2nd Annual Hohenfels German American Friendship Hunt 2010

[addicted]

Alright guys, i got in late last night and i'll probably have to spend the day with the wife so i can do the full wright up but i do have a few pics to give you guys a hint of how it went. Weather was tough but we did alright.

[chester]

*censored*,
number 1 your a tease
number 2 your last pic made me hungry   
Hurry back with story and pics 

[addicted]

Formulating. Standby.

[ribka]

Looking forward to pics and story. Many fond memories from hunts when i was stationed in Germany in the 1980's. Always interesting to hunt and fish in other countries/cultures.

waiting....

[addicted]

I headed out the night before for the formal introduction dinner and presentation. The Restaraunt "im vistel" was serving a wild meat menue that was awesome.

After the food the the hunt host Dr.P began a presentation on the game located in the hohenfels training area, the forestry program, as well as how it all correlated with the military training program at hand. It was very interesting and well put together. There were several pictures in a slideshow of the game and vast landscapes located in the hohenfels training area.

During the event we were introduced to General Wessel from the German army who had come to participate in the spirit of our hunt. He was a very nice gentleman who seemed very down to earth for a man of such responsibility.

After the function we drove back to the Gasthaus(family owned restarant/small hotel). During the 15 minute drive we came across a german who was stuck in a snow bank and we pulled him out with my jeep. then about two clicks down the road my buddy slid into a snow bank with his escape. my jeep made the corner just fine and i got to watch the whole thing in my rear view mirror.  

[addicted]

First Morning

We were up at 0550 and eating breakfast provided by the gasthaus. European breakfasts are too bad at all. lots of meats cheeses, breads, cereals, eggs and some sausages.

It was a brisk 16 degrees. My colegue Phil and i were at the Treffpunkt(meeting place) at 0700 to be the first ones on the scene. within a few minutes a forster showed up to prep the fire and a table for the coffee, cakes, and tea.  There was a pretty fresh 4-5 inches of powder over the 6-12 inches of crusty stuff from past snows.

It took a long time for the hunters to file in and eventually we started checking in, having our jagdschein(german hunting license) checked and recieving our paperwork on which forster we would be recieving stand direction from.   Eventually the horn blowers came together and called the hunters to gather and come to order for the introduction by Dr. P who would go over several items about Safety, which animals to shoot, and some very formal "thank you for joining us".

[addicted]

front row from right to left.
Dr P.
JMRC commander
General Wessel
Safety commander

[addicted]

After  a short "whos got 4x4?" meeting  i ended up with 3 other hunters riding in my jeep cuz their sissymobiles wouldnt make it. 

We gathered up with our forster and hit the snowy tank trails. Jeep handled like a dream and the forster was just happy to have someone to pull him out if he got stuck.

i was the last one to be dropped off and directed to my hunting seat because i had so many people riding with  me. My seat was in a nice stand of trees with a few shooting lanes.  It was peacefull and quiet.
It was an open seat that put my butt about 5 feet off the ground. 

My section of the woods stayed nice and quiet. I had some birds come by and i wish i had a good camera.

i had a sweet black fox come through a few of my shooting lanes but i couldnt get a picture of him for you guys. I might have been able to pull the trigger if we were aloud to shoot foxes. It is rare to be not alowed to shoot foxes but in this case they are the only thing keeping the mouse population down.

[addicted]

At 1400 i packed up and met up with the forster who said a small heard of red stag had gone just on the out side of my forest bowl. It was still one of the most relaxing sits i've ever had. watching the snow fall and the birds play with almost no wind. it was great. but back to the streckelegen(big ass animal pile) to see what every one else shot. it took awhile to get all the game in. I helped drag a cow out of the  woods and we ended up with about 35 animals.

[GoldTip]

Very cool, looking forward to the rest of the story.

[addicted]

Day two

woke up to about 4-5 inches of fresh snow. Headed for the treffpunkt and was scared for a short time by talk of the hunt being cancelled due to limited access to the more mountainous region we would be hunting today.  After a long meeting of the forsters the hunt was to continue but anyone who was afraid of not being able to make it home or the very real possibility of several inches of snow dropping during the hunt leaving some stranded, would be allowed to leave without any negative feelings.  The local chaplain made a prayer in the month of advent and for the safety of the coming days hunt.

And once more we hit the trails. this time the snow was much deeper as we put on some elevation. several cars were stuck and many people had a long trudge to their stands. Jeep went all the way back and we almost had to pull out a forster who was having some trouble. It was really some beautiful country  in this area close to where i had shot my cow red stag last year.

[addicted]

yes the sign over my jeep means no parking 

[addicted]

Snow was high ankle deep on the highs points and over my knees on the lows. I had trudged about halfway to my seat when i realised i had no orange on  and had to trudge back to my truck. I was definately starting to sweat when i made it to my seat.

I set up with my ansits sack and got out the rangefinder to see what i had to work with and set my boundries. i liked my spot.  A tree line at the base of a hill was about 165-175 meters in front of me and i had a lot of thickets of thorns and hedges to my left which i see as a good wechsal(heavy game crossing point from one area to another)from the hill infront of me accross the vally to the hill behind me.  at 18 degrees with a little wind and some good snow The ansits sack really helps with holding still and staying vigilant.

[addicted]

 At about 1120 a fox came by close enough for pics.  It stopped in the perfect spots for some pics and on the 3rd photo i had just snapped like some goober on a backyard safari....... a pig burst through the snow over a hill about 30 yards behind the fox  the pig was truckin it and about 10 feet later a smaller pig came rolling over the hill. I dropped the camera and made for my rifle quick. i knew they were within my shooting range(200meters, they were half that) and i quickly got the smaller pig in the scope(you always start with the  smallest and work your way up). BOOOM. the pig picked up and sprinted to catch up with the lead. watched them hit a thicket then a clearing then a thicket again. The shot was rushed but it felt good.

[addicted]

at noon was a scheduled 15 minute no shooting lunch break for safe gutting, blood trail marking, and lunch ofcourse.  I organised myself really quick with a knife on my belt and headed for the trail i could see where they had crossed and i had shot.  as i got into the bowl where i had shot  the snow became deeper from the wind blow.  I hit their trail and tried to find the point where i  had shot and hopefully an ausschuss(bullet exit/blood spray).  No auschuss but i did find a couple drops of bloods. followed the blood(a drop or two every 10-15 feet) up trail beyond where i could have shot or even seen the pigs. they had been wounded before they even got to me. 

[addicted]

Back in the seat for the last couple hours of the hunt about 15 minutes 1230, and i hear a noise( other than the occasionalshot) its almost heavy breathing, or maybe the wind which had started to pick up. i looked to my left trying to peg it and a nice pige broke free from the thicket where the pigs had entered heading revers on their same cut trail. I was much smoother on my shot this time even though i was pretty sure he was moving faster. I had ranged it at 104 meters while tracking. I got him in the scope and he looked like a good male boar. followed him for a second and squeezed one off. He immediately took a tumble, stood up spun in a small circle at which point i had already jacked  a shell and had the cross hairs on him again(pigs dont like to lay down and die). His ass end hit the ground first  then he flopped over and began to kick and sputter away writing his last will and testament in the snow.      I tell ya nothingwarms you up on a cold day like shooting up some game. 

[addicted]

as i sat there for the next 1.5 hours replaying it in my head and sending some boasting text messages to some friends i finally got out of the seat at the end of the hunt 1400.  For the last hour of the hunt the wind had really started to howl and 1-2 foot deep trudging paths through the snow were filling in in 20-30 minutes.

I headed down to the boar to take a looky loo and get some work done.

[addicted]

Replays in my head pointing out traits of a keiler(male) were confirmed a happy hunter was i. A fairly young boar maybe 45 kilos but very blonde witch is a cool trail many hunters search for.

The shot was behind the right shoulder and out infront of the left. It was about as close to the shoulders as it gets without actually blowing out a shoulder.  The lungs were soup and the heart almost fell out in my hand.   

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after gutting him german style(everything from the toungue to the butthole) i retreated to the road with another hunter to see if the forsters would have a unimog or if we would be draggin him out.

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The forster Called out the tracter to pick up the pig and one of the many blood tracking  dogs to find the wounded pig. After seeing how far the pigs had gotten it appeared likely that i did not hit him at all.    After seeing where the dog tracked to it appeared that another guy on my line about 3/4 of a mile down had shot at the same pig, dropped it in its tracks then watched it get up and run off.  he was fairly new to the pig hunting thing(even forgot a knife) and was pretty dissapointed at the end of the night when nothing turned up for him. Tough tough animals. 

Back at the strecke we ended up with about26  animals which was very good since we had the snow and it was hard to get them out of their beds. My keiler ended up being the biggest male of the 12 pigs shot and was only ousted by one female who was a tad bit bigger.

Dr. P. then gave a parting speach along with General Wessel before handing out the Schutzenbruchen(branch given to a successful hunter).  The branch is to be worn on the right side of the hat and shows success in the tradition of the oldest of german hunts where hunting for most was illegal. The branch is broken, not cut and is wiped in the wound of the game taken. All game is placed on right side with heart facing up toward heaven.

[addicted]

Once again I am honored and Priveleged to hunt with such fine gentlemen and enjoy the great land that God has placed us in. Every hunt brings me closer to leaving germany and that much sadder. I have met the most amazing people and heard the most amazing stories. I have seen some beautiful sights and been blessed to be able to take part in harvesting the game on another continent. I continue to be amazed by what i see and hear and I can only imagine what is waiting around the corner for me next.

I hope you enjoy my write up as much as I enjoyed experiencing it.

-Josh Nicholson, a washingtonian in germany

[Forrestrover]

Great pictures and great write-up! I enjoyed it thoroughly.

[GoldTip]

Excellent write up and congrats on a great hunt.  Very cool experience to get to hunt in Germany.  One question, do you get to keep the meat?  

[addicted]

Excellent write up and congrats on a great hunt.  Very cool experience to get to hunt in Germany.  One question, do you get to keep the meat?  

weather or not you keep the meat depends on who you are hunting with. on this particular hunt they tend to give away any boar under 20 kilos.  on any other animals the shooter has first option to buy the meat. 

 I hunt one area where i get to keep the meet i shoot and i hunt another where i dont. it all depends on who you choose to hunt with. I definately know that i would not have the freezer space for the animals i shoot. heck. i would need 2 chest freezers just to maintain. Shot almost a dozen deer this year a red stag bull and 300+ pounds of pig. 

I take meat when we are running low and the rest is sold to the non hunting people.

[carpsniperg2]

Dude that is so sweet! another great boar great write up and thanks for sharing

[addicted]

Dude that is so sweet! another great boar great write up and thanks for sharing

i was looking for crowns still. dont tell my wife 

[addicted]

I Got the wife and myself signed up for another hunt in the same area next week. Should be a blast. It's the wife's first drive hunt.  She bet me $100 that she wouldnt have fun.  She said if i win i can't spend the money on jeep stuff 

[addicted]

There might be a slight influx of Guest hits to the website as i have givein out this link to many in the Germanamerican hunting comunity.

[Gutpile]

When your my age your going to be very happy you didn't waste your time in Germany. I really looked forward to reading this thread. Thanks.

[Machias]

I sooooo look forward to these write-ups and photos.  I think we should take up a collection here at HuntWa and send you hunting every week, with the stipulation you have to report back with photos and write-ups after each hunt!!!     I spent 5 years in Germany as a kid and then a couple of TDYs, sure would have loved to have participated in one of these hunts, your a very lucky young man!!  Thanks for sharing with us.

[addicted]

I think we should take up a collection here at HuntWa and send you hunting every week, with the stipulation you have to report back with photos and write-ups after each hunt!!!   

i think we could make this work 

I've been eyeballing some mouflan hunts 

[Ossahatchee]

Thanks for taking the time to document and post. I enjoyed reading and viewing very much. I have sent the link to many in the Verein Deutch Drahthaar -Group North America. It is good to see the hunting situations the Versatile hunting dog breeds were developed for. Few ever consider the value of a dog on a big game hunt.

How often were the dogs used in your Treib Jagd?

[saylean]

Freakin awesome story Addicted. What an experience. Great pics!

[addicted]

Thanks for taking the time to document and post. I enjoyed reading and viewing very much. I have sent the link to many in the Verein Deutch Drahthaar -Group North America. It is good to see the hunting situations the Versatile hunting dog breeds were developed for. Few ever consider the value of a dog on a big game hunt.

How often were the dogs used in your Treib Jagd?

we use der hunde on every treib jagd i've been on. Sometimes a whole mess of terriers and sometimes just a dog or two for a slow treib in order to get the game out of their beds.

It really is amazing how many uses there are for a trained dog. If standards and traditions like this were adopted in the states there would be far less lost game as well as great improvements in other aspects of hunting such as herd management.

In 50 years hunting in the states will have continued to slouch and deprive itself through poor herd management and Germany will still be the same. No management plan is perfect but these guys do a pretty darn good job.

[addicted]

Dang.

A repeat of this hunt scheduled for the 22nd has been cancelled. probably due to weather. The biggest bummer is that angelface was going and it was going to be her first drive hunt.

[Black Ghost]

Awesome write up!  One of these days, maybe make the bucket list!

[addicted]

We're heading out for this hunt again in the morning. My camera gave up the ghost after afghanistan so i wont have a lot of pics but i'll take the video camera and the wife will be sitting with me this year.

wish me luck

[Klyne3]

Wow very cool!

[jeepasaurusrex]

Josh, looks like you had a great time. I sure do miss Germany.

The last time I was at Hoenfels I was ass deep in mud. 

[Wake1]

Man that looks like alot of fun. I did some training in Hoenfelds back in the early 90's. I seen some monster pigs back then.   

[jeepasaurusrex]

Wake, I was there 92-94.  Sounds like our paths may have crossed at some point. 

[addicted]

You guys are in luck, my beautiful lovely wife snagged us a waterproof camera on our way through the PX the day before the hunt. took 186 photos. 

[IronMike]

Great story and pics!!  Very enjoyable read. I was stationed in Hohenfels from 91-96 with the OPFOR, I remember lots of great animals running around the training area, especially the hogs and the Stag. The pic with the hiltop in the distance, Was that Old Baldy??

[addicted]

Great story and pics!!  Very enjoyable read. I was stationed in Hohenfels from 91-96 with the OPFOR, I remember lots of great animals running around the training area, especially the hogs and the Stag. The pic with the hiltop in the distance, Was that Old Baldy??

might be. I'm not familiar with the names of the terrain.

[scree]

IronMike we may have "shot" at each other I spent way too much time in mud city while I was with the Berlin Bergade 91-93