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Shooting in Bulgaria
Although many are familiar with the delights of shooting abroad few have yet to discover the beauty of Bulgaria. Most famous among the British as the home of umbrella wielding assassins and dollar a day skiing, since the 1980's Bulgaria has become a hot bed for international 'property speculators' looking for that bargain holiday retreat by the sea.
As any regular visitor to the country would testify over the past ten years Bulgaria has made a real effort to shake off its image of a crime ridden nation, though it is fair to say that the capital city of Sofia still exudes a most unwelcoming first impression. The first timer to the country should not allow this to form their mindset of the nation as a whole.
Because the Bulgarian countryside is outstandingly varied and beautiful. It has numerous opportunities for the sporting gun. From high mountainous hunting for the athletic, through to hilly and flatland grounds, it is a land that provides shooting for every taste. Indeed, with 18 mammal species and 20 bird species, no other European country has the variety of game as does Bulgaria.
Bordering Greece, the Rodopi mountains in the south of the country are home to a tremendous array of species. Here the enthusiastic gun can experience the thrill of the energetic hunt for the chamois or mouflon in the high mountains, the adrenalin fuelled kill of a driven wild boar crashing through the woodland cover or the romanticism of an early morning stalk for capercaillie in the forested valleys. Conveniently in Bulgaria this can be experienced all the year round such are the shooting seasons.
And if such high altitude shooting is not for you then there is plenty of game shooting on offer. In August the fields of long grasses begin to brown as they show signs of the summers sun. But among the grasses come the sounds of quail calling. This is the month of the glorious 15th! When it is time to set out across the fields with shot gun in hand and HPR at your feet and enjoy some amazingly exciting shooting. Quail is some of the most exciting shooting available to the game shooter and Bulgaria has a strong population. Later in the year wild partridge and pheasant can be shot.
Bulgaria really is a country of great variety in both landscape and game and, since leaving communism behind the country has become a full member of the European Union making travel as simple as crossing over the channel to France or Germany. Only a three hour flight from London, shooting in Bulgaria truly is a treat that everyone should make time to experience.