Iberian Red Deer

The Iberian Red Deer is found in hilly deciduous forest and scrub lands of several areas , including the Algarve, eastern Alentejo plus central, eastern and far north Portugal, as well as in south western Spain

Mature red deer usually stay in single sex groups for most of the year.During the rut, mature stags compete with each other for hinds and then try to defend as many as 20 hinds from rival stags. Stags challenge opponents by belling and walking in parallel, assessing each other’s antlers and body size. If neither stag backs down, a clash of antlers can occur, which can result in injuries

The rut period is approximately 30 days. Occurring from end of August to mid October when weather change for early winter and first rains arrive.

A good Iberian Red Deer trophy is a mature stag with a set of antlers which has matching brow, bez and trez tines and three points in the crown

The best trophies are obtained when individual stags are glassed and stalked

Another method is the driven days with beaters and dogs (montaria). Usually it possible to shoot wild boar, fallow deer and mouflon during the driven hunt.