Get gadwalls.....


Just kidding. I've been anticipating this trip since I started talking with Martijn almost a year ago and it has exceeded every expectation.

First-I really took for granted how difficult it is to hunt in the Netherlands and how special it is to have been invited and welcomed with open arms. My wife went with me and we've been treated like family the entire trip.

We had an overnight flight that put us into Amsterdam at 8 am. We met up with Martijn and went to the local hunting shop which involved meeting the owner and getting to know them over coffee. Martijn and Karen.


That evening enjoyed several great Dutch and Belgium beers and got settled into the hotel Orion on kaag eiland.

See, them europeans aint that bad

First day of hunting we went to martijns poulder-farm-outside of Amsterdam and set up for a traditional duck/goose. The have stands at the intersections of the canals and you set up to pass shoot the ducks and geese that are flying the canals. We saw greylag, Eurasian wigeon, Eurasian teal, Egyptian goose , tufted ducks.




After the hunt we went to the hunting cabin to relax and eat. all the toasts that we did with schnapps made relaxing very easy.


A couple hours later we moved closer to town for a wood pigeon shoot. Whitewing on steroids!


That evening we were taken on a great tour of Rotterdam and had awesome seafood at the hotel New York. This was the original terminal of the holland-Amerika streamline that brought immigrants to the us.

Looks like a good time,

Day two we were invited to hu t one of the top poulder a in his area. Jan-80 years old runs it with the enthusiasm of a teenager.

As a guest we were told mallards and geese only. So we hopped in martijns Dutch duck boat


And followed jan and three others to the island.


It was tough passing wigeon and teal but was really fun watching those big geese crash into the green grass fields.






After a luncheon at Jane and 6 gallons of coffee that would run a Diesel engine, the jet lag finally caught up.

Looks like an amazing trip!

Hunting is not allowed on Sunday so Martijn lined up a trip to an interactive indoor shooting range. Live ammo at a movie screen.
We met at the church and were off to Germany.




Robin.


Red surprised a few when she picked up the Blaser 308 and wore some boars out.




We went to dinner in an old windmill and after enough of these...


I somehow was convinced to wear these...the original crocs.



Lot of the farmers still wear them.

We are on our way to Paris on the bullet train and hopefully thur I'll get a shot at one of those giant Dutch coots;)

Looking forward to showing Martijn duck/goose hunting texas style. I asked him what he wanted to see while in texas and got something about a sheriffs badge, pistols, and chaps........

Hahaha, he just missed the sheriffs badge, pistols, and chaps... That was the belton 4th of July parade

Sweet man. I wanna see some of those weird headed ducks shot. Guess by the time were going to bed your getting ready to go to the blind or wherever they take you. Looks like a blast.

Cool trip. Definitely a change of environment.

Well done. I've had the privilege of world travel but I've become lazy documenting the experience. It's exciting reading about your adventure, sorta inspiring to get me back in to documenting my travels again.

I do a write up on all my trips and keep it in my computer.
1. What to do/not to do-like hang with the Dutch on drinking 9% beer.
2. Take/don't take.
3. Etc. it helps to look back and for future planning. Biggest issue I've had in the past is overpacking. I've got that down to a carryon bag for 5 days in AK.

Right now everything is pretty much brown ducks. The mallards are just starting to color out and the teal are all brown. Saw a few big flocks of euro widg and its tough telling drakes.

Here's the tufted duck.



Eurasian teal


Eurasian widg.


Greylag

Very typical hunt. Greylag, Egyptian geese, mallards, mallard x park duck hybrids, greylag x farm goose hybrids, crows,ravens, wood pigeon, and Eurasian dove.

The tufted duck and the white one with black marking are really cool looking. Would look great over fireplace. Drinking that room temp beer over there will get ya. I had an 18% beer in Germany and it knocked the crap out of me

Nice trip

Wow that's an amazing trip!

Awesome Pics and sounds like a blast...

wow man, thanks for sharing! That looks like it was a blast!!

Brings back all memories hunting with my dad in the dutch polders for 15 years. I also used to live 3 miles away from the belgian abbey westmalle. If martijn is coming in january i am defenitely in.

I bet his canals were loaded with snipe which you cannot shoot anymore.

Looks like an awesome trip. Was the dog a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon?

Yes. Cool dog.

Great trip!! Thanks for sharing!

That is greatness!