Hunting in Finland.

[Halldor K]

Yeah i was aware of that hare hunting might be a bit harder without dog's, but not impossible.
A good retreiver is of course a very nice thing to have, and a pointer for grouse hunting but neither of them a necessity either.

Fox hunting he said was done with calls and yeah sitting...not my favorite type of hunting. And since i do not have the set up yet to be able to work the fur's i find hunting Fox to be pointless at least for now.

Yeah there is that, i was kind of hoping to be able to put some nice game in the freezer before the seasons end...and i had the notion that Rock Ptarmigan aka Kiiruna (lintu) was plentyful here in lapland(it at least is on the Swedish and Norwegian sides i know.

Yeah i was aware of the big differences between the parts of Finland what there is to hunt, for instance Roe deer, White Tailed deer, Sitka and Red deer all way down south in Finland(so i will have to make a special trip there for those then hehe)

And yeah there is ducks here still, since waters have still not frozen over(saw many just flying over the local rivers last week) and yes i was aware of that law. As it is practiced in almost all of the western world by now to ban lead in waterfowling.

[mrjimsfc]

Well Haldor, it's time to do the work part of hunting! Be sure to attend the club meetings in order to meet as many fellow hunters/shooter as possible. I'm sure that at least one if not several will speak English quite well. Then you will be able to get the answers to your many questions. The hunting seasons for different spiecies in Finland are probably different than what you are accustomed to. Also, some permits are for only a portion of the season for that spiecies. There may also be caliber restrictions for different spiecies. As the winter progesses, strap on the crosscountry skis and start looking for tracks. Check with the local landowners of any "hot spots" that you find to see if you can get/purchase permission to hunt that property in the appropriate season. Unless the club you are now investigating has something going on for group hunts right now, your chances of filling the freezer with wild game this year are dwindling fast. Good luck in your endeavours and let us know of any success!

[mrjimsfc]

Oops! I forgot to mention that Finish hunters place a very high priority on "one shot kils". If you wound an animal or shoot it in a manner that causes undo suffering, don't expect to get very many invitations to go hunting. Lots of practice at the range should help.

[Halldor K]

Yeah thanks for that, i plan on being active with the club if i get in. Both in any meetings as in any shooting/hunting activities.

Many species in Finland do not exist in Iceland so they are completely new to me, and yes many of the hunting seasons/periods are different as well, so i have been careful in looking at the hunting species list and hunting seasons lists on the riista website as well as their list of caliber/gun restrictions.

The confusing part is the big difference between areas in Finland, and also finding thorough info on shooting areas and methods.

I am aware that if i want to use government land the permits are obtained through the Villipohjola website, but what confuses me is the points system and also the fact that it is not in English!

I would like to try and do some tracking/hunting on local government land if possible, or even private land...but somehow don't see any farmers taking that with open arms if a foreigner that does not speak the language comes asking for permission to hunt.

But i WILL find something, absolutely refuse to give up on that haha

Sounds like i might have to make a trip down south to do some hunting, possibly hunt some Roe dear and some Hare/rabbit if i can get in on that somewhere.


Thanks, i will.

[Halldor K]

Same as any hunter with a sense of ethics would. I am myself very much oriented in that way, want to be prepared and capable and have been since i started hunting as a kid(part of my upbringing) also fully capable of butchering and working any carcass myself and prefer doing that actually.
Animal suffering is not a part of hunting, yes one can make a mistake and accidents can happen...but one should always be as capable as possible and aware of ones capabilities.

[AldenG]

When you aim your gun do you ever have a moment of doubt?, do you ever think,"no, that beautiful creature is enjoying this world too, what awful thing is posessing me to even think of harming it?" love and peace.

Pursuivant occasionally feels that way right before clicking Submit.

But then he remembers he is part of Nature's way.

[ajl]

I think he is genuinely trying to put people out of their misery, since ignorance really isn't bliss, at
least if they move to Finland in such a state. But maybe he needs some kind of permit restriction
to reduce his posting speed when he's on a bender.

[onkko]

Good map for closest goverment hunting area can be found in http://varaamo.villipohjola.com/intresd ... 615_a3.pdf or browse in http://www.retkikartta.fi/?lang=en with selecting small game hunting areas.
There is some red areas when you put small game areas on and those are army training areas and you dont want to wander around in wrong time and find yourself in receiving end of artillery strike so there is temporary limits

And about hunting points, your licence has variable amount of points depending how long it is.
Licence types and prices can be found in http://www.metsa.fi/sivustot/metsa/fi/E ... eview=true

Cost of animal is varies, for example with 7day licence you can shoot 1 metso (9points) and 3 rabbits (2poins) OR 7 rabbits and one non specified bird (1 points). Thats to make sure people dont empty the forest
Good news is that "small beasts" count as 0 points so no limits on kettu, supikoira, minkki, näätä, kärppä, hilleri ja mäyrä. Cost you can find in here http://www.villipohjola.fi/item.asp?Sec ... &Item=4362

More accurate and better info you probably get from palvelupiste Etiäinen Koskikatu 44 or

[Halldor K]

Thank you Onkko! That is exactly the information i was having trouble finding.

Had sent an e-mail to Villipohjola here in Rovaniemi earlier and asked for info but not gotten a reply yet, but should be able to just drop by that store tomorrow and check it out.

Thanks again!