I made it home last night. A final recap while its all still fresh....
I purchased this hunt package for red stag when Marius offered it on AH. I added a roebuck and 1 additional hunting day when I purchased the package. The package was for one stag of any size, one roebuck of any size and all free range. It was NOT based on size or weight.
I added the 2nd stag after I got there. I also added a 2nd roebuck but was unsuccessful (I missed at about 380 meters with the 223) and Marius did not charge me a trophy fee.
I had never even been to Europe, and had never hunted any of the species before. I really went into this trip without knowing what to expect and just taking it as it comes....
The area that I hunted was about 3.5 hrs northwest of Cluj-Napoco, outside of Oradea. The Stag area was in the mountains with lots of trees (forests) and high stands over looking open areas. It was all 100% Free Range. We never opened a gate / closed a gate and I did not see any fencing at all except around some of the personal ranch homes.... The roebuck hunting was in wide open agricultural fields and was very challenging to get within shooting range of those little deer. We spent a lot of time on the back of the truck glassing wide open fields and hedge rows for deer.
The ranch manager and / or his son hunted with us everyday. We utilized their vehicles and rifles. Both of them were very professional, spoke english, and are passionate hunters. The rifles were both Mauser M18 in 300wm for stag and .223 for roebuck. Both rifles were new, had Swarovski glass and shot extremely well. They were shooting Norma ammo I believe.
Marius put us up in a hotel in the resort town of Baile Felix outside of Oradea, called the Pensiune Nobelesse that was very nice and had all the amenities. The local restaurants and local food was all very good. The video I posted earlier was from one of the local restaurants just down the street from the hotel.
I was anticipating spending the week alone or hanging with the guides.... I was wrong!!!
First person I met was
@Dutchtrapper from Germany who had been there for several days hunting Roebuck and picking up some previous trophies. It was great to hear his stories and get his perspective on hunting Europe from someone that actually lives there and does a lot of it....He headed back to Germany on the second day I was there.
Then
@Chris M. came in, and he was roebuck hunting the AH raffle package that he had won last spring. That is his story to tell so I won't spoil it.....
Then Patrick, an American living in Germany, came in hunting Stag on a pakage that his wife had purchased as surprise for him.
Chris, Patrick and I ended up getting along very well, and spent the last three days touring the castles together.
We really had a great time. We traveled, we ate a lot, we drank a lot, and we solved all the worlds problems several times....
The castles tours were NOT part of the our hunting packages and was an extra charge. It was about an 7.5 hr drive from Oradea to Brasov and required cancelling our rooms in Oradea, booking new rooms in Brasov and arranging all the logistics.
Marius took care of all the lodging, transportation, tickets and reservations. He arranged it all at the last minute and it all worked great.
Marius runs a fantastic operation. His guide Florin is top notch and an all around great guy.
I am really pleased with how everything turned out. From the hunting, to visiting an antique swap meet, to touring the castles and traveling around the country with guys I just met....... Everything was great.
I look forward to going back to Romania again.
Now I cant wait to get the trophies home and on the wall!!
