Getting ready for your hunt

Documents, licenses & firearm permits

The documents that the hunter has to carry with himself are the following:

  • Passport
  • Gun License
  • Firearm -id
  • Gun permit -From the Spanish Consulate in the US*
  • Hunting insurance –provided by The Iberian Hunting Experience
  • Hunting license –provided by The Iberian Hunting Experience

Regarding firearms use, hunters are welcome to bring their own rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader. However The Iberian Hunting Experience can also provide firearms for those clients that decide not to travel with guns.  Whether you decide to bring your firearm or use one provided by us, it is necessary to obtain a temporary firearm permit to hunt in Spain.

  • Before your arrival to Spain, The Iberian Hunting Experience is going to provide you with an invitation letter that you will have to present to the corresponding Spanish Consulate in the US or Canada.
  • We will be sending this invitation letter as soon as we have confirmation that you booked your flights.
  • Get in touch with the Spanish Consulate in US that manages your area and follow their instructions, the following link enumerates the consulates, their jurisdiction and contact info: Spanish Consulates in USA 
  • The gun permit can be applied for physically or through regular mail, but the info on the application documents and procedures will be sent to you normally through emails with representatives from the consulate once you send them your questions and inquiries.
  • They will provide you a form for you to fill in, where mainly you will have to write your personal data, the firearm information, dates of your hunt, as well as locations (we will provide you this info). You will have to enclose a notarized copy of your passport, as well as a notarized copy of any American hunting licenses, to prove you are able to hunt in your own country. With all this info, they will provide you a certificate which allows you to travel to Spain with your firearm as well as use it for the hunt. You want contact the Spanish Consulate no earlier than 2 months prior to the hunt, otherwise they will ignore your request. Once you get the certificate, please, send us a copy of it, for starting the procedures here in Spain. Do not forget to bring the original one to Spain with you!
  • Once you land in Spain, your firearm will be directly transferred to the Police Office at the airport for inspection.
  • We will walk to the Police Office where we will show the Consulate certificate, as well as your original passport. After this, they will hand in a temporary firearm permit, which has to go with the gun until you leave the Country.
  • Leaving Spain: once again, before checking your luggage we first need to stop at the Police Office to declare you will be travelling with a firearm. We will show the temporary permit as well as the flight tickets and your passport. The Police will hand write a form with your flight & firearm info; one copy will stay in the case, and the other is for you to show at the airline counter. The Police will put a blaze orange tape around your case, to show this case contains a firearm (Spanish Law). Now, this time you need to pack your ammo separately, in the metallic or plastic box you brought from the U.S. Spanish Laws do not allow including the ammo with any other piece of luggage. But don’t worry; this box does not count as a piece of luggage for the airline, so you won’t have to pay for an extra piece.
  • After doing this step, we only need to walk to the airline counter, and check your bags, including your firearm case and ammo box. A member from the Airline or Airport Staff will show up and after checking the rest of your luggage will take your rifle case & ammo box and take care of it. Some airlines tell you to accompany the handling person, who will take you to a scanner machine operated by the Police, they may request to see the last form the Police handed you.

Hunting Gear & Physical conditions

Hunting clothes have to be comfortable, silent and breathable. You can bring cammo clothes or solids. The fabric should allow movement but at the same time should protect from dry and thorny plants. We highly recommend using a layering system. Make sure you wear a good pair of boots that allow hiking and protect the ankles. Rain gear is also a must in case of unexpected badweather or storms.

Regarding backpacks, it should be big enough to carry your binoculars, camera, knife, a lighter, flashlight, rope , sunglasses, documents, bullets, etc. A mountain walking stick can be a good tool to give a little bit of extra balance and relieve for the knees walking downhill.

Good quality optics will help you during the various number of hours we will spend glassing. Your eyesight will not be as tired and it will definitely help judging trophies in the distance.

Regarding firearms and calibers, a bolt action rifle or singleshot chambered in 6,5 creedmor, 270 win or bigger calibers will be more than enough to dispatch all the big game in Spain. As far as rifle scopes we recommend mid-high power magnification scopes (x6/x8) just in case we need to stretch the shot a little bit. Bring the gun you feel confident using and that can hit where you aim. Shot placement is the key!

Last but not least important is the physical condition and preparation for the hunt. Not all the hunts  are the same. In some cases we will be hunting long hours for mountain species that live in elevated and steep terrain, all of which can result in a considerable physical effort.We will adapt the hunt and the difficulty level to the hunter’s capabilities to increase our success odds. We walk at your pace, not the other way round!

Dip & Pack, Taxidermy and Shipment

What happens with the trophies and how do they get shipped to its final destination?
FIRST PREPARATION – SKINNING
After the animal is harvested and pictures are taken, you will be asked how do you want to mount the trophy, so that we can field dress the animal removing the cape and antlers/horns accordingly.
TAXIDERMY & TROPHY MOUNT
After field dressing the animal, the cape and antlers/horns will be delivered to the taxidermy. Wether you decide to mount the trophy in Spain and ship it back home or mount it at your local taxidermy, there is a series of specific treatments with chemicals substances that will clean the trophy and make it acceptable for exportation. That chemical procedure is generally called «pre tanning».
In this sense, you can either choose a first preparation of the trophy for exportation, or just do the whole taxidermy work here in Spain. We work with the best and most experienced Spanish taxidermist to ensure your trophy make memories of a lifetime. Doing the taxidermy work in Spain and shipping it to its final destination ready to be hung on the wall takes on average 6 months.
Once the job is done the taxidermist will issue a certificate stating that your trophy was handled and prepared following current regulations. This is when the first stage of Spanish trophy taxidermy and exportation is completed, the second one is the exportation itself.
VETERINARY INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATE
After the taxidermist confirms that your Spanish trophy taxidermy is ready and we can start the exportation procedures, our vet issues the veterinary certificate, a compulsory document required by trophy exportation according to Spanish regulations.
BROKER AGENT AND EXPORTATION
You will be asked for your broker´s contact information. This broker agent is the customs agent, also known as forwarding agent.
The Iberian Hunting Experience’s broker will get in touch with your broker in your country and they will prepare the export and import procedures. When everything is settled they will let us know when your crate will leave Spain and the flight number that will carry your trophy.

If you still have any questions related to Spanish hunting documents or hunting in general, leave us a comment or send us an e-mail at contact@theiberianhuntingexperience.com. We will be more than happy to solve any of your doubts.