Wojteh Kononowicz is a well-known hunter not only in Belarus but in Russia too. He is highly respected for his commitment to the Right hunting, an impressive trophy collection (even for hunters from Western Europe) and hunting skill that not every hunter can show off.
Today Wojteh is our guest and we present you the interview with this open-minded and friendly person.
“The Magic of the Real Safari”: Our traditional question what age was you when started hunting and who was your motivator?
Wojteh Kononowicz: I felt in love with hunting from early childhood and it was my Grandpa’s fault. I was named after him. He was obsessed with hunting and all his sons were hunters too. I grew up listening to their endless hunting stories...
“MR Safari”: Where was it?
W.K. I was born in the village Borok, Stolbtsov district of Minsk region, in 1958. It's in the heart of Naliboki forest the biggest forest in Belarus and may be the whole Europe. That place means a lot for my country as the unique natural phenomenon and because of its historical value. It's closely connected with Radzivil’s family history. There is a church built in 1590. The hunting lands in that forest are the richest! They began just outside the village where I was born. It was more difficult not to become the hunters than the other way around. Telling the truth my father was less interested in hunting than his brothers – my uncles – were. We had a lot of wild boars and most of the hunters were interested in boar hunting though my Dad was hunting only for ducks during summer-fall time and for foxes and hares in winter. We've had hounds for as long as I can remember. Dad subscribed the magazine “Hunting and a game husbandry” that I was fond of reading. He was the only one who subscribed that magazine in our village and I still have several issued, published in 70s. I remember how we laid on the stove and read aloud the stories of Valery Yankovsky, Nikolay Smirnov, Mamin-Sibiryak and I imagined hunting to be the best holiday in the life. It was not just dreaming for me. My friends and I had, hidden single-barreled guns that used to shoot birds and hares in the permitted hunting time.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: When did you become the official hunter?
W.K. It was much difficult to get the hunting permit at that time than now. In 1975, I graduated from high school and entered the Institute of Technology, the Faculty of Forest Engineering. Being on the practice I tried to move as far as it was possible to the forest, to taiga in Siberia. I’d been in Krasnoyarsk region twice as a member of expeditions to lay routes for logging roads. We lived in the tent on the shore of Yenisei. It was hard but I still remember those days. We hunted there and it reminded me hunts, I read in the books of F. Cooper, that was enough to aim for the taiga again and again.
During my studies at the Institute, I was a member of the public nature protection squad. On weekends, the group of 3-5 students drove to the forest where we detained and handed over to the police poachers with weapons, lovers of fishing during the spawning period or with electric rods, illegal cutting of spruce plantations before the New Year. At the end of the university we were promised to be awarded with a diploma and a hunting ticket. But they didn’t give us any hunting ticket - they lied ...
“MR Safari”: And...?
W.K. After graduating the university, I married and stayed to work in Minsk - we built roads. I was used to visits the hunting shop after the work and once met there a fellow with whom we worked in the public nature protection squad. He was the director of the hunting farm which serviced the Party and Soviet elite. He gave me the recommendation - it was obligatory at that time to get the recommendation. I passed the selection committee exam at the hunting school and became an official hunter in 1986. Suddenly I met another problem that it was almost impossible to buy the rifle. There were none of them in the hunting shops. You can hardly believe how difficult it was to buy a smooth barrel gun a thirty years ago. I was lucky that my neighbor was an avid hunter and had three, and he sold me a one gun. It was Sauer “three rings”. There was a grave on the silver that announced that gun belonged to to Marshal Timoshenko. After that I bought the combined IZH -94 with the one barrel of 12 caliber and the second one for the Mosin cartridge. I was almost impossible for a person to get the rifled weapon at that time. In 2002 in Belarus the ban on the purchase of rifled weapons was lifted and I traveled to Moscow were bought Heym, cal. 30-06 Springfield. I hunted with it till 2012.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: When have you began to be interested in trophy hunting?
W.K. I started from reading books about trophy hunting. The first book I read in the institute was written by Slisius, then continued to read about the Czech trophy hunting, described by Robskof where he described how they measured and estimated the trophies. I dreamed for a long to get a trophy of a boar. The first one I hunted and got, when bought the first rifle.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Let's go back, what hunting did you like before the trophy hunting?
W.K. I was fond of hunting with dogs and had drathaars. One of my dogs was the Belarus Champion in the work class. It was an extremely intelligent and obedient dog! I could say it: “Sit near the trophy, I’ll make some pictures”, and it sat as long as I needed to make everything.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: There is a lot of wetlands out there. You have a great number of snipes, haven't you?
W.K. Telling the truth, there are not many of snipes there. The hollyhock and crakes are common birds, and hunting has always been near the city or in the village with their parents.
“MR Safari”: Let's come back to the trophies. Have you got the second and third boars?
W.K. Yes, I have got them. I don’t hunt for them about a year and a half now because of the the plague but I’ve hunted a lot and have got many of them. I write down how many animals I’ve taken, where and the trophy's weight. I have a special scale and I weigh everyone. To date, I have take 299 boars only.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Unbelievable! Have you hunted all of them in the corral hunts or not?
W.K. I have nothing against team hunting and take place in such hunts too but all boars have been got when I hunted alone. We had a lot of wild boar until 2013. The density of boar's population, in Vitebsk region where we hunted, was about 150 individuals for 17-20K ha. There is a hunting farm “Mosty” (Bridges), that owns about 120K ha of hunting lands. In 2012-2013 years we got 1500 boars there!
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: There were many boars till 2013.. From what time their population began to grow?
W.K. From the end of 90s or from 2000 year.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Have the poachers disappeared?
W.K. The laws against poachers have become more severe and there was one more moment. If you have the opportunity to hunt as many times as you want, you don’t need all meat that you get from your hunting and we have begun to give excess meat to the guides that's why they haven’t need to poacher to get meat for themselves. It's known that guides are the most smart and experienced poachers.
But the situation didn't change in such way everywhere. In places where the authority didn’t fight against poachers the boar's density of population was significantly lower.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Hunting from the approach is one of the most difficult, it makes a number of serious requirements for the hunter…
W.K.: Especially the night hunting from the approach.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: I underline night hunting. A wild boar is a dangerous animal, and hunting from the approach is not only difficult, but also risky…
W.K.: The accidents happen each year. Once I and a dog were chasing the wounded male... It was an early morning, about 5 am. We followed its track in the high grass. Suddenly it appeared from nowhere and attacked the dog. I should shoot from three meters.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What is the most outstanding trophy in your collection?
W.K. It takes the first place in the Belorussian Safari Club: fangs – 26.5 cm. The Moscow Safari Club has one or two more outstanding trophies.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What about roe deer- in the hunting lands and in your collection?
W.K. When I started to do trophy hunting, the region received 4-5 hunting permits per a season. Nowadays the usual number of hunting licenses for the hunting farm is about 15-20 permits for a season. As for me, I've got about 170 roe deer and four of them have Golden rank.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: In Russia we have many hunters but not enough animals. A hunting strategy of development of hunting industry, passed in the last year, i assumes an increase in the number, including ungulates, in six times, If I’m not mistaken. Many people have mocked it but the Belorussian experience shows that it's real in 15 years. How did you manage to achieve this?
W.K. I believe that the biggest role in this case was played by the fact that the hunting industry was taken under the control of the President. The rampant poaching was no less than in Russia in 90s, and the moose was particularly affected. Today we can see the growth of animal’s population including moose. We couldn’t stop the poaching completely but reduced its level thanks to the passed laws. The great number of hunting lands including the common ones were given to the forest hunting farms. The majority of hunting farms are not profitable but the forest ones have funds that they receive from forest management, it allows to pay salary for rangers, and to provide biotechnologies. The profitable industry support the non- profitable one. Plus the effective private hunting farms.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you have the moose trophy?
W.K.: I got it in 2010 in the hunting farm “Obsterno”, It is the moose trophy with the outstanding trophy characteristics. The fifth in Belarus and the first one in the Club. My deer is also number 1 in the Club. I took it near the Russian border in Vitebsk region in the hunting farm Babichevskoy that was one of the best in USSR.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: We’ve written about Kononovich’s skill to call wolves and to get them. How can you do it?
W.K. Probably the God gave such a skill. It's true that wolves come to us when I call them. This year we got 20 wolves. I shot 9 wolves and one more I got when we hunted with flags. I have 49 wolves on my account.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you have a bear?
W.K. Of course, The bear hunts started from Vologda. My fellow Sasha Varivodsky once settled in the Vologda region, and the first time I hunted there from the labaz. It was the new experience and was very emotional. I visited him about six time and got four bears.
Later I hunted with Sergey Khromyh and we got the Himalayan bear on the Far East of Russia. But then my wife asked me not to shoot bears. And I didn't hunt them till 2001 when friends persuaded me to join them in the hunting trip for Kamchatka bear. I flew there and got it. Later the same year I visited Karachaevo - Cherkessia where got the trophy of the Caucasian bear. I heard that a hunting club was going to establish the award “Russian Bears Top Ten”. Or twenty? It is necessary to "collect points" slowly. Today I have five different bear trophies.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Will you tell us about your hunting geography outside Belarus.
W.K. I once worked in Mongolia, building the city of Erdenet. And once in 1990 I flew home on vocation. It was the first time when I saw foreign hunters and foreign hunting magazines. It happened in the airport. They were from Spain. We had only “"Hunting and hunting economy” that wasn't so beautiful. At that time, it also printed in black and white. Then in Sheremetevo I saw the trophy of ibexes. It was something! I was so impressed by them that coming back from the vacation I asked the locals to sell me the horns of Ibexes. I got sick of trophy hunting. As soon as good hunting magazines appeared in Russia, I began to write them out from the first issues. The most desired one was “Safari”. I'd got involved in hunting tourism thanks to that magazine and began to hunt not only in Belarus but all over the world. Russia is an abroad country for us now but the generation that has been born in USSR treats it like a part of our country.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Are there any problems with hunting in Russia?
W.K. The only problem is with the arm’s transfer, especially through Sheremetyevo airport. The Belorussian citizen is a foreigner and has to be accompanied by the local representative. I know that people from Germany or Italy needs the local representatives but why do we need them? If I fly to Kamchatka through Domodedovo, I don’t even touch the rifle when changes the flight in Moscow, all paperwork is drawn without me. But in Sheremetyevo I should take it on the first floor then carry to the third and give to the officers. It’s a strange situation. Why? We are used to it and know how to avoid it.
“MR Safari”: Do you like Africa hunts?
W.K. Not so. I don’t know why but I’m never interested in hunting in Africa. It comes from the childhood. I was grown on the book “Doctor Aibolit” and couldn’t imagine how to shoot a push - and- pull animal. I couldn’t imagine how to aim zebras or an elephant that admired in the circus when I was young. Probably I’d like to hunt for a buffalo but haven't decided yet.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What about predators?
W.K. Predators.. May be...
“MR Safari”: It’d be logical to talk about the Belorussian Safari Club. When and how was it formed?
W.K. It was established 6 years ago. Gennady Kanoyko accompanied me in the most of hunting trips when I began to collect trophies and to hunt abroad. Once our friend Sergey Verbitstsky organized a hunt in Kyrgyzstan. The group, that flew there, consisted of me and several young hunters included Dmitry Bogush. There we began to discuss the idea how to make such club. After a while we realized that the only man who could realize that project, was Dmitry Bogush. He had all necessary skills and knowledge but wasn't sure that would have enough time to do it. We persuaded him and he agreed. The Club exists thanks to his management skills and promotion. Our task was to involved the definite number of people to start the process. We invited all our friends- hunters and they all agreed to take part. Some of them left the Club later, it's normal and always happens. The last crisis year showed who was the real member of the Club. There are about 20 members now and it's enough to organize Club events. The doors don't close at all and we hope the number of members will grow. Or somebody will leave the Club. I like it and cheer for the Club's future that's why they call me “Grandpa”.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Belarusian hunters celebrate St. Hubert's Day every year. Who do you celebrate it in the Club?
W.K. We have a priest in the Club. He is a Club member. His name is Antony Antonovich Klimantovich. It was his initiative to organize a general gathering of the Club to celebrate this holiday. We have a club banner with an embroidered image of Saint Hubert, and all events are organized under it. Our Minsk Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusevich never missed this day, he always came, even if no more than fifty people gathered. He came and always read a sermon on the theme of the holiday. Each year the Club members with families gather at this day. The first day we take part in the corral hunting and pheasant hunting on the next day.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: How did you start mountain hunting?
W.K. Since I was a student, I had a dream to travel to Altai. But something prevented me from it. I traveled all around Siberia but couldn't visit Altai. Once I was on the big hunting Show, organized by the Safari magazine. It took place in The Olympic Sports Complex on Proskpect Mira. There I met Konstantin Salaikin the owner of the company “Uch- Sumer” and he invited me to Altai. And I flew. It was a difficult but very emotional hunting. Though I was born and grew in the village I never rode horses. But there we were riding all 12 days. It was the extreme horse-riding trip in the mountains. There I got the ibex and the maral. It was my first trophy hunting, organized in the new place. And the first one when you enjoy the process and enjoy the difficulties. I began to respect myself when could overcome my weaknesses.
Then I read the book of Alexander Khokhov “The top of hunting” and traveled to Bulgaria to get a mouflon. Unfortunately, I didn’t like that kind of hunting.
Later I read in the Safari magazine that the hunting company from Okhotsk invited hunters to take part in the snow sheep hunting and my friends and I flew there. Each of us got a trophy there. Mountains there were not high and we felt well. It was nice. Later the other guys from our Club traveled there but not successfully. We were lucky. We take off shoes and move in the socks when hunt the boar. I did the same when hunted the sheep and could approach it on 15 meters from above. I missed completely, because the bullet caught the edge of the rock and ricocheted away. I could get it only when I moved on 200 meters from me.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you think about hunting in the serious mountains?
W.K. The next hunt was in the serous ones. I hunted with Yuri Matisson. It was dangerous. Really dangerous and tough. I had to make two stops when going up from the second to the third floor in the hotel. The adaptation was very difficult and took three days. But my friend and I had got the trophy of Marco Polo each.
Then I hunted in Tian Shan in the hunting farm of Moskovsky Komsomolets. Each of us got Tian Shan argali there. My fellow took one more trophy of the ibex and I couldn’t. I saw them but didn’t have a chance to shoot.
Three times I flew to Kamchatka, where got trophies of a sheep, a moose and a bear.
Two turs had been taken in Kabardino- Balkaria, the Caucasian and a Kuban turs. I shot them both in the same gorge but on different slopes. Later after analysis they happened to be Central Caucasian turs - both. Thus, I had to get the trophy of the Dagestan tur in Azerbaijan and a Kuban tur in Karachaevо - Cherkessia. There I got a chamois though had one, got in Azerbaijan. I became the first Belarusian who got The Mountains five and was awarded.
After it I decided to collect the Great Seven and need just a lynx. We have lynx in our country but they are in the Red Book of Rare species. That's why I flew to Russian once again.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: How do you train for a mountain hunting?
W.K. I never train specially. A man of 45-50 years old who hunts regularly and is in a good physical form, doesn't need to train specially for a mountain hunting. We didn’t run up and down by the stairs of high-rise buildings and didn’t go to the gym. As for the way of hunting I’m very experienced in hunting from the approach to the animal. As I’ve said above, thanks to my experience I've learned to approach the roe deer in socks without boots. There wasn’t any opportunity to shoot the animals from 100 meters and more. We approached it on 30-50 and even 15 meters. Same with the boars. The gun and optics, I used that time, was not high quality. We sewed clothes from cotton not to rustle. In the beginning I used it for the mountain hunting too. It looked funny. Nowadays there is a great choice of mountain clothes and several companies produce clothes for the mountain hunting only. Same with the boots.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: How did the idea of what to take, how to dress for hunting in the mountains change?
W.K. I needed to buy mountain boots for the first mountain hunting in Altai. There were not special boots in the shop. I went to the market in Minsk and bought the Polish boots on the on a thick rubber sole. The seller assured me that they were especially for mountains. They cost 40 dollars. We arrived to Altai and rose to the mountains. The rut season hadn’t begun yet and we decided to start from the ibex. We got up in early morning. The staff began to make fire and to cook breakfast. The guide suggested me to go and check the surroundings while the rest were cooking. We went and detected the group of ibexes! It looked easy, just went down then up and to shoot. We both felt ourselves like heroes. We began to descend by the rocks. At that moment I realized what a fantastic boot, I had bought. My leg above the ankle was clamped with shoelaces and dangled in the boot. We went down. Then began to rise. The ibexes were having rest on the ridge edge and weren’t in a hurry. It seemed nothing difficult just to come close and to shoot. Suddenly the guide began to shout: “Shoot! Shoot faster!” I didn’t take the comfortable position yet, turned to the side, leaned on something and shot. The ibexes were blown away. Then we went down though none of us felt like heroes. Suddenly I felt that couldn’t make a step. I took off boots and found that all soles were calluses. The bloody calluses were under the fingers! We were going to finish everything in twenty minutes. But it took us three hours. From that time, I always say to the guides: “If you say a word under your arm, forget about the tip."
I remember one more thing. The guide went for the horses and I left near the creek. I was thirsty. Near the old bonfire I found two old rusty cans, made fire, burned cans and boiled water with the blackcurrant leaves. So, I restored the water balance.
Later in Moscow I bought nice mountain boot, they cost me 200 dollars. They were really for mountains. Now I have four pairs of mountain shoes, but the ones, I bought in Moscow are still the best.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Why do you need three pairs more?
W.K. I always trust the sellers. They know what you have to buy. One time I bought boots that keep me warm till -15C, as the seller promised but in reality I was cold in them even it was 0 degrees. Some seller sold me waterproof boots but it was not true also. I trust people and each time want to buy the best but practice shows that only 5% of promises are true and keeps your requirements.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What else from your equipment have you improved?
W.K. I said good buy to cotton clothes. Today I use thermal underwear and have several sets - for hiking, and to keep warm from merino wool and so.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What arms do you use for hunting in the mountains?
W.K. I didn't buy any special weapons for a long time. For ten years I was hunting with my favorite Heym cal. 30-06 Spring. I hunted and got lots of trophies from moose to bears using that gun. Then my fellow persuaded me to buy an ORSIS precision rifle. It was really high-precision one but I didn’t like it. I took it to Kamchatka when hunted for a snow sheep but it was heavy and I was tired to carry it. I needed a special one for the mountain hunting. According the law in Belarus you can have just two rifled guns. I have the double-barreled shotgun Merkel for corral hunting - the lower barrel is also 30=06 cal and 12 cal is the upper one.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you like cal. 30-06?
W.K. I hadn’t any problems with it. It allows to have a good choice of the bullets and have a good trajectory...
“MR Safari”:How many mountain trophies have you?
W.K. I have eight sheep, one ibex, three turs and two species of chamois. I mean species because some of them I have two trophies of one species.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: I could hardly imagine your trophy room. Where have you keep them?
W.K. I have three trophy rooms in a country house. The first one was the room for my mother-in- law. She refused to live there and I decided to keep my trophies there. At that time, I hunted mainly birds, and there are mostly stuffed birds. I call it “the room for birds”. As many men, born in USSR, I couldn’t imagine my live without the workroom and made in the basement. Hunting took all my time and I had no extra time to make something in the workroom, that's why I decided to use it as one more trophy room “For boars”, the majority of trophies there are boars. There are medallions with fangs, but some full-size trophies- the head of my first boar, the fifth, the hundredth and so. I also have several unusual trophies such as a boar with interesting pockmarked skin and a white boar. I have several horns of reed and roe deer there. When the second room was full, I began to hunt in Russia and had nothing to do but to rebuilt the garage. I built it higher on a meter and a half and deepened in 1,5 meters. The result was a room of 8x4. 5 meters. My first thought when I came into it in the first time was: "Will I ever be able to fill it with trophies? » There are not space room there now. I came to the thought to build a huge hunting house with space trophy rooms and are in the process now. I hope to finish it in two years to my anniversary and all trophies from the rooms will transfer there.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Thank you for the interview! We wish you a successful completion of all your plans and many, many more hunts!
