I've been a bit slow with sharing this or indeed anything else recently but I thought this may bring a smile to some of your faces. Last August we were back in Alsace and for the third time since 2019 invited stalking by our friend D. And for the second time, YPM (now 12) accompanied me. This was in a different part of Alsace, not in the forested mountains but in the plains, pastures and fields of the north of the region. But this time, D. had an extra treat for us, as before the evening stalk, he had booked us into the local hunting federation's Cinétir ! I'd never been to a shooting cinema before, but I did know of them. Essentially it's an indoor 50m rifle range where films of running game are projected, you shoot with your own hunting rifle and ammunition, and software captures the impact of your shots. It's brilliant. D. knows what I like so he leant me his Krieghoff over and under 9.3x74R double rifle. I was a bit apprehensive about shooting that but it turns out that for standing shots on moving targets it's fine, your body just acts as an inverted pendulum and you don't smash your shoulder up. And as it turns out, I could shoot quite well with it!
We took it in turns with D, and indeed the volunteers from the Federation helped YPM try also, although in his case without live ammunition, he had a real rifle, but fitted with a laser attachment. Turns out his target of predilection were the two foxes in the snow, which he delighted in bowling over several times in a row. I'm not sure that's an experience that's even available for a child in the UK! And for added local immersion, I noticed that in the range and offices of the Federation, everything is conducted in the Alsatian language which warmed my little heart.
We took it in turns with D, and indeed the volunteers from the Federation helped YPM try also, although in his case without live ammunition, he had a real rifle, but fitted with a laser attachment. Turns out his target of predilection were the two foxes in the snow, which he delighted in bowling over several times in a row. I'm not sure that's an experience that's even available for a child in the UK! And for added local immersion, I noticed that in the range and offices of the Federation, everything is conducted in the Alsatian language which warmed my little heart.
