The basics:

Flight;New York to Barcelona direct with Delta.No problems,but not carrying a gun.

Gun;Borrowed outfitters Sauer/Weatherby 300 Wthby

Area;North of Solsona(NE of Barcelona, about a 2 hour drive)

Streets of Solsona's old city...





The Good;

This trip started by buying the hunt as an auction item at the Reno SCI show.The original trip was for 5 days hunting for Fallow deer.After discussing with the outfitter ,I also decided to add a Mouflon sheep to the original hunt.


Arrived 6am in Barcelona after an 8 hr. flight.I felt good,and we decided to drive to Solsona to drop off bags at the hotel,change cloths and look for some animals.

The area was hilly terrain,thick in spots,with some logging/access roads.Part of the property contain some working cattle pasture,but contained little fencing.I play with a few beef animals and mine would have been long gone LOL.






We spotted several smaller Fallow deer,two shooter Red Stags,that had me wishing for a bigger bank account,and many females.

The next morning had us up at dawn,and glassing some ridges and clearings for deer or sheep.
Soon Javier found us 3 Mouflon feeding up a tree line.A long walk to circle for the wind,but also not to be spotted,found us at 300 meters.Crawling upto the next ridge cut the distance to 250.Of the three I decided to take not the biggest but the second animal.He had a chipped up set of horns with lots of character,and a nicer cape.One shot,bang/flop,slightly quartering away, put a quick end to a great stalk.

The ridge in the field to the photos right,is where the shot was taken...




Salvadore,myself,Javier;




So my first animal hunted in Europe was down.Felt confident.Maybe to much?...


The Bad;

The next day,again found us glassing for Fallow deer;we put on a stalk but with no cover,and impassible terrain to one side,400 meters was about as close as we could get.But, as we drove back to the farm house,I decided to ride in the back of the Landcruiser just to take a few photos.Along the way I spotted a nice Fallow buck with several does.Tapping on the roof to stop the truck,me and Jesus (Javier's brother)jump out and we're on the chase.

This is now the best I feel as a hunter.Not just taking the shot,but spotting,planning the stalk,choosing the moment.Some hunts the guide makes the decisions,and I feel disconnected,only there to pull the trigger.And,I'll admit I was pumped.So after catching up to the group of deer,the buck steps out slightly downhill to me,quarting to.We have closed the distance to 1oo meters;a chip shot,a gimme,hell it's one I've done in my sleep.Sitting,gun on my knee,rock steady(in my mind anyway)crosshairs just a little behind the point of the left shoulder,and BANG!

But I know its bad.I can't tell you why or how,but I know...

We move forward to the spot,a little blood and some meat...

We track...a spot here and another a few meters forward...

Maybe for 250 meters we spot blood;not much just a drop or two;but we can keep on it...

But there he is!Standing headed directly away,as he turns slightly left,I can see his left leg and brisket is bloody ,low in the shoulder and too far forward,he's hobbling on three legs.As he turns,I shoot again.Trying to place a shot mid way up,behind the ribs.Nothing fancy.He was bedded when we closed the gap He is out pacing us,as we have to go over the trail to find any drops of blood.

I miss.

I can't believe it,a good rest on a tree,gather my breathing,and fire.But I miss.

Again we chase.But the trails now are to numerous.Is he up hill or down?So far we've been on a hillside,and the animal has stayed on the same elevation,but the trails start to split up and down...

The last spot we saw blood,on the rocks photos upper left...




But as the day goes on,we have lost the trail.The trail has lasted a little over 2 kilometers on my GPS.It ends in a network of canyons,rockslides,and streambeds.

No sleep tonight.For the first time in hunting for 18 years,I'll leave an animal in the feild.


The following day we try with a dog to pick up a trail,but a light rain hampers the effort.It is not to be.For me,it is not the lost trophy fee,or the wasted effort of the hunting crew;I now have to face the fact I've condemmend the animal to a slow death.A bitter pill that I now struggle with.

My only thought is both shots had to be low and left.But that much?The gun was fine day one,and since borrowed ,I've treated it as gold.But I guess I'll never know for sure.If it was off it does explain the second miss,probably in front of the animal.

They hunt with dogs often in this canyon for boar,and with some luck,may still recover some antlers for me.But it is of little consolation at this time....

I'm offered another trophy at a very good discount,but I'm done...


Hunting done,I do a little local site seeing before finishing up with sometime in Barcelona....

I can see this church done the valley from where we hunt.Just your typical Catholic country church.Started in 1079!




Your run of the mill alter (!);




Barcelona is Great!Outstanding food,really good public transport,lots to look at...

The view from my room at the Hotel Colon;






Spent 1 1/2 days,2 nights and didn't even scratch it.A little pricey,but no more so than New York City,which I live close to.Highly recommend it.If I travel to Africa again, I'm going to go thru there for sure;will give a couple of days for the same time zone adjustment,and it's gun friendly enough to make transiting possible...

I'd hunt it again in a second,but it is expensive for both day rates and trophy fees,close to Zimbabwe....

The ugly part?...Not much(other than my shooting)...But why does Kentucky Fried Chicken,McDonald's,Subway,Pizza Hut have to pollute every corner of this planet?The local cuisine is fantastic,and somebody wants to eat that crap?

No wonder people hate Americans....

And that's another thing ,why do you travel someplace to have it like home?Had 4 of those typical obnoxious American tourist encounters there,bla,bla,bla...You came to another country and another culture...If you don't want to experience that,why go?


I never thought anything could rival my trips to Africa,but this won't be my last trip to Europe.....



Dan

Dan,

Glad to hear you had a good trip to europe, and sorry to hear about your lost buck. It happens to everyone in the ned but I'm sure that is no consolation.

It's good to be able to read the whole story.

rgds,
FB

Weidmannsheil on your mouflon, Dan! Nice ram, and it sure looks like a nice location to hunt in.

Don't kick yourself too badly about the fallow. Sad as it is, it happens to all of us from time to time. It is incomprehensible, unacceptable and deeply disturbing when it happens, so we do our outmost to avoid it. Still, it happens. Best thing to do is to get over it and look forward.

- mike

Very nice and honest report, thanks for posting.

Thanks for the great hunt report! I'm glad you enjoyed your stay in Europe and that is a fine mouflon taken in fair chase conditions.

It is a pity about the fallow, it has happened to me and you don't forget that feeling of having been punched hard in the guts...

I am sure you could find some more affordable fallow stalking in the UK if you would like to try for one again.

Cheers

Gabriel

Thank you all for your kind thoughts....

You hope a bad shot never happens to you,but it is sobering when it does.

Now after a week,I think I'll get back on the horse.Now with a new appreciation for past hunts,and future.

Hopefully if our economy improves,a future hunt to the UK will be on for 2010?


Dan

Dan, a decent bit of deer stalking can be had in the UK for a lot less than mainland Europe.

However, there is much less emphasis on trophy heads here.

With the strength of the dollar against Sterling, now is the time.

Actually I'm not much for measurments...

The hunt is what spins my propeller.

I'll take representative of a species any day,as long as it's fair chase conditions.To me that is the animal has the chance to escape and evade.

I always tell a PH or guide,"I'm on vacation,it just so happens that it's hunting".For me the experience is the reward.


Dan

Dan,

I totally agree on your attitude, it's first of all the adventure that counts.

Trophies after the hunt very fast become just dead bone or horn on the wall. Hunting femals and fawns can be as much or even more fun and the cost-benefit relation is much more favourable.

I very much like hunting so if I can afford to shoot one male or several females or fawns, my choice is clear.

Of course I enjoy those "big machos", too. Since I have to maintain a family on a limited budget, I need to prioritize a little.

Blowing a 100 yard shot is one thing. Owning up to it is quite another. My hat's off to you, sir, for being honest and telling it like it is. Congrats on the sheep.

A very nice and honest report Dan; I personally would never go hunting without one of my (very few) rifles and reloaded ammos, but I don't want to criticize you.

Great looking ram and nice report!

A lot of front shot animals make it through, back leg probably not. Over the years I have seen a numnber of 3 legged deer, one in particular near my house had a set of fawns for each of a few years and I remember almost nailing her with my car as she effortlessly sailed over the barb wire fence along with a few other deer. Her leg was missing all the way to the shoulder.

This year there is one with the left front leg rigidly sticking straight out 90 degrees to the side. Last I saw her she was stuck inside our ball field fence as I was driving by, not sure how she eventually got out. Probably jumped because I never heard anything about anybody else seeing her there. I guess her leg healed mostly while she was laying down.

As I read your report and your comments I think in many ways we are alike. I may have bid against you on that hunt, can't remember exactly which ones I bid on but I was interested in all the euro mouflon and fallow hunts. Looking at my records I think that was the Thursday afternoon #085 auction. I ended up with the Austrian hunt on Firday, listed as mouflon and boar but I talked to them before the auction and they agreed to an even swap fallow for the boar. I arranged mine for next Sept.

Like most americans I am not that familiar with the euro measuring system, how many cm is your ram?

Neat report!

Wildboar;I agree with you to a point,but,the only thing I would know now is if the gun was at fault.We sighted gun day 1,and I took the sheep first.Unless you sight your gun in everyday,I still had no way to tell if the gun was off.

As I said the fault I think was mine....


Tundragriz;

So your the one that kept jacking up the price

Yes this was 085...

I also had it in my mind to bid on several European hunts.I had talked to many of the outfitters the year before in Reno,in prep for bidding last year.....

Good luck on yours....

Dan

Congrats on a fine mouflon!
Sorry to hear about your buck. Hopefully and probably it's already dead, so try not to worry too much. I had similar problems in Spain last week. I will post a report very soon.