critiqued - in public - not to make "trouble" but to forewarn the next hunters.

That is my take.Consequently I would encourage you to publish the details.Whom did you book the hunt with,did you report the above?
Who made your travel arrangements?

We would all be indebted.

sheephunter,

We booked our hunt through The Hunting Consortium and our Airline tickets to UlanBatar
were booked through Kathi at Wild Travel at Bob Kern's urging. Juulchin booked the flight from UB to Ghovd. What surprises me is why anyone that is in the business of booking hunts would schedule a group of hunters into a city 11 hours after the Domestic flight had departed and no other flights to Ghovd until 2&1/2 days later. The area we hunted can only be hunted 3 days or 6 days because of the Domestic flights.
If you book 4 or 5 days you waste 2 days waiting for a flight. I am not saying this was done on purpose but I sure couldn't do my contractors this way and stay in business.

Hawkeye47

Hawkeye,
I and I am sure many prospective hunters looking for leads thank you for your candid report ,especially pointing out the encountered problems.
We pay a fee for service,we entrust ourselves to people "in the business" of providing and advertising that service.

We have 1 leverage against dishonest or shoddy service/behavior: publish the results.

If the businesses indeed want to stay in business they have to take notice.

.

quote:

Originally posted by ALF:
My hunting partner from South Africa and I were scheduled to hunt Ibex in September and pulled out of the deal because of "too many loose ends" and unanswered questions.

Our concerns and problems:

1. Travelling with guns: No one could give us hard and affirmative rulings regarding the travelling with and having to overnight guns via Seoul Korea for myself and My partner via Singapour and Seoul from South Africa. This was our main stumbling block.

2. An Actual hard travel itenary: The inbound trip to Ulaan Bataar via Vancouver BC was semi ok ( very little time alloted between arival in Seoul and catching the Flight to Ulaan Bataar. The mess and uncertainty came with the return flight. The prospect of ending up in Seoul with arms and having to wait for outbound flights became an issue.

After we got stung and burnt on our US hunting trip in Montana 3 years ago ( our trophies have still not arrived and likely will not ) we have become gun shy of laying out money for uncertainties.

Alf,
Have you ever considered hunting Ibex in Spain?
There will be no loose ends and no questions will stay unanswered.
Travelling to Spain either from Vancouver or from South Africa is no bid deal, since Madrid is extremely well connected and no overnight stays anywhere are rquired.
Bringing you gun along will be very easy and I'll get your rifles cleared through customs in a few minutes.
If interested, drop me a line.
montero

Alvaro Mazon
Camino Real Hunting Consultants SL

.

Alf,
A hunt for Ibex in Spain will normally imply a daily rate and a trophy fee. Daily rate, depending on theaccomodations, can be anywhere in the 300-450euros range.
Accomodation and all facilities related, will be, in any case, far superior to what you were to find in Mongolia.
A 2x1 arrangement is perfectly possible and would normally call for a more efficient daily rate.
This price should include all services during the hunt from and to the pick up airport except for the hunting licence and extras such as insurance, alcoholic drinks, crating and shipping of the trophies/capes...
Trophy fee is 4,000 euros for the Gredos and Beceite Ibex and 3,200 euros for the Ronda/Sierra Nevada subspecies.
Trophies are field measured according to CIC (Conseil International de la Chasse et de la Conservation) standards, and the following medal fees charged for the Gredos and Beceite subspecies: Bronze Medal 1,250 euros, Silver Medal 2,500 euros, and Gold Medal up to 230 CIC points 4,000 euros.
The southern ibex from Ronda and Sierra Nevada are smaller than the others and will almost never beat the CIC Silver Medal mark.
At the end of the day, beingsuch a more convenient destination forthe travveller than Mongolia, will make up for a higher -not so much higher, though- price than Mongolia or the Kyrghiz Republik.
Best regards,
Montero

Alvaro Mazon
Camino Real Hunting Consultants SL

It's hard to remember that Spain has a very small middle class. Most of these hunts are aimed at the more affluent hunters.

I tried like hell while in Spain to find an Ibex for under E4000 out the door. It can be done, but it won't be much of a trophy.

Ibex in Turkey, and Alpine ibex have gone up as well. Going to be hard going to take all the goats on the pocketbook.

I am sitting in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and have just spoken with the people from Juulchin that I hunted with in September. They just completed their season in the Altai and had a great November with many big Ibex in the area we hunted. I guess the hunting pressure had driven the Ibex back far into the Mountains but the rut and the snow brought them down. Maybe I was a bit premature in assessing the Ibex numbers in that region. The interpreter said he had never seen so many big Males. More later when I return Home.

Hawkeye47

quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
I am sitting in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and have just spoken with the people from Juulchin that I hunted with in September....More later when I return Home.

Hawkeye47

Isn't it amazing how technology has changed communication? Real-time reports from Mongolia!

Have a safe trip and we'll look forward to hearing your update on the situation there.

Hello,

After visiting Mongolia this past week I have learned much information from the locals and from some people that Work for Juulchin. I will be going to Mongolia from time to time with groups of Hunters and Tourists. I am very fortunate in that my Fiance has a Brother in the Tourist Business and he has helped me greatly in learning how to avoid the many bad experiences that we experienced in the last hunt. Since he is very familiar with the areas that are hunted he will have first hand knowledge of the camps that have the best game populations and trophy quality. Anyone wanting to hunt a specific animal can inquire and if we can get a group together we can hunt at a reduced group rate. My future wife speaks the language well and can greatly assist with the clearing of customs and the paperwork. We will be going there at least 2 times a year so would be happy to assist anyone wanting to hunt or just visit Mongolia.

Hawkeye47

I look forward meeting you in UB next time you come here. If I could be any help for you guys.

Davaa

I forgot to mention that the chaps I talked with from Juulchin said the reason that our capes came through the shipping so well is because the used a drying fan of some sort before they repacked them for shipping. I guess it blows warm air and they completely dried our capes so that was the reason for no mold or odor. I really am thankful that they did this for us but I would have been just as thankful for the vet certificate and to have brought them home as we came.

Hawkeye47

quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
Hi Lorenzo,

The Ibex is definately one of my 5 or 6 best trophies of all time. I e-mailed Charles pictures so hopefully he will have time to post them soon.

The area is really rugged and tough to hunt. If you want a trophy ram you must go back where the average person won't go! We left home on Sunday morning and didn't get to the hunting camp until 2 P.M. Thursday. The last 160 miles took 8 hours by jeep and it was like being in a marathon race. I wouldn't take anything for the expbut I still havn't recouperated from the trip.

Hawkeye47

Hey Hawkeye 47 when am I going to get an invite to see your new trophy room? I also heard from a reliable source that your ram was not the only trophy you bagged while on your hunt. Do you have any pictures of her?

quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
Hello,

After visiting Mongolia this past week I have learned much information from the locals and from some people that Work for Juulchin. I will be going to Mongolia from time to time with groups of Hunters and Tourists. I am very fortunate in that my Fiance has a Brother in the Tourist Business and he has helped me greatly in learning how to avoid the many bad experiences that we experienced in the last hunt. Since he is very familiar with the areas that are hunted he will have first hand knowledge of the camps that have the best game populations and trophy quality. Anyone wanting to hunt a specific animal can inquire and if we can get a group together we can hunt at a reduced group rate. My future wife speaks the language well and can greatly assist with the clearing of customs and the paperwork. We will be going there at least 2 times a year so would be happy to assist anyone wanting to hunt or just visit Mongolia.

Hawkeye47

Haweye 47 I did not read this post until after I made my post #75. Did nokt relaize you were engaged. Congradulations!

quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
Hello,

After visiting Mongolia this past week I have learned much information from the locals and from some people that Work for Juulchin. I will be going to Mongolia from time to time with groups of Hunters and Tourists. I am very fortunate in that my Fiance has a Brother in the Tourist Business and he has helped me greatly in learning how to avoid the many bad experiences that we experienced in the last hunt. Since he is very familiar with the areas that are hunted he will have first hand knowledge of the camps that have the best game populations and trophy quality. Anyone wanting to hunt a specific animal can inquire and if we can get a group together we can hunt at a reduced group rate. My future wife speaks the language well and can greatly assist with the clearing of customs and the paperwork. We will be going there at least 2 times a year so would be happy to assist anyone wanting to hunt or just visit Mongolia.

Hawkeye47

Did not read this post until after I made my post # 75. Congradulations.

army aviator,

I can do better than a picture!!! I will bring her by to meet you and the wife. Everything is done for her to come to the US. Just waiting on the Embassy to complete the paperwork.

Hawkeye47

Just Picked up my Ibex Mount this morning and will try to get some photos of it hanging in my trophy room. It really turned out nice!!!

Charles I will be sending you the pictures to post for me if that's OK

Hawkeye47

quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
Charles I will be sending you the pictures to post for me if that's OK

Hawkeye47

Okay by me -- glad you got it and it turned out nicely after all the problems.

Picture for Hawkeye47:



[click picture for a larger version]

Looks good!

Hi Charles,

Thanks for posting my pictures. My room isn't quite finished yet but I am really looking forward to getting it done. I am proud of it.

Hawkeye47

quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
Hi Charles,

Thanks for posting my pictures.
Hawkeye47

My pleasure.

Well tis is the first time I have visited this post. Was very interesting reading. I hunted Mongolia in 1996 with Juulchin and had similar experiences. Missed my flight out of country cause they got me to the airport to late. Lost my Woof pelt cause they did not have it listed on my CITES document. Cape and horns got seized in Korea after trophies made it there without us. Your story brought back fond memories. With all the trouble the trip was great and I took a great Ibex at 43".