Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Europe European hunters are their own worst enemies

Don't threaten to put me on ignore. Do It! Please. It separates the wheat from the chaffe.

Never did.

Don't wait for it.

A civil post at last.

I never put the writen word from anyone on ignore. I am tempted sometimes to put annoying avitars on ignore though.

Hi cmg, hi Jburner, hi everybody,

How can a thread like this one can go so bad? Can't we stay polite and respectful of each others? There're enough hunters and gun owners foes every where in the world, no need to fight against ourself.

To Jburner: you can't compare USA and Europe because of our different history, traditions, politic systems, cultures and laws. Not a single country in Europe has a 2nd amendement to defend the right to keep and bear arms; firearms ownership in certain countries, like United Kingdom, was always strictly controlled and you can't do nothing to change that but we do fight (every where in Europe) to protect our rights as hunters or gun owners the way we can. In Canada you've got regulations too for exemple you can't buy suppressors, 50 BMG calibers guns, hand guns are as strictly controlled as in France. I can buy .50 caliber Barett or PGM or Accuracy if i want (declared and registered) and all the suppressors i need. Before 1995 i could even own full auto firearms and i did so. Look at California's laws, they are worse than in France or Germany, even with NRA and Terminator as governor. We are endangered species so, together, better be friends than foes.

[bleep] dumb arse, there is no freedom of speech on this forum, only what Rick allows.....this is a private site owned by a private individual.....freedom of speech only comes into play with what the government can do to an individual.....you be on private property, aint no such thing as the freedom of speech here......

Dear Marseille,

Its true that in some cases the gun and hunting laws are better in Europe than in the USA. However, I think the Americans through the NRA, have found a way to change their laws that Europeans cannot even begin to contemplate. And they humiliate mainstream media which Europenas cannot do. The NRA just made it legal to carry a loaded gun in a National Park. Try than anywhere else.

The right to keep and bear arms is not an American invention. It is a British invention. It comes directly from the Magna Carta and is the legal definition of a free man as opposed to a slave.

The Brits however, have lost track of their roots and have failed to defend their best traditions. FC Selous use to sight his rifles in just a century ago by bouncing bullets off the Tower of London. A few years ago Tony Blair simply banded hangun ownership in Britain without a wimper of protest.

I think what happened to the Brits is they set up a bureauracy to control their colonies and on losing their colonies the bureacracy had to control the Brits as a kind of make work project just to stay in power.

The Brits proved that the dugout canoe was no match for the Dreadnaught battleship and the sword and spear no match for artillery. At Odurman not one of the 10,000 fuzzy wuzzies killed got to within 950 yards of the British artillery. They were armed with swords. There bones still lie in the desert just outside Kartoum.

This of course created great resentment and a desire for guns and to control it the Brits created gun laws to make sure they had the guns and the fuzzy wuzzies had none. That is why the 470 Nitro Express exists. All 450 calibres, the popular rifles of the day, rifles were banned from private ownership in the Sudan so guzn makesr came up with the 470.

The Brits created a gun control bureaucracy to control the colonies and then lost the colonies but the bureaucracy remained like bureacracies tend to do and I think that is what disarmed the Brits.

Rattler is to a certain extent correct. There really is no such thing as freedom of speech for everyone. What does exist is the right of different factions to make their POV known. There are as many POVs as there are publishers and web sites. The more the better.

Don't put him on ignore just ignore him, social misfits are to be more pitied than despised. I apologize for the rest of Canada.

Thanks 007,

there have been doubts voiced about Burner being from Canada.

Personally I think he neither from here nor there...

Well said. I am embarrassed by those who are here to just sow the seeds of hate and discontent under the banner of discussion. Any of you good folks from the other side of the pond are welcome to my campfire any time.

Allen

Stay tuned!

This is foolish, Europe has its own traditions and ways of doing things. Yea there is some hoops you have to jump thru in order to hunt or shoot. Well there is a lot of people that live in Europe and they speak a bunch of different languages. In North America, There is just three nation states, The United States Canada and Mexico, Pretty much you can talk to anybody in English or you could make the case for Spanish. Its also pretty wide open we can and do get to do what we want to do with regard to shooting sports. That being said there are some things you do in Europe that is a big no no here and well lets face it showing up to a driven Grouse shoot in Scotland, with an 870 pump gun is not done, never mind the costs to shoot grouse in Scotland when we can pretty much shoot the same bird in Alaska and people who go to Alaska to hunt don't go to shoot birds. One of the things I would like to do before I die is hunt France, a month long deal in the French country side, hunting and hitting all the great resturants the country is known for. Its on my bucket list.

You will be welcomed i can show you some good roe deer stalking for trophy, hunt corsican ram in full wide open wild space, invit you to good driven hunt for boars and stags and some fowl and woodcock too. Send PM when you're ready, can give you really good adress for good foods and wines without being obliged to take mortage on your house.

Dom

I'm plotting to avoid major "Honey Do" expenses so I could pull off a trip like that!! You DID mention that I could use my Sharps didn't you?

You can, despite some faulse ideas, bring your gun with you to France and your ammos too, if you have trouble because of BP loading in airplane you can handload here, we got Swiss and French BP and most of US made bullets in all calibers. We also have some loading dies, special powder measure (i own 47 different ones)plus i've gunsmith friend who sell Hornady, RCBS, Lee and Lyman....Could even come with you with my Shiloh!

Dom

I've hunted in Scotland, Spain, and France. I've taken firearms to France and Spain with very little inconvenience. Didn't bother to try for Scotland, but the fine people there made sure that I was well equipped for grouse in the heather, and later on with whiskey in the bothy.

If there is a separation of classes, I do not find it between hunters, but there is a distinction between hunters and beaters, and often the hunters and the gamekeepers. I have found that should your camp, (and your bottle) be open to the gamekeepers, and supposing they found you a worthy hunter and good fellow, then the goods time will roll! Same goes between the hunters.

My experiences in Europe have be nothing short of outstanding. The hospitality I have received has been beyond description. Certainly, I would be hard pressed to return the favor at the same level.

From my observations, hunting is alive and well in Europe, and the traditions of the hunt are still honored and kept.

Oh hell, Jorge will have ideas now!

The UK is a little different for the hunter,there is little to hunt.A few deer in Scotland but not much else I dont think.I have friends and family there and I think their hunting is restricted to rabbit,pheasant and duck.Dont know whats in Ireland.

Couldn't be further from the truth Glyn, but I'll forgive seeing as you have a good Welsh name!

We have six species of deer and all except one are generally expanding. Outside the major cities I doubt anybody is more than 1 hour away from a wild deer population...In fact we know there are more deer here today than in thelast 750 years or so...

In addition to deer, we have small localised populations of wild boar and feral goats. The boar in particular are also increasing in numbers!

As far as Ireland goes, there are good populations of Red, Sika and Fallow deer, along with Feral goat..Apparently there have even been recent sightings of Muntjac so it won't take them long to get established...

Hi Pete,
About the wild boars my friend Greame from Sporting services told me they came from fenced areas whose fences were broken in storm. You must be careful about boars they multiply like rabbits when not hunted and are responsible of lots of crops and plants destruction, real varmint.
For the deer for sure you're right the British islands population is impressive.
In Scotland deer density can be unbelievable for a continental guy.

Yep some said they breed freely in Sir McCartney's backyard ...