To Our European Members:

Business may have me spending time in France,about 1.5 hours outside Paris if the entire arrangement comes to pass....and I've been informed of the existence of hunting "leases" on the property where I will be staying...

I am curious and wonder what types of hunting opportunities may exist there(?)

Thanks for any information any one can provide.

hunting in France? :? that smelly country doesnt have any game, they all hightailed ass away from the stink. either that or it will be so easy to walk up to them cause you dont stink and use a knife. . . . . damn frogs!

That was helpful..

Rancho: Yeah, huh? Class act don't ya think?

Depending where you are in France, I would guess the most likely game available will be Roe Red or wild boar..In Europe there is usually a fair amount of red tape around hunting, so you'd need to do your research carefully. The other noteable thing about France is they don't allow military calibers..

From the little I know, the whole thing is a bit hit and miss as I've heard of some folks getting turned back with a .308win while others have been let in..I guess its why the 7x64mm is so popular of there!

Thanks Pete! I figured there were boars somewhere in the mix.The roe deer would be interesting animals to me.

I have no plans to bring a rifle myself,if I go(January), but thank you for that info....I had no plans to hunt,yet but you never know because the opportunity could be open to me.

I wonder if there is any birdhunting? And what species might be there.

Main big games in France are roe deer, wild boar and red stag but depending on the area you can find mufflon, chamoix or fallow deer.

Bird hunting and small game: hare, rabbit, pheasant, grey partridge, red partridge, woodcock, ducks, geeses and many many birds available only in France.

grand veneur: Thank you! Interesting....I am curious now of what I might see there.

1.5 hours outside Paris, in which direction ?

I am not sure yet..... This is all I know so far...

Can't use any army rounds in France.No 30-06, 7-57, 303 Brit ect.For you Bob you can take my STW.

The French are very keen small game hunters, and they can make a festival out of hare and rabbit hunting. Take advantage of the opportunity. The lunch and after hunt feast are more important than the hunt. Wild boar and roe deer are plentiful.

It could be useful to know ... Even Brussels is 1.5 Hours away from Paris with the train

Forget hunting. Go to Liege, Belgium for the Musee de'Arms, the chocolate and the beer. Don't miss the beer. Mike

Why choose when it's possible to get everything ?

Guys, thanks for all the input! I'm looking forward to seeing what becomes available over there,and if things go as planned my first trip will be sometime in January.

I will most definately pay a lot of attention to the food and the beer.I was a bit surprised to learn that there is a great deal of agricultural land there;that the cities are crowded but lots of openspace in the country.

Boars and roe deer sound very cool!

I was impressed by all the agricultural land in France as well. We traveled to France from England and Belgium and then from Paris to Normandy and it reminded me of Indiana and Michigan at times.

Enjoy the beer especially a fresh Kronenbourg and the Dutch and Belgium beers. Don't forget the wines and I would suggest a wine tasting.

Enjoy France, I was pleasantly surprised. If you have any questions feel free to pm.


ddj

trouthunter Thanks! i will for sure keep eyes peeled for the wine and food....I owuld like to kill something and cook it....the European folks understand that stuff real well, I guess.

They do. Keep in mind that in most of Europe and in the UK that game can still be sold for the market. I had a venison burger at a pub in northern UK last trip that was very good. Went back and talked to the cook and it had come from a hunt in Scotland. He thought the heather diet made them better. It was different than most US venison, much more like Axis deer, and very good.

So, play your card right and at least you get to eat some game over there.

I rather enjoyed my short time in France. Folks in Paris are no different than our NY yankee brethren.
It's attitudes like this that make us look bad and visitors to be closed minded.

Hope you're able to get out and do a hunt for whatever game. I'd be interested in a followup to you excursion and hear how your hunt went and your thoughts on the 'after hunt'.

As a North American I would definitely go out of my way to hunt woodcock in Europe, which I understand are twice the size of the ones we have here. Wonder if that makes them any easier to hit!!

Aaaaaargh those woodcocks, they dodge like hell but taste like heaven ...

They forgot to clean the damn thing.....

No sir, you NEVER clean a woodcock. It empties itself when takin off. Cook the full bird in the oven, above a bread toast covered with fresh foie gras, when the bird is ready, it opens and cleans itself ans it's the sauce on the toast.

That's how connoisseurs eat it.

But I admit, you can change the beer for an excellent wine.

Grand Veneur: Wow that woodcock looks big!Chimay is good,too

I like Duvel for Belgian Ale.....my favorite.

New Belgium Brewery has a Belgian style seasonal beer called "Tripple." It's pretty good; having one now.

A hunt in France would be the perfect occasion for a drilling

Well, it might be good eating, but it still needs dressed.
I dont reckon I could stomach something looking like that on my plate.
No offense intended.

Oregon: My hosts are European and wii figure out how we get firearms to hunt with....I don't even know what will be in season when I get there.....just have to figure it allout a bit at a time.

I am not going there to hunt per se,so it's a secondary consideration right now.

I can dress it another way but ... the original reciepe is mandatory I can't find a better way to enjoy a woodcock

i figure the south-west Norwegian speciality, smalahove isn't something for you then.

but i kind of agree, they could at least remove the head and feets.

Bob, I've spent a fair bit of time in France... really, once you get outside of Paris it's a wonderful, rural country with great people.

Aside, this year I sold an M70 part to a farmer from France on ebay... he's an absolute Winchester 70 nut! Was great corresponding with him...

Aside, aside, the only reason I can conceive owning a 7-08 is if I were wanting to hunt in France...(grin).

Rural France is beautiful and the wood cock looks delicious.


ddj

Aren't you talking about Jean-Pol, from the Marne ?????

That might be him... his ebay handle is blackbird51600

Arf That's his zip code, it's certainly the same He's also a Leupold addicted

Next Week end we'll hunt together in Verdun then Mourmelon.

Could probably remove the innards as well.

Alan

Brad: Do they use 270 M70's there?

If I can find one of them, I'm right at home.....fat city!

Hah... am sure they do!

You tell him hello from me... (he bought an M70 rear sight).

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!

Thanks, Brad, and I'll tell your hello to JP, the guy who convinced me to go for a M70 when looking for a safari rifle model.

Sportsmans Warehouse...$659
Their Paris store might not be open yet.

Couldnt help it.

Happy Birthday GV

WTF: Wize azz....................


GV: Joyeux Anniversaire!!!

Thank you guys

I was just in one of those moods.

Hey guys, I spent the whole W-E hunting in France, Verdun (right on the battleground), then The Marne (Mourmelon).

Great time with the French friends, excellent hunts, friendship, food and drinks ...

Also great places in history.













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No offense guys but european hunters do have style. They look like they are meant for an LL Bean or Filson catalog.


ddj

I'd prefer to avoid that blaze orange fashion, mandatory on that military ground

Just caught some pictures from a friend

Hey, Brad, you know that man with the blaze orange topped hat, with me, next to the boar !













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GV: Fabulous!

They use orange over there,too!Looks like quite the social event.

I loved all the food and wine!

Great pictures GV.

Looking down from the jet landing in Munich last Saturday I saw numerous stands in the fields and a row of hunters and dogs walking in a line abreast in the snow across one field. Couldn't see much cover in the field so don't know what they were hunting but it could have been a scene out of Iowa.

Looks like a bunch of Cajuns, just dressed neater!

Thank you Grand Veneur for the pics!

Quote: "Looks like a bunch of Cajuns, just dressed neater!"
What is it with the French aversion anyway? Could you explain so we can understand?
A Frenchman in Nebraska winter.

I have a theory ... Snails and frogs must be some kinds of holy creatures in the US I'm quite a sinner myself

I'd eat them! And I have......

Mourmelon is a very special place, military camp in The Marne, they drive the game on very very large areas at a time, so they have around 200 riflemen to surround the drived zone. It means they have dozens of beaters and hounds too. They shoot the roe deers, red stags and foxes but the wild boar is the star.

In my area we use to hunt quite smaller areas with 20 to 30 rifles at a time.

Wow!You never see anything like that here!

There must be a lot of game.

What rifles are most in use?

My personal choice is NOT typical so I can say what I see but it's only personal comprehension: 8*57 JRS and 9.3x74 r double rifles, Browning BAR and the like SA rifles (mostly Mag and short mag cal), various bolt actions (CZ, Sauer, Mauser action, Winchester 70, Tikka, Sako ... in the 7*64 - 9.3*62 caliber range) ...

Among the beaters you see short barrel shotguns, lever action Marlins (.444, 45-70), Pump action (remington 7600 in 35 Wh or .280 rem), mostly to solve fights between the hounds and big boars when it's safer than the dagger/ba�onet style.

Some use browning BLR, combination guns ... I use to take my .375 mod. 70 safari express.

Heavy rifle bullet is for me the best choice on driven game, because of the adrenaline shots of the game and the shooting angle (mostly 3/4 rear shots)

Old 06 is becoming popular in Belgium as an all-purpose rifle caliber but those ex-military calibers or closely linked to military caliber rounds are forbidden on the french hunting grounds. So you don't see excellent medicines such as the old 06, 303 brit, 308 win, 8*57 and 7*57 mauser, 6.5*55 swedish ...

GV: Interesting....thanks!

What"s to hunt in France besides "babes" and "wine"??

Read on page 1

Well,what else do you really need?

He looks like as nice a guy as I'd imagined from corresponding with him... hope you gave him my warmest regards!

Brad

PS, GREAT pics and input GV

Oh boy! Uh, thanks GV but that's a little too "native" for me--the head, the feet, and that "sauce" that isn't really s a u c e....is it

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GV! Now that's funny!!!!!!!!!

Kaywoodie