The Forest of the Prince

The Forest of the Prince is a 2000 acre mature forest situated in south east Belgium.

The terrain is on the edge of the Ardenne and and has a mixture of Beech, Oak, Pine, and Elm trees.  The Forest was once a Royal hunting ground and the road which disects one side of the shoot from the other is still called ' Route Royale'.  The area surrounding the Forest is agricultural fields with a diverse variety of crops.

The transit time by car is two hours thirty minutes from the channel tunnel, one hour from Brussels airport, and twenty five minutes from Charloir (Ryanair's main Belgian destination).

On driven days we shoot with 30 guns.  The atmosphere is informal and friendly, English, French, and Dutch are spoken, so lanuage is not a problem.

We have a large hunting lodge situated in the heart of the Forest which we use for pre-shoot breakfast, lunch, or after shoot dinner, or sometimes cake and coffee before the guns and beaters depart (tea can be provided at a push!).

On driven days which are held in October, November, and December we shoot wild boar, roe deer, roe bucks, and the occasional red or fallow deer (although it is very occasional).  The game is wild and we do not breed or release animals.

On a typical day we shoot between eight to fifteen animals.  It is a rare day when every gun do not see and have an opertunity to shoot.  Normally we shoot three or four drives in a day, depending on the size of the drives. 

From May until October we offer stalking for Roe bucks (subject to some closure dates for Roe bucks), and wild boar, normally from Miradors in the early morning or evening.

Safety is our number one concern.  All guns on our shoot hold a valid hunting licence which was only issued after theoretical, and practical training in hunt safety and fire arm handling.  For shooter coming from a country which does not have a comprehensive system for hunt training we carry out a briefing on safety, and driven hunting, and accompany the gun on stand until the gun has is demonstrated that he or she is confident with handling the rifle, where and when to shoot, and more importantly when not to shoot.  If you are a novice at driven big game shooting do not be put off we will help, advise, and teach what you need to know.  The only thing we ask is that you are receptive to advice and respect the safety of yourself and other guns.  There is no extra charge for being accompanied by an experienced gun on your first few drives.

We will provide the Belgian temporary 'Permise de Chasse'.  We will require either a fire arms certificate, shot gun certificate, or membership prove of the field sport association (BASC), plus proof of insurance (or we can provide this for around €15 for the year), and a passport photograph.

If you do not have a rifle or have problem with traveling with your rifle we can provide a rifle and ammunition. 

The catering and hospitality is based on a modest cook breakfast before the shoot, and either lunch or dinner.  Beer and soft drinks are provided, and wine and spirits can be brought by the gun, ordered if you are with a group.  In the event that you want to take a whole days action the catering standards can be raised or lowered to suit your budget.

Generally we only do between four to six driven shoots each year, the days are at least two weeks apart.

We charge €250 per day per gun, plus €50 hat money on the day for the beaters and catering.  Additionally if you require 'Permise de Chasse' we do this at cost which is currently €37 (this covers you for five consecutive days shooting).  One years European Insurance is €15, (this covers you for one year).  Provision of a rifle and ammunition will be charged at €15 for the rifle, and cost price for the amunition (per round fired).

We are more than willing to advise or book local accomodation and to advise on activities and attractions in the local area for non-shooter, or if you decide to stay and explore the region after or before the shoot.

We also sell actions which include all of the driven days (four to six) for €1000 per gun.

Stalking is priced by the number of days and is modest by normal standards and the number of animals the gun wishes to shoot.  Contact us for a proposal.

We will possibly sell one completely private day to an individual or company.  This would be for 30 guns.  The price will depend on the requirements of the client so contact us if you want to discuss what could be a very memorable day!