In France, bow hunting has been authorized since 1995, but the practice is still uncommon. In the Las Bordas reserve in Corrèze, the departmental hunters’ association welcomes archers once a year for a hunt.
In the heart of the Uzerche forest covered in a fine veil of frost, they are on the lookout, their eyes in the viewfinder of their compound bow. Six archers lined up for a mixed hunt, alongside rifle hunters. Every year, the hunting society organizes a joint day to promote this practice of hunting big game, primarily deer.
The Corrèze association of bow hunters has 38 duly trained licensees. This time, if there are less than ten of them to face the cold. Alongside them, a competitive archer and a dog handler came to observe and discover the discipline.
In France, there are between 15 and 20,000 hunters using bows and arrows.
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© Alexandre Affergan – France 3 Limousin – France Télévisions
Before joining their lookout post, behind a grove, walkie-talkies in their pockets, the men listened to the reminder of the safety rules. “With the terrain frozen, bullets and arrows can ricochet. So, shoot safe or don’t shoot! insists Cyrille Lampre, treasurer of the Departmental Association of Bow Hunters. PFor archers, be careful of dogs.”
The wait then begins in silence, a calm broken only by the barking of the dogs.
“It is a school of patience, of waiting. You have to be as discreet as possible, as silent as possible, try to blend into nature, drown in the crowd. You must shoot as close as possible to the animal, maximum 20 metersindicates Cyrille Lampre. The closer and slower the animal passes… If it doesn’t see us, it will pass slowly. We can try to stop it, but it’s not easy. The goal is to be as lethal as possible. Pull the heart lung zone to be as lethal as possible, to pull the body lung zone, to be as lethal or as effective as possible.” The objective is to cause the least suffering to the animal, which then dies within a few seconds.
What reassures me about archery is that we don’t often release an arrow. The important thing is the pleasure of being in the forest, of looking for animals, not necessarily to shoot them.
Alain BesseBrivist Archer
Retired, Michael Martins has been bow hunting for 25 years, a form of relaxation. “The philosophy is to think about nothing or everything and then to see things happen as they happen. And then at times, by chance, we see game. If we are well posted and well positioned, we will try to shoot it, but oh well. And then once it has passed there, that it has continued on its way, we say that will be for the next one. “
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Whether classic or compound, the bow is chosen according to the morphology of the archer, the desired power (15,20, 30 or 50m) and the targeted game. The arrows, for their part, must be adapted to the bow and the shooting distance.
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© Alexandre Affergan – France 3 Limousin – France Télévisions
A few meters away, Lionel Boisgibault, bow hunter since 2019, takes a last look at his weapon, a very specific piece of equipment. “A compound bow is much easier and much more precise than a traditional bow. It consists of a body on which the accessories, for example a stabilizer, will be attached. Here the viewfinder with several points and there a device which will prevent the rope from returning, and of course the pulleys which will allow the power to be multiplied.“
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The short, lightweight plastic feathers prevent unnecessary wind damage to their small carbon arrows.
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© Alexandre Affergan – France 3 Limousin – France Télévisions
The very light equipment is adapted and perfectly adjusted according to the morphology of the hunter but also according to the desired power and the targeted game, roe deer, wild boar or deer. The weight, rigidity and type of arrow tip thus influence precision and penetration. “It requires a lot of practice“.
After 1 hour 30 minutes, despite a change of sector, patience did not pay off this time for the Corréziens. “We had the pleasure of seeing a deer pass in one direction and then a quarter of an hour later in the other direction. So my goodness, it was about forty meters away and it was very pretty“, jokes Alain.
duration of video: 00h02mn16s
Every year, in Uzerche, the hunting society organizes a mixed hunt for big game.
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©France 3 Limousin – France Télévisions
Bowhunting dates back to prehistoric times as a subsistence hunt. In France, modern bow hunting reappeared in the 1960s and it has been regulated since 1995. There are 15 to 20,000 archers, 80% of whom practice one or more other modes of hunting. This silent practice is less accident-prone: the National Forestry Office calls on bow hunters to regulate the populations of certain species on the outskirts of urban areas.
