Capercaillie?

[wildfowler.250]

Folks has anyone done a capercaillie hunt in Europe before? Got an outfitter you’d recommend?

My understanding is Austria stalks them early AM in the spring. Sounds interesting but I also believe tags are quite thin on the ground. It looks like it’s 1 bird,(assuming successful) for the trip

Finland / Sweden seems to have reasonable bird numbers. I’d want to shoot something in full plumage so it’s probably a ski hunt. I can’t really ski,(done 3 days). Points for being an adventure but con is it would be blooming freezing - which is fine but may be harder to rope the family in with me.

Any recommendations would be fab. It’s a bit daunting booking abroad without reliable feedback. Probably looking for 2026 so lots of time.


Cheers!

 

[Firebird]

Send a pm to Redleg-he also has a report on here that is good reading. Check into Sweden!

 

[Red Leg]

Fabulous hunt, and it had been a lifelong dream of mine. Martin Neuper of FN Hunting gets several permits each year. https://www.fnhunting.com/ Below is the hunt report. And yes, it was a dawn stalk which is the traditional way to hunt one of the big grouse. Most these days are taken with something like a .22HP from a blind. But, like you, I was interested in a traditional German/Austrian opportunity. Just a fabulous experience.

Thread 'AUSTRIA: Stalking Europe's Big Bird - Hunting The Capercaillie (Auerhahn) In The Austrian Alps'

May 18, 2023

This hunt truly begins in the early spring of 1977. A small group of friends stationed in Northern Bavaria decided to take two-days leave in conjunction with a weekend and head off to Kitzbuhel, Austria for four days of skiing before a pending summer training deployment to Grafenwöhr.

Sometime during the weekend, I found myself over my 180 cm Olin Mark III skis (now there is a collector item) on what was termed the “new course.” It was a lovely winding slope through a conifer forest that had opened earlier that season. About halfway down, I looked to one side and along the tree line saw...

• Red Leg
• Replies: 38
• Forum: Hunting reports Europe

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[Nyati]

You can find them in Scandinavia, the Baltic region, the Alps, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain (protected).

 

[Green Chile]

Super cool hunt that's on my list. That mount is perfect @Red Leg.

 

[Pirkan]

Depending on when you go it shouldn´t be too cold in Sweden and you´ll be skiing so I thinl you´re worrying a bit too much about that part. The nature in the mountains of north western Sweden/eastern Norway is also absolutely stunning. I don´t know any outfitter of the top of my head that I´d recommend but im sure you can find one. Capercaillie hunting in Swedish is tjäderjakt which might help you find some here which I really think you should.

Just as a fun annecdote in regards to Capercaillie, my great uncle was ordered by an officer when he was doing his military service in the 60s to hunt some with a Swedish K submachinegun because the officer wanted some for a fancy dinner he was hosting and knew that my great uncle was a good shot.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I have watched a couple videos of hunting them in Scandanavia, primarily Finland. Often elkhound dogs are used. The hunter is in white camo on skis with high powered rifle. The dog is allowed to range far ahead. Dog flushes the bird into nearby tree, barks underneath, hunter gets as close as possible, and shoots the bird in tree. By the time he reaches the bird the dog usually has it torn to pieces. Not my idea of hunting!

My first Lab was very good at this when hunting ruff grouse. They are not so wary of dogs. Usually the birds only flushed to the nearest tree or bush. Once they're into a tree, they are reluctant to move. Then they rely on excellent camo plumage. I would follow the barking and then just look up where she was looking. Yep, there it is! Bang! Bird in the bag. But unlike the elkhounds, Cocoa was a typical soft-mouthed Lab. No damage to grouse. Sure, it's less "sporting" than shooting them on the wing, but I'll take those sweet-meated little buggers any way I can get them.

I have often wondered why Canada doesn't try planting cappercaillie in our vast boreal forest. Surely they would do as well here as Sweden, Finland, Estonia, etc. If they took hold, imagine what a boon it would be for Canadian hunting tourism! I shudder to think what @Red Leg invested in that Austrian tag given out to property owner only once every four years. By all accounts the species is struggling. Why not explore new habitat for them? I can't see how they could adversely affect indigenous Canadian species as similar grouse species coexist fine with them in European boreal forests. Seems a no brainer to me.

 

[grand veneur]

I have watched a couple videos of hunting them in Scandanavia, primarily Finland. Often elkhound dogs are used. The hunter is in white camo on skis with high powered rifle. The dog is allowed to range far ahead. Dog flushes the bird into nearby tree, barks underneath, hunter gets as close as possible, and shoots the bird in tree. By the time he reaches the bird the dog usually has it torn to pieces. Not my idea of hunting!

My first Lab was very good at this when hunting ruff grouse. They are not so wary of dogs. Usually the birds only flushed to the nearest tree or bush. Once they're into a tree, they are reluctant to move. Then they rely on excellent camo plumage. I would follow the barking and then just look up where she was looking. Yep, there it is! Bang! Bird in the bag. But unlike the elkhounds, Cocoa was a typical soft-mouthed Lab. No damage to grouse. Sure, it's less "sporting" than shooting them on the wing, but I'll take those sweet-meated little buggers any way I can get them.

I have often wondered why Canada doesn't try planting cappercaillie in our vast boreal forest. Surely they would do as well here as Sweden, Finland, Estonia, etc. If they took hold, imagine what a boon it would be for Canadian hunting tourism! I shudder to think what @Red Leg invested in that Austrian tag given out to property owner only once every four years. By all accounts the species is struggling. Why not explore new habitat for them? I can't see how they could adversely affect indigenous Canadian species as similar grouse species coexist fine with them in European boreal forests. Seems a no brainer to me.

It might be worth a try in Canada, although you always have to be very careful with such experiment, but it is a sensitive species so the risk that it repress something else is extremely low, rather the opposite.

The forests of the Vosges and parts of the Jura are one of the western distribution areas of this species, but there are hardly any capercaillies in these areas. The population is close to extinction, due to increasing loss of habitat as well as many predators and perhaps too intensive hunting in the past. It seems to have been the dream of many hunters in the German tradition to once shoot a capercaillie during the Balz in the moonlight, only with a small caliber rifle and not a shotgun, but I was never enthusiastic about hunting this bird.

 

[PerH]

A very good movie about that

I’ve never hunted capercaiile before , due to Forrest cut down in lots and poachers that was year around there , both on and off season .

But 6,5x55 with fmj

7x33 fmj is a classic

Or .223 / .22 Hornet with solid

 

[grand veneur]

In Scandinavia you still have capercaillie in flatter terrain, which is not the case here by us for more than 100 years. One can already read somethings like that in hunting magazines and books from the beginning of the 20th century. The Capercaillies has retreated into the mountain forests a very long time ago, but since the species does not like denser forest but also clearcuts, the habitat is unfortunately limited. It was already pointed out at the time that, despite the high tradition of this hunt, one should not exaggerate.

 

[Aaron N]

I have watched a couple videos of hunting them in Scandanavia, primarily Finland. Often elkhound dogs are used. The hunter is in white camo on skis with high powered rifle. The dog is allowed to range far ahead. Dog flushes the bird into nearby tree, barks underneath, hunter gets as close as possible, and shoots the bird in tree. By the time he reaches the bird the dog usually has it torn to pieces. Not my idea of hunting!

My first Lab was very good at this when hunting ruff grouse. They are not so wary of dogs. Usually the birds only flushed to the nearest tree or bush. Once they're into a tree, they are reluctant to move. Then they rely on excellent camo plumage. I would follow the barking and then just look up where she was looking. Yep, there it is! Bang! Bird in the bag. But unlike the elkhounds, Cocoa was a typical soft-mouthed Lab. No damage to grouse. Sure, it's less "sporting" than shooting them on the wing, but I'll take those sweet-meated little buggers any way I can get them.

I have often wondered why Canada doesn't try planting cappercaillie in our vast boreal forest. Surely they would do as well here as Sweden, Finland, Estonia, etc. If they took hold, imagine what a boon it would be for Canadian hunting tourism! I shudder to think what @Red Leg invested in that Austrian tag given out to property owner only once every four years. By all accounts the species is struggling. Why not explore new habitat for them? I can't see how they could adversely affect indigenous Canadian species as similar grouse species coexist fine with them in European boreal forests. Seems a no brainer to me.

Don't you have a masters in biology or something like that, and didn't you used to work for parks? You should know the shit storm that arises from introducing non-native species.

Hey guys, I have a great idea! European Boars should be able to adapt to North America, wouldn't it be awesome if we brought some over? Think of all the money that will flow in from hunters, I see no downside!

 

[grand veneur]

I am sure that was not meant so seriously. The species is not threatened with extinction worldwide, which is why it can still be hunted in enough countries. In the Vosges there are even attempts to reintroduce the capercaillies in some areas.

 

[wesheltonj]

Don't you have a masters in biology or something like that, and didn't you used to work for parks? You should know the shit storm that arises from introducing non-native species.

Hey guys, I have a great idea! European Boars should be able to adapt to North America, wouldn't it be awesome if we brought some over? Think of all the money that will flow in from hunters, I see no downside!

Hopefully you were being facetious . If not, Unfortunately, someone did years back to Texas escaped and cross bred and now we are overloaded.

 

[Aaron N]

Hopefully you were being facetious . If not, Unfortunately, someone did years back to Texas escaped and cross bred and now we are overloaded.

I 100% was your honour

 

[grand veneur]

We all have problems with introduced wild species; Raccoons, among other things, are multiplying here in my country, but I consider the risk that the species Capercaillie get somewhere out of control to be very low.

 

[Hunt anything]

Totally agree on the introduction of species to non native habitat, but not too many people complain much about ringnecked pheasant.
I believe chucked and Hungarian partridge are non native as well

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Anyone with half a brain would have known introducing pigs of any sort would be a disaster. Asian ringneck pheasants and European Hungarian partridge were introduced to North America and have been nothing short of a spectacular success. They displaced no native bird species and adapted very well to human environmental destruction from agriculture. It's not the pheasants and Huns causing the disappearance of native sage grouse. It's the deer ... the John Deere. Unlike hogs, capercaillie have shown no inclination to crossbreed with other chicken like birds. As far as I know, no pheasant or Hun has crossbred with other native birds (though I once shot a domestic chicken that was with a bunch of pheasants - it was dusk and it squawked as it flew over so I just presumed it was one of the roosters). Crossbreeding seems to be fairly common among waterfowl though. No biologist would ever agree to introducing new waterfowl species.

Exotic species are not always invasive. Certainly a species as delicate and habitat specific as capercaillie would have almost no chance of becoming invasive. Unfortunately, some stupid past blunders (like govt authorized introduction of European wild boars to Saskatchewan - no kidding!) have given exotic introductions a bad name. We shouldn't paint all exotics with an ignorant broad paintbrush. Don't overlook the success stories.

 

[grand veneur]

Totally agree on the introduction of species to non native habitat, but not too many people complain much about ringnecked pheasant.
I believe chucked and Hungarian partridge are non native as well

We are getting a little off topic, but many wild species, especially in Europe, were introduced a long time ago or are descended from tame animals. A lot of things started in the Stone Age. Despite it, we consider these species as native game species that can be hunted.

 

[wildfowler.250]

Thanks folks! It sounds like one of those areas where lots of folks are interested in the hunt but very difficult to get solid outfitter recommendations.

Redleg ive read that report in the past actually doing some research , was very interesting!

If there’s any “I’ve hunted with X outfitter” it would be great to hear it

 

[Green Chile]

PM to you with some outfitter ideas.