Shooting holidays to get an introduction to the sport

Yellow_Fern

Hi,

Are there any parts of Europe that facility shooting/ hunting packages that are good for near beginners to get into shooting? Would such a thing be confined to target shooting? To wonder do any allow game shooting abroad, or does one always need an Irish gun permit abroad? Thanks

Grizzly 45

Target shooting is more so than game shooting. As with TS you are only shooting as a total newbie at a bit of paper or cardboard.Hunting, you are shooting at a live animal,so either people can get "buck fever" or welsh out at a critical moment when they finally realise they are about to take an animal's life or worse muff the shot and critically injure the animal. Hence, hunting licenses are harder to do than acquiring a target shooters permit in the mainland EU. So, it really said around most of Europe...Not unless you do have a hunting license.

garrettod

Hello,

For a person looking for some initial exposure to the sport, I think experience with handling firearms is the only place to start, and that can be obtained in Ireland, through various clubs. It'll also cost you a lot less.

Once you've learnt the basics, which you'll learn in a safe, target based, environment, you can then consider getting into hunting.

Trying to hunt without a solid base level of firearms experience is a very bad idea, imho, so unless you've got someone available who can teach you all of the basics in relation to safety, accuracy etc. then go for some basic lessons at a club, with targets, first.

If, and when, the time comes, when you are ready to get into hunting, you need to ask yourself what you want to hunt, and why? Sure, you can go abroad and pay to go hunting wild boar (for example), but why, if you'll never do that in Ireland, and you don't have the correct equipment to get familiar with in advance etc.? I'm sure it's an experience, but is it the right one for you?