german hunters

[BILLY D.]

i was just wondering if any of you know what the phrase "petri heil" means in german and converted to english. i heard it mentioned in a gunshop and about 5 explanations. every one had a different meaning to it.

thanks for any help.

[Dom]

Well Billy, I just happen to know what that means ;-)

It is a greeting between FISHERMEN -- i.e., there really is no English conversion that can be used all the time in this greeting. Most times it is meant as "Good Fishing" but can also be used as "Hi Fisherman" or "Goodbye Fisherman" or "Hello Fishermen" when a few are sitting at a table.

In other words, it is the equivalent greeting/hello/goodbye/goodluck to Fishermen as Waidmannsheil is to hunters.

Hey, what were all those fishermen doing in a gunshop anyway? Waidmannseil, Dom.

[royinidaho]

Dom,

That's pretty neat. Kind of like Aloha....

BTW what does Waidmannsheil mean?

Merry Christmas and good shootin'!

[BILLY D.]

Originally posted by Dom
Well Billy, I just happen to know what that means ;-)

It is a greeting between FISHERMEN -- i.e., there really is no English conversion that can be used all the time in this greeting. Most times it is meant as "Good Fishing" but can also be used as "Hi Fisherman" or "Goodbye Fisherman" or "Hello Fishermen" when a few are sitting at a table.

In other words, it is the equivalent greeting/hello/goodbye/goodluck to Fishermen as Waidmannsheil is to hunters.

Hey, what were all those fishermen doing in a gunshop anyway? Waidmannseil, Dom.

dom

they weren't fishermen, not that day anyway, they were hunters and most ex military and we were discussing germany, when someone mentioned "petri heil". i thought it was a fishing term and told them so. i didn't hunt in germany, but my wife and i were both fishermen. that is where i remember the expression from.

it was in bismarck, yes as in otto von bismarck. the town was named to attract german settlers to the area. worked quite well. it was a big drawing card in bismarck if you were bi-lingual german/english. a lot of stores and companies wanted employees that spoke german. that went on through the 30's, 40's, 50's. german , finnish, norwegian, swedish and polish are also spoken here quite regularly.

thanks for the info, i appreciate it.

by the way where are you in germany? i was stationed at bitburg. i loved that part of germany. our kids really adapted to it. for them it was almost like home. bitburg was about the size of minot and bismarck. we lived in a small farming community called niederstedem. my wife was really accepted there, she spoke german from year one and she and the ladies from the village would get together for coffee klatches all the time.

thanx again

bill

[Dom]

Roy, Waidmannsheil can be used in several ways also, as a greeting between hunters, or when a group goes out hunting they say Waidmannsheil when they greet or when they depart for their stands and saying good luck. When you run into a hunter in town or wherever and say Waidmannsheil, everyone else knows they are hunters also, as it is only (99% of the time) only used by hunters (but the local everyday civilian knows what it means). In fact, there is an entire 'hunting language' used by hunters that the everyday civilians don't use or know, even though they are mostly german words. Like calling the ear from the Boar a teller (plate), eyes lichter (lights), etc.

Bill -- I'm in Heidelberg, been to Bitburg, great scenery. Didn't know that about Bismarck, interesting. May have to wind my way down through your neck of the woods one of these years !! Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[Skyline]

Hey Bill,

I have guided a lot of German hunters over the years and those gents take their hunting seriously!:D

As you know German hunters go through a rather rigorous training session that lasts several years I believe. And our people over here think it is a big deal to take a couple of day hunter training course................

Dom......have you hunted for red deer or roe deer over there yet?

Waidmannsheil!

Kelly

[BILLY D.]

hey kelly

yes i know. i remember when i was in germany. like dom says they are a fraternity unto themselves.

i did get to shoot some trap with them at the rod and gun club on base. thats where i learned to reload shotgun shells.

[Dom]

Hello Skyline, since I haven't done so yet, let me welcome you to HuntChat, pretty cool place, albeit mostly for North America, but a good all around bunch of guys & gals.

Yes, I've done quite a bit of hunting over here, love it when I can go hunting 365 days a year -- always something in season !! and the seasons are long. I have done some Red deer hunting, a couple stags, and a LOT of Roe deer hunting. And I hunt a lot for Wild Boar, in the fall drive hunts and the rest of the year from high seats at night. Throw some fox, hare, ducks, pheasant, etc in the mix and I'm a happy camper.

You're in a good place to hunt, wouldn't mind being up in your neck of the woods either, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

P.S. And a tidbit or two about that German hunting course -- cost you between 1 and 3k to get thru the course (books, ammo costs, instructors are paid, etc). And the test is rigorous, written, oral, shooting w/both rifle and shotgun. No wonder it's quite the fraternity over here, you make it through you HAVE accomplished something. And it's no gimme where everyone is going to graduate. Most who are serious start studying and shooting a year ahead of actually taking the course. It was different when I grew up in Michigan, you know, walking out the door and you're hunting, was just a matter of fact thing I took for granted that everybody got to do that. Boy was I wrong . . . .