Photo: Per Klaesson

Hunting offers the hunter many reasons for rejoicing along with vivid experiences of nature. Even though it is the hunting that is the core activity, it is not the only thing that stimulates the hunter's senses. Game preservation, dog training and shooting practice are also important features of hunting.

Preparing the game in the best possible way is also part of the experience, which might be cooking a joint of venison or preparing a fox skin. A certain amount of hunting is also necessary in order to restrict the amount of damage wildlife can cause on the roads as well as in the forest and to crops. The hunting season in Sweden runs primarily through autumn and winter (August-February).

Hunting together is a way of socialising and dates back from time immemorial. Relaxing by the camp fire after a hunting session is one of the highpoints of the day for many hunters. In the hunting team you are judged according to how good a hunter and comrade you are and not according to your position in society. The fact that there is a great interest for hunting in Sweden is maybe not so strange when you consider that hundreds of thousands of moose roam through our forests. And even though around 250,000 hunters shoot about 100,000 moose each year, there are still 2-3 times that amount remaining in the forest.

How do you go about hunting in Sweden? One option is becoming a paying guest. More and more landowners and hunting associations offer both Swedish and foreign hunters the chance of hunting as a paying guest. Those who have hunting rights in their native country can do a “hunt swap” with a Swedish hunter.