Iberian Mouflon Hunting in Spain El Romero Ram It appears that every year, when we sheep hunters come down with sheep fever and want to plan a sheep hunt; we have to first look for blessings from our other halves. What if I was to suggest a sheep hunt that not only will not require prior approval but will instead be encouraged by your spouse? That hunt would be for no wild sheep other than a European Mouflon on the Iberian Peninsula. Why, I shall explain. You see, if you were to go on such a hunt, while you are climbing the Limestone strata’s of the “Sierra’s” in search of your quarry, your spouse can relax in one of several “Paradores” or other wonderful inns, tasting the local food/wines, visiting the numerous historic/cultural sites of this culturally rich and diverse country and, indulge in some of the best shopping experience there is to be had in Europe. Back in the nineteenth century and all the way to days of post civil war, hunting the wild Mouflon and the Ibex of Spain was reserved for the royalty or the “haute society” if you wish. With the advancement of democracy which infiltrated all aspects of the Spanish society, that is no longer the case. Sportsmen/women can now book hunts for at least 7 varieties of mountain game including the Mouflon, the four Ibex group and two varieties of Chamois. For yours truly who is enamored with all members of the ovis family, the European Mouflon has been on top of the list. Each to its own but I must make it clear here that a fair chase hunt for any game animal has to take place with the game animals roaming free and not enclosed by fences. Any other form is considered absurd and at best shameful. This year, after my dear wife expressed interest in visiting her family in Northern Spain for the Christmas holidays, I found the timing right to kill two birds with one stone. I immediately wrote to my good friend Valeriano (aka Vale) who owns and operates Ibexhuntspain and asked him to apply for a tag for me. It wasn’t until late spring that he came back to me saying that he had obtained one of the eight tags available for a trophy Mouflon. For your information, there are only four areas in Spain that hold healthy populations of wild free roaming Mouflons, worthy of a harvest. These would be “La Muela de Cortes”, “Cazorla”, “the Pyrenees” and a small population in “La Serania de Cuenca”. The largest trophies come from “La Muela de Cortes” and the Pyrenees. My tag was for the former area and I was given three days to hunt there for a trophy Mouflon. The dates had to be pre arranged with the Provincial government and the game warden for the area. He would also have to be present during the hunt and would accompany me, ensuring that I only take out a ram past his prime. After a two legged Trans Atlantic flight to Amsterdam and then Madrid from my home town of Calgary, our family of four found ourselves in the super rapid “Ave” train, clocking 330 km/hr to the coastal city of Valencia. Vale met us all at the train station and after dropping my wife Eneida and our younger offspring Miguel in Valencia, our trio which included my 12 year old son Sergio, headed for the little town of Bicorp, some 2 hours away in the mountains. Vale had made previous arrangements and we would stay in one of the two government owned charming wood cabins above town. Bicorp is a sleepy little agricultural town in the “la cordillera montañosa” foothills and the only two bars serve its population of no more than 500 with coffee, drinks and all meals. At supper, a quick phone call brought one of the local hunters to our table. Vale knew him well and we wanted a firsthand report on the game. Sleep came quick as we had fought the jet lag and before we knew it, we were dipping our ‘Magdalenas’ (muffins) in our Café con Leche in the bar the next morning. The game warden showed up with the local hunter and we were told that because of the extremely warm weather, the animals were spending most of the day in the shade and very few heads of game had been spotted or taken. We all hopped in Vale’s Turbo diesel Nissan which by the way has a manual 6 speed trany (right up my alley) and burns no more than 9 liters in 100 km (27 MPG for you in the lower 48!). For this hunt, because I had family travel plans after the hunt, I had decided to borrow all gear (except clothing) from Vale. We drove up the mountain and found a suitable spot in the hills to fire a couple of shots out of his Rem 700 rifle chambered in the spicy 270WSM caliber. My POI at 100 yards hit 4” above bulls eye (which indicates a 350 yard zero with a 6” mid range rise) and although I am partial to a 200 yard zero, I wasn’t going to fool around with his settings and took a mental note instead. We then drove up to a clearing further up and started hiking to the top of a mountain. This was a favorable vantage point to glass for game. Tracks and droppings were seen but no Mouflon which indicated they had been feeding at night. We came back to the truck, drove to another spot, parked the truck and started walking down a cut line that was on a ridge with great vistas of the adjacent drainages. Our cadence was slow and deliberate so that if there was game present below us, we would not spook them. After about a 2 km walk and constant glassing, all of a sudden, I noticed 3 Mouflons going up