ROMANIA: Brown Bear & Red Stag

[WAB]

Absolutely outstanding!

 

[Nyati]

That is a great bear, congrats

 

[WAB]

Romania is such a great hunting country. That bear is an absolute brute. There was an odd rule that if a bear was too large it could not be exported. Will you be able to export this bear?

 

[Daisy]

DAY 1 part 2

Slinking downhill in single-file fashion like a big caterpillar, we moved cautiously. Hoping for the best and fearing the worst. Myself as the caboose on this train gave me a unique perspective as I looked down the hill. Seeing four sets of head lamps independently scanning left then right then back left. It seems a bit comical now although it surely wasn’t at the time. About 50 yards down, the ranger called out that he sees him with his thermal. After a couple customary rock tosses, we move closer and confirm he had expired. Whew!

As I walked up to him, I was speechless for the first couple minutes. What a magnificent old warrior, I thought. With scars on both sides of his face, wore down molars, a busted canine, and a body the size of a VW bug, I could not have been more impressed.

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We were about 100 yards down from the ridge and contemplating our next move. The ranger called in some villagers for help, and before long we had a fair-sized team up for the task. At first, we tried to push and pull but he did not budge. Some were discussing skinning him where he lay but, the incline was too steep. Then an old jeep with a wench was driven to the edge and a rope strung from the wench cable to the giant. The rope snapped. Then a series of 20–30-foot straps were acquired, from who knows where, and tied end to end all the way down and just long enough to wrap around one rear leg. With several people on the slope cutting brush and keeping the line straight, and one person designated to keeping the remaining rear leg from snagging brush and anchoring the effort, Inch by inch that little wench got the job done.

Once back on top, we took a few more pictures then began to skin and process the bear. My hit was a high heart shot that did not pass through. As a plus, we did find the nicely mushroomed bullet inside the chest cavity. The meat was cut into manageable pieces and placed into plastic containers. From what I understand, the meat would be tested for trichinosis then sold to local restaurants and markets.

Marius and I got back to the hotel around 2:30 AM and cleaned up a bit. Still wired and wanting to celebrate, we walked to the market and picked up a bottle of Jack. We had a great time reliving this evening’s events then started planning for part two of the adventure. We would pack up and leave in the morning to the flatter, agricultural land to chase the red stag. At 4:30 the bottle was empty, and we decided it was time for bed.

That thing is huge! Well done.

 

[matt2H]

Outstanding!!

 

[Brod]

Romania is such a great hunting country. That bear is an absolute brute. There was an odd rule that if a bear was too large it could not be exported. Will you be able to export this bear?

Yes, that is correct. He should just make it. Interestingly enough, he was a very old bear at 20+ and on the downside. Marius thought he would have been a bit larger a season or two ago.

 

[BRICKBURN]

.............. At 4:30 the bottle was empty, and we decided it was time for bed.

Reminds me of a Leopard hunt celebration in Mozambique.
Congratulations. That is a great old bear.

 

[MontanaPat]

Congratulations that looks like an outstanding bear, quite a beast

 

[Brod]

Reminds me of a Leopard hunt celebration in Mozambique.
Congratulations. That is a great old bear.

Thank you, Sir.
It was a rough morning, I remember that.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thank you, Sir.
It was a rough morning, I remember that.

Absolutely no doubt about that.

 

[kdenn]

WOW! Congratulations, amazing beast.

 

[Rare Breed]

I did some research and here is what I found:
Brown bear hunt Alaska $28-$35,000.
Brown bear hunt Romania $15-$17,000
No airfare or tips in the above…maybe Alaska bears larger but incredible value in Romania!!!

 

[Capehunter1]

Huge congrats! Beast!

 

[AZDAVE]

Fantastic bear. Thank you for taking the time to write up your bear hunt. Romania just made it to highly possible destination for brown bear. I am going to have to play rock paper scissors with my better half on who gets to shoot.

 

[Phil Giordano]

Wow, congratulation, it's a fantastic specimen, a great Near indeed! Thank you so much for the report!

 

[Phil Giordano]

May you please let us know the total cost of the hunt?

 

[V.Veritas]

What happened with the red stag hunt?
We are still awaiting the full story.

 

[Brod]

May you please let us know the total cost of the hunt?

The outfitter is a sponser here, run a search for his posted pricing.

 

[cpr0312]

Wow! Congrats and thanks for sharing!

 

[Philip Glass]

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.

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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.

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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.

Awesome gun to borrow! I would do the same. Can't wait to hear more.