Behind the scenes on our Hungarian trips
Guided trips to Hungary are a firm favourite here with us at Benula Sporting and that’s one of the reasons we decided to offer guided trips to the Vac region as a key part of the Benula Europe offering. We’re usually out in Hungary at least 3 or 4 times and year and we can’t tell you how much we missed those trips during the pandemic, so you can imagine how excited we were to return to Vac again in October 2021. If you’ve been considering booking a hunting trip outside of the UK, Hungary could be the perfect option to consider.
Why Hungary?
There are so many reasons we love our trips to Hungary that it’s almost hard to know where to start! Hungary is a country renowned for its boar and the Vac area in particular has a plentiful supply, with high numbers of boars being found locally. We’ve hunted in Vac for years and, when we were offered the opportunity to take over the lease, we literally jumped at the chance! It’s worth remembering that hunting in Hungary isn’t just about the boar and we’ll be covering some of the other species on offer and key hunting season dates in the next installment of our blog series.
A trip to Hungary is unique in so many ways, but we particularly love the way Hungarian shoots take time to honour and respect the animals taken each day. At the end of a shoot, the hunters gather at a central location where the quarry is laid out respectfully in a square decorated with leaves and branches and cornered by fire. Music is played, speeches are made and a drink is taken in honour of the animals taken that day. It really is a unique experience to witness and we think it makes every one of our trips to Hungary particularly special.
What does a tyical day look like?
Some of our trips to Hungary are organised as driven trips and you’ll kick off your adventure with a full hot breakfast being served before sunrise. Once you’ve gathered your kit together, and we recommend wearing warm camouflage clothing with elements of ‘blaze orange’ for safety reasons, you’ll head for the buses to embark upon the short journey to the hunting estates in Bank and Vac.
Upon arrival at the hunting area, your party will be greeted by organisers from the forestry commission, beaters, dogmen and boarhounds. After a quick check of hunting permits and a full safety briefing, pegs will be drawn to determine where each hunter will stand on each drive (the name given to each ‘period of hunting’ throughout the day). A drive usually involves placing the guns in a line or semicircle over a distance of a few kilometres. For each drive the beaters and dog teams will drive the boar through an area into the direction of the guns. Each day typically consists of 3 or 4 drives and guns (the name given to a hunter) will be allocated a vehicle and driver and taken to their peg.
Now it’s time to get comfortable and set up facing the direction of the oncoming beaters. Silence and minimal movement are essential for a successful hunt. Wild boar are intelligent animals that, despite their size, have the ability to float through the forest undetected, any sound or movement may lead to them giving you the slip before you even realise they are there. Once the area has been driven through, a horn will sound to indicate the end of the drive and beaters will assist with the removal of animals and take them back to a central location.
Lunch, which is served on the estate, is an occasion in itself. Typically, a banquet style table is laid out and a traditional lunch is served with soup or goulash with chunks of bread, pickles and cold meats with hot sweet tea and cake. Then it’s time to head back out onto the estate for further drives in the afternoon. Once the animals have been respectfully honoured, you’ll return to the lodge to warm-up, enjoy a Hungarian feast and swap stories of the day with your fellow adventurers.
Firearms and hunting permits.
Despite no longer being a member of the EU, importing your firearms into Hungary for the duration of your hunt is very straightforward. An import license can be obtained from Budapest airport for a fee of approximately £7 and you’ll need to be in possession of your passport, British firearms license and an invitation letter from Benula Europe.
Once you’ve booked with us, we’ll apply for your Hungarian hunting license. Foreign nationals are only authorised to hunt in Hungary when they are in possession of a hunting licence in their name issued by the Ministry of Agriculture (FVM).
Why book with Benula?
If you book with Benula, you’re booking with a UK based outfitter that will provide you with a wealth of knowledge and experience. All our trips are accompanied by experienced local guides and, as we’ve hunted at Vac for years, we know exactly what it takes to make each and every trip a success. If you book with us directly there’s also no need to use agents, we actually own the leases at the Hungarian sites you’ll be visiting which is a huge bonus.
If you think booking one of our Hungarian trips sounds like it could be your next adventure, take a look at the Benula Europe page on our website to find out more. Our trip in January 2022 is now sold out but we do still have limited availability for our December 2021 trip, which departs on the 2nd December. You can view the price lists and itinerary here. If you have any further questions or would like to find out more about availability, just drop us an email. If you follow us on Instagram and Facebook you’ll be the first to hear when we launch further 2022 dates, or you can email us to be added to the waiting list.
Keep an eye on our blog for the next instalment in our Benula Europe blog series which is coming soon!
Recent Comments