Hi, I'm new to this forum, have been a guest for a while, but now decided to register.
I would like to start with telling about my favourite varmint hunting.
I'm from Norway and we dont have so many varmints like u guys.

Here were I live we have mink, pine marten, wild cats and redfox.
The mink is not a orginal Norwegian species and was brougth to Norway for peltfarming last century.
A lot have escape and they are really adapteable to our enviroment.
They do a lot of damage to the seabirds during the "mating" season stealing eggs, killing chickens and nesting birds.

I have been hunting mink the last 20 years or so. Starting off with traps, got a BRNO 22 LR at 16 later a shotgun and so on.....

I use dogs to track down the mink.
They will always try to scare out the mink and kill it, or I'll try to shoot it with my shotgun depending on the situation.
But sometimes the mink stays in his hole or under a stone and will not move.
Then the dogs usually starts digging and I usually help them out with a stick or a spade.
I have two dogs, a male Dachs born 30.07.02 and a female Foxterrier born 01.01.04.

Here they are after a sucsesfull hunt 23.03.05.



I have uploaded som videos of my hunting, they are in quicktimeformat and will take some time to download.
This is my two dogs and one male Foxterrier, the brother of my female and owned by one of my friends.

The first movie show when the dogs have found the mink, they immediately starts to bark and try to reach the mink.

Busted

The mink manages to escape from he's hiding spot, but the dogs soon tracks him down again under some other rocks.
Here I have to help them out, using a stick I found nearby

Digging in the dirt

After removing some rocks and dirt the dogs are really close and the stand off starts.

The dogs bark and the mink screams back

Since the dogs cant reach it, I move a few rocks and suddenly the Dachs get a grip on the mink and pulls it out.

Mink vs. Dachs og Foxterriers

Enjoy the movies

Do u guys hunt mink

I'm not sure about all states but in most of them hunting mink with dogs is not legal. They are a fur bearer here and are trapped for profit. Many years ago it was legal, when a mink would go into a hole thin steel rods were pushed into the ground to drive the mink out do the dogs could get it, but getting all chewed up lowered the fur value..P

In Norway there is almost no profit for the fur, not worth the work.
But since the mink is doing so much damage to the local wildlife, we get a bounty from the goverment.
In fact we can hunt mink the hole year, there is no "mating season protection"

That is what we need with wolves,a bounty, it worked for 100 years now they are out of control