Hunting in Hungary is best known for two things, world class red stags in the September rut and high volume driven wild boar days in winter. The country also offers outstanding fallow deer, roe deer, mouflon and driven pheasant, all within a two and a half hour flight of London. For most visiting hunters the choice comes down to timing. Go in September and early October for stags, October and November for fallow bucks, spring and summer for roe, and November to January for driven boar.
What sets Hungary apart is the quality of its game and the way it is managed. Trophies are measured officially, estates are run by professional hunters, and the paperwork for a foreign hunter is simple once you have an organiser. Below we cover where to go, what to hunt, when to book and how a hunt in Hungary actually works.
Why Hungary has such a strong reputation
Hungary’s hunting is built on decades of careful game management and a remarkable gene pool, particularly in its red deer. The figures back that up. According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Zala county alone accounted for 20 of the top 50 red deer trophies, with Somogy close behind on 11, and Hungarian fallow bucks hold around six in every ten places in the world’s top 50 fallow deer trophies.
Some estates have produced world leading trophies. Gemenc, in the Danube floodplain, states that a stag shot there in 1986 scored 271 CIC points and topped the world list. In Somogy, the state forestry company SEFAG records a Lábod stag shot in 2001 that weighed 16.83 kg and ranked seventh in the world. Gyulaj, in Tolna county, has produced five world record fallow bucks.
Hunting is also taken seriously at national level. In 2023 Hungary had around 68,000 sport hunters and nearly 3,000 professional hunters, and in 2021 Budapest hosted the One with Nature World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition, which drew 616,000 visitors to its main venue.
What you can hunt in Hungary
Red stag
Red stag is the species most visitors come for. Hungary’s stag season opens on 1 September, and the rut, roughly mid September to mid October, is when the old trophy stags are most active and easiest to locate. Hunts are usually stalking or high seat hunts with a professional hunter, often starting before first light when stags are roaring.
In our experience, hunting stags in the rut works better than hunting them later in the season because the stags are vocal, moving and far easier to find and judge, which gives you a far better chance of selecting a genuinely mature animal rather than taking whatever appears at dusk.
Trophies in Hungary are judged by weight as well as by CIC score. Antlers are weighed with the skull but without the lower jaw, around 24 hours after the trophy has been boiled out, and every trophy is presented to an official assessment commission after the hunt, using the CIC measuring system.
Wild boar
Driven wild boar is Hungary’s other headline hunt. Big driven days usually run from mid November into January, with beaters and dogs moving boar through woodland towards a line of standing guns. Hungary shot 150,600 wild boar in 2025, according to official statistics, which gives some idea of the numbers involved.
Our own Hungarian driven boar package runs over three nights with two driven days, half board accommodation, and 50 wild boar for the group with no trophy fees, at 4,500 euros per hunter for a team of ten. Paul Smith, who founded Field & Forest over 20 years ago, takes part in between 40 and 50 driven hunts a year, and Hungary is one of the places where we’ve found the organisation of a driven day consistently strong.
Fallow deer
Fallow buck season opens on 1 October, and the rut runs from mid October into early November. Hungary is one of the best places in the world for a trophy fallow buck, and the rut is a spectacular time to be in the woods.
Roe deer, mouflon and small game
Roe buck season runs from 15 April to 30 September, with the July and August rut a popular time for visiting hunters. Mouflon are hunted on a number of estates, and Hungary also offers driven pheasant and duck shooting through the autumn and winter.
Season dates are set under Hungarian law and individual estates may set their own windows within them, so always confirm exact dates with your organiser before booking.
The best regions for hunting in Hungary
- Somogy and Zala, south west Hungary. Mixed forest and farmland, and the heartland of trophy red deer. SEFAG manages around 130,000 hectares in Somogy alone.
- Gemenc and the Danube floodplain. More than 46,000 hectares of riverside forest, famous for red stags and wild boar.
- Tolna. Home to Gyulaj and some of the best fallow deer hunting in the world.
- Northern hills. The forested hills of northern Hungary hold red deer, wild boar and mouflon in more rugged terrain.
How hunting in Hungary works for foreign hunters
Hunting in Hungary is governed by Act LV of 1996, and visitors hunt on licensed estates with a professional hunter. Your organiser arranges the hunting permit and the compulsory insurance, which is usually a modest fixed fee. Gemenc, for example, charges 140 euros per hunter for 30 days of hunting permission and insurance.
Trophy fees are usually charged on top of the daily hunting rate, and for stags they are priced by antler weight. Many outfitters allow a tolerance of around 15% between the professional hunter’s estimate before the shot and the final measured weight. Discuss this before you hunt so there are no surprises on the final bill.
Taking your rifle to Hungary
Since 1 January 2021, UK hunters can no longer use the European Firearms Pass. To bring a rifle into Hungary, you declare it at the border, using the red channel at the airport, and the Hungarian customs authority issues a firearms transport certificate. You will need your UK firearm certificate, a document showing the purpose of your visit such as the invitation from your organiser, and the fee of 4,050 Hungarian forint. The stay must be no longer than 90 days.
Semi automatic rifles are not permitted for hunting in Hungary. Under Hungary’s hunting act, night vision and thermal riflescopes are also banned for night hunting, unless the hunting authority has issued a permit for set species and periods to control game numbers or for animal health reasons, but a hand held night vision spotting scope may be used. Big game ammunition must meet a minimum energy requirement. Your organiser will confirm the current rules for your calibre.
African swine fever
African swine fever has been present in wild boar in Hungary since 2018, and in 2026 the first outbreaks in domestic pigs were confirmed, including one in Somogy in August. The disease does not affect people. In affected areas it can mean controls on the movement of boar meat. Check with your organiser about the current zones and any rules on bringing trophies home.
Getting there
Budapest is around two hours 35 minutes from London Heathrow, with direct flights from London. Somogy, Tolna and Gemenc are all within a few hours’ drive of the capital, so a long weekend is realistic for a driven boar hunt, while a stag hunt in the rut is better planned over four or five days. UK passport holders can visit Hungary for up to 90 days in any 180 day period without a visa.
Planning your hunt in Hungary
Hungary offers some of the best value and best managed big game hunting in Europe. Choose the rut in September for a trophy stag, October for fallow, and the winter for driven boar, and work with an organiser who knows the estates and handles the permits, insurance and trophy assessment for you.
Field & Forest can arrange stag, fallow, roe and driven boar hunts across Hungary, from a single stalking trip to a full team driven weekend. Contact us to talk through species, dates and estates.
