Just a suggestion to post about meetings of AR members.

Today, Winck, JB de Runz and Ed met at the French Big Game Hunting Show.
http://www.saloninternationaldelachasse.com/

We started the day with beer and sausages, we finished it with champagne.

Looks like you guys were having a good time. Thanks for posting the photos.

How was the show. Did either of you book any hunts or buy anything cool?

-Steve

Those yellow wristbands aren't parole tracking bands I hope!

Edmond,

You don't look like the anti-Christ at all!

Looks like fun and three great hunters.

What brand of champagne?

First, the security tagged the Merkin then the Frogs.
So many things to see and people to chat with, we'll go back during the week end.
We met some other people there and a few of them have registered on african hunts or reserved an express or rifle or shotgun at show prices that they will take after the event ends.

There's a wide choice. large calibers over .400 are the most present for african hunts after a huge choice of european calibers.

Year after year, this show becomes the most important event in France, there are two other shows that are significantly more important but this one attracts more exhibitors and visitors every year.
I was an exhibitor the first time, it was really disappointing.
A lot of PH are here, we had a great moment during lunch at our table with some famous PH and authors.

We finished the day around french american dishes, I did not look at the brand for the champagne, the hunting stories were breathtaking and exchanges of tips much too interesting but it was sure a good champagne.

Looks like fun, guys, great to see some nice photos too.

It was very pleasant to meet Jean Bernard for the first time and listen first hand to his accounts of the CAR hunt he just completed. Edmond and I have known each other for a few years but we don't see each other that often so it was nice to get together and we had a blast.

The show this year didn't attract the South African outfitters it had the last few years. I suspect that the Euro exchange rate is part of the problem as their costs to participate have increased significantly in Dollar or Rand terms. Also, the few DGR custom riflesmiths took a sabbatical as well. Chapuis was there of course but their objective here is the double gun for European driven hunts and not to show off their African caliber guns. Their was a very nice Heym bolt action in .416 Rigby that I wanted to fondle but it was locked onto the wall and I couldn't find anybody to unlock it for me. There a couple of French bullet makers that make interesting bullets in large calibers like FIP/Brenneke who make a very nice bullet in 375, 404 and 458 (but not in 416, the dummies) and GPA who also makes some monolithic hunting bullets. But frustrating because nobody has any stock on hand to sell at the show and they push you off the gun stores who have nothing in stock anyway.

Since I live less than a mile from the Rambouillet Race Track (horse racing) where the show is held, I had a few people to my home in the evening where the alluded to champagne and foie gras was preceded by some single malt scotch. Since there was a question along these lines, my taste in Scotch is Knockandu and the champagne was Veuve Clicquot.

Nice to put some friendly faces to the names. Seems like you had a good time.

If anybody should be interested in a mini AR-gettogether, a few of us we'll be going to the range in Embrach (just north of Zurich) on Saturday the 23-Apr-2005. We'd be more than happy if you could join. This naturally goes for our French, German, Austrian, Italien, Swiss or any other nationality AR member who happens to be in the vicinity.

Drop me a PM if you want more information.

- mike

I envy you a little.....


Any events/fair seems to be too close or too far for me

This because my range organized a lot of competition between March and June, when I'll go to Namibia, and I've to complete the test of the loads for the cartridges that I'll bring with me in Namibia, and all the dates free from competition at the range are contemporary with the events or too close to some other activity of mine to propose an EU meeting of AR members.
I'm a little sad for this.

For the three of us to get together without much real planning is due to the fact that Edmond and I live only minutes from the Rambouillet Hunting Fair and Jean Bernard came as an invited guest of Michel Vallier, the taxidermist who was awarded a service medal by the French government during the Fair. It could be that we make 90% of the AR members located in France! (Do Don or Saeed have a number?)

It may be 100%, I don't remember another Frog or another Merkin living in Frogland posting on this board.
No wonder the champagne was good, you've taken the best of french habits.

Great pictures guys!

I went way back in 1999, and had a great time.