I am a avid moose hunter and do a lot of moose hunting with my dogs. Here in Sweden we hunt the moose with one dog at the time and I have 5 different moose dogs. Two of them is good, one is useful, one is only a puppy and one is totally worthless. I took the worthless one out for a try for the thousand time today. Much to my surprise she all of the sudden did a fantastic work on this bull

Today is a good day...

Great post and congratulations.
Way to go on giving that dog another chance.

What rifle did you use?

Glad you gave the worthless one another go around and seemingly it payed off!! How exactly does one train a dog to hunt moose? I had a lab once who I was able to train using an actual grouse that I froze and would drag on a string and hide until he eventually got the idea of what we were after, is this the same method you use?

Either way fantastic hunt and a really special moment to be shared, congrats!

Excellent! Big congratulations. My assumption is this is a very good trophy for where you hunt. Correct?

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by COYOTE HUNTER:
Great post and congratulations.
Way to go on giving that dog another chance.

What rifle did you use?

I just love my Sauer 303 in 8X57

quote:

Originally posted by AR MAN:
Glad you gave the worthless one another go around and seemingly it payed off!! How exactly does one train a dog to hunt moose? I had a lab once who I was able to train using an actual grouse that I froze and would drag on a string and hide until he eventually got the idea of what we were after, is this the same method you use?

Either way fantastic hunt and a really special moment to be shared, congrats!

You can´t really train a moose dog that way. The only thing to do is to give them lot´s of time in the forest and be really ready to shoot when they keep the moose at bay. The worst thing you can do is to shoot a running moose when the dog is chasing it. The dog should learn that they only get the reward when they have got the moose to bay up. This dog have been almost totally uninterested in moose for a long time. I hope the success today will be food for thoughts for "Smulan"

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Excellent! Big congratulations. My assumption is this is a very good trophy for where you hunt. Correct?

Mark

Thank you Mark,

Yes this is a very good bull for my area. I hunt close to the cost and bulls this size is not that common. If you go further inland closer to the mountain range in Sweden the bulls have enormous more summer food and grow much larger antlers than this one.
Anyways, for me as a moose dog hunter it is not that common to shoot bulls, most of my dogs are afraid of the bulls and keep to cows. Last year I shoot 15 moose, only cows and calves. This year prior to this one I shoot 16 moose, 10 calves and some cows and small bulls. Number 17 for this year is really fantastic for me, I hope Smulan will continue on this path

Congrats P-A. Well done. I love the picture of the moose head and the Champagne.

I just bought a Husqvarna M-640 in 8x57. When I was in Burkina in March with three of your fellow Swedes, one was using an 8x57 on his roan. I accompanied him on his hunt and was very impressed with the killing power of the 8x57. One of those cartridges that seems to be far more effective than its paper ballistics would indicate.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Congrats PA. Well done. I love the picture of the moose head and the Champagne.

Thank you Mike,

Yes, this kind of bull don´t come that often for me so I had to take it into the kitchen table to measure it. The Champange felt like a natural accessory during the process

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Congrats P-A. Well done. I love the picture of the moose head and the Champagne.

I just bought a Husqvarna M-640 in 8x57. When I was in Burkina in March with three of your fellow Swedes, one was using an 8x57 on his roan. I accompanied him on his hunt and was very impressed with the killing power of the 8x57. One of those cartridges that seems to be far more effective than its paper ballistics would indicate.

On the caliber topic. You should try the swedish national caliber 6.5X55. There is no better caliber I have shoot thousands of game with that caliber, fantastic. But I am very pleased with the 8X57, also very allround. Actually I shoot a black grouse just 30 minutes before I shoot this moose, great precision out to 150 meters

Your dog doesn't catch moose until he has some Champagne ?? Wow !

6.5x55 has always been a winner! The perfect deer cartridge as Finn Aagaard said .

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
Your dog doesn't catch moose until he has some Champagne ?? Wow !

6.5x55 has always been a winner! The perfect deer cartridge as Finn Aagaard said .

I have probably shoot around 100 moose with 6.5X55, fantastic caliber

Is your dog an Akita mix?

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
Is your dog an Akita mix?

No, this one is a pure breed. East Siberian Laika

quote:

Originally posted by P-A Åhlén:

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
Is your dog an Akita mix?

No, this one is a pure breed. East Siberian Laika

Thanks!! I just read about them. Interesting breed. The size seems a little smaller than my Late Husky/Akita mix yet the temperament sounds about the same. He would have been an excellent Moose hunter for you.

Cheers
Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:

quote:

Originally posted by P-A Åhlén:

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
Is your dog an Akita mix?

No, this one is a pure breed. East Siberian Laika

Thanks!! I just read about them. Interesting breed. The size seems a little smaller than my Late Husky/Akita mix yet the temperament sounds about the same. He would have been an excellent Moose hunter for you.

Cheers
Jim

The best moose dogs I have is the breed "Swedish moose dog" or Jämthund. They are fantastic dogs, both as a pet dog inside the house and as a hunting dog.

Congratulations on your very nice moose. I understand lead-free bullets like the Lapua Naturalis must be used in Sweden. What bullets do you use in your 6.5x55 and 8x57? Many thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by RogersGunWorks:
Congratulations on your very nice moose. I understand lead-free bullets like the Lapua Naturalis must be used in Sweden. What bullets do you use in your 6.5x55 and 8x57? Many thanks!

There is no lead ban on bullets here in Sweden. You can use normal ammo if you like. I have been using copper ammo for 5 years now and are very pleased with them both in 6,5X55 and 8X57. I use barnes X in both calibers

Hell of a moose PA
Congratulations

Congratulations P-A! Thanks for the photos - a great moose.

Great moose! Thanks for sharing

quote:

Originally posted by P-A Åhlén:

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:

quote:

Originally posted by P-A Åhlén:

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
Is your dog an Akita mix?

No, this one is a pure breed. East Siberian Laika

Thanks!! I just read about them. Interesting breed. The size seems a little smaller than my Late Husky/Akita mix yet the temperament sounds about the same. He would have been an excellent Moose hunter for you.

Cheers
Jim

The best moose dogs I have is the breed "Swedish moose dog" or Jämthund. They are fantastic dogs, both as a pet dog inside the house and as a hunting dog.

are they the same kind as the norwegian elkhound?

are they the same kind as the norwegian elkhound?[/QUOTE]

No, the Norwegian elkhound is much smaller and it don´t have the "wolf pattern" on the face

Very nice. Congratulations.

Tell us about the moose licensee structure that allow you to shoot that many moose in a year.

It is great that you have that many moose to allow you to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Tell us about the moose licensee structure that allow you to shoot that many moose in a year.

It is great that you have that many moose to allow you to do it.

Here in Sweden the moose license you get is based on the size of your hunting area and the moose density in the region. Either you own the land yourself or lease the hunting rights from a land owner. We lease this area from a forest company.

We shoot in between 80 000 - 100 000 moose every year and the best year we shoot 188 000 moose in Sweden. In my county Västerbotten we shoot about 16 000 moose per year.

Our area are about 4500 ha (45 square km) and this years license was 13 adults and as many calves as you can shoot. We also got one extra adult from the moose management area. So up to now we have shoot 14 adults and 10 calves and will continue hunting calves to the end of January. Moose hunting is great fun

Do your dogs bark on trail or are they silent trailers?
How old is your pup?

I find it fascinating to see the way dogs are used in hunting in different cultures.

Your son sure looks to be pleased by what you brought home.

quote:

Originally posted by TREE 'EM:
Do your dogs bark on trail or are they silent trailers?
How old is your pup?

I find it fascinating to see the way dogs are used in hunting in different cultures.

Your son sure looks to be pleased by what you brought home.

The moose dog only barks when they see the moose/bear/wild boar. So, yes silent trailers.

The pup is just 9 months, so no hunting for her this season.

I would not hunt moose without the dog, it makes it much more interesting. It is also the most difficult way to hunt the moose, but once you get the hang of it you could be quite effective

Congrat's on a great moose!

I would love to hunt moose in Sweden one day. It is surely on my wish list.

I would love to visit there and see where mu relatives. lived!! It would be an interesting place I am sure.

Very interesting report!!

quote:

Originally posted by P-A Åhlén:

quote:

Originally posted by TREE 'EM:
Do your dogs bark on trail or are they silent trailers?
How old is your pup?

I find it fascinating to see the way dogs are used in hunting in different cultures.

Your son sure looks to be pleased by what you brought home.

The moose dog only barks when they see the moose/bear/wild boar. So, yes silent trailers.

The pup is just 9 months, so no hunting for her this season.

I would not hunt moose without the dog, it makes it much more interesting. It is also the most difficult way to hunt the moose, but once you get the hang of it you could be quite effective

Do you have any experience with Karelian Bear Dogs?

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:

quote:

Originally posted by P-A Åhlén:

quote:

Originally posted by TREE 'EM:
Do your dogs bark on trail or are they silent trailers?
How old is your pup?

I find it fascinating to see the way dogs are used in hunting in different cultures.

Your son sure looks to be pleased by what you brought home.

The moose dog only barks when they see the moose/bear/wild boar. So, yes silent trailers.

The pup is just 9 months, so no hunting for her this season.

I would not hunt moose without the dog, it makes it much more interesting. It is also the most difficult way to hunt the moose, but once you get the hang of it you could be quite effective

Do you have any experience with Karelian Bear Dogs?

I have never owned one myself but hunted with quite a few. Here in Sweden that breed is not that common and the quality of the dogs are very uneven to say the least. In there native country Finland I have learned that they have very good Karelian Bear dogs

quote:

Originally posted by P-A Åhlén:

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:

quote:

Originally posted by P-A Åhlén:

quote:

Originally posted by TREE 'EM:
Do your dogs bark on trail or are they silent trailers?
How old is your pup?

I find it fascinating to see the way dogs are used in hunting in different cultures.

Your son sure looks to be pleased by what you brought home.

The moose dog only barks when they see the moose/bear/wild boar. So, yes silent trailers.

The pup is just 9 months, so no hunting for her this season.

I would not hunt moose without the dog, it makes it much more interesting. It is also the most difficult way to hunt the moose, but once you get the hang of it you could be quite effective

Do you have any experience with Karelian Bear Dogs?

I have never owned one myself but hunted with quite a few. Here in Sweden that breed is not that common and the quality of the dogs are very uneven to say the least. In there native country Finland I have learned that they have very good Karelian Bear dogs

Thanks P-A,

I just learned of the breed. They are fairly rare in the States but I see one up for adoption occasionally. Even though we don't use dogs to hunt big game here in Alaska I like the traits in a hiking/climbing Buddy.

Jim

Thanks P-A,

I just learned of the breed. They are fairly rare in the States but I see one up for adoption occasionally. Even though we don't use dogs to hunt big game here in Alaska I like the traits in a hiking/climbing Buddy.

Jim[/QUOTE]

I would love to try one of my Swedish Moose dogs on a big Alaskan moose bull or brown bear

All scandinavian spitzdogs, Norwegian elkhound,Jämthund, Finnish spitz, Karelian bearhound has evolved from all purposedogs to specialised moose, bird or beardogs. In the 1940s they were used mostly for birds and squirrels.

Congratulations P-A! I love to hear of hunts in Sweden and also to see pics of your beautiful country and game. I have also come to admire greatly the Husqvarna rifles produced there, having 4 altogether and all in .30'06.

Congrats on a great bull! How far do your dogs push the moose before the kill?

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
Congrats on a great bull! How far do your dogs push the moose before the kill?

Thank you! The dog do not push the moose, if they do you have no chance to shoot it. The mission of the dog is to encounter and give the moose the impression of a coward wolf. The dog needs to build the confidence of the moose so that it thinks that it is able to kill the dog.

The english wording is that the dog keep the moose "at bay" but that is very far from what is really happening with this kind of hunting, the dog is not keeping the moose, the moose is trying to kill the dog.

If the dog stress the moose it will run and the hunt is over for me. You want the dog to search wide, several kilometers out from you so it will find moose that is not disturbed of you. When I hear the dog starts to bark I usually wait for an hour before I start stalking the bay, then it is often more easy to get close enough.

But again, there is no more difficult way of hunting moose than with a moose dog. Often the bay is in young forest with low visibility, I often shoot moose on 8-10 meters distance seeing only the head or neck. But once you get skilled in this type of hunting you can be very effective.

But to answer your question, if the dog fails to lure the moose into attacking and it runs away, most of my dogs will stop pursuing the moose after 10-15km and come back to me and we try for another moose.

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense that they'd be baying dogs. I love hunting almost any game over dogs.

quote:

But to answer your question, if the dog fails to lure the moose into attacking and it runs away, most of my dogs will stop pursuing the moose after 10-15km and come back to me and we try for another moose.

Do you use a vehicle of some sort to help close the distance? 10-15km in the snow chasing after a dog seems a bit tough.

Appreciate you sharing your hunt!

That dog chewing on the antlers? that's a hanging offense.

Grizz