buck wild
AH legend
Country Czech Republic
Dates Early July 2023
Type of Hunt (Plains Game, Big Game, Cull, Bird...) Roe deer
Method of Hunting (Rifle, Bow, Handgun…) Blaser R8 8x57mm- rented from forest ranger
200 grain ammo (0verkill yes but the guide also used for red deer hunting)
Outfitter St Hubertus https://www.hubertushuntingtours.com/
Guides Michal and Suzana
Agent none
Locations Hunted Mnichovice, Czech Republic
Species Hunted Roe deer
Trophy Quality good
Species Seen, Population and Quality of Game Observed Roe deer, fallow deer, wild swine- quality good
Lodging local, small ski lodge
Food N/A
High Points First European hunt and vacation
Low Points early/late hours
Things to Improve
Overall Rating B+
Would Recommend to a Friend? Yes although not a “trophy” area but lots of local history
This was a vacation with a little hunting rolled into it. The Czech Republic is the home of my ancestors. My family emigrated from what was then Czechoslovakia to Texas in 1883. I had an occasion to visit the Czech Republic on a larger, European bus tour in 2012 and I thoroughly enjoyed our very limited stay in Prague. Since then, it has always been on my wish list to return. I had begun plans in the Spring of 2022 and then the Russia/Ukraine thing sparked off and I decided to delay the trip. In the fall of 2022, I picked up the planning where I had left off. During my internet search, and even a posting here on AH, I only popped up two viable outfits that appeared to handle international hunters. In the end, I settled on St. Hubertus because they were able to help with both the hunting and touring/accommodations in Prague afterward. My youngest son and his girlfriend would join my wife and I for the trip. I also learned St Hubertus is the Patron Saint of Hunting, so off to a good start!
We self-booked flights with KLM/Air France. Our flight over was KLM to Amsterdam with a short layover before arrival in Prague. The food was really bad in the economy section. The connecting flight was uneventful. St Hubertus arranged transportation from the airport to our hunting location. In hindsight, I should have just rented a car, but it all worked out. We were lodged in a small skiing lodge (off-season) that also had a very quaint outdoor/indoor restaurant. This arrangement ended up being a real trip-saver due to the limited transportation. It was nestled on the outskirts of Mnichovice. We walked to the town square several times during our 3-day stay on this leg of the trip.
I was advised to be ready the first morning at 3:30 am and the guide would pick me up at the lodge. I hadn't paid much attention to the hunting hours before the trip which caught me off guard a little, as well as the later evening hunt hours. But again, those ended up working out well for the vacay portion of the trip as I spent the majority of the day doing things with my family and was able to arrive back early enough for breakfast and also to eat dinner before our evening departures.
The hunting grounds were a relatively short 20 min drive and close to the historic Konopiště Castle of famous hunter, King Ferdinand. I would be hunting state/national forest grounds with the forest rangers. They mostly worked the timber/logging aspect but also were involved in the game management side. Private farmland surrounded the area also and there were 100s or maybe even thousands of mature wheat fields just weeks away from harvest. This was a determent to the hunting as the wheat was so tall it covered any roe deer within the fields. We were able to see the occasional fallow deer ears sticking above the wheat.
Michal was first to serve as my guide. His limited English and my limited Czech resulted in mostly grunts and hand acknowledgments but overall, it worked out. At first light we found ourselves glassing a wheat field edge. Nothing was moving so we began driving the local roads and glassing other fields. We started seeing mostly fallow deer with a couple of bucks that were still in mid-velvet growth. This is a free-range forest area. I wasn’t aware there were fallow deer in the area and quite pleasantly surprised by the sightings. As we drove along well-maintained logging roads within the forest, we spotted our first roe deer in a cutover. After several hours we called it quits for the morning and returned to the lodge where I was able to meet my family for breakfast as they were just waking. My notes reflected 6 roe females. 10 fallow does and 2 fallow bucks plus the biggest rabbit/hare I've ever seen. Evening pick-up was 7 pm and was a repeat of the morning with a few more walks through clear cuts. Although I never saw a wild pig, we did see the evidence of their rootings along the forest roads. Evening sightings included 8 roe does, 7 fallow does and 2 fawns. I arrived back at the lodge at 10:30 pm with a 3 a.m. wake up.
The next morning, I was met by a new guide, Suzana. She was the guide I had been originally commuting with before the hunt and she spoke English. We arrived at the same general area as the day before but parked and walked into an open field just before daybreak. Suzana had a thermal scanner and was able to identify 5-6 roe deer and a red fox in the field. We stayed hunched down along the forest line and as it began to break daylight, we could see a roe buck chasing a smaller buck from the field. We were overlooking a bowl that contained lots of different natural grasses- clovers, flowers, and other green stuff growing. After an hour or so, the deer began filtering out of the field. The buck was now with a doe and they were moving up the bowl. It was our chance. We maneuvered a little further up the hill and I was able to get into a seated position with the trigger sticks. Distance 250 yds. Here is where not having your own weapon with you can lead to issues. At that distance with the 8x57 Blazer, I ended up shooting just under the buck. He and his doe scampered up the hill and we followed another 200 yards but lost him walking through the tall, natural grass that surrounded the mowed field. He was unharmed and apparently unalarmed.
We next checked a sort of CPR field with tall natural grass. Suzana spotted another roe buck but again we were unable to capitalize. We rounded out our morning with a 2 kilometer walk through the forest area, but all was quiet.
We arrived back at the lodge by 8:30 am, had breakfast with the family and we headed off to see the fabulous Konopiště Castle. We utilized the train system to navigate the 30-mile trek and walked the remaining 3 kilometers from the station to the castle and back. Talk about a real treat to observe that much HUNTING history! No pictures inside were allowed but …..
For the evening hunt my son would tag along. We were headed to another field with a shooting tower but when we arrived the local farmers were bailing hay in the field next door. They ruined that plan. No mind, we switched plans. We ended up at the same field from the morning but only sighted a roe female until right before dark when the farmers drove by in their tractors heading home and they spooked 3 roe bucks below us that ran past us up the hill.
Day 3/last day of hunting. 3:45 am departure-headed to the same field as the day before. Again, we arrived right at daylight and Suzana could see 4 deer with the thermal. As daylight crept in, all were females. After 45 mins we decided to move further up the hill and closer to where we last saw the buck the morning before. Just as we settled in along the forest edge I looked across at a small island of trees and saw a deer stepping out onto the field to graze. It was the buck from the morning before. I remained standing on the sticks due to the tall grass and was able to make the 200 yd shot this time. He was down along the field edge. Suzana advised he was a very nice buck for the area, and I was pleased as well. There are other areas of Europe with larger trophies, but this was equally as satisfying having been successful in the Motherland!
We spent the next 3 days touring and sightseeing Prague. Overall, it was a grand experience I really enjoyed with my family.
Dates Early July 2023
Type of Hunt (Plains Game, Big Game, Cull, Bird...) Roe deer
Method of Hunting (Rifle, Bow, Handgun…) Blaser R8 8x57mm- rented from forest ranger
200 grain ammo (0verkill yes but the guide also used for red deer hunting)
Outfitter St Hubertus https://www.hubertushuntingtours.com/
Guides Michal and Suzana
Agent none
Locations Hunted Mnichovice, Czech Republic
Species Hunted Roe deer
Trophy Quality good
Species Seen, Population and Quality of Game Observed Roe deer, fallow deer, wild swine- quality good
Lodging local, small ski lodge
Food N/A
High Points First European hunt and vacation
Low Points early/late hours
Things to Improve
Overall Rating B+
Would Recommend to a Friend? Yes although not a “trophy” area but lots of local history
This was a vacation with a little hunting rolled into it. The Czech Republic is the home of my ancestors. My family emigrated from what was then Czechoslovakia to Texas in 1883. I had an occasion to visit the Czech Republic on a larger, European bus tour in 2012 and I thoroughly enjoyed our very limited stay in Prague. Since then, it has always been on my wish list to return. I had begun plans in the Spring of 2022 and then the Russia/Ukraine thing sparked off and I decided to delay the trip. In the fall of 2022, I picked up the planning where I had left off. During my internet search, and even a posting here on AH, I only popped up two viable outfits that appeared to handle international hunters. In the end, I settled on St. Hubertus because they were able to help with both the hunting and touring/accommodations in Prague afterward. My youngest son and his girlfriend would join my wife and I for the trip. I also learned St Hubertus is the Patron Saint of Hunting, so off to a good start!
We self-booked flights with KLM/Air France. Our flight over was KLM to Amsterdam with a short layover before arrival in Prague. The food was really bad in the economy section. The connecting flight was uneventful. St Hubertus arranged transportation from the airport to our hunting location. In hindsight, I should have just rented a car, but it all worked out. We were lodged in a small skiing lodge (off-season) that also had a very quaint outdoor/indoor restaurant. This arrangement ended up being a real trip-saver due to the limited transportation. It was nestled on the outskirts of Mnichovice. We walked to the town square several times during our 3-day stay on this leg of the trip.
I was advised to be ready the first morning at 3:30 am and the guide would pick me up at the lodge. I hadn't paid much attention to the hunting hours before the trip which caught me off guard a little, as well as the later evening hunt hours. But again, those ended up working out well for the vacay portion of the trip as I spent the majority of the day doing things with my family and was able to arrive back early enough for breakfast and also to eat dinner before our evening departures.
The hunting grounds were a relatively short 20 min drive and close to the historic Konopiště Castle of famous hunter, King Ferdinand. I would be hunting state/national forest grounds with the forest rangers. They mostly worked the timber/logging aspect but also were involved in the game management side. Private farmland surrounded the area also and there were 100s or maybe even thousands of mature wheat fields just weeks away from harvest. This was a determent to the hunting as the wheat was so tall it covered any roe deer within the fields. We were able to see the occasional fallow deer ears sticking above the wheat.
Michal was first to serve as my guide. His limited English and my limited Czech resulted in mostly grunts and hand acknowledgments but overall, it worked out. At first light we found ourselves glassing a wheat field edge. Nothing was moving so we began driving the local roads and glassing other fields. We started seeing mostly fallow deer with a couple of bucks that were still in mid-velvet growth. This is a free-range forest area. I wasn’t aware there were fallow deer in the area and quite pleasantly surprised by the sightings. As we drove along well-maintained logging roads within the forest, we spotted our first roe deer in a cutover. After several hours we called it quits for the morning and returned to the lodge where I was able to meet my family for breakfast as they were just waking. My notes reflected 6 roe females. 10 fallow does and 2 fallow bucks plus the biggest rabbit/hare I've ever seen. Evening pick-up was 7 pm and was a repeat of the morning with a few more walks through clear cuts. Although I never saw a wild pig, we did see the evidence of their rootings along the forest roads. Evening sightings included 8 roe does, 7 fallow does and 2 fawns. I arrived back at the lodge at 10:30 pm with a 3 a.m. wake up.
The next morning, I was met by a new guide, Suzana. She was the guide I had been originally commuting with before the hunt and she spoke English. We arrived at the same general area as the day before but parked and walked into an open field just before daybreak. Suzana had a thermal scanner and was able to identify 5-6 roe deer and a red fox in the field. We stayed hunched down along the forest line and as it began to break daylight, we could see a roe buck chasing a smaller buck from the field. We were overlooking a bowl that contained lots of different natural grasses- clovers, flowers, and other green stuff growing. After an hour or so, the deer began filtering out of the field. The buck was now with a doe and they were moving up the bowl. It was our chance. We maneuvered a little further up the hill and I was able to get into a seated position with the trigger sticks. Distance 250 yds. Here is where not having your own weapon with you can lead to issues. At that distance with the 8x57 Blazer, I ended up shooting just under the buck. He and his doe scampered up the hill and we followed another 200 yards but lost him walking through the tall, natural grass that surrounded the mowed field. He was unharmed and apparently unalarmed.
We next checked a sort of CPR field with tall natural grass. Suzana spotted another roe buck but again we were unable to capitalize. We rounded out our morning with a 2 kilometer walk through the forest area, but all was quiet.
We arrived back at the lodge by 8:30 am, had breakfast with the family and we headed off to see the fabulous Konopiště Castle. We utilized the train system to navigate the 30-mile trek and walked the remaining 3 kilometers from the station to the castle and back. Talk about a real treat to observe that much HUNTING history! No pictures inside were allowed but …..
For the evening hunt my son would tag along. We were headed to another field with a shooting tower but when we arrived the local farmers were bailing hay in the field next door. They ruined that plan. No mind, we switched plans. We ended up at the same field from the morning but only sighted a roe female until right before dark when the farmers drove by in their tractors heading home and they spooked 3 roe bucks below us that ran past us up the hill.
Day 3/last day of hunting. 3:45 am departure-headed to the same field as the day before. Again, we arrived right at daylight and Suzana could see 4 deer with the thermal. As daylight crept in, all were females. After 45 mins we decided to move further up the hill and closer to where we last saw the buck the morning before. Just as we settled in along the forest edge I looked across at a small island of trees and saw a deer stepping out onto the field to graze. It was the buck from the morning before. I remained standing on the sticks due to the tall grass and was able to make the 200 yd shot this time. He was down along the field edge. Suzana advised he was a very nice buck for the area, and I was pleased as well. There are other areas of Europe with larger trophies, but this was equally as satisfying having been successful in the Motherland!
We spent the next 3 days touring and sightseeing Prague. Overall, it was a grand experience I really enjoyed with my family.
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