whitetail
AH enthusiast
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2016
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- 294
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- 564
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- SCI, DSC, RMEF
- Hunted
- RSA, Zimbabwe
It has been less than a week since returning from Spain and I’m already looking forward to going back! So, to lay the groundwork- my fiancée and I were looking to have a “pseudo-honeymoon” in October 2024 (we actually will be getting married next year tho) so we started researching destinations in the summer of 2023- came down to either Spain or Alaska. We decided on Spain as that could provide for more touring/sightseeing. After more research on potential outfitters, we chose Bruno Rosich of Trophy Hunting Spain- he and his guides came with very commendable accolades from prior hunters that have hunted with them. We booked for 2 October- 9 October 2024 in January 2024 for Pyrenean chamois and red deer (and potentially roebuck if he still had a permit because he had other hunters in the spring and summer going after roebuck). Little did we know that the very next month after booking with him, he would receive the SCI International Outfitter/PH of the Year Award at the SCI Convention in February. To say the least- there is a reason why he won the award as I will discuss further!
Many on this forum know that I am a booking agent with JS Worldwide Hunting, LLC- and we were looking to partner with a Spanish outfitter to help represent them in the United States. We could not have chosen a better outfitter! I had many discussions with Bruno as well as our guide, Dani Loughlin (who is born and raised and lives in the Pyrenees and knows the animals like the back of his hand)- often times many believe that Spain is only known for its for ibex species. Which is certainly true enough, but many forget about the species that can be hunted in the Pyrenees as well as the foothills of them. This includes Pyrenean chamois, Iberian red deer, Iberian mouflon, fallow deer, roe deer (and wild boar on driven hunts). as it turns out – we were the first international clients to hunt in the Pyrenees this year! And the rewards for being so endless! So I urge many on this forum to really consider hunting the Pyrenees mountains of Spain during late September, October and November before the heavy snows occur during the winter. The red deer were in the Rohr and I can’t express how awesome that was to watch and listen as well as allowed location of the stag! Also, the mouflon coats are at their best this time of year. It was not my intent to hunt mouflon, but “when in Rome”. As it turns out, the mouflon hunt was one of the most rewarding!
Bruno has access to permits for all of the species on hunting reserves in the Pyrenees. These are not classified as national parks, but they literally border the national parks. The views and vistas are out of this world. Amazing! Chamois, red deer and mouflon hunting in the mountains does require stamina as I would say that they are moderate to difficult hunts just like any mountain hunt would be so please prepare for that with strengthen and endurance training prior to going – you will appreciate that believe me! My fiancé happens to also be a yoga instructor so she had absolutely no problem and I trained for several months before going so we both did reasonably well was fortunate. But as we all know- it’s also the elevation with low oxygenation. my advice is to take it slow but with short small steps instead of long steps to make the going easier.
Dani picked us up at 0600 on 2 October from Barcelona (we arrived in Barcelona three days before to tour and sightsee there and in Tarragona prior to the Hunt) and we drove in the dark the 2 1/2 hours to the Pyrenees. First on the list was the chamois. we met with the game warden who would go with us and then headed on up the mountain. The amount of chamois to sort thru in the spotting scope is ridiculous haha- there are so many! We decided to take the “photogenic” way around the mountain- much more difficult physically to do but so well worth it! For the Hunt, I borrowed Dani’s 7mm Sako magnum with a 50 power Zeiss scope. to be clear, I have never been much for spending exuberant amounts of cash on rifle scopes because I live in the Midwest in the US and they’re really is no need for them where I hunt locally even though I’ve hunted out west multiple times and have higher objective scopes on the rifles I use for that. But the many times I have been to Africa there really is no need for a objective lens on a scope up to 50. But now I know why spending more money on a fantastic scope for mountain hunting is so well worth it! Over the duration of the hunt, I had five shots and five kills. I dropped every one of the species in their tracks. Quite remarkable really as I don’t claim to be an expert marksman and all of the shots minus the fallow deer and roebuck were over 250-300 yards.
We finally came upon a couple running chamois That we were interested in. They were well above us, even though we were actually above the clouds. Chamois happen to be curious creatures so they will run but will stop and look back at you so we got up and set in the prone position and I put the crosshairs right behind the shoulder fired down it went! Being as how I had just met Dani that morning, it’s always good to make a clean first shot at the outset to develop confidence in me as the Hunter from the guide.
We then traveled to a different reserve to hunt red deer. as previously stated, the stag were in the roar and it was incredible! The local game warden and Scouts had picked out one nice stag that they had seen multiple times so we set off for it in the evening. After multiple setups, we finally got in the right position to take the shot. Going up the mountain to lay my hands on the antlers was phenomenal! So much more that I could’ve asked for!
We then took a couple days off to tour the country of Andorra as well as drive all around to sightsee very old villages with much Roman architecture, such as Vall de Boi, all in the Pyrenees. So much history to see! We also spent a full day at the Monserrat monastery- a must do while there!
We then went to another reserve to hunt the mouflon. Now mouflon unlike the chamois, will spook off very easily but since we were the first hunters of the season, they were a little less timid. As I said earlier, the Coats on the mouflon this time of year are spectacular! I will be getting a full body mount on the one I took as it is so nice.
We then had a little time to explore the mountains and Bruno just received even more land to hunt by Llavorsí so Dani and I did some extra scouting. One evening we were driving up the mountain pass and noticed a mature fallow deer that happened to be limping due to an old injury to its left hind leg. His paddles were not that great and because he really seem to be struggling, we felt it best to go ahead and put him out of misery. Typically, they are very skittish as well and will takeoff at any sound, but we were able to get out of the truck and I was able to get prone and take the shot into his neck to preserve all of the tasty meat. I will do a European mount on him.
The final animal on my list was a nice roebuck. Bruno has access to farmland in the foothills of the Pyrenees for which that would be our location for this. We did not have much time left and since roebuck are normally hunted in late spring/early summer, we had to cover much ground. Dani was able to spot a nice one with his spotting scope and we moved into position to take the shot and got it done!
That closed out the hunting portion of our adventure. Dani dropped us back off in Barcelona and we took a train to Sevilla. We then toured Granada and the Alhambra; took a full day trip to explore Tangier, Morocco (was able to purchase a beautiful Berber rug, Moroccan sabres and tea kettle) and of course toured Sevilla (and went to a traditional flamenco dance at El Arenal- supposedly the best there in Sevilla).
I have already discussed going back for at least two of the four ibex species- likely Beceites and Gredos- to begin the pursuit of the Spanish ibex slam. I guess you could say that I achieved the Spanish “Pyrenees Slam” this trip!
So in conclusion – we could not have chosen a better outfitter in all of Spain! As stated earlier, I highly recommend giving more thought to hunting the Pyrenees of Spain because they have such incredible access to the hunting reserves for prime animals. If you would like more information or answers to questions on Bruno’s outfit (or just questions on hunting in the Pyrenees, touring, etc), don’t hesitate to contact me thru a PM or thru my website: jsworldwidehunting.com I will be uploading more photos and video to the website soon.
And I can’t forget to mention that I was able to attend a FC Barcelona futbol match there (it was a Champions League match vs Young Boys of Switzerland)- Lewandowski scored 2 goals! Seeing an international soccer match is next level in comparison to US sporting events such as football and baseball as far as the atmosphere.
Hope everyone reading this are having success on their fall hunting experiences! Cheers!!
Many on this forum know that I am a booking agent with JS Worldwide Hunting, LLC- and we were looking to partner with a Spanish outfitter to help represent them in the United States. We could not have chosen a better outfitter! I had many discussions with Bruno as well as our guide, Dani Loughlin (who is born and raised and lives in the Pyrenees and knows the animals like the back of his hand)- often times many believe that Spain is only known for its for ibex species. Which is certainly true enough, but many forget about the species that can be hunted in the Pyrenees as well as the foothills of them. This includes Pyrenean chamois, Iberian red deer, Iberian mouflon, fallow deer, roe deer (and wild boar on driven hunts). as it turns out – we were the first international clients to hunt in the Pyrenees this year! And the rewards for being so endless! So I urge many on this forum to really consider hunting the Pyrenees mountains of Spain during late September, October and November before the heavy snows occur during the winter. The red deer were in the Rohr and I can’t express how awesome that was to watch and listen as well as allowed location of the stag! Also, the mouflon coats are at their best this time of year. It was not my intent to hunt mouflon, but “when in Rome”. As it turns out, the mouflon hunt was one of the most rewarding!
Bruno has access to permits for all of the species on hunting reserves in the Pyrenees. These are not classified as national parks, but they literally border the national parks. The views and vistas are out of this world. Amazing! Chamois, red deer and mouflon hunting in the mountains does require stamina as I would say that they are moderate to difficult hunts just like any mountain hunt would be so please prepare for that with strengthen and endurance training prior to going – you will appreciate that believe me! My fiancé happens to also be a yoga instructor so she had absolutely no problem and I trained for several months before going so we both did reasonably well was fortunate. But as we all know- it’s also the elevation with low oxygenation. my advice is to take it slow but with short small steps instead of long steps to make the going easier.
Dani picked us up at 0600 on 2 October from Barcelona (we arrived in Barcelona three days before to tour and sightsee there and in Tarragona prior to the Hunt) and we drove in the dark the 2 1/2 hours to the Pyrenees. First on the list was the chamois. we met with the game warden who would go with us and then headed on up the mountain. The amount of chamois to sort thru in the spotting scope is ridiculous haha- there are so many! We decided to take the “photogenic” way around the mountain- much more difficult physically to do but so well worth it! For the Hunt, I borrowed Dani’s 7mm Sako magnum with a 50 power Zeiss scope. to be clear, I have never been much for spending exuberant amounts of cash on rifle scopes because I live in the Midwest in the US and they’re really is no need for them where I hunt locally even though I’ve hunted out west multiple times and have higher objective scopes on the rifles I use for that. But the many times I have been to Africa there really is no need for a objective lens on a scope up to 50. But now I know why spending more money on a fantastic scope for mountain hunting is so well worth it! Over the duration of the hunt, I had five shots and five kills. I dropped every one of the species in their tracks. Quite remarkable really as I don’t claim to be an expert marksman and all of the shots minus the fallow deer and roebuck were over 250-300 yards.
We finally came upon a couple running chamois That we were interested in. They were well above us, even though we were actually above the clouds. Chamois happen to be curious creatures so they will run but will stop and look back at you so we got up and set in the prone position and I put the crosshairs right behind the shoulder fired down it went! Being as how I had just met Dani that morning, it’s always good to make a clean first shot at the outset to develop confidence in me as the Hunter from the guide.
We then traveled to a different reserve to hunt red deer. as previously stated, the stag were in the roar and it was incredible! The local game warden and Scouts had picked out one nice stag that they had seen multiple times so we set off for it in the evening. After multiple setups, we finally got in the right position to take the shot. Going up the mountain to lay my hands on the antlers was phenomenal! So much more that I could’ve asked for!
We then took a couple days off to tour the country of Andorra as well as drive all around to sightsee very old villages with much Roman architecture, such as Vall de Boi, all in the Pyrenees. So much history to see! We also spent a full day at the Monserrat monastery- a must do while there!
We then went to another reserve to hunt the mouflon. Now mouflon unlike the chamois, will spook off very easily but since we were the first hunters of the season, they were a little less timid. As I said earlier, the Coats on the mouflon this time of year are spectacular! I will be getting a full body mount on the one I took as it is so nice.
We then had a little time to explore the mountains and Bruno just received even more land to hunt by Llavorsí so Dani and I did some extra scouting. One evening we were driving up the mountain pass and noticed a mature fallow deer that happened to be limping due to an old injury to its left hind leg. His paddles were not that great and because he really seem to be struggling, we felt it best to go ahead and put him out of misery. Typically, they are very skittish as well and will takeoff at any sound, but we were able to get out of the truck and I was able to get prone and take the shot into his neck to preserve all of the tasty meat. I will do a European mount on him.
The final animal on my list was a nice roebuck. Bruno has access to farmland in the foothills of the Pyrenees for which that would be our location for this. We did not have much time left and since roebuck are normally hunted in late spring/early summer, we had to cover much ground. Dani was able to spot a nice one with his spotting scope and we moved into position to take the shot and got it done!
That closed out the hunting portion of our adventure. Dani dropped us back off in Barcelona and we took a train to Sevilla. We then toured Granada and the Alhambra; took a full day trip to explore Tangier, Morocco (was able to purchase a beautiful Berber rug, Moroccan sabres and tea kettle) and of course toured Sevilla (and went to a traditional flamenco dance at El Arenal- supposedly the best there in Sevilla).
I have already discussed going back for at least two of the four ibex species- likely Beceites and Gredos- to begin the pursuit of the Spanish ibex slam. I guess you could say that I achieved the Spanish “Pyrenees Slam” this trip!
So in conclusion – we could not have chosen a better outfitter in all of Spain! As stated earlier, I highly recommend giving more thought to hunting the Pyrenees of Spain because they have such incredible access to the hunting reserves for prime animals. If you would like more information or answers to questions on Bruno’s outfit (or just questions on hunting in the Pyrenees, touring, etc), don’t hesitate to contact me thru a PM or thru my website: jsworldwidehunting.com I will be uploading more photos and video to the website soon.
And I can’t forget to mention that I was able to attend a FC Barcelona futbol match there (it was a Champions League match vs Young Boys of Switzerland)- Lewandowski scored 2 goals! Seeing an international soccer match is next level in comparison to US sporting events such as football and baseball as far as the atmosphere.
Hope everyone reading this are having success on their fall hunting experiences! Cheers!!
