Hunting with greater purpose

Kristian Bjerre is 34 years old, a father to three kids, and lives in Stockholm. He’s been moving from city to city and spent his childhood in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. However, hunting has always been a part of his life and was discovered at a young age.

- I’ve been hunting since I was a kid with my father, Kristian explains. It has, just as for others starting hunting this way, been an easy road to hunting and an incredible opportunity to share knowledge and inspiration.

HUNTING IN HUNT

He describes himself and his hunting as Scandinavian, and the hunting, in combination with photography, is the main interest in his everyday life. Life centers around hunting, and Kristian describes that he works out to have good stamina during the season. He is found on social media as @Ull_berg, with over twenty thousand people following and sharing his interest.

- Ull_berg returns to what hunting means to me. Hunting is something bigger; it’s the hunt and the interaction with nature.

Kristian searches the hunting in the hunt and the excitement, experiences, and knowledge that comes of it. Hunting is a cat and rat game, where you localized the game and know that you should get there - but you don’t know how. To Kristian, it’s about solving this in a creative way right there. Even if it doesn’t work, he still receives the understanding to bring the next time. He means that the time spent in nature - hunting or not - is vitally important to learn how and where to hunt;

- Hunting is about outthinking nature and how to behave when nature is the underdog.

THREE FUNDAMENTALS

Kristian hunts according to three fundamental principles. They are: to get out, not overcomplicate, and to take the chance. Spending time in the forest builds up important experience and knowledge. You learn what works for you and different animals. You experience animals and nature and how they behave in different situations.

- This isn’t something you can read, watch on YouTube, or learn on Instagram. This is something you need to experience, according to Kristian.

You don’t need to complicate things either. Hunting can be easy, and hunting can be difficult. However, Kristian means that many of his most beautiful hunting experiences happen on something as simple as an evening in the woods, where he can try and watch the outcome.

Kristian shares something learned from his father: to take the chance when it’s in front of you because it won’t happen again.

- You need to be aware of what you’re doing, and when you’re safe, you should take the chance immediately.

THE BEST EXPERIENCE

Kristian’s primary focus is hunting he can shape as he wants. He tried static hunting forms such as moose hunt, but he still thinks hunting that can be affected by himself is more rewarding. Roe deer, wild boar, and bird hunt are the recurring favorites - maybe because he gets to use all his senses.

The best hunting experiences happen in Swedish Dalarna and have been planned for months. The time is limited, and this hunting weekend is not flexible. Kristian and his friend Peter are away for bird hunt, but with only a few days to go, the weather turns from below freezing to plus degrees. The temperature switches between cold and mild, but they need to take this opportunity and can’t blame bad conditions.

- We’re hunting for two days, harder than we planned. We try to push to check the situation, but after 40 kilometers of skiing, we only saw one bird.

On the last day, they spot a bird through some pines. Could it be the black grouses they saw earlier? Hard to see. A capercaillie flies up on the way, but they still think it’s the grouses. They come around a turn and up on a slope, where they finally see a capercaillie on top of a birch.

- We have our weapons in our backpacks and the ammunition in our pockets. I’m the one to shoot because it’s my first bird hunt. Stealth mode is on because the birds know we are there.

Kristian lays down, fires off one shot, and believes it’s a hit, but checks again, and the capercaillie is still there. He fires off another, and the bird falls. Filled with adrenalin, they ski upon and find the bird. They are happy and wet, nothing has gone their way, but the final day is better than expected. The hunting friends go back to the car and celebrate a happy ending when Kristian discovers that he forgot his beanie;

- So I go back, and while searching for my cap, I find another capercaillie. I thought I missed my first shot - probably because I was so tense - but I actually hit the first time as well. Hang on cause it will work eventually.

HELP UNDERSTANDING THE RESULT FROM A SHOT

Kristian hunts with silencers and has a couple in his gun cabinet. The silencer that he uses most of the time is Stalon X108. It fits his conditions better than his other silencer Stalon VICTOR, even though it’s larger. He thinks it has a good balance and performance in relation to its size and several other features he demands.

Kristian explains three things he learned about silencers, or rather three reasons to use them; first, the risk of hearing damage is significantly reduced. The reduced recoil is a fantastic effect, that makes you not only a better shooter - but also minimizes the risk of making mistakes.

- The reduced noise also makes it possible to hear the touch. You hear if you hit the shoulder or further back, or if you hit wrong. You instantly get an indication of where the bullet is hit, and a clear picture of what has happened. This works on birds, even where the striking surface is small, compact, and has a lot of bones. You can hear the snap.

A silencer is one of the best tools a hunter can have, according to Kristian. Minimizing the powerful recoil is a benefit for beginners especially when the recoil can be a holdback. The next step is understanding the result of what you do a little better.

- Silencers are something I really promote, it’s crazy that some hunters don’t use them.

Kristian is one of Stalon’s hunting friends and you can see some of his splendid photos on our website and social media. Visit his Instagram account @Ull_berg for inspiration >