I doubt there is any mountain hunter that does not know what a Carpathian chamois is, even if he or she never intends or dream of hunting one of these beautiful animals. In the following article you will some of the most relevant questions and answers about chamois hunting in Romania.
First of all, t is the biggest subspecies of all chamois in the world in both body and trophy size.
More detailed study of the chamois origin, structure and behavior has lead to the recognition of two different species – southern chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica) with three subspecies distributed in Southwest Europe and northern chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) including seven subspecies distributed in the rest of the species range. So a total of 10 chamois subspecies. Here they are:
Southern Chamois – Rupicapra pyrenica.
1. Cantabrian Chamois
2. Pyrenean Chamois / Isard
3. Apennines (Abruzzo) Chamois
Northern Chamois – Rupicapra rupicapra.
4. Chartreuse Chamois
5. Alpine Chamois
6. Tatra Chamois
7. Carpathian Chamois
8. Balkan Chamois
9. Caucasian Chamois
10. Asian (Anatolian) Chamois
As an outfitter, guide and international hunting consultant, that has worked in Central Asia since 2002, there are many questions I get asked concerning Argali sheep hunting. Some of the most common ones are:
When is the best time for chamois hunting in Romania?
What is the altitude I’ll be hunting at?
Is it safe for a chamois hunting in Romania?
How many hours of driving will it take to reach the accommodation?
Can we take the skins and skulls home with us?
Can I bring a rifle to Romania?
What type of visa do I need?
Do the guides chamois hunting in Romania speak English?
Will we be using horses or jeeps and how much hiking is involved?
How long are the shots?
So, best time for a chamois hunting in Romania….
The fact is, it depends on many different factors. What is the best for one person, may not be the best for other.
The season start first day of September.
For hunters wanting nicer weather, more daylight time, decent skins is better go chamois hunting in Romania in September, and early October. The rut starts around 10th of October until beginning/mid of November. The best skins are taken in October through early December, if you’re focused on longer hair and shiny coats. If you want to hunt chamois in the rut, then late October is the best. For hunters wanting to hunt animals in big groups, pre- and post-rut are better. In the rut, animals are running around like crazy and new animals are always coming and going.
Chamois hunting in Romania after 15th of November will be in true winter hunting conditions, but animals are more concentrated and easier to find; however, travel logistics, road conditions and snow can be a factor and only experienced and tougher hunters should do these winter hunts.
The altitude where you will hunt will depends on the area, it can be somewhere from 1200 meters up to 2500 meters. Comparing with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan those altitude can look very low, but our mountains are much more steep.
It is Romania safe? It is only one answer for this question, 100% YES!
Most of the hunt are inside the Carpathian mountains, so, from Bucharest international airport to the hunting lodge or the hotel it will take somewhere between 3.5 to 5 hours drive depending on the area that you choose to hunt.
For European hunters the chamois trophy consist in a chamois skull displayed on a wooden plaque, for US hunter a shoulder mount or even a full mount will be a real trophy to show to his friends. The skull can be taken by the hunters after the hunt, but for cape is more difficult. We normally send both skull and cape in few months after the hunt. Ask us before the hunt if you intend to take the cape with you on your departure.
To bring your rifle in Romania is very easy. We have 2 situation, hunters from European Union countries and hunters outside European Union. For Eu hunters all we need is a copy of your EU gun passport, hunting license from your country and hunting insurance(if you don’t have it, we can issue one for you here in Romania) For hunters outside EU a copy of your gun permit, hunting license and hunting insurance.
The US hunters do not have gun permit, so we will need a copy of your 4457 from your local police with the details of your rifle or rifles that you will bring in Romania, copy of your hunting license from your state and hunting insurance. Based on those documents we will issue a hunting invitation that you will show at the custom. It will take only 5 to 10 minutes to check your documents and then you can go. It is simple!
Most of the hunters do not need VISA to enter Romania, only few countries but ask us before, just to make sure.
English is a quite common in Romania and you will find everywhere some people that you can talk with, especially young generation. However, the guides spend their lives in the mountains, so, very few speak English.
We use 4×4 cars to take us at the bottom of the hunting grounds, as I said before our grounds are very steep, horses will not help. But some areas are more accessible than others.
The last but definitely, not least…
How long are the shots?
The guides will do all necessary efforts to get you as close as possible for a safe shot, but sometimes the configuration of the terrain doesn’t allow that. I would say that average shots are spinning around 200 meters but sometimes 300 meters is the closest position. Here is a very important detail, the outfitter will ask you what is the shooting distance that you are comfortable with. Be honest with him, so he can put you in part of the hunting area where he thinks is a better chances to get the trophy within your shooting skills.
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