"I entered Romania for the first time on the heels of the revolution in January of 1990, while there was still shooting in the streets and mop-up activities going on in Bucharest. This was a very exciting time, since all of us in the hunting industry had heard about the wonderful natural paradise that Nicolae Ceaucescu had built up for himself and his communist cronies.
"As a result of that visit, The Hunting Consortium was granted what I believe was the first contract to hunt in that country. That spring, we brought the first western hunters in to hunt European brown bears. That fall, there was a veritable invasion of hunters from America, Germany, France and other European countries. Many records were broken that year and the subsequent year, especially for red stag, wild boar, chamois and brown bear.
"Romania is still by far the best destination for European brown bears. The population there is healthy and well managed. Within our firm we have adopted the rule that no bears below 400 CIC points may be taken. Still, we are 100 percent successful on our brown bear hunts since 1990. Of the current top 10 listings in the Safari Club International record book for European brown bear, Hunting Consortium clients have taken five, including Nos. 1 through 3. Each year, our clients take one or two bears over 500 CIC points and several more over 400 CIC points.
"Romania is also known for its Carpathian chamois, the largest of all chamois. These hunts are exciting, and the terrain in which they take place is strikingly beautiful. In some of the areas we use, forestry road networks go all the way to the top of the mountains, so........(continued)
