Fair “Hunting and Dogs”
Germany’s best deer caller defends his title
Fabian Menzel successfully defended his title. photo
© Christoph Reichwein/dpa
The participants compete in three disciplines. The next important date is coming up in May. Then the deer callers’ European Championship starts in Poland.
Fabian Menzel from Nüdlingen is once again the German deer caller champion. In the bizarre spectacle, the hunter from Bavaria prevailed as defending champion against 16 competitors from seven federal states. For the 25th time, the trade fair had “Jagd und Hund” together with the hunting magazine “Wild und Hund” announced the big competition between Germany’s best deer sound imitators.
The German Deer Calling Championship is considered one of the highlights of the large public trade fair in Dortmund, which attracts tens of thousands to the exhibition halls until Sunday.
As in the previous year, Thomas Soltwedel from Dobbin-Linstow in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania took second place. Third place went to Jerome Böhm from Wedemark in Lower Saxony. They all qualify for the European Deer Calling Championships in Poland in May. Böhm only prevailed in the play-off against Gösta Rehse from Lübz-Gischow (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania).
The participants roared in three disciplines – because the vocalizations of a deer vary depending on age, mood and phase of the rut. This year the first task was to imitate the voice of an “old, searching deer”. In the second round the aim was to recreate a “calling duel between two equally strong deer at the height of the rut”. As a sort of climax, the competition concluded with the challenge of sounding like a victorious deer after the fight.
Various aids are permitted
Various aids can be used – ox horns, glass cylinders and triton shells – through which the sound is amplified. The jury, consisting of foresters, hunters and deer experts, awarded their points blindly as always: they listened to the sounds of the competition participants via headphones – without knowing who was competing and when.
The competition is intended to keep the demanding craft of lure and call hunting alive. Learning the language of deer often requires years of experience with deer behavior. If the imitation is successful, hunters can approach a deer as a rival or even attract it.