More hunting vol.2
October 18th, 2011
Saturday:
Hunting at Skönabäck. Usually there is always something fun happening and so also this time. We are going to hunt four battues so the dogs have a bit to cover. We know where the deer are, and a suspicion of where the wild boars will be. The first battue is a thick willow forest where find a lot of fallow deer. A pair of deer are running behind us and a deer runs three meters from me. But most deer choose to get out there are some shots taken. A good start on the hunt when there is some fallow deer on the parade directly after both first and second battue. In the third battue Nelly gets “mental” and makes unusually large search, but fortunately the drives are short. She drives several deer over the field but breaks at the forest edge. Just perfect as we are going to hunt there as its the next battue. Diva will join as reinforcements in the last battue. Both dogs are performing drive after drive. Nelly makes short drive while Divas are the longer. I have several game in shooting distance but unfortunately no premitted ones. An event was extra fun when we would look for a deer, which we suspect hiding in a bushes. Jonas has taken a post down a slope to cover up. Nelly goes through the bushes very carefully and signs pointing the game. I suspect that it is wild boar as she is quite careful and I just have encountered one or two minutes before. But it points out not to be true as I advance Nelly there are two deer running two meter from me. The wild boars however are not to be found again. During the whole day the shooters perform really well. By that I mean not only the numbers game, but the constellation of the game. The largest share are young calfs, some one year old males and some few elderly ones. A total of 14 fallow deer, one wild boar and one roe deer and a parade at its peak. We thank Peter and Anders and the rest of the hunting team for a back-breaking, game rich and exciting day.
Sunday:
This morning feels a bit heavy to get up. Yesterday’s adventures are feeling in the muscles and joints. But we are going out no matter what. Today Nelly will rest and Diva is only up for one battue. All hunting has made the dogs thin and I want to save their strength for tomorrow. Diva and I get the first battue that is the densest and wettest. A nice coincidence is that I am going as beater together with Marcus and his arsenal. We will in fact also hunt tomorrow in a commercial hunt. So we may see this as a general reherseal. Drive and it starts with the dogs go away with a moose. 1.2 km later they stop it and the moose goes over a river while the dogs break and come back. Marcus and I are taking opposite flank along an old peat cover which is marshy, reedy and very wet. Diva is airing in the reeds and wants to get out in the wet. But I’m not so keen on it. Marshes, reed beds is not the best biotope for a German hunting terrier. While she is airing in the wind I see a moose move in the peat bog. But I leave it there even if I have opportunity to take a shot. You can probably imagine the job it would have been to swim out to get her. So we move forward. Now there is a bark at bay with Diva and Marcus dogs. A group of wild boar runs off and one comes to me. The first shot is fired and the boar strikes directly on the ground. I stand still and continue aiming, just in case. And as it happens sometimes it gets back on his feet so I fire two quick shots. It marks a hit at every shot but despite that, it runs into the reeds. I have a lot of blood. But going into the dense reeds by myself is not always the best option. So I call out Diva to help me out. At the same time I make myself familiar with the water once and even twice. Not recommended if you do not have access to a sauna. Diva comes back a little tired after her swim after wild pigs and is a bit whiny to be taken to the swamp again. But as soon as she scents the blood the turbo in her is running again. 2 minutes later I hear that she has found the boars 270 meters away. I’ll take myself there and sneak in to see and ensure that its the same boars. It is and now I need to find a good opportunity for a safe shot. It does not take long because the boar is already in pretty bad shape that it is relatively easy to get shot. Well done Diva! But how the wild boar could go so far with them hits remains a mystery to me. Now we enter the house to get a bit warmer and to try to dry some of my clothes before we take the next battue. At the next battues I stand as a shooter but few drives and the result is poor and I start to freeze. Being wet and stand as shooter is really not to be recommended. Fortunately, there hunt is almost over. So, we had some action again today. 
Monday:
Last hunt for a while. A commercial big game hunt is on. It is the first time I am with this hunting club but I’ve heard a lot about this place. On this hunt, I am not “just” a dog handler, but also responsible for any injured dogs. Last year’s premiere hunting had seven injured dogs. So I am a little puzzled about how this hunt will end. After the usual review and been assigned our area I go in the battue. We are three dog handlers in this area. Marcus, Michael and I have been assigned the area which is a hot spot. They both are experienced dog handlers with good dogs so the anticipation is high. Luckily we got much to almost directly. It’s amazing how many wild boars this area holds. Drives, barking at bay, drives and a set of shots. It special to work with so many experienced dog handlers with good dogs. What do I mean by experienced dog handler? For me it’s about how situations are handled during stressful situations. That you keep radio discipline but at the same time without prestige ask for help and when needed. Overall, the organization of the hunt is very well planned. The result was probably 12-13 wild boar and a fox.