Episode #9 – Bezoar Ibex Hunt Report

Hunter: Mat Cervantes
Date: March, 2018
Trip Taken: Bezoar Ibex Hunt in Turkey
Consultant: Outdoors International

Turkey is a truly fantastic location for your bezoar Ibex hunt; safe but adventurous.

Three of us were hunting Ibex in Turkey and had planned for 2017 rut in late November to early December but our visas were delayed and the permits were good until March 31st; so we pushed until March 3, 2018.

We arrived in Istanbul, Turkey and transferred to Adana where or guides cleared our rifles at customs and off we went to our nice mountain hotel to rest before our bezoar ibex hunt started in the morning. We all went to three different mountain areas, tested our rifles and then one of us tagged out on day one, the second on day 2; I myself got excited and took an unsteady shot at 350 yards…hit a giant 45″ plus goat at high leg and shattered it.

Sad and embarrassed to say, we chased him for two days but he could hobble faster than we could climb a mountain (listen to the podcast above for the whole story). So for the first time in my life I wounded and never recovered my quarry. Two of the three of us went home with nice Ibex but I had 100% opportunity to do the same; the guides did their part. With decades of experience, the outfitter knows what he is doing.

Turkey is a safe place to hunt.

People have worries about the location of Turkey because it is a Muslim country and they watch too much CNN, but as I travel the world for a living I have spent much time in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan etc, I had zero worries in Turkey. Never did we feel in danger of any kind, as a matter of fact my hunting companion left his iPhone in a street restaurant and they chased us down to return it to us! All of the people we interacted with were very friendly and always helpful with a smile and a hot cup of Chai tea.

• How would you rate your trip overall? We had a guide and 2 forest officials with us. Very professional outfitter. Great vehicles. Guide could use better spotting scopes, so I advise bringing one yourself.
• How were your guide(s)? Good
• How was your food and lodging? Good
• How was your outfitters communication? Great
• How physically demanding was your trip? Difficult
• Would you book another trip with OUTDOORS INTERNATIONAL in the future? Yes
• Can we use your stories and/or photos on our website? Yes
• Can we use this in social media? Yes