Bow hunting in Europe

[Macnucator]

Does anyone have any experience in bow hunting? I'm looking to potentially try bow hunting mainly in Europe,
I'm hoping to do the British Bowhunters Association course and test next year,
I'm looking for any advice on guides, looking to try mainly wild boar, and maybe some deer species but I'm not too bothered about the deer

 

[Sika98k]

@tusker ?

 

[Smellydog]

Does anyone have any experience in bow hunting? I'm looking to potentially try bow hunting mainly in Europe,
I'm hoping to do the British Bowhunters Association course and test next year,
I'm looking for any advice on guides, looking to try mainly wild boar, and maybe some deer species but I'm not too bothered about the deer

Good for you.
Can't say any more but I know you will love it.

 

[tusker]

Does anyone have any experience in bow hunting? I'm looking to potentially try bow hunting mainly in Europe,
I'm hoping to do the British Bowhunters Association course and test next year,
I'm looking for any advice on guides, looking to try mainly wild boar, and maybe some deer species but I'm not too bothered about the deer

Hi mate, I dont know your level of experience but I am totally self tought. The best thing to do is practice, practice and more practice. I am going to Hungary in November to hunt Wild boar for 3 days so I will let you know how that goes when I return. The guy comes very well regarded.
if you lots of oppertunity then look to Africa. I will PM you later.
Tusker

 

[Smellydog]

I'd love to hear about your kit, bow, traditional or cams???

 

[Karhumies]

Here in Finland you can bowhunt on state land with a public type permit. All small game and invasives including wild boar, deer does require a club or guide with their own land tho. But wild boar is invasive and even the cheapest varmint permit allows hunting them. You will have to pass a shooting test here nailing a target at 18m and have a basic Finnish hunting license (around 50 euro)

Otherwise its pretty wild west.

If you are looking into Finland i could help you trough the paper forest. As for finding the boar.... either hunt on a reserve with a guide (quite expensive) or clear your schedule and pitch a tent in the south eastern forests. I can point out where there are boar populations and otherwise you enjoy everymans right, meaning you can camp wherever you please, pretty mutch go wherever you please and hunt to your hearts content.

I havent used a bow in a long time, planning to pick it up again once i make a new one. My old one lost its strength, unfortunate downside of using our local woods. Limited service life on birchwood and pine laminate bows. Making a new bow every few years is part of my pre hunt ritual.

 

[Julian S]

I bow hunted a lot when i lived in Canada for 8 years
Really satisfying but you need to practice archery and fieldcraft a lot to get within 40 m of prey.
Only hunt when you can hit a 3 inch target every time.
Compound bows better and easier to shoot.

 

[WW.]

Here in Finland you can bowhunt on state land with a public type permit. All small game and invasives including wild boar, deer does require a club or guide with their own land tho. But wild boar is invasive and even the cheapest varmint permit allows hunting them. You will have to pass a shooting test here nailing a target at 18m and have a basic Finnish hunting license (around 50 euro)

Otherwise its pretty wild west.

If you are looking into Finland i could help you trough the paper forest. As for finding the boar.... either hunt on a reserve with a guide (quite expensive) or clear your schedule and pitch a tent in the south eastern forests. I can point out where there are boar populations and otherwise you enjoy everymans right, meaning you can camp wherever you please, pretty mutch go wherever you please and hunt to your hearts content.

I havent used a bow in a long time, planning to pick it up again once i make a new one. My old one lost its strength, unfortunate downside of using our local woods. Limited service life on birchwood and pine laminate bows. Making a new bow every few years is part of my pre hunt ritual.

Would love to hear more about the process of making bows Finnish style.

 

[Karhumies]

Would love to hear more about the process of making bows Finnish style.

its a dead art mostly but since i have been on the forum for a year or so you may have gathered i like to make life harder for the sake of independence and happyness.

Its a simple system but hard to execute.

You require a slow growth birch tree, like from a swamp. And bullwood, compression wood of a pine tree.

The birch is made into a thin plank and the compression pine into a D shape. those are glued with fish hide glue and wrapped in rawhide or sinew and sealed with pine pitch. Some designs feature antler "horns" like steppe bows from the east but not all of them.

The bows are recurved and about the height of a man. Draw tends to be 40-60 lb and the material limitation is significant. But people in history had to survive so ingenious design had to overcome material deficiency, wether its in bow wood, knife steel, stone tools or really anything else.

These bows require very careful storage and cant be left strung for very long. Even if taken good care of they tend to require frequent relamination and steam straightening over the years due to the radically different woods warping at differenr rates.

 

[PK54]

Does anyone have any experience in bow hunting? I'm looking to potentially try bow hunting mainly in Europe,
I'm hoping to do the British Bowhunters Association course and test next year,
I'm looking for any advice on guides, looking to try mainly wild boar, and maybe some deer species but I'm not too bothered about the deer

Hunted in Hungary, Spain and Turkey for boar/deer using traditional flat bow, recurve and compound. Nothing like standing 20 yards from a boar reminding yourself that your good enough to take the shot. Different level entirely to the trusty .308 and telescopic.

 

[tusker]

I'd love to hear about your kit, bow, traditional or cams???

My bow is a compound PSE Stinger Max single cam. 65 pounds. 3pin sight set to 20,30 and 40 yards. arrows are Easton FMJ 340 spine with Ethics out serts and collars. I use magnus Stinger 125 grn broadheads also Crimson Tallon Cleaver 125 grn. Both these broadheads shoot the same poi as my field tips. total arrow weight is 540 grn,s. I have just added lighted knocks and I find these very helpful to see the arrow flight. When I go to Hungary in November I am expecting 40 yards shots so I am busy practicing out to that and It is helpful to see the flight clearly.
Tusker

 

[Smellydog]

Awesome

 

[Freeforester]

Does anyone have any experience in bow hunting? I'm looking to potentially try bow hunting mainly in Europe,
I'm hoping to do the British Bowhunters Association course and test next year,
I'm looking for any advice on guides, looking to try mainly wild boar, and maybe some deer species but I'm not too bothered about the deer

Spain - red hind opportunities on estates over there. Denmark used to allow bow hunting, not sure whether this is still the case there or not.

Proper stealthy hunting!
Practice no more than a dozen shots per every second day, rest the muscles in between, which will help them to build rather than fatigue.

 

[tusker]

Spain - red hind opportunities on estates over there. Denmark used to allow bow hunting, not sure whether this is still the case there or not.

Proper stealthy hunting!
Practice no more than a dozen shots per every second day, rest the muscles in between, which will help them to build rather than fatigue.

Good advice about the practice.
Tusker

 

[bobo]

Denmark used to allow bow hunting, not sure whether this is still the case there or not.

Here in Denmark we can bowhunt.
My colleague Peter does a lot of bowhunting, and have a YouTube channel on it.




He started out using longbow, then went to stone age bow, now sometimes uses more modern designs.
He mostly build his own bows, and made some really good copies of the “Holmegaards bow”, an intact 7000 year old bow.

 

[Smellydog]

Here in Denmark we can bowhunt.
My colleague Peter does a lot of bowhunting, and have a YouTube channel on it.




He started out using longbow, then went to stone age bow, now sometimes uses more modern designs.
He mostly build his own bows, and made some really good copies of the “Holmegaards bow”, an intact 7000 year old bow.

Great videos. Nice chap.

 

[tusker]

Does anyone have any experience in bow hunting? I'm looking to potentially try bow hunting mainly in Europe,
I'm hoping to do the British Bowhunters Association course and test next year,
I'm looking for any advice on guides, looking to try mainly wild boar, and maybe some deer species but I'm not too bothered about the deer

Just posted a write up
Tusker

 

[Bavarianbrit]

France allows it also.

 

[Macnucator]

Just posted a write up
Tusker

Just read your post sound's like a fantastic experience, I'm definitely interested in Hungary for sure.

 

[PK54]

Hungary is fine, great people good hunting but the animals are generally fenced. You may not see it, especially if the guides take you out or set you up in tree stands etc. The fenced areas can be BIG and the hunting a little easier and more exciting for 'beginners", I've been there several times in the past by the way.
My experiences of Spain by contrast is that you're hunting open country wild animals and your guide is much more likely to let you just walk by yourself during the day and meet back up before dark to set you up in a tree stand for several hours.
Bow mounted red torches usually work ok if they don't try green, I've had shy Boar panic with a red torch but an hour later return and ignore a green. No idea if there's a logic there or just dumb luck!