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Nubian ibex hunt
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<blockquote data-quote="Texas Republic" data-source="post: 598693" data-attributes="member: 19878"><p>I recently had a pretty difficult hunt with a free range nubian ibex on my familys place so i thought i would share my mistakes and strategies. It's not technically a sheep, but there isn't much difference in the hunt. These usually aren't hunted on free range, but many exotics in Texas escape fences one way or another and set up shop where it suits them. Axis deer and black buck antelope are becoming fairly common in many areas now. </p><p></p><p> I have been trying to hunt this ibex in a 3000 acre pasture that is</p><p>all mountains. I have tried getting him to come into a feeder, but he</p><p>only climbs down once every 2 weeks it seems. So i decided it was time</p><p>to do some mountain climbing and laced up my boots tight and grabbed</p><p>my back pack. But there is only one ibex in a 3000 acre pasture. There</p><p>are three ridge lines in pasture and he travels with a small group of</p><p>Spanish goats. There are two Angora/Spanish goats he is always with on</p><p>the game camera. The white color of his traveling companions was what</p><p>I decided to spot for since his own color blended in really well. I</p><p>also know they use the trails on top of mountains to travel. I would</p><p>normally have a difficult time determining where in the pasture to</p><p>spot for him, but a norther came in each weekend I hunted. Goats and sheep </p><p>usually always travel against the wind. If the wind changes, so do</p><p>they. This factor narrowed it down to the North end of the pasture.</p><p>Plan of attack was simple. Hike up the tallest mountain that commands</p><p>a view of the Northern side of the pasture. Spot the white Angora</p><p>goats that he travels with and hike within 500 yards for a shot.</p><p></p><p>On the first attempt, I finally spotted the white angora goats around 3 pm on a</p><p>mountain ledge 1600 yards away. I didn't see him, but figured he was</p><p>there somewhere. I walked within 450 yards and set up for a shot. </p><p>I watched the group of goats for an hour but never saw</p><p>him. I packed up my rifle and backpack and began to hike back the way</p><p>I came rethinking my strategy. However, before I got very far I turned</p><p>around to give them one last look and noticed a different spanish goat</p><p>that wasn't there earlier. I stopped in the middle of the trail and</p><p>spotted again to see who else showed up. Sure enough, the Ibex suddenly</p><p>appeared. I started scrambling for my rifle and range finder , however</p><p>the place I was at didn't have a clear shot once I placed my rifle on</p><p>the ground. I grabbed my rifle and scrambled to some higher ground</p><p>that gave me a shot. I had to hurry because they were traveling over</p><p>the top of the mountain out of sight. Controlling my breathing was</p><p>hard after climbing, etc. I placed the shot on his shoulder and fired,</p><p>hitting a rock beside him. Astonished that it missed by that much, I</p><p>waited for him to stop and fired again. Nothing. He just froze for a</p><p>minute and then ran off..By this point they were gone. I hiked up</p><p>there afterwards to look for blood, but didn't see a trace of anything</p><p>at all. I realized afterwards that I had forgotten to foul my barrel</p><p>after cleaning the rifle. Without fouling the barrel, the first shot</p><p>after a good cleaning will always be off by several inches at 100</p><p>yards. At 450 yards, it would be a complete miss. I didn't know how I</p><p>missed my second shot at the time.</p><p></p><p>The next attempt was almost the exact same situation. After spotting</p><p>for several hours, I found them again in the same area.. However, this</p><p>time I drove in the mule to other side of the mountain behind them and</p><p>hiked up the mountain next to them. I planned to shoot from one</p><p>mountain to the other with the wind in my face, this way my shot would</p><p>be more horizontal and not shooting up from below. However, the brush</p><p>on top of the mountain concealed them and didn't give me a shot</p><p>either. So I hiked down the front of my mountain and wound up at the</p><p>same exact place I was before where I missed. However, this time they</p><p>made it over the top of the mountain before I could get a shot at</p><p>them. I was determined to get him that day. I dropped my entire pack there, </p><p>picked up my rifle and started stalking up the front of the</p><p>mountain they were on. I was expecting a "close encounter" with him at</p><p>this point. The wind was from my right to left, so I mainly had to</p><p>worry about my sound. You can stalk up a mountain, but it's a very</p><p>slow process that requires a lot of balance so you don't step on the</p><p>wrong rocks that shift or make noise. I placed the rifle over my</p><p>shoulders for balance and began the hike. Once on top, I listened for</p><p>them running, but didn't hear anything. I kept moving forward</p><p>following the trail and keeping my ears open for any sign of them</p><p>running down the right side of the side of the hill into the wind.</p><p>That would be perfect in my case. After hiking on top for a quarter</p><p>mile, it began to grow dark and I began thinking I missed them</p><p>somewhere on the left side of the mountain. Mountain goats and sheep</p><p>can move fast, but even they make noise on the rocks when they do. I</p><p>never heard them run off the side, but there weren't anywhere on top</p><p>its seemed. I finally decided to start heading back and stalk the</p><p>left side. I didn't go 50 yards when I saw them on the side of the</p><p>mountain on my way back. Luckily, they were 200 yards away and never</p><p>knew I was there. My scent from on top must have blown over them since</p><p>they were halfway down the mountain side.</p><p></p><p>I quickly looked for a place to set my rifle up for a shot. I ended up</p><p>raising my bipod all the way up and lying on a downhill slope in the</p><p>middle of a sticker bush with my neck in an awkward angle, but I had a</p><p>clear shot. As soon as I got the Ibex in my scope, I noticed a bullet</p><p>wound in his left shoulder and I just smiled and pulled the trigger.</p><p>He dropped where he stood and rolled down the mountain about ten feet.</p><p>Once I was on him, I could see two bullet entry holes 3 inches apart</p><p>on his left shoulder. I did not see any exit wounds. After</p><p>caping him, I honestly don't know how he survived the first shot. His</p><p>insides were torn apart from my previous shot. He didn't have many</p><p>more days before he had died.</p><p><img src="http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae218/smithadventures/84523133.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p>I usually shoot a DPMS 308-LR. Hope this helps somehow.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Texas Republic, post: 598693, member: 19878"] I recently had a pretty difficult hunt with a free range nubian ibex on my familys place so i thought i would share my mistakes and strategies. It's not technically a sheep, but there isn't much difference in the hunt. These usually aren't hunted on free range, but many exotics in Texas escape fences one way or another and set up shop where it suits them. Axis deer and black buck antelope are becoming fairly common in many areas now. I have been trying to hunt this ibex in a 3000 acre pasture that is all mountains. I have tried getting him to come into a feeder, but he only climbs down once every 2 weeks it seems. So i decided it was time to do some mountain climbing and laced up my boots tight and grabbed my back pack. But there is only one ibex in a 3000 acre pasture. There are three ridge lines in pasture and he travels with a small group of Spanish goats. There are two Angora/Spanish goats he is always with on the game camera. The white color of his traveling companions was what I decided to spot for since his own color blended in really well. I also know they use the trails on top of mountains to travel. I would normally have a difficult time determining where in the pasture to spot for him, but a norther came in each weekend I hunted. Goats and sheep usually always travel against the wind. If the wind changes, so do they. This factor narrowed it down to the North end of the pasture. Plan of attack was simple. Hike up the tallest mountain that commands a view of the Northern side of the pasture. Spot the white Angora goats that he travels with and hike within 500 yards for a shot. On the first attempt, I finally spotted the white angora goats around 3 pm on a mountain ledge 1600 yards away. I didn’t see him, but figured he was there somewhere. I walked within 450 yards and set up for a shot. I watched the group of goats for an hour but never saw him. I packed up my rifle and backpack and began to hike back the way I came rethinking my strategy. However, before I got very far I turned around to give them one last look and noticed a different spanish goat that wasn’t there earlier. I stopped in the middle of the trail and spotted again to see who else showed up. Sure enough, the Ibex suddenly appeared. I started scrambling for my rifle and range finder , however the place I was at didn’t have a clear shot once I placed my rifle on the ground. I grabbed my rifle and scrambled to some higher ground that gave me a shot. I had to hurry because they were traveling over the top of the mountain out of sight. Controlling my breathing was hard after climbing, etc. I placed the shot on his shoulder and fired, hitting a rock beside him. Astonished that it missed by that much, I waited for him to stop and fired again. Nothing. He just froze for a minute and then ran off..By this point they were gone. I hiked up there afterwards to look for blood, but didn’t see a trace of anything at all. I realized afterwards that I had forgotten to foul my barrel after cleaning the rifle. Without fouling the barrel, the first shot after a good cleaning will always be off by several inches at 100 yards. At 450 yards, it would be a complete miss. I didn't know how I missed my second shot at the time. The next attempt was almost the exact same situation. After spotting for several hours, I found them again in the same area.. However, this time I drove in the mule to other side of the mountain behind them and hiked up the mountain next to them. I planned to shoot from one mountain to the other with the wind in my face, this way my shot would be more horizontal and not shooting up from below. However, the brush on top of the mountain concealed them and didn’t give me a shot either. So I hiked down the front of my mountain and wound up at the same exact place I was before where I missed. However, this time they made it over the top of the mountain before I could get a shot at them. I was determined to get him that day. I dropped my entire pack there, picked up my rifle and started stalking up the front of the mountain they were on. I was expecting a “close encounter” with him at this point. The wind was from my right to left, so I mainly had to worry about my sound. You can stalk up a mountain, but it’s a very slow process that requires a lot of balance so you don’t step on the wrong rocks that shift or make noise. I placed the rifle over my shoulders for balance and began the hike. Once on top, I listened for them running, but didn’t hear anything. I kept moving forward following the trail and keeping my ears open for any sign of them running down the right side of the side of the hill into the wind. That would be perfect in my case. After hiking on top for a quarter mile, it began to grow dark and I began thinking I missed them somewhere on the left side of the mountain. Mountain goats and sheep can move fast, but even they make noise on the rocks when they do. I never heard them run off the side, but there weren’t anywhere on top its seemed. I finally decided to start heading back and stalk the left side. I didn’t go 50 yards when I saw them on the side of the mountain on my way back. Luckily, they were 200 yards away and never knew I was there. My scent from on top must have blown over them since they were halfway down the mountain side. I quickly looked for a place to set my rifle up for a shot. I ended up raising my bipod all the way up and lying on a downhill slope in the middle of a sticker bush with my neck in an awkward angle, but I had a clear shot. As soon as I got the Ibex in my scope, I noticed a bullet wound in his left shoulder and I just smiled and pulled the trigger. He dropped where he stood and rolled down the mountain about ten feet. Once I was on him, I could see two bullet entry holes 3 inches apart on his left shoulder. I did not see any exit wounds. After caping him, I honestly don’t know how he survived the first shot. His insides were torn apart from my previous shot. He didn’t have many more days before he had died. [IMG]http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae218/smithadventures/84523133.jpg[/IMG] I usually shoot a DPMS 308-LR. Hope this helps somehow. [/QUOTE]
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