Hunting in the French alps (pics)

ErikD · 10-24-2009, 06:38 PM

As I spend virtually every day of October hunting, I've been absent for a while. First there was a couple of weeks of moose hunting here at home, which went well and resulted in 2 moose for me personally, followed by a trip to the French alps to hunt with some French friends of mine. The game was mouflon and chamois, and as seen, the terrain they live in is rugged, rocky, and steep. Climbing up is pretty hard in itself due to the terrain, but hours of carrying the relatively heavy dead animals back down on ones back, sometimes along ledges that are only a foot or so wide with several hundred meters of almost vertical drop, is something that probably not everyone would enjoy. And if you do start to slide down the mountain in some of the steeper parts, lets just say it'll be a one way, permanent trip down to the bottom...

However, the good French food and drink in the evenings made one quickly forget the strain of the day, and the nice weather we had for the most part also made it enjoyable to be up in the mountains.

Since the game is mostly found quite far above the treeline, we usually got up around 04:30, and started walking in the dark for an hour or so in order to be where we wanted by the time the sun came up. Flashlights were naturally required, as were long walking sticks which were helpful to keep ones balance both on the way up and on the way down. A backpack with water, extra cloths, food etc was needed, as was a sturdy frame pack to carry the animal down after shooting it. Except in the case of the chamois, where we tied the legs together to form a kind of circle which rested around my head with the body resting on top of my day pack. The chamois was quite a bit lighter than the mouflon, weighing around 30 kg dressed, but I still felt it after a while due to the less than optimal way of carrying it since most of the weight is supported by the neck muscles.

I'm a big fan of eating mutton, but I have to admit that a grown mouflon tastes like shit. However, the chamois is really good eating, and even the 11 year old I shot is nice and tender. I brought back the filets (I think you guys call them backstraps?), and will feed the wife and kids with them for dinner tomorrow.

All in all, it was a great trip, with great company, hunting and scenery.

AKWARRIOR · 10-24-2009, 06:46 PM

Excellent pictures.Looks like you had a blast.I had no idea a gun could be owned or even used for any purpose in that part of the world anymore.

10 Bears · 10-24-2009, 08:27 PM

Great picures and beautifull country.
That kind of treacherous loose gravel I call "scree" and it can just dissappear out from under you at a moments notice.
Been a few times, in shale scree, that the ONLY reason I survived was by staying upright and pulling my feet to the top of the "mini" avalanche as it occured, rode it out until it quit, THEN carefully continued.

Dangerous country, but when the hunt is successfull, there's a LOT of satisfaction!

ErikD · 10-25-2009, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKWARRIOR

Excellent pictures.Looks like you had a blast.I had no idea a gun could be owned or even used for any purpose in that part of the world anymore.

You'd be surprised over the number of Frenchmen who hunt and shoot. Owning a gun isn't difficult there at all, at least when it comes to hunting guns.

In addition to the hunting portrayed in the pictures, my friends hunt wild boar basically every single weekend of the season, plus lots of afternoons during the weekdays. More and more women are starting to hunt there too. Around 20% of the registered hunters in France are women if I recall correctly.

Handguns I believe are slightly more difficult, and only allowed for sporting purposes, but not really a problem. In fact, the IPSC open pistol world champ is a French guy named Eric Grauffel.

ErikD · 10-25-2009, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10 Bears

Great picures and beautifull country.
That kind of treacherous loose gravel I call "scree" and it can just dissappear out from under you at a moments notice.

Yeah, scree can be scary stuff, and is far from stable! The long sticks we used really helped when it came to keeping our balance, especially with a 40+ kg sheep on our back. Some of the small scree was so loose, that we actually kind of skied downhill, stabilizing ourselves by dragging/pressing the stick behind us.

What I was most worried about was my damaged ankle, which is still not 100% trustworthy. So I had to use a tremendous amount of concentration when it came to looking where I put my left foot every step of the way in the steep parts. The heavy boots I used helped a lot, and with an anti-inflammitory and a couple of paracetamol in the evening, my ankle handled the trip surprisingly well.

DorGunR · 10-25-2009, 01:46 PM

ErikD that is awesome..............I spent some time in the Swiss and Austrian Alps about 50 years ago but I wasn't that high up and I wasn't hunting. Thanks for sharing those pics with us .............what can I say but awesome.

aviator · 10-25-2009, 02:16 PM

Good pictures and thanks for sharing them with us ErikD. No, I haven't been there and by the looks of it I don't think I will.

GARANDNUT · 10-25-2009, 02:57 PM

Erik those are great pictures! What are the permitting procedures like? Were you using a Rem model 700?

ErikD · 10-25-2009, 03:54 PM

Garandnut,

The French hunting permit was arranged by my friend, and cost about $60 for 3 days. Which is expensive compared to here at home where a whole year costs the same for big game. All that is required is that you have a valid big game hunting permit in your home country. Local insurance is also required, which cost about $20.

The price of chamois and mouflon depend on their size/age, and are measured by, and paid to, the forestry service. They also keep the meat, which is sold or sometimes donated to the poor (although I quickly formed a good relationship with them, and was given the filet mignon and back straps from the Chamois).

To hunt in the mountains, you are required to have a forestry service guide with you. Which, considering the conditions in the mountains, is a good idea. Even though I am used to mainly hunting on my own.

Getting a permit in this area is quite difficult. Most people can hope to get a permit here only once or twice in a lifetime, unless you happen to become buddies with the forestry service. They are very picky, and if you behave badly, shoot poorly, wound game, and are an asshole, you're history. If you keep your nose clean, are honorable, shoot straight and behave well, you might be allowed to return more often. My friends have been there every year for 10 years.

It just so happened that the guide I hunted with (the guy with the beard) and I have some common acquaintances at the Norma ammo factory in Sweden. He spoke very little English, and I speak very little French, but we got on very well, and "talked" all day long as we were by ourselves the last day (when I shot the mouflon). The "conversation" ranged from everything from hunting and reloading, to muslims in Europe (he was formally in the Gendarmerie, until he got kicked out for cracking too many muzzie heads.

), car brands, food and some military topics. We got along so well that when we eventually got back down off the mountain, he took me home to his house where his wife made us a nice hot meal. Which I later was told by my friends that he never does. I've found that people with common interests, especially hunting, are often able to get along and communicate despite language barriers. I've already been asked by him if I want to return next year, so I guess I met his approval.

As for equipment, I brought my Mauser M03 with a 300WinMag barrel. The Chamois was shot at 150 meters, while the mouflon was shot at a lasered 366 meters. However, since the slope was about 45 degrees up from where I shot, the gravitational distance was of course shorter. The ammo I used was Norma cases with Norma MPR powder and 150 grain Barnes Tipped TSX bullets.

10 Bears · 10-25-2009, 04:16 PM

Great info Erik, gives us a perspective on hunting in Europe.
Kind of ironic, sometimes we don't appreciate what we have here, until we are made aware of how it is elsewhere.

I have, personally, seen the evolution of hunting "requirements" in my country.
When I was a kid, subsistence hunting was a recognized FACT!
Until it was abused by those who market hunted, for choice cuts, and wasted game.

In many areas, of North America, the anti gun idiots have created no hunting issues to the point of certain species over breeding and becoming depredation problems.

THEN, instead of Hunters being allowed to harvest, the all knowing liberal weenies try every other conceivable method of "Control" for the problem they themselves have created.

Dang, sorry, I'm getting into rant mode now.

DorGunR · 10-25-2009, 06:50 PM

ErikD I was too lazy to see the Alps using your method of travel for one reason it was too long between beers ...........this is the way that I did it ......

However I now wish that I had hunted at least once while I was there (4 years)

GARANDNUT · 10-25-2009, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErikD

Garandnut,

The French hunting permit was arranged by my friend, and cost about $60 for 3 days. Which is expensive compared to here at home where a whole year costs the same for big game. All that is required is that you have a valid big game hunting permit in your home country. Local insurance is also required, which cost about $20.

The price of chamois and mouflon depend on their size/age, and are measured by, and paid to, the forestry service. They also keep the meat, which is sold or sometimes donated to the poor (although I quickly formed a good relationship with them, and was given the filet mignon and back straps from the Chamois).

To hunt in the mountains, you are required to have a forestry service guide with you. Which, considering the conditions in the mountains, is a good idea. Even though I am used to mainly hunting on my own.

Getting a permit in this area is quite difficult. Most people can hope to get a permit here only once or twice in a lifetime, unless you happen to become buddies with the forestry service. They are very picky, and if you behave badly, shoot poorly, wound game, and are an asshole, you're history. If you keep your nose clean, are honorable, shoot straight and behave well, you might be allowed to return more often. My friends have been there every year for 10 years.

It just so happened that the guide I hunted with (the guy with the beard) and I have some common acquaintances at the Norma ammo factory in Sweden. He spoke very little English, and I speak very little French, but we got on very well, and "talked" all day long as we were by ourselves the last day (when I shot the mouflon). The "conversation" ranged from everything from hunting and reloading, to muslims in Europe (he was formally in the Gendarmerie, until he got kicked out for cracking too many muzzie heads.

), car brands, food and some military topics. We got along so well that when we eventually got back down off the mountain, he took me home to his house where his wife made us a nice hot meal. Which I later was told by my friends that he never does. I've found that people with common interests, especially hunting, are often able to get along and communicate despite language barriers. I've already been asked by him if I want to return next year, so I guess I met his approval.

As for equipment, I brought my Mauser M03 with a 300WinMag barrel. The Chamois was shot at 150 meters, while the mouflon was shot at a lasered 366 meters. However, since the slope was about 45 degrees up from where I shot, the gravitational distance was of course shorter. The ammo I used was Norma cases with Norma MPR powder and 150 grain Barnes Tipped TSX bullets.

$60 is very cheap. A hunting license with big game tags in State of Tennessee (USA) runs a little over $100. A sportsman license, which gives you everything except duck stamps is around $200. An out of state license can be up to $300.

I would love to hunt in Norway one day.

Czubek · 10-26-2009, 08:59 AM

Great pictures and information!!! Thats sure some picturesque territory. Thanks for posting this!

Just for grins, our hunting licenses are free, for land owners here. Just thought I'd throw that in.

Brian

ErikD · 10-27-2009, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DorGunR

this is the way that I did it ......

Seems to me that you were traveling in style.

DorGunR · 10-28-2009, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErikD

Seems to me that you were traveling in style.

No ErikD you did it with style I only wish I had done it your way............the story and pics are magazine quality.

Do you perhaps write/work for an outdoor magazine publication???

10-24-2009, 06:38 PM	#1
ErikD Mzungu Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: In the land of socialist nepotism and corruption. Posts: 6,342	Hunting in the French alps (pics) As I spend virtually every day of October hunting, I've been absent for a while. First there was a couple of weeks of moose hunting here at home, which went well and resulted in 2 moose for me personally, followed by a trip to the French alps to hunt with some French friends of mine. The game was mouflon and chamois, and as seen, the terrain they live in is rugged, rocky, and steep. Climbing up is pretty hard in itself due to the terrain, but hours of carrying the relatively heavy dead animals back down on ones back, sometimes along ledges that are only a foot or so wide with several hundred meters of almost vertical drop, is something that probably not everyone would enjoy. And if you do start to slide down the mountain in some of the steeper parts, lets just say it'll be a one way, permanent trip down to the bottom... However, the good French food and drink in the evenings made one quickly forget the strain of the day, and the nice weather we had for the most part also made it enjoyable to be up in the mountains. Since the game is mostly found quite far above the treeline, we usually got up around 04:30, and started walking in the dark for an hour or so in order to be where we wanted by the time the sun came up. Flashlights were naturally required, as were long walking sticks which were helpful to keep ones balance both on the way up and on the way down. A backpack with water, extra cloths, food etc was needed, as was a sturdy frame pack to carry the animal down after shooting it. Except in the case of the chamois, where we tied the legs together to form a kind of circle which rested around my head with the body resting on top of my day pack. The chamois was quite a bit lighter than the mouflon, weighing around 30 kg dressed, but I still felt it after a while due to the less than optimal way of carrying it since most of the weight is supported by the neck muscles. I'm a big fan of eating mutton, but I have to admit that a grown mouflon tastes like shit. However, the chamois is really good eating, and even the 11 year old I shot is nice and tender. I brought back the filets (I think you guys call them backstraps?), and will feed the wife and kids with them for dinner tomorrow. All in all, it was a great trip, with great company, hunting and scenery. __________________ ------------------------------------------- Cut along dotted line, discard top part.

10-24-2009, 06:46 PM	#2
AKWARRIOR Gone Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Here and Now Posts: 13,454	Excellent pictures.Looks like you had a blast.I had no idea a gun could be owned or even used for any purpose in that part of the world anymore. __________________ WOLVERINES!!! "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined"-Patrick Henry

10-25-2009, 02:16 PM	#7
aviator unum de multis Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bunker's Headquarters. Posts: 52,558	Good pictures and thanks for sharing them with us ErikD. No, I haven't been there and by the looks of it I don't think I will. __________________ "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Pesident Ronald Reagan

10-26-2009, 08:59 AM	#13
Czubek slug Join Date: May 2007 Location: Stover, Missouri Posts: 33,622	Great pictures and information!!! Thats sure some picturesque territory. Thanks for posting this! Just for grins, our hunting licenses are free, for land owners here. Just thought I'd throw that in. Brian __________________ 3 Here at the Dirty Dozen's Bunker, we have no problems, only solutions.

10-24-2009, 08:27 PM	#3
10 Bears Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: E-Da-How Posts: 137,846	Great picures and beautifull country. That kind of treacherous loose gravel I call "scree" and it can just dissappear out from under you at a moments notice. Been a few times, in shale scree, that the ONLY reason I survived was by staying upright and pulling my feet to the top of the "mini" avalanche as it occured, rode it out until it quit, THEN carefully continued. Dangerous country, but when the hunt is successfull, there's a LOT of satisfaction!

10-25-2009, 01:46 PM	#6
DorGunR Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 30,905	ErikD that is awesome..............I spent some time in the Swiss and Austrian Alps about 50 years ago but I wasn't that high up and I wasn't hunting. Thanks for sharing those pics with us .............what can I say but awesome.

10-25-2009, 02:57 PM	#8
GARANDNUT Pontificator Maximus Join Date: May 2006 Location: between the hills Posts: 8,751	Erik those are great pictures! What are the permitting procedures like? Were you using a Rem model 700?

10-25-2009, 03:54 PM	#9
ErikD Mzungu Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: In the land of socialist nepotism and corruption. Posts: 6,342	Garandnut, The French hunting permit was arranged by my friend, and cost about $60 for 3 days. Which is expensive compared to here at home where a whole year costs the same for big game. All that is required is that you have a valid big game hunting permit in your home country. Local insurance is also required, which cost about $20. The price of chamois and mouflon depend on their size/age, and are measured by, and paid to, the forestry service. They also keep the meat, which is sold or sometimes donated to the poor (although I quickly formed a good relationship with them, and was given the filet mignon and back straps from the Chamois). To hunt in the mountains, you are required to have a forestry service guide with you. Which, considering the conditions in the mountains, is a good idea. Even though I am used to mainly hunting on my own. Getting a permit in this area is quite difficult. Most people can hope to get a permit here only once or twice in a lifetime, unless you happen to become buddies with the forestry service. They are very picky, and if you behave badly, shoot poorly, wound game, and are an asshole, you're history. If you keep your nose clean, are honorable, shoot straight and behave well, you might be allowed to return more often. My friends have been there every year for 10 years. It just so happened that the guide I hunted with (the guy with the beard) and I have some common acquaintances at the Norma ammo factory in Sweden. He spoke very little English, and I speak very little French, but we got on very well, and "talked" all day long as we were by ourselves the last day (when I shot the mouflon). The "conversation" ranged from everything from hunting and reloading, to muslims in Europe (he was formally in the Gendarmerie, until he got kicked out for cracking too many muzzie heads. ), car brands, food and some military topics. We got along so well that when we eventually got back down off the mountain, he took me home to his house where his wife made us a nice hot meal. Which I later was told by my friends that he never does. I've found that people with common interests, especially hunting, are often able to get along and communicate despite language barriers. I've already been asked by him if I want to return next year, so I guess I met his approval. As for equipment, I brought my Mauser M03 with a 300WinMag barrel. The Chamois was shot at 150 meters, while the mouflon was shot at a lasered 366 meters. However, since the slope was about 45 degrees up from where I shot, the gravitational distance was of course shorter. The ammo I used was Norma cases with Norma MPR powder and 150 grain Barnes Tipped TSX bullets.

10-25-2009, 04:16 PM	#10
10 Bears Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: E-Da-How Posts: 137,846	Great info Erik, gives us a perspective on hunting in Europe. Kind of ironic, sometimes we don't appreciate what we have here, until we are made aware of how it is elsewhere. I have, personally, seen the evolution of hunting "requirements" in my country. When I was a kid, subsistence hunting was a recognized FACT! Until it was abused by those who market hunted, for choice cuts, and wasted game. In many areas, of North America, the anti gun idiots have created no hunting issues to the point of certain species over breeding and becoming depredation problems. THEN, instead of Hunters being allowed to harvest, the all knowing liberal weenies try every other conceivable method of "Control" for the problem they themselves have created. Dang, sorry, I'm getting into rant mode now.

10-25-2009, 06:50 PM	#11
DorGunR Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 30,905	ErikD I was too lazy to see the Alps using your method of travel for one reason it was too long between beers ...........this is the way that I did it ...... However I now wish that I had hunted at least once while I was there (4 years)