How to become a stalk hunter?

R. Macleod & Son - The Best Hunting Companion
D

Dennis202

Member
Hello,

What kind off advice would you give to a 32 year old “fit” guy with zero experience in hunting. I have no connection what so ever to people in the hunting community. For the last 4 years I’m really thinking about hunting but don’t really know where to start. In my country (the Netherlands) you can get a license but you need land where you can hunt on or get permission from an other land owner. Which can be very hard to get considering our small country. I’m fascinated with seeing harsh stalk hunts in the European mountains or the Scottish highlands. I’m willing to do whatever it takes, to become a stalk hunter and do what feels like I’m supposed to do.

Hope you all can give me advice where to start.

Kind regard,
Dennis
 
Sounds like you need to find someone to tag along with. I’m sure someone in your region would be willing to take you out to experience your 1st hunt. Most seasoned stalkers consider this a privilege & are happy to help.

Failing that paying for a stalk with an outfitter would give you that opportunity & enable you to experience hunting to see if it’s really for you.

Good luck & hopefully a fellow Netherlander will be along shortly with some support 😉👍
 
1. Join a local target shooting club, to ensure you can shoot safely and straight.
2. Go on some paid stalks or find a friendly stalker in the club you can accompany. Paid stalks can be cheap if you are stalking does. One may even help you with a written permission ;)
3. Do DSC 1, and now it is just one gralloch, DSC2 is easy: ask the friend / paid stalks to teach you how to do it and practice it.
4. Armed with these things, you should be able to get a suitable firearm of your own, perfect your shooting, and progress.
 
TheCornishman said:
Sounds like you need to find someone to tag along with. I’m sure someone in your region would be willing to take you out to experience your 1st hunt. Most seasoned stalkers consider this a privilege & are happy to help.

Failing that paying for a stalk with an outfitter would give you that opportunity & enable you to experience hunting to see if it’s really for you.

Good luck & hopefully a fellow Netherlander will be along shortly with some support 😉👍
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply! I will try to find someone that is willing to introduce me in the Netherlands. But for hunts in other countries what are the general license you have to get?
 
AlexD said:
1. Join a local target shooting club, to ensure you can shoot safely and straight.
2. Go on some paid stalks or find a friendly stalker in the club you can accompany. Paid stalks can be cheap if you are stalking does. One may even help you with a written permission ;)
3. Do DSC 1, and now it is just one gralloch, DSC2 is easy: ask the friend / paid stalks to teach you how to do it and practice it.
4. Armed with these things, you should be able to get a suitable firearm of your own, perfect your shooting, and progress.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply. I’m already started target shooting so started of good there lol. Is the DSC1 and 2 like an international license to hunt? And if so and you passed this both, are you allowed to hunt on your own?
 
Dennis202 said:
Thanks for your reply! I will try to find someone that is willing to introduce me in the Netherlands. But for hunts in other countries what are the general license you have to get?
Click to expand...
In the UK, nothing. UK stalkers often take out people with no paper at all. If you turn up to me with no paper at all, I will ask you join something with insurance such as NGO, BSAC or anyone: that takes one minute online. You could PM me, I could take you on a stalk 15 minutes from Edinburgh airport, and you could be back in the Netherlands same day with a 14kg extra piece of baggage (getting it into the Netherlands now the UK is out of the EU would be your problem). Many other stalkers on here could do the same for you.

DSC 1 teaches the basics of handling the deer as part of the human food chain, basic gun safety in a stalking context, recognising the deer and the law in the UK so you don't shoot what you should not shoot. DSC 2 checks you can do a gralloch properly, which you will have to do a lot of as you stalk so better do it early so you learn to do it right and do not end up eating deer with TB just because you did not know to check the lymphatic system. Both are good things to have, and DSC 2 is now much easier than in the past.

No matter what paper you have, every stalk I do with someone new, has to be preceded with a zero check, and I explain the safety expected. If you have heard it for the first time or 1000th time, it does not matter.

Your performance on the zero check will say a lot, and not just where the bullet lands; it shows technique. All of us have gone to a range where there are targets on A1 sized paper at 200 yards, and amazingly, it is peppered all over, and some shooters miss the target altogether. Club guns are often, or in my experience usually :( , dreadful, so if that is your club, ask other members to try their gun for five shots to see the world of difference. Even with a terrible club rifle, the club will teach you safety and technique.

If shooting deer, I expect you to hit 1" at 100 yards every single time with either your own gun or mine. If you don't hit the 1" then we have a how to shoot session then a stalk. In the odd case, one session may not be enough to go for a real deer, but anyone with a stable core technique and decent rifle should be able to hit 1" at 100 yards.

I pick the place to stalk based on the risk I observe during your zero demo: how big a backdrop you might need in the very worst case, based on my observation of your style, the distance you need to be within to hit the deer in the right place, and how you shoot from sticks instead of prone tells me if we can do shots that demand sticks. DSC1 is really good at covering those basics too, hence steps 1, 2 and 3 on the suggested path to being a master shooter or stalker. It can be a really enjoyable journey.
 
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You are welcome to visit me in Sweden hunting grouse or beaver. The Swedish rules are you can follow close to an experenced hunter during hunting education useing what persons shotgun/rifle.
 
AlexD said:
In the UK, nothing. UK stalkers often take out people with no paper at all. If you turn up to me with no paper at all,...
Click to expand...
Sorry I forgot, if you don't have a firearms certificate then we have to check you do not have one piece of paper: a serious criminal record. It is not like joining a gun club where the police have to say OK first - I ask if you have ever been charged or convicted of a serious offence, and have you been charged with anything at all in the past five years (I know, 3 years is the current trend, but one can get away with a lot in 3 years), then rely on an honest reply.

On your question of hunting on your own, I can only speak for the UK, Northern Europe, USA and Australia.
In the UK, if you have a firearm and you have grounds to shoot on (from a farmer, or have done a deal with a stalker who has seen your shooting more than once), then you can go hunting. Tips: Don't shoot the goats or the sheep.
Northern Europe: KimE's kind offer is good. Tips: don't shoot the reindeer, don't pack a torch during the summer, and take some good midge repellant.
In the USA, public lands abound and you can shoot: many States require hunting licences which you buy, or a US friend buys and the friend goes with you. Lots of private land also, where you do a deal with the landowner. There are a lot of strange rules in the USA - you can't use European hunting rifles+rounds for deer in Utah for example. Tip: US law enforcement is a bit heavy so know the rules and be subservient - they can give big fines to numpties who don't know the rules in that State, which may differ from the neighbouring State.
Australia: Great place. BIG deer. Lots of rules on guns. Foreigners need to know a wild Australian to enjoy yourself. Tips: Don't touch "dead" snakes, don't forget to empty your boots before putting them on (have photos, can share on that lesson, beautiful redback spiders they have), and don't swim in the creek unless your friend who REALLY knows the place is in it first.
 
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"Tips: don't shoot the reindeer, don't pack a torch during the summer, and take some good midge repellant."
:) The leader of my hunting team are also a reindeer owner (all reindeers in Sweden are semi domesticated) Not much hunting are allowed during summer so its mostly fishing during midnightsun and midge season. For Sweden a permit to have a hunting rifle or shotgun in EU will work to bring it to Sweden hunting can be done on a privatelandowner lease or a day permit of a forest company.
 
KimE said:
"Tips: don't shoot the reindeer, don't pack a torch during the summer, and take some good midge repellant."
:) The leader of my hunting team are also a reindeer owner (all reindeers in Sweden are semi domesticated) Not much hunting are allowed during summer so its mostly fishing during midnightsun and midge season. For Sweden a permit to have a hunting rifle or shotgun in EU will work to bring it to Sweden hunting can be done on a privatelandowner lease or a day permit of a forest company.
Click to expand...
As a new hunter, the last thing the OP should do is go out hunting on his own, hence the tongue in cheek suggestions on UK/N.Europe/USA and AUS. Even US State licences are followed by hunting permits, many of which are residents only, and numerous other complications: going with someone is the best thing for the OP to do so he can learn. Enjoyed myself in all those places, a lot due to the skill and knowledge of the people I was with.

Your offer to the OP was good and kind, for what sounds like basic hunting skills for grouse and beaver. Grouse costs an arm and both legs to shoot in Scotland.
 
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I meant blackgrouse as the main specie capercaillie, hazelgrouse and mountain grouse are also among the local allowed species. This hunt is on skiis wintertime its a stalk with rifle so its far from a grousehunt in Scotland a lot of hunting but its low density of game. My local area are about 10000ha but I can buy a daylease on several other areas for about 20-30£. Many of the areas have have a lot of wilderness feeling far from villages. Its only small game hunts but its a lot of experience for new hunters and others who wants a different thing than other parts of europe can offer. Beaver are also possible to do as a spring hunt with nicer weather, skin and teeth/skull are a nice throphy. Its a must to know the local law if you think of going to hunt alone, its takes a lot of time to learn local areas and the way animals behave too.
 
AlexD said:
Sorry I forgot, if you don't have a firearms certificate then we have to check you do not have one piece of paper: a serious criminal record. It is not like joining a gun club where the police have to say OK first - I ask if you have ever been charged or convicted of a serious offence, and have you been charged with anything at all in the past five years (I know, 3 years is the current trend, but one can get away with a lot in 3 years), then rely on an honest reply.

On your question of hunting on your own, I can only speak for the UK, Northern Europe, USA and Australia.
In the UK, if you have a firearm and you have grounds to shoot on (from a farmer, or have done a deal with a stalker who has seen your shooting more than once), then you can go hunting. Tips: Don't shoot the goats or the sheep.
Northern Europe: KimE's kind offer is good. Tips: don't shoot the reindeer, don't pack a torch during the summer, and take some good midge repellant.
In the USA, public lands abound and you can shoot: many States require hunting licences which you buy, or a US friend buys and the friend goes with you. Lots of private land also, where you do a deal with the landowner. There are a lot of strange rules in the USA - you can't use European hunting rifles+rounds for deer in Utah for example. Tip: US law enforcement is a bit heavy so know the rules and be subservient - they can give big fines to numpties who don't know the rules in that State, which may differ from the neighbouring State.
Australia: Great place. BIG deer. Lots of rules on guns. Foreigners need to know a wild Australian to enjoy yourself. Tips: Don't touch "dead" snakes, don't forget to empty your boots before putting them on (have photos, can share on that lesson, beautiful redback spiders they have), and don't swim in the creek unless your friend who REALLY knows the place is in it first.
Click to expand...
Thank you for all the information. I wouldn’t go hunting on my own before a have a lot of experience but it’s good to know that it is achievable. Doing payed hunts can get quite expensive I think especially when you want to go multiple days.
 
KimE said:
I meant blackgrouse as the main specie capercaillie, hazelgrouse and mountain grouse are also among the local allowed species. This hunt is on skiis wintertime its a stalk with rifle so its far from a grousehunt in Scotland a lot of hunting but its low density of game. My local area are about 10000ha but I can buy a daylease on several other areas for about 20-30£. Many of the areas have have a lot of wilderness feeling far from villages. Its only small game hunts but its a lot of experience for new hunters and others who wants a different thing than other parts of europe can offer. Beaver are also possible to do as a spring hunt with nicer weather, skin and teeth/skull are a nice throphy. Its a must to know the local law if you think of going to hunt alone, its takes a lot of time to learn local areas and the way animals behave too.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your offer. I can sign up for my hunting exams on the first of June and learn more about what it takes and start from there. But the reactions a get till now are very nice and motivated to see.
 
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