Euro vs US Hunting Set Ups

[Art]

I have been checking out some stuff on European hunting. We're talking about hunting driven game in places like Germany, the eastern European countries and France. Because so much of the big game hunting is on drives where the animals are on the move and shooting has to be done in narrow windows, sometimes at multiple targets (pigs) a family of very sophisticated straight pull rifles made by outfits like Merkel and Blaser have been developed. These quick operating rifles are often paired with red dot or holographic sights though lower magnification telescopic sights are also used.

If you wonder why they don't just use autoloaders, well, it's Europe and both laws and tradition play a part in that.

Interestingly, one of the most popular calibers used in these rifles is .30-06.

It's interesting to see hunting where multiple shots at the same animal are common and do not always result in a hit. It's a big difference from here, Canada or (mostly) the UK where a one shot quick kill at a stationary animal is more the way to go.

The video is a review on a Merkel Helix Arabesque, a top end variant but even the base level models are very expensive around $4,000.00. Of course hunting in Europe is more a rich, or at least very well off, man's pastime than here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBWOpYMy_rM

[dryheat]

Get ready for some sticker shock.

[bruce]

It would appear that the straight pull rifles are now highly developed b/c semi-automatic designs are out of bounds by law? Much prefer the US method. I.e., we have plenty of people who hunt and plenty of land (for the most part) and plenty of choices in action types ... mostly bolt, lever and semi-auto. Smattering of falling blocks, single-shots, etc. We can hunt just about anything that walks or crawls as long as it is in season and we have a tag. Just as nice, varmints are virtually open season all year long w/ no limits. Right now my favorite game rifle is a 03-A4 replica produced by Chuck in Denver. Have now got the parts together to fit one of my M-1 Garand rifles out with a scout scope arrangement. That rifle will be my go to for hunting in the swamps and open woods areas. I prefer the 03-A4 for wide open fields, etc. Sincerely. bruce.

[lyman]

the Weaver rails built into the action look cheap on that model,

wonder if the higher grades use a more {German} traditional claw type mount?


I've not had the chance to shoot a Blaser but have sold a few,
the new ones are very modular

and the actions on all are very slick,
takes some getting used to , since I guess as an American, I tend to want to lift the handle, vs just move it backwards,

[barretcreek]

Picked up a Merkel single shot at Wm. Larkin Moore in Scottsdale, but managed to return it to the rack. Nice rifle. Do have a K31 for which I am going to send the dies back to Hornady with fired cases, to get the sizer matched to my chamber.

[jon_norstog]

In Norway hunting is pretty regulated, but ordinary people can hunt.

Thank you Art for bringing this up. I hope you all appreciate your public lands and will vote for the candidates who will protect them and keep them open for us ordinary hunters. I want my grandchildren to be able to hunt and fish the way my brothers and I have done all our lives.

jn

[Art]

Many years ago i was talking to a German landowner about hunting in his country. He said that he had to provide a management plan to the state regarding the number of animals of all types that needed to be culled from his property. He then set up a hunt using shooters known by him to be reliable and trustworthy. Getting a hunting license in Germany is a long and expensive process and includes among other things written tests on wildlife biology and identification, familiarity with firearms and shooting tests. I told him the possibility of getting high quality meat must be an incentive. He told me emphatically that the meat was his and would be sold by him at market but each shooter and beater would leave with a piece of meat...a ham or shoulder being his custom.

This video from Brit outdoor TV shows the way they do it there.

https:www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y8xWix2txc

One of the hunt managers has a rifle with a silencer. In most of the world, rather than being a crime, the use of a silencer is good manners.