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Hunting the Bezoar Ibex
- pantheonhunters
- Sep 21, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 2, 2025
We all have our heroes of hunting, but those who captivated many of us were Africa’s old-world ivory hunters. These were real men, and they defined elephant hunting according to one principle belief . . . that a hunter kills an elephant with his feet, and that he will walk a mile for every pound of tusk. That adage still has the ring of truth to it for today’s elephant hunter, but it leaves one wondering if there is a similar adage for hunting the world’s mountain game?
One simple truth fits. A game animal that a hunter must climb for is worth it, and the hunter’s emotional highs from the endeavor are proportional to altitude where the game is hunted. Just ask a goat, sheep, ibex, or markhor hunter.
Sheep keep us dreaming, but we thankfully have various species of ibex. One can spend a lifetime hunting them without bank loans and never feel that mountain hunting opportunities are lacking. Those afflicted with a big-time ibex addiction will argue that ibex provides more thrills and emotion-packed hunting adventure pound for pound than many of the world’s sheep. They garner respect the moment you immerse in their world.
Perhaps none of the world’s ibex are more beautiful and alluring than the Bezoar Ibex of Turkey.
30 years ago, a copy of Hunting in Turkey by Ali H. Üstay opened up our eyes to Turkey as an important hunting destination and its signature trophy, the bezoar ibex.
Bezoar is a game management success story in Turkey. Having long realized the potential for hunting as a form of tourism and foreign capital generation, Turkish wildlife authorities have ensured that today’s Bezoar hunter will experience excellent hunting.
Populations are tightly managed through permit auctions. There are three trophy class tiers and price levels for each. Premium areas will produce trophies measuring 45-50 inches or better.
A swept back set of horns coupled with its profound coloration makes the Bezoar a truly awe inspiring trophy. They are trophies regardless of size and are suitably emblematic of Turkey’s long and storied hunting tradition.
The Bezoar prefers up and down areas of mixed timber and rocky outcroppings. They can be found from very low altitude up to 9,000 feet. Spot and stalk is the primary method of hunting, so good binoculars and boots are important tools of the hunt.
Turkish hunting teams are adept at adapting the hunt to accommodate hunters of various ages and levels of physical condition. Regardless, you will help yourself greatly by bringing a good set of legs and lungs and the ability to reliably hit a 6-inch kill zone at 300-450.
A visiting hunter to Turkey will be enchanted by the culture and professional outfitting. Pantheon Hunters has access to both regular and special hunting areas, each populated with healthy concentrations of appropriate bezoar. Their hunting teams will be welcoming, attentive and hard-working, and you’ll feel sad to bid their friendly smiles farewell.
Accommodations will vary from
country hotels to cabins and tented camps primarily because bezoar extend across several mountain ranges. Some bezoar territory also offers excellent hunts for other species, such as the hybrid ibex, and Anatolian chamois, roe deer, Anatolia stag, and wild boar (the world’s largest).
Hunts for bezoar generally take place from September 1 through March 31. “Prime time” would be from late November through late December. The hunter can often find snow at the higher elevations this late in the year, but a great system of forest roads through the mountains makes covering lots of territory and penetrating deep into higher country much more possible.
There are many flights daily from major cities to Istanbul through numerous carriers, and accessing good hunting territory usually means just one connecting flight and a reasonable drive into camp. At the end of that trail is some of the world’s best hunting and one of the world’s most handsome trophies. It’s worth it.
Contact us today to start planning your next expedition!
