Roebucks hunting in Spain: an inherited passion

Fred and Joakim: father and son joined by a common passion..

Our first contact was through social media. Joakim, a young hunter in his 30’s with a passion for roebuck hunting like no other, wanted to come to Spain with his father -Fred- drawn by the quality of our Spanish bucks. Originally from Norway, they have had the opportunity to hunt roebucks in some of the best areas of the Nordic countries, gathering an amazing collection of big bucks and thousands of anecdotes together. After months of conversations, it was time for them to join us in Spain.

Fred, besides being and exceptional roebuck hunter -he instils the calmness and patience that any roebuck hunter needs- his interest toward this species has led him to run an investigation throughout many years, in which he analyses the correlation between the exact age of the harvested individuals and the quality of their antlers. For those who are not familiar with roebuck management, this is the only deer whose trophy does not depend exclusively on age. Furthermore, father and son, lead a small conservation project aimed to protect the new-born fawns. It consists in locating fawns with thermal cameras attached to drones which might be hidden in the fields ready to be harvested and reallocating them into nearby forest areas away from combine harvesters.

Roebucks: delicate to weather changes.

Personally, when hunters come looking for something really extraordinary in terms of trophy size, I always say that April and the beginning of May is the best period, coinciding with the start of the season and the time in which the bucks are more active. Sometimes, when it is very early season, some bucks may have just lost the velvet and may appear to have a white-yellowish colour which some hunters do not like. To avoid this, Fred and Joakim decided to come in mid-May.

This year, the opening season has been truly exceptional, and the quality of the bucks has exceeded the average of previous years. However, a heat wave coming in from Africa a few days before the hunt was meant to begin, all signs of roebuck activity suddenly vanished. The high temperatures slowed down the buck’s activity, happening to show up during the first and late hours of the day. Also, in a matter of days, the crop fields gleaned, and the roebucks stopped feeding on them.

3 enjoyable days ahead of us.

After months talking with Fred and Joakim, it was time to finally meet in Madrid, the easiest point of entry considering the areas where we would be hunting. We had all been very much looking forward to this hunt and I could feel there was a big expectation from father and son to learn about our territories, roebuck management and all sort of things related to roedeer hunting in Spain. Their passion was so big that there was an immediate connection between us.

Unfortunately, Norwegian Airlines lost their luggage and rifles, forcing us to spend the night in Madrid and delaying our transfer to the hunting area until next morning. Thanks to the police at the airport, with whom we have a good relationship -they are gun friendly- everything was found, and we could leave to what it would be our home for the next 3 days. But before we could even set the rifles, it was necessary to show these Norwegians a bit of our gastronomic culture.

What would the hunting plan be?

Fred and Joakim came to Spain with the intention of trying to take a big buck each. In order to optimize the chances of success -considering the change in the roebucks’ behaviour due to the warm weather- the idea was to hunt separately. We had different bucks reasonably located from the prescouting weeks that met the type of trophy that we were looking for. It was all a matter of seeing how the wind was blowing to decide which buck was the best option.  However, with these animals, plans never turn out as one may have thought in bed a thousand times! Never! There are always little things along the way that can ruin everything within seconds, especially with the old bucks. This is what makes hunting big roebucks so challenging, entertaining, and unique.

Getting close is what we most enjoy doing

After an unsuccessful attempt on the first evening with an old buck that we could only guess, as it was already dark, Joakim was able to take him on next morning. This roebuck, a perfect connoisseur of his terrains, used to come out onto a spot almost impossible to stalk. A solitary oak tree in the middle of a fallow land left with absolutely no bush was our only cover. In front of us was a smooth hill partially covered with oaks, hawthorns, and rockroses where we knew this roebuck lived. The distance between us and the hills in front varied from 290 to 425 meters, too much of a risky and pretentious shot for such a small animal. We had to wait and let him take the first move.

Seated under the oak tree before dawn, we glassed, and glassed, and kept on glassing until we had almost lost all our hopes to see this buck again. Less than 10 minutes had passed since the sun had started heating up the air a bit, when I first spotted our roebuck -and the doe- coming out from the thickest hawthorns in front of us. Without much hesitation, they were moving quickly to where the sun was shining. The 395 meters that separated us from the buck, was not good enough to take a chance, so we decided to plan a stalk. The lack of cover did not make it easy, but as the sun was still low, I decided to go all the way round until we had the sun behind us. The wind was not perfect, but good enough to give it a go. After a great stalk in which we crawled, crossed a river -which we almost had to swim to get to the other side-, fell over a few times and played a sort of “What’s the time, Mr. Wolf” game with the buck, me managed to get within 154 meters. It was it; Joakim placed a perfect shot, and we had our great buck!

With Joakim’s buck in the salt, we had to focus all our efforts on Fred. We wanted him to get the buck that he had been patiently waiting for such a long time. Fred had been trying hard to get one of the few bucks that our guys had been controlling for the last weeks but had not had a clear chance so far. It is amazing how these animals can simply disappear as if by magic.

While Joakim and I were looking for one of the bucks that we knew of for Fred, the second group of guides were trying their best as well. Time was already running against us, and the heat was overwhelming during the day. However, when you are hunting roebucks, one must always be as enthusiast as on the first day and never lose hope. Things can change in less than a blink of an eye and one must be ready. It was the last morning of the last hunting day when the guys called us to say that Fred had not only taken a fantastic roebuck, but he had shot it within 65 meters! When I think of that phone call, it still gives me goosebumps.

A picture which is worth a thousand words.

One of the things that I feel most privileged about my job is the many people that I come across with. After many kilometres driving together, 3 days sharing stories and discussing different things related to roebuck hunting -always with a cold beer- I can say that, beyond the enjoyment it was, I can proudly say to have to good new friends from Norway.

And as good friends, this picture that I got from them short time ago, is worth a thousand words and any points that these two magnificent roebucks scored. See you guys next year!

Wishing you all a happy hunting and looking forward to meeting you soon.

Álvaro Mazón (Jr).