Moose,Pigs and Roe Deer

Last December I decided to Drive 2500km round trip to Stockholm from Bergen to show Greta Thunberg my new V8,she wasnt home,so I went hunting instead.

With the Sun not coming over the Mountains untill 11am,I sat watching the road reports hoping the Storm would pass and the Mountain roads would be open for traffic.In the worst case I figured I would be in a convoy following a Road Grader in a whiteout,so I felt it was worth the risk.A few hours after leaving home I pulled up at the gate on the highway and chatted to the guy sitting in his slow blower,he confrmed the likelyhood of convoy passes being likely but was prepared to let me over the pass if I called him on the other side,a very nice thing for him to have done and something that saved me half a day.

Bombing over the Mountain pass was so cold my screen wash froze and its good to minus 30c,I had slipped a card board restrictor infront of my Radiator so my heater would work and the engine would run happily,inside the Cab I had a survival bag with Sleeping bag,flares,Thermos,Strobe light etc.If you break down or get stuck in a snow drift,you wont last long with no heater in minus 30 othewise.

Coming down the other side I hooned it to Oslo where I spent the night at a mates place and loaded up again to a Hot run to Stockholm.A couple of hours after crossing the Border I was startled by some flashing Blue lights on the top of a car that was following me very closely,after stopping the Very pretty Policewoman asked me if I knew what the speed limit on the Highway was?I honestly didn't know but it probably wasn't 168 kmph as speed limits are generally round numbers.I got quote a big reduction in the Christmas budget as a result,but thankfully no points on my licence.

The next day saw us getting up at a relaxed 7 am,and embarking on our first Hunt.We followed the hunting leader to the place where we would stand and with everyone using radio's we all had an idea of what was going on.On the walk to the hunting platform I spotted a nice Roe Buck standing there watching,sadly its forbidden to shoot anything untill the hunt commences.The Dogs are released and they trott around following scent and barking,this begins to move the Animals around,not spook them but just get them moving,whereby with luck one will pass by you close enough to shoot them.A hind and two yearlings passed by me, but sadly I was to slow and the yearlings escaped unharmed.

After meeting up for lunch we embarked on another drive,no animals were felled that entire day which is unusual but thats just hunting.

That evening I went out to a stand to watch over bait for Pigs.There is a problem with them in Sweden these days.European Wild Boar can get pretty big and they are stroppy.To control them the locals put up bait stations,its a drum with grain hanging from a tripod and underneath is a feeder that distributes grain now and then.You shoot them under a green torch light if you get sent a txt message from the infra red camera that is mounted close by! Otherwise you sit there in the darkness having impure thoughts about Swedish Policewoman and otherways you could have paid the fine.No Pigs came to the Party that night.

The next day was the Moose hunt.This is the hunting groups yearly highlight as the number of Moose you can shoot goes off of the amount of land you own or lease.These guys can only shoot one Moose every two years.
One of the locals has a very good Moose Dog so when we had taken our places the hunt was underway,there was to be no shooting of anything other than one Adult Moose so in typical style, several Roe Deer wafted past me as I stood motionless in the forest.These little Deer still hold alot of fascination for me as I have only shot a handfull of them over the years,sometimes observing wild Animals oblivious to human presence is reward enough.

The radio Crackled with Mika saying there was a Moose in front of him but he wasnt sure its age,then it turned side on and got a couple of 9.3 Rounds through its chest before it ran off and expired shortly there after. Handshakes all round everyone joined in to gut the beast and drag it out of the forest to the road behind a quad.The Meat gets devided between all the lease holders,Moose meat tastes a bit like Venison crossed with Beef.Its really good and theres plently of it on a big animal.

After lunch it was time for Pigs again.They released all the Dogs and I stood on a road excited as the barking of a Dog came closer and the crashing of some animals in the forest grew in intensity.Thumbing the hammer to full cock I imagined a huge Boar to leap steaming from the Bush,the weak winter sun glistening off its razor sharp tusks as my own mortality was reflected in is hatefull eyes,instead a weaner squirted across the track and I clean missed it.Jacking another round into the chamber a much bigger pig shot across the track,not having the rifle on my shoulder at that point meant I could only yell a very rude word in its direction.

My mate was still getting over his excitement of receiving 10 Kg of Cod Fillets from me,I'm not sure wether or not Swedish people have learned how to fish yet or even that Cod live in the Sea, but he went around his mates in the Hunting group telling everyone how much fish he had and how many meals he could make from it.Pretty impressive mathematics for someone from Sweden.

After saying my goodbyes I hit the road and did the typical duty free shopping and joined the Obease Alcoholics buying more Booze and meat than you are allowed to as I practiced my excuses as I neared the Norwegian Customs post at the border.Thankfully I wasnt stopped with my 4 liters of Beer and 5Kg of Sausages *cough* Honestly.

All in all it was a good trip,despite not shooting anything its always nice to catch up with old mates and have a laugh .