Can Spanish prize buck the trend?

Many dream of taking a gold-medal roebuck but for one hunter it is the pinnacle of all his stalking ambitions,

-  Thomas Nissen

The dream of shooting a gold medal roebuck had already led Frank Olsen to Romania a couple of times. On the first occasion, he didn't get a sniff at a deer worthy of any honour, but his second trip to the country - which is famed for its specimen beasts was a different story.

Frank bagged a magnificent beast. The guides on the trip were certain the buck would score gold, but making a judgement in the field is tricky. Ultimately it was assessed at 126 points: a handsome silver-medal roebuck, for sure - and very much appreciated - but still four points shy of Frank's deep ambition.

Before long, the golden dream had lured the veteran stalker to Poland. Frank and his companion, Theis Olsen, had been tempted by rumours of a large number of award-winning roebucks. But the trip was in vain. The promised plethora of bucks never appeared and, while Theis succeeded in bringing home a silvermedal beast, the only thing Frank hauled home was an unfulfilled ambition and an even greater determination to succeed.

Confidence 

Attempt number four took him to Spain, a land of many regions that are famed for the quality of their roebuck antlers. The nation’s reputation buoyed Frank’s confidence and he felt sure that this time, he would shoot a buck that could rack up the magical 130 CIC points, regardless of who did the measuring.

Helping him in his quest was an acquaintance from Spain, Christian Müller, who had virtually guaranteed that Frank would collect his golden prize in the Spanish hinterland.