Does anyone here have experience hunting the Beceite Ibex? Any information would be appreciated. Due to a Medical situation in my outfitters family my hunt in October has been changed to the South of France and we will be hunting the Beceite Ibex instead of the Gredos.
What makes for a good Beceite trophy? Is a heavy horn at between 55 and 65 Centimeters a good animal. I have looked at pictures on the net and they are a good looking animal but much smaller than the Gredos.

Beceite ibex are as big as Gredo�s. You�ll not have any problem if you are looking for a "monster".There is a good density and quality of ibex all around Spain. Beceite is a beatifull ibex country, from the top of the mountains, you can see the blue Mediterranean sea,it�s not very hard to hunt( well,one never knows...) ʹm sure you�ll have a good experience.
Adios
Alberto

Bertus,

What I need to know is what length of horn would you consider to be a good trophy? I have a friend in Spain that says a Beceite Ibex of 12 to 13 years old should be much bigger than 55 to 65 cm.
He says these would be cull animals. Do you agree?
Please give your opinion.

Hawkeye47

Hawkeye47,I've been talking with an outfitter in Spain and I Think 50 to 65 cm is a representative of the species,specially an animal 12 to 13 years old with those #s.
Fernando

Thanks to all who have e-mailed and posted information. As it turns out the area of Southern Spain that we will hunt has the Spanish Ibex instead of the Beceite and 55 to 65 cent. is a good representative animal. Again thanks for the responses.

Hawkeye 47

I guess you should check with Fernando Saiz email f.saiz@teleline.es

I know Fernando from years back, when I lived in Spain. He can give you the best advice on hunting there. I took a gold medal (Spanish Hunting Association - not SCI) Beceite Ibex in the private reserve of some friends. It's a great hunt for a regal animal, but not the usual tough mountain hunting.

Another good source of info is Dennis Campbell of OVIS (check www.wildsheep.org) or write to Dennis' email CampHoll@aol.com - these guys are very switched on when it comes to info about sheep and goats of the world!

Cheers
Muskwa

How many people here have hunted the Ibex in Spain? This is an animal and a country I have wanted to hunt for some time. Which of the sub-species presents the best trophies? Which areas are the most beautiful, etc? Are there any one that is much more expensive/inexpensive compared to the others?

Thanks...

Hi Texan,

imo go to either Gredos or Beceite. You'll be able to soak up a lot of Spanish history and culture in the process (not to forget the wines and the food). Gredos has a more spectacular mountain scenery, Beceite is somewhat different but also spectacular. Trophy size is quite similar in both areas, although Beceite Ibex generally are a bit wider than Gredos. Contact Fernando Saiz - he's really tops in Spain for hunting. But make sure that you put in at least w week to do some sightseeing with Fernando or one of his guides. And ... don't miss a good corrida (again -ask a local which one to go and take an aficionado along). Talk to me if you want more details

Muskwa

Hi Texan,

I'm new at this Spain hunting but plan on being there this Oct. There are 4 diffrent Ibex in Spain. Gredos, Beceite, Rhonda, and Southern Spanish. All are unique animals with the Gredos and Beceite having the bigger size. The Rhonda is the smallest and depending who you hunt with can be a bit cheaper to hunt. I don't think you can go wrong hunting any of the four. Everyone I have talked with says the country is very beautifukl wheather you hunt the coastal Mtns. in the South or the Gredos Mtns in the area of Madrid. Again I havn't been there yet but have talked to several people who have.

Hawkeye, are you also going to hunt the Chamois? I'll be very interested to hear your opinions after the trip. From what I've seen, an Ibex/Chamois hunt will cost about as much as going to Africa for 7-8 animals, is this what you've found? It might be worth it just for the lower taxidermy bill...

Texan,

I trade hunts on my ranch for hunts in other countries so I'm really not up on the prices, but
some outfitters charge about $7000 trophy fee for Ibex. I traded 2 Whitetail hunts for 1 Ibex. I really want to hunt the big Ibex in Asia but thought since I had a swap offer for the Spanish why not try it. I had initially planned on a hunt in France for Mouflan while I was over there but my French hunters backed out after 12 months of planning. I would rather haver a good Ibex than a Mouflan so I'm not too disapointed.

Hawkeye47

I'm anxiously awaiting my first trip to Spain (for the Ronda species) in between Xmas and New Years. The other species will be later on.