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| Seal Hunt januari 2010 |
| 2010-07-20 |
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A day of hunting on the common seal
By Marcel Mennink
 Norwegian fjords in the Winter
Januari 8, 2010. Its 09.30, there is no wind, ths sun shines and the thermometer shows its -11 degrees celcius. A perfect day for seal hunting. Coming down to the harbour my hunting friend Robert has already arrived and is freeing the boat of snow.
Nothing reminds me of the normal winters on the Norwegian West coast, which are characterized by wind, rain and temperatures ranging from -5 to +10, not making it comfortable to hunt seal. After some trouble getting the 10 hp engine on our 12 feet steady going we are leaving harbour around 10.00.
With the high tide being around 10.30, we are out early as the ideal time to hunt is from 1 hour after high tide until low tide. Being very known in the area we head straight for the areas where we expect the seals to show themselves. After an half hours ride we have been woken up by the freezing temperature and our fingers are senseless.
Against our expectations we do not spot any seals while driving through the areas for half an hour, which is unusual. We head for the outer islands that form the border with the Atlantic Ocean and prepare for some heavy sea, even though it is very calm weather. No luck here either. It has been 2 hours since high water and we decide to head into the fjords because the wind is picking up.
As we turn into an island group I spot a common seal. We drive the boat on to a small island and I take position. The seal has chosen to dive and than it is always exciting if and where it will come up again. I take the rifle, a 6,5*55 Sako 85 with Zeiss Diavari 3-12*50, with silencer, from the case, place the bolt and make myself comfortable. 2 minutes pass and no seal shows itsself. Knowing that common seals are curious by nature I try to apply a little trick. I take a piece of metal that is in my pack and hit it on the rocks. 10 seconds later the seal pops its head up 30 meters in front of me and looks around to see what is going on.
It takes me 3 seconds to get a clean shot and I let the Sako speak. Almost instantly, after seeing the bullet impact, I hear the engine of the boat; racing to the seal - killed with a perfect head shot- to recover it before it sinks. Robert has all the time been laying beside the island waiting for the outcome. This is the kind of teamwork that is required to make sealhunting successfull and I could not wish to have any other than my good friend Robert there at that moment.
Common seal taken with Sako 85 in 6,5*55
Satisfied I get back in the boat and we start heading home. It is less then 2 minutes driving left before we are home when I spot yet another common seal. The same procedure repeats itsself, this time its Robert that gets to shoot.
Around 17.00 we have delivered our skins to the taxidermist and sit down on the couch with a hot chockolate both tired and deeply satisfied with a successfull hunt.
Any one interested in a seal hunt may feel free to contact me on
contact@novahunt.eu
Our company has offers on seal hunting for groups of 2-8 hunters.
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