Typical Day & Tactics

Wake up before light, enjoy a quick breakfast, and arrive at the trailhead ready to begin hiking right around dawn. Start by ascending through the timber using bench cut walking trails, arriving to strategic vantage points, often above the tree line, and begin glassing strategic areas.

Look for Chamois feeding along vegetated slopes and draws, or traveling along canyons walls or mountain ridges. Should conditions be normal, quite quickly the sheer number of Chamois here will impress even the most seasoned mountain hunters. Continue locating and judging Chamois throughout the day, often stopping for lunch in a good glassing overlook. The local stalkers are very knowledgeable and know these mountains intimately stemming from decades of experience. They are also very intuitive to the resident chamois populations’ daily or annual movements. This holds true for Red Stag and Wild Boar as well.

As the season progresses, visibility dictates the main hunting strategy. Should visibility be good, more time is spent glassing. In times of poorer visibility due to low lying clouds or fog, efforts can be better spent covering more ground on foot to find Chamois. Each evening, begin heading down with plans to arrive back at the truck ideally just before dusk. It’s then just a short ride home to dinner and cocktails.

Once a shooter chammy is located, the stalker assesses the best route for a concealed approach into shooting range. Typical shots are usually under 250 meters for meaningful and ethical opportunities. Once back at the lodge, the chamois are hung, caped, and butchered, with some of the meat finding itself into the kitchen and enjoyed in camp! The capes are prepared and delivered to a taxidermist, while skulls are cleaned immediately on location. Once the hunt has concluded, hunters are shuttled back to the airport in Skopje to catch their flights home or to continue traveling or hunting across Europe.

Meals & Accommodations

Stay in a historic old stone manor home directly in the mountainous hunting area. Nestled in a small valley, chamois can be hunted along the various rugged slopes just around the lodge, usually only a 5-15-minute drive to a trailhead. Enjoy spacious common areas, separate private bedrooms, Wi-Fi, and an outdoor fire pit with verandas overlooking the valley and surrounding mountains. The guides stay in a separate building next door, and so are always nearby or available. The lodge’s personal abattoir is also onsite, so hunters can be a part of the complete process.

Enjoy three hearty traditional meals daily, with all the ingredients fresh and local. Breakfast consists of a typical European spread. Fried eggs, thick cured bacon, sliced tomatoes, local cheese and toast, coffee, tea, or freshly squeezed fruit juices. Lunches are usually sandwiches and fruit, packed and brought out in the field. Fresh bread, local cheeses, smoked or cure meats, complete with local orchard fruits.

Most dinners start with soup. Main courses range from fresh lamb chops, whole grilled fish, or local game meat such as Wild Boar stews, or grilled Red stag or Chamois medallions, served with a side of potatoes or rice and salads. Emphasis is also placed on local, handmade desserts. Popular items being various cakes, desert crepes, mousse and custards, accompanied with fresh fruit.

Landscape & Climate

Situated in the Balkan region between the Adriatic and Aegean seas, Macedonia is a small landlocked country, that shares borders with Greece, Albania, Serbia, and Bulgaria. Home for these Chamois are the Suva-Planina mountains, which are as beautiful as they are rugged. Descending into the tree line, and enter the mixed forests of poplar and ash, as well as endemic stands of Macedonian Oak and Pine. The region is rich in flora as well as fauna, with other species such as Eurasian Jays, Otters, and Brown Bear, Balkan Lynx, Wolves, Golden Jackals, Red Stag, and Wild Boars residing here also.

Macedonia has four distinct seasons. Chamois are hunted in the fall with the hunting season spanning from August to the end of December. Early season is generally green and warm but cooler overnight and, in the mornings, especially at higher altitudes. During the midseason November rut, light dustings of snow can become expected in the higher country. Late season in December can be cool to slightly below freezing overnight, with a thin blanket of snow and occasional fog.

Key Equipment Suggestions

This hunt only requires basic but appropriate mountain hunting equipment. A good lightweight, weather-resistant layered clothing system, day pack, 10x binoculars, rangefinder, quality, broken-in, rigid hiking boots, rain gear, sunglasses, trekking pole(s), or a light spotting scope if desired, European double-adaptor, and a digital camera covers the essentials. Hunter orange not required.