NORMA Ambassador Portrait – meet hunter and ranger Simon Åsheim

NORMA Ambassador Portrait – meet hunter and ranger Simon Åsheim

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m Simon, 30 years old and live in Lesja municipality in Innlandet County, Norway. I work as a ranger for Lesja Fjellstyre and before that I spent eight years in the Norwegian Army.

I grew up in a small place called Megården in Nordland County in Norway. My dad took me hunting when I was seven years old, and since then, hunting is all that has been on my mind as long as the hunting season is on.

When did you first hear about NORMA?

I started shooting with rifle at an early age, and as I got older, every moose hunter always talked about NORMA Oryx as the best bullet for hunting moose. I was maybe around eight years old when I heard about NORMA for the first time, and my first moose was shot with NORMA Oryx.

Where does your interest in hunting come from?

It was my dad that got me hooked on hunting.  When I was seven years old I was old enough to hang along with him.  We hunted a lot of ptarmigan and some black grouse, and I shot my first ptarmigan when I was eleven years old. Where I grew up, I had a neighbor that hunted a lot with rifle. He taught me how to shoot and got me interested in foxhunting by bait and hunting with traps.

What is your favorite caliber?

It’s 6.5x55! Low recoil and excellent precision! 

What is your favorite NORMA product and why?

My favorite NORMA product is so far the NORMA Diamond Line 130gr in 6.5. A great bullet with great precision. I use it for capercaillie hunting, which is one of my favorite hunts. I also use the same bullet when competing in PRS shooting.

Tell us about your greatest hunting memory?

That must be my first reindeer in 2021. Alone in the mountains; it was just me, my tent and my rifle. Walking many kilometers every day and after hard work I finally got my reindeer.  I had never worked so hard for a hunt before. I had to carry the meat many kilometers and my backpack had a weight of 60 kg. For each 30 meter I had to have a break. I shot the reindeer around 18:00, and I made it to the road at 01:30.

What is your dream hunt?

Hunting for red stag in the rut in the west of Norway. Steep hills and red stag roaring.

What is your favorite cut of meat from any animal and why is it your favorite?

That must be the backstrap. It’s a type of meat that doesn’t need to be cooked for many hours and it tastes really good! 

Tell us about your interest in sport shooting?

My interests in sport shooting started in 2017 when I moved to Bardufoss. I didn’t know anyone except for the people I worked with, so I joined the local hunting and fishing club. Every time there was trapshooting I joined. It was fun and I got to know a lot of good shooters. So, in the summer 2017 I competed in the Norwegian championship in Nordic trap and I won in my clas!  After that summer I did some regular shooting just to keep my level up for hunting and that’s what I have been doing lately when it comes to trap shooting.

A year ago I started PRS shooting and I really like it. It’s a dynamic sport that gives you different cases and challenges. You get to shoot a lot and you get to know your rifle; something that really helps you when you’re out hunting. Norway is small when it comes to PRS, but my plans is to join some matches and join the PRS Viking trail in 2024.

What are your goals?

On social media, I want to show everyone my moments when being outside hunting or shooting. The good days and the bad days. I want to inspire people to use the nature more and to harvest from it. If we all use the nature and see the value of it, we may take better care of it.