WAB
AH ambassador
Many of us have been watching the posts by @HUNTROMANIA with great interest. The owner, Marius, has teased us with pictures of incredible trophies and attractive offers. My willpower tested to its limits, I took Marius up on his offer for a red stag hunt with no trophy fee. As Romania is a new adventure for most of us, I am going to take a different approach to this post and try to create an understanding of what to expect if your willpower is also tested beyond the breaking point.
Travel:
I used Jennifer at @TRAVEL EXPRESS for my flights. As usual, Jennifer did a great job, selecting Turkish Air for cost, gun-friendliness, and connections through to Cluj. My route was Atlanta, Istanbul, Cluj. I arrived very early and actually had to wait an hour for the counter to open. The agent claimed that my gun was not in their system and had me stand to the side for an hour while they checked in everyone else on the flight. At that point, the supervisor was engaged, he immediately showed the agent where my gun was in the system (thank you Jennifer), and I was checked in without any apology from the agent. I should add that these are contract employees in Atlanta, not TA employees.
The flights were on-time, and if anything, I would say that they were somewhat more comfortable and better serviced than Delta flights. However, as a Diamond/million miler on Delta, I did miss the perks that come with that status!
The Istanbul airport was a pleasant surprise. I'm not sure what I expected, but it is one of the most impressive airports I have traveled. through.
Firearms:
It was in Istanbul that I received a note from Marius indicating that there was a problem with my Romanian gun permit. Something went sideways in Bucharest, and none of the gun permits were issued for his hunters traveling with their own guns. The police in Cluj were very polite, but also very firm, that my gun was not leaving their office without the permit in hand. So, my Rigby Highland Stalker in 9.3x62 spent the hunt locked in the police offices in the Cluj airport. Two hunters from Michigan suffered the same fate.
Marius was able to scramble and secure weapons for everyone. The weapon I was loaned was a Blaser R8 in .30-06 topped with a Swarovski Z6i 2.5-15x56.
An important note on firearms, there is no real opportunity to check the zero on your rifle or a borrowed rifle. It took a day and a half of asking before I was actually able to dry fire the Blaser so that I at least knew how the trigger broke. This was likely due to communication challenges between my guide, Cosine, and myself, as he speaks very little English and I speak no Romanian! If this causes you concern, I recommend a direct conversation with Marius up-front. It is not something that I would have thought to discuss.
My firearm fiasco may have been a blessing in disguise. My rifle is topped with a Z6 1.7-10x42. While a great scope, there are no hunting hours in Romania, and if you can see, you can shoot. The scope on the loaner rifle allowed me to harvest my stag under lighting conditions that may have made the shot impossible with the scope on my rifle.
Accommodations:
We were hunting on the Hungarian border near the town of Oradea. We stayed in the Pensiunea Noblesse, a very comfortable hotel with a great restaurant. The staff were outstanding and the food was really quite good. The drive to the hunting area was 30 to 45 minutes. A typical day began with a cup of coffee and 5 AM departure. The return from the morning hunt was typically 10 or 10:30 at which time we had a large breakfast. A mid-day nap followed by a 3 PM lunch and we were off again for the evening hunt at 4 or 5. Returning at 10PM for dinner, we grabbed a few hours sleep and started over.
On a side note, Oradea is a beautiful town built around a crystal clear river teeming with trout. A visit to the historic downtown is definitely worth the time.
Hunting:
We were hunting in the roar. Morning hunts we tended to be in wooded hills cut by hay meadows in the valleys. Evening hunts were in agricultural fields bordered by swamp and forest. The stags were extremely active at first and last light. We hunted by calling and moving into position to try to ambush them. The number and quality of stags has to be seen to be believed. Seven stags were harvested during our stay. The pictures speak for themselves.
To be continued...
Travel:
I used Jennifer at @TRAVEL EXPRESS for my flights. As usual, Jennifer did a great job, selecting Turkish Air for cost, gun-friendliness, and connections through to Cluj. My route was Atlanta, Istanbul, Cluj. I arrived very early and actually had to wait an hour for the counter to open. The agent claimed that my gun was not in their system and had me stand to the side for an hour while they checked in everyone else on the flight. At that point, the supervisor was engaged, he immediately showed the agent where my gun was in the system (thank you Jennifer), and I was checked in without any apology from the agent. I should add that these are contract employees in Atlanta, not TA employees.
The flights were on-time, and if anything, I would say that they were somewhat more comfortable and better serviced than Delta flights. However, as a Diamond/million miler on Delta, I did miss the perks that come with that status!
The Istanbul airport was a pleasant surprise. I'm not sure what I expected, but it is one of the most impressive airports I have traveled. through.
Firearms:
It was in Istanbul that I received a note from Marius indicating that there was a problem with my Romanian gun permit. Something went sideways in Bucharest, and none of the gun permits were issued for his hunters traveling with their own guns. The police in Cluj were very polite, but also very firm, that my gun was not leaving their office without the permit in hand. So, my Rigby Highland Stalker in 9.3x62 spent the hunt locked in the police offices in the Cluj airport. Two hunters from Michigan suffered the same fate.
Marius was able to scramble and secure weapons for everyone. The weapon I was loaned was a Blaser R8 in .30-06 topped with a Swarovski Z6i 2.5-15x56.
An important note on firearms, there is no real opportunity to check the zero on your rifle or a borrowed rifle. It took a day and a half of asking before I was actually able to dry fire the Blaser so that I at least knew how the trigger broke. This was likely due to communication challenges between my guide, Cosine, and myself, as he speaks very little English and I speak no Romanian! If this causes you concern, I recommend a direct conversation with Marius up-front. It is not something that I would have thought to discuss.
My firearm fiasco may have been a blessing in disguise. My rifle is topped with a Z6 1.7-10x42. While a great scope, there are no hunting hours in Romania, and if you can see, you can shoot. The scope on the loaner rifle allowed me to harvest my stag under lighting conditions that may have made the shot impossible with the scope on my rifle.
Accommodations:
We were hunting on the Hungarian border near the town of Oradea. We stayed in the Pensiunea Noblesse, a very comfortable hotel with a great restaurant. The staff were outstanding and the food was really quite good. The drive to the hunting area was 30 to 45 minutes. A typical day began with a cup of coffee and 5 AM departure. The return from the morning hunt was typically 10 or 10:30 at which time we had a large breakfast. A mid-day nap followed by a 3 PM lunch and we were off again for the evening hunt at 4 or 5. Returning at 10PM for dinner, we grabbed a few hours sleep and started over.
On a side note, Oradea is a beautiful town built around a crystal clear river teeming with trout. A visit to the historic downtown is definitely worth the time.
Hunting:
We were hunting in the roar. Morning hunts we tended to be in wooded hills cut by hay meadows in the valleys. Evening hunts were in agricultural fields bordered by swamp and forest. The stags were extremely active at first and last light. We hunted by calling and moving into position to try to ambush them. The number and quality of stags has to be seen to be believed. Seven stags were harvested during our stay. The pictures speak for themselves.
To be continued...
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