Not trying to rain on your parade with the above info, but I think it's good to have realistic expectations. To my knowledge it's not possible to get a tag other than through the draw. If it is possible, I can only assume it's expensive. Good luck if you give it a go and try to draw! From what I've heard about that country, it will test you! I think it'd be a hoot to do that hunt. I'd go in fully expecting to get my hind end kicked, and I'm sure I would, but I'd have a smile on my face the whole time.
I haven't looked at the numbers in a while, but maybe 1-5% hunt success rate for archery. Draw odds are poor mainly thanks to YouTube videos making it look glamorous and amazing.
Rattlesnakes can even be active in the Jan hunt if it's warm weather; definitely active in Oct.
NMDGF has been hammering the population with lots of nanny rifle tags for several years. Numbers are definitely down.
I've heard what smarba said is true-- the country is brutal, dry, snake filled, and downright dangerous in many areas the ibex frequent. Which, of course, is what I think sounds so cool! But I be smarba is right and that once you were there, the glamour would wear off really quickly. I have heard of many people drawing the tag, going there for a day or two, then heading home with their tail tucked firmly between their legs saying something like, "No damn way I'm wasting my time with this anymore."
If you are in the best shape of your life. A fantastic shot. Expert stalker, spike camper, tracker, ambush etc give yourself a 10% chance if you hunt HARD the entire season to get a shot. If you want a quality shot cut that down to 2%.
Half the harvest comes from guided bowhunters with multiple spotters.
Oy........
As folks have said bowhunting these critters in the Florida Mountains is an incredible challenge.
There are several very reputable companies offering hunts for this species in the Turkish Mountains. It’s an amazing adventure and Caprinae Safaris is highly recommended. But be warned going in that they are an extremely alert species (above average even for a mountain goat) and certainly aren’t a slam dunk. The Spanish Ibex are a higher success bow hunt but some still go home without. Spain is a magnificent country to visit — in addition to the great hunting, there is fantastic food, sightseeing and culture. But Turkey is certainly a more exotic destination.
2015 rifle nanny for a depopulation hunt. Harvest a nanny and your are in a special draw for a billy. I looked at it as an adventure and good odds at a really expensive raffle ticket since the nanny tag is the same price as a billy tag for non residents. My friend JDM and I spent 3 day there 1 preseason and 2 hunting in March 2015. I saw multiple herds with multiple animals that trip. Glassing them was easy - getting them a different story. We put a group to bed and hiked in before first light and I shot a nanny at 7:30 AM the first day. We searched until 12:00 and never found her. We reported the unrecovered animal to the first NMF&G officer we saw he was impressed I got one but he said go shoot another one its a depopulation hunt. We glassed another group that afternoon/night and hiked in before light again. I shot a another nanny at first light the second day and recovered her. Lessons learned difficult terrain, yes but they are easy to see and move constantly. I think they had 67 reported harvested out of 300 rifle nanny tags. Total population 1000+ we saw herds of 20-70 animals.
Round 2 2017 I got the call again for another nanny hunt so of course I said yes. Feeling confident since I had been there an been successful I headed out solo with only a weekend to hunt. I didn't bed any before the season but I spotted goats and quickly made a plan the morning of the first day. I took a long shot and just barley missed low. No blood no ibex but a nice pock mark in the rock she was standing next to. I did some more glassing and decided to hike to an edge after dropping my pack. DONT DO THAT! I had 6 ibex at 20 yards in the cliffs just below be starring up at me for 20 seconds when I looked over the edge. No shot since my rifle was with my pack but I did see them take off down the ridge into some very steep cliffs. I hiked over to the cliffs and sat until just about dark when I saw ibex start to pour out of the cracks in the rocks. They seemed to be on a beeline back to the area I had spooked them from so I sat tight. At 30 seconds before last light I had a parade of 8 billies jump on rock 30 yards in front of one by one. The 9th ibex was a nanny and shot. I did a quick look but the cliffs quickly became too much with just a headlamp. I left for the night and came back in from below in the AM. I searched high and low for several hours and never found her. I looked for more Ibex but had to head for home that evening. Lessons learned- Ibex can be anywhere on the rock be ready at all times....This is what I forgot for the next trip.... Population 700-800 I saw several groups of 10-20 animals.
Round 3 2020 I drew an any ibex archery tag. Having spent plenty of time there but wanting some more help besides JDM who went again I contracted with A3 Trophy hunts for a couple days of assistance. We arrived on day 4 of the hunt after most of the weekend warriors had left. We hunted Mon-Thursday without really seeing another hunter. Day one- We first climbed to the top of the entire range and had a spotter glassing for us. This by far the best way to hunt. Sitting or waiting in saddles is not very effective as these ibex do not seem to see vertical walls as an obstacle like sheep and goats might. They rarely use the easiest route in or out of any area. Once we made it to the top I eased around looking down some very steep chutes from the top. Second place I looked....you guessed it 6 bedded Ibex at 39 yards and me not ready to shoot. It's probably a good thing I didn't shoot as the 39 yards was angle compensated and they had bedded just across a 309 yard abyss that would have made recovery very tough. We had terrible weather the next 2.5 days fog snow and wind. We still saw ibex every day and even saw many in stalkable locations. The last day day 6 we spotted 2 billies and 1 nanny in a very favorable position. I made a long stalk but had them blow out at about 120 yards. Population appears to be at objective of 400 animals no nanny hunts are scheduled for this year. We saw ibex everyday but smaller groups of 4-10. The biggest group was about 20. I think smaller groups are way better for archers. I probably could have killed a good billy with a rifle and 300-50 yard shot most days. Tough country but not impossible. Some places are absolutely impossible for a hunter to scale. Rocks and cactus will chew you up and stick the hell out of you. Watch where you put your hands and feet wear gloves and leather boots. It's not the toughest hunt I've ever been on but it can humble you if you are not prepared. I chose the hotel route and town is only 30-40 minutes away from good glassing spots. The nights are long cold and windy this time of year.
Long odds at drawing and 5-7% archery success is realistic. There are no easy ibex to hunt here. I hope to be back someday
Sandbrew
Beav, I had to do the same thing on 1 of my DIY Mnt. Goat hunts, my nuts still suck up when I think about him trying to find my Mnt. Goat on those cliffs!!!
Good luck, Robb
LOL. Awesome.
I love hunts like this! The ones you know are going to hurt, but the ones that hurt worse when you can't go!
Put in every year but almost relieved when I don’t draw
Bowsite quote of the year!
