nice... tho one thing pricked me - it was that keiler got his "last bite" twig of pine - wild boars dont get the "last bite" - here in Slovenia we have many hunting habits that were influenced by Germans and the use of pine twig is one of them. It has many meanings and uses. For instance regarding the protocol of Weidmannsheil by harvesting a game of "high hunt" there are two twigs - the game twig and the hunter`s (hunter that harvest the game) twig. The game twig goes to all the hoofed game exept the wild boar (wolf, lynx, bear don`t get it either). Things get interesting when the game twig is given to the capercailie, blackcock and hazel grouse which are considered a small game but classified as a game of "high hunt" . The hunter`s twig is given at all the above mentioned game (boar and bear included offcourse ) and it is passed over by a friend (if he is present) to the hunter that harvest the game. One put the twig behind the hut ribbon (always on the right hand side), after the twig is besprinkled with the blood from the entry wound.
Pine twig has also other meanings - for instance if you harvest big game that can not be taken away at the moment (red stag, big boar, bear...) becouse you should leave it in the forest to get a tractor or 4x4...you put the pine twig on the game`s left shoulder (game should always lie on its right side) just to let anyone that may stumble upon dead animal know, that game was taken fair by a hunter and did not just die...Americans use tags for that matter...back to the pine twig - if you hunt with more hunters and must left the meeting point prior your comrades, you put the twig on the ground with the broken end in the direction of your departure (with use of GSM lately this use of twig isn`t so popular lately but there are still places where you dont get a signal for a GSM and there we still use it that way)...twig is also used to mark the place of the game position when the shot was fired but game escaped - there are two twigs - one thrusted in the ground and the other laying on the ground - with broken side pointing the way of game`s departure (this way you are helping the tracker with dog to find the exact spot)...pine twig is also carried on hunter`s funeral - this time behind the hut ribbon but on the left side - once you came to the open grave you take your twig and throw it in the grave...

Those habits may look odd, funny and unnecessary, but once you have adopt to them they add something to the hunting culture that is common in our places.

Nice article Nick!

Also, thanks for the quick overview mouse93. I like the symbolism and the idea of getting buried with the pine twig after using it on quarry throughout your life, although a good bolt-action rifle would be more to my liking! You never know what the gunshops are like up there.

In fact you often see European hunters using twigs on game taken in Africa and Asia...

...one more thing I found interesting is that keiler came after fox, folowing the same rute - I have seen and heard it so many times that IMO that wasn`t accidental (far from rule tho) and a good suggestion to hold the shot on fox when driven boar hunting

Thank you for the explaination ! I've done it but only to honour the game , without knowing the other traditions .It reminds me of the tradition of putting an evergreen tree on the top of a new building. This I understand goes back to Ancient Druids. I worked on one house and the builder took a branch and nailed it to the roof. A little old German lady gave him a long lecture .You have to go through the woods and find a special young tree to use etc . Not just a branch !!!

Another great story. I see there is another one by Betz that you have posted in the varmint section. I will be reading that next. Thanks for posting this - I really enjoyed it.

Another nice story: in the early fifties, my father - forester like me - has had to guide a american officer for a red stag. Because of my father spoke quite good english - or perhaps american, because he spent some "special holidays" in Alabama from 1944-46 - he he had long conversations with this officer and he was wondering about his hard accent. After shooting a good stag and a little boar, my mother prepared the liver from the boar for dinner. At the dinner, the american officer told my mother in a absolut accent-free german, that he is not allowed to eat pig-meat. And than, he told the story of his life and the evening was very long!

Years later, there was a joke in a german newspaper: President Nixon and the israeli prime-minister were on dinner and Nixon said: "There are many associations between Israel and the USA, for example our foreign-ministers are both americans and jews (Golda Meir and Henry Kissinger)!" Than the israeli replied: " But my foreign-minister speakes english without german accent!"

Glad to hear you enjoyed the article, Gentlemen.
I will be posting others in the coming weeks.