“I tried rattling for whitetails a few years ago…no response!” said Erkki Vahakallio when I dragged out a couple of shed fallow deer antlers our outfitter Stefan Bengtsson with Scandinavian ProHunter had procured for me. “But it will be fun for you to try!”
Erkki, a friend of Stefan, owns Finn Hunting and is the Finnish authority regarding anything having to do with deer in Finland. I was truly anxious to spend time with him.
A couple hours later we were walking on moss and lichen covered rolling granite outcroppings created ages ago by Ice Age glaciers. Those “hills” overlooked the Gulf of Finland, a couple of hours east of Helsinki. Between the glacier-ground rock outcroppings grew evergreens resembling spruce and fir, along with a species of oak I could not identify. Erkki and I walked slowly, stopping every few steps to glass what lay around us, hoping to spot a white-tailed deer before it saw us, while I was looking for proper places to try rattling.
Yes..I did say white-tailed deer, in the Scandinavian country of Finland. How did that come to be? Immigrants to Minnesota from Finland back in the early 1930’s decided to send a handful of whitetail deer to Finland, thinking they would do well in their native homeland and provide another source of meat. Seven whitetails were shipped to Finland during 1934; two bucks and five does from Minnesota. According to older records, one of the bucks was killed by an eagle. The other buck survived and bred the five does. Whitetails started flourishing in their new home. A few years later the Finnish whitetail herd was augmented by another hand full of deer, again, from Minnesota. Today whitetail deer in Finland are the most abundant of all deer species. Their population expanded to the point where in the early 2020’s upwards of 100,000 whitetails were annually being harvested by Finnish hunters.
The only two whitetail deer populations I know of outside of North America reside in Finland and on the South Island, New Zealand.
In our walk about, me slipped and slid on the moss and lichen-covered rock. I found deer tracks and droppings. I did not find any scrapes. I have learned over the years once whitetail bucks start making scrapes they can usually be rattled in.
In spite of not finding any scrapes I decided to rattle numerous times, as did Bruce Keller and John Landgraf who were hunting with Stefan. Bruce among other things is a Weatherby Award winner and a close friend of many years. John, a fellow Texas Aggie, is an engineer from western Texas, a hunting partner and a true, trusted and dear friend. Stefan and I have hunted together for a variety of European and Scandinavian big game species. He, along with his beautiful and gracious wife Sofia own Scandinavian Prohunters (www.scandinavianprohunters.com).
Our Finland whitetail hunt had been set up for us by booking agent, Patty Curnutte (www.theglobalsportsman.com). Patty over the years has set up hunts for me, as well as for numerous friends.
I would love to tell you during the next couple of days we rattled in many Finnish whitetail bucks. But that was not the case, I did my best, but failed to rattle in a single buck. After spending time in the Finland whitetail deer woods I realized we were about two weeks too early to have any real chance of rattling in local whitetails. So…we hunted planted open areas, essentially large planted fields both early and late.
First afternoon in camp shortly after being dropped off we heard John shoot. Just after dark we found him, grinning widely. The owner of the property was skinning and taking care of his buck, a really nice 10-point with a kicker near the base of his left antler. The buck was huge of body, approaching 300-pounds live-weight. After hearty congratulations and visiting with the owner we headed to “camp”, a home built before there was a USA; extremely comfortable. The food, along with appropriate libations were fit for royalty. To say the food on our hunt was delicious would be an understatement!
After a fun morning and mid-day hunt trying to rattle in bucks. That afternoon, Stefan and I headed to a remote field. That second afternoon we saw several whitetail does, two moose, and an extremely long-legged lynx. Just before dark we heard Bruce shoot. After dark we learned Bruce had taken an extremely nice 8-point, again huge of body, like the buck John had taken the afternoon before.
That evening during a fabulous meal complete with a bit of story telling, Erkki excused himself. Twenty minutes later he returned and announced, “Tomorrow morning we sleep in!” For a moment I did not know how to respond, I had not come to Finland to sleep in the last morning or our hunt! I suspect Erkki saw the expression on my face. “Tomorrow afternoon, we’re going to get to hunt a very special place. It’s property I have long been wanting to hunt. I got permission for us to hunt there tomorrow afternoon. And I have no doubt, Larry, you will shoot a buck there. The only thing the owner asks is we only shoot big, mature bucks! I am one-hundred percent certain you will take a deer there tomorrow afternoon.” He hesitated, “John and Bruce, you too have permission to take a buck, but it has to be big and mature!” I noticed my two companions were smiling as widely as I was!
After dinner we (Stefan, Erkki, John, Bruce and I) recorded a couple of podcast episodes for my weekly “DSC’s Campfires with Larry Weishuhn”. (They are archived at www.outdooraction.com, a free site. Join, then click on podcasts and it will bring up the current podcast episode but also those archived there, Episodes 260 and 261 are two from Scandinavia, plus another that should be 263 or 264.)
We drove to the new property, and soon as we entered it we started seeing deer. After Erkki visited briefly with the caretaker, he suggested Stefan and I go to a particular field where had recently been seen several mature bucks.
A few minutes later we sat behind a scattering of trees and underbrush watching a green field. Several does fed into the field, along with a couple of young bucks.
Stefan decided to check the field that lay behind us. Soon as he left four more bucks came into the field, including some really nice young bucks, but nothing mature.
The sun was sinking into the western trees. Then, I heard Stefan, “Pssst..Three bucks in the field behind us. Two definitely mature…”
I cautiously got up and followed Stefan to the field where he had seen the three bucks. We quickly glassed and looked over several deer. “The one I wanted you to see is no longer here. But look at the buck just past the little line of brush.” I did. I could see a wide spread, massive bases, big body.
I lowered my Stealth Vision binoculars and crawled forward a bit to a mound that made a solid rest for the .308 Win I had borrowed from Erkki and readied for a shot. “Is he mature?” I asked wanting Stefan to confirm what I suspected.
“Yes!” he whispered. Quickly I slid safety to fire, centered the crosshairs on the buck’s massive chest, then gently pulled the trigger. Thanks to the rifles suppressor I saw the Hornady bullet strike. The buck shuddered, took fifteen steps and dropped. Immediately after following through after pulling the trigger I reloaded in case a second shot was needed. None was!
It took but moments for Stefan and me to walk the 200+ yards to where the buck lay. With each each step toward him, my buck seemed to grow in antler and especially in body. At his side, I saw he was a wide 8-point. Using the rifle to estimate his outside spread, it was equal too the 24-inch barrel’s length. NICE!
But what really impressed me was his body. He was huge! I have taken some big-bodied bucks in Canada which approached 300-pounds live-weight. This one exceeded those body sizes.
I was besides myself with joy! Not only had I taken a whitetail buck in Finland, I had taken a truly huge buck. After photos and receiving congratulations from Stefan, Erkki, John and Bruce we headed to camp. My deer would be picked up by the property’s game keepers.
Later, after my deer had been picked up, weighed and measured for the property’s management program we learned the buck weighed 325-pound, live-weight, and indeed had a 24-inch outside spread.
Before leaving for Texas early the next morning I made arrangements with Stefan and Erkki to return to Finland for whitetails during the fall of 2025. Now I can hardly wait to go back to Finland to once again hunt whitetails. Maybe I’ll rattle up a buck next time!
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