SPAIN: Southeastern & Ronda Ibex Hunt With Corju Hunting Spain

[Cecil Hammonds]

My good friend, my wife, and I recently traveled to Spain for Ibex hunting and touring. He was after the Southeastern, and I was chasing the Southeastern and Ronda Ibex. I am not the greatest writer, so feel free to ask questions if you like. In a nutshell, the trip was great all the way around and we were both successful on the hunt. However, the entire country was experiencing a weather anomaly in the form of rain; they were getting rain on a scale that most people there had not seen in their lifetime. We had very little sunshine in the two weeks we were there.
We traveled to Madrid from DFW on American Airlines direct 9 hour flight and stayed a few days in the local area touring Toledo, Avila, and Segovia, as well as the National Palace in Madrid. We then picked up a car and drove about 5 hours south to our hunting area in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Granada and met our hunting guide. Since we planned on doing quite a bit of touring around the country, we opted to use the outfitters rifles versus bringing our own. If you aren't familiar, the process and paperwork is the same whether you use your own gun or borrow one of theirs; the obvious difference being you don't have to go through the logistics of bringing your gun along if you choose to borrow theirs.

We met our guide at the hotel when we checked in, got changed into hunting gear, and set out to the hunting area which was about an hour drive away. We met up with some local guides who were out scouting the area and went up on several high vantage points to glass the mountain sides and valleys. After a couple hours of this, we found a shooter billie in with some younger billies. We got set up on him; it was a long shot, 470 yards across the valley and over onto the next ridge. The rifle was a 338 Lapua with an extremely light trigger, heavy barrel, and high end optics. After a couple of dry fire practice runs, I set up on him and waited for him to present a good shot angle. After a few minutes, he turned and was standing clear quartering away. I didn't hesitate and took the shot; he went down where he stood. It was getting dark, raining, and the recovery was going to be through some gnarly terrain, so we decided to come back in the morning to recover him.

The next morning after an early breakfast and coffee, we set out to recover my ibex while my buddy went off to start his hunt for his ibex. We got to the hunting area and went our separate ways. Once back at the spot where I took the shot, we sighted in our the spot where the ibex should be laying and started out. It was steep, wet ground with thick growth in the bottom of the valley, but we eventually got to him and got him dressed out and ready to pack out. I got him loaded in my pack and got started. I told the guys this will take me a while, but little by little I will get him out. Of course the rain picked up to add to the fun, but I was happy! Eventually I made it out to the top. One picture is taken from where the ibex was laying looking back up to the ridge where I took the shot. As we were packing out, and I stopped to rest, sitting on that mountain with the ibex in my pack, I just paused to take it all in. I could the see the Mediterranean Sea in the distance; it was one of those moments that sticks with you.

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

After getting back to the trucks, we were pretty well soaked. We headed down to a small village on the coast and met up for lunch. My buddy had not yet gotten an opportunity on a mature billie. After we ate, we split up again; he went off in search of his ibex, and we decided to go the area in search of my Ronda. Long story short, I didn't get a Ronda that afternoon, but my buddy got his Southeastern! It was dark by the time they got to him, so not the best photos, but he got a nice one too!

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

After a good dinner to celebrate our success back at the hotel, we were pretty worn out and got a good night's sleep. After an early breakfast, we all went over to the Ronda hunting area. We went to a different side of the mountain from the day before and started glassing. I was a bit frustrated with myself for not being able to spot the ibex that the guides were seeing. They really blend in with the rocks well. Eventually we spotted a group that looked like it had some potential and decided to move in for a closer look. The terrain here while rocky was much more hospitable than the day before. We stalked to a spot where we could see three shooters in the group at 310 yards. I got down prone and line up to shoot with the rifle on my pack. This time we were using a Tikka 6.5 PRC with Nightforce Optics and Hornady ELD-X ammunition. I got set up for the shot and had to wait for my target to step clear of the group. I only had an instant to shoot before he would disappear into the brush. I squeezed off a shot and it felt perfect, but the ibex didn't act like he was hit. We didn't hear the slap of the bullet hitting him either. I was thinking there was no way I could miss that shot, but it seemed I had. The group ran off and we watch to see where they were going in case they gave us another shot. Eventually, we slowly started making our way up to the spot where the ibex was standing when I shot. The guides had a gotten ahead of me and got there first. Jose looked back at me with a stone-faced expression and motioned for me to come up there. I was feeling really upset with myself and my confidence was a bit shaken. Imagine my surprise when I walk up and the ibex is laying right there a few yards from where I shot him. His lungs were blown out pretty well by the shot. I will remember not to play poker with Jose. They guys were super excited by the size and age of this Ronda, and so was I!

We got him dressed out and I loaded in my pack for what turned out to be a much easier (downhill) pack out this time. Getting back to the truck, my buddy is in the back seat snoring! We said goodbye to the local guides and went a for lunch in a small cafe with some excellent cabrito! Very fitting meal for a couple of goat hunters.

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

The next day, we said goodbye to Jose and headed out to a villa we rented by the sea in the town of Nerja. We visited Granada, Malaga, Seville, and Cordoba before heading back to Madrid and back home. Hope you enjoyed this report and feel free to ask any questions if you like.

 

[375Fox]

Congratulations. Nice report and photos. Interestingly I’ve only done 2 hunts in Spain but both were impacted by heavy rain and snow. I was told the same.

 

[Nyati]

Congrats, nice Ibexes.

During this month we´ve had more rain than anyone could remember !

Glad you enjoyed your trip.