Spain/Austria Ibex Hunts

[MntHunter]

Is Saint Hubertus a Hungarian company?

I need to call them and figure it out. They look like they are a good option.

Innsbruck and Salzburg are really nice. Innsbruck has the Swarovski factory, and they have a little Swarovski Disneyland type of thing about their non-optics products. Remember they are the largest crystal jewlery company in the world.

I'm not sure if they are Hungarian or Czech. I know they offer hunts in both countries.

Everytime I see a Swarovski store, I get excited and then remember it is jewelry and trinkets not binos/scopes.

 

[Mojave]

Everytime I see a Swarovski store, I get excited and then remember it is jewelry and trinkets not binos/scopes.

Agreed massive killjoy. Not on the same level as having a transvestite smile at you, but damn near!

 

[BaylorBowhunter]

Currently in Spain with my wife and another couple, I could not recommend it more. Great country to visit filled with plenty to do and great food/wine/tours. I was lucky to get a solid Pyrenean Chamois, I will post pics as soon as I can.

Who was your outfiter?

 

[TxA]

Who was your outfiter?

Wild Hunting Spain.
I would recommend, we had a great trip.

 

[Northern Safari]

So reading through this thread it looks like free range ibex hunts in Europe are limited to Austria, Spain and Slovenia.

Additional high fence options are available in Germany and Bulgaria.

Any others?

 

[MntHunter]

Greece has Kri Kri

 

[NRS]

So reading through this thread it looks like free range ibex hunts in Europe are limited to Austria, Spain and Slovenia.

Additional high fence options are available in Germany and Bulgaria.

Any others?

Legally hunts are only in Austria and Slovenia doable.
Slovenia has very limited Tags.
Austria has multiple choices for prime Free Range ibex hunts the are costly but much cheaper than a North American Sheep hunt.
Most Americans prefer to hunt the fenced Areas near Vienna for a Easy Austrian Hunt.
So far I know there are no Alpine Ibex in Spain maybe in a Fenced one.
Maybe there a Fenced Alpine Ibex available in in Bulgaria but I don’t know sure.
In Bavaria in southern Germany there are Alpine Ibex but the hunt is not open now.

 

[NRS]

I am not answering for DOGCAT, but I have known him a long time.

Austrian ibex prices range from about $15,000 USD to over $50,000 USD. The cheapest you will most likely get into is about $18,000-30,000 USD. Plus flights, export, and another $2000-3000 for the hunt. You will not pay the $15,000-50,000 trophy fee unless you kill one.

Switzerland shutting down was heartbreaking, it could be done for $10,000 for a smaller one.

The female alpine ibex hunts can be done in Switzerland for 3600 Swiss Francs. Austrian female ibex hunts can still be $5000.

There are three ways to make it happen.

Private land in Austria or Slovenia, probably on the waiting list for 3-5 years.

Immigrate to Switzerland, and move to the cantons that have ibex hunts, and get drawn.

Shoot one on a high fenced place in Germany, Austria or Bulgaria.

There are some federal state forest areas in Austria. Prices are the same, and it is a lottery to get drawn and you pre-pay the entire cost of the hunt. They tell you the dates, not the other way around. If you can't go during their 2-3 days you lose the cost of the hunt.

I have one Alpine Ibex Tag available for 2024
Class1 ( 10 years or older )
In one of the Best Free Range Areas in Austria.
But the Hunter has to be reasonable Fit to hike the Mountains. A true hunt in a unbelievable scenic Area.

 

[NRS]

Below are some Examples of Class 1 Alpine Ibex

 

[Northern Safari]

Those alpine ibex look quite a bit bigger than the largest of the Spanish species.

 

[NRS]

Those alpine ibex look quite a bit bigger than the largest of the Spanish species.

Body wise for sure

 

[Northern Safari]

I have one Alpine Ibex Tag available for 2024
Class1 ( 10 years or older )
In one of the Best Free Range Areas in Austria.
But the Hunter has to be reasonable Fit to hike the Mountains. A true hunt in a unbelievable scenic Area.

How much do those hunts go for?

 

[NRS]

How much do those hunts go for?

Please contact me under [email protected] or +43 664 400 5327 for all Infos and pricing

 

[Suera]

There aren't alpine ibex in Spain.
Alpine ibex is bigger in body than Spain ibex but for sure Beceite and Gredos ibex have biggest horn.

 

[bluemaroon]

Spent quite a few hours at Houston Safari Club show yesterday talking to several Spanish and one Austrian outfitter. The idea for a Spanish hunt started because my wife wants to travel to see Spain. We had seen Ibex and Chamois on hikes through the Alps before and really admire the animals and where they lived. Also, after hunting Dall sheep in Alaska last season, I have a really strong desire to get back into the mountains for hunting.

 

[bluemaroon]

The Spain and Austrian hunts both look like great opportunities to get some mountain hunting in while also making it a vacation for things my wife would like to do like visit wineries, see the sights, visit European Christmas markets going on during the hunt season, etc.

With that in mind, I wanted to get any feedback on the following outfitters. There were several more, but these were the ones that really stood out from the show that seemed to understand what we were looking for. A big piece for me is free-range hunting in the mountains. The outfitters below seemed to understand this (vs. some that were a lot more focused on more of a gentleman's style hunt under fence or in flatter terrain).

- FN Hunting - Austria - Alpine Ibex & Chamois --- most expensive but very interesting discussion and hunting an Alpine ibex in the Austrian alps would be amazing experience
- Caza Planeta - Spain - hunting with Samuel for Gredos with horses in mountains. He also does a ton of hunting with Pedro Ampuero
- Trophy Hunting Spain - Really enjoyed talking with Bruno and I think he would also be great to hunt ibex and Chamois with. He also had a lot of ideas for touring ideas with wife after hunt as well.

 

[buzzy]

I’d be curious what The prices are looking at for these hunts in the next year or two. Nothing huge probably a bronze level animal. If anyone is willing to share the costs via DM I’d greatly appreciate it. Specially Ronda and South Eastern ibex.

 

[Short Track]

Gredos is about $20K all in. However, I paid too much. Watch the auctions, you can get a reputable outfitter for much much less. I didn't know about the auctions before I booked. I could have saved at least $10k.

 

[bluemaroon]

The prices seem to run all over the place from talking with several of the outfitters since final animal prices are tied to CIC or SCI measurement (even though you are hunting free range in mountains and not at a game farm).
Also, there seems to be several fees such as hunter and non-hunter day fees, airport help fees, driving to field fees, dipping/ship prep fees, licenses, etc. The worst one (and almost a turnoff to hunting in Europe) is the 21% VAT. This feels like robbery from the government. If we get serious about booking, I will be using my engineering background to build out a detailed spreadsheet for each option to analyze cost.

 

[bluemaroon]

Also be careful on the auctions if just looking at financials. As I've been looking, they initially appear to be good deals, but be sure to read fine print on what's actually included. When you factor everything in, my math doesn't show saving much. (And of course at the auctions drinks may be flowing so you may not have your laptop out running a spreadsheet haha --- plus at end of day hopefully purchasing an auction hunt is considreed more of a donation to admirable organization working to support wildlife).