I'm bouncin'... (not TC related)

[no guns here]

Nope not T/C related but hopefully it'll stay here since this is the forum I use the most...

I finally realized one of my dreams (is that too strong of a word?)!  I just walked back in the office from picking up my German hunting license!  Not something that everyone gets to do.  It took a few months of study and preparation and a day of testing plus about $300 total.  We have one buck left on our abshussplan (game management plan) for our hunting area for this season, if it isn't killed tomorrow then I'll be on a stand Friday evening!  The beer's on me!  Wish me luck!!!


Waidmannsheil!,
no guns here
(my name's gonna have to change soon!)

[Grumulkin]

Well, I wish you luck.

I love the stuff Germans make like Stihl power equipment and Blaser rifles but I'm sure glad I don't have to go through the torture you guys go through to hunt.

[rockbilly]

Been there, done that.  The bird hunting in Germany wasn't bad, I enjoyed watching the highly trained dogs so much that I could put up with the rest of the bull, but the deer hunting was a joke.  I just don't like the idea of anyone taking me out, pointing out a specific animal, and telling me that is the only one I can shoot, and after shooting it having to buy the meat if you want a meal off off the animal.  German hunting reminds me too much of "canned" hunts here in America, but it is better than nothing.

I spent a few years at Bitburg, we had an outstanding Rod and Gun Club there, great skeet and trap ranges, and they almost gave the Sakos away.  What area are you hunting in?

And good luck on your hunt............

[no guns here]

Rockbilly,

[no guns here]

Rockbilly,
     Sorry I didn't get back... I'm in Stuttgart.  We can hunt anywhere, but we have a small training area that "belongs" to us.  I finally took a buck there last night.  It's an "abschuss" buck.  Not a trophy but a small yearling spike.  One thing about it, a .308 is WAY too much for these guys!!!  I'm using whatever guns the R&G club has available to loan.  Last night it was a Blaser R93 .308 with a camo synthetic stock and a fluted barrel.  It has a (I think) Swarovski 1.5x6 scope with the rail mount on it.  Really nice rig and a proven .5 inch gun.  The other guy that was hunting was using a Steyr JagdMatch .222 Rem with a S&B 2.5x10, it's a one hole gun if you do your part.  That was probably a little better as a gun for roe deer but I'm thinking it's a little light.  I think .30-30 would be about right.  A heavier bullet to punch all the way through but not too much velocity to make the deer into jelly.  I wasn't a happy camper while cleaning that bock last night.  Good shot behind the shoulder, but the insides were blown up too much for my likes...
     I haven't had anyone tell me which deer to shoot, just what class of deer to shoot.  We sit on stands by ourselves, not with a guide.  We have roe deer, wild hogs and if they open the closed area, fallow deer to hunt within a 5 minute drive of my quarters.  My plans are to take a better rehbock, a decent hog, and decent fallow, red deer and mouflon if at all possible before I PCS.  Can't afford a big trophy of any of them but a good representative animal of each isn't too expensive.
     On the T/C side of the house, I'm thinking that I'll order a new Encore with a .338 Federal (hogs and bigger deer) and then a smaller something for roe deer.  I like the OTT barrels but they are expensive!!!

Later,
ngh

[blhof]

I spent a year in Belgium, during the Reagan era, stationed at a small base in the country.  I tried to get a hunting permit for birds, as I kept seeing the large pheasant cross the roads.  It was like a very expensive lottery; I finally gave up.  One of my co-workers from the midwest stopped me on the way in to work to ask if I had any recipes for pheasant.  I asked why and he took me over to his car and opened the trunk to show me 2 pheasant.  He said they were road kill.  I said that didn't sound to safe, his reply was he had just got them on the way in.  They ate pretty well.  Later found out that his buddies in high school used to get pheasant with pickup trucks on ranch roads.  I guess there's a way around everything even in Europe.

[no guns here]

Glad ya'll didn't get caught with them fasan... Here in Germany, that's equivelant to poaching.  If you hit game animals, you are supposed to notify the local jagdpaechter or forstmeister.  The police will do that if you call them and if they know who controls the land...  Of course a licensed hunter is supposed to kill any wounded game to eliminate suffering of the animal.  You can shoot them if you have a gun with you or you can use a knife.  Lot's of legalities involved in that though.  Must be quick and painless or some bunny-lover may sue you.  The police won't shoot the game because there is too much paperwork involved.  Better shut up now before this gets too long...

ngh

[no guns here]

Just to let ya'll know... and I'm a little late in doing so...  I got my first roe buck on Friday the 25th.  Came out at 8:50 pm.  This thing was really small, only a year and a half old.  Just a "speisser" or spike to us.  About the equivalent on the trophy scale of a 1 1/2 year old 4 point white tail.  Went from full scale to 1/3 scale when it hit the ground!!!  Not much meat to start with and even less after hitting it with a .308 Win from a Blaser R93.  Great, great rifle.  Great cartridge but just too much for roe deer.  It was half gutted when it hit the ground!  Trophy fee and meat cost me 151.25 Euro.  Works out to about $200.  But now I can say I am an international hunter huh?

Later,
ngh

[no guns here]

Sorry, I forgot that I had already posted the kill...


ngh