Hunting in the German countryside 2023/24 season.

[Messor]

I do believe that a lot of it IS between the ears. But it is also a matter of what you are used to. I spent yesterday sighting in a .375 H&H and then practicing with a .416 rem mag for an upcoming buffalo hunt. Today I went hunting blesbuck with a 7x57 with a suppressor, recoil of the 7mm felt like a .22 rimfire.

That is called conditioning.
Some days I do fifty 338 shots, after that a 30-06 will feel like a bb gun.

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[Socrates]

I do believe that a lot of it IS between the ears. But it is also a matter of what you are used to. I spent yesterday sighting in a .375 H&H and then practicing with a .416 rem mag for an upcoming buffalo hunt. Today I went hunting blesbuck with a 7x57 with a suppressor, recoil of the 7mm felt like a .22 rimfire.

I year or two ago I noticed that the anticipation of the report of the gunshot was just as much an issue as anticipation of the recoil.

I had custom ear plugs molded and still wear the active "Micky Maus" hearing protection. My shooting got a lot better after that.

I still catch myself jerking the trigger of the 30-06, while I don't do that with the .22 at all.

It's a working progress. :)

[TStone]

I year or two ago I noticed that the anticipation of the report of the gunshot was just as much an issue as anticipation of the recoil. I had custom ear plugs molded and still wear the active "Micky Maus" hearing protection. My shooting got a lot better after that. I still catch myself jerking the trigger of the 30-06, while I don't do that with the .22 at all. It's a working progress. :)

I have found that dry firing, with the same rifle, does help a lot.

[TStone]

That is called conditioning.Some days I do fifty 338 shots, after that a 30-06 will feel like a bb gun.Sent from my SM-A526B using Tapatalk

There is an interesting article on the .333 Jeffery, a predecessor of your .338 win mag, in the latest SA Hunter magazine. Apologies for the hijack.

[Messor]

In the process of teaching my son.
I only have 1 rule, I dont care where you shoot, the ONLY thing you need to do is squeeze the trigger slowly.

No matter the gun or the recoil, you do this and all is fine.

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[Messor]

There is an interesting article on the .333 Jeffery, a predecessor of your .338 win mag, in the latest SA Hunter magazine. Apologies for the hijack.

Will see if I can find it.


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[SBB]

The 243 is plenty for Roe Deer. I would pick it any day of the week as well, especially with the grouping you are getting.

Regarding the 338wm I've always preferred the heavier bore rifles to my 338 when it comes to recoil. Most 338's are built on a standard medium caliber rifle weight. The big bores are generally heavier. 338 becomes snappy. At least mine is ( no suppressor).

[pblaauw]

That is called conditioning.
Some days I do fifty 338 shots, after that a 30-06 will feel like a bb gun.

I've shot all sorts of fine rifles, 338LM, 300PRC, 375CheyTac, but these all had muzzle-brakes or suppressors. The single worse rifle I ever shot was Koebelwagen here on the forum's lightweight 9.3, that thing can fuck right off

[Wesley]

Nice thread!

Following with interest.

Best of luck for the season.

[Socrates]

I've been out three times now. I've seen two good bucks within rock throwing distance, but on the wrong side of the property line. Not that it mattered, since I left the rifle at home.

My youngest daughter (4 going on 5) asked me to take her with when I go hunting again. A pinky promise was made, and we keep our promises in this house. I don't want to risk going out without her, and getting lucky on the first time I take the rifle with. So it means I'll only be able to get out next week Friday or Saturday depending on her playdate schedule.

Summer hunting in Europe has it's own challenge. I already mentioned the requirements for cooling facilities. The other issue is the long days. The most likely time to get a shot a roe will be at dawn and dusk. On the surface, this does not appear to be an issue.

This is a screen shot from a very nifty hunting app. It has a boat load of data that is helpful for our type of hunting.

Here is the info for "Büchsenlicht" - A direct translation will be "Rifle light" but it means at what time is there enough light to make a shot.



Ideally, I want to be in place at least 30min before shooting light. One hour is better. That means that I have to be set up at 04:18 at the latest.

The flip side of the coin is that I need to be in the Kanzel/Highchair from about 20:30 onwards. I'll only be back at the car at 22:30.

We are still not at Summer solstice, so the days are going to get a bit longer still.

Not a problem on its own, but between kids, wife, work, house chores, cooking, etc I won't be able to do any kind of intensive hunting. I just don't have the energy and stamina to go out on multiple session over a weekend.

Now for something completely different.

I saw this little guy yesterday. It is the first time that I've seen one in the flesh. I've heard them a couple of times though.



It's a Nutria. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutria

They are a South-American rodent species, that was introduced to Europe and America for their fur. They were originally kept in "fur farms" , but the inevitable happened, and they escaped into the wild.

The are a pest with a shoot on sight protocol in place. They do a significant amount of damage to the banks of waterways and streams that criss cross through much of the Netherlands and Germany. They also carry disease that can spread to humans.

There is a €15 bounty per Nutria tail presented to the authorities.

There may be an opportunity here to justify a .22 rimfire silencer to the Polizei. We can only get rimfire suppressors if we can demonstrate a need.

My need is that we need to reduce Nutria and Roe populations. If I go shooting with a 22 LR where the roe are, I won't be seeing a lot of roe. A subsonic bullet through a can will mitigate that.