Guidance on hunting Europe

[Rimbaud]

Excellent points have already been made, and my only add would be to stress how important it is to go with reputable people who know the area and have access to good hunting grounds. Not all areas are the same. Not all guides are of the same quality. Scotland is great. So is England. I've hunted Hungary twice, and headed to Romania next. Good luck to you.

 

[Doubleplay]

Hunted Europe several times. Love it and am set to go back in 2025.
There is about anything you could want from ibex to stags to boar. Great fun. Reasonable prices and great people that love Trump....

Most don't like Trump.
The ones who are in hunting industry does.

 

[LivingTheDream]

Most don't like Trump.
The ones who are in hunting industry does.

Not necessarily true, their media doesn't like Trump. But I am guessing it is a lot like here, there are a few rabid who are very local but there are probably more that like him than against him.

 

[VertigoBE]

Most don't like Trump.
The ones who are in hunting industry does.

That’s what I thought as well. But I just came back from a hunting weekend where there was an architect, wood construction builder, SME owner, strategy analyst, a notary and some others. Most agreed that seeing Trump elected was a weight of the shoulders. Average age of 35.

This surprised me a lot, as I thought to be in a lonely corner expressing support for Trump.

 

[mark-hunter]

and I'm confident the more experienced European hunters would tell you a silver medal animal is huge, absolutely huge.

I live and hunt in Europe (Croatia), and I have never hunted anything in any medal. Literally, never!

The value of trophy from Bronze to Gold medal as per CIC score grows exponentially, and in my opinion is unreasonable high.

I can confirm, red deer just below bronze medal (not reaching it) is absolutely great animal. And silver medal is huge!

If we are speaking economics, then any trophy animal just few points below bronze medal is "best buy", the best value for a money in my opinion. Great experience to hunt, great addition to any trophy room, for reasonable money.

In some hunting areas, there may be a possibility to have a deal on lumpsum payment (trophy of any size), for reasonable price, but in general those would be hunting areas of lower quality gene pool, and medal size trophy is not to be expected.

Photos I took from internet, for illustration:

 

[UKHunter]

Potential of interest to see how the CIC scoring system works - https://www.cicukteb.com/uk-species/red-deer

 

[dogcat1]

CIC is interesting. I find it workable and reasonable. As to pricing - seller makes the rules. Just know what you are about to pull the trigger on!

 

[Lancaster]

Hello everyone!

I've been hunting in north America basically my whole life. Killed my first deer when I was 6 and haven't looked back. I have a better then average understanding of both public land and outfitted hunting across the US. I hunted in Africa this year my first out international hunting (well excluding Canada and Mexico). It was one of the most enjoyable events of my life and has opened up my mind to the possibilities of doing some international hunting. This site helped so much and still does with planning and learning about future African hunts. I've decided the next place I want to hunt is Europe and hoping some of you can help me with the learning curve.



1st: I know Europe is a big place but I am not locked into any one area. I assume hunting regulations and tag availability vary widely from country to country? I'd like to keep the processes as simple as possible any suggestions.
2nd: I'm a little more sure on what I want to hunt but in a general sense. No hogs I'm sure a boar drive is awesome but we have plenty right here at home. Ibex in Spain is definitely something that interests me but probably not on the first trip. I would like to hunt a deer ideally a red stag but a roe would do nicely and probably more on budget.
3rd: Speaking of budget I'd like to keep the hunt at 10k or less excluding tip, and airfare.
4th: Definitely a rifle hunt and ok with either a stand type hunt or stalking. I'm 34 and in good shape elk hunt every year so should be able to handle any terrain. I have plenty of cold camps and freeze dried food here at home on my hunts I'd prefer to be comfortable on my vacation/hunt. The accommodations don't have to be luxurious but a nice lodge, good ambiance, and good food is always appreciated.



Any and all help is appreciated. I've done almost none of my own research but plan on rectifying that soon hopefully with some direction from the community. I'm particularly interested in if my budget is sufficient? I feel 10k should easily cover a roe deer but maybe low for red but have no real idea.

For under $10k you should be able to get a least a week's red stag and roe buck stalking here in Scotland.

Note that on the open hill in Scotland your stag will be representative and not trophy class, there is a separate SCI class for proper hill stags I gather.

I'd recommend outfitters: Ollie at https://www.sybaritesporting.com/red-deer-stalking or Cara at https://www.internationalhuntingscotland.com/contact-us/