Hunting trips in Romania: Among the many hunting possibilities offered by Romania, for those who love the little migrant, an expedition to the Danube plain is certainly an unforgettable experience.
di Saverio Patrizi
It had been some time that I had been thinking about a hunting trip dedicated to larks, both for the desire for a quiet hunt, where there is a lot of shooting, and for the delicacy of the meat, a Brescia spit of larks represents the best conclusion of a hunting trip and due honor to the shot game. Destination Romania, Bucharest airport, after passport control we are immediately joined by the Montefeltro delegation, the Italian agency of the Beretta Benelli Group, headed by Luigi Goffi, our Italian contact person for the next few days.
Immediately the men of the Beretta group agency help us to complete the formalities relating to weapons, for those who have decided to bring a rifle, I personally opted to use one of the many Benelli Comfort made available by the organization together with the cartridges and, in a very short time, we are on our way to our destination, which is located about 35 km from the Romanian capital.
Even if we are aware of the perfect Montefeltro organization, on our arrival we are surprised by the hunting lodge. A beautiful villa, complete with all comforts, 14 rooms with bathroom, here there is always a room for a hunter as well as an excellent restaurant. The hunting lodge is located in the Sarulesti area, a flat area characterized by mixed cultures, in this season, in addition to several stubble, there are plowed areas and other uncultivated or grazing areas on the migratory route between the Carpathians and the Black Sea. A reservoir. important that it irradiates game all over the surrounding area. Arranged our things in the rooms, the whole Montefeltro team is introduced to us, as well as Luigi and the two drivers who came to pick us up at the airport, there are two other Italians and five Romanians, for a total of ten people, who will think in toto the organization of our holiday.
We immediately inform ourselves about the territory of hunting, Luigi tells us that it is about 50.000 hectares that all develop in the vicinity, practically the hunting house represents the center of the territory. Now that we are at the beginning of October, the best time for larks, it is possible to easily make game bags of more than 100 birds per morning. Full of confidence for the three days of hunting that await us before dinner, we take stock for the next morning, we will all be located, both us and the hunters of another group present at the same time as ours, in some very distant huts, so as not to disturb each other, but in any case a maximum of fifteen minutes by car from the hunting lodge. Luigi assures us that everything will be prepared to perfection by the Montefeltro men and that we just have to think about resting from the journey and shooting straight. Excellent dinner with a wide choice and then all to bed.
At half past four the alarm goes off, some time to get ready and I go down for breakfast, I already find all my hunting companions ready for departure, at six it is already light. We are distributed on the various means and off each one to his destination. I am left in an area located between a worked field and an uncultivated field, the area is quite humid, I try to orient myself and take some references. In the meantime, my guide completes the camouflage net shed with some branches, places the stool, it would be very tiring to stay up all those hours. Then move on to the lure part, first mount the rod for the owl, a pole of about three meters at the top of which a plastic owl with rotating wings is positioned, then it is the turn of the carousel with its skylarks stuffed with open wings, which turning act as a call, cannot miss the "macaque" and the mirrors, which reflecting the sunlight become an irresistible attraction for the little migrator.
Now everything is ready, I sit on the stool, at my feet the box full of cartridges of 28 grams lead 11, no cartridges are needed, here you shoot a lot and "soft" cartridges are recommended that easily allow the three days of hunting without excessive shoulder fatigue. Ready, leaning against the shed, my Benelli Comfort semiautomatic, loaded with three ammunition. Finally it begins to dawn and the first larks are seen, as always from the beginning, they scapicollano on the game of calls, without paying too much attention to the hut and the movements of the hunter, relatively easy shots, which allow me in a short time to hinge several birds . The other huts are also having fun, I hear the echo of the shots in the distance, later confirmed by a few phone calls made more out of curiosity than anything else. By now the sun is high, when I see the larks coming, I try to attract them by moving the wings of the owl and whistling with the call that I brought from Italy and that I keep around my neck always ready for use. Now I have to be careful not to make rash movements, but I must admit that in this period they believe well and it is not too complicated to increase the loot. We are at the beginning of October, in full period of pace, in an ideal area for the larks, with an excellent organization, not achieving more than satisfactory results is really difficult. The day goes smoothly until eleven, when the pace slows down to a complete stop, just before noon I decide to return, the first morning ended with 135 birds shooting discreetly, in Romania there are no limits of game bag, a result more that satisfactory that it will be in line with that of other hunters. During lunch, everyone talks about his experience and his numbers, then we decide what to do in the afternoon. There are those who, given the proximity, decide to pay a visit to Bucharest and those who, like me, prefer to go for a ride with feathered dogs to look for a partridge brigade or some late quail.
HUNTING IN ROMANIA - RECOMMENDED HUNTING PERIODS
Skylark: from 25th September to 25th October
Quails: from 25 August to 15 September
Gray partridge: from September 15th to December 15th
For those who wish, Montefeltro organizes the journey of the dogs from Italy to Romania, with special minibuses.
PROGRAM - HUNTING IN ROMANIA - MONTEFELTRO TOUR OPERATOR
1st day - Departure by plane from Italy. Arrival in Bucharest in just over two hours, meeting with Montefeltro representatives, customs procedures and subsequent transfer to the hunting lodge, accommodation, dinner and overnight stay.
2nd day - Start of the hunt with specialized guides and equipment provided by Montefeltro
3rd - 4th day - Two more days of hunting Continuous assistance of personnel.
5th day - return to Italy, for those who have booked the return flight after 17,00 there is the possibility of an additional morning of hunting included in the price.
For information www.montefeltro.it - 0722.307229