ROMANIA: R Is For Roe Deer!

[Troubleshooter]

Country: Romania
Dates: 31 May and 1 June 2024
Type of Hunt: Spot & Stalk
Method of Hunting: Rifle (Blaser R8 chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum)
Outfitter: @HUNTROMANIA
PH/Owner/Agent: Marius Merutiu
Locations Hunted: Cluj County, near Dej
Species Hunted: Roe Deer
Trophy Quality: Excellent
Species Seen, Population and Quality of Game Observed: Abundant roe deer; also saw fox and wolf
Lodging: Four-star hotel and restaurant
Food: Ordered from the restaurant menu
Activities: Due to my tight travel schedule, we did not partake in any additional activities
Travel Methods: Pickup truck on highways; Nissan Patrol in hunting areas
High Points: Three roebucks in 24 hours
Low Points: Almost lost one wounded buck
Overall Rating: Excellent
Would Recommend to a Friend? Heck yes, I even brought one along!

 

[Troubleshooter]

Prologue

Like many of you, I have read the positive reports regarding HuntRomania, a sponsor on this site. I had commitments which placed me in Europe for a short period this summer, and as luck would have it my schedule had me in the Romanian city of Cluj for two of those days. Accordingly, I contacted Marius Merutiu the owner of HuntRomania which was advertising a three-day, two roe buck hunt. My schedule was too tight to accommodate that hunt, but might it be possible for us to meet for lunch or dinner during my stay in the city? That would allow the outfitter and me to meet in-person and discuss a potential future hunt for roe deer or chamois.

As it turned out, Marius would be dropping off a client at the airport on 31 May and had some empty space on his calendar. Although he was amenable to meeting over dinner that evening, he suggested that we could conduct an abbreviated hunt with prorated fees. Well you know how it goes… one thing just leads to another – a little adjustment to my arrival time, a very early morning departure flight, some discussion of our options, and voila! – the next thing you know, I have a hunt booked for the evening of 31 May and all day on 1 June. (Yes I know, you’re shocked that I could be traveling for completely unrelated purposes and somehow end up booked on a hunt. But these things just seem to happen!)

With the hunt planning roughed-out, I asked a friend and colleague whether he would care to join us as a non-hunting observer. This first involved explaining the role of the observer. As a non-elite growing up under the Ceausescu regime, Stefan had never been afforded the opportunity to hunt nor had he been exposed to the rich traditions surrounding hunting – something that many of us tend to take for granted. Instead, his early years spent living in a small rural village were cut short when the Communists dispossessed his family by seizing their home – and then did it again with a subsequent home – thus forcing the family to move into the city. The idea of the hunt intrigued him, and so a plan was set in motion. We would make our way to Cluj, Marius would drop off his client at the airport, we would all rendezvous at some location to be determined, and the three of us would wander off into the countryside in pursuit of the elusive roebuck. All we had to do was get there and then navigate our way through Friday afternoon traffic in downtown Cluj…..

With perfect timing, Marius pulled up in a late-model pickup truck. We loaded our gear, piled in and were on our way. The first stop was a beautiful 4-star hotel in the city of Dej. I was wondering how the staff of such a nice hotel would react to hosting a trio of hunters, but needn’t have been concerned. It was obvious that they were used to Marius and his clients, and we could not have been treated any better during our stay. Since the two of us had skipped lunch on the way to Cluj, Marius suggested that we stow our luggage and then meet him in the hotel’s restaurant. We ate a quick dinner and then left for the hunting fields. Temperatures had been unseasonably warm for that time of year, but cooled off for our evening hunt.

 

[Troubleshooter]

Session 1

A short drive brought us to a cabin outside of town where Marius keeps his hunting vehicle; a well-maintained but purpose-built Nissan Patrol. The deep-lugged tires would be at home in Louisiana gumbo, and although I didn’t check under the hood I’m pretty certain that it was equipped with a supercharger. This all made for a very capable hunting vehicle as was proven later on. Due to my travel itinerary, it had been impractical to bring my own rifle so arrangements were made to rent one from Marius. This turned out to be a Blaser R8 chambered in .300 Win Mag, topped by a Swarovski Z6i 2-12 x50 scope and fed with a diet of GECO 11g (170 gr) cartridges. A 30-second orientation was sufficient to familiarize myself with the rifle’s operation. We executed the necessary licensing and paperwork, jumped into the Patrol, and were on our way.

The hunting area consisted of a series of forested areas and meadows set amongst gently rolling hills. It was much more of a pastoral setting compared to the forests that I’ve previously hunted in the Carpathian Mountains to the south. A rutted muddy trail was no match for our hunting machine. Eventually we alighted from the vehicle and started slowly making our way up a hill; with Marius in the lead, then myself, and Stefan behind me; stopping frequently to scan the countryside. And a beautiful countryside it was!

The two-track on which we were walking ran along a slight ridge, sloping away at either side. We had spread out a bit on the trail. Presently Marius motioned for me to join him with the rifle and for Stefan to lag behind a bit; this turned out to be a very fortuitous decision. Marius had spotted some movement along the slope to the left side of the trail. It was a roe deer, but try as we might we never were able to get a really good look at it, certainly not enough to evaluate or make a stalk.

Glancing back, I noticed Stefan was motioning to get our attention without alerting the two roe deer that he had spotted on the other side of the ridge. The three of us redirected our efforts, but were unable to get onto the wary animals. One spooked and ran off down the hill. We heard another give the alarm “bark” or “coughing” sound on another hillside near where Stefan had also seen a wolf. Throughout the remainder of the hunt he displayed an almost uncanny ability to spot animals. Stefan having recently retired, it became the running joke that he should consider embarking on a second career as a game tracker. Stefan spotted roe deer on two more occasions that evening, but we were unable to get a bead on them.

 

[Troubleshooter]

Marius had a couple of other fields that he wanted to check within that same area, so we made our way back to the hunting vehicle and drove slowly along farm trails while scouting for likely prospects. Having no luck, he turned the vehicle around and headed back towards where we had been earlier. We were about to call it quits for the night when the vehicle slowed to a stop, then backed up so that Marius could assess a roe deer that he had spotted in the valley. We drove forward until out of its sight, and after disembarking we made our way back along the trail to where Marius had first seen the animal. We had hardly walked 20 meters when we saw it again.

The buck was downslope and feeding slowly away. With twilight rapidly approaching, Marius turned on the illuminated reticle, set the sticks, and got me on the rifle. The buck was now facing directly away from us, apparently unaware (or at least unconcerned) of our presence. Its head moved slightly to the right and left as it continued to feed straight away. I continued to track the deer’s progress with the illuminated reticle until it eventually found some attractive morsel off to its left and turned full broadside. That was its undoing.

Marius called the hit while I quickly worked in another cartridge, but I need not have bothered. The buck had dropped on the spot, its shoulder perfectly pierced by the .300 Win Mag. There was no further movement, and after a short time we walked down to where the buck lay. Marius said that the 3x3 buck was probably about nine years old. Simultaneously and without discussion, Marius and I both started gathering the forage necessary to render honors to a game animal while explaining the concept of the “last bite” to Stefan. The Romanians had lost many of these age-old customs of the hunt during the communist period, and I know that they have been making concerted efforts to pass them along to new generations of hunters before those traditions are lost forever. It was fully dark by then, so we took a few photos and loaded the buck into the Patrol.

After switching vehicles and dropping off the buck, we returned to the hotel. The restaurant had already closed, but across the rear parking lot was a sort-of sports bar (also owned by the hotel) which was still in full swing. We grabbed one of the only available tables and Marius mentioned something to the waiter which resulted in food and libations. No one seemed to pay any particular attention to the fact that we were still wearing our hunting clothes. We made arrangements to meet at 05:00 the following morning to continue our activities and then called it a night.

 

[IvW]

300 WM for ROE Deer.......eish.....

 

[Mekaniks]

Marius had a couple of other fields that he wanted to check within that same area, so we made our way back to the hunting vehicle and drove slowly along farm trails while scouting for likely prospects. Having no luck, he turned the vehicle around and headed back towards where we had been earlier. We were about to call it quits for the night when the vehicle slowed to a stop, then backed up so that Marius could assess a roe deer that he had spotted in the valley. We drove forward until out of its sight, and after disembarking we made our way back along the trail to where Marius had first seen the animal. We had hardly walked 20 meters when we saw it again.

The buck was downslope and feeding slowly away. With twilight rapidly approaching, Marius turned on the illuminated reticle, set the sticks, and got me on the rifle. The buck was now facing directly away from us, apparently unaware (or at least unconcerned) of our presence. Its head moved slightly to the right and left as it continued to feed straight away. I continued to track the deer’s progress with the illuminated reticle until it eventually found some attractive morsel off to its left and turned full broadside. That was its undoing.

Marius called the hit while I quickly worked in another cartridge, but I need not have bothered. The buck had dropped on the spot, its shoulder perfectly pierced by the .300 Win Mag. There was no further movement, and after a short time we walked down to where the buck lay. Marius said that the 3x3 buck was probably about nine years old. Simultaneously and without discussion, Marius and I both started gathering the forage necessary to render honors to a game animal while explaining the concept of the “last bite” to Stefan. The Romanians had lost many of these age-old customs of the hunt during the communist period, and I know that they have been making concerted efforts to pass them along to new generations of hunters before those traditions are lost forever. It was fully dark by then, so we took a few photos and loaded the buck into the Patrol.

View attachment 628322

View attachment 628324

After switching vehicles and dropping off the buck, we returned to the hotel. The restaurant had already closed, but across the rear parking lot was a sort-of sports bar (also owned by the hotel) which was still in full swing. We grabbed one of the only available tables and Marius mentioned something to the waiter which resulted in food and libations. No one seemed to pay any particular attention to the fact that we were still wearing our hunting clothes. We made arrangements to meet at 05:00 the following morning to continue our activities and then called it a night.

Excellent Thank You for sharing!

Europe has made our short list and I really hope to do this hunt in the next couple of years….