I’ve been hunting for the better part of 16 years now, mainly gray squirrel and rabbit back home in North Carolina. I’ve been fortunate to hunt on family land, mostly dense forest with natural flowing streams, an ideal habitat for squirrels. I consider myself an enthusiastic outdoorsman, an ‘erämies’ who respects nature and wildlife. I’ve always loved it dearly, and felt more relaxed and comfortable in nature than in any other place. In the countryside, on a mountain, by a river, or in a forest is where I’d rather be.

I’ve lived in Finland for nine years and have been an avid outdoorsman. Fishing has been my main pasttime. I’ve been fortunate to catch many pike, pike perch, whitefish, brook trout, and even a few salmon.

I began moose hunting in Pohjajoki back in 2004. Pohjajoki is a small, rural, farming village in the mid-eastern part of Finland. The land is wide-open and undeveloped, which is why I love it. An outlet of country roads pass through it, with traditional Finnish country houses, farms, green pastures, horses, cows, plenty of tractors, and plenty of birch, firs, and pine trees. In the forest you'd better have a compass and a map and know how to use both well.

My friend Pekka, a Pohjajoki local, invited me moose hunting with his hunting group for the first time and I am now in my third season. The Finnish moose hunting season lasts from the last Saturday in September to December 15^th, or until the amount of moose permits applied for have been reached. Each season, each group applies to the regional Game and Wildlife Offices for a certain number of Moose tags. Pekka's group of five persons hunts on their own land, which makes up 12,000 hectares or 29,652 acres - a huge amount of wild wilderness and thick forests with few inhabitants.

To join the group one must own and contribute land for hunting. As I own no land, I can only hunt as a visitor. Each group has a boss who is responsible for the group, who knows moose hunting and all the conditions necessary for hunting the animal. Our boss is Ville, a respectable and experienced moose hunter of 50 years, well known in the area.

The hunting in Finland is a bit different than what I was used to.  To hunt legally, I need a hunting card and a certificate of a passed shooting test. Finland has a special hunting agreement with the United States; because I have the North Carolina wildlife hunter's safety course, I got both the card and the shooting permission.  Since I hunt on privately owned land, I do not require a special license from the state. I don’t own a rifle in Finland, but use a .308 caliber rifle supplied to me by the group.

Moose hunting is very challenging. Although moose are rather large animals, they are the wisest of animals in the wild and are not easy targets. They blend in well to the forest and have excellent senses. Normally, we have no more than five members on each hunt, so great communication is a must. Our most important member is the dog and we have several to choose from for each hunt.

Norwegian Elkhounds are very wild and instinctively suited for moose hunting. When the dog is released it immediately picks up the scent. The person with the dog walks, sometimes up to six miles, towards the others, who wait for the moose. Normally the dog picks up the scent of the moose quickly. Once he finds the moose, he barks, barks, barks, and barks.

Because the dog looks like a wolf, the moose usually is on the run. Since moose have long legs and can move at speeds up to 22 km per hour, it isn’t hard for it to escape. The dog, however, constantly hounds the moose and doesn't give up. While the moose is on the run, the dog doesn't bark. The dog only barks when he is in contact with the moose.  So when the barking is close and then stops, we know the moose may be coming towards us.

The hunting area is always chosen due to the direction of the wind, tracks found, or news of moose in the area on the previous night.

After two years of learning the ins and outs of moose hunting, I shot my first moose two weeks ago, a brilliant, young bull weighing a bit more than 300 kilograms.

The morning greeted us with a light rain that really made being outdoors miserable, and made me question rather I should have slept in or not. Our dog, Tiito, struggled to pick up the scent. After a few hours of nothing, we took our ritualistic midday break around the fire to get warmed up, drink some coffee, and my favorite grilling ‘makkara.’

It was a nice feeling being back hunting moose with these guys another year. We discussed the morning hunt and strategized for our new location in the afternoon.

After warming up and filling my stomach, I had new life. Ville encouraged us, saying “let’s go get a moose,” and we were on our way. We all got into position and waited for the dog to bark. There was new life and new energy.

I waited patiently and quietly, two major components of moose hunting. Moose have poor eyesight but great hearing. They can hear even the smallest of sounds. After an hour, I heard the dog and became more alert. As the barking got closer, I crept in silently. After about ten minutes, the front half of the moose was within a hundred meters. I watched, waited, and waited some more, then decided I had a clear, safe shot - and I took it.

It was a nice feeling to finally shoot my first moose and really earn the respect of my fellow hunters - like I officially became part of the group. Not necessarily because I shot my first moose, but because I did so with the integrity of a conscious hunter.

We all have the utmost respect for the moose, the hunt, and the law of nature. I often hear “metsä antaa ja metsä ottaa,” which means “the forest gives and the forest takes away.” We don’t boast about hunting the animal; who shoots the animal is not important. The hunt is a team effort in which we all depend on each other equally and work together. This attitude belongs in the heart of true outdoorsmen. The meat is divided equally amongst the group and eaten throughout the year.

I will not pretend to know the Finnish statistics each year for the amount of car accidents and deaths accounted to moose. Were it not for moose hunting, an uncontrollably large number of moose would cause many, many more accidents. So, support your local moose hunter.