It's summer here in Australia and I haven't been doing much hunting with my Mausers. However, I have received a hunting story from Simen in Norway who bought his new M03 around the same time I bought mine. Reading it has made me look forward to the colder months again. The Mauser M03 in the first picture is a Norwegian Classic model with Grade 5 walnut. Simen has fired a few hundred shots through the barrel and is getting tightly clustered groups. Here's the story that goes with the pictures, below.
It was a cold October morning in Norway. I had just woken up to the familiar smell of coffee, hunting gear and weapon oil. I loaded the gear and dog into the Jeep and set off. Just about 4 kilometers away I stopped, meeting up with the rest of the hunting party. Everyone showed up, even the guy who had a stroke last year, making him almost paralyzed in the left side of his body. That's when you know the Norwegian moose hunting season has started. We had some laughs and drew stands. I'm one of the two dog handlers so stands really don't matter that much to me, but truth to be told, it would later that day.
We set off and I got the message that everyone was at their stand, so my Norwegian Elkhound, Dina, and I set to work. There wasn't much to brag about in the first drive, just a couple of roe deer seen but not shot. After the drive we gathered around the fire, eating and exchanging funny stories and experiences. Again we draw for stands and again I don't really bother to take note. This drive started slow, with nothing seen, heard or smelled. I decided to take a 5 minute break just to get in sync with the other dog handler. I looked at my dog and noticed that Dina was smelling something. Her head was pointed upwards with closed eyes; there are definitely moose in the area. Dina and I walked another 300 meters before she started pulling really hard. Now I'm 110% sure. I let her off and she ran away like a gust of wind. I let the other hunters know that she's loose. Not long after Dina was 800 meters away and I heard barking. Once again I let the hunters know that she was pushing a moose. The sound of a gun rang out in the forest, leaving it in silence. I hear on the radio "I've shot a bull!". It was the guy who had a stroke almost a year ago. A big smile develops on my face, not only because I'm happy for him, but because of the work my dog did. She was only 11 months old and most dogs of the breed don't really work until they are two or three.
I stayed sitting where I was, waiting for my dog to return so that we could practice tracking. She performed perfectly! The hunting party returned to the fire and talked about the achievements of Dina and the successful hunter. He shot the moose while it was running at full pace and at almost point blank range. More funny stories were exchanged while we passed the time. I was quite tired after the second drive and the temperature had increased a lot, so I decided to draw a stand this time. Usually I hate sitting and waiting, but on this day it had become so warm I really didn't mind. I drew stand number five, which is in the open with many animal trails running close by. The stand is also located on top of a small berg, which gave me some altitude. I sat at the stand waiting, looking at stand number six sometimes, just to make sure of where the guy occupying that stand was. After about one and a half hours I heard something on the radio, "The dog has found a moose and is carrying it towards stand six". I stood up with the M03 ready just in case and saw that the guy in stand six was ready as well. We both heard branches breaking and the adrenaline started pumping. 30 seconds later a moose ran out, broadside to my stand. I cocked the rifle, lifted it to my shoulder and lined up the open sights. A shot rang out. I heard the bullet penetrating the moose, hitting the rock behind it. The moose kept running, this time directly away from me. I aimed for the back of it's head and another shot rang out, this time without any clear signs of a hit. The moose ran back into the forest. I let the party know that I had fired and hit it and at the same time heard the noises of it falling over. Another smile grew on my face and soon after I found it, laying dead four meters past the forest line, with a perfect shot in the lungs and one in the neck.
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| Simen, his Mauser M03 in 30-06 and his moose - in Norway. |
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| This is Dina, Simen's young but already effective Norwegian Elkhound |
