Hunting in France

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gerard

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I was given a invitation to hunt in France.

Anyone here ever hunted in France? If so what is required?
Do I have to go through an outfitter, any special paperwork.

A friend of mine asked me to go this fall after Chamois with him. Would like to go if not too much hassle in paperwork.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
France is a nice place, go for the wine and women! :)

I had (something like) 1995 Gun Digest, it was an article on deer hunting in France. Seems that you had to belong to a hunting club
and pay annual fees...to help defer the cost of renting the hunting land which belonged to a rich aristocrat.

Anyway, here are two (non-governmental) French hunting websites;

h t t p://www.hunting-france.com/en/
h t t p://www.gourmetfly.com/Huntcha.htm

Anyone here ever hunted in France?
<<No>>
Do I have to go through an outfitter, any special paperwork.
<<probably yes>>
 
I was driving in France a couple of years ago on a quiet country road. Then we came to a roadblock, a guy with a sign was holding up traffic. We waited about 20 min. It turned out that they were doing a wild boar drive in the next draw and this took president over road traffic.
 
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Took a drive through France last October. There were "hunt in progress" signs all over the place. Would love to get in on that.

Lots of cafe's and other spots had skull mounts on the wall. Even in Paris. It seems to be a well-accepted tradition.
 
I have hunted in Northern France, some years ago now. A real experience, one you should do regardless of the paperwork. The Northern Europeans take their hunting seriously, and it can be quite a social event as well as a hunting experience.

The meals after the hunt will also be a memory, almost as good as the hunt itself!

Candocad.
 
I was driving down a small mountain in France one day and saw a group of about 8 hunters parked by the side of the road having lunch. Pulled off and told them I was a hunter too had a good bs with them. They were on a boar hunt. One of the guys had a Barkerville, BC sweatshirt on. They filled me full of really good white wine and poured me back into the rented car. My wife was driving.
 
nowarningshot said:
Do French hunters....see a game animal.....drop their rifle and run away?
Click to expand...

What's that crack supposed to mean? Are you referring to the 1,150,000 dead or missing French soldiers in WWI who dropped their rifles when they were blown to bits by artillery shells? Have you ever been to France? Ever seen the monuments to the war casualties in every pisspot village across the country with huge lists of dead?
 
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Couple years ago I was in northern France on the tail-end of three months backpacking. I was in Lens on a foggy Sunday, hoping to visit Vimy. Well, wouldn't-cha know it, everything was closed and no public transport...so I walked. Didn't know much except that Vimy was south...so I walked the country roads in peasoup fog and every now and then, I'd hear gunshots and catch a glimpse of blaze orange. Well, I eventually stumble accross Vimy and had several hours alone there devoid of tourists..,then the sun came up and burned away all the fog. My trek back to Lens was sunny and lovely and holy crap; Hunters everywhere, in every field, wjth dogs!! Turns out they were hunting pheasant. I asked a father and son team coming from a field to their parked car and they have limited out. Was kinda cool.
 
If it is like Germany you have to have a formal invitation from the land owner, then you go into the town where you will be hunting and get a hunting permit. At that point you are allowed to hunt. Many places the hunters pay a fee to hunt the land as well as a fee for any animal that is taken. In May I was invited to go Roe deer hunting and that is exactly what I had to do. I used a vintage krico 222 with double triggers and a super loud safety!
Next year when I go back I will bring my own rifle and rent a moderator for the hunt.
 
Gerard, I have hunted in France a few times (my wife is from France). You must have a license as a foreigner. Getting firearms in and out of France is not that difficult but requires paperwork. As most places are private you will require an invite or be hunting with an outfitter. I would suggest that your friend who invited you should provide the details in order that you may plan. There are several sites that deal with hunting in France.

https://smartexpat.com/france/how-to-guides/lifestyle/sports-fitness/hunting-regulations

There are some unique and quite good hunting opportunities in France, good luck in the planning.
 
Thanks guy for all your help. My friend lives near Margencel France close to the mountains. He sent me some pictures of the sheep that he shot. The animals that he harvested are really nice.The scenery is unbelievable. He's doing some paperwork to make it happen. Maybe late September if not I'll go the following year.
 
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