Norwegian caribou hunt

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Norwegian caribou hunt

Post by Ricky » 09 Sep 2022, 10:37 pm

I was thinking that it would be nice to contribute to the forum a bit before seeking for information.
So I am posting a brief report of my latest hunting trip to Norway. I had licenses for a roe buck and a bull caribou (well, technically they are wild reindeer as European caribou are considered reindeer).

That far north, roe deer live in extremely low densities. Caribou can be numerous or not, depending on the direction of the wind.

I arrived a few days before the roe buck hunting season started. Within 3 days of scouting I saw many moose, some red deer and a few roe deer, including one small buck.
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My observations made me figure that one specific area was promising, so that was where I went on opening morning (August 10). And I got very lucky as a really old and tall buck showed itself.
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Caribou season would start on August 20, so I had plenty of time to scout the new area (600 km², which is a lot for European standards). The wind’s direction was unfavorable so there were very few caribou around.
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On August 18, I finally spotted the first caribou, a nice bull. He was close the area’s boundary and moved to the next hunting area a few hours later.
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In the afternoon, I spotted another bull. He stayed around. I watched him until dark and the next day. Actually I could watch him from camp, at about 4 km. But I spent most of the time watching him at 1 or 2 km.
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On opening morning, I reached his area at first light. 2 hours later I was lucky enough to take the bull.
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Got back to the car around noon the next day. 28 kg of boned-out meat plus head and camp made for some tough hiking.
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Re: Norwegian caribou hunt

Post by mchughcb » 09 Sep 2022, 11:30 pm

Smoked reindeer is great. I spent weeks eating it in Norway an Sweden.

How far north of Bergin were you?
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Re: Norwegian caribou hunt

Post by MtnMan » 10 Sep 2022, 6:47 am

Well done.
Care to elaborate on how the wind direction effects the caribou movement?
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Re: Norwegian caribou hunt

Post by Avok » 10 Sep 2022, 1:27 pm

That's some truly amazing scenery to hunt in.
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Re: Norwegian caribou hunt

Post by Ricky » 12 Sep 2022, 11:32 pm

mchughcb wrote:Smoked reindeer is great. I spent weeks eating it in Norway an Sweden.

How far north of Bergin were you?


The meat is very good indeed.

I was about 350 km north-east of Bergen. Tynset was the closest town.
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Re: Norwegian caribou hunt

Post by Ricky » 12 Sep 2022, 11:32 pm

MtnMan wrote:Well done.
Care to elaborate on how the wind direction effects the caribou movement?


Norwegian caribou usually move against the wind. The mountains in Norway are high plateaus, intercepted by deep valleys which caribou usually don't cross. So the caribou cannot keep walking forever.

While I was in Norway, the wind was blowing from the south, and sometimes from the west. So the caribou concentrated in the southern and south-eastern part of the mountain range, while I was allowed to hunt its north-eastern portion.

Typically, this behaviour goes for big groups. Small groups and solitary caribou tend to live more stationary. But 95 % of the caribou population live in big groups, so very few animals remain if the wind is unfavourable.
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Re: Norwegian caribou hunt

Post by Ricky » 12 Sep 2022, 11:34 pm

Avok wrote:That's some truly amazing scenery to hunt in.


It definitely is. But in Australia, you are not short of amazing scenery either... :thumbsup:
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