The buck management on this land is very good now and has been for a few years. There are potential bucks that can become really impressive, and we've seen that in recent years. For the past three years on this land, I've been able to shoot medal-class bucks. The first year, I shot a silver buck, then a gold buck, and then a bronze buck. And I had scoped them out, yes... well in advance, so to speak. So it's extra rewarding when you get some recognition for the work you've put into the surveys. So it's a good confirmation that you have a good understanding of the population. Now I exhale. Hello and welcome to a new episode. Today is August 15th. It's the day before the buck season opener. The day many have been waiting for, considered the start of the hunting season. Today we are on land with a very healthy roe deer population. I've been sneaking around here on the land for the past few hours today. It's now past nine, and it's starting to get dark. There are quite a few good candidates that I've been keeping an eye on over the past few months, and especially years. But there's one we'll be making a special effort to get tomorrow. But I think Now let's head home, get a few hours of sleep, and go for it tomorrow. Good hunting to all of you! My name is Einar Norin, and I live on a horse farm outside Västerås together with my partner and our Munsterlander, Stella. Hunting has been with me since childhood, and over the years, it has become a larger part of my life. Today you'll get to join me for the buck season opener, a hunt that holds a special place in my heart. This buck season opener we'll focus primarily on one buck that I believe is older. It only has two spikes, but I think it's a return. It stays in a spot that's a bit tricky to access due to houses nearby and safe shooting conditions, but that's the one we'll focus on the most. There are other bucks that might be of interest, but for management purposes, it's primarily that one that I'll go after. It's quite early in the morning, but now it's starting to get a bit lighter. I'm out in the spot where I'll be for the first calling session. I think we'll get started and begin calling a bit, and see if anything happens. The wind is perfect. We have the wind right in our face. At least we can't blame the wind. The alarm rang at 03:40 this morning. And it's finally time for this fantastic buck season opener. This is not the first buck season opener for me, I've had quite a few before, but the anticipation, curiosity, excitement, and longing. It's the same every year. The best hunt is always the one that is about to start. Now we see some roe deer, but they are 5-600 meters away. But none of them are the ones we want to go after. We'll keep going. We asked for some pictures from your buck season opener. So here are some photos from those of you who have had more luck than I have so far. The buck that moves around here stays in a very small area. We're very limited in where we can stand, considering the houses and safe shooting conditions. That's why we're standing pretty out in the open now, but... We don't have many options in this situation. Safety first. You always want to have vegetation behind you so you blend in as much as possible, covering your hands and face is highly recommended. I didn't bring gloves with me, so, but mainly standing still. That's the most important thing. We'll sneak further along. Here it was pretty calm, We'll check the situation further on, I know there's a buck that stays further away in another spot. where we are now. It's a fairly long strip of land, you could say. 0:06 :49.440,0:06:53.720 We have the wind right in our face, and we will stop at a spot and call for about 20 minutes. If we don't get any response, we'll move up 100 meters to a suitable point, stand and call, and so on. We'll keep doing this 4-5 times because sometimes, even if you have bucks maybe 3-400 meters away, they don't always respond to the call. You might need to get closer. It's very varied, so it's good to move around. If you don't get any response, like now after 20 minutes, there probably isn't any buck interested, at least not nearby. Now we'll climb up into the tower to get some height. And call a bit, to see if any buck or doe is lying in the grass. Yes, there's a buck here, but it's far too young. It's not the one we're after. Now we've made it up to a clearing. We're standing a bit higher, so you can see a good distance. So let's do some calling. I've seen some roe deer here before, so, yeah... we'll see! It's now seven o'clock, and I've been out since four. The weather is starting to show now too, it's starting to drizzle. So... we've seen a buck, not the right buck, so we passed on the shot. And now we'll take a little rest then try again later. Yes, now we're making another attempt. It's just after lunch, and around this time of day, bucks, or animals in general, tend to move more in the forest, and we'll do the same. There's a lot of vegetation in here. Poor visibility. But here's a spot that's a bit more open. And a young forest straight ahead here. So, we'll try the first calling session. I've been calling for about 20 minutes and haven't gotten any response. So we'll keep moving. Now we have the wind right in our faces. An older forest here. And then fields 200 meters in that direction. We'll give it a try. Doesn't seem like this spot is working either. The bucks and I aren't quite on the same page right now, it seems. But the strategy we're using right now... staying with the wind in our favor, then calling for 20-25 minutes, and then moving 100 meters, and we'll keep doing that. We'll move to the next spot, and hope for better luck there. Nothing here either. The rut is probably over. We've tried different calls, and... The bucks we saw yesterday, many are going solo. They don't seem to care much. We'll make another attempt later, and we'll see! In general here, it seems that the rut is unfortunately over now. We're not getting good responses, no does are coming to the calls, and the bucks aren't following them, so... Unfortunately, it seems like it's the end, or at least nearing the end, and that's how it's been for the last two years. So it'll be tough going. So now we'll focus on the evening session, and then we'll continue hoping, as we have all day, for the old buck, as I call him, and we probably won't be calling much since we haven't had any response either this morning or now at midday, so we'll be sneaking around and also sitting still. Now it's... quarter to nine, and it's the last push for the day, so we'll see if we can get the old buck, or if it will be another suitable buck, remains to be seen. But it's time to head out. Something is coming to the call at least. A red deer hind and calf. A red deer hind and calf came when we called. Something came at least. But no buck, so we'll move to the next spot. There's a lynx coming! It's coming down the road. 0:18:11. 200,0:18:15.480 Now it's not very far away. No wonder there aren't any bucks. Maybe it's not so surprising that we don't see as many roe deer. As we usually do. When there's a lynx around. We've seen one before, but now we got a close look. Beautiful animals, absolutely, but bad for the roe deer population. And bad for us. There's a buck over there, let's go check it out. It might actually be the one. It might be the one! Looks like something small, just small... It has very small horns, but you can also clearly see its neck. A young buck. So that's how it went today. The buck season opener. It's 21:36, just a few minutes left. Then it's illegal to shoot bucks. I'm starting to head home, but I've had a fantastic day nonetheless. But, well, it doesn't always go as planned. No, there wasn't any buck taken on this season opener. We didn't manage to get the old buck. We've seen a few other bucks, but especially one, as I said, that needs to grow. It's not suitable to take now. So, therefore, there was no buck on this season opener. But we made a good attempt, and I will continue to try to get that old buck in the coming days. Yes, we'll keep going for the rest of the days, simply. Now I exhale. It's a quarter to five, and today is August 20th. Finally, I say finally because now I've gotten the buck I've been after since August 16th. I've been watching it for... a little over a year and a half now. Thick neck, and short, thick horns. This feels fantastic. Really, really fun. I've encountered it now, this is the sixth time since the 16th. It's out for a very short time in the morning, a very short time in the evening, and then it disappears, and it doesn't bother coming to the call. But now I managed to outsmart it. Yes, this feels really good. It does. I snuck out here about an hour ago. It's now almost 5:30. And this morning, it happened. Really, really fun, I'll remember this. This is what makes hunting what it is, truly. Just going out and shooting a buck for me... It's more fun to be able to identify a buck that's suitable to shoot and have a good roe deer population. Really fun! Now, back to the slaughterhouse.