bwanamrm
AH enthusiast
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2023
- Messages
- 281
- Reaction score
- 961
- Location
- Texas
- Media
- 48
- Member of
- Life Member SCI, DSC, NRA, CCA, TWA
- Hunted
- Benin, Bots, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Moz, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, RSA, Zim, Zambia, Australia, NZ, Pakistan, Turkey, Croatia, Poland, Spain, England, Scotland, Romania, Argentina, Bolivia, Western US
Just returned last Thursday from a group hunt with WTA in the Czech Republic. I always enjoy these hunts as I have met some great folks on these trips, including some I still travel with across the globe today! My old friend Tim Herald hosted this hunt and we met up in the gorgeous city of Prague, where we all stayed at the Hotel Savoy our first night in-country. The next day our drivers arrived for the two hour run to Kharlovy, another cool European city and we were deposited at the Hotel Imperial... another 4 star hotel, for our three day hunt.
After a great meal that evening where we met some of the other hunters and their wives, we made plans for the next morning. My friend Jay and I were met at 5 am and driven about an hour out of Kharlovy where we hunted an old military base. All hunting is free range and 1x1. I met my guide Horry, a fine young man, keen to hunting and good at his job. I was using his Blaser in .30-06 with an illuminated Swaro scope. We met up at a small inn just a few minutes from the hunting area and changed cars and then were off. We pulled off the road onto a logging two track... drove another 15 minutes, then waited for dawn. As we exited the vehicle, we could hear sika stags whistling above us. We began to climb through rather thick forest for around 20 minutes until we arrived at the edge of the top of the hill. We moved forward listening to the closest stags and trying to pick them out in the dark timber. It was much easier for Horry who was accustomed to this type of hunting then I and I could sense his frustration once trying to point a stag out to me. Finally I found him and made a quartering shot at 70 yards. My first sika...
That afternoon we tried a high seat but the wind and intermittent rain kept the stags tight-lipped and in cover.
The next morning we hunted about 10 kilometers from where we hunted the first morning. Same drill... slipping slowly along a logging road listening, looking and occasionally calling using an ox horn set up with a reed to sound like a sika. After an hour or so, we heard a red stag roaring not too distant from where we were. The sika hunt became a red deer hunt... we moved closer and Horry began to roar back using his grunt tube. Close but the stag wouldn't leave his hinds so we made a wide circle to try and get around him. During the stalk I managed to spot a spike red deer in a small bowl and we dropped to watch. At first I thought he might be alone but Horry spotted hinds and a herd stag up above him. We tried to maneuver in for a shot but they kept putting vegetation between us. Finally, we made a direct stalk at the stag, knowing there were a lot of eyes but hoping for the best... it worked and at 120 meters I slipped a bullet into his shoulder and was satisfied to watch him roll down the hillside. He's not the biggest red stag I've taken but it was one of the most fun stalk and shoots I've done in a long time and incredibly satisfying.
One of the things I enjoy about hunting Europe is the traditions and respect shown the harvested game. No screaming BBD or high fives, a solemn congratulations and the ceremony of the "last bite". Just a bit of class...
However later that night at the hunt club restaurant... toasts to the game and good natured fun. Very memorable... and a ton of food and drink!
After our three day excursion, we headed back to Prague and spent a couple of days touring and eating our way through the city. An excellent outing...
I can highly recommend WTA and Hunts in Slovakia!
After a great meal that evening where we met some of the other hunters and their wives, we made plans for the next morning. My friend Jay and I were met at 5 am and driven about an hour out of Kharlovy where we hunted an old military base. All hunting is free range and 1x1. I met my guide Horry, a fine young man, keen to hunting and good at his job. I was using his Blaser in .30-06 with an illuminated Swaro scope. We met up at a small inn just a few minutes from the hunting area and changed cars and then were off. We pulled off the road onto a logging two track... drove another 15 minutes, then waited for dawn. As we exited the vehicle, we could hear sika stags whistling above us. We began to climb through rather thick forest for around 20 minutes until we arrived at the edge of the top of the hill. We moved forward listening to the closest stags and trying to pick them out in the dark timber. It was much easier for Horry who was accustomed to this type of hunting then I and I could sense his frustration once trying to point a stag out to me. Finally I found him and made a quartering shot at 70 yards. My first sika...
That afternoon we tried a high seat but the wind and intermittent rain kept the stags tight-lipped and in cover.
The next morning we hunted about 10 kilometers from where we hunted the first morning. Same drill... slipping slowly along a logging road listening, looking and occasionally calling using an ox horn set up with a reed to sound like a sika. After an hour or so, we heard a red stag roaring not too distant from where we were. The sika hunt became a red deer hunt... we moved closer and Horry began to roar back using his grunt tube. Close but the stag wouldn't leave his hinds so we made a wide circle to try and get around him. During the stalk I managed to spot a spike red deer in a small bowl and we dropped to watch. At first I thought he might be alone but Horry spotted hinds and a herd stag up above him. We tried to maneuver in for a shot but they kept putting vegetation between us. Finally, we made a direct stalk at the stag, knowing there were a lot of eyes but hoping for the best... it worked and at 120 meters I slipped a bullet into his shoulder and was satisfied to watch him roll down the hillside. He's not the biggest red stag I've taken but it was one of the most fun stalk and shoots I've done in a long time and incredibly satisfying.
One of the things I enjoy about hunting Europe is the traditions and respect shown the harvested game. No screaming BBD or high fives, a solemn congratulations and the ceremony of the "last bite". Just a bit of class...
However later that night at the hunt club restaurant... toasts to the game and good natured fun. Very memorable... and a ton of food and drink!
After our three day excursion, we headed back to Prague and spent a couple of days touring and eating our way through the city. An excellent outing...
I can highly recommend WTA and Hunts in Slovakia!
