International hobby

[Hegland]

Well, it's not really hunting, but some colleagues from central Germany have been in town this week and I invited them out to one of our farms to do some shooting. We started off busting clays with 12 gauges. We then set a few of the targets out from 40 - 150 yards and went to work with the .22 rimfire, the .243 and .30-06.

Once they got the hang of it, they shot both rifles and shotguns fairly well. I had a decent showing with the scatterguns and got some good practice from field positions with the rifles.

These guys have had extremely limited exposure to the shooting sports in Europe, but they were very focused on safety and it was great to see their enthusiasm. They went back to their hotel with sore shoulders and big grins.

 

[DrMike]

You are a blessed man to be permitted to spend time introducing others to the shooting sports. Sounds like a good time for all involved.

 

[JD338]

That is very cool.
I used to rep a company in AZ that would do a desert shoot event during their annual sales conference. The Europeans were all over it as they do not get to shoot much. The Asians that went out were a hoot, some of them had never fired a firearm and they loved shooting the Glock 9mm's and 45 ACP's.

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

Many years ago in Okinawa I met some Japanese soldiers (self defense force) who were very, very jealous that I had the freedom to hunt. They loved hunting stories.

In Norway, I was the one listening to hunting stories - or at least swapping them. The Norwegians have a rich hunting and shooting tradition.

Guy

 

[SJB358]

Guy, were you talking about when the Marines landed on the beach in Oki at the end of the "Great War to End all Wars"? Just kidding buddy! Scotty

 

[DrMike]

Guy, were you talking about when the Marines landed on the beach in Oki at the end of the "Great War to End all Wars"?

Zing! Good one, Scotty.

 

[257 Ackley]

Hegland -
What a great opportunity to show some people from Euro-land what they are missing. Last summer I was able to take a young man from the Netherlands out for a day of shooting. Here is a guy 27 years old who has never had a weapon of any type in his hands before. We started with .22's, some centerfire .22 cals, than went to a 30-30 and finally the BLR .358. He managed all fairly well, but crawled up on the scope of the .358 and got a pretty good scope cut. Funny thing about that was he wanted to show everyone the cut and tell them the story ofter he got back home. All his friends are jealous now. Makes you appreciate what we have that much more.

 

[Guy Miner]

"Guy, were you talking about when the Marines landed on the beach in Oki at the end of the "Great War to End all Wars"? Just kidding buddy! Scotty"

Alright you young whippersnapper! :grin: Actually my uncle was a WWII Marine in the battle for Okinawa. Had some gruesome stories to tell when I was a young pup. But, I was thinking more like in the 1980's, when I spent about 300 years in Okinawa on two six-month deployments.... Good people, but wow, Asia is very, very different... Those two stays in Okinawa plus a couple of West Pac floats exposed me to people from all over the place. Loved it.

Few people have the opportunity to shoot and hunt as freely as we do here.

Guy

 

[nodak7mm]

Great Job Hegland!!!

 

[Polaris]

The Austrian FES at my nieces school was very keen to go with deer hunting last year. We were unable to get him into a hunter's safety course in time to actually field a rifle, but he was able to accompany me into the woods for one day of hunting and learn the delicate art of woodchopping around my sisters farm. Boy, they definately don't teach woodcraft in Europe...RUHE BITTE! and schhh was almost worn out by the end of the day. We had an enjoyable time out in the woods though and almost got to watch me shoot a deer. He was quiet that time but hadn't learned not to snap his head around and point at a wary whitetail that I was already drawing a bead on. Fun time though and I got to practice my Deutsch a bit. He's talking about attending a year at the U to study Forestry after he graduates, so maybe he'll get the chance to learn some more from Der "redneck" Jägermeister. He was especially interested in the converted K98 sporter I was using that still had the Waffenamts intact. Said that would be very illegal in Austria due to the Nazi eagle involved. It was manufactured in occupied Czechoslovakia so there's a decent chance one of his countrymen carried it.

 

[FOTIS]

Way to represent. We did the same with the German nationals when I was stationed there. Gotta spread the seed to everyone.

 

[DrMike]

I pastored a Chinese congregation in Vancouver. There are several of the fellows who are now hand loading and shooting. For some, it was a return to what they had been taught while in the Singapore Army. I have one fine Chinese member now who has become an avid hand gunner and shoots an AR. It has become his relaxation. I have introduced fellows from Mauritius, the Philippines, Austria and Nigeria to the shooting sports since being in Dawson Creek. Among my hunting partners are a couple of South Africans; and while they were already shooters, they have become more focused on hunting.

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

The sacred privilege of getting to teach someone how to shoot is a great blessing. Never miss that opportunity to do what you did friend. The only thing that will cure ignorance of public opinion about guns and hunting is proper education. Way to be!

 

[JD338]

The sacred privilege of getting to teach someone how to shoot is a great blessing. Never miss that opportunity to do what you did friend. The only thing that will cure ignorance of public opinion about guns and hunting is proper education. Way to be!

+1 Excellent point filmjunkie4ever

JD338