Let me start by saying that this trip turned out to be the best hunting trip of all time 😊
As you could read in my previous post that this bird was actually what got me started huntingā¦As a young boy I have seen this bird and since than I have always dreamed of hunting this birdā¦
We unfortunately donāt have this species here in Denmarkā¦
Ok now letās begin with the story of what was to become my favorite hunting trip.
As you all know I have a group on facebook called āScandinavian huntersā which is a group where members are from all of the Scandinavia where we share pictures and experience from our hunts.
One day there was a post in the group about hunting this bird and I added the comment that they were really fortunate to have this kind of bird to hunt for and I would love to hunt for this bird once.
I got a reply on my comment saying āWhy donāt you?ā It was a fellow hunter from Norway asking this. Hes name was Sverre Haugenā¦Iāll get back to him laterā¦
I Said āI would like to but we donāt have them in Denmarkā
Sverre replyed āYou can hunt with me at my placeā
āI would love toā I replied to Sverreās comment actually thinking that it is never going to happenedā¦you know how this usually goesā¦someone says you come hunt at my place and then after when itās time to hunt there is always something that comes upā¦.
Sverre replied āI will contact you before the season begins and we can plan the tripā… āSure thingā I said
Still thinking that this is not going to happenedā¦
But boy was I wrongā¦Some time later I get a message from Sverre telling me that the season begins soon and we should plan the tripā¦
Now Iām thinkingā¦this guy was serious about the huntā¦He understood what this hunt ment to meā¦then I was thinkingā¦I thought I was crazy but this guy must be crazier than meā¦inviting me without knowing me at all to stay at his place and hunt with himā¦
Now as crazy I am I said I will come to Norway which actually was the first time I would visit Norwayā¦and there was something else I had in mindā¦.I hate sailingā¦I get sick every time and I was about to sail for about 15 hoursā¦.I said what the hack and ordered my ferry ticket.
I said to my self what a great gesture from Sverre to invite to hunt which will be a great memory for the rest of my life for meā¦I had to give him something in return to remember me as well. As I in my spare time make knives I thought it would be a great idea to make a knife for Sverre. I would make something special that you could not by in any store. It should be personalā¦
I got the knife finished just in time before my trip to Norway where I was going to meet Sverre and Per.
Per is also a person I learn to know in my group but never seen beforeā¦
The day had come where I should go on my trip to Norway. Packed my car and of I went. It was a quite long trip on the ferry but finally I arrived to Osloā¦When you arrive to Oslo with ferry there is so beautiful scenery that the words canāt describeā¦this a person needs to see by them selfā¦Norway is so beautiful.
I got of the ferry and went to meet Sverre. I got to his house and he walks outside to greet meā¦We give each other a hug like we have known each other our entire life. Already I knew that this was beginning of a lifelong friendship. I said hallo to the rest of Sverres family and we went on to the hunting are which was about 2 hours drive north of Oslo in a place called FlĆ„.
We got to the cabinā¦well actually not cabin but a luxurious vacation home where we were going to stayā¦I took a look around and thought man this is a dream hunting place.
I took out Sverres gift and gave it to him. He absolutely loved it wich made me very happy 😊
Soon Per joined us also. When Per arrived we made something to eat, grabbed a beer and talked for hours about hunting. We also inspected our gunsā¦turns out that Iām not the only one giving my gun a nameā¦Sverre and Peter do toā¦Sverre had just got a brand new shotgun and āSheā did not have the name yetā¦she will as soon as he has got the first game with the gunā¦this weekend he will name her he saidā¦If you are wondering what the name is of my gunā¦her name is āLucyāā¦
We decided to go to sleep because we were going to get early up in the morning and go hunting. I was very tired from the trip so I felt a sleep almost immediately.
Next day we got up, had breakfast, a good cup of coffee, packed our gear and went out to hunt. I canāt tell you how beautiful the nature is in Norwayā¦The scenery was great and looked something like taken out of some fairytaleā¦Iām not sure if the Norwegian people se the same beauty as I, thinking that they are surrounded by this scenery all the timeā¦maybe they donāt think of it as something special or incredible like I do. Maybe they just got use to itā¦maybe notā¦but for me this was something incredibly beautiful.
Now I soon realized that my āLittle chubby assā could not compete or keep up with Sverre and Per. The hunt and the terrain is very different from Denmark so after a couple of hours of walking up and down in the hills I could feel my every muscle in my legs burningā¦It hurt and I loved it. This is what hunting is all about.
I could not tell them about the pain in my legs, but I think they knew, since I was asking to have a small break every hour at the end of the day.
We all get some good chances that day to shoot different kind of animals but I was not luckyā¦Every time I got surprised when the birds flew up and I took a shot to late or could not take the shot at allā¦
We went back to the cabin and Sverre prepared dinner which was actually a capercaillie and it tasted wonderful. Sverre knows his way around a kitchen I can tell you that. Great cook.
The next day we set out againā¦my legs were hurting even moreā¦but it didnāt matter I loved it. Such a great hunting experienceā¦
Soon after Sverre shot a black grouse, Per shot several grouses and a hareā¦me I missed everything I aimed atā¦I had like 2-3 good chances but I missedā¦they still couth me by surpriseā¦
All of the sudden while we are walking a big capercaillie flew up maybe 15 meters in front of meā¦again totally out of nowhere and caught me by surpriseā¦ I take aim and shootā¦I miss the first shotā¦I shoot again and it is hit but it continues to flyā¦the bird changes direction in air and is flying on stiff wingsā¦
Sverre and Per comes running to me telling me that itās hit and landed over thereā¦
Man I was so happy I canāt tell you how much. I was dreaming of getting this bird since I was maybe 10 years old. In my had I already had an idea on how it is going to be mounted and taxidermizedā¦We should go down the hill to find it Sverre said. Even I was very tired and my legs were burning suddenly I regained my strength. Now we are going down hill againā¦we just got upā¦but I did not careā¦had so much strength and my hart was pumping like crazy.
We got down but the bird was nowhere to be foundā¦we looked and looked but nothing. It was hit we all agreed but maybe when it landed it ran and hide somewhereā¦After a while we gave up looking for itā¦funny how things go some timesā¦.In a split second I went from really happy and full of energy to sad and disappointed that I did not hit it betterā¦
Sverre came to me and said āHi bro cheer up this is not the last time you visit me to hunt capercaillie it is not an easy bird to hunt and you will get it next timeā¦ā
That cheered me a lot. Yes I would have loved to have this one at home mounted but the hunting is not at all just killing an animal. That part is the leastā¦Hunting is all about new places, new experiences, new friendshipsā¦ I know that even thou I did not get my Capercaillie I hade the best hunting trip off all time where I was in a wonderful place with wonderful people that I today can call my frinedsā¦And not just any friends but friends for a lifetime.
So thank you by all my hart if you are reading this Sverre and Per. This hunting trip I will remember for as long as I live. My first time in Norway and my very first Capercaillie hunt.