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http://theshootinglife.com/blog-entries/biggamehunting/you-have-to-be-in-it-to-win-it/

YOU HAVE TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT

In March 2013, I entered a competition run by the Swedish Nordik Predator Game Calls which I saw when I was buying a new call from their website. The competition comprised of using one of the Nordik Predator calls to lure in specific game. This could be anything from Roe bucks to Moose; then take a photo of the kill with the call that was used. Also, you were asked to write a short story about what you were calling, what happened, what call you used, what calibre of rifle you were using and where it was shot.

The story I wrote, was about when I called two adult foxes in the middle of the day with their Nordik Crying Bird Call from 350yds. I was able to shoot one of them, near where I live in Dumfries and Galloway. I entered this competition a bit late and thought I didn’t have much of a chance of winning.

Later that year, in August, I was called out to a farm because a fox that had taken some chickens. I spent the morning stalking around and doing a bit of calling, but no fox. I decided to sit in a highseat for an hour, near the farm and only saw Roe deer. Whilst sitting there I checked my phone and noticed I had an email titled “Locka Vilt” (Game Calling). To my amazement I had not only just won a prize, I had won the first prize! I couldn’t believe it! I had won a two day trip to Sweden, all paid, to hunt a bull moose. My photo and story would get published in the Swedish hunting magazine, and if lucky would get the trophy shipped home.

I was asked to go over in the last week of September, but I was going to be too busy. I would be working as a Ghillie for the stag season. After a bit of calendar checking it was arranged that I would go during the first week of September, which was the start of the moose hunting season. The method of hunting would be with a moose dog. It was too early in the season to call one. When the season starts you can shoot bulls, cows and calves. If it’s a cow and calf, the calf has to be shot first. I would be hunting in the north of Sweden, at a place called Robertsfors in the Västerbotten County.

The trip over to Sweden was a bit hectic. I had to get three flights in one day from Edinburgh to Copenhagen to Stockholm and then to Umeå Airport, so there was a lot of running around airports to catch flights. When I arrived at Umeå I was picked up by the host’s assistant and driven to where I was staying. On the way we saw a couple moose. I have seen moose before, when I worked in the south of Sweden on an estate, but the moose in the north were much bigger.

I met P-A Åhlén, the owner of Nordik Predator, and his wife Emma, at their home. We had a bite to eat and talked about the plans for the next few days. Then, it was off to bed, as we were getting up at 3:30am.

After breakfast I had to do a moose hunting test. I had to go to a shooting range and shoot at a moose target, free standing, at 80m. I also had to hit a running target. I have never shot at a running target before, but really enjoyed it.

The first morning, I was out with Robert, who also owned Nordik Predator. Robert was also the guy who designed the calls. The dog would work by tracking a scent, then baying at the moose so the hunter could sneak in to take the shot. It’s very important that you make sure the dog is away from the moose before taking the shot. It didn’t take too long before the dog was on a scent and shortly afterwards we could hear it barking. This really got me excited. The dog was wearing a GPS collar so we could quickly locate where he was. The dog was 800m in front of us. We got to within 150m, but weren’t able to get a shot, as there were too many trees. I got a quick glimpse of the animal; it was a big bull moose, 10–12 pointer. We tried to creep in closer, but the wind turned and the bull picked up our scent and ran off. The dog went after it again, but gave it up.

P-A was out hunting the same morning by himself and shot a cow with a yearling bull. I went with him to help drag both animals out with the six wheeler. By the afternoon the weather was wonderful, but too hot for the dogs, so we decided to try for capercallie or black grouse.

First, we had to get the moose to the larder and get them prepared and skinned. After that P-A and I went out with his German Wirehaired Pointer, but we didn’t have any luck.

Next morning I was out with P-A. It was a quiet one, with little to see. However, the dog got on a track and followed a moose for some distance, but wasn’t able to bay at it, so we never got a chance to see it. We did hear it at one point running through the trees.

The afternoon was my last chance to get a moose. The weather was perfect, the sun was out, but it was nice and cool for walking. We only walked half a mile before the dog was on the scent of a moose. We could see on the GPS that the dog was 600m in front of us. Ten minutes later we could hear the dog barking and both of us had a big smile on our faces. We stalked into the area where the dog was and got within 100m. We couldn’t see the dog or the moose, a few minutes went by and I saw the dog running; then I saw a bull moose! I quickly got ready and leaned against a tree. It was very difficult to get a shot as there were so many trees in the way.

Eventually, I could see the chest. I squeezed the trigger and fired a shot… it just stood there! I could the see the blood pumping out of its chest. At this point I wanted to get it down as quickly as possible! The dog was still baying, so it wasn’t going anywhere. The bull started to move forward and I could see a large gap through the trees. I thought to myself, when I see its neck in the gap I’m going to take the shot. It walked forward into the gap, but I had to wait to take the shot because the dog was running in front of the moose. As soon as the dog moved out the way I took the shot and it dropped on the spot with a loud thud. I had shot my first moose! A nine pointer bull! I couldn’t believe it!

The size of the animal was overwhelming. We used the six wheeler to get it out of the forest. That night we had a bit of a celebration. What an amazing experience! A dream come true!

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John aka NitroX

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