Capercaillie hunting in Sweden

At the weekend we were in Sweden's forests to hunt forest birds at the top. It was a trip we had been looking forward to for a long time, and our expectations were sky high.

We drove 50 miles to Vilhelmina where we continued into the terrain on skis with pack and sled. The skiing conditions were absolutely terrible and we went through half a meter of half-free snow. Thus, we did not go many kilometers into the terrain before we found a camp site and hit the lavvo. The temperature then was around 0 degrees. It was midnight before we crawled into our sleeping bags and got a few long-awaited hours before the next day's hunt.

After a chilly night with temperatures down to -10 degrees, we got up and got ready for today's march further into the Swedish forests. With our eyes fixed on the treetops, we skied on a hard and noisy ski track. At each bog we came to we stopped, and scouted the peaks around, but no bird was to be seen. Despite the fact that we didn't get to see any birds, the woodlands were full of traces of grouse and grouse. This is how the day continued with lots of tracks but no birds. When the evening finally came and we had finally made it back to the camp, it was just time to start firing the stove. It was -15 degrees and bitterly cold outside, but inside the lavvo the climate was fine throughout the evening. During the night it was announced that there would be snow and it was right in the blink of an eye, as it would be softer and easier to observe birds at the top.

The morning after and the last day of the trip, we got up to a snow layer of about half a centimeter. So the conditions had not improved at all for hunting. In short, the day was a repetition of the previous day. Lots of tracks, but no bird to be seen.

Unfortunately, the experience did not live up to expectations, but in any case we can look back on a fantastic trip and an experience we would not have been without. As this was our first hunting trip abroad and our first attempt at top hunting, the continuation can only get better. 

We look forward to the next trip!