My European Red Stag Hunt!

[Suera]

Prices can change a lot, per example in Spain can go from 1500 USD to 7000 USD ( or more) depend the SCI points that have the Red stag you hunt. But in other European countries can be although more expensive because they have awesome monsters

 

[Nate.NChunter]

This is not normal... At least here in Spain you can receive your trophy between 3-8 months no more

Even being shipped to the US?

 

[Suera]

Even being shipped to the US?

Yes... If the taxidermy is so busy and make you a shoulder mount you can add a couple of months more...

 

[Boone-In-Wall]

That's a beast!

 

[slimbw3]

Congrats, awesome buck and great review. Thanks!!!

 

[MallardSX2]

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Once the western states have completed the royal screwing of all NR eastern hunters we will all be there hunting.

 

[kpete]

Great stag! Congrats! They're such a cool animal, I wasn't aware you could get a tag until now.

 

[Silas_Norris]

What was the cost of the hunt as well as the trophy fee?

I believe I pad 6k for the base price of the hunt and that included UP TO a 180 CIC stag. I would have been happy with that size of stag HOWEVER we only saw stags larger than that. The difference between a 180 to 190 - 205 stag is fairly minor to me. I saw several in camp and really struggled to tell them apart. I believe part of the scoring has to do with the color of the antlers (I could care less about that personally) and also the symmetry of the animal (mine happened to be pretty symmetrical). What is crazy is, there was some 190 cic scored stags in camp that I actually would have taken over mine and somehow mine scored higher ha. I think I paid around 8k UPGRADE to shoot my stag which scored 206.

I do NOT regret it. It was a unbelievable hunt, however, I would recommend trying to find a stag under 200 cic as they look pretty much like mine but cost 100s less. Over 200 is a gold medal stag and they charge a lot for that.

I would not do this hunt without a 10k budget to be able to kill several different size classes of animal. Dont go in thinking you will for sure find one in a specific size range. I learned finding a MATURE animal under 180 cic is actually pretty hard work. Possible the guide said , but, hard. This area of croatia has really great genetics so the larger stags are all around 190 to 200 cic it seemed for the most part

 

[Samson7x]

I believe I pad 6k for the base price of the hunt and that included UP TO a 180 CIC stag. I would have been happy with that size of stag HOWEVER we only saw stags larger than that. The difference between a 180 to 190 - 205 stag is fairly minor to me. I saw several in camp and really struggled to tell them apart. I believe part of the scoring has to do with the color of the antlers (I could care less about that personally) and also the symmetry of the animal (mine happened to be pretty symmetrical). What is crazy is, there was some 190 cic scored stags in camp that I actually would have taken over mine and somehow mine scored higher ha. I think I paid around 8k UPGRADE to shoot my stag which scored 206.

I do NOT regret it. It was a unbelievable hunt, however, I would recommend trying to find a stag under 200 cic as they look pretty much like mine but cost 100s less. Over 200 is a gold medal stag and they charge a lot for that.

I would not do this hunt without a 10k budget to be able to kill several different size classes of animal. Dont go in thinking you will for sure find one in a specific size range. I learned finding a MATURE animal under 180 cic is actually pretty hard work. Possible the guide said , but, hard. This area of croatia has really great genetics so the larger stags are all around 190 to 200 cic it seemed for the most part

What outfitter did you use?

Just so I'm understanding correctly, was that 8k upgrade in addition to the 6k base? 14k total? Or 8k total?

Trying to get an idea how this compares financially to a SA PG hunt.

 

[Silas_Norris]

What outfitter did you use?

Just so I'm understanding correctly, was that 8k upgrade in addition to the 6k base? 14k total? Or 8k total?

Trying to get an idea how this compares financially to a SA PG hunt.

14k Total. But, I would encourage you to look at some smaller stags which really are the same size as mine. If I went again, I would only shoot a 180-190 stag and it would only be a 2k upgrade. I think I have some images that I took of some stags in that size range and I could not tell them apart from mine at all. Some I actually liked more than mine.

I attached a few images and DO NOT hold me to these exact scores but my guide told me the one next to mine in the first picture with two stags scored quote a bit less than mine. I think around 190 CIC. As you can see, it looks just as cools as mine and has taller antlers. More like a elk. It doesnt have the crown mine had and mine had more mass. Mine just scored higher. The other 3 were in the 190 range as well from what my guide told me and I actually love the one in the last picture.
All the stags were very symmetrical.
So a stag like the one in the images shown would cost less than the one I shot. Mine just happened to score over 200 and they charge a lot for a GOLD MEDAL stag. The others looked as good as mine IMHO.
I was there for the scoring and I do agree with all the measurements they took so I dont feel i was taken advantage of. They just score things differently than SCI or other scoring methods. I think they also like darker horns and mine had darker horns for sure. The bases were also really wide and that is significant with CIC scoring from what I have seen. Mine just scored really well on everything that matters for CIC scoring.

That said, If the guide tells you its a 190 CIC stag and you shoot it and its 200, you only have to pay for what the guide told you. Just make sure that conversation up front about the size you are willing to shoot is in writing so there is no miscommunication at all.

I booked through the WTA and hunted their outfitter in eastern croatia.
I HIGHLY recommend this hunt! I have been on many and I will be back for sure!

Feel free to PM me with any more questions if you prefer

 

[Samson7x]

14k Total. But, I would encourage you to look at some smaller stags which really are the same size as mine. If I went again, I would only shoot a 180-190 stag and it would only be a 2k upgrade. I think I have some images that I took of some stags in that size range and I could not tell them apart from mine at all. Some I actually liked more than mine.

I attached a few images and DO NOT hold me to these exact scores but my guide told me the one next to mine in the first picture with two stags scored quote a bit less than mine. I think around 190 CIC. As you can see, it looks just as cools as mine and has taller antlers. More like a elk. It doesnt have the crown mine had and mine had more mass. Mine just scored higher. The other 3 were in the 190 range as well from what my guide told me and I actually love the one in the last picture.
All the stags were very symmetrical.
So a stag like the one in the images shown would cost less than the one I shot. Mine just happened to score over 200 and they charge a lot for a GOLD MEDAL stag. The others looked as good as mine IMHO.
I was there for the scoring and I do agree with all the measurements they took so I dont feel i was taken advantage of. They just score things differently than SCI or other scoring methods. I think they also like darker horns and mine had darker horns for sure. The bases were also really wide and that is significant with CIC scoring from what I have seen. Mine just scored really well on everything that matters for CIC scoring.

That said, If the guide tells you its a 190 CIC stag and you shoot it and its 200, you only have to pay for what the guide told you. Just make sure that conversation up front about the size you are willing to shoot is in writing so there is no miscommunication at all.

I booked through the WTA and hunted their outfitter in eastern croatia.
I HIGHLY recommend this hunt! I have been on many and I will be back for sure!

Feel free to PM me with any more questions if you prefer

Thanks for the additional info. That is a hell of an upcharge, but your stag is magnificent. I think communication is key as well. Would hate for an unexpected upgrade fee at the end of the hunt.

I'm exploring options and am also considering Romania where the pricing structure is different and based on total weight, not score.

 

[Docpk]

How much did the antlers weigh? Nice trophy by the way

 

[Suera]

14k for a red stag is crazy.... You can hunt a gold medal red stag in the half of this money in Spain.

 

[Silas_Norris]

14k for a red stag is crazy.... You can hunt a gold medal red stag in the half of this money in Spain.

The stags in spain are half the body size of a croatian red stag. Did you know that? And a Gold Medal Stag of over 200 cic points is also not common in spain (completely free range). I looked into spain heavily.

 

[Silas_Norris]

How much did the antlers weigh? Nice trophy by the way

I really do not know. We did not weigh them. I assume over 10kg but I really do not know that answer. I just know it was 205-206 cic points (I cant remember if it was 205 or 206)

 

[Silas_Norris]

Thanks for the additional info. That is a hell of an upcharge, but your stag is magnificent. I think communication is key as well. Would hate for an unexpected upgrade fee at the end of the hunt.

I'm exploring options and am also considering Romania where the pricing structure is different and based on total weight, not score.

Romania would be a excellent choice. There are SOME outfitters that charge one fee and allow you to shoot whatever size stag you can find. I think this would be a more exciting way to do it. Especially for any american that is used to that type of hunting.
I will admit it felt a bit odd paying extra for a stag that I was later told was likely 2 years past his breeding (no longer a breeding bull) and was likely even larger the previous year or two. That being said it seems there is no management strategy that could make sense out of charging extra for such a stag. It seems to me this was a perfect sized stag that NEEDED to be taken out of the heard.
That said, europe has been managing their stags for a 500 years and really know what they are doing so maybe I am missing something lol.

 

[lilharcher]

I’m curious and not judging in any way, but how was Croatia different than NZ? I fully understand the freaks that have 20+ points in NZ were a GMO stock released into the wild, and now “free range” in some cases over hundreds of 1000s of acres, and are thus “free range”. I’m interested in “natural”, meaning free range and “unaltered”. Again, not judging, but do you know if your stag is “unaltered”, even if the bloodlines go back many years. To me, and admit I may be uneducated, a gold, silver, bronze approach suggests the animals are not “unaltered”, again, even if the altering happened many years ago. Thanks for educating me.

 

[Suera]

The stags in spain are half the body size of a croatian red stag. Did you know that? And a Gold Medal Stag of over 200 cic points is also not common in spain (completely free range). I looked into spain heavily.

In body size yes , centre Europe red stags are really monsters nothing to watch with Iberian red stag, but In horns.... They are really big monsters I have some of them with more than 220 cic all of them in free range. If you are talking about fence range then you can hunt monsters but I hate fence never hunt in fence places.

 

[WeiserBucks]

I’m curious and not judging in any way, but how was Croatia different than NZ? I fully understand the freaks that have 20+ points in NZ were a GMO stock released into the wild, and now “free range” in some cases over hundreds of 1000s of acres, and are thus “free range”. I’m interested in “natural”, meaning free range and “unaltered”. Again, not judging, but do you know if your stag is “unaltered”, even if the bloodlines go back many years. To me, and admit I may be uneducated, a gold, silver, bronze approach suggests the animals are not “unaltered”, again, even if the altering happened many years ago. Thanks for educating me.

I may be way off base but it might be as simple as our "Royal" elk designation.

 

[MuleyFever]

I’m curious and not judging in any way, but how was Croatia different than NZ? I fully understand the freaks that have 20+ points in NZ were a GMO stock released into the wild, and now “free range” in some cases over hundreds of 1000s of acres, and are thus “free range”. I’m interested in “natural”, meaning free range and “unaltered”. Again, not judging, but do you know if your stag is “unaltered”, even if the bloodlines go back many years. To me, and admit I may be uneducated, a gold, silver, bronze approach suggests the animals are not “unaltered”, again, even if the altering happened many years ago. Thanks for educating me.

The freakish NZ stags you see are not free range. Sure, there is a very small chance someone finds one but its not at all common. Google NZ Free Range Stag Hunts and you wont see pictures of those big ones on the outfitter websites of true free range hunts.

Scroll down to the stag pictures on this site offering free range hunts.

New Zealand Free Range Hunting

Tahr, Chamois, Red Stag, Hunting and Country, Lodge - Lake Coleridge, Luxury Cabin, Fly Camps, Other game and Fish

www.newzealandfreerangehunting.com