A Family Hunt in the Pyrenees

A special hunt which was worth waiting for

It was the second time that Flo was coming to Spain on a Pyrenean Chamois hunt. Last spring, he joined us with a group of hunters for the very first time and we had a successful hunt. But before that, Flo was meant to join us in December of 2021, however, the heavy snows, forced us to postpone the hunt. A year later, we were able to put things back together and set a date in our calendars. This time, Flo would bring along his wife Christielle and seven-year-old daughter Mathilde.

Every cloud has a silver lining

Having to postpone the hunt, our biggest concern -especially now that Christielle and Mathilde were joining Flo- was the weather forecast. We were hoping to have a sunny day with clear blue skies, just as we have had the previous days, but unfortunately, this it never happened.

Our weather forecast man was not wrong -he never is- and the day broke with grey skies threatening rain. It looked as though only a miracle would keep us dry that day. However, I was far way more worried about Christielle and Mathilde than what they apparently were. I must have forgotten that they live in the heart of the French Alps, which means that they are used to bad weather in the mountains. Despite the terrible wind and heavy rain from that day, not once they did ever lose their smile.

A ray of hope and the first groups of Pyrenean Chamois

Since we left the car, it took us about two hours to start spotting the first groups of Chamois, which is longer than what it usually takes -probably due to the strong wind-. This forced us to continue searching for cavities in which the chamois could have been hiding. At one point, the skies opened, allowing the sun to shine for the only five minutes that we would see it for the day. Immediately after, out of nowhere, plenty of chamois started showing up.

Flo’s priority was to look for an adult chamois with a colourful coat which is not always easy, as the older they get, the more greyish they are. He was not too worried about the trophy quality. After glassing for some time, we finally managed to locate a few chamois with bright colours. Just the kind of individual that Flo wanted. It was now time to start moving again!

An epic stalk

We located the chamois together with a smaller one. Both were feeding on top of some rocks above us at 759 meters away, which required us to cross two rocky ravines to get close enough for a shot. The only way to do so and get within 240 – 250 meters was to lose some altitude, get around, and attack the last bit of the mountain cautiously. Slowly, we cut-off some distance. With just seven years old, Mathilde would follow her father’s steps close behind him. Believe me…that girl can walk!

Just as we went over the second ravine, we stop to see that “our” chamois had bedded while the smaller one kept on feeding without noticing our presence. Hidden by some rocks, we continued to move forward until we got Flo into position. The sky had closed again, and the wind was so strong that Flo could barely lie down still with the rifle.

The final call

At 220 meters from the chamois and in a perfect position, we had to wait for about 15 minutes. The chamois did not want to make a move and the wind was so cold that Flo could already feel the tingling in his fingers. I asked Kiko -the other guide- to become visible and to walk in front of us so that the chamois could see him and stand up. Through my spotting scope, I could immediately see the chamois turning his head and staring directly at Kiko. As he stood up, Flo took a perfect shot and that was the end of another outstanding hunt in the Pyrenees.

Having retrieved the chamois from the bottom of a cavity after falling off a cliff and braking one of his horns -which we found- it was time to properly honour our “bouc” and celebrate family for such a great time together in the Spanish Pyrenees. With more than 1.000 meters of unevenness and 18 km walked -not that common at this time of the year- the first thing that Mathilde did when we reached the car was to fall asleep straight away to continue dreaming about Pyrenean Chamois.

The Spanish Pyrenees are calling you!

Amongst the different mountain hunts available throughout Europe, chamois hunting in the Pyrenees, could be one of the most physical demanding, which means that being in good shape is mandatory for any hunter willing to attempt a hunt of this kind.

That being said, what we would like to show through this post is that no matter what the hunter’s preference, desire and physical condition is, the variety of hunting territories to which we have access to, allows us to adapt almost any hunt so that anyone can experience the thrill of what hunting in Spain is really about!

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

Álvaro Mazón (Jr).