Romania Brown Bear Hunt

Operator: Hunt Romania (Marius)
Area: Colibita, Romania
Rifle: Rem 700 Safari, 375 H&H
Scope: Swarovski Z3 4x-12x 50mm
Dates: April 13-19, 2014
Ammo: 270 gr TSX

I wanted to hunt another European country after my Bulgaria hunt in Jan. (Just FYI, I am really enjoying hunting in Europe, should have done tho sooner.)

In January I told my wife I needed to go to Romania and hunt Brown Bear, she is a bit of history buff and Vampire fan, so it was natural that her reaction was, “When are we going?”

So, I talked to Marius and came up with the date in mid April. By all accounts a great time time to hunt.

Marius and I on the Lake Colibita Dam.



Arrived in Cluj-Napoca Romania via Munich. Cleared the rifle and headed out to lunch. By coincidence, one of AR’s own was there as well.





We asked for Marius to order something “traditional” for us, I won’t bore you with photos of our food, except this one. It’s basically tripe soup. Not too bad!



Our “base camp” would be the Ozana Hotel in Bistrita, Romania. This isn’t the normal place to base out of but was a convenient since there were 4 of us and only 2 would go touring every day. My friend would go along with me as an observer on my hunt.



One day before the hunt, I was playing around with the camera doing a time lapse sequence using the cameras creative function “Miniature Mode” which makes the photo look like you are taking a picture of a small model of a town. This is the view from the hotel Ozana window.



Usually hunters will stay in a hotel that overlooks Lake Colibita. It is much closer to the hunting area. I do not have a picture of the hotel, but here are some views of the lake.







First day we went to visit the “Hotel Dracula Castle” to have lunch before the hunt.







Marius ordered an appetizer that is a traditional Romanian meal, usually eaten at Christmas. It’s full of pork, pork skin, pork sausage, pork pate and big slices of pork fat! Most of it was good, the fat, I was not too fond of! The rest of the meal was great.





These hunts are done out of stands in the evening. The outfitter and the rangers in the hunting areas look after the bait sites and check and refresh them daily.

Now, as an American hunter, I didn’t quite know what to expect from a baited Brown Bear hunt. I have hunted Black Bear in Canada over bait and sort of figured it would be similar.

Not really. Much more care and precaution goes into these Bear hunts than your average Saskatchewan Black Bear hunt. They are both hunted over bait, but that is about where the similarity ends. This type of hunting reminded me a lot of Lion and Leopard hunting. Take care of your baits, find a good animal and take the time to make sure your blind is perfect. Details matter in these situations and Marius clearly had his details covered.

Marius has told me that there were numerous Bears feeding on different bait sites in the mountains. He had three picked out that would be Bears in the 400-450 CIC range, which is what we were after. (That is a big Bear, for those unfamiliar with the CIC scoring system).

Off to the blind the first evening. These blinds ranged from 6’x6’ to 10’x10’. They had only one window facing the bait site and also had a place for a mattress. Many precautions are made to keep scent to a minimum and movement and noise minimized as well. These are smart Bears!







Marius said that there were two Bears visiting this site that were big Bears. One, in particular, was a very big Bear!

Just as dusk set in, and it started to get dark, I saw something come out of the woods to my right. Now, when you are hunting Bears, everything looks like a Bear to you. Except this thing. For a very brief moment my mind struggled to confirm what I was seeing because it didn’t fit anything that should be coming out of the woods. A massive animal, almost black was bouncing up and down hopping forward.

After a few steps, it was obvious, this was one huge Bear with an injured right front paw.

Immediately Marius said, “That’s him.”

He bounced toward the bait site with this awkward gait as Marius carefully unlatched the window. My rifle is in my hands and I am just waiting for the word and the window to come up.

As soon as the Bear got within a few feet of the bait, he spun around and looked our way and started to run.

“Shoot him!”

By the time the gun came up he had covered the majority of the distance back to the forest. I had a good window to shoot, but it was going to have to be quickly. I found the Bear in the scope as he cleared a ditch. I squeezed off a shot and immediately knew it was bad. Jacked another round in and attempted to find him as he ran through the forest. I shot once more as a hail Mary since I know I had hit him high in the shoulder the first time.

“Did you hit him?”

“Yes, but, it was a high. I am not sure where the second round went.”

By the time we get out of the blind, it’s dark and some drizzle is starting to move in. I’m sick and I’m kicking myself for what just happened. Soon, it started to rain.

No need in making this part any longer than it should be, we found a small piece of flesh and two drops of blood that night. Some of the rangers managed to find tracks and a place higher up the mountain where he sat down. There was some blood on the ground there. But that was it.

The next day a few rangers came with dogs, but there were no signs to follow. Rain had washed away any blood and there was no scent either. We lost the Bear.

It was my choice to take the shot and my responsibility to make it properly. So, I am still kicking myself and have been replaying the shot in my mind for a week now. I have the exact sight picture of the crosshairs high on the shoulder as the shot went off. I am almost certain that the shot went off as the Bear was at the lowest point of his bouncing stride. With the injured right paw, the “up and down” motion of the front end is exaggerated since he is essentially hopping along. I think this was a contributing factor. I guess without video I will never know.

I do not make it a practice to take unethical shots, or shots with a low chance at success as the initial shot. This shot was well within my ability, and the Bear wasn’t all that far away. I think after I recover mentally from wounding this Bear, it’s a shot I would take again. It was just bad luck. I am certain that this Bear is alive and doing well and is somewhere in the Ukraine by now. But this is not something I will get over any time soon.

I guess you play this game long enough, it’s bound to happen. I am just sick that it happened with an animal like a Brown Bear.

I wounded the Bear, so I payed the fee. Fortunately, unlike most of African hunting, you are allowed to hunt again. So, we set out to hunt another Bear, but weather and time were not on our side now. We had shot over one of the bait sites where two of the best Bears were feeding and disturbed the area with people and dogs the next day. So that site was not going to produce for a while, so we sat on another bait that evening. Lack of sleep and a wet jacket were weighing me down. I was cold, wet and tired (Starting to sound more like an Alaskan hunt huh?) No Bear this evening.

Marius didn’t want to settle for a smaller Bear just for the sake of shooting a Bear, so we set out to shoot one of two different Bears. One was an old fat Bear and was very smart. He would feed, but when we came to the blind, he wouldn’t show. He would feed after we left. So we stayed all night … no Bear. Smart Bears don’t get old being careless.

So, with one day left to hunt, we went to a different site. Weather was on our side this day (or so I thought) The last day was the first day we had seen any real amount of sunshine the entire week.

“We will shoot the Bear today.”

I was confident he was right.

Two Bears came in at dusk growling at each other. A large male and a fat female, as best we could tell. Marius was trying to be certain that the fat one was a female, because it was a very big Bear. We had enough light, and some time to decide. No sense in rushing this.

I swear, the weather gods were not on my side on this hunt. In the 5 minutes we took to carefully check out the Bears it went from being able to see them with the naked eye to not being able to tell a Bear from a tree through a pair of Swarovski’s. It got so dark, so fast, the hunt was over before we knew it.

As best as I can tell, a fast moving front came in and quickly ate up any light that remained after dusk. I was hunting in a full moon, which should have helped. But it didn’t. There were times I couldn’t even tell there was a window in front of me. It was as black as black can be. No moonlight would penetrate this cloud layer.

The wind started howling and the rain came down again. The hunt was over.

I was so disappointed that I didn’t shoot a Bear, but, Marius and I were not after “Just any ol’ Bear” we took a chance and went to sites that had huge Bears. There was a site that had a good Bear visiting about 5:00 in the afternoon, but it wasn’t what we wanted. I could have shot the Bear on the last evening, but Marius was taking the time needed to be certain this was the right Bear! It was the right call, we just ran out of luck.

Marius has a good outfit. Good equipment, knowledge of the areas and of Bear hunting. He is detail oriented, and takes time to do the little things that are important on baited hunts. Plus any man who can sit in a chair in front of a window from 6 pm to 6 am can earn my respect!

After this hunt, my appetite for a Brown Bear is only stronger. Like Africa, you are usually trying to find a way to get back as you are still on the flight home. Despite the crushing loss of a good Bear, the hunt was more exciting than I expected a baited Bear hunt to be. It’s a hunt I will do again.

On the last evening my friend went to another bait site and filmed a female and some cubs with my Panasonic Lumix (I bought this camera on Saeed’s recommendations. Good camera!)



Forgive the quality of the video, he was filming through a window in fading light. Had to jack up the ISO to get the video.



Here is a funny bit of information. Up to this point I have hunted 12 different countries for big game. This was my 13th country to hunt big game. On the 13th of January I found this hunt offer. We arrived in Romania on the 13th of April where the passport control stamped my passport on page 13! Clearly, not my lucky number!

Thanks for the report, Wendell. This looks like a great hunt and a fun trip. Sorry about the bear, I lost a cape buffalo in Zim seven years ago and it still hurts to this day.

Wendell,
I really enjoy hunting in Europe also although I have only hunted in Scotland and Spain. The traditions surrounding the hunting there make it a special memory and the sightseeing is without par. My wife has made both European hunts with me, the only hunting trips she insists on coming along for the fun. Sorry about the lost bear but if you hunt enough it happens... I know that doesn't make it any easier. The good news is the pain dulls with time, the bad news is it never fully goes away...

Nice report but sorry to read about the Bear. Sounds like it was a terrific hunt though.

I am booked with Marius for a roe/boar hunt the first week of June. This will be my first hunt in Europe and I am looking forward to it even more now. The communication with Marius throughout the planning process has been terrific!

Thanks for sharing a nice report, to bad about the lost bear. But if you hunt long enough...

Me and some friends have booked 3 days of driven brown bear with Marius in November, will be interesting to see Romania

Sorry about the outcome Wendell. Looks like you enjoyed Romania! I've been there as well-not to hunt-but to accompany the wife and three of our kids on their quest for Dracula!

Sorry about your trophy ,but you are a professional and ,you know that it .can happens.
I love hunting Europe ,i hunted in spain ,germany and poland ,but dit tried Rumania yet .Its my next Europe hunt .I always follow your adventures ,continue the good work .
Juan Pablo Pozzi Zurbriggen md.

Great report Wendell, really enjoyed it. Sorry about the lousy luck though. Interesting country and a very different experience, Would love to do this hunt.

Thanks for the comments. Yes, it still hurts.A good ethical hunter only takes shots with a very high chance at success, so, now I keep questioning the shot ... of course. It's natural, I guess. Hindsight and all ...

The only solace I can take away is that I am certain this Bear was hit high in the hump. He's mad at me about his sore back, but he's still living.

If someone does finally take this Bear, they will have one hell of a great trophy.

Thanks for the report. Sorry to hear about the bad luck but, the trip sounded very enjoyable. I also saw on the news this morning that Dracula's castle was for sale.

Wendell,

It is always a tough pill to swallow but sadly it happens from time to time.

K

Crazy bear!
Wendell, is the blind where was injured the bear last spring.

Ha! Reminds me that old joke where the dog walks into the saloon and says, "I'm lookin for the fella that shot my paw!"

Or, "hump" in this case, but the joke just doesn't flow quite as well with "hump" in it.

Maybe I need to come back and settle a score with this guy.

In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have stashed that huge box of Toblerone chocolate in the walls of the blind???

Great report Wendell
Gotta love hunting in Eastern Europe especially Romania
Romania has been on my list for long time
Read couple of books on Romanian hunting at the turn of 19oo's
If was incredible then and it is still today
Damm. I wanna go so bad I can taste it

I am very careful with what leave it there . I assure you that besides a water bottle I didn't left anything. I was extremely surprised, I looked to see if there was any bee nest or something ... anything. I do not explain ...

I think there was an angry Bear with a sore hump looking for me. Tell him to come back this spring and we will sort this out.

Looks like a lot of fun, congrats my friend!!!