Bushcraft trip – looking for reindeer antlers in the mountains

Walkabout near basecamp looking for reindeer antlers. One hot summer day in Sapmi. I was 4 days on this locations and found over 50 antlers. Open the full video description for more information.

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Date: July 2021

Day: 10-25°C (50-77°F)
Night: 5-10°C (41-50°F)

Location: Sapmi – the land of the Sami people in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Clean and classic northern nature. Fresh water rivers. Pine, spruce and birch forrest etc. Mountains, bears, wolves, eagles, reindeers etc. You need to take some care regarding animals, but in general no problems here with predators attacking humans.

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A few questions:

1. What are you going to use the antlers for?
Knife handles and knife sheaths, Sami sewing kit and other crafting.

2. Is it common to find so many antlers in Sapmi?
Yes and no. It is in relative remote areas used by reindeer herders. Less in areas with easy acces for turists. I found the antlers shown in the video on one day in a one mile radius from the basecamp. The trip was 4 days and doing that time, did I go on a a lot of walks further away from basecamp and found in total over 50 antlers – that is common on the kind of locations I like to travel to in Sapmi being forrests or mountain.

3. Is it legal to take reindeer antlers you find in nature in Sapmi?
I don’t think there are any laws about it when it comes to relative remove areas… It is just up to common sense. It only takes a few years for nature to “compost” antlers to a point where it is not usable for crafting any more. The Sami do make money selling antlers, but they are collected while slaughtering and not by traveling around looking for antlers in nature. So if you like me in the video, are on a relative remote location with a lot of antlers and most of them is too old, when most likely will the newer antlers you find in the future, in a year or two, also just been claimed by nature and not be usable for crafting any more. In other words do I think it is okay to take a few for your own use, especially if you are on a location like I am in the video. I do not think it is okay to travel around collect all you can find and make money selling antlers, that business right belongs to the reindeer herders. If you are in a area where you only find very few reindeer antlers and you are use to finding antlers or just don’t need antlers, when consider being a “gentlemen” and not take any antlers – maybe another human will come by and for first timers can it be a big experience to find antlers. In general regarding turist attractions, especially attractions that is museums or similar to museums, when don’t take anything, no antlers. But this is just my mindset, make up you’re own or consider contaction the local people or local turist information or similar if you are visiting Sapmi at some point.

4. How long was the trip?
4 days on the location in the video. I have been on a road trip in Sapmi for about 1 month so far and I will keep traveling for a while.

5. Why set up tent in the mountains and not the forrest?
I do it in the forrest as well… but now is it mosquito season in Sapmi and wind keeps mosquitoes away. Not always the wind blows in the mountains but it does more offen than in the forrest.

6. How do you live?
In a car or in the tent you see in the video. I have an old Ignis car model and have replaced alle the passenger seats with a bed and “”storage. Tiny car, but works. I live like this on the road trip and also back home in Denmark.

7. What are you going to do next on the road trip?
I am going to spend more time in the mountains… I also have a wooden row boat here in Sapmi that needs a few leaks fixed and when I will spend some time on the water.

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Some of the gear used in the video:

1. Pants = made by “Klattermusen”
2. Boots =made by “Duckfeet”, model “Silkeborg”, modified
3. Tent = made by “Tschum”, model “KATUN 4P Light”
4. Rucksack = old M39 Swedish military, modified

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Video gear: Canon EOS RP, Canon 50 1.8, Røde videomicpro+, iMovie, Macbook Air M1.

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