• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Hunters are so lucky in the US

A

Adamcincy

Active Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2017
Messages
186
Spending a week in London England. Went to two London gun shops to see what it is like over here for hunters and this is what I was told.

Hunting is primarily done by the wealthy. You may own bolt action sporting rifles and double barrel shotguns, subject to licensing (need a purpose to own a firearm, secure storage, ammunition limits, police inspections, and to pay fees) but handguns and semi autos are effectively banned. Hunting with a bow or crossbow is illegal.

No hunting on public land. Animals are owned by land owners and you effectively need to be invited onto an estate to hunt.

I visited two London gun makers/gun shops. They make guns that are ‘bespoke’ which means custom measured and manufactured to fit you. The shotguns on display were priced at $83,000 US dollars and $182,000 for a pair. They said most people buy pairs so someone can load one while the shooter shoots the other. Those numbers knocked me over but I’m not making them up.

I’m not sure where one would buy a non custom/common man’s firearm here but they must be available... I didn’t find where they are sold.

Thought it was interesting how different the access to game, hunting land, and the tools for hunting is here (in England) from the US.

Hunting is such a big part of what I think about and how I spend my time and it’s so available to me. Heck, I hunt the city and county parks in my home town. It’s beautiful here but I feel lucky to live in the US.
 
It was super fun to take a German exchange student hunting back in college. You could tell he felt like he was in the wild west when I picked him up with 2 rifles in the back seat, and had him buy his license on his phone en route to the swamp.

Good times.

And without getting too political, for the love of fried chicken and cheap beer, support the NRA and take folks hunting/shooting! Unless you like the picture OP just painted.
 
I've taken 3 Europeans (German English and Spaniard) and to the gun range and it was awesome to see the way it affects them.
 
Very similar in France. My French work counterpart in south France always tells me how unhappy I'd be if I had to reside and try to hunt there.
 
Adamcincy said:
Spending a week in London England. Went to two London gun shops to see what it is like over here for hunters and this is what I was told.

Hunting is primarily done by the wealthy. You may own bolt action sporting rifles and double barrel shotguns, subject to licensing (need a purpose to own a firearm, secure storage, ammunition limits, police inspections, and to pay fees) but handguns and semi autos are effectively banned. Hunting with a bow or crossbow is illegal.

No hunting on public land. Animals are owned by land owners and you effectively need to be invited onto an estate to hunt.

I visited two London gun makers/gun shops. They make guns that are ‘bespoke’ which means custom measured and manufactured to fit you. The shotguns on display were priced at $83,000 US dollars and $182,000 for a pair. They said most people buy pairs so someone can load one while the shooter shoots the other. Those numbers knocked me over but I’m not making them up.

I’m not sure where one would buy a non custom/common man’s firearm here but they must be available... I didn’t find where they are sold.

Thought it was interesting how different the access to game, hunting land, and the tools for hunting is here (in England) from the US.

Hunting is such a big part of what I think about and how I spend my time and it’s so available to me. Heck, I hunt the city and county parks in my home town. It’s beautiful here but I feel lucky to live in the US.
Click to expand...
This is exhibit A of why it's so important to protect our public lands. It's such a non partisan issue. Very interesting though. Not all European countries are this strict on hunting. I think Sweden and Norway and Finland are a little more lenient. Big hunting traditions there.
 
I spent a couple months studying abroad in Austria, Hungary and Germany and it was the same there. I would stop in the gun/sporting shops to look and talk and it made me sick to hear what those guns cost and how it was mainly a rich man’s game. I actually wrote a lengthy paper about the differences in hunting in America and Europe, we really do have it good.

However, if you’re ever in Munich you need to check out the hunting museum there. It’s full of trophy’s and even some extinct animal skeletons. For Euro-land it wasn’t half bad.
 
I wouldn't say "lucky" as much as "blessed." Nothing we have today came for free, some really good men laid down their lives so we could have this freedom that our forefathers envisioned for all Americans when they formed this country. we can easily lose it (just like Europe) if we continue to sit back and do nothing as the liberals try to redefine America.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DaveT1963 said:
I wouldn't say "lucky" as much as "blessed." Nothing we have today came for free, some really good men laid down their lives so we could have this freedom that our forefathers envisioned for all Americans when they formed this country. we can easily lose it (just like Europe) if we continue to sit back and do nothing as the liberals try to redefine America.
Click to expand...
Well said sir
 
You Don't Realize How Good You Have It

Josiah, my 8 year old, has been hounding me about going hunting and fishing here lately. Unfortunately for him, we live in Germany where hunting and fishing are so over-regulated and expensive that it's almost impossible to do. I hope he still has the interest when we get back stateside in 2020.

I had considered doing the 4-day fishing course once moving to Baumholder--yes, the Army in its wisdom has me moving to another place in Germany in the middle of my move to Germany, but obtaining a German fishing license is time consuming and pricey. Its process entails taking a 30-hour course followed by a comprehensive fishing exam that tests what students learned. A good understanding of the German language is a must. The cost of obtaining the license is around $200. In the class one might learn how to ID certain fish, what baits they might like, that fish can't breathe outside of water, and a million other topics that aren't necessarily pertinent to catching fish or that an idiot would already know. Once you're done with that, you pick a public stream and you look up and contact the Jagermeister. The jagermeister is basically Mr. Green Jeans and/or the Biologist for the area or land manager. More than likely, your first few times out fishing he/she will accompany you on your fishing trip to make sure you follow the rules and do it the right way. Catch and release fishing is illegal. You catch it you keep it. I have heard rumors that the daily fish limit is 2. TWO FREAKING FISH. The water is public, but it's privately managed. After completing the fishing course and hating yourself with putting up with so much governmental intrusion into your life, you have the cost of the fishing license and permit to cop for.

It's the same way with hunting over here. There's almost no such thing as public land hunting and if you hunt you almost always have to go through a "Rod & Gun Club." That would be like not being able to hunt at all unless you had a deer lease with other hunters. Most hunting is by invite only, and if you contact the Jagermeister and get permission, they tell you which "high seat" to sit on. More than likely you'll be looking at a field edge. The "high seat" is a box blind. Bowhunting is illegal here so hunting is gun only. Once you justify your "wanting to have a firearm" through getting a hunting license, the Polizei (German Police) can come into your home to make sure you have a gun safe to standard and anchored to your wall. They can just stop by and do a courtesy call because you're a registered gun-owner with registered guns. All of your hunting weapons need to be registered. Even if it's a muzzleloader from 1900. No need for a warrant when the cops come by and want to walk through your home. Gun ownership is a privilege--not a right. While Germany has a Constitution, it's not like the awesome one American's enjoy.

The hunting course (German Hunter's Ed) costs almost $400 to take and last four months. 6 hours each week of "this is the barrel, this is the bad end of the gun, this is a deer, this is where you aim, this is called a binocular, etc." I could've taught the course. I got so mad and irritated sitting in the class, that I quit going after 3 weeks and resigned myself to not hunt while in this freedom-hating country. That's the cost for the hunting course. The cost of registering firearms, justifying your "need" for them, purchasing the "right safe" and having someone anchor it to your wall--all that costs a lot more money.

I was talking to a couple of my Lieutenants yesterday and we started talking about fishing and hunting and camping.

Guess what else? Germany doesn't allow primitive camping. You can't go find a nice spot outside, make a campfire ring, and pitch a tent. It's not allowed. Jude and Josiah and I really enjoy camping together. Back home, we'd go find a creek, a flat spot, and a campfire ring and roast marshmallows, catch crawdads, swim, and just have a jolly ol' time. But not here. Camping like that is illegal. You can camp, in designated campgrounds, in campers or cabins. You can't hike a trail and decide to spend the night or camp when you get tired. You can't do much of anything over here. They care about the animals and the trees more than they care about you getting to enjoy the outdoors yourself. The West Coast in the States is probably the closest thing to here, with it's liberal hippies and stupid regulations. It's disheartening. The lack of opportunity to live freely here wears on a guy. Pray with me that my boys are still interesting in hunting and fishing when we get back home.

Think about all this the next time you complain about the $5 trout stamp. Or the $35 hunting/fishing license you have to buy.

Thank God for the US and the wisdom of the Founding Fathers. The rest of the world doesn't enjoy freedom like we do. Remember how good you have it.
 
Abishai said:
You Don't Realize How Good You Have It

Josiah, my 8 year old, has been hounding me about going hunting and fishing here lately. Unfortunately for him, we live in Germany where hunting and fishing are so over-regulated and expensive that it's almost impossible to do. I hope he still has the interest when we get back stateside in 2020.

I had considered doing the 4-day fishing course once moving to Baumholder--yes, the Army in its wisdom has me moving to another place in Germany in the middle of my move to Germany, but obtaining a German fishing license is time consuming and pricey. Its process entails taking a 30-hour course followed by a comprehensive fishing exam that tests what students learned. A good understanding of the German language is a must. The cost of obtaining the license is around $200. In the class one might learn how to ID certain fish, what baits they might like, that fish can't breathe outside of water, and a million other topics that aren't necessarily pertinent to catching fish or that an idiot would already know. Once you're done with that, you pick a public stream and you look up and contact the Jagermeister. The jagermeister is basically Mr. Green Jeans and/or the Biologist for the area or land manager. More than likely, your first few times out fishing he/she will accompany you on your fishing trip to make sure you follow the rules and do it the right way. Catch and release fishing is illegal. You catch it you keep it. I have heard rumors that the daily fish limit is 2. TWO FREAKING FISH. The water is public, but it's privately managed. After completing the fishing course and hating yourself with putting up with so much governmental intrusion into your life, you have the cost of the fishing license and permit to cop for.

It's the same way with hunting over here. There's almost no such thing as public land hunting and if you hunt you almost always have to go through a "Rod & Gun Club." That would be like not being able to hunt at all unless you had a deer lease with other hunters. Most hunting is by invite only, and if you contact the Jagermeister and get permission, they tell you which "high seat" to sit on. More than likely you'll be looking at a field edge. The "high seat" is a box blind. Bowhunting is illegal here so hunting is gun only. Once you justify your "wanting to have a firearm" through getting a hunting license, the Polizei (German Police) can come into your home to make sure you have a gun safe to standard and anchored to your wall. They can just stop by and do a courtesy call because you're a registered gun-owner with registered guns. All of your hunting weapons need to be registered. Even if it's a muzzleloader from 1900. No need for a warrant when the cops come by and want to walk through your home. Gun ownership is a privilege--not a right. While Germany has a Constitution, it's not like the awesome one American's enjoy.

The hunting course (German Hunter's Ed) costs almost $400 to take and last four months. 6 hours each week of "this is the barrel, this is the bad end of the gun, this is a deer, this is where you aim, this is called a binocular, etc." I could've taught the course. I got so mad and irritated sitting in the class, that I quit going after 3 weeks and resigned myself to not hunt while in this freedom-hating country. That's the cost for the hunting course. The cost of registering firearms, justifying your "need" for them, purchasing the "right safe" and having someone anchor it to your wall--all that costs a lot more money.

I was talking to a couple of my Lieutenants yesterday and we started talking about fishing and hunting and camping.

Guess what else? Germany doesn't allow primitive camping. You can't go find a nice spot outside, make a campfire ring, and pitch a tent. It's not allowed. Jude and Josiah and I really enjoy camping together. Back home, we'd go find a creek, a flat spot, and a campfire ring and roast marshmallows, catch crawdads, swim, and just have a jolly ol' time. But not here. Camping like that is illegal. You can camp, in designated campgrounds, in campers or cabins. You can't hike a trail and decide to spend the night or camp when you get tired. You can't do much of anything over here. They care about the animals and the trees more than they care about you getting to enjoy the outdoors yourself. The West Coast in the States is probably the closest thing to here, with it's liberal hippies and stupid regulations. It's disheartening. The lack of opportunity to live freely here wears on a guy. Pray with me that my boys are still interesting in hunting and fishing when we get back home.

Think about all this the next time you complain about the $5 trout stamp. Or the $35 hunting/fishing license you have to buy.

Thank God for the US and the wisdom of the Founding Fathers. The rest of the world doesn't enjoy freedom like we do. Remember how good you have it.
Click to expand...
Heck. With. That. :rage:

It's really interesting to read about the "poachers" overseas. Hunting hares with air pistols and slingshots and the like. TBH, I don't know what I'd do in a situation like that. Be in jail a lot, I guess. :laughing:
 
A couple things. The west coast comment is wrong. There are many reasons I don't particularly want to move to California, but hunting, fishing and camping opportunities have nothing to do with it. Same is true for Oregon and Washington. I sometimes get the impression you guys don't understand what you don't have because you've never had it.

I can hunt and fish and camp in 70% of Idaho without asking a sole. All I need is the proper licenses. In Oregon its 60%, Washington 42%, and in the dreaded California I own 52% of the state. I have 10 times more "freedom" in any of those states than someplace like Texas or Ohio or Nebraska where I basically have no land I can just go hunt, fish and camp on whenever I want.

2nd thing. We do have lots of freedoms here, but it's a fickle thing. They can play poker in Germany, but they took that freedom away from us because one rich dude payed off the right politicians to make it happen. If we don't figure out a way to make our government represent the common person again instead of the highest bidder all our freedoms are at risk. The liberal vs conservative stuff is a bunch of crap, because the senators and representatives from both sides don't care in the least what we want (unless there happens to be a billionaire or the CEO of Goldman Sachs that hangs out here, then, ok, well done sir). I hate both parties. We the people have lost control of our country and I have no idea how to fix it and get it back. All I can do is mention it when the topic comes up so people are aware.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top