ROMANIA: Transylvania For Bear & Chamois

[Rimbaud]

I leave tomorrow for almost two weeks in Transylvania. Only other hunters understand the excitement. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.

 

[Rare Breed]

Interesting…Brown Bear? Curious how do you get to Transylvania from US?

 

[WAB]

Interesting…Brown Bear? Curious how do you get to Transylvania from US?

Typically via Istanbul.

 

[WAB]

I leave tomorrow for almost two weeks in Transylvania. Only other hunters understand the excitement. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Have a great hunt. Romania is a special place!

 

[Rimbaud]

Typically via Istanbul.

Yes, that’s exactly right. We are taking Turkish Air from Atlanta to Istanbul, and then Istanbul to Cluj. I’ve rented a car and will drive to Sibiu and then off to Fagaras Mountains. I’ve been fascinated with this part of the world since I first hunted Hungary some 12 years ago. I am expecting to hunt an ancient area that has been slow to change for hundreds of years.

 

[WAB]

Yes, that’s exactly right. We are taking Turkish Air from Atlanta to Istanbul, and then Istanbul to Cluj. I’ve rented a car and will drive to Sibiu and then off to Fagaras Mountains. I’ve been fascinated with this part of the world since I first hunted Hungary some 12 years ago. I am expecting to hunt an ancient area that has been slow to change for hundreds of years.

You won’t be disappointed!

 

[Rimbaud]

You won’t be disappointed!

Highly recommend Banffy’s Transylvania Trilogy if you are interested in the culture of the region. A tremendously well-written book.

 

[Philip Glass]

Yes, that’s exactly right. We are taking Turkish Air from Atlanta to Istanbul, and then Istanbul to Cluj. I’ve rented a car and will drive to Sibiu and then off to Fagaras Mountains. I’ve been fascinated with this part of the world since I first hunted Hungary some 12 years ago. I am expecting to hunt an ancient area that has been slow to change for hundreds of years.

Jealous!

 

[V.Veritas]

If you get to Sibiu and have a rented car check out if Transalpina Road it is still open. Both Transalpina and Transfagarasan mountain highway/ roads) are closed over the winter since they are unpassable.
If they are still open, you can drive South over the mountains (from Sebeș, West of Sibiu) and return North across the Făgăraș mountains on Transfăgărășan.
It is spectacular. You'll need 2 days.

Transalpina · Sibiu

maps.app.goo.gl

Transfăgărășan Panoramic View

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[V.Veritas]

As a second thought - driving in Romania.

You should be aware that USA and Candian driving licences are NOT valid in Romania. You need to purchase an international driving licence from Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) or American Automobile Association (AAA).

Driving without an international driving licence is treated as driving without a licence and it is a serious offense that needs a court hearing.

 

[Doug3006]

I’m happy for you and am awaiting your reports!

I’ve begun acclimating the wonderful Mrs. Doug3006 to the idea of hunting in Eastern Europe soon. A darling expression came across her face when I mentioned that we’d possibly be going to Transylvania! Her only idea of Transylvania comes from Dracula movies, and she won’t even watch those. She knows that she’s blessed to be with me in part due to my helping her with her knowledge of world geography, zoology, anthropology, etc. She knows she’s blessed because I remind her frequently.

 

[Rimbaud]

If you get to Sibiu and have a rented car check out if Transalpina Road it is still open. Both Transalpina and Transfagarasan mountain highway/ roads) are closed over the winter since they are unpassable.
If they are still open, you can drive South over the mountains (from Sebeș, West of Sibiu) and return North across the Făgăraș mountains on Transfăgărășan.
It is spectacular. You'll need 2 days.

Transalpina · Sibiu

maps.app.goo.gl

Transfăgărășan Panoramic View

maps.app.goo.gl

We are getting a car in Cluj and driving to Sibiu where we will stay and then head into Fagaras Mountains for bear. Highly recommend Amex lounge at Atlanta as a place to await flight (good food and drinks).

 

[Rimbaud]

In Instanbul. Turkish Air business lounge was incredible - excellent food and a nice place to rest and wait. Traveling for almost 20 hours and just a few hours until Tranysylvania. Boarding soon for Cluj. Adventure awaits beyond this doorway.

 

[Troubleshooter]

Interesting…Brown Bear? Curious how do you get to Transylvania from US?

Another option which I have used is Lufthansa through Munich.

Rimbaud: Best of luck to you. Looking forward to your successful report on both the hunt and the touring.

 

[Sabre]

Following along. Good luck!

 

[Rimbaud]

Good morning from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. I am at the Hotel Beyfin, on the edge of the central square. The opera house and a magnificent church are near me. I am pleased to report a successful hunt for brown bear, and chamois, which I learned is the English word for gambart, which is German. I hunted in Transylvania in the Retezat Mountains for chamois, and Fagaras mountains for brown bear. Both hunts were exciting and dangerous. I’ve long been fascinated by this region as I see these nations that have been windswept by history, with evidence of many different cultures, as a potential illustration of the challenges we all face as globalization reshapes the world and the great powers once more are in various stages of squaring off with each other. An 11-day hunt did nothing to diminish my fascination with Transylvania. Everywhere I hunted, I hunted in places that seemed to have been barely changed over time. The bear hunt was driven. About 12 beaters and there dogs pushed brown bears up the side of a forested part of a mountain in the Fagaras. It was surreal. My guide and I stood beside a split-crotch tree that offered us a 160 degree shooting theater and a clear view into the valley. We were next to a long tunnel of brush that extended up and down the mountain hill. After the beaters had been working the forest, I thought that I saw a slight movement in the brush at the bottom of the mountain. I was kneeling with my hand on the borrowed Blaser R98 that was unfortunately a right-handed rifle as I shoot left. My hand was on the rifle’s fore end, and I thought that I would have a moment or two to shoulder the rifle and engage. I was wrong. Calin, my guide, had told me that brown bears are as fast as horses over short distances. He was very right. In what seemed like seconds, he whispered bear. I stood up, pivoted to my left, and the bear inexplicably stopped about 16 yards to 21 yards away on my left. In an instant, I shouldered the rifle and took a standing shot. The bear dropped, and twitched. Calin told me that bears can endure significant punishment after being shot. He said they normally somersault and then run. The one-shot bear, he said, is almost a myth. He also shared many stories of hunters who were attached by bears, and of townspeople taking trash to the curb who were attacked by bears. A handful of years ago, Romania reportedly had about 4,000 bears and now the population is thought to exceed 11,000 bears.

 

[Rimbaud]

After I fired the 9.3 rifle at the bear, I dropped the rifle to reload. I was at low ready when I looked slightly off to the left at two other bears who were traveling with the one I had shot as he momentarily paused between two trees. The bear on my left looked at me with surprise. He had a playful look on his face. Calin was with me, and he said the bears were teenagers, and the look on their faces suggested that their decision-making skills were about as developed as a human teenager. In a flash, I had to decide if I would shoot the other bear in the head. He was about six yards to 10 yards from me. Luckily for me, and the bear, the fellow turned and ran. His friend went with him. I had two remaining shots of 9.3 in the Blaser. The big bear was still on the ground. He was twitching a bit, which I attributed to nerves. Calin who was standing behind on the mountain, elevated just a wee bit, told me to once more shoot the bear. Rather than shooting him through the forest, I instinctively walked over to deliver the insurance shot. I had the rifle shouldered as I slowly moved through the mountain forest. Each step was taken in anticipation that I could be charged and have to fire. I maintained my shooting position, and then got within a few feet of the downed bear. The second shot was through the bear’s lungs. I reloaded the magazine with two more 9.3s and returned to the split crotch tree from where the initial shot was taken. I was on high alert. After a period of what was perhaps five to 10 minutes to allow the bear to settle without any pressure, we went back to where the bear was lying on the forest floor.

 

[Rimbaud]

The 9.3 is a powerful cartridge. The lung shot delivered a coup de gras, but it was not clear where the first shot connected. I saw the telltale signs of red, oxygenated blood on the leaves, near the bears head, and thought that perhaps the initial shot has hit the bear in the shoulder, or maybe near the spine, knocking him down. When we got the bear to the skinning shed - it took four grown men to lift the bear into a trailer pulled by a little Suzuki 4x4 - we learned the first shot hit the bear behind his left ear. I had never before shot a 9.3. All I knew was that it was a German caliber designed for hunting big game, and dangerous game, in Africa. I was pleased that Calin was wise enough to give me, a first time bear hunter, a truly powerful cartridge for the hunt. One always hopes to exhibit grace under pressure, but I had no idea how I would react when I saw a bear in the forest. I remember the first time I saw a giant kudu in the brush in Namibia. I was in high ready at the time when the kudu appeared. He was regal, and massive and mystical, and for a few seconds my brain was frazzled as I struggled to contextualize what I had seen. In those few seconds, the kudu ran. I thought that perhaps I might experience some of that awe upon seeing the bear. Plus, Calin and others in Transylvania had a plethora of stories to tell about the terrible ferocity of the brown bear. I felt calm when I saw the bear and shot. I felt calm, and ready to re-engage, when I saw the downed bears traveling companions. Perhaps I was too calm, and too clinical. When the bear was in the shed to do what needed to be done, the process was akin to peeling back layers of ferocity. The teeth were yellowed, and strong. The claws were attached to strong arms and legs. As the bear hung from the hook in the shed, and more of his muscularity was revealed, I sat on a stool made from a log and drank some palinka (it’s everywhere here) and marveled at the bear. We ultimately learned that the first shot hit the bear behind the left ear. I did not see an exit wound. We ultimately saw that the 9.3 cracked the left side of the bear’s skull. Incredibly, the skull was intact. I would have thought that a 9.3 would have devastated consequences. It delivered a fatal shot, naturally, but the bear was so tough, so strong, that the skull appeared to be intact before the hide was removed.

 

[Rimbaud]

I had invited my wife to come see Transylvania. The history and mountains do not speak to her the same way. She stayed in the States. I was very glad she did as we finished preparing the bear, and measuring to see if he was a Bronze, Silver of Gold medal CIC bear. I readily confess that I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I came to hunt bear in Transylvania. I suppose I had an idea that it could go sideways and become dangerous, but I don’t think I fully understood how likely it was that the situation could wobble into chaos. After the hunt, Calin, an experienced hunter from Sibiu, told me he had never before seen a bear at such a close distance in the forest. On that day, on that hunt, some amalgamation of luck, skill, and Divine Intervention trued my aim and kept me safe in a foreign land on my first bear hunt.

 

[Rimbaud]

Photos of the Gold medal bear, and a hat tip to @gcbailey. He was very helpful sharing information about hunting in Romania. We arranged to meet when I was in Romania. We met for the first time in Sibiu. He drove several hours. We had planned on just meeting for lunch. About 10 hours later we left the restaurant on the great square in Sibiu that was built some 700 to 800 years ago. We had an incredibly wide-ranging discussion on guns, hunting, family, literature, politics, world affairs, and much more. The meeting proved me to me, yet again, that the people on this forum are high-caliber, impactful, solid men.