Hello Folks!

I have just returned from a great hunt in Bulgaria for red stag. We were hunting in one of the very best areas for free ranging, wild red stag. These are big bodied animals, far larger than the ones in Scotland which I have also hunted! The weather was quite warm this year and we were hunting in shirt sleeves but despite that the rut was in full swing and we were treated to stags running around wildly all around us on nearly every stalk we went on! It was quite amazing to hear them roaring early morning from the lodge itself!

The guides are truly exceptional and while most of them don't speak much English, once they know through the translator the size of stag you wish to hunt, they will do their part to get you in range. On my own hunt, we got to a spot early on the first morning and while still dark made our way towards a stag that was roaring in the distance. The guide told me he knew of this stag from before! We got to within 150 yards of it and for a moment it seemed like he would step out and give me a shot, but the wind was wrong and from his roaring, we figured that he had gone in the opposite direction chasing some other stags away. The guide said it would be better to leave it and go look for another stag, which he had also knew about. Sure enough when we drove a few miles and reached the next spot and got out we could hear a few different stags roaring! The guide knew which stag to stalk simply from the roar of the stag. I guess the older ones have a deeper more mature sound! The stalk was at least a couple of hours long and we were treated to stags roaring all around us and we saw quite a few smaller stags as well before we glimpsed the one we wanted to shoot. The big stag was with his harem and kept chasing away smaller stags that were trying their best to get in!

I set up leaning on a tree and tried to shoot through a small gap everytime he ran past, but there was no shot and this went on for a while! Finally he gathered all the hinds and took off and I thought all was lost but then he turned and ran back offering me a quick shot which I took. I was using my 35 Whelen and the first shot seemed perfect in the shoulder but he didn't go down and came running towards us. I could see that he was hard hit and it looked like he was going down and I gave him a second shot which dropped him in to a ravine! I later realised that I had screwed up and mixed up my ammo and the first shot was with a 225 grain sierra bullet hand load which completely shed its lead core! The second shot was a swift A frame, which is what I had planned to use! As both bullets shoot to the same POI i had taken a few sierras just to take a few sighting shots and maybe to use on a roe buck! Moral of the story check your ammo twice before going hunting or leave the crap ones at home!

In Bulgaria like many countries in Europe your red stag trophy fee is based on the weight of the skull and horns after it is boiled and cleaned. The official weighing process is done by a Commission of 3 people who come from the game department with their official scales and many different measurements are officially taken and all three of them sign the certificate and there is a ceremony and medals are awarded. It's all pretty official!

What I found amazing is that when my stag was on the ground the guide said it would be about 10.35 kilos. It officially weighed in at 10.74 kilos or 23.62lbs, so he was out 350 grams! On the hoof the guides have a 15% error margin either way of the size of stag you wish to shoot. And this is stipulated by the hunter and signed off before the hunt so everyone is clear.

Apart from red stag which we all took, some clients also shot wild boar, fallow and mouflon. Some roe deer were also missed! The lodges, food and organisation were all fantastic. Some of the lodges are very fancy and cost a bit more on the daily rate, others are a bit more rustic so it all depends on what one wants and also the group size.




A 7.9 kilos stag - a very reasonably priced stag.



8.4 kilos



Over 10 kilos



The largest we shot 11.4 kilos!



The stag on the left was 7.5 kilos and the one on the right around 6 kilos



I am in this photo with a clients stag that weighed in at 11.1 kilos - a beautiful stag that has it all...



This stag is between 9 and 9.5 kilos, a lovely stag without heavy mass but beautiful shape and length.





The stag I shot - 10.74 kilos



Mouflon, that was wounded at last light and found the next morning by the guides.



A fallow buck



A nice european wild boar. A little bit later in the season is the time to go if one is specifically interested in a big tusker! Combined with a few days of driven boar this would be perfect for a November/December hunt

Some photos from various lodges









The water wheel turns the spit on which they BBQ a whole lamb or pig





A more fancy lodge, the rooms were like a high end hotel!





An interesting Bulgarian hunting magazine!





Many of the lodges have wifi so easy to keep in touch with the outside world!




To summarise I would say that Bulgaria offers some of the best wild, free range red stag hunting. Unlike the farm raised New Zealand stags, these are all 100% wild stags in areas under good management.

The outfitter is planning to attend the SCI show in January so if anyone is interested in this hunt, it would be worth your while to meet him at our booth. The prime red stag rut period is between 15th of September to the 15th of October and this hunt must be experienced at least once. These dates are very much in demand especially in the best areas which are booked a year out with many repeat european clients.

The areas we hunted was pretty easy country and can be hunted by hunters of all age groups and physical condition as well.

Thanks for your time!

Arjun Reddy
www.huntersnetworks.com
30 Ivy Hill Road
Brewster, NY 10509
Tel: +1 845 259 3628
2019, DSC booth # 1222
2019, SCI booth # 4209

That would save the US firearm publishing industry. Can’t wait tell next year.

Love the post. Thank you.

Some good Stags there Arjun, sounds like you had a great trip, Waidmannsheil.

I also like that hunting magazine

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Some great stags in there and you can see that a lot of them show the same genes by the tines, royals and forks. Some real weight and mass on them.

What were they charging as trophy fees?

Good looking boar too!

Well done all.

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Nice! Can you tell us what areas those are? I will be back in Devin in April. I’d love to see some of the other areas.

What booth will you have at DSC?

While red stag are found in most hunting areas in Bulgaria the best areas for BIG stag are in the North East portion of the country.

quote:

Originally posted by TrademarkTexan:
Nice! Can you tell us what areas those are? I will be back in Devin in April. I’d love to see some of the other areas.

What booth will you have at DSC?

To give some idea of red stag trophy fees in the best areas.

8 kilos - 3,000 + 10/10grams
9 kilos - 4,000 + 12/10 grams

10 kilos - 5,200 + 30/10 grams

11 kilos - 8,300 + 40/10 grams

12 kilos - 12.500 + 80/10 grams


So example if your stag is 8 kilos 500 grams the price would be 3000+500.


In other areas, the price maybe a few 100 cheaper.


If you are looking to do the hunt on a smaller budget a stag between 8 and 9 kilos is a very nice affordable stag.

Daily rates depending upon the lodge is 350 to 450/night

Have to say that hunting red stag during the roar in Europe is a blast. Love the traditions and the culture!

Very nice report! Thanks!

The accommodations look very nice, but how was the food?

I have hunted in Europe on two occasions atying 7 and 10 days apiece the food has been top notch. The second or third best part of the trip.

Some days I can taste the good quality sausage (nothing like it in he US), the rack of lamb, red deer filet, this chicken dish that is done in cream, but is feather light.

Ah, the hot chocolate with about 4 oz pour of rum in it on top of a white cliff mountain. Roasted hazel nuts. The pan seared veal with rice.

Least I forget apple stretual.

When I killed my big boar. Kelemens took the tenderloins, what I call the inner lions, trimmed them of fat. He brushed them with olive oil, patinted them with salt and pepper, kissed them with a semi dry apple snappish and baked them. You needed no knife. On my big Fallow we took the back strap cut into steaks seasoned and breaded. These were fried in olive oil and butter. Then a milk gravy was made off the pan.

And gnocchi. And goulash. Oh my! I am hungry.

A good operation is run on good food.

The food is good overall. We ate boar, chicken, beef, red deer.

quote:

Originally posted by A.J. Hydell:
Very nice report! Thanks!

The accommodations look very nice, but how was the food?