The main attraction has always been the red stag hunting, but alas, red stag populations have fallen upon evil days. Forestry authorities claim that when there are too many red deer, they strip the bark off of spruce and balsam trees causing them to dry-rot and making them useless for lumber or pulp. As a result, red deer have been ruthlessly reduced in numbers in all except those private hunting areas where the forestry authorities have no control. This is not to say that there is no good stag hunting left in the Czech Republic. There certainly is, but in a much reduced area, and trophy quality in general is nothing special. However, with proper planning and some luck it is still possible to shoot an SCI gold or silver medal animal. One must go during the rut, approximately September 15 through October 5, and hunt on a carefully managed, privately-owned preserve.
Jerome Knap of Global Expeditions is the only agent actively promoting hunting in the Czech Republic and offers a five-day/six-night stag hunt for $4,500, inclusive of the trophy fee for one stag of any size, all lodging and meals in the hunting area, and guiding services. A reasonable trophy expectation would be a stag between 160 and 175 CIC points. There is no strict correlation between the CIC and SCI scoring........(continued)
