Selection Hunting: Shrewd and unpredictable, the mouflon is one of the most robust and resistant wild animals in our country, for which it is necessary to perfectly know its eating habits, its behavior, hunting methods, weapons and ammunition. suitable to settle it.
The mouflon, whose scientific name is Ovis musimon, is an artiodactyl mammal of the Bovidae family. Widespread on the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia, Corsica, Cyprus and Rhodes, the mouflon is not a native species of these geographical areas, but it is thought to have been introduced by man, since no fossil remains have been found that would prove its existence at any time. historical. It is a game very similar to a medium-sized sheep, which has a massive and compact body inscribed in the "square". The height at the withers is 90 centimeters, with a weight of about 50 kilos and 130 centimeters in total length. The coat is brown-brown tending to reddish and like almost all ungulates, it sheds twice a year, in spring and autumn. During the winter period, the male specimens have the neck adorned with a thick and long mane of hair tending to black, which is "united" to the white dorsal saddle, thus characterizing the "pure" specimens older than three years.
Il mouflon it is considered a rather difficult prey for hunters, since it is a very shrewd and unpredictable animal, having earned a respectable place in the noble game section. For this reason it is one of the most sought-after prey even in countries where it has been “artificially” introduced by man. In our country, the mouflon was introduced in the sixties both in the Alps and in the Apennines, also spreading to the islands of Montecristo, Giglio and Elba. At present, many game reserves throughout Italy have a fair presence of mouflons, always regulated and controlled by hunting or catching.
In some mountain areas, it was found that the mouflon entered into food and territorial competition with the chamois, generating a certain imbalance of the ecosystem, for which selection hunting was practiced. This wild has shown an excellent spirit of adaptation, to the point that it can live peacefully even in the high mountains, where its fur protects it from low temperatures and its tenacity allows it to survive even with snow and lack of food. Mouflons tend to live in large herds of more than fifty individuals; they have no nocturnal habits and begin their journey in search of food at dawn and then stop late at night. During the hottest hours of the day, the mouflons enter the wood in search of a little cool, without however straying too far from their usual territories. Very curious is the way in which the herd moves: always in single file and moving very slowly. At the head of the row there is generally an elderly female specimen, but the pack leader is always a dominant male, who follows the flock at a distance arriving at the pasture site last, in order to check that there are no dangers or latecomers. This behavior is to be taken into consideration when hunting mouflons, since the leader of the pack is the best specimen, so you have to wait for his arrival. The mouflon's resistance to rifle shots is proverbial, to the point that some particularly strong specimens manage to travel over fifty meters after being hit with a medium caliber. While in Europe it is possible to hunt this animal as early as August XNUMXst, in Italy the opening generally takes place on October XNUMXst. During the winter, in fact, the females all gave birth to the puppies, while the males completed the moult. Mouflon hunting can be practiced in three ways: by looking, by looking and by turning, the latter also called "guided".
Let's start the descriptions of these modes starting from the last one. The turn is a very quiet, silent joke without the help of dogs, which is practiced in areas where the vegetation is very dense, such as the Mediterranean scrub. There are two roles: the hunter and the hitter. The first must be positioned near the paths usually traveled by the flock of mouflons, preferably on a roof terrace or an elevated stage. The beaters, on the other hand, must push the herd "delicately" towards the posts, ie at a pace that allows a precise shot.
The aspect mode must take place at sunrise or sunset, the time of day when more transit paths cross. The hunting modality in the mountain environment, on the other hand, is similar to chamois hunting, but, unlike the latter, the mouflon is more suspicious and has a much sharper sight. If the mouflons are in open spaces, to shoot them down it is necessary to shoot with extreme precision at long range, while if the search takes place in the hills, in the tall trees or in the Mediterranean scrub, the shot will be between one hundred and one hundred and fifty meters.
Let us now begin to describe the most suitable weapons and calibers for mouflon hunting.
According to many experienced hunters, the best weapon in the high mountains is the Bolt Action bolt action rifle, which has a good 6 or 8 magnification lens with reticle number 4, 4A or 8. The rifle of this type allows a quick second shot, in case the prey was hit in a non-lethal part. In addition to the classic “Bolt”, Express and semi-automatic rifles can also be considered equally valid.
Very positive judgments were given to the Browning Bar, the Remington 7400, the Heckler & Koch and the Voere 2185.
As for the choice of caliber, the latter should start from 6,5mm up to 8mm.
The whole range of 6,5 calibers, from 6,5 X 55 Sweeden to 6,5 X 68 Shuler is very good, using 125-140 grain medium strength bullets such as Nosler Partition, RWS KS and Hirtenberger ABC. The 270 Winchester with 130 grain, Barnes-X, Sierra, Hornady, Speer and Norma Soft Point bullets were equally efficient. The 7 mm, from 7.08 up to 7mm Remington Magnum with bullets weighing no more than 160 grains, are particularly suitable for larger and more resistant garments. For the 7,62 calibers, the 308 W. and 30.06 Spring can be considered. with 150 - 165 grain bullets of excellent quality, such as TIG, Le Speer Grand Slam and Teilmantel Spitzer. The 8mm category includes the use of the 8 x 57 JS-JRS.
Regardless of the caliber used, many hunters agree in preferring a ball that passes through the mouflon, for greater certainty in killing. Mouflon hunting is as fascinating as it is difficult in all three ways to prey on it, since we are talking about one of the most robust and resistant game in our country. For those who wish to try their hand at this type of hunting, we always recommend to rely on expert hunters who know both the animal and the territory well.
Good luck!!