Spain Ibex

Spain 2024

By Dan Catlin

At the 2023 Mid-Michigan SCI Convention Charlotte and I made a plan to visit our great friend Fernando Nomdedeu of “Ibex Zone” for Beceite Ibex in Spain.  Joining us were great friends John & Angela Osborne and Ron Browning, affectionately known as “the Colonel”.

As most know Ron lost his beloved wife, and former SCI Board Member, Mary Browning.  So, this was a first for the Colonel to travel without Mary, even though we all felt her presence during the entire adventure.  Additionally, this was John, Angela, and Charlotte’s first ever trip to Spain.  Overall, the excitement and expectations were very high!

Over the last few years Fernando has been donating hunts to our local chapter and attending the annual banquet at the Casino.  I have to say, this is a MUST trip for our membership if you are looking for an international hunting destination.  You WILL NOT be disappointed…

Our travels from the US to Spain were without issue, however our baggage missed the flight from Amsterdam to Valencia.  So, our first day of hunting we just waited at the hotel we stayed, which was a fantastic part of the entire EXPEREINCE, and the bags were delivered by 2pm on day one.  That gave us the evening of day 1 to hunt.  Back up the story to about 9am on day one, and Fernando’s guys located a GIANT ibex very close to a road just off the powerline.  The Colonel and I took the 30-minute drive with Fernando to “take a look” and wouldn’t you know the ibex presented a shot at about 250ish yards.  The Colonel made quick work of a perfectly placed shot and we were celebrating the biggest Ibex kill of the trip within the first morning of our hunt!  WOW!  Mary would have been SO PROUD and happy for “The Colonel” !

After a great lunch we all went out for the afternoon hunt and Charlotte and Angela scored on amazing trophy Ibex right before dark.  The hunt could not have started better with only one more Ibex to be hunted.  It was John’s turn as the Colonel along with Charlotte went hunting for Mountain Roe Deer.

By the end of the 2nd day John had also connected on a beautiful Beceite Ibex and we were in full celebration mode, and hunting Roe Deer of course.  The food and drinks were over the top good, the landscape amazing, and the people were so welcoming.  When it was all over, there were 4 beautiful Ibex in the salt and 3 Roe Deer.  Angela had some great encounters with Roe Deer, but they were never able to connect the dots on a quality shot opportunity.  There were no hard feelings as the Roe Deer hunting was just an extra opportunity because we were already there!  Next time…

Speaking of extra opportunities, the villages, mountain roads and even festivals were so fun to experience!  We even spent an afternoon in a small town to witness the “Running of the Bulls”.  What a treat, and what an EXPERIENCE!  Fernando, his partner Jesus and all their guys, were so good to us that we are all excited to go back for additional Ibex species in the future!  If you have any desire to hunt Spain I would certainly recommend you visit Fernando at the 2025, Mid-Michigan SCI Convention in Mt. Pleasant!  You won’t be disappointed!!!!