Extreme Huntress Finalist - Ulrika Karlsson-Arne

Spreading the message about how women can hunt, too, Extreme Huntress Finalist Ulrika Karlsson-Arne shares how she got to love hunting at a late age and how she uses it mainly for feeding her family. Shedding light on the challenges women have in this male-dominated field, Ulrika talks about her hunting experiences with other women while noting some of the companies that she works for that help her represent her country in hunting. As an Extreme Huntress Finalist, Ulrika wants to be a role model, someone everyone can look up to who takes responsibility. She teaches her kids what is right or wrong, and loves being outdoors as much as possible.

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Extreme Huntress Finalist – Ulrika Karlsson-Arne

Become a smarter whitetail deer hunter. Find out when to hunt, where to hunt and how to hunt by joining Deer Hunting Institute. After a few years, I’m happy to announce the founders’ membership of Deer Hunting Institute. It’s going to be July 9th, 2019 at 9:00 AM. It’s going to run for a couple of days. During that time, you’re going to be able to sign up and become a founding member of the Deer Hunting Institute. The Deer Hunting Institute will consist of a thirteen-module course that I’ve written and you’ve seen some of that information on social media. It’s also going to be a membership course. Starting in August, I’m going to have a soft launch and the hard launch of that membership course is going to be in January.

Let’s talk about the Deer Hunting Institute course. I have thirteen modules talking about stand site, how to find a place to hunt, scouting for hunting location, reading the sign, how to hunt during the rut, when to hunt and where to hunt. In the membership, we’re going to have expert interviews. We’re going to have Q and A sessions. We’re going to have how-to sessions. Every single week, for a member, you’re going to get this information. All in all, on July 9th, you’re going to have the opportunity to become a founding member. The founding member is simple. You pay a flat fee of $299 and you’re a member of Deer Hunting Institute forever. You get the free course and free access to the membership. Wherever that goes, you’ll have that ability. I want to say that I’m pleased that after a few years of talking to hundreds of whitetail hunters, I’ve condensed it all and I’m launching this course.

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Welcome to a special episode of the show. This is for another finalist for Extreme Huntress 2019. We’re heading to Sweden and we’re going to talk with Ulrika Karlsson-Arne. Ulrika, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

It’s exciting to be there. You have a ptarmigan and then I see you have a chamois. What’s the difference between a tahr and a chamois?

I don’t know. I’m from Sweden. We don’t even have those animals in Sweden. I’ve been to Austria once and I had this project with Swarovski Optik and we hunted some chamois. I do hunt a lot of Swedish animals, so that’s mine.

You’re a huntress, but you’re also feeding your family. Let’s connect those dots and let people know why hunting is important to you.

First of all, it’s spending time outdoors. Being in the forest and picking blueberries, chanterelles, lingonberries, I’m out all year round. For me, it’s collecting food. I started to hunt really late. I was 26 or 27 because I didn’t have my mother or my father taking me outdoors. No one in my family is a hunter. I had this feeling in my body that I wanted to go outdoors. I didn’t know what it was until I met some people, some hunters and they took me with them. It was like, “This is me. This is my life. I want to get my own food and bring my own food.” I hunt all the species in Sweden like moose, roe deer, wild boar, fallow deer, ducks and everything. I cook them, I take care of them, I skin them and I do everything to serve a good meal.

How do your kids like the wild game?

They grew up with it. They’re taking it for granted. My daughter said, “Mom, can we make some meatballs? We’re going to go for the fallow. We’re going to go for the moose.” That’s not ordinary meat. Her friends don’t eat wild games like that. They shop in the grocery store. We have dinners when we eat moose and they tell me, “Mother, do you remember when you shot this moose out, it was out on the field and you took two rounds to get it down?” We have some good stories when we have dinner together. They love it. We’d like meat every day for the whole week. Maybe one day we can go for fish or something, but mostly it’s my own meat that I harvested.

When you think about Extreme Huntress, you came into the game later. I know one of the finalists, Jamie Belknap, was born into hunting. She says it was part of her DNA from the time she was brought up. What challenges did you face as an older person in your mid-twenties wanting to hunt? How did that all work out?

It wasn’t that easy because starting to hunt in Sweden, you have to know someone that has a hunting ground to be on and forest to be in. I had to learn it the long way and the hard way. I didn’t get it for free. I didn’t have anyone to help me out from the beginning also. I took my chances and I took the hunting license. I started to work with Swedish Hunting Association. I was helping out at hunts and I also wanted to bring women and kids. I worked hard for free on the weekends. I did that for several years. I got a silver medal for doing that great job. All this time, my longing for being more outdoors was growing. A few years ago, I quit my work at a Swedish television to be more outdoors and work full-time as an influencer, producing stuff like live broadcasting, hunting TV shows, content for different brands. Now, I have the time to be as much as 140 hunting days per year and I bring my kids also.

You’re a producer and an influencer, but you’re an authority and you’re highly credible in Sweden as an outdoor hunter.

I think that this is a man’s world. We are not that many women. It is important that women take place and show that we also can do this. For example, we had a little hunting come together for women in the North. We headed up North Sweden hunting moose. It was one girl from Iceland and I invited one girl from Norway to make content for different brands, but also to show off that women can hunt too. Those girls, they’re only 20, 25 and they are so knowledgeable and good at what they are doing. We made a great team and we went up north hunting moose and took care of it all by ourselves. That is a good feeling. That’s what I wanted to have when I was 20, 25 but I had to go a long way and the hard way. I want to give them something back, so they can go out with me instead. We have a great time. It’s a lifestyle. This is more than life.

What are some of the companies that you work for or represent in Sweden?

I’m in the Sauer team Sweden. I used Sauer rifles. I’ve been an ambassador for those Sauer rifles for a few years. I’m also working with Swarovski Optik. We use Burris at Texas. I think Burris optic gear is really nice. They work in great combination with the Winchester. It’s not only if you have a good rifle, good scopes or good ammunition. It’s the combination that makes it and it’s up to you what you want to use. I’m also collaborating with Norma Precision. I’ve been using those ammunitions for many years. I also have this Fjällräven. It’s a clothing brand with clothes and equipment. I also have a little collaboration with Volkswagen. They helped me out when I have to travel a lot. Nordic Heat, they make battery-heated underwear. Out hunting in Sweden can be cold in the wintertime. I need those brands to work with. They make my hunting days even better. If I don’t have to think about if I’m freezing, it’s going to be a better result on the hunting day.

If somebody wants to vote for you for Extreme Huntress 2019, how would they do that?

It’s not only about having a good rifle but the combination of skill and ammunition that makes brands matter. Share on X

They should start by going to ExtremeHuntress.com. I want all the people voting for me. I want them to vote because they’ve seen what I’m doing at the competition, not only that they knew me and stuff like that. I want them to look at the episodes because this is going to be a good show. We have launched three episodes and the fourth is coming up. It’s a good competition. There is no drama. It’s only hunting and having a good time, four women doing what they love. I want to be the winner. At the end of the day, I want to be a role model and be in front of the other.

You can go to the website and there’s an online voting up in the right corner. You click on that one and that will come up with the pictures of us, four women and our names. Click on my name and you’re going to put in your email address. Make sure there’s no space in front of the first letter because a lot of people text me about they’re not getting valid emails. It’s because of the little space in between the first letter. Make sure you start writing your email address. You press the button send and you have to go and confirm it in your email, the Polldaddy, so they will count it. Otherwise, if you don’t confirm it, it’s not going to be counted. There were a lot of votes that are not being confirmed. That’s a big problem.

I heard that there are over 600 votes that were not confirmed. That’s a lot of votes.

That’s a lot of votes and it could be all of us. Maybe it’s not going to matter, but if it’s only one of us, it’s going to matter. Of course, I want some votes.

When you think about hunting and you think about the woman’s role, in Sweden there isn’t that many. I know in the United States, it’s a fast-growing statement in the outdoor sports for everything. It could be from rock climbing, rafting, snowshoeing, hunting, fly fishing, all the outdoor sports. Women are the center of attraction and they make excellent people in the outdoors. They’re very good at it. You had a couple of friends who you went up with. You harvested and took care of the moose and you did what needs to do. What do you think are some of the barriers for women to get into hunting?

You have to trust yourself. If you have an idea that you want to be a huntress, just go for it. If you don’t know everything, you can learn from others. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Deep inside, human beings, we are hunters from the beginning. It’s in our DNA. Even if you’re not born into a hunting family, you want to harvest your own food. You want to collect things. There’s a little hunter in every one of us. As a woman, it could be difficult to come into a hunting team. If you’re a woman and you want to start hunting, contact another huntress. Make friend with someone that has been into the business for a while and go out. I take with me young women that want to start hunting. For me, it’s the most natural thing to do. I spend a lot of time outdoors. Why shouldn’t I help them so they don’t have to go a long way like I had to go?

If I met you and we’re traveling and you introduce yourself and I did the same. You said, “I’m a finalist in Extreme Huntress, would you vote for me?” Why should I vote for you?

You should vote for me because I’m very conscious of what I’m doing. I don’t want to be the winner. I want to be the one inspiring people and to do stuff that you believe in. Believe in yourself and do what you think is right for yourself. It’s our responsibility to care about wildlife, nature and animals. If we don’t do it, who should do it? The next generation, if they grew up, my kids, I see only on my kids that if I don’t take them out there and show them this, who’s going to do it? We have a lot of anti-hunters that don’t understand what we’re doing. We are preserving and conserving. Hunters are important. In Sweden, we have a lot of car accidents with animals. Hunters take care of that. They go with their dogs. In Sweden, we had a lot of hunting with dogs to make sure we find the animals after an accident with the car or something like that. It’s not an industry, it’s more of a lifestyle. Preserving and taking care of nature is so important and it’s up to us women who want to start hunting. I want to be a role model. I want to be someone that they can look at and listen to and say, “She’s living her dreams. She’s having a good time. She’s out doing what she loves. Eating good food, taking responsibility, teaching her kids what’s right or wrong and being outdoors as much as she can.” That’s the kind of woman that maybe you want to have as a role model. That’s why I want people to vote for me because I want to inspire.

Once again, if somebody wants to vote for you, how do they do that?

They go to ExtremeHuntress.com for voting. There’s online voting. You can click up in the right corner. It’s going to pop up four pictures and names of the finalists. It’s three more women and me. All four of us are great women, but in between, I’m going to be the winner. I want to be the winner. You have to vote for me, Ulrika Karlsson-Arne. Press the button on my picture. You put in your email address and then you have to go to your email and confirm it. It’s Polldaddy, you need to confirm it, otherwise, it’s not going to be counted. I want my votes to be counted, otherwise, I don’t have the chance to win.

Hunting is not just an industry; it's more like a lifestyle. Share on X

It’s been a pure pleasure to meet up with Ulrika and talk about her hunting tradition and her lifestyle, which is inclusive of all things hunting. With that, I want to thank you so much for being a gracious guest. I wish you well in your quest to be the Extreme Huntress 2019.

Thank you.

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Thanks for being on the show. Before we go, I want to take a moment to say thank you. As we started the Whitetail Rendezvous journey, we had no idea what to expect. After a few years, we received a ton of feedback from our over 400,000 audiences and climbing to 500,000. Speaking of which we are now closing in on over 600 featured guests, thank you. A quick shout out to all those who have left iTunes reviews and your feedback. I get those and I appreciate it. It’s awesome to see what you have to say and we do read every single one of them. I want you to know that I am incredibly grateful for your kind words regarding the show and all the ratings and reviews help us attract more audience. If you’re one of those new audiences, welcome, it’s great to have you.

If you haven’t taken the time to rate and review our show and like the Hunting on Private Land Strategy and How to Get Permission to Hunt on Private Property, go to WhitetailRendezvous.com as a special gift for rating and reviewing our show. When you get there, look for the start button to get the details. I’ll share with you the top technique from some of the top hunters in the country on how do they get permission to hunt on private land. I’ll share with you the exact techniques they use to get permission as my way of saying thanks for rating and reviewing the show on iTunes. Join us next time and remember, we’re all on this journey together, learning, sharing and becoming 365 Hunters.

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About Ulrika Karlsson-Arne

Hardcore but also conscious! My passion is the outdoors, to explore nature, forest and of course go hunting. I hunt 2-3 times per week year round. Love to know where my food comes from. I make the most out of my life and I´m always positive. I´ve been hunting for 18 years but only the last three years this much.

I quit my job as a producer at Swedish Television and are now freelance, film, and content in the hunting business. But nowadays more of an influencer with sponsors like Sauer and Swarovski Optik. My whole life is on Instagram @swedishvenatrix – I´m a proud hunter and to me, success isn’t always a game with me back home (but I for sure love to pull that trigger)… success can be helping the next generation, a nice day by the fire, meeting friends and see new places.

And being mentally strong makes you achieve what others say you can´t do. Makes me wanna try harder and go further. Of course I want to win and of course, I´m gonna give you something extra in that Extreme Huntress-show! I mostly hunt in Sweden but I have also been to Alaska, England and the Alps in Austria. Love the mountains, love the challenge of hard work before you find the animals. Cause life is right here right now and it´s up to you what you wanna do with it.