I bought a hunt in Spain for 2003 at my SCI Chapter Auction and need some advice before booking the dates for the hunt.

We will be hunting with Alfonso Fabres of HuntinSpain outfitters located near Salamanca. The donation I bought includes a Gold Medal quality Fallow deer; but I also plan to hunt Red Stag and Boar. We may consider a side trip to the mountains for Ibex and Chamois as well.

I have always wanted to hunt Red Stag during the "roar" and was told that the Red Stag roaring season starts in late September and runs into mid-October. However, Alfonso has suggested in a recent e-mail that the best trophies are taken in August and September, before the breeding season, when the game is concentrated around water sources.

August in Spain must still be pretty darn hot and I would prefer to hunt in cool weather conditions. So I'm thinking about booking in late September, hoping that the roar will be on, but the animals are still reasonably concentrated near water.

I would appreciate the suggestions from those of you who have hunted Red Stag in Spain and particularly any who have hunted with Alfonso. When is the best time to go?

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NRA and GOA Life Member
Do your part to protect our 2nd Amendment rights and preserve our hunting heritage!

Hunting takes place before sunrise, and late in the evenings, SIESTA in between !!!You won't notice much cooler temperatures in September. I would go during the "roar", I suspect his other customers chose the same period and he might be trying to push your hunt to a period when he gets less bookings.

Mark: I'm not a person who has hunted in Spain. So you could skip reading any further - but!

The rut for the red deer is very different in time from one location to another! In Denmark and i Western Russia I know that the rut startes in the end of august and peaks in beginning to mid september!

The fallow deer in Denamrks first starts its rut after the first frost! Which usualy means mid october!

I think that you should hera what the guid tells you!

Regards

Mads

I have known Alfonso for many years.

If I wanted nothing but the very best trophy I would follow his advise. He is one of the most knowledgeable hunters you might meet.

On the other hand, if I were looking for the hunt itself, I would chose the very end of September, as listening to the roar of a large stag at day break and stalking it close, very close, is an experience in itself, one you will not forget easily.

Montero

Mark I prefer to hunt Red Stag in the rut , and as Montero said it's an experience itself to hear the stag and stalk , hunt at water holes are IMO only for Wild Boars , Central and south Spain in August its HOT , do you know the areas to hunt ?.

Saludos Cordiales

Daniel

Thanks to all of you for your replies!

I will contact Alfonso and book the hunt for late September, as you have advised. I have always wanted to hunt red stag during the roar. I would rather shoot an average stag after a good stalk made while he is roaring, than ambush a record book stag at a waterhole.

We will be hunting in the Salamanca area where Alfonso has his family's 18th century estancia, Pedro-Llen, where they raise bulls for the ring. He has offered us the opportunity to get into the ring with a bull, but unless I can take my .375 H&H in the ring with me, I think I'll pass.

Alfonso has a very extensive website with lots of photos and information about the game available, the local attractions and the history of the Salamanca region. The address is www.huntinspain.com

Montero, good to hear that you know Alfonso personally. I look forward to meeting him, I'm sure we will have a wonderful time. Several members of our SCI Chapter have hunted with him and they all say that the hospitality, food, accomodations and hunting are all first-class. How do you know Alfonso? Have you hunted stag on his property?

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NRA and GOA Life Member
Do your part to protect our 2nd Amendment rights and preserve our hunting heritage!

Mark,

Even though I now only see Alfonso once in a while, I have known him for more than twenty 25 years or so, when he only hunted for sport, not for business.

We have been hunting and fishing together a time or two.

He is a true gentleman and sportsman. He has hunted the world and is a more knowledgeable hunter than I will ever be.

I have not hunted his finca but I know many people who have, and everyone I know, without exception will only praise him as a host, a gentleman and a hunter.

You will have a wonderful time, no question.

Montero