Shooting in the mountains has the specificity which depends on many facts; the subject of the hunt, shooting distance, altitude, temperature, an angle of the shot and the wind direction, shooting position, tiredness, adrenaline level and others. The value of the shot in the mountains is higher and the requirements to the shooting complex and equipment grow in proportion. Here we publish recommendations of our Club member, based on the experience of planning and participation in the mountain hunting expeditions.
Shooting complex
1. The hunting carbine
Calibers from 300 ot 338 These calibers allow to shot for long distances and to keep enough energy to hit the animal. The main types of 300 caliber cartridges are: 300 Winchester Magnum, 300 Winchester Short Magnum, 300 Weatherby Magnum, 300 Savage, 300 Ruger Compact Magnum, 300 Remington Ultra Magnum, 300 Remington SA Ultra Mag, 300 H&H Magnum. They allow you to shoot to 800 m distance. The caliber 338 Lapua Magnum makes possible to fire to 1000 m and more. The hunter should be guided by the optimality principle when choosing the weapon among the wide range of the gunsmiths. Usually, it’s not the semi- automatically guns with the barrel accuracy to 0,5 minutes of arc., what means 1,5 cm error on 100m. It's not difficult to account that if you shoot to 800 m the ballistic tolerance will be 12 cm, within the size of the animal. It would be too easy if it is the only factor influenced the shooting accuracy. The weight of the rifles in 338 WM и 338 LM caliber together with other equipment is about 10 kg and more. They are heavy enough even for the experienced and trained hunter. The weapon of 300 calibers is lighter. There are several Ultralights variants, seem weightless in comparison with others. But shooting from such guns has specificity. It’s harder to aim with these rifles. We all know that hard barrel is more stable when you are aiming. The recoil of the light weight gun is very tangible. It's not a problem fro the experienced hunters but can make more difficult to aim and to shoot for the beginner. Usually hunters use caliber 243 when hunting for chamois but we can claim that different variants of 300th calibers , are the most optimal ones, by bullet's weight, energy they keep to hit the animal and the shooting distance. We talked about such guns as Orsis, Blazer, Sako, Heckler-Koch, Remington but there are lots of them. Heavier 338 caliber rifles include: HS Precision, Accuracy AW, Barrett and others. They are the complete sniper's weapon, the best from its class.
2. The gun sight
It's better to use the tactic sights, allow to make vertical and horizontal corrections. It has to have variable multiplicity to optimize the target acquisition and shooting for different distances. We consider Schmidt&Bender, NightForce, Carl Zeiss sights to be the best variants. The sights made by the Dedal company are the best among the domestic producers. The maximum multiplicity is 25 times. The sights of greater multiplicity are for sports. It's hard to shoot for the running aim and these sights are heavier what is critical for the mountains. One more factor you need to pay attention when choosing the sight is its metric measures. Some people use to work in cm, others in MOA, the main thing is to calculate right. Mil-Dot net with the transparent dots is the optimal variant. The dots can close the target when you aim for a long distance. It’s not comfortable. Moreover, that net allows to shoot with an extension. Few words about thermal imaging and night sights. Nobody shoot at night in the mountains. The most of mountain hunters will agree with these words. It has not sense to waste money buying the expensive tools. I assure you with 99% guarantee that you won't need them at all. Some of domestic companies did a great progress in the thermal imaging systems production during the last time. The equipment produced by the Dedal, IWT, Infrtech companies and the ARCHER company from Ukraine, can help on the distances from 200 to 800 m. But its the expensive and not necessary accessories for the mountain hunting.
3. Ammunition
Taking into account that the hunter has to be ready to shoot for 300 meters and more, the ammunition has to have good ballistic as Scenar. Don't use different types of ammunition. Test one type of ammunition to different distances and calculate the ballistic tables beforehand. The different types will fly different and it could mess shooting and make it unpredictable.
4. The binocular
It's better to have the binocular, combined with the rangefinder. It’s the optimal combination or you’ll need to have both tools. The Leica binocular with the multiplicity of 10 with the ballistic calculator allows to get all necessary data for shooting: the distance, the shooting angle, pressure and temperature.
5. Scopes
Wild mountain ungulates have sharp eye, they behave very carefully and it's really difficult to discover them on the mountain landscape. The hunters can hike to 20km per day looking for the trophy. It’s important not only to find the animal but to define its gender and to estimate its trophy characteristics. There are serious penalties for shooting young males in several countries. The scopes with the multiplicity from 25 to 50 times are used for estimation of the trophy. Such companies as Leica, Swarovski, Carl Zeiss present the wide variety of products. All of them have high quality light optic but you need to remember about its when you choose the define model. The scope set includes the tripod and the pan head for it. We recommend to use the heads, produced by the Manfrotto324CR2 company. It's important to fix the scope position while working with the high multiplicity tools and that kind of the head does it well. Follow the compactness, reliability and durability principals when choosing the tripod. The flimsy one quakes in the wind and the picture won't be clear. It makes the work with the optic more difficult. The alternative variant is to use the 25x rifle sight or camera with 30x zoom. The sight, which has less then 25x times, don’t give the clear picture of the trophy when it’s far.
5. Casio Protrek wrist watch
It's made in a light and reliable housing, powers by solar power and provides all information for shooting.
6. Meteostation
For measuring wind speed and direction. The best samples are produced by Kestrel company. If you shoot to 300 meters you don’t need to pay attention to the wind but it's a mistake to ignore the wind direction if you shoot for long distances. The miss will be the result of such neglect. Everybody, who shoot in the mountains, knows how difficult it is to define the wind destination and the bullet trajectory. The wind in the gorger can change to 180 degrees.
7. Ballistic calculator
It can be made on different platforms and mobiles, as for example Getac p535f. The main principle is waterproof and easy to use. My recommendation is to use the shock-proof SLXTreme case for IPhone 5S. You’ll get the good quality camera, navigation system, and ballistic calculator and a phone. The ballistic program, created by the snipers from the Special purpose center of the FSB of Russia, can be loaded to the Windows mobile 6.1, IPhone and Android. You can find it in the special section on our site.
8. Ballistic tables
We suggest you to calculate the ballistic tables by the main distances and altitudes, for 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500 meters and for the distances from 100 to 800 meters with the lag not less than 25 meters. It's comfortable to print it and take with you for hunting. Don't forget to pack in into waterproof cover. Some hunters have done on the metallized self-adhesive base and fixed it on the gun. Thus, you’ll always have a hint by the main shooting distances.
9. Covers on the optics
These indispensable accessories belong to the shooting complex. The covers on the optics and for the gun’s barrel are the important element for the gun's transportation. The cargo frame allows to fix and to carry the mountain rifle while hiking . Platform T11, we consider to be one of the best samples, produced by the domestic company Group 99. It is a necessary and important detail for the convenience of carrying a shooting complex.
10. Mountain bipods
The carbine has to be completed by the mountain (long) bipods (Harris, CALDWELL). They allow to shoot at different angles from different shooting position. It’s no matter if the hunter seats or lays. Based on my own experience, I recommend all beginners to add this kind of shooting to their training course. The short bipods are not useful in the mountains. The possibility to get a scar between the eyes from the sight when you use the short bipods is very high when you shoot at the high angle. It happens because of the short distance between the bipod and the hunter. The common mistake is to hit the obstacle in the way of the bullet's departure when you shoot using the short bipods. It seems that you can shoot but the bullets enters to the stone or grass, located just under the barrel . Be careful when you shoot.
11. Gun cleaner
It’s obligatory to have cleaning rod, rags and oil to clean your gun. Anything can happen. But the widespread phenomenon when snow gets in the barrel. Keep it safe.
12. Moderator
Sometimes the hunters use the moderator (a flame suppressor or silencer). It allows to mute and to disperse the sound of a gunshot. But its’ not possible to make it absolutely mute because of the supersonic ammunition. The usage of the moderator changes the barrel ballistic. The bullets flies in 15-20 cm lower then you have tested without it. The horizontal deviation can take place too. You’ll need to change all calculation tables. Don’t hope that the moderator will make your shot inaudible for animals. It’ll mask it a little bit while the rapid spread of the sound from the shot without teh moderator is the a factor in reducing anxiety. You also need to know that the carabine has to be tested once again, each time you take off and fix the moderator.
13. Military sniper complexes
Few words about tools which are not the obligatory but some of the hunters have. They are the professional Military sniper complexes. The laser rangefinder and optics, produced by the companies Wilcox and Vectronix belong to them. These tools can measure the ultra long distances, define target coordinates, azimuth calculations, and target designation for various systems for hitting enemy targets. They have a lot of extra devices and calculation algorithms. They are not available on the open market because made for the military purpose.
Electronic devices needed for the mountain hunting
Technologies never stop and enter to all spheres of our life. Mountain hunting is no exception. There are some recommendations.
The most important element is the connection.
1. Two radio stations
We advise to use two radio stations with additional accumulators. No one can predict if there is the conditions to charge the accumulator from the generator or a power grid. It's more reliable to use the battery. You can ask beforehand how much you need and to prepare the needed quantity. The local outfitters will use their own radio stations but not always. The right collaboration during the hunting trip is the keystone to success.
2. Satellite phone
There are several satellite systems, Iridium and Thuraya are one of them. But it’ll be better if you add all necessary contacts to the contact list beforehand. The active regime of satellite phone is about two days without charging the battery.
3. Satellite tracker
The satellite tracker is more adapted for the long-time expeditions. Its active regime depends on the settings and can function till 3 months. It’ll send the signal about your position to the center or to the mobile app from time to time You can send sms using this device what makes it even more useful. It would do no harm to mark the important points or to ask for the weather forecast in the region where you hunt. But the most important thing is that you can send the emergency call if something will happen. The main factor which allows to provide assistance in the emergency or even extreme situation, it to send the urgent information about the accident and the correct coordinates. We advise to use waterproof cases, made by the Aquapac или DRUPAK companies, to prevent the satellite trackers from the damage.
4. Mobile satellite station for Internet access
It’s significant to stay on top what is going on in the world or in the country. The managers want to know what is going on with their business while they are absent and need to have the possibility to control the process. I recommend to have the mobile satellite station for Internet access for those purpose. The main providers on that market are Iridium, Inmarsat and Thuraya as well. These companies offer different devices which allow to have the stable Internet access. The speed of those gadgets are not perfect but you can use them for the cases, mentioned above.
5. External batteries and solar panels
None of those devices wont’ work without charging. There is not always the possibility to charge in the mountains, in such cases you can use external batteries and solar panels. There are many companies, domestic and foreign, which offer different variants. There is the great variety of batteries from the light rags to the heavy cases. Some of them can be used for the long hours work and you can use them for autonomous lighting too. There is always the possibility to leave heavy luggage in the Base camp. Usually, all equipment is delivered there by car or by chopper. It’s not necessary to take it to the mountains. It's fine to uphold to have and to keep it in the Base camp.
6. Camera
All hunters make video or make picture of the taken trophy to fix the result. It's the mandatory ritual one never could escape it. Moreover all Hunting clubs ask for the picture of the hunter with the trophy when you register it. That’s the reason why we need to thing about the equipment reliability. The main priorities when you choose the camera have to be the weight, size, how reliability it is and to have good zoom. I've mentioned the hermetic case for Iphone 5, SLXTreme. It’s known that pictures, made on this phone model has good quality and more important that you can use it as the navigator. Canon SX700 HS with 30 times optical zoom has good reviews as well. It’s not big but makes good quality pictures and you can take a long-range shot. It helps to defines the trophy guality. Garmin produces navigators with a built-in camera.
7. Navigators
They are the obligatory accessories for each hunter. Navigators solve a complex of navigation tasks, help to search to fix the position and events that occur with the hunter. You need to know the correct coordinates of the camp, the place where the trophy has been taken and others. The existed models are quite energy intensive and need extra batteries.
8. Electronic book, on the Nook platform
Weather in the mountains is unpredictable and can change quite often. There were situations when it was rain with storm wind and fog for several days. All hunters try to kill time in such moments. We know one gadget which can help you. It's the electronic book, on the Nook platform. It has a large amount of memory and low power consumption. You can load the needed number of book before the trip and to pass the time reading if necessary.
The necessary equipment and the clothe for the mountain hunting.
1. Roomy bag
The first essentials from the list is the roomy bag. It has to be waterproof and to keep everything in safe. As the Tatonka Barell L bag or other bags, produced by Beretta.
2. Backpack
The backpack is also one of the most important things from the must have equipment. More details. A huge variety of different backpacks for tourists are produced but not all of them fit for the mountain hunter. The experienced hunter has several backpacks for different purpose and conditions. Some hunters differentiate them by volume; 20-30-40L, the other ones by the purpose; for one, two or more days of hiking. It's no matter. Each backpack has its own destination. One of the main requirements are waterproof and moisture resistance. We trust GoreTex material but advice to have the rain cover as an additional element of protection from moisture. There are several models made from the rubberized materials. Each backpack has to have comfortable straps, to distribute the load evenly. It's convenient if there is the special bracing to carry the rifle. We all know that it's taugh to carry the carbine on the belt for a long. The gun, secured in a special pocket, balances well and distributes the load evenly. The backpacks, made by the Group 99 company, is a good choice for the mountain hunting. The typical set of things, the hunters take for the long-days hike. They are:
- A single tent with a vestibule.
- A sleeping bag
- Travel mat
- Extra cloth
- A bottle of water and food
- Electronic gadgets from the shooting complex
- Ammunition
We recommend to have you own single tent. Don't forget to mann the moisture-proof canopy. Otherwise, rain and condensation will create discomfort and get inside. The main criteria is its weight.
4. A sleeping bag
The very important element. You need to have rest, to restore forces and to sleep after a long day of hiking. The sleeping bag has to suit to the temperature conditions where you use it. It’s better have several sleeping bags for different temperatures; from -15, -25 to -40 or even -60 degrees. Austrian Carinthia , Holland Arctic and Russian BASK can help you. You need to take the sleeping bag which will meet weather requirements.
5. Travel mat
It will protect you when you lay on the ground or snow. They are inflatable, self-inflating or made of polyethylene foam. You need to choose the mat according its heat-insulating properties and a compact configuration.
We recommend to use a travel cot when you are in the Base camp. None of the mat can compare with the touristic cot. But it's better to have both because they have different purpose.
6. Individual first aid kit
The Group 99 and Transcript NPC companies offer the wide range of individual and group medical kits. They are completed according the potential health problems the man can have but you need to add your own medicine with regards to your body. You should buy broad-spectrum antibiotics, cold remedies, painkillers. Don’t forget about pills which speed up acclimatizing such as Glycine and Aquagen.
7. Boots
Your boots belong to the vitally important things you have to have in the mountains. Incorrectly selected shoes cause bruising and calluses. It can also be the reason of the premature hunt termination or even the tragedy. Let me give you few advices how to choose the right ones. The boots have to be specialized for mountains and have Vibram soles. If it has the right firmness, it has excellent grip on any surface. They have to be stiff enough to fix an ankle and to be made by the GoreTex technology, to be waterproof. It’s better buy boots half a size larger to wear warm socks and to keep your thumbs off the toe of your boots when you are descending. Our recommendations are MAMMUT and LOWA shoes. The mountains shoes differ by their wide rubberized stripe, covers their tips and the sides near the soles. It’s not a problem to choose the shoes, produced by leading brands. The seller will inform you about each model features.
We advise to use quick-release gaiters for the shoes when hiking on the snow. They will protect you from snow getting inside and help you to stay dry. Probably you’ll need snow shoes and crampons if you hunt on the Pamir or the Tian Shan mountains.
But you’ll also need shoes for being in the camp. There are lots of variants and they depend on your choice, snow cover and temperature. That kind of shoes have to be comfortable, don’t fix your foot and easy to dress up and take off quickly. Pay attention to clog CROCS in summer or winter variants.
The downy boots on the rubberized soles are good for the low temperature. You can find many offers in the specialized and online shops.
8. Hunting knife
Knives for the hunting on the valley can be different sizes but the main criteria for the mountain hunting knife is its size and weight The knife is the mountains is the obligatory thing, the hunters use it for cooking, butchering animal carcasses and other improvised tasks. We don’t advise you to choose the exotic machetes, with Damascus and Bulat. The switchblade knife with the blade 10-12 cm is enough. The ideal variant is multi-tool Leatherman knives.
9. Head lamp
You need to have one not matter when you are going to came back. It is extremely difficult to move at night in the mountains.
10. Rope
We don't talk about the Alpine rope but just about the rope for any case. The best variant is Paracord bracelets.
11. Sun glasses
If you are going to hunt on the height from 3500 masl and more you’ll probably walk on snow. The reflective effect from snow will lead to the eye burn if the eye doesn’t protect by sun glasses. Thirty minutes is enough to feel pain in the eyes and to get so called mountain or snow blindness -ophthalmia. You have to take all measures and to protect your eyes with glasses with protection from the ultraviolet rays. In an emergency case we recommend to cover your face with the scarf, to close eyes and to leave just small slits for observation. It's better to choose sport glasses or the mountains ones which close eyes from the sides. It’s good if they have cord for fixation.
12. Scarf
This accessory came into use from the middle East and became the military symbol, used by warriors from all over the world. The reason is in its functionality. The Arabic scarf can be useful in a hot day or in the frosty night. The scarfs can be different colors but the most popular ones are red, white or green. You can cover by it your neck, face or head if necessary.
13. Sunscreen for face and lips.
14. Clothes
We can say a lot about it. Nowadays none of the hunters use natural cloth such as cotton or lamb skin. Today they were replaced by light, membrane and multifunctional synthetic materials. Five layers principal decides different tasks as warming, moisture removal and protection of the body from external influences of moisture, wind and low temperatures. The thermal underwear, different warmers, GoreTex jackets and clothes which provide windproof and warm effect are the standard choice for the hunter.
There is a wide range of different offers from the very popular clothes, produced by the Canadian company Sitka, American 5.11 Tactical to Russian producers as BASK or Group 99. We recommend to buy pants with the built-in flap covers kneecap opening when not using knee pads. Sometimes you need to fall on knees or even crawl on them and that accessory will help a lot. We recommend the next clothes set:
- The underwear. It’s better to have not less then 3 sets. You need to choose goods without rough seams which will make you to feel discomfort during the long hiking.
- The thermal underwear for hiking- two sets.
- The warm underwear to sleep - 1 set is enough.
- Multi-functional warm and a light jackets- Polartec, Softshell.
- Warm Outdoor Padded Puffer Vest
- Gore Tex membrane jacket
- Windproof jacket
- Down jacket
- Camouflage coverall
- Poncho-completely hiding the hunter from the rain
- Clothes set for the camp
- Warm pants for low temperatures
- Warm socks - 2 pairs
- A cap It's better to take not the knitted one because it's easily blown by the wind. Sometimes when it's cold I use two caps.
- Gloves. One pair is for hiking and one more for low temperatures.
16. Vials for collecting penomateriala
You can take the needed number of vials in the Club of Mountains Hunters. Or you can use the small boxes or bottles with ethanol if you don't any. Russian science will be grateful to you for providing biomaterial from mountain expeditions.
17. Waterproof doc cases, made by the Aquapac company.
18. Extra batteries of all types
19. Individual cutlery set
Made by titanium alloy or durable plastic.
20. Duck tape
You’ll need it in different situations when setting the camp or reparing something.
21. Set of threads with needles
22. Lighter
23. Chemical or other warmers
They will help you to warm hands or feet or to keep comfortable temperature inside the sleeping bag or the tent.
This is a quantitative list of equipment and clothes you’ll need to have in the mountain expeditions. You can use these recommendations as you want and follow your own experience as well.
