Coordinates: Lat: 59.75041, Lon: 17.91107
Time: 1 day in September
It has now been a week since the nice roe deer buck slipped through my fingers that beautiful morning. This time I'm here earlier for a second chance. It's 05:00 am and it's dark and quiet when I slowly shut the pick-up door and walk down to the field. Suddenly I hear an animal galloping just past me in the dark so I try to be even more quiet not to scare off any other animals out there in the night. I reach the spot where I last saw the buck and I make myself comfortable in the wet morning grass, to enjoy the sounds of the night. Soon the sun will rise and it feels good to already be in place.
As the fog lifts I slowly stand up to see if the field has woken. Two early bird roe deer female is pasturing on the edge of the field but no sign of the buck I'm hoping to meet again.
After a peaceful time spent on the field I decide to try my luck inside the forest instead. It's a marvellous feeling to slowly, step by step, silently get to experience the woods as the sun brings it back to life. Besides the rich bird life I see traces from moose and roe deer, but no sight of the buck. Time to end this morning shift and get some rest.
I'm still enchanted by the buck I'm trying to track down. So when the evening comes I end up at the field again hoping for third time lucky. The evening sun of this magnificent Fall makes me stunned by beauty. The sun is slowly setting over the tree tops and the two deer females greet me once again, this time they are pasturing up in the North end of the field. I stalk closer to see if the buck is around, but no. It's starting to get dark so I decide to just take an extra look at the South end of the field before heading home. And there I see something in the distant, a roe deer, can this be "my" buck?!
My hand held binoculars can't sort if this is the right animal from this distance so I need to stalk out in the field to get closer. All of a sudden a moose with calves enters the field heading my way. A beautiful sight but as my goal is the roe deer by the end of the field I give my self away and the moose jumps back into the woods again. Luckily the deer just continues to quietly pasture. Now I can see that this IS the buck I've been looking for! He is standing right on the hunting ground border and I don't want to repeat my mistake and scare the animal away, so I stay where I am and try calling on the buck instead of approaching. It works; the buck gets curious and is heading my way. Time stands still. I try to focus on the moment. Finally my longed for roe deer buck is standing right in front of me, just 25 meters away. Now I need to make a quick decision; shoot or not shoot? I don't want to cause a tracking posse in the dark if I fail to deliver a good shot. The sun has settled but I still can see the beautiful animal and I have a clear shot. A second later I fire and the buck falls to the ground on the spot. It's with great respect I approach the game to show my appreciation.
What a hunting week! Words cannot describe the feeling I get when everything falls into place after a long time of stalking a game. I'm truly grateful be able to experience all of this.
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