Three Hunters File Reports on Croatia Hunting

Croatia is fast becoming a go-to destination for hunters, especially those traveling with non-hunting spouses or families. As Hunting Report Editor Barbara Crown detailed in our June, 2010 issue (Article ID 2456), "You can, literally, let your family play on the Dalmatian Coast while you go hunting and get back for dinner that evening." We've recently received three fresh reports on this amazing hunting country which, taken together, paint a very clear picture of some of the opportunities here. Subscriber Antonio John hunted this past February with Artemis Hunting Ltd. and owner/guide Tomo Svetic (011 dialing from the US -44-7-7950-84055; www.artemis-hunting.com). (The same operator who organized Crown's hunt.) John tells us he saw an abundance of game, including two huge mouflon rams that Svetic estimated at 36 and 39 inches respectively, and numerous wild boar weighing well over 500 pounds. John reports taking a 31-inch mouflon ram and a wild boar with 10-inch tusks. John says he hunted by spotting and stalking over very rocky terrain. Due to the skittish nature of the mouflon, shots were long, and John recommends hunters practice shooting at over 200 yards. He also suggests good optics and a range finder. John tells us he has hunted throughout Europe for more than 20 years and has spent the last five concentrating on sheep and goats. He says that hunting rams in Croatia was much more difficult and much more rewarding than comparable sheep hunts in Slovakia and Hungary. Hunting Report correspondent Mel Toponce also hunted mouflon around the Island of Pag in the northern Adriatic this spring with Tomo Svetic. This 109-square-mile island features almost 167 miles of shoreline, including miles of unspoiled and mostly tourist-free beaches. The area is dry, barren and perfectly suited for mouflon. Maybe too perfectly suited; Toponce tells us that stalking rams along the steep, rocky terrain was extremely difficult, especially when he hunted the coast from a boat. Toponce explains, "Getting out onto the shore was not easy. It was very steep, not good footing, and the boat was rocking like crazy." Adding to this difficulty were high winds which, according to Svetic, are unusual for that........(continued)