That negative being noted, I must say that I haven't given up. I'm returning to Armenia in late summer, when the rams are reportedly much more visible. It is true they are higher on the mountain at that time, but even on my April hunt we hunted up and over mountains and ridges fully 13,000 feet high, contending with deep snow on the north faces and high winds. Mouflon generally stay below snow, but in order to approach likely open south faces, climbs over higher terrain are unavoidable, even in springtime. Despite seven days of effort, the mouflon hunt was a shutout. No problem; that's why they call it hunting.
The best news out of Armenia, however, is the bezoar ibex potential there. I saw more than 500 of these animals in a week, with at least 100 of them being trophy class. They were present in practically every valley I visited and are grossly under-hunted.
I took a bezoar ibex in Turkey several years ago, but intentionally settled for a mediocre specimen because of........(continued)
