Sergey Yastrzhembsky considers himself to be the African hunter not the mountain one but his hunting achievements in the mountains hunts are also significant. He got more than 20 ibexes and 12 sheep. That's we mostly talked about mountain hunts.
“The Magic of the Real Safari”: Sergey, what was your way to the mountain hunting. Was it consistent?
Sergey Yastrzhembsky: It wasn’t consisted at all! I’m sure the most desperate of mountain hunters choose hunting in Africa or in the mountains or both variants. It happened so that I visited Africa first and fell in love with that continent. It filled me and didn't let any space for the mountain hunting. Only when I got enough African hunting and used all programs, the only trophy which I have to take now is the mountain nyala, I began to interest in the mountain hunting. I took part in the mountain hunts but did it simultaneously. I’ve got about two dozen of ibexes and 12 sheep. I try to pay attention to the mountain hunts now while I’m in a good physical form.
“The Real Safari Magazine”: What is the going with the HuntEssentialFishFantastic company. I know you are one of the co-founder of it.
Sergey: It still works but we reduced the areal. We've lost several interesting territories in Angola and Mozambique. It happened because of the authority’s decision. Botswana prohibited several kinds of hunts and it’s a pity because hunters visited that country to get the big trophies of elephants. We still have territories when the hunters can take antelopes, but there are not many people who are interested just in those animals. One of the perspective places we have, is the territory, about 14K ha with the altitude to 700mals in the South Africa. It’s the habitat for about 20 species of animals and good hunting conditions. People arrive there for...
«Safari»: Do you remember your first mountain hunting?
Sergey: Of course, I do. I remember everything.
It happened in Kabardino-Balkaria. The wonderful man, the president of Republic Valery Kokov was still alive. I arrived there for a couple days, what happened very rare when you have two days of vacation when working in Kremlin, and was met with the real Caucasian hospitality. The president, his wife and the home Secretary were my hosts. We sat till 2am but the hunting had to start at 4 am. I had no idea what the mountains hunting was and wasn't ready at all. I mean not ready at all. I didn’t have the necessary equipment and wasn’t in a good physical form. The first experience was really tough. I was 43 years old and was in a good physical form thanks to the regular sport training. It saved me.
We arrived to the aul, located on the height 2000masl. They treated me like to the distinguished guest and send with the militia major and two lower-ranking officers to accompany me. There were also two guides. We began to climb and alcohol started to come out with the sweat. I was too much extra clothing on.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Were you going to hunt for the tur?
Sergey: Later I’d known that we were going to hunt for the Mid-Caucasian tur. But I knew it much later. I didn’t know about three sub species and just walked to get the tur.
Telling the truth, I liked that I stood the test. First of all, one of the officers said that he could not go further, then another one and the last was the major who confessed that he couldn’t go anymore.
“We are the mountain citizens, - he said, - but not liked that”. I left them some clothes and went on climbing with one of the guides. There on the top, we found the turs. Fortunately, they didn’t see us.
It was November and all slopes were covered by ice. The guides went up confidently and hid behind the rock. I stood up, straightened on the slope and felt that could roll down. The fall was high. The only way to reach the guides was to jump and to seize one of the small rocks. It took me time to gather my courage. I did it, caught the rock and crawled to the stone which hid us from the male's group.
The guides looked at me and suggested to shoot at the same time with me but I refused. I said that would shoot first and the guide can fire next but after the pause. I took the breath, aimed and pushed the trigger. The tur fell. We stood up and came to it. The tur also stood up and began to move up the mountain but it was seriously wounded. Then the curious thing had happened. It never repeated again. We close came to the male and it attacked us! The guide seizes one of its horn while I caught the another. At first we both were shocked but then there was a fit of hysterical laughter.
- We should kill it, - said the guide after laughing.
- I know, but how?
At last another guide came and took the horn, I held, while I got the carbine and finished the male though it was dangerous. I accounted to three, they pushed it away and I shot.
The descent was much harder than the way up. But the guides taught me how to go down using the trekking poles. You need to slide or to run by tack and to lean to the strong stick. The gravity center has to be closer to the slope. You need to sling the pole to another arm when changing the tack. It should always be from the slope side. It’s very effective when descending the icy grass.
I felt I lost several kg when we arrived back to the camp. And I made the appropriate conclusions. The first one is to exclude alcohol completely before and during the mountains hunting. The second one is to buy the appropriate equipment for the mountain hunting. I wanted to go on hunting. I'd really liked the moment when had to overcome myself. You feel that you can’t do a step but go on moving and it’s fabulous!
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: When did you come to the mountains next time?
Sergey: The break wasn’t long. When I had time and wasn’t going to Africa I tried to hunt in the mountains.
I visited the North Caucasus several time. I hunted twice in KBR and in Karachay-Cherkessia. I took the trophies of Caucasian chamois and the Caucasian subspecies of the Brown Bear near Sochi. I’ve been in Kyrgyzstan twice where hunted for Marco Polo and the Ibex. There were hunts for the Siberian Ibex in the Altai mountains. I took part in the hunting expeditions for the Kamchatka and Koryak Snow Sheep on Kamchatka. And I gathered the collection of chamois, which includes almost all subspecies excluding two.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What hunting had impressed you most of all?
Sergey: I remember two of them. The first one, I've just talked you about and the next one was in Nepal. It was a real adventure. One of the most interesting hunts! First we hunted for the muntjac, then for the Blue sheep (the subspecies which habituated in Nepal). The last trophy was the Himalayan Tahr. That hunt was one of the most difficult one because of the complexity level and the most dramatic.
It happened so that my guide wasn’t experienced. He couldn’t differ a male from a female. These animals of both genders have horns. I hadn’t seen those animals before. We crawled on the bellies to the animal and I took it.
But it happened to be a female tahr.
We were going back to the camp when heard the animal was moving across the loose stones. I detected the tahr was going from the one slope to another. I had no doubt, it was a male. It was difficult to confuse with a female. It was a good size male. I raised the carbine and began to shoot the running aim. I hit its leg by the second and the third shot. The tahr went over its head and fell down.
My guide was old (I even thought that he was older than he was. Later I knew that he was younger than me but looked not well) and couldn’t speak English. He gestured that we had to go down. I was tired after the day of walking and slipped when going down. It was enough to fall down like the tahr in a few minutes earlier. There is the technique of braking for such cases. You have to spread your legs, arms and try to catch any obstacle. But I worried about the gun more than for myself and pressed it to the body. The slope was covered by the small bushes of wild rose and I closed the eyes to save them from thorns. The consequences were not so sad if it happened during the day when I wore sunglasses. It was twilight and I put them in the backpack. At some point I opened the eyes and the thorn slashed hard across the left eye…
The eyes were full of tears when I stopped. The right one joined the left out of a sense of solidarity. It found the paper napkin and rubbed the right eye. The first thing I saw, when did it, was the tahr. That ill-fated wounded male laid in 20 meters above me. It braked earlier than me. I tried to get but couldn’t do it. Tears were streaming so hard that I couldn’t see optics. I had to wait for the guide. At last he went down and did the next. He took an incredibly dirty handkerchief from the pocket (I could see it even through the tears), put it on my closed eye and breathed on it. I felt the handkerchief became warmer and the lacrimation stopped. The eye dried. Only then I could come to the animal.
It took us three hours to go back to the camp. I completely tore the meniscus on his left leg to all my troubles. It hurt me much. The guide broke the stick which I used while walking to the camp We got there in the dead of night. I was devastated but was fully happy at the same time!
It took a half of the day to get the male tahr from the gorge and then we went down from the height 4500 meters. I didn't let go of the stick till the plane and then flew to Israel for the operation.
The serious mountains hunts are the hard work. I can compare with them just the hunting in the tropical rainforest in Africa.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you want to get record trophies or the species composition is enough?
Sergey: I’ll lie if say that don’t care the record trophies. I always want to get the record trophy. Not the world record but enough for the medal. But each time when I lose strength in the mountains by inner representations and requirements to the future trophy reduce. There were the situations when I was happy to take the average size trophy and finished the hunt.
Not far ago I hunted in the Low Tatras for the rare subspecies of the local chamois. There are only 5-6 licenses for this kind of hunt per a year. In the first day we hiked 8 km but it took us 8 hours and I’m 61 not 43 now. We were going down and to one km up so all the time. We did it in such thick fog that the 50 meters visibility was great. The element of uncertainty was the highest. We didn't see any animals except the only moment when the fog lifted for a couple seconds. I didn’t have time to get ready the carbine when the chamois disappeared. I had two more trips and my family waited for me at home. I was ready to take the any chamois with the minimal trophy size. Next day the weather changed and fog lifted. I saw 14 chamois during 3 hours and could choose the trophy I wanted. Thus, I got the chamois with really good trophy characteristics. I’m going to come there back to hunt the bigger one. I very seldom come back to get the same species or subspecies which I’ve hunted already. I don’t strive to improve the result if I have the trophy which is the good enough.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Where did you go back?
Sergey: I hunted for Marco Polo in Kyrgyzstan twice but not because wanted to improve the result. I just liked that hunting. It’s unbelievable beautiful. I hunted two times for the Alpine Chamois. It just happened.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: How do you treat to your weapon: as to piece of art or the working tool?
Sergey: I like good hunting arms. And have several carbines for different kind of hunting. But if you ask me about the passion to it, I haven't. I don't collect rifles, not try to buy the new models. It’s not a fetish for me at all.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What special devices do you use in the mountains- the ballistic calculators or meteostation?
Sergey: Nothing special. Just shoot. The only thing I use is the rangefinder. To know the distance to the aim. I don't have scope but the outfitter or the guides always have such. I've always asked them about the scope before and now nobody takes offense when I do it. I don't use any kind of the ballistic calculators.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you prefer to shoot at short distances?
Sergey: I don’t have any complexes before the distances. But I had it before. The more you shoot, you become more confident. I know the ballistic and have studied how to make corrections by eye. I like when need to shoot 300 meters and more. But I don't shoot at ultra-long distances.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: To the conclusion I want to ask you about your secrets of the experienced hunter.
Sergey: It’s the ungrateful thing to share the experience because each hunter thinks that he knows everything much better than the others.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What do you think to be useful for yourself?
Sergey: I am convinced of the importance of good physical form. I always give up to drink alcohol in two weeks before the trip. And start to walk not less than an hour a day by the rough terrain with a good pace. It helps a lot. The body remembers what you’ve taught it before.
The universal advice- don’t be in a hurry when you are in the mountains. No matter if you go up or descend. Your chance is higher to finish the hunt with a good result.
The small backpack is a very useful thing. I always have some snack which are not heavy but help to recover such as chocolate, raisins, dates, dried apricots.
I don’t drink much in the mountains. And never take a thermos with tea. The guides usually have and I do a couple of sips if necessary.
But I pay extra attention to the thermal underwear. There are lots of brands now. I use the one which the professional climbers use. I won’t tell you the name but I buy it the shops for the climbers and mountain skiers. And don't forget to take the extra one. It's a pleasure to change the underwear to the fresh one when hunting is over.
I use the stiff boots which hold the foot well. For fall or winter hunting I take the crampons. They help to move by the icy slope.
I'm used to wear special sunglasses with extra sun protection. It’s very important in the highlands. You can buy them on e-bay, but I’ve bought mine in France.
Telling the truth, I hate wind in the mountains. It's the feature of my body to catch a cold easily. That's why I always have the cap with a visor and a clasp under the throat. And don't’ forget to close the neck and ears. I prefer the knitted cap. And the scarf. I feel comfortable when the neck is warm.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Thank you very much for this conversation. Break a leg!
Sergey: Thank you!
