Hunting date: 18-09-2016 till 24-09-2016
Hunting area: Foieni, Satu Mare District, Romania
Outfitter: Huntromania, Owner Marius Merutiu
Guide: Vasili
Rifle: Steyr Pro Hunter 7mm Remington Magnum
Bullet: Norma Oryx 10,2 g

After a very pleasent flight from Amsterdam to Bucarest and very quick process of getting my gun into the country, i was preparing form y second fligt from Bucarest to Cluj Napoce.
Shortly after that i arrived in Cluj, and the driver that Marius arranged was waiting at the airport to pick me up for a 3 hour drive.
When i arrived at the hotel, i got a phone call from Marius that the guide would pick me up in the afternoon. The guid was on time and i was ready, first we drove tot here office to fill in the paperwork. I told him that i would like to check my zero, before we would go out fo a stalk, we went to a place where i could test my rifle, and everything was ok to go.
This was going to be a stalking trip, so the guide was focussed on the roaring in the rut, we aproached the sound, but the forrest was really thick, we could hear the deer from about 20 meters, but still could not see it, suddenly a smaller deer shows him self, probely spooked off by a bigger deer! Then darkness came and they brought me back tot he hotel.
Next morning they would pick me up very ealier, once arrived in the forrest it was still dark, and we could hear the stags roaring, so we now in wich direction we had tos talk. Then light came, and suddenly we where surrounded by deers, but they where moving and fighting and did not give a chance for a shot.
One morning we where following a group of deers and where looking for one of them, they moved through the forrest, and one deer was scared away by a bigger one, we wanted to find the bigger one and moved through the forrest, suddenly my guide saw a female reddeer, he puts down his tripod and told me to get ready, wich i did, the female walked on, then a stag take here place, ok you can shoot this one, my cross hair was looking fort he right spot and i fired.
I could see that i hit the deer, and the guide also, but the group ran off, we waited for bout 10 minutes and start looking at the place where the deer was standing when i shot it, but no blood? We looked and looked again, but nothing, then we looked in the area where the group run to, the forrestgot more open there, but still nothing, back tot he place where the deer was standing, and the guide walked back off the place and saw the deer laying, with a right shot, but it still run away fora bout 30 meters, pff we where both very happy! The guide called his worker and his son, and after a while they arrived, we took a litlle toast of palinka on the deer and then load it in and went back.



After a few days, it was still dark who could hear another group of deer roaring, not so far away, i thought i twill took litlle time to get close tot hem, but they where walking parallel from us and keeped on moving, for a few kilometers, it was getting light already, and the guide told me that we should walke faster, so we did, i thought he wanted to put the tripod on a forrest road, and wait till they crossed that road, but i find out there was a big open space in the forrest, a group came out, and then a very nice deer was in the open, the guide was looking at i tand said ok to shoot, the tripod was ready and i put my riflle on it, looked tot he place where i should put my crosshairs and fired, i was sure i hit the deer, but it run off fast, and just when before he dissapear in the forrest it made a hughe jumpe, it had run fors ure 80 meters from the place where i shot i tand where it dissapear in the forrest.
The guide looked at me, and he said we will get his dog to track it, n minimal waiting time 2 hours! We walked tot he ca rand here a shot far away, then the phone of the guide ring, his son has shot his first reddeer stag! We wnet tot here house for breakfest, picked up the dog and went back to place where i shot the deer. I was nervous, soon we found blood, i could not see i fit was from the lungs etc. The dog followed the blood trail till the forrest, the guide said the forrest was very thick, and he wanted to walke something in front of us, because there was not much blood, and maybe the dog would have problems with it.
But 5 seconds after he entered the forrest he said to us that the deer was laying there. I was not nervous anymore, but extremly happy!
With both deers, the bullet did not exit the deer, so that was the reason that there was not much blood.
After the toast on the deer, and we loaded it in we went tot h place where his son has shot his first deer! It was a very nice deer! We toasted again, and loaded it in and went home.
I had a very nice week with a very proffesional guide, and his family was very nice, they where al hunters! The arranged hotel by Marius was also very good, specially fort his area!



And finally the deer off the guide his son.

Good hunting Dutch
Some nice deer there
Congratulations

Dutch,

What did the two stags you killed weigh? 5-7.5 kg I guess?

Yes, big!
The stags weight between 5 and 7 kg, i will get the xeact weight soon, the second one is almost 7 kg.
And the stag from his son is just over 8kg.

When it comes to stag trophy, the most desirable look is if the bull has three or more points in crown
I look at weight as " insignificant "
Nobody cares about weight when it's on your wall
But, that's just my way of looking at it
I would let non crown bull walk

I have seen them in Europe, Australia and North America.

Most Americans like the British Park Stags or New Zealand stag with excess points. They are impressive, but true wild deer don't look like that.

Australian deer for the most part look like the deer in Romania.

I kind of like them all. I agree that big crowns make them look good.

Boarkiller, I only ask weight so to understand pricing. Most stags are priced per kilo.

I have not looked at enough stags in my life to think is that a $1500 euro 5 kg stag or a 8 kg stag worth $4500 euro. I think most folks know what a 14 kg $20,000 euro stag looks like.

However the stags from the Carpathians are very long in their points more like an elk. So again I am not sure.

I know and I didn't mean any criticism
There is actually plenty of crown stags in Europe, it just takes time like any other trophy hunting
I don't like the weight/score pricing per cm. Some outfitters in Europe can be awful when it comes to that.
I can see couple of different prices for older and younger animal, but in truly wild places, you never know what you get into and that's the beauty of it
I can't even imagine hunting and at the same time calculating the cost and what I can afford, guide expertise and then reality check after hunt
Nuts, what some hunts become
Those hunts are not hunts, more like shopping
In the end, it's up to us hunters what we do with our money

I know what you meant, no problems.

Fix price hunting is pretty rare in Europe. Any links you have I'd love to know.

A friend of mine is a game keeper in the UK and has some CWD hunting he runs near London. His prices are about 1500 quid for a buck and a week's hunting, another buck is about 350 quid. If you shoot a doe, it still counts. As the deer are hard to judge.

He told me he has a place to shoot top end park deer, but they are 5000-10,000 quid, and the measurements are after the deer is dead.

Package deals work better for me too.

I know Marius and Horia have some across board prices
Check with them