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Bow hunting is big business across America and now Europe.
It is banned in half the countries in Europe - but that's not stopping people buying bows
and arrows and heading off to the other half in search of a whole new hunting experience.
To give you a taster of what it's all about, one of the best bow hunters in Europe has
agreed to teach us all about it, on one of the best hunting estates in Europe, at one
of the most exciting times of year.
First up - the incredibly named Max Hunt.
He's not just a renowned bow hunter - this great Dane is a carpenter turned professional
hunter, sporting journalist, writer, lecturer and poster boy - appearing on front covers
of magazines, adverts and even the new Sauer rifles catalogue.
He's also got a world record - Holding the Safari Club International record for a roebuck
with the bow.
The challenge in the hunting, that is what I love, but I am still just the guy from next
door.
So that is who I am and by the way I am from Denmark.
Next the estate - Gyulaj in South West Hungary has a history spanning centuries but this
now state-owned hunting area is probably best known in recent times for being the location
for Boar Fever, a film which saw Prince Franz Albrecht Öttingen-Spielberg demonstrating
just how quick a Sauer bolt action rifle can be worked.
Finally, the quarry.
It's the fallow rut and this is possibly the best place in the world for fallow deer.
They are huge and, during the silly season, their displays of aggression and calling must
rank amongst the most impressive wildlife spectacles anywhere on the planet.
There we have it - so now let's start at the beginning and the bow necessities...and maybe
dispell a few myths at the same time -
We kick off with accuracy and range.
Max will only take a shot on animals within 30 metres.
However, it is possible to get arrows grouping at 100 metres.
He's so confident he says he can outshoot most rifle shots at this distance when they're
free standing and using open sights...
To add some extra spice he parks his new Land Rover Discovery just a few feet from the target.
He had better get this right.
Actually this is my bow I use for practising and demonstrating how a bow works.
For shooting at a distance like a 100 yards it is not typical for hunting nobody does
it and shouldn't do that, but it is just for showing how the drop of the arrow is and how
precise the bow actually is.
Max knows he's pulled the first shot but the next two show how accurate his Hoyt bow can
be in the right hands.
The second you shoot you know where you are at.
It is kind of funny and I know I missed that one.
So that was a mistake by me though in the second I shot I felt I was way too far on
the left, but the other two after we had the first grouping in the bottom, I changed the
site and turned it up to the left so now actually the grouping is centred so now I should turn
my site back down so that we get the point of aiming and the point of hit in exactly
the same spot.
But again this is a grouping at 100 metres so it shows how precise it actually is to
shoot with a bow and there are many other bow shooters who shoot better than I do.
A target like this offers as much resistance as three red deer standing against each other.
If you have any doubt about the punch behind these razor-sharp arrow heads, think again.
The main difference between hunting with a bow or with a rifle is actually the contact
you have directly to your game.
As a rifle hunter it is more about, its still hunting don't misunderstand that, but you
are more shooter with a rifle than you are with a bow because bow hunting is about hunting
it is about your bow skills.
It is about knowing the species, it is about understanding them getting in on them, choosing
the right moment for the right chuck.
We'll come back to the bow a little bit later.
Let's get out on to the ground for a different hunting experience.
Max has already recced the site and he takes us to a valley known to be a favourite haunt
of the fallow deer.
As we reach the top of the valley the sound from these hormone-fuelled animals gets our
adrenalin pumping too.
For several generations fallow deer mate here, nobody knows why it is exactly at this spot.
The problem is that if we want to hunt with the bow we need to get even closer.
We need to find a spot as close to the centre as possible.
Because they're all being so vocal we know when we can take our chance to drop deeper
down the slope and find a suitable position that will put us within range.
The first thing I do when I come out is try to figure out where the animals are, try to
read the tracks, stuff like that.
But the most important thing is to actually know the different distances because the animals
are very close I don't have the time for measuring when the animal comes in or is on the rutting
place so I find some trees I can recognise and take the distance so I know the distance.
I try to get the animal within 30 metres as a shot further ahead is not as safe.
Now I measured some trees in a line at about 30 so I know that if I hit the animals within
the big trees down there they are within 30 metres.
As we sit and wait a young spiker has the nerve to approach a part of slope which we've
noticed is a bit of a no-go area - suddenly we hear a buck we soon refer to as Barry White
telling his does "never going to give you up" in a very deep voice.
Sensing the party has moved elsewhere, Max thinks that we should do the same.
We hear some big stags in the background here, so our plan now is to try and get in and take
a look at them and try to find...... but it is not that easy because it is very dense,
the bush is very dense.
We have tried to take a walk around to see if we can get into a good wind and see if
we can find a buck.
We try to be as quiet as possible.
The bucks aren't as wary as they would normally be but our Kryptonite is a cautious doe.
We need to keep still for minutes on end until the alarm dies down.
It has become quite quiet right now.
The main reason might be we are at the peak of the rut right now.
That means the fallow have been active all night.
So right now the sun is coming up and it is about 10 o'clock now, they are tired and they
are lying down in the sun to get rest now, but sometimes we hear them still rutting so
we try to see where they are so that we can go to that spot later on when they get up.
Max's prediction rings true and we have a weary buck taking the weight off about 50
metres ahead of us.
He is big.
Actually he was too small, especially now that he has gone.
With the heat of the day slowing down our feisty bucks we retreat to the lodge and find
out a little more about this hunting ground, which has produced some world record animals.
Someone comes to hunt from Hungary and chooses July to do hunting then we provide excellent
hunting.
Importantly for the 3 main big game species that we have here, the red stags, the fallow
deer of course and the wild boar as well and if someone chooses July then he will definitely
be part of our history to be a part of a territory who owns many world records regarding the
fallow bucks, we have more than 5 world records on the CIC rank list and we have the Q and
SCI world record regarding the wild boar as well.
And also in 2005 we could provide the heaviest antlers regarding the red stags within entire
Hungary.
So if someone chooses July then he will experience something more than just shooting with a rifle.
He will be part of the history, he will be part of our history and he will be part of
the Hungarian hospitality in our quality lodges trying out quality food and dishes.
Maybe some good Hungarian wines as well.
Max is one of the first people ever to hunt with a bow here and the estate is opening
it's doors to other kinds of hunters too, especially those who wouldn't normally be
able to enjoy the Gyulaj experience first hand.
We made a special track so we can use a wheel chair to approach the special shooting stands
and the whole idea behind this was that we think that hunting is for everybody.
Back to the ‘bow necessities' and it's part two, the arrow.
The observant among you might have seen the arrow quivering a little in the air.
There's a reason for that.
Now you might have noticed as the arrow was leaving the bow it spins around on its own
axis.
It is the power of the bow pushing the arrow forward and it takes some time for the arrow
to stabilise in the air.
That can be everything depending how powerful the bow is between 10 and 15, 20 metres and
that is actually the reason why the grouping on short distance can be difficult and the
grouping at 25 can be better than at a shorter distance because it takes time for the arrow
to stabilise.
As the temperature drops, we drop into a hide just above the hotspot.
This is our first evening hunt so we don't really know what to expect.
We might be lucky and have an animal come to us.
We spot some bucks again with popstar good looks and an unfazed wild boar.
Unfortunately they are all out of range or behind trees and leaves.
The landscape falls silent again so we have a closer look at this rutting area.
Everywhere else is covered in leaf litter and short grass but here it's been churned
up and scraped with a generous sprinkling of wee.
Max does a full circle ending up back at fallow central and we realise that sitting tight
is going to be the best option - the bucks might drift away but they always come back
to the same spot.
Right now there's a big big boy who is setting our pulses racing (though in a healthy outdoor
way).
Haven't seen him yet, but just the sound of hearing him you can hear the very deep voice
of him it must be an old one, hopefully old with a big voice.
It is very shocking I haven't seen him yet.
Actually I am glad we have found him now and I would like to go in there but it is getting
too dark for me now.
If we leave him there tonight he will be there tomorrow morning.
So let's go home and get ready for tomorrow morning.
Max is not a stranger to big trophy animals.
His SCI record for a roebuck with the bow was an animal he'd been observing for a while.
More than anything, he wanted to show that well-executed fieldcraft can get you close
to a wild animal - in this case 7 metres.
My goal was actually trying to show people what I am capable of doing by stalking and
I went to a guy who had some huge experience of bow hunting and I went there and we went
hunting and I got in on a roe buck on 7 metre on open field gave him a perfect shot and
it was a very, very nice trophy as well.
Actually we found out afterwards it was the world record for a bow and arrow.
But actually the whole story was about stalking and making it possible to get that close.
Arriving back at the lodge, a fellow hunter has shot an impressive buck from a high seat
- with a rifle.
Gyulaj has once again delivered a magnificent trophy and Max feels it must be close to a
gold medal.
It's a great achievement but Max wonders which of us is actually having the most fulfilling
experience and getting closer to nature in the raw.
Now it is our 3rd day here and actually we arrived with some other hunters here, rifle
hunters and actually we are the only team which hasn't got an animal on the deck yet.
But I think we are the ones who have learnt most about the fallow deer, because we are
the ones who saw the most and by sitting out there and having the animals within 50 metres
or 20 metres sometimes, we learn from them we see how they react.
We see from their moves how they react to different sounds.
Some of the other hunters who came here, rifle hunters experienced hunters as well, they
shot them the first morning and the first fallow deer they saw.
By using the time on the species I think you become a better hunter.
But that is not just about bow hunting you can do that with a rifle as well.
So taking the time of being out there and learning from the animals I think that is
quite important to become a better hunter.
Understanding your quarry is vitally important if you want to consider bow hunting.
Take this example of Max shooting a roe deer at 25 metres.
Let's slow it down and mark the top of the back of the animal and highlight the flight
of the arrow.
Because the sound of the bow travels faster than the arrow, the roe reacts before the
arrow gets to it, so Max has to shoot 6 inches below the intended target.
This is atypical of a roe, but with bigger species it won't be so exaggerated..
Our next two outings are as incredible as the last.
There is no falling asleep in this environment and, if you do, you always know when they're
about.
With hearts beating out of our chests a few shots present themselves but does, foliage
and range get the better of us.
The wildlife spectacle continues.
Twice big keilers nearly run into us as we stay low and still in the undergrowth ... and
we even get a chance to see the elusive Barry White ... he's big and old for a reason.
So in the final part of our short series on ‘bow necessities' - that joke will run and
run!
- let's talk about the bow itself.
When I go hunting I choose a 70lb bow.
The lb means the effort I have to put on the bow to draw it back.
To compare that with something in the shooting industry, I would compare it to 300 Winchester
Magnum, because I can take the same species with 70lbs that most hunters do with a 300
Winchester.
But many people cannot draw 70lbs so it is not necessary to use a 70lb bow, because I
know people who shoot 45 and 50lb bows who still penetrate red stags at 20, 25 yards.
It is not about the draw weight, it is about where you put your arrow.
It's our last outing and the pressure is on.
Every inch of this ground and the animals on it are now comfortingly familiar.
The fallow bucks have become more than just quarry.
We are studying them, trying to understand them, watching their wonderful behaviour in
this glorious Hungarian classroom.
We even feel on first name terms with Barry and when we decide that he must be the animal
we need to take, he's nowhere to be found.
Actually that is how hunting is, staying out here and being out here.
We never know what we get but still I think it has been a great experience because we
saw tuskers we saw big, big stags, small stags.
We saw the behaviour and how they react to each other, I think I learned a lot again.
For me it has been 3 good days of hunting.
Max loves hunting with a bow and this was a chance for us to see what all the fuss is
about.
Are there questions about animal welfare?
There are always questions about animal welfare.
What we say is don't knock it until you try it.
This was the most exciting, raw, challenging, hunting adventure we have ever filmed for
Fieldsports Channel.
If you want to find out more about Max and to follow his adventures - please check out
his website MaxHunt.eu and, if you want to book some stunning hunting in South-West Hungary,
visit GyulajZRT.hu.
If you are watching this on YouTube, click on either of the links on screen to go to
Max's and to Gyulaj's YouTube channels.
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