Hungary 2014

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

Earlier this month Dogs-n-Natives and I had the pleasure of hunting in Hungary for 4 days. I have been twice previously, but this time we were driving over so we could hunt our own dogs.

 

After a marathon train journey DnN and his GWP Luna arrived at mine. After a quick meal of meat (thanks to the post Christmas Atkins diet) and a final check of equipment, we loaded up my dogs and set off in my trusty T reg Vauxhall Astra.

 

After a quick 23 hour drive (!) via Eurotunnel we arrived at Budapest and met Panna, our host for the week. The initial plan was for us to camp at a nearby campsite for the week. However, it closed at 1500 every day, so that was no longer an option. Our generous host wasted no time in offering to put us up in her apartment. The plan for the dogs was to kennel them in the van.

 

A quick meal and celebratory drink were in order, before we bedded down for the night. Unfortunately, the dogs were unhappy with their kennel arrangements and howled. To prevent them from waking the whole neighbourhood with their singing, I volunteered to sleep in the van with them, to keep the quiet. As I'm 6ft and 16 stone (I'm a bit fatter than bird) it wasn't the most comfortable night. The cargo compartment is about 4 inches too short for me to stretch out.

 

0515 came all too soon and was being woken up by Panna and DnN. After a quick breakfast of steak and eggs (Atkins approved) we loaded the dogs and drove north for our first day of big game drives. On the way we stopped to pick up Guyla and his two highly experienced boar dogs. One is a Hungarian Vizla x Jagd Terrier, and the other is her daughter by a local mongrel (a Village Mix, according to Gyula).

 

After greeting everyone with a European style handshake (how the f**k do the remember who they have shook and who they haven't?) we received the usual safety briefing. Then we donned our hi-vis vests and jumped into the beaters wagons. Landrovers defenders were overly represented, but our noble steed for the day was a 1970s vintage VW camper van.

 

Our chariot for the day (complete with Teckel)

 

Conditions in the van were 'cosy'.

 

The two fox terriers in this photo were very gassy when in the van, wanting a fight every time another dog came within 6ft of them. Once out they calmed down and got on with the job in hand. They don't go to ground and wouldn't engage with the pigs, so perfect boar driving dogs!

 

 

The terrain was amazing. Mainly mature deciduous woodland with very little understorey. There were some areas which were closer due to natural regen. These places were cut through with rides.

 

 

 

[Giro 2,648]

Sounded good crack..

 

Did you see any coursing ?

[clipo 871]

spot on................ i loved hungary and defo hope to go back next season for some hunting!!!

 

did you go to paprika again???

[stabba 10,745]

You can't cut the story off there surely

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

Im typing 1 handed while feeding the baby, give me a chance!

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

The drives normally started and ended in these rides. They were also used as 'roads' for the fleet of Toyota Hilux which served as transport for the guns. There was also a tipper version for the game cart.

 

 

The concept was much the same as a driven pheasant day, keep in a line and drive the game towards the guns in a nice even stream. The guns were arranged on high towers at the ride intersections, or at strategic places in the open.

 

The dogs were released at the start of the drive, and hunted up as they wanted. My little black Patterdale bitch (Witch) stuck quite close to me, never straying father than 50m. At times, the brambles and thorns hurt her delicate little paws and she had to be carried.

 

 

 

I was also working a Bull Russell (Bruce/Brutal). As soon as he was unleashed he f****d off at high speed, not to be seen until the end of the drive. He wasn't wearing a GPS and none of the other beaters saw where he went or what he did. To this day I have no idea what he got up to. My Beddy Whippet (Klyde) stuck close to begin with, but soon took off on the scent of deer.

 

The cover was quite close at times, necessitating a hands and knees approach.

 

 

The only thing to do was to hope you didn't meet an angry wounded pig coming the other way!

 

We didn't see anything during the first drive, but came across plenty of fresh scat and slots. There was a distinctive 'piggy' scent and several trees showed signs of being used as scratch posts. Grunting could be heard at several points as well. The guns 'spoke' several times, but Panna said they were missing. Apparently, on such drives it is often possible to hear the strikes.

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

Bays could be heard at several times during the first drive. However, my dogs were either being carried or off doing their own thing. DnN with his immaculately trained GWP was always just to my right. She watched, and showed great interest in the sound of the bay ups.

 

At times a particularly obstinate pig would hunker down in a thick patch of cover. The beaters dogs would bay, the beaters would shout and occasionally some of the beaters would fire their shotguns in the air. This was eventually enough to get the pigs to break and run. However, those that knew the game would turn and break through the line.

 

 

During the second drive Kylde re-appeared from deer chasing. I had him at heel, hoping for sight of pigs before I sent him on again. I heard a running bay coming along the line from the left. Thinking there was a pig on the way, I urged him on. Unfortunately the game turned out to be a hare, which rapidly disappeared into the distance, taking my dog with it.

 

We later came upon a bay. DnN sent in his GWP. She put pressure on the pig (with her teeth), and it broke bay, off to the waiting guns. On the way it left a reminder of the meeting on the GWP, in the form of a 5 inch slice in her left shoulder, just missing the cut vest she was sporting. That was her out for the rest of the day. Fortunately there was a vet amongst the beaters, and she was given the necessary treatment.

 

At the end of that drive, my errant dogs returned. Klyde had run himself so hard he was pissing blood. He was given plenty of water and feed at lunch, and was given the afternoon off in the van. Brutal didn't have a mark on him, so f**k knows what he had been up to.

 

At the end of the drive, all the fallen game had to be collected and dragged to the nearest track for collection by the game cart. These pigs were big and heavy.

 

 

Small groups of red deer came crashing through the line on several occasions. They were also on the menu for the guns. They were not like the hill animals of Scotland, but easily as big, if not bigger than the lowland reds of the Quantocks. They also had a f*****g annoying habit of dying in re-entrants and creeks, necessitating 12 men to pull them out.

 

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

After the 2nd drive we all adjourned back to the hunting lodge for a delicious dinner of spicy Hungarian sausage, with a kind of thick vegetable soup and home made bread. Pudding was a tasty apricot pastry.

 

The afternoon's drives passed pretty much without incident. The big dogs were all hors d combat so it was just the terriers. Brutal and Witch were fitted with the GPS collars and off we went. However, neither of them strayed very far from my side. The drives followed the same outline as the morning's, with plenty of 'Hopopopo' calls to urge the game on to the guns.

 

At one point there was a medium sized pig hunkered down in some thick thorn cover. The beaters dogs were baying a good distance from the pig, but it seemed pretty comfortable and not under any pressure. I was straight over to the scene, to try and get my terriers involved. Brutal has shown a liking for pork, latching onto my sister's pet pig on at least two occasions, so I had high hopes for him. And Witch had not shown herself to be shy either. Unfortunately both dogs were very unsure of what was making the crashing sound in the cover, and were unwilling to get involved. Eventually the pig broke bay, heading in the direction of the guns. The beaters were pleased but I was very disappointed. Heartbroken would not be too strong a word.

 

The views were amazing.

 

At the end of the day all the shot game was laid out in a square, with strict rules according to the animals seniority. Hungary has a strong hunting tradition, mostly borrowed from German hunting culture. The post hunt rituals were very similar, with speeches, toasts and hunting horns to salute the fallen game.

 

It was an impressively mixed bag, with 2 fox, a lot of boar, roe deer and red deer. There were even a couple of mouflon.

 

[Malt 379]

Excellent! Sounds like you both had a cracking time, thanks for sharing!

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

Some of the pigs had scarily large cutters.

 

I was really impressed at the size of the red hind.

 

The hunters were very kind and allowed us to feed our dogs on the deer gralloch. This was well received, but slightly embarrassing as Witch puked up her dinner on DnN's boot during the speeches. She re-ate it, but was sick again a further 3 times before she eventually managed to keep it down.

We were also given the deer heads and feed. This proved to be excellent dog food for the week, even if it meant that the van smelled like an abattoir for the entire trip. As I was sleeping in it to keep the dogs quiet, I soon had a similarly attractive scent.

 

After sampling several generous glugs of Hungarian hunting liquors (the locals seemed very impressed with DnN's homemade sloe gin), we piled into my van and retired back to our accommodation.

 

Panna had arranged a full timetable of hunting for us for the duration of our visit, so an early night was in order.

 

The next day we had a lie in until 0600, before another breakfast of bacon and eggs. Then we were off to meet Peter and some local gamekeepers for a two days of terrierwork.

 

 

I believe DnN is writing an Earth Dog Running Dog article on the terrierwork, so I won't go too much into detail about it here. Suffice to say, Witch managed to disgrace herself, coming away from quarry and lying about there being nothing to ground. This really confused me, as I have successfully dug to her several times in the UK, where she has shown herself to be a sensible bayer, who is not afraid to mix it when required. Given her poor performance on the pig on Monday, it was looking increasingly likely that the Lady Witchling would not be making the return journey to the UK.

 

We initially thought that Brutal was scared of the quarry/not interested in working. However, it turned out that he was actually just stupid, and didn't realise what he was supposed to do. Once he was properly introduced to quarry he worked well, bossing it in fine style.

 

Kylde was also an asset, proving his worth around the holes by preventing bolts from a variety of quarry.

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

After a successful days digging on the Wednesday we decided to go down town for a nice meal and a few celebratory beers. It turned out that the restaurant we ate in (whose name now escapes me) not only had several very agreeable waitresses, but was also hosting a birthday party for the owner's 22 year old daughter. This raven haired beauty was a leading member of the Budapest young persons choir, and we were treated to a live music performance during the course of out meal.

 

Unfortunately the plan to have one or two quiet beers went somewhat awry, and it wasn't until well after midnight that a rather pissed Ug settled down to sleep in the van. Even drunk it was still a hideously uncomfortable night, with Witch mistaking my head for a crash mat, and jumping from the top of the driver's headrest onto my face, repeatedly.

 

As we were boar hunting on Thursday, it was another 0515 wake up call. Being severely hungover, I really didn't appreciate this, especially as I was expected to drive.

 

After his distracted performance on the first day's boar hunting I resolved to keep Klyde on a slip until the pigs were in sight. The plan was to then slip him and let him do his thing, whatever that was. I was pleased that the ground was quite open with almost no understory. Trying to fight through thorn bushes with a dog on a lead would have been a real pain in the proverbial.

 

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

DnN was also feeling the effects of the previous night, taking every opportunity to catch up on missed sleep. In this instance Luna the GWP looks particularly disgusted.

 

 

We pushed on through the cover, often coming across fresh pig sign, their pungent smell heavy in the air. I heard bay ups in the distance several times, but I was determined to keep Klyde on the slip until there was something really close. By now, he and Brutal were learning the game, and showed a huge amount of interest in the sound of the other dogs baying, which I was very pleased with.

 

 

Witch continued to do her LACS supporter impression, much to my disappointment.

 

Half way through the first drive, there was a noisy bay up about 200m to my front. I tried to get as close as I could, whilst still staying in line (the keepers felt very strongly about this). I got as close as I could, but worried that the pig would break bay before Klyde got there, I slipped him unseen. Something seemed to have clicked though, and he shot up the slope and dived straight in. However, the quarry was actually a pine marten that the two fox terriers had cornered amongst some tree roots. The appearance of my big dog was enough to make it try and bolt for it, He didn't get very far.

 

 

Breaking the dogs off, the marten went into my day sack and Klyde went back on the slip before we continued with the drive. We were soon within hearing of another bay up. Emboldened by my previous success I slipped the dog way too early. His disappeared over the rise, but the pig broke bay and was shot before he got there. Just as he was on his way back to me, a group of 7 red deer came through the line.

 

Witch saw them first and nearly died running down the steep slope to try and catch them. Stupid dog slipped and ended up going end over end, cartwheeling for 15-20m. I thought she had saved me the trouble of shooting her when she stopped with a sickening thud against a fallen tree, but it turns out terriers are very bouncy. She stood up and shook herself off, with no apparent ill effects. Kylde also saw the deer, and took off after them. According to the GPS information, he followed them in a straight line for 1km, before deciding that he wasn't going to catch one and coming back. Just after he got back the drive ended and we all headed back to the hunting lodge for lunch.

 

 

 

[redcharge 378]

Excellent read

[D Lloyd 2,790]

what a trip some nice pics with a good read cheers

[RossM 8,118]

Good account of your trip, so did witch make it back?