Silas_Norris
FNG
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2023
- Messages
- 26
Hi everyone!
First, I know a red stag is not a elk but I don't think there is a red stag section. Hopefully this write up is helpful to someone.
I just returned from eastern Croatia along the border of Serbia.
While planning this hunt I struggled to find much information about hunting red stags in Europe.
Hopefully this information is helpful to others considering hunting in Europe.
I am not affiliated with any hunting guides or products. This is my honest feedback and review. This is also my feedback based on only hunting in Europe 1 time so my experience is very limited.
There are a lot of benefits to hunting in Europe.
1. Usually they do not book out years in advance. You can book a red stag hunt in Europe a few months in advance in many cases.
2. Hunting red stags in their natural and native home land is special. Few realize that the big racks coming out of New Zealand and Argentine are largely estate or high fenced animals. This often isn't advertised so you need to be very careful while booking with a outfitter for one of these giants. If it looks like a freak of nature, it likely came out of a high fence.
I went through World Trophy Adventures to book my red stag hunt. I typically book my hunts statewide directly with the outfitter but I thought going through a hunting agency made the most sense for a European adventure like this. It was smooth and easy and I will likely book most of my hunts through them now. It's nice having a agent that has physically been to many of these outfitters and can advise you on where to go based on what you are looking for and expecting during a hunt.
The red stag hunting in Croatia during the roar is more exciting than just about any hunt I can dream up. Red stags roaring all morning and evening in all directions. There seemed to be a red stag roaring about every 300 to 400 yards. If we busted a red stag, it wouldn't be a long walk to get onto another roaring stag. There was so many stags roaring it was actually confusing on what to do at times as it seemed we were almost always surrounded by roaring stags. Made it hard to know which one to go after at times.
The hunting conditions were rough this year due to some flooding which made some of the best areas not accessible. I will say, to me it was still an incredible hunt. We saw stags daily. We also saw europpean boars every single day. I think if I did this hunt again I would pay the extra to also shoot a European Boar. I was surprised to learn that unlike our American Feral Pigs, the locals consider A true European Wild Boar a signifiant trophy. Each time we saw a boar my guides would stop to glass it up for several minutes. I learned that these boars are revered and looked at quite a bit differently than we view the American Feral Hogs.
I shot my stag on the 3rd morning of a 4.5 day hunt. It is a gold medal stag and scored 206 cic.
I believe this would be around a 10kg stag. Not sure on sci score.
The one thing to really think hard about before booking your hunt is: the cost of the hunt is usually dependent on the size of animal you choose to shoot. This can make hunting hard. I had to pass up the first stag we had a chance at as it was too big for my pocket book! These upgrades aren't 100s I'd dollars but rather 1000s. I can't emphasize enough that you really need to stick to the size of stag you want to shoot or go on prepared to upgrade to whatever animal might present itself.
We flew from Chicago to Zagreb and the outfitter arranged a vehicle to pick me up for the hunt. My wife went to Split for a few days with my oldest daughter which was a lot of fun for them. Croatia is a very safe place and the vast majority of people speak fluent English. They also seem to like Americans. I asked several people how safe it would be for my wife and oldest daughter and they all said it was very safe. Croatia's number 1 resource is tourism and the people there want to make foreigners feel welcome. We honestly felt safer in Croatia than in most towns and cities in America.
If anyone would like more information on hunting red stags in Europe I have a lot more information I can provide. Also feels free to ask any questions you want in the comments. I'm happy to answer anything.
First, I know a red stag is not a elk but I don't think there is a red stag section. Hopefully this write up is helpful to someone.
I just returned from eastern Croatia along the border of Serbia.
While planning this hunt I struggled to find much information about hunting red stags in Europe.
Hopefully this information is helpful to others considering hunting in Europe.
I am not affiliated with any hunting guides or products. This is my honest feedback and review. This is also my feedback based on only hunting in Europe 1 time so my experience is very limited.
There are a lot of benefits to hunting in Europe.
1. Usually they do not book out years in advance. You can book a red stag hunt in Europe a few months in advance in many cases.
2. Hunting red stags in their natural and native home land is special. Few realize that the big racks coming out of New Zealand and Argentine are largely estate or high fenced animals. This often isn't advertised so you need to be very careful while booking with a outfitter for one of these giants. If it looks like a freak of nature, it likely came out of a high fence.
I went through World Trophy Adventures to book my red stag hunt. I typically book my hunts statewide directly with the outfitter but I thought going through a hunting agency made the most sense for a European adventure like this. It was smooth and easy and I will likely book most of my hunts through them now. It's nice having a agent that has physically been to many of these outfitters and can advise you on where to go based on what you are looking for and expecting during a hunt.
The red stag hunting in Croatia during the roar is more exciting than just about any hunt I can dream up. Red stags roaring all morning and evening in all directions. There seemed to be a red stag roaring about every 300 to 400 yards. If we busted a red stag, it wouldn't be a long walk to get onto another roaring stag. There was so many stags roaring it was actually confusing on what to do at times as it seemed we were almost always surrounded by roaring stags. Made it hard to know which one to go after at times.
The hunting conditions were rough this year due to some flooding which made some of the best areas not accessible. I will say, to me it was still an incredible hunt. We saw stags daily. We also saw europpean boars every single day. I think if I did this hunt again I would pay the extra to also shoot a European Boar. I was surprised to learn that unlike our American Feral Pigs, the locals consider A true European Wild Boar a signifiant trophy. Each time we saw a boar my guides would stop to glass it up for several minutes. I learned that these boars are revered and looked at quite a bit differently than we view the American Feral Hogs.
I shot my stag on the 3rd morning of a 4.5 day hunt. It is a gold medal stag and scored 206 cic.
I believe this would be around a 10kg stag. Not sure on sci score.
The one thing to really think hard about before booking your hunt is: the cost of the hunt is usually dependent on the size of animal you choose to shoot. This can make hunting hard. I had to pass up the first stag we had a chance at as it was too big for my pocket book! These upgrades aren't 100s I'd dollars but rather 1000s. I can't emphasize enough that you really need to stick to the size of stag you want to shoot or go on prepared to upgrade to whatever animal might present itself.
We flew from Chicago to Zagreb and the outfitter arranged a vehicle to pick me up for the hunt. My wife went to Split for a few days with my oldest daughter which was a lot of fun for them. Croatia is a very safe place and the vast majority of people speak fluent English. They also seem to like Americans. I asked several people how safe it would be for my wife and oldest daughter and they all said it was very safe. Croatia's number 1 resource is tourism and the people there want to make foreigners feel welcome. We honestly felt safer in Croatia than in most towns and cities in America.
If anyone would like more information on hunting red stags in Europe I have a lot more information I can provide. Also feels free to ask any questions you want in the comments. I'm happy to answer anything.
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