ROMANIA: Brown Bear & Red Stag

[Brod]

In July of 2016, through political pressure, the Romanian government closed the brown bear season. Eight years later, after 270 attacks, 27 deaths, and millions of euros spent in damages, they announced a limited reopening of brown bear hunting. Apparently, there is a need for hunters after all.

INTRO

Last year, I read several hunting reports here on Romanian Red Stag with @HUNTROMANIA that interested me. After speaking with a couple of the authors and then speaking with the owner Marius, I knew this would be a good fit for me. I booked for a 2024 late September stag hunt during the roar. Since I already had an April Argentina Red Stag hunt booked, 2024 would be the Year of the Stag for me. (see previous hunting report)

From the day of my Argentina return, I began counting down to Romania. As I patiently waited, with only 45 days to go, I heard the news that would change my world. Romania opened Brown Bear hunting!

I immediately contacted Marius to put a change order plan together however, there were some challenges. First, the best areas to hunt brown bear aren't necessarily the best places to hunt stag and the ideal stag areas have very few, if any, bears. Second, Marius primarily spends September on the West side of the country with the stag hunters and then migrates to the East side of the country for October and November bear hunting.

Marius spent the next couple days reaching out to his network of rangers looking for areas of prime bear habitat, who had an open bear tag, who had seen or had evidence of large bears and, and who were located within a day’s drive of his primary stag areas. Marius then notified me he had a great area in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania lined up where some large bears had been seen and wanted to know if I was still interested in this hunt while including some photos.

I wired the additional funds.

The plan was set, and flights were booked. I would be Marius's first non-resident bear hunter in 8 years and I couldn't wait for the trip to begin. To make this work logistically, I came in about a week earlier than my original stag hunt was scheduled for. I would be in Romania for 9 days with a travel day at beginning, end, and somewhere in the middle, if the first part of my trip would prove successful. The primary focus would be brown bear then, we would relocate and give the red stag a go at it. I was a little concerned about getting too far in front of the roar with these dates but, brown bear was my focus regardless, and this was our only option with the last-minute planning. Hearing some concerns about rifle importation, I elected to rent from Marius. My rental for the week was a Blaser R8, 300 WM with 220 grain bullets.

 

[WAB]

Looking forward to this!

 

[Red Leg]

Really am as well.

 

[WAB]

A man could envision a fall in Romania for bear, stag, fallow and chamois. It is a beautiful country with great hunting and friendly people.

 

[Red Leg]

A man could envision a fall in Romania for bear, stag, fallow and chamois. It is a beautiful country with great hunting and friendly people.

And a nation of multilingual savants.

 

[Brod]

ARRIVAL DAY

My flight from Chicago to Cluj, via Munich, was uneventful other than this was my first time flying with Lufthansa. I was a little unsure how comfortable the premium economy seats would be but, the flight was quite comfortable. I particularly enjoyed the new Allegris seat design due to the seats recline/slide forward instead of backwards, thus preventing the passenger in the seat in front of you from tilting back into your space. I did not care for the “over the shoulder” seat belt but quickly realized that can slipped aside.

As I was entering the EU through Munich, immigration and customs was handled there. Very quickly and efficiently, I may add. The final leg was a short 90-minute flight to Cluj.

Upon arrival, I grabbed my bag, found Marius and we were quickly on our way.

Although very tired by now, I was full of adrenaline and thoroughly enjoyed our conversations during the four-hour drive through the Borgo Pass (a.k.a. Dracula Road) and into the mountain country. Marius is a talker. I found him to be well educated and well versed in anything and everything related to his country and wildlife. He never tired of answering questions and seemed to have 2-3 stories to share with each ask. I liked him right away and could see why so many others give him and his operation high marks. I could also see he took pride in his operations and continuously went out of his way to make sure all his guests were happy even with the smallest details. A true gentleman.

Although conditions were cloudy, the Carpathian Mountain Range was very beautiful, and I took plenty of pictures along the way.

Our final destination for the day would be the small village of Vatra Dornei. Here we would stay in a small but nice hotel while hunting bear. Clean rooms, hot shower, and decent meals. Who could ask for more.

Over lunch, Marius ordered a couple small glasses of what looked like a white wine. We toasted to the upcoming hunt and I took a sip of what was, quite possibly, the worst tasting rot-gut moonshine I’d ever had. I about gagged, then we both laughed. I decided to order my own drinks after that. Nice guy or not, I was convinced his taste buds were shot! Later, I learned this was Tuica, the Romanians national drink which is a strong brandy made from fermented plums.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with hunting in Romania I will take this time to explain my understanding of the ownership of land vs. rights of the land. While a landowner can farm or raise livestock on his land, he cannot log or hunt on it. The government leases those rights out in large sections to hunting clubs, organizations, or individuals in 10-year increments. With this comes responsibility in the form of improvements required and liability for any damages caused by wildlife on the property. For example, if a landowner experiences crop damage due to wildlife, it is the hunting club who pays the landowner for this damage. The government provides the quota for each species to be harvested from each section. Each club or organization will have numerous people working for it including a Director, Manager, Gamekeeper, Ranger, along with various other helpers.

While waiting to meet the game ranger of the property I would be bear hunting on, I decided to walk around the village and take a few photos.

We then met the game ranger and discussed tomorrows hunt. The plan was to spend the morning on top of the mountains at various locations and glass below. If a decent male was spotted, we would stalk after it. Then, we would spend the afternoon glassing a feeding area the bears were known to frequent. The ranger mentioned there are two very large bears who are very similar in build and size. Marius agreed, noting that one appeared perhaps 5 years older than the other but, both were exceptional. Now that got my attention. On this 18,000 ha property (45K acres) only one bear permit was issued and it was now in my pocket, theoretically. I could not have been more excited thinking about the start of this adventure.

After the ranger left, I thought it would be a good time for a couple beers. So, we walked to the local market, and picked out a few that looked interesting. (Ursus ended up being the winner and my go-to for the remainder of the trip) We soon retired for the evening. I could hardly wait for what tomorrow would bring.

 

[BRICKBURN]

 

[Red Leg]

Write faster.

 

[franzfmdavis]

….sitting here waiting for the next installment

 

[Brod]

DAY 1

It was a restless night of sleep. I must have woken up and checked the clock at least 4 times. This hunt meant a lot to me. As a teenager, I can only remember 2 dreams other than football. Hunting Africa and one day chasing the great brown bear. From Louis and Clark to Selous to Roosevelt, the only literature that interested me was either about the great bear or the dark continent. Today would be the day for making a dream come true.

We spent the morning traveling and glassing to no avail. While I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, we did not see a bear. I wasn’t discouraged at all knowing it was early in the season, and my best opportunities would most likely be in the afternoons. We went back to the hotel for lunch and some rest then back out again at 4:00 PM.

For the afternoon hunt, we set up on a saddle that overlooked about 60 acres of green grass. Straight ahead there was a gradual drop of 80 yards then the mountain gradually rose another 200 yards in elevation. To our left and right were steep slopes with dense brush. This was an exciting place as I visualized bear appearing from every perceived angle in my mind. We saw several roe deer and a fox but, no bear.

It was a cloudy afternoon and before long the sun had set. In maybe 10 minutes I figured, we would be in complete darkness. Even though I had not seen a bear on my first day, it was a success and we still had 6 more days. I really enjoyed the day, my surroundings, and the anticipation that at any given moment I might see the animal of my dreams. My mind began to wonder, and I was thinking about what would tomorrow bring. I wondered if we would be looking over the same areas or checking out other parts of the property. I hoped we would come back here because this area just felt right. In my mind, I had at least 5 solid spots where I had already visualized the exact path a bear would likely enter the field. While Marius or the ranger may or may not have agreed, it didn’t matter to me because it was my dream I was living.

Glancing towards the left, I watched the moon peak out from some clouds, then from the corner of my right eye, which was not one of my 5 designated field entry points, I caught movement. While watching this large round object not 40 yards away, I tapped Marius and whispered, bear. Marius whispered back, he’s big, wait until he turns. I quickly had him in the crosshairs and carefully slipped the safety off the Blaser R8. I followed him for what seemed like an eternity slowly walking away. In those 3-4 minutes, the round shape turned oblong, then turned broadside with his head facing to my left. With crosshairs solid on his chest, I slowly squeezed the trigger and quickly cycled another round. The bear spun 180 degrees and raced back down the mountain. I was unable to get a second shot off. All was quiet while we listened. Then we heard a noise. It wasn’t a death moan but, more of a cough. Then all was quiet again outside of a distant roar from a stag at least two valleys away. Marius asked, how I felt about the shot. I said, I was solid, and it felt good. The ranger said he saw the bear slightly jump after the shot, and before the turn so it was a good hit. We waited 30 minutes.

It was now pitch black and the four of us (Marius, Ranger, Ranger helper/tracker/driver, and me) put on headlamps while slowly walking over to the spot of impact to look for blood which, was quickly found. The ranger and Marius began scanning down the mountain side with their thermal binoculars. They tried from several angles along the rim with no luck. Now following the blood, we head down the mountain in single file; the tracker, ranger, Marius, and me. I can feel another jolt of adrenalin hit me as we begin to descend.