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Kelty

By Kelty,
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Kelty Newbie

Kelty

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Hi to all

Born in the Uk and hunted there for 40 years I have a lot to learn and find this web site has a wealth of information from all who write on here. Lived here 10 years and became a citizen last year. I love this country and feel privileged to live and hunt here even though I have to re educate myself in everything from tree identification to new animal species. Again thanks to all who contribute this valuable information.

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Doc Experienced

Doc

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So, how does the hunting in England compare to here (in general)? Do you have a lot of open land in England to hunt in? Is it mostly a "pay-to-hunt" kind of hunting environment. Are there a lot of wild species to hunt there?

One thing I never seem to hear or read about is just what hunting is like in european countries. My impression has always been that hunting is all but non-existant there and that what hunting exists there is pretty much insanely regulated and rather expensive to engage in. It sounds like that could be a wrong impression.

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Kelty Newbie

Kelty

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Thanks for the welcome. To answer a few questions, I live in delaware county and hunt there and in NJ.

There is good hunting in England mainly Pheasant, ducks, woodcock, rabbits and woodpigeon. Deer hunting is more restrictive as it is difficult to get a rifle in England and you can only shoot deer with a rifle. Ther are vast areas of moorland where red deer thrive and are hunted by stalking them. It is very expensive to do this as a stalk can last a couple of days. The other main deer species are roe deer, they are small about the size of a lab and live mainly in the woods usauly hunted with a .222.

Some rich people have large estates dedicated to shooting where they employ a gamekeeper to control vermin (mainly foxes, stoats) no coyotes racoons or skunk in England. Vermin can be taken all year round by gun or snare. The game keeper breeds pheasants or partridge to release on the estate. They are usually hunted by driving the birds toward a line of waiting guns,

I used to shoot around a farm where I would walk along feild hedgerows with a dog and could end up with a pheasant duck rabbit or woodpigeon which are a whole different story.

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Doc Experienced

Doc

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Thanks for the welcome. To answer a few questions, I live in delaware county and hunt there and in NJ.

There is good hunting in England mainly Pheasant, ducks, woodcock, rabbits and woodpigeon. Deer hunting is more restrictive as it is difficult to get a rifle in England and you can only shoot deer with a rifle. Ther are vast areas of moorland where red deer thrive and are hunted by stalking them. It is very expensive to do this as a stalk can last a couple of days. The other main deer species are roe deer, they are small about the size of a lab and live mainly in the woods usauly hunted with a .222.

Some rich people have large estates dedicated to shooting where they employ a gamekeeper to control vermin (mainly foxes, stoats) no coyotes racoons or skunk in England. Vermin can be taken all year round by gun or snare. The game keeper breeds pheasants or partridge to release on the estate. They are usually hunted by driving the birds toward a line of waiting guns,

I used to shoot around a farm where I would walk along feild hedgerows with a dog and could end up with a pheasant duck rabbit or woodpigeon which are a whole different story.

So how popular is hunting in England? Is it something that a lot of people are involved in or is it kind of a rare activity? Do they have a lot of open government owned land that can be hunted? Are the licenses expensive? When you say "it is difficult to get a rifle in England", what kinds of restrictions do they have on rifle purchases and ownership?

Yeah, I know ...... a whole bunch of questions. But I am really curious about such things. I never have found an occasion to talk hunting with someone from England who has actually done it there.

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Kelty Newbie

Kelty

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Hunting is popular in England, but not as popular as here in the U.S. There are no government lands available it is all private. Usually a group of guys get together (as in my case) and rent land from a farmer or The Forestry commission and build up a shoot, mainly small game hunting. This way it can be affordable, I payed approx $1000 a year for a 1000 acre shoot which included pheasnts we put in a release pen and where free to roam. There where 20 members of the shoot. You have to buy a game licence annualy to hunt game $80 approx, you do not need a licence to shoot vermin. You have to have a shotgun certificate to own a shotgun the restictions are no criminal record, a doctor, magistrate or person of simalsr standing must sigh for you. The guns must be kept in a metal goverment approved cabinet. The police rigerously check all the criteria are met. A rifle or firearms certificate is a whole different deal, in addition to the shotgun licence criteria you must proove you have land to hunt on and depending on the acreage the calibre is restricted, the police do not want you owning a rifle and will find any excuse to refuse permission. All guns are registered to a spcific owner, the gun serial numbers are written on your certificate. You cannot buy any ammunition without your licence. There are no pistols allowed in the Uk. There is quite a bit of anti hunting sentiment in England.

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Deerthug Newbie

Deerthug

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Hunting is popular in England, but not as popular as here in the U.S. There are no government lands available it is all private. Usually a group of guys get together (as in my case) and rent land from a farmer or The Forestry commission and build up a shoot, mainly small game hunting. This way it can be affordable, I payed approx $1000 a year for a 1000 acre shoot which included pheasnts we put in a release pen and where free to roam. There where 20 members of the shoot. You have to buy a game licence annualy to hunt game $80 approx, you do not need a licence to shoot vermin. You have to have a shotgun certificate to own a shotgun the restictions are no criminal record, a doctor, magistrate or person of simalsr standing must sigh for you. The guns must be kept in a metal goverment approved cabinet. The police rigerously check all the criteria are met. A rifle or firearms certificate is a whole different deal, in addition to the shotgun licence criteria you must proove you have land to hunt on and depending on the acreage the calibre is restricted, the police do not want you owning a rifle and will find any excuse to refuse permission. All guns are registered to a spcific owner, the gun serial numbers are written on your certificate. You cannot buy any ammunition without your licence. There are no pistols allowed in the Uk. There is quite a bit of anti hunting sentiment in England.

And we thought getting a pistol permit in NY was difficult.

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Kelty Newbie

Kelty

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Thanks again for the welcomes. A story of anti hunting I would like to share for any one interested.

A anti hunting group bought a 3000 acre hunting estate in Caithness Scotland and stopped all hunting. Their thinking was all species will thrive with no human interferance. The red deer population thrived as there are no natural predators, the small game and song bird population declined dramatically as there was no longer any sort of land management or predator control. After one harsh winter in the spring after the snow had melted the ex gamekeeper was brought to tears as he found in a remote valley over 50 deer carcasses. The deer heard had grown so much the land could not support them, all the animals had starved to death.

The general puplic in England are unaware that land owned by hunters usually has more wildlife species than land not managed. You only have to look through the threads on this website to see how passionate the hunters are towards land habitat improvement and game management.

I just hope the US puplic dont get the British anti hunting bug.

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