There was some talking about the hunt for Capercaille in Norway while we were at the Baldock hunt.

I guess this is a special thread for Ian, but others might also enjoy this.

We hunt the Capercaille and Black Grouse from 10th of Sep to 23 th of Dec (in Sweden one might start at the 25th of Aug. and extend to the end of Jan.).
Early autumn one normally hunts as walk up or with pointing dogs. Hunting them is always a challenge and never easy.
My favourite though is going after them during winter time. As soon as the snow extend appr. 30 cm the birds start feeding in the trees.



You hunt them by travelling through the forrest on skies, scanning the areas around you with binos.





The stalking might be quite difficult, depending on conditions. I've found the best conditions to be a lots of snow, cloudy and with as little wind as possible. It seems that the noise you make won't travel to far. Then if everything works out, this might be the quarry you pick up from underneath the tree (sorry for the messy photo)..



Weighing up to 5-6 (!) kilograms the Capercaille is something special!

That's a big bird Anders!
What sort of gun & ammo are you using to shoot it with?

Thanks Dave!
Let me start with being completely honest. This is the only Capercaille I've shot during wintertime..

This one was shot with my drilling in 6,5x57R, and 100 grains Lapua FMJ.
I would prefer a rifle since you normally don't have any use for the shotgun barrels.

As long as the rifle is accurate you can use anything from .22 centerfires and up. But I think 6-6,5mm might be perfect. And a round nosed FMJ will give a good effect. With smaller calibers a really good softpoint might be better than FMJ. Never tried, so don't know for sure. But they're quite tough birds.

Shooting is normally to 100-150 meters. To be sure the birds drops right out of the tree, you should be able to put the shot within 2,5-3".

Anders,

Waidmannsheil!

Nice photos and good report.

I'm confused about your map reference photo though.....are you attempting to depict how good you are with a compass or confirming either a Minefield, NBC Restricted Area, International Boundary, Wildlife Refuge or someone else's Property?

Someone elses property. But with some landowners here around it could be the first or second..

Anders,



Good Man - don't want those pesky neighbors to have an overabundance of Birds on their property now do we?

Weidmannsheil Anders! I had spotted the pictures on your blog. You went to Sweden for this hunt - if I'm not much mistaken??

I have hunted both Capercaille and Black Grouse in the Alps - although the traditional hunt here takes place in the mating season (rut?) in May/June.

- mike

Good on you Anders,

however I would really like you a lot better if you left the Swedish birds to us,

Malung, that not on your side of the border is it!!

Ohh well there are huge wast of nature up there and I am glad that you got that bird, good shoot stalking.

Best regards Chris

Thanks guys!

These pictures are actually from two different hunts..
The bird was shot in Norway a few years back, while the bird in the tree and the picture of me with the map is from a recent hunt in Sweden..
So I didn't want to take any of your birds, Chris.. There were four of us going to Sweden at the end of Jan. and only one black grouse was the result. But we did have splendid weekend in Avradsberg!

Nice photos. Congrats!

now this is what i call small game hunting, my personal favorite.

as to the gun question above:
take your deer/big game rifle and load it with FMJ's at 800ms, or buy Norma Jaktmatch or Lapua Trainer and you're all set.
personlly i prefer a 12/76-7x57R combination gun, because sometimes a hare comes your way.

Very nice, thanks for posting!

How does the capercaillie taste? Please don't say chicken!
I'd love to have a mounted specimen.

Don't know exactly how to describe the taste. Very far from chicken..
It does taste quite a lot and very wild..
It tends to be a bit dry in my opinion. I don't know if this is due to my cooking or what.

I'm trying to get one to mount myself! Just waiting for a bird who exceeds 5 kg.

Anders
Thanks for shareing this hunt. I hunted this same area back in 96. I did get a black grouse but no capercaille and thats been eating at me ever since. Maybe someday I'll go back but I don't have the money I did back then.

Well done Anders!

Thank you for taking the timne to post as well.

That all looks like enormous fun, a tiny little problem for me is that I hate skiing, I may reconsider in future however

Regards,

Amir

Anders

That was just cruel! It helps that we have just had another fall of snow down here - now I am fantasizing about langlauf with a combi gun on my shoulder!

Hopefully this is something we can get sorted in seasons to come - in the meantime, don't forget my offer of a long weekend later in the year!

GH

The mind has not stopped boggling at the thought of you masterfully kicking and gliding through the Scandinavian snows!

Rgds Ian

Couldn't resist, Ian..
We can get this sorted out for sure. No problem!
I really want to go back to UK as soon as possible, so we'll see later this year. Thanks!

Amir
It's possible to use snowshoes, if this helps.. It's still a lot of snow though..

I can feel another IanF/Scandi weekend coming on!!!

I hope the bloody weather is better this time!!

K

Ready next year Kiri?
This will be a great adventure..

quote:

That all looks like enormous fun, a tiny little problem for me is that I hate skiing, I may reconsider in future however

Langlauf is to downhill skiing what pushpedalling is to motorcycling. So lets say that you wouldn't get carried away.

If you think my face was red after a few whiskys, you should see it after half a mile on my xcountry skis.

(Ian, I have to shamefully confess that in addition to my watch with its own internal weather system, I also own a pair of thirty year old laminated hickory xcountry skis, plus oil and wax and, although I've a carbon fibre pair too, they somehow still get an outing around the playing fields whenever we get enough snow here)

I suppose I should also fess up to knowing how to do a telemark turn too Now I am showing my age

Got a Snowmobile? Preferably with a Cup Holder and Rear View Mirrors large enough to use as an improvised Rifle Rest.

Don't want to get out of practice for that Day-to-Day shooting in the Hunting Lease......

Anders

Thankyou for posting. You have experienced one of my dream hunts.

Just to get the blood stirring even more I thought you and others may enjoy watching the following clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0EmCd1kkAs

Thanks again

If I remember correctly, the little 7x33 Sako cartridge was intended for Capercaille and hunting seals on the ice. I was lucky enough to come by an L46 Mannlicher in a 7x33 a short while ago. It is a "cool" little rifle. I've found an ample supply of ammunition (due to a great guy here on AR), but am having difficulty finding any 7mm bullets for reloading that are appropriate to it.

i've heard they(sako i think) has stopped producing components for it.
(by appropiate i assume you mean 78gr SP and FMJ).

Stonecreek- I urge you to bulk up on them bullets supply is runnning low even over here and Lapua are indifferent in making more runs of the bullets,

they did make a run of brass some years ago.

IN short the 7x33 is the perfect stalkers roe rifle, I think it´s a bit short of power for larger deer.

Best regards Chris

Great pictures Anders.
You are a lucky man who have access to such hunting grounds

Thanks for input guys!
The scenery is absolutely beautiful over here. Most of the hunting for Capercaille I actually do on public land (Statskog), Arild.. So it's accesible for you as well
The chances are better in Sweden though.. More remote woods, more birds (in general) and longer hunting season.

Jon2
That clip is quite amazing! That guy has made several great videos of norwegian hunting.

Your photos were so nice I cleaned up the white-balance a bit for a better view.

Thank you! Lookin' better..

Despite the colour balance, that's still a good splash of claret over Anders hunting whites. I'm guessing that his wife or girlfriend will struggle to get that out

I understand your point here Dave. But look at that second picture from the bottom. That's after the bloody picture.
And guess what. I did the laundry myself. Quite impressive?

quote:

Originally posted by Husqvarna M98:
Stonecreek- I urge you to bulk up on them bullets supply is runnning low even over here and Lapua are indifferent in making more runs of the bullets,

they did make a run of brass some years ago.

IN short the 7x33 is the perfect stalkers roe rifle, I think it´s a bit short of power for larger deer.

Best regards Chris

I'm afraid I'm already too late to "bulk up" on supplies for the 7x33. I have enough brass -- it's the bullets that are a challenge. I loaded some Hornady 100 grain HP bullets for a trial, but they cannot be seated deeply enough to function through the magazine -- only single-loading.

Lacking any data, I loaded them very cautiously. They chronographed only 1450 fps, and landed a foot lower than the factory loads at 100 yards. However, the three shots fell into a nice little 1.25" group, and this was with only a 2.5X scope. Even at 53 years of age, the little Sako is a shooter.

Stonecreek
That 7x33 seems like one nice little gun!
Got any photos to share?

quote:

Originally posted by Husqvarna M98:

....IN short the 7x33 is the perfect stalkers roe rifle, I think it´s a bit short of power for larger deer.....

IMO you are somewhat optimistic for both these statements.....

HOLLY COW!!! I missed this thread...

This is the bird of my boyhood dreams since age 7...a very long time ago.

Someday I'll sell the wife's rings and let the dogs starve, then use the money to hunt this greatest of all grouse. One in my lifetime will suffice.

quote:

Originally posted by Boghossian:
How does the capercaillie taste? Please don't say chicken!
I'd love to have a mounted specimen.

I would say that the closest thing to capercaillie is moose! Maybe with a dash of grouse into the taste.

Very nice, but you can't cook it to anything more than light pink. After that it just turns dry and boring. But done right only woodcock is better in my eyes.

Johan

Amazing!

On the lifetime hit list! Curious that I didn't see this before. Anyway, awesome looking hunt, looks like. Curious about the damage from a CF cartridge to the carcass. What might people who want to have the bird mounted use to try to prevent excessive damage. Bird solids, AKA FMJs?

Maybe the skin is so thin that most any round passes through without much expansion? Love tp hear any advice/experience.

Thanks for posting; cool stuff. King of the grouse indeed!

KG

P.S. I've read that the way to hunt them in another way involves waiting for them to call, then--and only then--moving in closer and closer until a shot can be taken. True?

quote:

What might people who want to have the bird mounted use to try to prevent excessive damage. Bird solids, AKA FMJs?

K-G,

Yes, FMJ's but brand names like Norma not military FMJ ammo - the military FMJ's have a void under the tip - bullets go wayward.

Also when shot with a rifle cartridge (a Combo Rifle is THE "Ultimate" for this hunting; especially in "Neiderwild" chamberings, 5.6x52R (Savage HP), .222 Remington, etc.) the Hunter rushes to the floppng bird and throws his Cape/Jacket over it in an attempt to minimize plummage loss.

quote:

P.S. I've read that the way to hunt them in another way involves waiting for them to call, then--and only then--moving in closer and closer until a shot can be taken. True?

Yes, they can be stalked during the Balz (Rut). When they perform their ritualistic dance and call they position their head upwards and spread their wings & tailfeathers. When doing this they are oblivious to anything for several seconds. When approached/stalked from behind the Hunter can often get within very close range. This is very exciting stalking.

The few birds remaining in The Fatherland are long since protected as the Capercaille will not tolerate human encroachment & disturbances. They are found in Scandinavia, Russia and some areas of the Austrain Alps where these issues are reduced.