Finally, on the 3rd of November 2017 I was once again ready for the annual pheasant shoot at the estate Skattebøllegård in Langeland, Denmark. For me it was my 6th visit to this wonderful place, but for my wife, Marianne, it was her first visit. Langeland is the name of the long, narrow island, located just south of Fyn in southern Denmark. From the town of Svendborg, you drive across the strait to the island of Tåsinge, and from there you can cross over to Langeland. The drive from Svendborg to the north of Langeland, is an experience in itself. You pass two castles on the trip, the first one being Waldemars Castle on Tåsinge, and the second one is Tranekaer Castle, located near the west coast of Langeland. Both of these historic sites are well worth a visit, and the nature of the island is very beautiful. It is green, abundant, with rolling hills and golden fields. In fact, you are never far from the sea when you are staying in Langeland, and the air is fresh. It is always fascinating standing on your peg watching flocks of wildfowl, both geese and ducks, different species, flighting along the western coastline of Langeland. Unfortunately, rural Denmark is no longer considered the place to be, by many Danes. Depopulation and decay is evident in some of the smaller villages. But nevertheless, the pheasants at the island thrive as good as ever.
Welcome to the land of pheasants
The mild and fertile climate of this wonderful island makes it an ideal habitat for pheasants. For some reason, I have never seen a single partridge at the island, but the pheasants, they surely thrive. Langeland has a long history of pheasant breeding and pheasant shooting, partly due to the nobility residing at Tranekjaer Castle, and their game keeping efforts for generations. There are also a number of smaller shoots established in the area, one of them being Skattebøllegård, which I have had the privilege of visiting every year since 2011. The social aspect of my visit has been increasingly important over the years. Mostly, the same shots, drivers and pickers-up come back to this place year after year. It is always a pleasure to meet HP Jensen, Niels Juhl Frost, Freddy, Curt, Kirsten and all the others. The owner of the estate is the gentleman Anders Pontoppidan Møller, along with his wonderful wife, Dorthe. Normally, the bag for a day`s shooting at Skattebøllegård is approximately 120 birds, a mixture of pheasants and mallards, but mostly pheasants. To me, the size of the days bag is not the most important thing. What matters is that you have a great day, and that the totality of the experience is great, which has always been the case at this great estate. The number of guns on a driven day is approximately 12, and all the guns usually have plenty of opportunities during the day. Working with pheasants, game keeping and arranging shoot days, takes a lot of work and effort, and Anders has been doing a great job with all of this for many years.
Shooting with a minister
For the last few years, we have had the privilege of having our own vicar present on the shoot day! The ministers name is Nils Holger Ellekilde, and he works for the Danish Church in Fyn. HP Jensen always jokes around with the fact that it is the vicar’s responsibility to pray for nice weather for the day. Besides his responsibility for the weather, the vicar usually says a few words at lunch. Last year he read funny shooting-stories from one of his many books, and this year he led us all in a song about “rural Denmark” and all the original and funny people it inhabits. It is reassuring to have a minister together with us in the field. But hopefully, there will be no funerals after the days shooting has ended.
A great experience
Shooting should always be about more than shooting at and killing birds. The hosts at Skattebøllegård take good care of their visitors during the whole day. The day always starts with a Danish breakfast called “morgenmad” at around 8.30. Then we all move out to the different areas for the various drives of the day. Drivers and dogs flushes the birds, which hopefully flies towards the guns. There were five drives on the 3rd of November 2017, the 4th drive probably being the best drive, with its mixture of both pheasants and ducks. It was after this drive that Anders offered us a beer and snacks, which, due to its magnificent taste right there and then, became a memory in itself! After the days shooting has ended, you have the traditional “parade” with the game on display, in the European manner. This year we had 119 birds on display, with some ducks missing which came in later. After the days shooting had ended, we enjoyed a mgreat lunch in the barn, followed by Dorthe`s magnificent, world-famous Danish apple-cake, which always makes a worthy end to a great day!
