Swap hunt in Sweden

Hi All
We have just had the return trip of a swap hunt with some Swedish friends and all I can say is WOW!!!
We had the guys over last February on the Muntjac and booked up to do the return visit this January so last Sunday Andy, Stuart (Ezzy 6.5) and myself found ourselves travelling to Sweden.
Our friends had told us about the estate where two of them were the gamekeepers and it has some impressive stats 15000 hectares plus 1000 hectares of lakes, they cull 800+ Fallow, 70+ Moose every year also they have a good population of Wild boar, Red deer and some Roe deer.
Even after these impressive stats we did not really know what to expect.
We were collected from the airport and travelled to one of the lodge’s where they house the hunters. Stu was not very optimistic on the way thinking we would have some cold basic shack to stay in, he couldn’t have been more wrong what a place, great start.
Roughing it

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The guys had decided we would concentrate on the Moose as none of us had ever shot one before.
The method to be used was to split up and hunt over moose dogs, they way this works for those who don’t know is the dog has a GPS collar the hunter has a receiver. The dog is released and in our case with the very enthusiastic Kurgan go’s flying off into the forest at 100mph. The idea is he finds a Moose and if the Moose stands still he will start to bark and we will stalk in to try and get a shot if it’s a suitable animal.
Per and Kurgan

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That’s the theory but we had a problem the temperature was -10 and the ground with some snow was so crunchy the final approaches were going to be difficult and due to the dense forest you had to be real close unless very lucky to catch them in more open areas.
I’ll tell my account and leave the others to tell there own.
Monday morning after a big breakfast I headed off with Per one of the guys who came to England he is the head keeper on the estate. We got deep into the forest and he prepared the dog Kurgan what a dog I have never seen such enthusiasm and I own spaniels.
I heard stories of hunters hunting this method taking days to find a Moose but within 5 minutes Kurgan was barking, we gave him a while to settle to make sure the Moose was going to stand and not run and then began to stalk. We hadn’t gone far when Per spotted another moose then another two we think it was a young bull and a cow and calf but we were only getting slight glimpses through the thick forest.
Per said we could shoot the young bull or the calf but had to get closer to make a positive ID which we didn’t manage they must have heard us and just melted away.
All this time Kurgan was still very vocal so we returned our attention back to him and started a very long cat and mouse game which lasted probably five hours and involved us getting within 50-100 yards of the Moose five of six times but every time they were in dense cover and we could not get a shot before they finally heard us and moved off again. Every time they would run for a mile or two before Kurgan started to bark again, frustrating but incredibly exciting sport.
Eventually we decided enough was enough and headed for lunch where the others were waiting. Lunch was in the forest in a little open hut with a great wood BBQ where we all had plenty of hot dogs and three excited English hunters telling of their experiences from the mornings sport. We had seen maybe 10-13 Moose between us but no one managed a shot.
Hot dog bar

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In the afternoon daylight was short so we had a mini drive about an hour long. We were placed at various seats and a couple of beaters and dogs went into a block of forestry. I was out of luck seeing three Fallow two falling to my neighbour and one run past me where it wasn’t safe to shoot. Andy was greedy on this little drive and shot three of the five Fallow shot .
High seat view for driven hunt

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After the drive it was back to the lodge and a shower a great dinner and a few beers before bed.

Tuesday was the same idea but with slightly better conditions a light fall of snow and not quite as cold softened the ground a bit but still far from great.
I was out with Per and Kurgan again, after finding the fresh tracks of a cow and calf in the snow Kurgan was released and shot off with the same enthusiasm despite his long day yesterday. He wasn’t quite as quick today as it took him about 10-15 minutes before he found the moose.
We took a very long stalk to get around and into the wind through a very thick young plantation eventually getting to within 30 yards of the moose we could see Kurgan barking like a dog possessed but could we see the moose could we f**k. We tried to edge closer but that was it we heard it crash away.
We had another three hours following Kurgan and the Moose before he finally stood again and again we stalked and climbed in through a huge rock covered area some of the rocks as big as a small house and again got within 50 yards but again couldn’t see the Moose and again trying to get closer was our down fall.
We met for “hot dogs in the forest” again everyone had made contact with Moose but no luck.
We then had another mini drive where the lads saw some huge Fallow bucks and three Moose broke past Per and he shot a calf which caused a bit of p*ss taking as he was the host.
Pers Moose

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Back to the lodge for a great evening again and an offer to stalk feeding sites for wild boar under the moon which believe it or not we declined opting for a few beers in the warm and a good night sleep ready for the last day.
Wednesday morning I was out with Jonas and another dog, we made contact with game within 30 minutes but as it came crashing towards us we realised it was red spiker which we didn’t shoot as it would encourage the dog to chase deer not Moose. After Jonas dived on the dog we headed through the forest before releasing the dog again. He was onto something again within minutes but following them for about a mile in the wrong direction heading close to the border, then as we were watching the Gps they turned and headed back our way, we legged in for a clearing in the dense trees but were still short of it when three Moose came crashing through very close to us. As they passed we ran to the clearing just in time to see a Moose arse disappear over the next hill. Bugger!!!! Getting closer though.
The Moose never stopped for miles and made it over the boundary.
Jonas & dog

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This morning five dogs had been released for three hunters so we then headed to where Kurgan and his hander were holding a Moose at bay to arrive five minutes too late as some joggers ran past scaring the Moose away (see it even happens in the wilds of Sweden)
After another quick hot dog lunch I was off again with another dog and Handler Daniel a young man in years but not in hunting experience with his young dog.
We parked on the edge of a huge area of clear feel and made our way across it until we got to the forest edge he then released the dog and she being a different breed to Kurgan (so I’m told) ambled off in no hurry. As we watched on the Gps she was only 250 yards into the forest when she barked for a few seconds the stopped , they were on the move then they broke cover right by us unfortunately the cow was covering the calf and they ran past us about 100 yards away. They ran away but as we watched the dogs progress on the Gps it became obvious they were heading in a big circle behind us so we ran for a huge rocky hill in the middle of the clearing trying not to break my neck jumping small streams, rocks and bogs.
As we got o the top of the hill the Moose were running through the edge of the trees at about 130 yards, they hesitated just for a second giving me a chance of a quick off hand shot which I took with the Blaser 30.06 sending the 200 grain bullet on its way, as the moose were angled away slightly I had to take a line through the chest and the bullet entered a bit far back but exiting perfectly through the opposite shoulder and the calf stumbled for 20 yards before collapsing.
By the time we got across the clear fell the dog had removed lots of hair and one ear off the calf which by all accounts is her trade mark. Within a few minutes Daniel had a phone call with his father who had had another calf with Stuart and Andy had a half chance but unfortunately didn’t manage to take it, I will let him tell the story if he wants to.


Making sure its dead


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My Moose


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We headed to the larder and collected the trailer luckily we only had a fifty yard drag to where we could load the calf but we weren’t so lucky with Stuarts having a 700 yard drag over some of the roughest terrain I’ve ever had the pleasure of falling over in. We had four of us on the rope and our two Swedish friends obviously much fitter than us giving us a rest every now and then with Stuart doing his best impression of Sid the sloth of the ice age films lying on his back on a huge rock gasping for air I of course was fine.
We loaded it eventually and returned to the larder for a hug and a back slap from Per which I’m still recovering from.


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We had to move out of our accommodation as Per had a full blown driven day on Friday and had to give them chance to clean it, we went to a “small” lodge only five bedrooms right out in the middle of the forest but again complete luxury I’ve never been in houses as warm as these toasty.
We had our last evenings dinner at Per’s house with his wonderful family which was a fine spread and a unhealthy amount of beer, wine, whisky and schnapps.
On the way back to the lodge Marcus took a wrong turn and we ended up at a feed site for the wild boar where there were way too many to count feeding there making us regret not hunting them the night before but never mind we had had a fantastic experience seeing 30-40 Moose, hundreds of Fallow, wild boar, Red deer, Roe deer, Capercallie, Black grouse and golden eagles.
Incredible estate with some great hunters/friends it doesn’t get better than that.

Wayne
 
Wayne, what a great experience you almost had me out of breath running around the woods with you there.
Wonderful opportunity to see how others hunt initially thought it can't be much of a stalk with the dog baying the moose how wrong I was. Thanks for sharing this with us. Best I start saving.
Brian
 
Hey up Wayne,

What a wonderful experience and a great write up. From what I have read, the continentals do the whole hunting thing so much better that we do. Sounds like style and luxury were the order of the day. Great trip

See you in dorset very soon

Andy
 
Nice one Wayne.

Great write up and great time had by all in great company sounds like.

Max
 
Sounds like the trip of a lifetime mate, bloody envious well done.

John
 
Nice write up Wayne. Handsome dogs those Jämthunds. Kurgan looks like a Gråhund. Hunting with dogs swedish style, nothing better. Nice to see you got a Älg.
 
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Great write up Wayne, and photos too. Certainly makes one envious. I've never been to sweeden, but do have a Sweedish friend.....i might have to go stay sometime!

Well done on a successful trip!

Jim
 
What a wonderful write up!

I love the photographs, and think the worrying about the standard of accommodation might just have been in vain. They look like little palaces. You are seeing some great places and enjoying some wonderful hospitality, deservedly so!

I look forward to Andy's write up.

Simon
 
nice write up Wayne, although i feel sorry for you having to slum it in those sheds...... i also nooticed in your write up you mentioned that you 'ran':-| i'm sure it would have been a perfectly good account of your trip without such exaggerations:D
regards, Jez.
 
Bloody hell Wayne, that was quick. I haven't even unpacked yet.
Well as Wayne has said it was a really special trip and it was made all the better for great company. I will attempt to add my 2 penneth to the story but i'm afraid I will be unable to do it justice.
One of the Swedish lads that came over to stalk with Wayne happens to be one of my oldest and dearest friends and although we have hunted together hundreds of times in the UK we had never hunted in Sweden. For years now Marcus had been trying to describe this type of Moose hunting over dogs but it was still very different from what I had expected.
On day one my dog handler was Kenneth with a dog called zorro (his son was the guy who Wayne shot his moose with). We drove to our designated area and Kenneth picked an area to enter dog. Within 1/2 an hour the dog was on to a moose and we followed it for around 4 hours eventually getting in to around 200m but unfortunately the ground was just to crunchy and it slipped away without me even catching a glimpse of it. Kenneth said it was time for lunch so we met up with the others for hot dogs and a warm by the fire. After a much needed warm up Per organised a mini drive and Wayne and andy were much more confident than me as they have done this type of hunting before and the gun was a bit awkward for me to load quickly (I was using a borrowed right handed 595 tikka with an Aimpoint on it, in the UK i use a left handed R93 with an 8x56 on it). the young underkeeper was on the peg next to me and he had a couple of really tidy shots on fallow Does that made me quite glad that the deer were avoiding my peg.

Keneth and Zorro
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Day 2 was much better weather and we had a slight sprinkling of fresh snow which meant that Keneth was able to find a track that looked like it was a cow and calf before entering the dog. This time we made much quicker progress and soon we were within 150m of the cow and calf who were standing in a small bowl while Zorro was barking like crazy. Kenneth told me 'we must be very quiet, we move only when the dog barks' This was great fun and by doing this we managed to get onto the side of the small bowl and just as we were aproaching the crest of it the bloody calf walked up the other side and stared straight at us from about 10m away then took of like a cut cat taking the cow with it. Keneth said we should make our way back to the lunch area but Zorro had a better idea and kindly found us more Moose to hunt. This time it took us nearly 3 hours to get in close (the GPS said the dog was 24m away but we still never saw the moose) eventually the moose had enough of waiting and slipped away giving us a fleeting glimpse of them as they went (there had been 3 of them almost close enough to touch but i hadn't even seen them till they trotted off. At lunch the Swedish took the **** out of me saying that no one had ever got so close to a moose and not managed to shoot it.
Day 3 saw me hunting with Kenneth's son but no sooner had we got a couple of kilometers into the forest he had a call to say that his dad and Zorro had got a moose at bay on the other side of the forest so i was picked up and driven over to meet Keneth once more. Antother arduous stalk got us within 30m of a massive Moose cow but typically she had no calf with her and time had run out. Per was determined that we would get a moose so decided that we should continue to hunt Moose instead of having a driven hunt. By this time my grin was permenantly fixed like a village idiot. after lunch we set off for the last time to try for a moose true to form Zorro had soon found another Moose and Kenneth confirmed from the tracks that it was a cow and calf at this point we took of at a near jog for about 1/2 a mile then back into the 'move only when the dog barks' mode eventuall we were within about 40m of the moose and it turned out to be 2 cows and a calf. Kenneth told me that it was safe to shoot and up went the Tikka i put the red dot of the Aimpoint smack on it's shoulder and quickly squeezed off a round. Because the rifle was Right handed i had to take it out of my shoulder to reload it and when i looked up i saw a moose running off. I threw the rifle up into my shoulder and was shouting to Kenneth whether I should shoot it againg when he said 'your moose is dead, it went straight down' i had seen another animal run off.
I cannot begin to describe the feeling of elation of finally getting a moose after coming so close on so many occasions. Just as we were getting it into a position to gralloch it we heard a shot in the distance (this turned out to be Wayne and Keneths son). We continued to hunt for antother hour or so and even came within range of another cow. Then came the drag, we picked up wayne and Kenneths son and a big rope. By the time that moose was at the vehicle I felt like i had been set on fire and put out with a shovel.
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Kenneth told me that this was the last day of the moose season and that Zorro was 10.5 years old and this would be his last season so this would probably be his last ever moose so it was special to him as well.
All in all i had a really fantastic time and the food, drink and acommodation were top notch. we spent time in the company of some great hunters and dog men. The dogs were something else (they regularly hold a moose for over 10hours without letting up)

Me and the Calf
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I really wish that i could do the trip justice but i just don't have the words. like Wayne said we saw Eagle,Numerous Boar, some very big Fallow, Red squirrel
Hunted in some pristine forest with some incredible dogs and as a bonus even managed to shoot a couple of Moose and some fallow between us. It will be a while before this permenant grin fades.

Ezzy
 
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Well done Wayne another great write up & pics,it was interesting to see how the swedish hunt,shame about the the hunters lodge lol.Well done Stu again a great write up
Andy
 
The quality of hunting in the UK is stagering, having never experianced anything like this i found your account wonderfull, well done, im green with envy
 
Hey up Wayne,

What a wonderful experience and a great write up. From what I have read, the continentals do the whole hunting thing so much better that we do. Sounds like style and luxury were the order of the day. Great trip

See you in dorset very soon

Andy

Hi Andy
No won't be long until we are down in sunny Dorset, Michael fly's in the day before we are down so I will try and get him a Muntjac before we travel down, so see if we can get him a bit of a mixture.

See you soon

Wayne
 
Cheers all for your comments in was a great way to hunt I would recommend it to any one (except the dragging part)

Nice country as well the quiet roads were great but the snowy icy back roads not so great when your driver say's OOOOHHH SSSSHHHIIITTTT you know your in trouble ;)

Wayne
 
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