I'm a keen deer stalker in the UK and have been doing a lot of swap hunting in Europe for the last couple of years - we go over there to experience their style of hunting and then our hosts come over to stay with us to do the same. We pay our own flights and expenses but usually stay with our hosts and the hunting is free - no trophy fees etc but only hunting the kind of animals our hosts want us to hunt. On our side, the same applies but there are few restrictions - if a CIC gold medal Roe buck walks out in front of you, it's yours to shoot. Swap hunting is a brilliant way for guys like me, doing a fairly ordinary job and raising a family, to hunt overseas on a tight budget. I have nothing against outfitters but professionally organised hunting is mostly beyond my means!

However, My hunting partner and I would like to be a bit more ambitious now and see if it is possible to arrange a good swap hunt with a hunter in the USA. To stretch it a bit further, I'd particularly like to hunt bear - not bothered about trophys or world records, but I would like it to be a good foot hunt. If not bear, then really any interesting species that we don't have access to in the UK. We are pretty flexible about dates, destinations etc - it's more about finding like-minded hunters that love what they do, enjoy learning and sharing their knowledge and don't take like too seriously...

I have been wondering what we could offer in return - after all, what is a fair swap for a bear?! So, I thought I could offer a mixed selection of hunting in England and Scotland. In Scotland, depending on when the trip was scheduled, I could offer woodland and hill stalking for Red and Roe deer, walked-up Black Grouse (current price is about £150 a brace if you are on a paid day!) and as much small game shooting as you can stand, e.g. lamping for rabbits with rimfire rifles, using shotguns to shoot rabbits bolted by ferrts, shooting blue and brown hares and so on. This is all based in the Royal Dee Valley, within a literal stone's throw of Balmoral castle. In England, I could offer foot or highseat stalking for Muntjac deer, stalking for Chinese Water Deer, the chance at Fallow or Sika deer if desired and as many red foxes as you can be bothered to call in and shoot. We can also do,a bit of sightseeing - for some reason the local whisky distilleries are a popular attraction when stalking in Scotland Accommodation would be pretty primitive, using our very basic cottage on the banks of the River Dee in Scotland and a mix of local pubs and our own homes here in England. The food will be good though and the beer even better...

Sooooo, as I'm just testing the water, I'd be really interested to hear from anyone genuinely wanting to swap the kind of hunting they do for some of ours over here to see what could be arranged.

Regards,

Adam.

Depending on what type of bear you at talking about. Black bears no trouble I would think one can do a frist rate black bear hunt for under 3000 US.

A brown or grizzly hunt your talking 8000 to 25000 US and a very limited area. and most require a guide.

Heck if you could get a Wis tag I would take you for free but thats a 7 year wait. Lots of westren states have over the counter tags fall and spring seasons ect.

IF you're thinking of grizzly/brown bear, then a licensed guide is required in Alaska for non-resident aliens. So for that, you'd have to find a licensed guide willing to do a trade.
Bear in Fairbanks

To be honest, any bear is pretty exotic for us Brits - the scariest beast we have to face is a mildly irritated Badger. If any kind of bear is too complicated (we don't have tags here - if it's in season and it's on your ground, you can shoot it) I'd consider swapping any kind of interesting hunting for species that we wouldn't ever see in the UK.

Adam.

quote:

Originally posted by Adam.270:
If not bear, then really any interesting species that we don't have access to in the UK. We are pretty flexible about dates, destinations etc - it's more about finding like-minded hunters that love what they do, enjoy learning and sharing their knowledge and don't take like too seriously...

My wife says I'm nutz, but pronghorn might be a possibility...

Great Idea! It tried to do a similar thing with our Australian members but got no nibbles.

Here in NZ I can take you hunting for rabbits, feral goats, red, fallow & sika deer (non-trophy any sex animals for meat) and for Tahr in public land free range fair chase. Hunting will be basic with rough camps and huts in the bush, water from the stream, dry outhouse etc. We might be able to do some trout fishing and salt water fishing.

PS
I thought it is easy to do a black bear hunt in the US with a local resident as a companion. I know that white tail deer hunting is easy in most states.

Nakihunter,

Drop me a PM - my mate and I are planning a trip to NZ in May next year (2012) and would welcome any contacts. Goat culling very high in the agenda - a new .220Swift barrel is on order Not that excited by Tahr but well up for all of the deer species and any small game on offer - we like LOTS of trigger time.

Regards,

Adam.

quote:

Originally posted by TomP:

quote:

Originally posted by Adam.270:
If not bear, then really any interesting species that we don't have access to in the UK. We are pretty flexible about dates, destinations etc - it's more about finding like-minded hunters that love what they do, enjoy learning and sharing their knowledge and don't take like too seriously...

My wife says I'm nutz, but pronghorn might be a possibility...

Is it just me. or does 'pronghorn' sound like a genital disease...

Tom - why does your wife think you are nuts? My wife thinks that hanging around on the internet talking to strange men is a bit odd, but not nuts. What are pronghorn antelope hunts like - more details please!

Regards,

Adam.

I live in Alberta and my brother lives in B.C. We have lots of black bears with a two bear limit per hunter. The best time is in the spring when you can shoot them off of the logging roads or near the oil lease roads. Rod

quote:

Originally posted by Adam.270:

Is it just me. or does 'pronghorn' sound like a genital disease...

Tom - why does your wife think you are nuts? My wife thinks that hanging around on the internet talking to strange men is a bit odd, but not nuts. What are pronghorn antelope hunts like - more details please!

Regards,

Adam.

Our wives all think we're nutz, comes with the territory. We should know this from watching our parents. but all think our sweethearts are different. She wants to know what she'd do in England while I'm hunting rabbits (of which we have a backyard-full already).

Pronghorn antelope (related more to goats than African antelope) hang out on sage flats, no need to get out of bed early but sneaking up on them can be time-consuming. Their vision is quite good and they run about 45 mph (depending on whose figures you believe). There is a small herd being established in northern California but I mostly hunt in Montana or Wyoming.

I generally find someplace to camp, only hit a hotel for a Saturday night bath, or if the weather goes bad.

The draw for permits is later this month, the deadline for Wyoming applications is in March. Sometimes there are leftover licenses for areas with difficult access.