Das Jagdmagazin mit Weitblick

More and more game is going nocturnal — wild boar, golden jackal, wolves, even beavers. Lawmakers across Europe are reacting, and in many regions night hunting with thermal or night-vision optics is now legal. That leaves hunters with a tough question: clip-on or dedicated thermal scope?

8.5×55 Blaser — magnum performance from short barrels. Why the new cartridge is ideal for mountain hunting, driven shoots and as a true “do-it-all” round, which bullet families are available, and how the cartridge feels in the field.

Morning in the hunting grounds. A first streak of light brushes the treeline; the view through the glass sharpens. For generations, this moment belonged to the greats — Swarovski, Zeiss, Schmidt & Bender — names not bought, but inherited. But something is shifting. Quietly, yet unmistakably. The old world of pure optics is under pressure — economically, technologically, emotionally. This is about more than lenses. It’s about a mindset.

If you’re looking for an affordable, rugged, and truly practical hunting rifle, sooner or later you’ll come across the Brenner BR20. We’ve been using this model in the field for quite some time now.

Few wild animals embody alpine life as perfectly as the chamois. And yet, as new research shows, we still don’t know everything about the “queen of the steep slopes.” In recent years, science has made remarkable progress in understanding this mountain icon — from genetic studies and climate change impacts to newly discovered viruses. Especially in Austria, researchers and hunters together are providing valuable insights into how life is changing in our high-altitude ecosystem

The finishing shot is the harshest chapter of hunting. It’s the moment when experience, calm, technique — and ultimately the hunter’s decision — determine success or suffering. Jörg Burgstaller, seasoned hunter, firearms expert and Austrian importer for SIG Sauer, speaks from decades of practice: “The finishing shot is not a lucky shot. Anyone who thinks they can just grab a handgun and it will be fine is gravely mistaken.”

When the forest falls silent at dusk, the hunter enters that sacred hour where experience, patience, and technology converge. This is precisely where the new HIKMICRO Habrok HQ50LN comes into play — a scope that combines thermal imaging, digital optics, and a laser rangefinder in one device, promising to help hunters keep their vision clear even in the darkest moments.

Hunting has always been a counterpoint to everyday life — a place of silence, a moment of release, a school of patience. Those who set out with a rifle entered another world, where seconds stretched into minutes and minutes into hours, guided by the rhythm of nature. But that rhythm is changing. Today, hardly any hunter enters the field without a smartphone in their pocket.

Hunting has always been a school of patience — hours of stillness, listening, and observation were once part of every hunter’s daily routine. But in a world that is becoming faster and more technological, this quiet discipline is at risk of disappearing. What happens when hunters forget the art of waiting? And what might we rediscover when we begin to trust our own senses once again?