Got 2016 off to a good start! My 16 year old was contacted by game and fish for a population management hunt for persian ibex in the Florida mountains of southern New Mexico. We were pretty excited about the call, this is hands down the most difficult hunt new mexico has to offer, extremely difficult terrain coupled with wary gravity defying animals makes for a special hunt, and probably my favorite all time ( I've been fortunate enough to take three ibex, was super excited for the kid to get a crack at one) The license was for female/immature, but any ibex is a trophy. Couldn't leave town til after school on the day before, got to camp in the dark, set up and bedded down for the night. Up early for an atv ride in the dark, park it and start climbing by flashlight. Climbed for an hour in the dark, first light found us only a third of the way up, boys first glimpse of the mountain dad brought him to, crazy old man thinks this is fun?. Began pattern of climb/glass, climb/glass, climb glass...wind was awful, 60 mile an hour gusts browned out the horizon several times during the day and literally pushed us down several times, had to be extremely careful on ledges and tried to stay on the lee sides of cliffs and domes. Numerous cacti impalements, became SOP well before lunch time. Glassed up numerous hunters and heard volleys of shots periodically during the day. Late in the afternoon had two ibex walk around an impossible looking rock spire not 60 yards from us, suspect they had been there all day as the country is so steep it is difficult to see what is below you on the slope. Several ibex came out below the spire at about 150 yards and traveled around the rim of the canyon, could not for the life of me get the boy to see them, they finally vanished, I ate a granola bar and focused all of my dadlike energy on not appearing to be frustrated. Half way through my second granola bar it occurs to me that there could easily be more ibex on the spire. I ease my way out to the very edge of the cliff we were on and peaked down, there is a nanny laying on a ledge about a 120 yards below us! After what seemed like an eternity I finally got the boy see the ibex ( in all fairness they are tiny little goats) and dangled him over the precipice for a near vertical shot down the cliff ("she's straight down, hold a couple inches low, don't tell mom about the cliff and DO NOT LET GO OF MY RIFLE) He shot true, bullet struck between the shoulder blades, ibex bounced and slow motion rolled over the edge, vanishing into the maze of rock and cliff below. We had to descend a steep chute filled with shale and climb up again on the other side of the spire before finally locating the ibex on a ledge some 40 feet below the one he shot her from. We took some glory pics and packed her out in the gathering darkness and already gathered full hassle wind, climbing down from that country with a load on is a painful ordeal but we were pumped and jabbering the whole way, both of us glad (and also sad) that we didn't have to climb again in the morning. Great hunt that we hope to do again soon, very proud of Eric for hanging tough and shooting straight!
view from camp
ibex habitat
our ridge
where she landed, fell about 40 feet
Eric's Ibex, 240 Weatherby, 100 grain Partition, power pro 400 MR
view from camp
ibex habitat
our ridge
where she landed, fell about 40 feet
Eric's Ibex, 240 Weatherby, 100 grain Partition, power pro 400 MR
That does look a bit on the gnarly side and I could see how an animal that color would be tough to see especially if they don't move. The little 240 Bee did the job nicely.....
