Guidance on hunting Europe

[Rimbaud]

Excellent points have already been made, and my only add would be to stress how important it is to go with reputable people who know the area and have access to good hunting grounds. Not all areas are the same. Not all guides are of the same quality. Scotland is great. So is England. I've hunted Hungary twice, and headed to Romania next. Good luck to you.

 

[Doubleplay]

Hunted Europe several times. Love it and am set to go back in 2025.
There is about anything you could want from ibex to stags to boar. Great fun. Reasonable prices and great people that love Trump....

Most don't like Trump.
The ones who are in hunting industry does.

 

[LivingTheDream]

Most don't like Trump.
The ones who are in hunting industry does.

Not necessarily true, their media doesn't like Trump. But I am guessing it is a lot like here, there are a few rabid who are very local but there are probably more that like him than against him.

 

[VertigoBE]

Most don't like Trump.
The ones who are in hunting industry does.

That’s what I thought as well. But I just came back from a hunting weekend where there was an architect, wood construction builder, SME owner, strategy analyst, a notary and some others. Most agreed that seeing Trump elected was a weight of the shoulders. Average age of 35.

This surprised me a lot, as I thought to be in a lonely corner expressing support for Trump.

 

[mark-hunter]

and I'm confident the more experienced European hunters would tell you a silver medal animal is huge, absolutely huge.

I live and hunt in Europe (Croatia), and I have never hunted anything in any medal. Literally, never!

The value of trophy from Bronze to Gold medal as per CIC score grows exponentially, and in my opinion is unreasonable high.

I can confirm, red deer just below bronze medal (not reaching it) is absolutely great animal. And silver medal is huge!

If we are speaking economics, then any trophy animal just few points below bronze medal is "best buy", the best value for a money in my opinion. Great experience to hunt, great addition to any trophy room, for reasonable money.

In some hunting areas, there may be a possibility to have a deal on lumpsum payment (trophy of any size), for reasonable price, but in general those would be hunting areas of lower quality gene pool, and medal size trophy is not to be expected.

Photos I took from internet, for illustration:

 

[UKHunter]

Potential of interest to see how the CIC scoring system works - https://www.cicukteb.com/uk-species/red-deer

 

[dogcat1]

CIC is interesting. I find it workable and reasonable. As to pricing - seller makes the rules. Just know what you are about to pull the trigger on!

 

[Lancaster]

Hello everyone!

I've been hunting in north America basically my whole life. Killed my first deer when I was 6 and haven't looked back. I have a better then average understanding of both public land and outfitted hunting across the US. I hunted in Africa this year my first out international hunting (well excluding Canada and Mexico). It was one of the most enjoyable events of my life and has opened up my mind to the possibilities of doing some international hunting. This site helped so much and still does with planning and learning about future African hunts. I've decided the next place I want to hunt is Europe and hoping some of you can help me with the learning curve.



1st: I know Europe is a big place but I am not locked into any one area. I assume hunting regulations and tag availability vary widely from country to country? I'd like to keep the processes as simple as possible any suggestions.
2nd: I'm a little more sure on what I want to hunt but in a general sense. No hogs I'm sure a boar drive is awesome but we have plenty right here at home. Ibex in Spain is definitely something that interests me but probably not on the first trip. I would like to hunt a deer ideally a red stag but a roe would do nicely and probably more on budget.
3rd: Speaking of budget I'd like to keep the hunt at 10k or less excluding tip, and airfare.
4th: Definitely a rifle hunt and ok with either a stand type hunt or stalking. I'm 34 and in good shape elk hunt every year so should be able to handle any terrain. I have plenty of cold camps and freeze dried food here at home on my hunts I'd prefer to be comfortable on my vacation/hunt. The accommodations don't have to be luxurious but a nice lodge, good ambiance, and good food is always appreciated.



Any and all help is appreciated. I've done almost none of my own research but plan on rectifying that soon hopefully with some direction from the community. I'm particularly interested in if my budget is sufficient? I feel 10k should easily cover a roe deer but maybe low for red but have no real idea.

For under $10k you should be able to get a least a week's red stag and roe buck stalking here in Scotland.

Note that on the open hill in Scotland your stag will be representative and not trophy class, there is a separate SCI class for proper hill stags I gather.

I'd recommend outfitters: Ollie at https://www.sybaritesporting.com/red-deer-stalking or Cara at https://www.internationalhuntingscotland.com/contact-us/

 

[MarkCZ]

If you are making the effort to visit Europe you must include Red stag on the rut in Scotland. It is simply the best and it dose not have to break the bank. I always go with Winston Churchill in Argyll stunning country and stalking that will live with you for ever.
Markcz

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

If you are making the effort to visit Europe you must include Red stag on the rut in Scotland. It is simply the best and it dose not have to break the bank. I always go with Winston Churchill in Argyll stunning country and stalking that will live with you for ever.
Markcz

Just note the red stag in scotland are generally a lot smaller than poland for example
But absolutely handsdown the most beautiful scenery while hunting and i have been hunting in quite a few places around the world
Nothing compares to scotlands scenery while hunting

 

[grand veneur]

The red deer is certainly one of the most desirable game in Europe, but you have to know beforehand what you want. If you want an exciting hunt in the wild or is it just about a big trophy, the hunting offers will be very different. Very big and heavy red deer trophies can be harvested in many regions of Europe, but one should not always place too much emphasis on the process of the hunt or the area where the deer is shot. It is certain that the trophy-fees are sometime extremely high, but not in all cases. However, these offers cannot be found on the internet, they are passed from mouth to ear.

I recently had an offer that I passed on because I was not interested in something like that. The hunter who thereafter shot this very record-breaking red deer spent only a few hours sitting on a Hochsitz in a limited area of about 150 acres. I have but no negative opinion about hunts that take place in limited areas and on a game population that is heavy managed, the practice is becoming more and more widespread worldwide anyway.

 

[MarkCZ]

Just note the red stag in scotland are generally a lot smaller than poland for example
But absolutely handsdown the most beautiful scenery while hunting and i have been hunting in quite a few places around the world
Nothing compares to scotlands scenery while hunting

To be fair they are smaller than Reds in anywhere else in the UK because of the harshness of the terrian but they are by far more of a challenge. You can see from my photo how steep it is . (Hind and Calf).
Markcz

 

[Nyati]

That’s what I thought as well. But I just came back from a hunting weekend where there was an architect, wood construction builder, SME owner, strategy analyst, a notary and some others. Most agreed that seeing Trump elected was a weight of the shoulders. Average age of 35.

This surprised me a lot, as I thought to be in a lonely corner expressing support for Trump.

You are mentioning educated business people, and there I agree, most would support Trump, but not the general public, where most are social democrats of some kind.

 

[jbirdwell]

X2 on discussing with Hunting Consortium, or Worldwide Trophy Adventures - their consultant Roger for Europe He is an American but lives in Austria. Talk to someone like that for the full spectrum of options.

I have hunted roe deer with Marius in Romania. I have hunted Ibex with Alfonso Fabres in Spain, and hunted twice with Italian Safari for roe deer and also Chamois. I would recommend all of them. For your 10K budget, Ibex probably wont fit but everything else will. I would take a hard look at Chamois in the Italian alps but that is just my two cents.

Look forward to reading your hunt report one day to see what your first (but not last) hunt in Europe is. Cheers

I’m doing my first Europe hunt in April 2025 and Roger from Worldwide Trophy Adventures has and continues to be very helpful.