Good hunting in Hungary, bad experience with booking agent

[Bobby Mathews]

Its important to know about the good people and more-so know about the bad. On a recent trip to Hungary, I had great hunting, but a terrible experience.

The outfitter (Hungarian Hunting) was phenomenal, great land, great service, and wonderful disposition! The broker, (middleman) Alex Hinkins with Wings Hunting and Shooting not so much!

The absolute epitome of over promise and under deliver! The owner of Wings hunting and shooting Alex Hinkins is a lazy slob…. belching, farting, yelling, whining, swearing, telling you about his personal problems back home, and all the while charging you top dollar for what he calls special hunts. These hunts you can get for the same or better price right from the places where he goes. He calls them “partners” but treats them like absolute dog crap. I was promised to hunt on “the prime minister’s ground” and then promised “the president’s land” and that was a straight lie. Heard it right from the owners. He said all the rifles and scopes were his, they were not. Beware, this guy is not the way and he is what makes the hunting industry have a bad name!

I highly do not recommend, in fact, run the other way! He says you need his services to protect you from “his Partners” when in fact you need his partners to protect him from you!!! He’s a washed up bloke who just wants to spend your money for you! He was ok until I told him that only wanted to shoot a certain number and we’d be done in a day and a half. Then when I said I wanted to go home, he sulked like a child and told me that he had hotel booked for 2 more days. Whose fault is that? Slow down, enjoy things… nope, the exact opposite… rush rush rush so you can spend more more more.

I will say the owners of the hunting guides and land in Hungary were phenomenal, but go with them, not him! You’ll thank me for it. Here is their website:

Hungarian Hunting

Hungarian Hunting. 7,178 likes. Step into the past and hunt in Hungary’s nature. Expert-guided pheasant trips, unforgettable trophies, and true hunting traditions. Join the adventure with us!

www.facebook.com

Tell them I sent you.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

So was the booking agent along for the hunt? Didn't you have a contract before leaving? I am booked for eight days with my outfitter in Africa. It's in the letter of invitation I need to get my guns and myself into the country. Barring an emergency, I cannot simply decide to up and leave early. My outfitter has an expectation of commitments to run his business. I stay at his lodge so no motels involved. But in your case it appears this agent had an expectation you would stay a certain number of days and booked lodging accordingly, correct?

As to his crass behavior, no excuse for that. If you're hearing and smelling his farts, I'm presuming he was there in person. I think if I'd been at this operation, I probably would have been ready to stop after a day. Doesn't look like much hunting is involved when that many birds are shot in a day. And my experience with farm raised pheasants is they are not very challenging. Often the challenge is making them fly so they can be shot. But if the people are good to be around, I might be happy to hang out and watch others have at it and even pay for the privilege. But sounds like this oaf was not "good to be around." I presume you were paying by the bird? That might explain your agent's "rush, rush, rush" attitude. That kind of arrangement would be asking for pressure to be applied.

 

[Bobby Mathews]

So was the booking agent along for the hunt? Didn't you have a contract before leaving? I am booked for eight days with my outfitter in Africa. It's in the letter of invitation I need to get my guns and myself into the country. Barring an emergency, I cannot simply decide to up and leave early. My outfitter has an expectation of commitments to run his business. I stay at his lodge so no motels involved. But in your case it appears this agent had an expectation you would stay a certain number of days and booked lodging accordingly, correct?

As to his crass behavior, no excuse for that. If you're hearing and smelling his farts, I'm presuming he was there in person. I think if I'd been at this operation, I probably would have been ready to stop after a day. Doesn't look like much hunting is involved when that many birds are shot in a day. And my experience with farm raised pheasants is they are not very challenging. Often the challenge is making them fly so they can be shot. But if the people are good to be around, I might be happy to hang out and watch others have at it and even pay for the privilege. But sounds like this oaf was not "good to be around." I presume you were paying by the bird? That might explain your agent's "rush, rush, rush" attitude. That kind of arrangement would be asking for pressure to be applied.

This was a roe deer hunt and I booked a package for 5 deer. Yes he was there. There was a deal that if and I stress “if” I wanted to shoot more they would be 550€ each per deer. We finished the 5 in the first afternoon. That didn’t need to happen. That was all on him. But it was a guilt trip after that. I ended up shooting 13 in total. He never told me of the 27% wire tax for Hungary either, he said there would be a service charge, but not a tax. Luckily I had just enough cash to cover the 8 additional animals. This is classic make rush rush rush, for more more more. Everyone before me left early as well.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

This was a roe deer hunt and I booked a package for 5 deer. Yes he was there. There was a deal that if and I stress “if” I wanted to shoot more they would be 550€ each per deer. We finished the 5 in the first afternoon. That didn’t need to happen. That was all on him. But it was a guilt trip after that. I ended up shooting 13 in total. He never told me of the 27% wire tax for Hungary either, he said there would be a service charge, but not a tax. Luckily I had just enough cash to cover the 8 additional animals. This is classic make rush rush rush, for more more more. Everyone before me left early as well.

Thanks for clearing that up. Looking at the Facebook link you attached it appeared the operation was for pheasants. So the agent was working on the bounty system. That explains a lot. You couldn't pay with credit card? Hmmm. On top of the 27% Hungarian wire tax you would presumably also need to pay the wire funds fee from your banking institution. Yikes. You're right, the agent should have made that tax crap clear in his contract.

So why was your shooting all five deer the first afternoon "all on him"? He didn't pull the trigger. With that many deer running around I would have put the gun away after the first one was down and just enjoyed the show for the rest of the day. One deer a day works for me. If the property needs more culled, they can work a better deal than €550 each. Maybe if the weather was sketchy I might decide to take the full bag the first day. Actually, if I tagged out the first day I probably would have grabbed a shotgun and shifted gears to pheasants for the rest of the days booked. Wingshooting is more fun anyway.

 

[Bobby Mathews]

Thanks for clearing that up. Looking at the Facebook link you attached it appeared the operation was for pheasants. So the agent was working on the bounty system. That explains a lot. You couldn't pay with credit card? Hmmm. On top of the 27% Hungarian wire tax you would presumably also need to pay the wire funds fee from your banking institution. Yikes. You're right, the agent should have made that tax crap clear in his contract.

So why was your shooting all five deer the first afternoon "all on him"? He didn't pull the trigger. With that many deer running around I would have put the gun away after the first one was down and just enjoyed the show for the rest of the day. One deer a day works for me. If the property needs more culled, they can work a better deal than €550 each. Maybe if the weather was sketchy I might decide to take the full bag the first day. Actually, if I tagged out the first day I probably would have grabbed a shotgun and shifted gears to pheasants for the rest of the days booked. Wingshooting is more fun anyway.

Meaning if he wanted 5 deer to stretch 3 days maybe he shouldn’t have been in such a rush, but that’s the plan, that’s the game, and that’s how he makes more money. Hes a bully. I would never hint with him again and I just wanted others to be aware.

 

[Mekaniks]

Welcome to AH

Thank You for sharing your experience.

I hesitate to give much credit to a new member whose first post is negative since we don’t know you. For all we know you may be a disgruntled former employee….
That said, you sound authentic.
I hope someone else can chime in with additional info regarding this hunt broker.

 

[ftothfadd]

Thank you for the report. I was born and raised in Hungary and hunted there for the first 23 years of my life and I still regularly go back to hunt. I am not sure what "wire tax" you were made to pay...
May I ask which area of Hungary you were hunting. Also having a set price for a roe deer without factoring in antler quality is highly unusual. Do you have an idea what was the weight of your individual trophies?
Regardless, I am glad to hear you had a great experience with my countryman and shame on your booking agent.

 

[Miletic]

Welcom Bobby.
I'm also interested in what area you hunted in? I am also interested in the arrangement you received. Have you had a trophy hunt or a cull hunt?
Thanks

 

[Bobby Mathews]

Welcome to AH

Thank You for sharing your experience.

I hesitate to give much credit to a new member whose first post is negative since we don’t know you. For all we know you may be a disgruntled former employee….
That said, you sound authentic.
I hope someone else can chime in with additional info regarding this hunt broker.

Totally can understand and respect that. Just my experience.

 

[Bobby Mathews]

Welcom Bobby.
I'm also interested in what area you hunted in? I am also interested in the arrangement you received. Have you had a trophy hunt or a cull hunt?
Thanks

Hunted in Mako, it was a package hunt and had additional deer available for 550€ each

 

[Bobby Mathews]

Thank you for the report. I was born and raised in Hungary and hunted there for the first 23 years of my life and I still regularly go back to hunt. I am not sure what "wire tax" you were made to pay...
May I ask which area of Hungary you were hunting. Also having a set price for a roe deer without factoring in antler quality is highly unusual. Do you have an idea what was the weight of your individual trophies?
Regardless, I am glad to hear you had a great experience with my countryman and shame on your booking agent.

We hunted in Mako, it’s some beautiful country! I do not know the weight of animals, it was not a trophy hunt, although he pushed me to hunt a, “gold medal” animal for an extra 4500€ I turned that down

 

[mark-hunter]

I am not sure what "wire tax" you were made to pay...

Probably VAT tax.

Hungary has the highest standard VAT rate in the European Union at 27%, which applies to most goods and services

 

[Miletic]

Hunted in Mako, it was a package hunt and had additional deer available for 550€ each

Thanks.

 

[Bobby Mathews]

Probably VAT tax.

Hungary has the highest standard VAT rate in the European Union at 27%, which applies to most goods and services

Yes VAT tax

 

[Muskox]

So was the booking agent along for the hunt?

This is actually a booking agent standard in Europe. An annoying standard.

About half the smaller and larger agents in Europe force you to hunt as part of one of their groups so they can scrape their schillingi of the top.

The key is finding the actual outfitter and then booking direct.

A lot of times the government is the actual outfitter. Finding government contacts is challenging.

 

[Bobby Mathews]

Thank you! Live and learn… it was an awful experience.

 

[Muskox]

Did he hold your hand for trophy export? That is kind of the big problem. Finding the loopholes to get thing exported.

The number of reliable taxidermist in Europe can be counted on one man's toes and fingers, that is probably an over estimate.

I know 4 really good taxidermist, but they are all in Austria the closest one is a 6 hour drive from me in Tyrol or Voraleberg. The other two live in Karnten fully 7-8 hour drive away. I wouldn't trust any of the taxidermist I know in Germany to stuff a Norway Rat.

Two I would count on to export a trophy, the other two made me drive back and pick things up. Crazy because I actually live in Germany.

British agents are highly suspect, you might have to dial down 3 or 4 layers with a British agent to get to the actual outfitter. The agent might be dealing with another agent. Really common. Even in the UK.

 

[Bobby Mathews]

This has been my experience this far. The people in Hungary say no problem on getting them back, I’m not holding my breath.

 

[Muskox]

https://hungarowild.hu/?fbclid=IwY2...Q-ldPjJyD-MJ7mik36_aem_I9cSd8a022qwGWssfu2LnQ. WEbsite looks pretty good.

550 Euros for a roe buck in Hungary was a good price. What was the biggest weighted boiled whole skull? Typically they are 350 Euros for bucks under 300 Grams, 750-1200 Euros for bucks from 301-400. Bucks from 400-500 are 1500-1800 euros and bucks above that are 3000 euros.

Hopefully you got some huge bucks. My biggest is over 400 wet, I don't think I have measured him again in the past two years.

I don't know your outfitter. This was a lake Balaton area buck.

 

[Muskox]

This is a terrible photo of him, if you compare the skull to the other 2 bucks I shot on that trip he dworfs them

I am hunting roe bucks in Czech in a few weeks and in Slovenia in August. I need to find someplace here in town to shoot a few bucks.