ROMANIA: Carpathian Chamois, Eurasian Brown Bear & Wild Boar With HUNTROMANIA

So as I’m about to start the journey home back home to the US, I thought I’d start my report on my second hunt with Marius with @HUNTROMANIA as I hunted roebuck with him approximately 2.5 years ago (we hunted them north of Dej, Romania- took my son with me and had a blast!).

This trip was with my new wife who tagged along so it was both a hunting trip and honeymoon of sorts- so we fit in a significant amount of traveling and sightseeing activities both before, during and after the hunts. We visited Bran Castle (wherein Bram Stoker based his novel from) on the morning of Halloween (we got there first thing in the morning, thank goodness because it became packed as you can imagine what tourists) and the German-influenced medieval town of Sighisoara, where Vlad Tepes (Dracula) was born the evening of Halloween. Both places were super cool! It was awesome seeing the Local Halloween celebrations while there! The next day was All Saints day so all of the cemeteries were lit up with candles and flowers placed by the gravestones which made for a great pictures! We also visited Peles Castle and Cantacuzino (where the Netflix series “Wednesday” is filmed for the outside of Nevermore Academy).

Now on to the hunting report!- we first went for Carpathian chamois near Pestisani- we stayed at a great place called Pensinueau Moara- great food and tsuica (homemade moonshine from plums)!

I took a drone with me (the DJI mine 3 that weighs 249 grams so that you don’t need a FAA license- for those who care) so that I could get really good mountain scenery footage. There was very minimal snow at the peaks, the chamois were still very very high. They usually don’t come down to lower elevations until after 25 November. Either way, it is still very steep. So if you are considering this Hunt, I strongly recommend that you prepare for it physically. I spent months on the treadmill at a full incline wearing a 20 pound weight vest. I’m not saying that you need to do as I did, but it certainly helped me! And even then it was exhausting! At this location, it was very difficult to get to them because of where they were located. We made a few stocks on the very difficult terrain, but did not connect. So the next day we decided to try a different approach in a different location. The first place was very wide open with no trees, which made Being spotted by the animals. A very likely probability so the next day we went into the mountain forests by Olanesti- spectacular views it was almost like hunting in the Sherwood forest near Nottingham in Robin Hood! We hiked to the very peak of one of the mountains and glass over towards the opposite mountain peak over a canyon. We spotted several chamois- 2 really nice males. I made about a 350 m shot and put one down. The problem was as you can imagine it fell hundreds and hundreds of feet down the canyon. This made it for a difficult recovery by the guide as well as the park Ranger. My wife and I stayed back while they went to recover the animal because of The terrain. And we would’ve only just slowed them down and we did not want to hike out of there in the dark with our flashlights because of how steep it was. We literally got out of the mountain right before dark. We really really worked hard for this chamois and I’m very very pleased! I don’t like talking about size or CIC and what not of the animals I take because all I want are mature respectable animals of the species but I believe this is a silver medal.









Got to get ready to start boarding the plane for the first leg of the journey home so I’ll add the rest of the report so for now- stay tuned.

Turns out we have a few more minutes left before boarding lol. After the successful chamois hunt, it was now time to give Eurasian brown bear a go. Marius has several places throughout Romania for Brown bear. As stated previously on multiple other threads that Marius is on here on AH, bear is exportable last year and this year. He is not sure if it will be in 2026. He is meeting with government officials here in Romania this week and next week on that very topic. The brown bear population has exploded since the export band that lasted approximately eight years. The bears are no longer really afraid of humans and thus human and wildlife conflict has really increased, including death. So hopefully the government officials realize the value of conservation through hunting for which bear hunting for international clients provides. We can only hope and keep our fingers crossed!

So we traveled to Reghin for the bear hunt. I must say-it looks like Kansas or Nebraska back home with the amount of cornfields that provide the nutrition and growth of the bears! Right now, at this time of the year, the bears are moving from the cornfields at lower altitude up into the mountains. And in Romania, they have hunting blinds, which are basically small little cabins that have windows for which you wait for the bears to come. The first night we sat and didn’t see anything. We moved to a different location and there was a bear, but it saw us coming and so went off into the forest. So we decided to make a plan to go to that location the next late afternoon and early evening. Unfortunately, it was very windy and the Wind kept swirling. There was a nice red stag that we saw, and he got our wind and took off. We still decided to stay there for a few hours, but didn’t see anything. So we made a plan to go back and check other trail cameras at the Ranger Lodge. We got back to the lodge and immediately found a nice bear at a different location so we got quickly there and got it done! It is a very nice bear! I will say that I had the power magnification of the telescope up too high as I had previously set it for the other location and forgot to take it off the high magnification at the time of the shot so it was not the best shot so we had go ahead and wait until the next morning for tracking purposes because it would be way too dangerous otherwise. It didn’t take too long to find and we were so happy! It went about 150 m. It will be prepared here in Romania and then shipped back to me in a few months so that my taxidermist back home can do the full body mount. I am really hoping that bear will be exportable next year so that other clients may go with Marius for bear next year!

After this, we then went for wild boar north of Dej (where I hunted roebuck 2 years ago). It did not take long for a nice boar to come into the bait. Again, we hunted out of an elevated ground blind. It was about a 125 m shot. It went down not even 10 mto come into the bait. Again, we hunted out of a elevated ground blind. It was about a 125 m shot. It went down not even 10 m from the shot. So we got it loaded up and in the truck! Again, I was very, very happy with it!

So now it looks like we are getting checked in so I better sign off, but I’ll leave just a few photos. I hope to write more of the tourist aspect of the trip here in the next few days!


Anyone considering hunting in Romania – as I’ve said in the past-Marius is your outfitter!

Thank you, @whitetail for the decision of hunting again with me! From my point of view, you worked hard for all the trophies and every trophy has a special story behind. Congratulations for full achievement and success!

Congratulations @whitetail on a very successful hunt. I'm hunting with Marius for chamois and wild boar in November 2026 and really excited to follow in your footsteps on the hunt and touring information you provided.

MontanaPat said:

Congratulations @whitetail on a very successful hunt. I'm hunting with Marius for chamois and wild boar in November 2026 and really excited to follow in your footsteps on the hunt and touring information you provided.

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Awesome!!! You will not be disappointed!!! Romania is such a beautiful and mystical place. I wish more people from the US would visit there. There’s just so much culture in history to absorb.

@MontanaPat - when will you be there next November as that will likely determine where you will be hunting for chamois. If it’s the first part of November, chamois are still really high up in elevation. One of the guides said they don’t start making their way down the mountains until after 25 November unless there is significant snow fall before.

I thought I would share some photos of the touring of Romania. As previously stated – my wife and I were there for Halloween as well as All Saints Day. Interestingly, Romanians really don’t celebrate Halloween. It’s more for show for the tourists visiting. We were able to visit Bran Castle the morning of Halloween-and if you’re considering doing this on Halloween, make sure to get there first thing in the morning as the lines get huge as you can imagine. Then we travel to the medieval German town of Sighisoara where Vlad the Impaler was born and raised.

We also hiked up and around the “Sphinx of Romania” in Moroeni as well as toured Castle Cantacuzino (where the Netflix series Wednesday was filmed on the outside) and Peles Castle.

If you have time – also make sure you visit the underground Slanic salt mine- absolutely incredible! Make sure you also visit Brasov- such a great town with fantastic vibe and food! The monastery of “The Cave of Souls” as well worth your time as well-it is believed to be hundreds and hundreds of years old if not, thousands. There’s even speculation of. UFO/alien inhabitation originally if you believe in that kind of thing lol.

I will post more of our touring, but I gotta get in my tree stand now as it’s the second weekend of rifle season for Whitetail! So more later!

Bear pics?

I’m hunting with Marius the first week of November next year. Thanks for posting all of the tour info

After the hunting portion of the trip was complete- we then went up to Maramureş where all of the UNESCO wooden Orthodox Churches are, including monasteries. We also visited the Museum dedicated to the victims of communism. @MontanaPat if you have the time to get over to Moldavia, I highly recommended! The history of the churches is beyond compare. Make sure to visit the “Funny Cemetery” where the headstones tell stories (including funny ones) of the person’s life. For those interested in exact locations of the places I visited, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Great hunt, congrats !