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Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
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By 6 am we went hunting and while returning empty handed, found a couple a good spots for further attempts. I cooked a nutritious breakfast ( lots of bacon and eggs, coffee with whole milk ) and away we went again. After returning to camp, my hunting buddy and I decided we weren't to be cooked for another night in the tent ( some of the guys insisted on heating the stove regardless of temperature constantly being over 40 *F outside ) so we moved our stuff into the old hay barn nearby. We did eventually talk others out of heating the stove and moved back, but I must say it was a nice place for a midday nap. We had a couple of hours of siesta and a shooting clinic, my .22LR CZ 453 Varmint being pictured here, on a Stoney Point Polecat tripod. Come late afternoon we packed our gear and headed for the spots we found earlier. A friend of mine shot this very nice black grouse and yes, that's a shotgun. [img] http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/ruistola/Hunting%202009/16.jpg[/img] [img] http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/ruistola/Hunting%202009/17.jpg[/img]
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Joined: May 2007
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: May 2007
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Joined: May 2007
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
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The last morning we started early, had a lot of contacts but unfortunately all birds flushed from afar without giving us an opportunity to shoot. I didn't mind, having already harvested one great-tasting bird I figured I was already on the winning team. By noon we were doing some shooting by the campsite, hence the goggles. Packed up and headed for forest. Here's a pal hauling AR-10T. Props to him, that thing weighs a ton. I couldn't be bothered with carrying the rifle ( in a J104 ) anymore as there was no expectation of birds being in the treetops in the afternoon. Walked around the small lake twice, got a rowing boat ride and had a breather to enjoy the scenery and company. Two full days, two birds. Decided to share some pictures of a fairly typical Finnish bird hunting trip. Enjoy.
Last edited by ruistola; 09/30/09.
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Campfire Regular
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You have damn good hunting trip habits.
Thanks for sharing.
Va t'in tch�re !
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Campfire Tracker
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So what kind of guns do you use in Finland? I see parts of a rifle that looks like a Winchester 100 semi auto.
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Joined: May 2007
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
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I think I've written about it somewhere in the campfire -- mostly Sakos and Tikkas due to availability, especially in the 2nd hand market. But there's the usual assortment of Remingtons, Savages, Weatherbys etc. , just in less numbers.
This trip, as I recall, we had:
- A .308Win Winchester 88 - A couple of 12ga Saiga (Izmash) shotguns - My 12/70 SxS Monte Carlo shotgun - My 30-06 Sako TRG-S - My .22LR CZ 453 Varmint - A .308Win AR-10(T) - Some O&U shotgun I don't know the make of - Something that looked like a "semi-auto & pump" shotgun - some black powder stuff not used for hunting
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Joined: Apr 2009
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Campfire Tracker
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How did a Winchester 88 end up in Finland? I lived in Germany for 3 years and wanted to visit Finland but never got around to it. Always interested in the place after reading about the Winter War. The Finns really stuck it to the Russians but couldn't overcome the Red Horde.
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Joined: May 2007
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Independence since 1917 is still a pretty good accomplishment -- considering our location
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Great series -- thanks. Looks like great fun and good companions. Someday I'd like to come to Sweden, Norway and Finland...at least I have a Husqvarna rifle... . Dennis
"The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets."
"If you're asking me something technical, you may be looking for My Other Brother Darrell."
"It ain't foot-pounds that kills stuff -- it's broken body parts."
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Nice looking dog if I might add. I shoot a couple of Sako's myself. One 6.5 x 55 and the other a 338 in a 75. Looks like a place I would not mind a bit to go on a little bit of a walk about.One of these days I am going to have to come and shoot a moose.
"Any idiot can face a crisis,it's the day-to-day living that wears you out."
Anton Chekhov
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Very interesting. Awesome pics.
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Campfire Regular
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Always liked Finnish-designed cutlery and hunting guns; still have a couple of Sammi-style hunting knives, two Valmet O/U shotguns and a Valmet O/U combination 12/.308. Does Valmet still make sporting guns? (All I've seen recently from them is MONSTER mining equipment....).
Many thanks for sharing your hunt with us!
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Campfire Regular
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I should also add that I've had a ride in a Valmet-produced, French-designed "Magister" jet trainer now owned by a private individual in the US. A very neat little plane widely used as a strike aircraft by various nations (including Israel) back in the day. The one I rode in had the Browning .50s deleted, and no rocket pods, tho......
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Glad you guys like the pics. Mike, all Valmet gun manufacturing has been under Sako flag since the '80s. There's been lots of merging throughout the years, resulting in Sako containing both Valmet and Tikka; There are a couple of small guns manufacturers like Pirkan Ase and a few individual custom riflemakers like Jyri Jalonen and Jouko Kinnunen but they manufacture a couple of dozen rifles a year, tops.
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Joined: Jun 2006
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ruistola, thanks for the info and the links--unforunately my Finnish is weak....no, scratch that, nonexistent. One of those Ase rifles looks like a straight pull action possibly meant for Olympic "Running Boar" competition, or possibly Biathlon, a Finnish specialty that I'm familiar with because one of my hunting buddies was once a US Biathlon Olympic coach.
Many US-made hunting knives are highly influenced by Finnish traditional designs, by the way--I often carry an old Case "Finn 5," a design they still make.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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The only 7mm Mag I ever liked was a Husky - and the bastid wouldn't sell it to me...
I really wanted that rifle....
Last edited by las; 10/16/09.
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