Not the Bezoar ibex I was looking for, but this nice Armenian sheep was a great 'consolation prize'.
Date: 26th of October 2006
Country: Iran
Rifle: Brno .270
Scope: Redfield 3-9x
Ammo: RWS 130gr H-Mantel
Range: 235m

Short story forthcoming.

beautiful country and sheep, what elevation are you at there? I could see myself there in a few years

Boghossian

Congratulations to the Armenian sheep Great pictures, must have been a fantastic hunt

Cheers
/JOHAN

Boghossian,

Nice animal!!! Are they of the TUR family of animals? Just curious.

Hawkeye47

Boghossian

Congratulation, I want to hear more about the hunt. Iran is country I would love to hunt in but U.S. citizens can not hunt in Iran.

You got yourself a nice sheep, congratulations once again.

Regards
Aziz

quote:

Originally posted by Hawkeye47:
Boghossian,

Nice animal!!! Are they of the TUR family of animals? Just curious.

Hawkeye47

Nope, mouflon, argalis, new world thin horns, new world bighorns, and urials are sheep. Tur, ibex, and bezoar are capra goats like the ones in the back yard.

Aoudad and blue sheep are the wierd goat-sheep ones.

While I am ranting,

tahr, mt goats, chamois, takin, muskoxen, serow, and goral are all either sheep-antelope, goat antelope, or cow antelope.

None of which can mate with a goat or a sheep.

Wierd stuff in those hills.

Gabriel,

Congratulations yet again!!

You have really been racking up the airmile recently huh?!?!?

When are you back in town? Drop me a PM and we'll hook up for another beer.

BTW, Did your dad get an Ibbex? Or were you hunting solo this time?

Spk Soon,
FB

Hi guys,
This was the toughest hunt I have ever been on. The climbing and treking was intense and quarry was very, very sharp. When you are spotted at 1 KILOMETER by the game, you stay in awe of their abilities...
The timing of the hunt was a little off, as the rut/weather is in November which allows for easier access. We were hunting with our shirts rolled up and the animals were very high.
The elevation was not extraordinary (2500m) but every day we would drive up to the base of the mountains and climb up by foot for at least 1 hr before the hunt itself began.

I was very depressed on the first day, as I missed a fine ibex at 270m with the .270 which was new to me. I don't have an excuse, but I had to use a loaner on this hunt for a variety of reasons.

We spotted this particular group of sheep on the 5th day of the hunt and watched them graze for 2-3 hrs and when a fox spooked them, they ran into the foothills and then climbed up the mountain (towards us) and soon disappeared. These animals spend the heat of the day in crevices in the rock, and the next hour was spent glassing to find them. One we spotted this ram on a small ledge, sound asleep, we slowly descended the steep hill all the while trying not to wake them with rolling pebbles.
The stalk ended when a load of pebbles prevented us from descendiong any further. The guide dropped a stone to make the animal stand up and I took the shot. Fortunately this was only 230m away from the animal and I took a rested shot from above, to break its spine. The animal flipped off the ledge and fell 20m down the slope, breaking its jaw and several teeth.
It was really a great experience to 'earn' my trophy with many kilometers of climbing and this will be the first animal I have mounted, so I never forget that week in the mountains.

The hunting in Iran is very well managed with a series of large reserves with wardens and limited permits. I hunted in a 87000hectare reserve in the SW of the country. There are 3 species of sheep in this area alone, as well as ibex.
The hunt itself was not dangerous and I was always treated with the greatest courtesy and respect. Although it was the muslim holy month of ramadan during the hunt, we were always catered for very well.

My father injured his knee on the first day of the hunt, and was only a spectator from then on. Hopefully I will be able to repeat this experience next season and this time bag a Transcaspian urial as well as an ibex.

Also, I was impressed by the size of the wild boar in the Iran, with many specimens over 200kg being shot every year, with tusks over 25cm. Now THAT would be a great add-on!

Pardon my ignorance, but can American citizens hunt in Iran? Sounds like a great trip.

Dogcat, I believe there is a warning issued by the US gov to its citizens not to travel to Iran. I don't believe there is a ban on travel to the country.

The outfitter I used had hosted American hunters before, as well as scores of Canadians/Europeans.

Dogcat ,

I don't know the ins and outs o it but what Boghossian says seems to make sense. One thing worth doing in these scenarios is asking the custome there to stamp a separate sheet of paper in your passport to avoid any problems back at home. not sure if this is still possible but it used to be quite common in some situations.

Bog,

I hope your dad's knee is getting better. sounds like he will get first shot next year!!
FB

I am definitely gonna try to get some mountain hunts under my belt while still young.
I saw the effect that a few days of really hard hunting takes a lot more out of older hunters.
My Dad is 64 and has shot 3 ibex in the last 3 years, so I think 1st shot will stay with me!

It is amazing that in a country smaller than Europe there are 4 main species of sheep with 3-4 recognised cross-breeds between them....

I really missed having a better pair of binos and a compact spotting scope, it would have saved me 2 stalks on small rams that took up several hours.
In addition, I would really recommend a Harris bipod. The likelihood of a close range running shot are slim, but if I had the confidence to shoot over 300m I would have been more successful. At this stage in my life, and with a loaned rifle, I thought 300 was a reasonable maximum range.
Cheers,
Gabriel Boghossian

dogcat,

It is against the Law for any American Citizen to do Commerce in or with Iran. The US Government has classified Hunting as Commerce.

Hawkeye47

Thanks for the help on that. I will contact the State Dept to see if anything has changed.

my dear friend mister Boghossian
congratulation very nice trophy,but how in the heaven an armanian sheep came to Eiran? did it have problem with the GPS naviagator
regards
Yazid ebn elhisham al sahrawi

The real problem is you will never get your trophys home if you live in the states.

Can Americans take our own firearms to Iran?

I asked my guide about this while enquiring after the taxidermist and he said that only Americans with dual nationality (2 passports) were hunting in Iran and getting their Mexican or Italian passport stamped.
The situation is a real pity as the country is a mountain hunter's dream.

Well done Boghossian and thankyou for posting. Are there any restrictions on British passport holders travelling to Iran and also from your story it sounds as though it maybe difficult to take your own rifle.

Look forward to reading your response.

Many thanks

That's some *rugged* country! Nice job, and thanks for posting.

Hi,
I used an Italian passport to get there.

As far as I know there are no restrictions on UK citizens hunting there (or American, the restrictions are from the US side).

As for the rifle, it is a LOT easier to go with your own rifle than to borrow. We caused the outfitter a lot more hassle getting a borrowed rifle on the permit than if we had brought our own. The guides were very organised and all the masses of paperwork are not a problem for the client.
The experience was great and I can see why people are so passionate about mountain game. I am hoping to return one day soon to collect that ibex!