“Tomorrow early, breakfast well before daylight. We need to be about an hour east of the hotel by the time black fades to gray! But tonight we eat well. I have ordered for you a variety of specialized Spanish dishes, including pork, beef and vegetables. Try a bit of each, but save room for dessert,” Instructed Pedro Alacron as Wendy and Scott Sachs, Dustin Blankenship and I stared at a menu written in Spanish. We were seated in a quaint restaurant enjoying glasses of local red wine in a small town whose name I tried unsuccessfully several times to pronounce, somewhere south east of Madrid.
The local red seemed to soothe sore muscles, particularly after the third glass. Our hunt to that point had been extremely successful. Both Scott Sachs and I had shot extremely fine Sierra Nevada, or Southeastern, Ibex. Then we had moved to near Rhonda for two days, where Scott hunted Rhonda ibex and Dustin and I spent time photographing and helping locate ibex for Scott.
First morning out we spotted a monstrous Rhonda on a steep slope right next to the highway we were on. He was huge. Setting up spotting scopes, I heard Pedro exclaim, “The one we have been looking for all month long. If we can take him he’ll be one of the largest Rhonda ibex ever taken!”
Scott and Pedro scrambled to get to a place where Scott might have a chance at the extremely long horned and massive ibex. But alas, it was not to be.
Next morning, we were back in the same area where had been seen the monster. But try as we might we could not locate the monarch we had seen the previous morning. We drove to another area just down the road. We had barely stopped when we spotted a herd of Rhonda ibex.
“Males are back in bachelor herds, now the breeding season is over,” explained our guide, Pedro. Scott and Wendy soon disappeared into the trees in route to the distant ridge where the herd of Rhondas had last been seen. A couple hours later we heard a single shot. An hour later the two came out of the hills carrying cape, horns and meat of a gorgeous Rhonda ibex, the smallest of the four species found in Spain. I immediately put the Rhonda on my list for future hunts.
That night we stayed in the quaint village getting ready for our upcoming Beceite ibex hunt. I listened intently as Pedro spoke. “Beceite ibex horns tend to look different from the other three ibex species found here on the Iberian Peninsula,” he explained. “Whereas, most of the other species’ horns grow upward then sweep outward and after a bit back in, the Beceite’s horns grow up then out. The horns very seldom turn back in. In body size they tend to second only to the Gredo.
“Tomorrow, Scott, you and Wendy will go higher into the mountains than Larry and I. I suggest you take a heavy coat. You will be hunting near the snowline. It might even snow on you up there. Larry, Dustin and I will hunt lower on the mountain range where we normally see a lot of ibex later in the season. I am not certain the bachelor herds have gotten that far down. Hunting the two different areas we will have a better idea of where we will want to spend the rest of our hunt, if we do not shoot tomorrow.”
All sounded good to us. Scott’s and my hunt had been set up with Pedro Alacron’s Pedriza through Global Pursuit (www.gphunts.com) owned by a friend of ours, Scott Kendrix. I mention him here because while at the restaurant we received a call from Scott, checking on the progress of our hunt.
During the next hour we tasted a wide variety Spanish dishes. Those made using local pork topped the list of our favorites. A bowl of local chocolates accompanied by a final glass of red wine topped off a perfect day.
Next morning, Pedro, my cameraman Dustin, and I were sitting on a ridge glassing a herd of ibex females shortly after dawn. We soon spotted a second and then a third herd. But the only males in the herd were those less than a year old.
“Want to check an area where we normally always see big Beceites,” whispered Pedro. “Albeit a month or so later than now. Still we need to go look.”
Driving, we spotted several more herds of Beceite ibex, but none contained older males which, according to Pedro, had separated from the females and were likely forming bachelor herds. The terrain we drove through was relatively open, but with deep cuts that ran high into the taller mountains. Throughout were ruins and rock walls denoting Spain’s rich and truly diverse history and culture. I found myself glassing these quite often, trying to imagine the hard and diligent work that went into their construction.
“We will glass that distant mountain, a favored place for ibex, at least a little later in the year,” said Pedro as we got out and set up his spotting scope. We immediately spotted several ibex just below the top of the mountain, at the end of a long canyon which started just below where we were set up. “Three big males and several slightly smaller,” Pedro pointed out. “We need to get closer to have a better look. At least one if not two of them are what we are looking for.”
The stalk was a long one, continually up slope. We finally got to within four hundred yards of the group. “Let’s hope they stay right where they are now,” Pedro said. “If they move up the slope another forty of fifty yards we will not be able to shoot.
“Last year we had huge fire in this area. It started just beyond where they are right now. That area is currently closed to hunting. If you shoot and do not drop the ibex in his tracks, and he runs into the closed area, we will not be able to follow to retrieve him.”
Pedro continued, “Let’s get closer. Perhaps they will turn and come this way.” As we closed within two hundred yards of the ibex, I could tell one was truly special. He was long and massive of horn, although not extremely wide-spread at the tips.
“No shot!” said Pedro. “He is too close to the no hunting zone.” I sighed. “We best simply watch him,” Pedro added, “He fits the category we are after, high silver,” referring to grades of ibex based on horn length, mass, and age; bronze, silver and gold.
We stayed hidden behind a small outcropping. Admittedly my Ruger No. 1 in .275 Rigby, topped with a Trijicon AccuPower scope, was pointed in the direction of the ibex. I watched them through my scope, cranked to 12.5 power.
Suddenly something spooked the herd. We watched as they disappeared into the no hunting zone. The walk back to the vehicle was a long one.
Moving to a new area we spotted several more herds of females and year-old males, as well as a sizeable in-velvet roe deer. I commented to Pedro my love of hunting roe deer and how it appeared the Spanish roe deer was considerably grayer than those I had hunted in such places as England, Scotland, Austria and Sweden. “Roe deer season starts April first,” Pedro responded. “You should come back.” That planted a seed that immediately started growing…
During mid-day we saw more herds of ibex, females and young, plus a few younger males. Mid-afternoon, driving to an area where Pedro wanted to glass, we drove right up on five males – two were really big and one was monstrous! We drove a half mile past them, stopped the vehicle and hurried back to where we had seen them. But, try as we might we could not again find them.
We spent the majority of the rest of the afternoon walking ridge tops and glassing, occasionally seeing females and young, promising males. Back at the vehicle, after I had a long, satiating drink of water, Pedro said, “I have one more spot I want to go look at this afternoon. Seems the older males are starting to come into this area. Last year I saw three really nice males there. We have just enough daylight left.” Looking at Dustin he continued, “I know we run out of camera light long before we run out of hunting light.” We both nodded an affirmative.
We were driving along the top of a ridge, canyons on either side. Occasionally we could see the opposite slopes through the evergreens. That is how I happened to spot the bedded male.
“Just saw a really good one,” I said excitedly. “Looked like there were three others with him, almost as big. Keep driving until you think it is safe to stop, so we can walk back. Hopefully by the time we do he will not have moved.”
A few precious minutes later I carried my rifle in one hand and my Vanguard shooting sticks in the other. As we neared where I had seen the bedded ibex, I extended the shooting sticks to full height and then slid a .275 Rigby Hornady round into the Ruger No. 1’s chamber. Ever so cautiously and slowly we moved forward. I knew we had good camera light to make the shot. But, camera light would be quickly diminishing making the recovery.
I took two more steps forward, when off to my right, two hundred yards away, about a third of the way from the top of the opposite slope I spotted “my” ibex. He was standing and looking into the canyon below him. Immediately I set up the shooting sticks, planted my rifle in the crux of the rest and centered the scope on broadside vitals. Behind me I could faintly hear Pedro and Dustin talking. I waited. “Can I shoot?” I questioned, knowing we were looking for a high silver class ibex.
“Yes!” came Pedro’s reply.
“Dustin?” I questioned.
“Got light now,” was his reply, “but may run out of light on the recovery depending upon if he goes right down and how long it takes us to get across the canyon and up the other side.” He hesitated, “I’m on him, if you’re going to shoot.”
“Get ready! I’ll shoot on a count of five,” said I, pushing safety to fire. I took a deep breath letting it all out and with the crosshairs on the ibex’s vitals, started applying pressure to the trigger.
At the shot the ibex fell to the ground. I quickly reloaded and was on him once again. He did not move. When I was certain he was down for good, I shook Pedro’s congratulatory hand.
Quickly we did what was needed to recreate the shot for the camera, then I took off at a quick trot down slope, slipping and sliding, reached bottom and started the arduous crawl up slope. By the time I reached where my ibex lay, I was out of breath. He was extremely handsome, long and heavy of horn, and the cape was gorgeous. I knew exactly where his mount would hang once I finally got it back to the States and had Double Nickle Taxidermy (www.doublenickletaxidermy.com) do their artistic magic.
Wit the light fading, we hurriedly took photos, then skinned and quartered my ibex. It was almost completely dark by the time we got back to the vehicle.
The drive back to where we had started the day many hours earlier was a long though cheerful one. “You are half way to taking the slam of the four different ibex in Spain. Shall we plan another hunt or two before you leave?” asked Pedro.
“Pedro I have fallen head over heals in love with your country,” I replied. “No doubt, I will return for both Rhonda and Gredos next year and before I leave we will set up dates. But more immediately, I really want to come back in April to hunt roe deer! You have any open dates?”
“Over a glass of wine later tonight I will look at my calendar,” said he. “I think I may have two open days between an ibex hunt I will be guiding and before I take a group of clients to Namibia.”
I loved how he thought!