Which European Country Has Hardest Hunting Test?

[Tanks]

Wow, it seems most of the tests are designed to eliminate people from hunting and firearms ownership rather than to encourage it.

My personal experience was to go to Carter's country in Houston get the OTC deer tags. Purchasing firearms was picking one and walking out with it after filling a yellow Federal form.

That was decades ago. Now, my previous licenses at any State exempt me from CA requirements for a hunting course.

In regards to Americans hunting in Europe. My CCW seems to be sufficient for Scotland for the permitting process. In most other countries the invite from the outfitter seems to be sufficient also for places that require a firearms permit, the 4457 seems to be looked as one, which is good as most States do not have a permitting process for firearms ownership.

 

[MS 9x56]

A long, long time ago, I had to complete a two-year course !!!!!
Two years.
1,5 year course and half a year repetition of the whole.
It was not without exaggeration called the "green baccalaureate" (dont know an other word for our Abitur)
30-40% of the participants disappeared after six weeks at the latest, when they realized how much material had to be learned (botany, hunting law, forest law, gun law, dog handling, game diseases, agriculture and biotope improvements and and and).
These people wanted to get their guns legally( Pimps and colleagues)
And a third failed in the end.

Today it has become much, much easier.But ultimately not better.
There have never been so many poorly trained hunters in Germany as there are at present.
Sic transit.........

Our courses are not as long but even after getting their licenses junior hunters basically serve a 2-4 year apprenticeship as they must hunt with an adult licensed hunter.

 

[Artur S]

Germany, most certainly.

It varies, though, depending in which federal subject you are in. But they all follow some basic criteria.

- Pay minimum 1500€ / ~2000 euros.

- Extensive theoretical base to learn including biology, zoology, forestry, basics of agriculture, gun smithing, kynology, law, traditional hunting folklore, gun and hunting safety.

- Written exam on all that. Mostly a multiple choice exam, but some places require to elaborate in one's own writing.

- Then a tough practical exam, a commission grills you again on some of the topics above and gun handling in accordance to strict procedures.

- Then a shooting test, differs again from place to place. Mostly, some clay pigeons, driven boar and standing roe buck. With a certain percentage of hits / in the vitals.

One can do it all now within 2 weeks, but it's a crash course at a hunting school. Or take it slowly and do it at a regional hunters' club/chapter within a year or so.

Beat this, my Dutch and scandinavian friends and eastern european comrades !!!!))))

 

[Tanks]

Question I have is if a hunting license is required to own a firearm and firearms proficiency is required for the exam, how does it work? Seems to be the case of chicken or the egg. Unless one is supposed to start with BB guns etc..

 

[Artur S]

Question I have is if a hunting license is required to own a firearm and firearms proficiency is required for the exam, how does it work? Seems to be the case of chicken or the egg. Unless one is supposed to start with BB guns etc..

In the countries I know of, it's that way:
You first obtain a certificate that you are proficient to own a firearm (usually from police regarding no previous felony convictions and / or medicinal institution regarding no mental health diagnosis). Then you are admitted to your hunter's exam. Then you're ready to go and get yourself a gun.
I know of no county where you need to actually own a gun, before admission to hunter's exam. Usually it is being a hunter that qualifies you to own one. Logically, if you are not proficient to own a gun (mental desease or previous conviction) then no need/no chance to do a hunter's exam...)))

In germany they recently added an approval by the equivalent body for homeland security/antiterrorism. They confirm that a hunter candidate is no threat for the state.... Soon they will introduce an official pledge of allegiance to Marxist and multiculturalism ideologies in front of a judge court....

 

[Opposite Pole]

Question I have is if a hunting license is required to own a firearm and firearms proficiency is required for the exam, how does it work? Seems to be the case of chicken or the egg. Unless one is supposed to start with BB guns etc..

Basically in EU (and Australia) you have to have a “genuine reason” to own firearms. Each country has different rules regarding this but that’s the basic requirement. In Poland the reasons can be hunting (requires hunting licence), sport (requires competitor’s licence), collectors permit, self defence etc. Each genuine reason requires formal proof and some kind of competency exam is always involved. Permit for self defence is pretty much impossible to get as you have to demonstrate your life is in constant and above average danger and preferably you should have been successfully assassinated, otherwise you won’t get it - this is one category were cops decide whether you get the permit or not. With the rest of them if you meet the criteria they have to issue the licence. You are allowed to concealed carry firearms held for other reasons such as sport so in reality it’s no big deal and sport permit is the most commonly issued permit today.

 

[mark-hunter]

Question I have is if a hunting license is required to own a firearm and firearms proficiency is required for the exam, how does it work?

@Tanks
in Europe, to own a firearm is privilige, not civil or constitutional right.
So, in order to own firearm, in most cases you need to provide "reason to own". and most often it will be for purpose of hunting, or purpose of sport shooting. (also gun collecting, and in some coutries self defence - but not in all countries)
In order to proof your "reason to own" on grounds of hunting, you have to produce hunting examination certificate.
During certification and training process thety will train you to use firearm

For sport shooting, how to prove that you are sport shooter, it will depend from country to country, and resepctive shooting organisation, but generally there should be a record of your activity in sport shooting club, or at local tournaments or copetitions.
In order to get trained, you will train under instruction from the coach, and use club gun, and go to competions. Once you have collected enoguh experience, or evidence that you can apply for gun permit, club or organisation will provide documentation. In some countries in Eu I beleive is sufficent to be member of club, somewhere is necessery to have competiton history

Now, what bothers me most:
A hunter, legal firearm owner dies of old age, and his heirs cannot inherit his guns, if they are not hunters (or sport shooters, or registered gun collectors_. And we know how much guns can go up in value. How do heirs get copensated in case guns are conifscated, it will depend from country to country. But it is really bad system.

In my country, when legal gun owner dies, a heir who is not hunter, target shooter, or collector, has option to sell the guns within 6 months. (guns kept in police stn in the mean time).
If guns are not sold by that time, the heir has two options: to disable the guns, by certified gunsmith and be given the certificate of disabling (police will take guns to gunsmith for disabling) and then to keep disabled guns, or to give the guns to the state, without compensation.

 

[DieJager]

Germany, most certainly.

It varies, though, depending in which federal subject you are in. But they all follow some basic criteria.

- Pay minimum 1500€ / ~2000 euros.

- Extensive theoretical base to learn including biology, zoology, forestry, basics of agriculture, gun smithing, kynology, law, traditional hunting folklore, gun and hunting safety.

- Written exam on all that. Mostly a multiple choice exam, but some places require to elaborate in one's own writing.

- Then a tough practical exam, a commission grills you again on some of the topics above and gun handling in accordance to strict procedures.

- Then a shooting test, differs again from place to place. Mostly, some clay pigeons, driven boar and standing roe buck. With a certain percentage of hits / in the vitals.

One can do it all now within 2 weeks, but it's a crash course at a hunting school. Or take it slowly and do it at a regional hunters' club/chapter within a year or so.

Beat this, my Dutch and scandinavian friends and eastern european comrades !!!!))))

Not to start an argument but it is the same in the Netherlands plus an extra practical course. Shooting test, shotgun test. No oral exams only multiple choice. But like in Germany than the fun starts... Hunting opportunity, firearms, insurance. Yearly an appointment with the police to check if you are still a model citizen

 

[DieJager]

Question I have is if a hunting license is required to own a firearm and firearms proficiency is required for the exam, how does it work? Seems to be the case of chicken or the egg. Unless one is supposed to start with BB guns etc..

First the license. The guns are all rentals. Or you allready have a sports permit

 

[Nyati]

In Spain there is a written exam, and a test of firearms handling at a shooting range, quite easy, or so I´ve heard. When I got my hunting license, back in the middle ages, no test was necessary.

To get a firearms license, more or less the same as in the the rest of Europe, hunting license, physical and mental examination, police background check, and proof of purchase of a safe for your firearm. Firearms license has to be renewed every five years.

I also have a hunting license from Finland, before the EU, which required a shooting test, on both fixed and moving targets.

 

[Muskox]

I have had hunting licenses in Spain, Germany, Australia and my native America. In Wyoming, New Mexico, California, Alaska, Montana and probably a couple other places.

The Australian process was fairly difficult, but it is the gun ownership issues they are trying to control not the hunting. They don't really care about what you shoot as long as it is non-native. Kangaroo shooters that are actually licensed have to prove firearms proficiency. Most can not make the shots required to pass a certified roo shooter test. Half inch groups at 100 meters through a what is essentially an American 50 cent piece. I had a firearms license, and hunting licenses for multiple states, but because I was a diplomat I was not allowed to actually own firearms. Only because the federal police could not step foot in my house.

I took my hunters safety as a child in America, we all passed. No problem, maybe I had 30 kids in the course. It was in 1982 or so. Every since then I show a copy of my hunter safety card from my childhood and they let me buy a license.

Maybe for trapping or bears you have to take another test, and do some training. That is the situation in most states.

My Spanish license was given to me after I gave them 5 years worth of American hunting licenses. No problemo Amigo, tu bien Caza! Had to buy hunting insurance.

Germany was problematic, but in many different ways. I attended the American -English language Jagdschein course. It is part of an agreement with the German government for Americans serving with the US Forces in Germany to be able to get a German hunting license.

It took 3 or 4 months of training twice a week, and most weekends, multiple shooting test, oral test, and a written exam. I got a 95% on the test and passed, about 3 people out of my class of 30 did not pass. Then to be able to trap I had to go take a German trapping course.

I have not taken the German Wiederladen course to be able to reload, it wasn't being offered during my stay. Falconry was the same, never took that course.

I beleive but I might be wrong that German's who take their own course do not have to take extra courses for falconry, reloading and trapping. I do not know if that is true or not. German hunting students probably take 6-12 months worth of courses and then a written and oral exam, as well as weapon profiency test. I had to buy hunting insurance 300 Euros for a 3 year coverage plan, and pay $150 for the class and $300 for the hunting license.

Once I had that little golden book in my hand I could buy as many rifles and shotguns as I wanted, and 3 pistols ( as long as one of them was a 22 LR).

Hit me with any questions you have about it.

 

[Kalthoff]

In Denmark we have to do attend a hunting course, then pass several exams.

Hunting course, classroom part:

• The zoology of the hunt-able species, their feeding habits, breeding habits, preferred biotopes etc.
• Animal recognition, all the species that are legal to hunt and some that are not.
• The typical forms of hunting practiced in Denmark.
• Weapons and ammunition for hunting
• Hunting law
• Weapons law
• Hunting safety

Hunting course, practical outdoors part:

• Shotgun handling
• Clay pigeon shooting
• Distance recognition. Tell the distance to life-size figures of huntable animals.
• Safety drill during a simulated hunt, while carrying a shotgun

Hunting exam, written part:

• Animal recognition from pictures, eg. recognize a certain species of duck from a picture of the wing of a female, tell certain types of gulls apart from pictures etc.
• Questions on animal zoology
• Questions on hunting in general
• Questions on hunting and weapons law
• Questions on safety

Hunting exam, practical outdoors part:

• Pick up a shotgun - safely
• Walk a simulated hunting trail with the shotgun without making any safety mistakes
• During the walk, judge the distance to a number of life-size animal targets and tell if it is within the recommended maximum shooting distance or not. You have to get 5 out of 6 correct, if memory serves me.
• Shoot at a number of clay pigeons
• Put the shotgun back onto a gun rack - safely.
• Any safety mistake during the exam is an automatic failure

Apply for hunting license
With both exams passed, you can apply for a hunting license.
At this point the police will look at your background and decide if they trust you enough to let you have a hunting license.

The license gives you the legal right to buy shotguns, rifles and ammunition.
The license also gives you the right to go to the shooting range to practice.
However actual hunting requires further exams.

Up until this point any weapon you touched was owned by the teacher/school. From this point on, you will be using weapons you own yourself.

Having practiced sufficiently at the shooting range, you can try to pass the exams for shotgun hunting, rifle hunting or bow hunting.

Shooting exam, shotgun (your own shotgun):

• Using no more than 18 cartridges, hit at least:
• 4 out of 6 clay pigeons presented from the left
• 4 out of 6 clay pigeons presented from the right
• 4 out of 6 clay pigeons presented from the rear
• Make no safety mistakes

Shooting exam, rifle (your own rifle):

• At a 100 meter rifle range:
• Load a rifle safely
• Shoot six times at a life-size target of a roe deer placed at 100 meters distance
• Hit the lethal zone of the roe deer target at least 5 out of 6 times.
• Make the riffle safe agin
• Make no safety mistakes

Shooting exam, Bowhunting:

• I havent tried my hand at it, so do not know the details

Having passed at least one of the shooting exams, you can go hunting with that type of weapon.

How long does it usually take to complete all this?

The course itself can take everything from 3-4 weekends up to every weekend during a winter, depending on the school/teacher and the abilities of the attendees to study by themself.

There is a thick book of course material to read and mostly memorize.

The distance recognition can be trained by yourself or in small groups, once you get the hang of the requirements.

The animal recognition is best trained by roaming the countryside with a pair of binoculars and a field guide.

What makes it hard?
Most who struggle to pass the exams fail at either:

• Distance recognition (due to either bad eyesight or lack of practice)
• Animal recognition (there are a lot of very similar looking species of ducks, gulls etc.)
• Safety drill (due to either nerves, sloppy teaching or the person being a knobhead)

 

[flatwater bill]

In the USA you have the vastly more difficult task of understanding the regulations. Booklets so poorly written, and full of contradictions that scholars debate them like Dead Sea scrolls.........in Wyoming and Utah they have produced doctoral theses.........but interestingly, in Europe, the tests are some times informative. Interesting thread. Thanks....................FWB

 

[BigSteve57]

In Denmark we have to do attend a hunting course, then pass several exams.

Hunting course, classroom part:

• The zoology of the hunt-able species, their feeding habits, breeding habits, preferred biotopes etc.
• Animal recognition, all the species that are legal to hunt and some that are not.
• The typical forms of hunting practiced in Denmark.
• Weapons and ammunition for hunting
• Hunting law
• Weapons law
• Hunting safety

Hunting course, practical outdoors part:

• Shotgun handling
• Clay pigeon shooting
• Distance recognition. Tell the distance to life-size figures of huntable animals.
• Safety drill during a simulated hunt, while carrying a shotgun

Hunting exam, written part:

• Animal recognition from pictures, eg. recognize a certain species of duck from a picture of the wing of a female, tell certain types of gulls apart from pictures etc.
• Questions on animal zoology
• Questions on hunting in general
• Questions on hunting and weapons law
• Questions on safety

Hunting exam, practical outdoors part:

• Pick up a shotgun - safely
• Walk a simulated hunting trail with the shotgun without making any safety mistakes
• During the walk, judge the distance to a number of life-size animal targets and tell if it is within the recommended maximum shooting distance or not. You have to get 5 out of 6 correct, if memory serves me.
• Shoot at a number of clay pigeons
• Put the shotgun back onto a gun rack - safely.
• Any safety mistake during the exam is an automatic failure

Apply for hunting license
With both exams passed, you can apply for a hunting license.
At this point the police will look at your background and decide if they trust you enough to let you have a hunting license.

The license gives you the legal right to buy shotguns, rifles and ammunition.
The license also gives you the right to go to the shooting range to practice.
However actual hunting requires further exams.

Up until this point any weapon you touched was owned by the teacher/school. From this point on, you will be using weapons you own yourself.

Having practiced sufficiently at the shooting range, you can try to pass the exams for shotgun hunting, rifle hunting or bow hunting.

Shooting exam, shotgun (your own shotgun):

• Using no more than 18 cartridges, hit at least:
• 4 out of 6 clay pigeons presented from the left
• 4 out of 6 clay pigeons presented from the right
• 4 out of 6 clay pigeons presented from the rear
• Make no safety mistakes

Shooting exam, rifle (your own rifle):

• At a 100 meter rifle range:
• Load a rifle safely
• Shoot six times at a life-size target of a roe deer placed at 100 meters distance
• Hit the lethal zone of the roe deer target at least 5 out of 6 times.
• Make the riffle safe agin
• Make no safety mistakes

Shooting exam, Bowhunting:

• I havent tried my hand at it, so do not know the details

Having passed at least one of the shooting exams, you can go hunting with that type of weapon.

How long does it usually take to complete all this?

The course itself can take everything from 3-4 weekends up to every weekend during a winter, depending on the school/teacher and the abilities of the attendees to study by themself.

There is a thick book of course material to read and mostly memorize.

The distance recognition can be trained by yourself or in small groups, once you get the hang of the requirements.

The animal recognition is best trained by roaming the countryside with a pair of binoculars and a field guide.

What makes it hard?
Most who struggle to pass the exams fail at either:

• Distance recognition (due to either bad eyesight or lack of practice)
• Animal recognition (there are a lot of very similar looking species of ducks, gulls etc.)
• Safety drill (due to either nerves, sloppy teaching or the person being a knobhead)

Very impressive indeed. I am curious about the rifle marksmanship test. What position or positions? Standing unsupported (offhand)? Prone? Can you cheat for the test and shoot a .223 but hunt with a .300 Win Mag? (Not that *I* would do that!!! )

Edit: I just saw in your post that you can hunt with the same type of rifle in your qualification.

 

[Shootist43]

I've been a Hunter Education Instructor (formerly called a Hunter Safety Instructor) for 34 years. The classes we teach and the requirements for passing cannot be remotely compared to the European Hunting Tests being discussed in this article.

 

[Kalthoff]

Very impressive indeed. I am curious about the rifle marksmanship test. What position or positions? Standing unsupported (offhand)? Prone?

Free choice of position, but has to be "hunting relevant" (the meaning of that restriction is unclear and has lead to a lot of debate).

In practice most shoot the rifle exam prone, using some form of support.

The shooting part of the rifle shooting exam is in reality fairly easy, even for a total beginner. I passed it after having only been to the rifle range three times in my life. That's fairly typical.

Safety is the priority of the exam, not marksmanship. Some examples of common reasons for failure are pointing the barrel in an unsafe direction, loading before the order to load is given or forgetting to check if the bore is clear before loading.

Can you cheat for the test and shoot a .223 but hunt with a .300 Win Mag? (Not that *I* would do that!!! )

For the rifle exam, the caliber and cartridge has to meet or exceed the legal requirements for hunting roe deer.

The present minimum requirements for hunting roe deer with a rifle are: 50 grains/3,2 gram projectile, yielding at least 800 Joule at 100 meters from the muzzle.

Having passed the rifle exam, you can hunt using any rifle caliber you want to (and can obtain a rifle permit for, but that is another topic).

I used .308W for the rifle shooting exam, which is way beyond those minimum requirements.

Edit: I just saw in your post that you can hunt with the same type of rifle in your qualification.

In that case I was unclear.

I ment: having passed the rifle exam you can hunt using any type of rifle, having passed the shotgun exam you can hunt using any type of shotgun, bowhunting I do not know the details.

 

[BigSteve57]

Free choice of position, but has to be "hunting relevant" (the meaning of that restriction is unclear and has lead to a lot of debate).

In practice most shoot the rifle exam prone, using some form of support.

The shooting part of the rifle shooting exam is in reality fairly easy, even for a total beginner. I passed it after having only been to the rifle range three times in my life. That's fairly typical.

Safety is the priority of the exam, not marksmanship. Some examples of common reasons for failure are pointing the barrel in an unsafe direction, loading before the order to load is given or forgetting to check if the bore is clear before loading.



For the rifle exam, the caliber and cartridge has to meet or exceed the legal requirements for hunting roe deer.

The present minimum requirements for hunting roe deer with a rifle are: 50 grains/3,2 gram projectile, yielding at least 800 Joule at 100 meters from the muzzle.

Having passed the rifle exam, you can hunt using any rifle caliber you want to (and can obtain a rifle permit for, but that is another topic).

I used .308W for the rifle shooting exam, which is way beyond those minimum requirements.


In that case I was unclear.

I ment: having passed the rifle exam you can hunt using any type of rifle, having passed the shotgun exam you can hunt using any type of shotgun, bowhunting I do not know the details.

Thank you for posting. I am always learning something in here.

 

[BigSteve57]

In the USA you have the vastly more difficult task of understanding the regulations. Booklets so poorly written, and full of contradictions that scholars debate them like Dead Sea scrolls.........in Wyoming and Utah they have produced doctoral theses.........but interestingly, in Europe, the tests are some times informative. Interesting thread. Thanks....................FWB

One of my favorite friends to hunt with is a prominent lawyer. We were deer hunting one year in tree stands several hundred yards apart; we couldn't see each other. I took a picture of a deer and texted for his legal opinion on whether the deer's antlers met my state's (Maryland) antler point requirements. I really wasn't sure and didn't take the shot due to wanting to wait for a larger buck. We spent quite a bit of time texting back and forth about this; probably missed some deer.

 

[GuttormG]

Wow, it seems most of the tests are designed to eliminate people from hunting and firearms ownership rather than to encourage it.

Give it 10-15 more years and there will not be any leisure hunting or shooting in Europe..

 

[Opposite Pole]

Give it 10-15 more years and there will not be any leisure hunting or shooting in Europe..

I sincerely hope you are wrong and I believe you are wrong.

There is an increasing focus on biodiversity in EU. Without “leisure hunting” it would be extremely costly to control wildlife populations while maintaining biodiversity and limiting wildlife caused agricultural losses. Each of these tasks, independently, can easily be managed but combined, well that is a different story all together. It takes a tremendous number of man hours of field work. Europe is a weird place, with a dense, yet evenly distributed population. Our cities are quite small and forrests account, on average, for over a third of each country’s territory, agricultural land holdings are also very significant. Our wildlife is widespread and populations are healthy, yet average human population density is 3 times that of USA. If you took Finland and Sweden out, it would be 4 times. Population density in Poland is 124 ppl per sqkm, by comparison USA is 34, Australia is 3, Australia’s NT is 0.2. Few years ago Polish Hunting Association calculated the financial value of “recreational” hunters’ service. I cannot recall the numbers but it made the anti-hunter politians pause and bite their tongues.