FIREARMS
1. HUNTING CARBINE
Calibers from .300 to .338. Given caliber range enables shooting at great distances preserving sufficient amount of bullet energy for a guaranteed shooting to kill. The main cartridge brands 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. These enable shooting at distances up to 800 meters. Caliber .338 Lapua Magnum – to 1000 meters and more. Such a large selection of brands puts a question of an optimal gun choice. Basically, this should be non-semi-automatic gun with the accurate of the barrel to 0.5 MOA (minute of arc), that corresponds to the error of 1.5cm for100 meters (extreme vertical spread up to 0,5 MOA (minute of arc), which equals an error of 1,5 cm per 100 meters). It’s easy to calculate that ballistic tolerance for firing at 800 m will be about 12 cm which goes well into the overall dimensions of the game. The whole thing could be much easier if only this parameter affected firing accuracy. The rifles of .338 WM and 338 LM calibers being loaded and equipped with a telescopic sight will weigh about 10 kg or even more. This taking into account some extra equipment and ammunition will be significant burden even for a well-trained hunter. Rifles of .300 caliber are less heavy and some of them, made in Ultra light design, are almost “weightless”. However, firing such a lightweight guns has its own peculiarities. Aiming such guns is rather difficult because a heavier barrel is more stable while choosing an aiming point. Besides the recoil of .300 lightweight rifle is quite sensible that is definitely not a problem for an experienced hunter but for the novice this may represent a serious difficulty during aiming and firing. Hunting chamois the .243 caliber is also frequently used but in general, we can conclude that variations of .300 calibers are optimal in terms of bullet weight, energy conservation (sufficient to kill the animal) and shooting distance. As an example, we can recommend Orsis, Blazer, Sako, Heckler-Koch and Remington. Heavier rifles of .338 caliber include such brands as HS Precision, Accuracy AW, Barrett and others. These are specialized sniper’s firearms, the best of its kind in this class.
2. TELESCOPIC SIGHT
In our opinion, they should be tactical sights allowing to introduce corrections with vertical (elevation) and horizontal (windage) adjustment controls. The scope must have variable magnification which will help to optimize targeting and firing at different distances. Probably, the top scope brands are Schmidt & Bender, NightForce, Carl Zeiss. Among Russian brands we can recommend Dedal. Maximum magnification is 25 times, sights with higher magnification belong to sport class and firing with these at moving targets is quite problematic, besides, such scopes are quite heavy which is not a positive factor for mountain hunting. The most important thing in choosing your scope is its metric values. Some hunters prefer centimeters, others – MOA, regardless of this it’s important to make proper calculations with the given scope. Optimal reticle design is Mil-Dot with transparent dots. Solid dots at significant distances may cover the target itself, making the targeting difficult. This reticle type also allows firing with deflection. Some words on thermographic and NVD scopes. It is well known that firing at night in the mountains is inadmissible. Most hunters agree with this statement. Therefore, it makes no sense to spare enormous sums of money to buy such devices, because the probability that it will be useless for you is close to 99%. However, during the last years a number of Russian companies made considerable progress in thermographic scopes production. Dedal, IWT, Infratech and Ukrainian scopes ARCHER are quite suitable for 200-800 m, but still these are rather expensive and virtually useless devices for the mountain hunt.
3. AMMUNITION
According to the fact that firing distance will be probably of no less than 300 m, the ammunition has to meet high ballistic requirements like that of Scenar. Try to standardize your ammunition set. Fire all types of ammo you have on a shooting range at different distances and make all necessary calculations with corresponding ballistic tables. Different types of ammunition will have different trajectories, which may introduce certain degree of nervousness, unexpectedness and misses during hunting itself.
4. BINOCULARS
It’s better to have one combined with a range finder. This type of device should be considered optimal, in other case you’ll have to carry both of them. Leica binoculars with 10 times magnification and built-in ballistic calculator allow getting all the basic shooting data: range, target elevation, air pressure and air temperature.
5. SPOTTING SCOPES
Mountain game animals have perfect eyesight, are very shy and are sometimes very difficult to spot in the mountainous areas. While searching them, a hunter may travel up to 20 km a day. It is important just not to spot the animals but to determine their sex, age and to assess the quality of a possible trophy. For instance, many countries have certain restrictions and charge serious fines if juvenile animals are taken. To find an animal and to assess the trophy one can use spotting scopes with high magnification from 25 to 50 times. Leica, Swarovski, Carl Zeiss offer an impressive range of models. All these have high resolution coated optics, but when making your choice you still have to acknowledge the weight of certain model. Apart from the scope itself you’ll need a tripod and a tripod head. We recommend ball-head type Manfrotto 324RC2. Dealing with high magnification optics it is very important to lock the scope quickly and firmly and this model shows excellent performance in this respect. Choosing a tripod one should be guided by its compact size, reliability and steadiness. Too shaky tripod will flutter in the strong wind and will transfer its shaking to the optics which will seriously deteriorate the picture. As an alternative, one could use 25x telescopic sight mounted on a rifle or a photo camera with 30x zoom. A scope with lower magnification won’t give enough resolution to assess the trophy size over significant distances.
6. WRISTWATCH OF CASIO PROTREK TYPE
This type of watch allows gaining necessary shooting data, works on sun batteries, has a light and secure watchcase.
7. WEATHER METER
It is used to measure wind speed and direction. The Kestrel brand is considered the best of this kind. When shooting at distances less than 300 m wind corrections are subtle but ignoring them at greater distances will certainly make you miss. However, those hunters who have ever had mountain shooting experience know how difficult it can be to judge the wind direction by the bullet trajectory. Wind in the mountain gorge can easily change its direction to the opposite.
8. BALLISTIC CALCULATOR
It may be installed into different platforms and mobile devices, like Getac p535f. The main requirements are waterproofness and usability. We can recommend a shock-resistant and waterproof case SLXTreme for IPhone 5S. Having this, you’ll get good quality camera, a navigator, a ballistic calculator and, of course, a mobile communication. You can download a ballistic calculation program specially developed by snipers of Special Task Force of Russian FSS for Windows mobile 6.1, IPhone and Android. For the details see the corresponding page of our site.9. BALLISTIC TABLES
For the convenience and as an alternative option we propose to calculate ballistic tables for principal values of elevation and distance. For example, 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500 m and distances from 100 to 800 m with a step of no less than 25 m. Such a table could be printed, put into waterproof cover and carried in your pocket all the time during hunting. The table may be printed on a metalized self-adhesive plate and fixed directly on a rifle. This way you will have a good prompt on basic shooting distances always at your hands.
9. OPTIC SCOPE COVER
We have to add some important accessories to the firearms topic. The scope cover which also covers the rifle barrel is a significant element both in terms of protection and carrying convenience. Another useful item is tactical carry backpack which seriously improves fastening and carrying your gun during the prolonged day marches. Among the best of these are Russian T11 pack made by Group 99 Сompany. It is really useful and important detail for carrying your firearms.
10. MOUNTAIN SHOOTING STICKS
The carbine should be equipped with mountain (extended) shooting sticks (Harris, CALDWELL) which enable shooting at wider angles, from lying and sitting positions. According to our experience we recommend all the beginners to include this type of shooting to the self-training program. Short sticks are of limited use in the mountains and a hunter will hardly benefit from it. Moreover, shooting upwards at wide angle on short sticks one can easily injure himself with the scope ocular because of its inconvenient position too close to the hunter’s face. Another common mistake in shooting with short sticks is hitting an obstacle on the bullet trajectory. The scope picture shows that the target is open and you can fire, whereas the barrel is actually much lower and bullet hits a rock or a grass clump placed right to the front of a muzzle. Be very careful and assure that there’re no obstacles.
11. GUN CLEANING KIT
You should carry a cleaning kit: ramrod, cleaning rag and gun oil. Everything can happen to your rifle, most often the ingress of snow into the barrel may take place, so do always keep your gun in operation condition. 12. SOUND MODERATOR
Sometimes hunters use sound moderator (suppressor or silencer). This device muffles and dissipates the noise, it being virtually impossible to reach complete noiselessness of the firing sound at all because of the ultrasonic characteristics of the ammunition. Using the sound moderator invariably changes the barrel ballistics – as a rule, bullets fall 15-20 cm lower than usual and there may be deflections on horizontal. You will need to recalculate the ballistic tables at all firing distances. And don’t expect that suppressor will make the shot totally silent, it would make it rather more inconspicuous for an animal and of course, it will considerably lower the disturbance factor compared to the usual loud and rolling mountain shot sound when fired without the suppressor. It is also necessary to know that after removal and the next turning of the sound moderator on the barrel, it needs in a control shooting and an adjustment of aiming point.
13. MILITARY TARGETING AND RANGING MODULES
Say a few words about devices, which can be attributed rather to exotics than to anything being necessary. These are professional use military sniper modules. Among the most famous are laser rangefinders and targeting optics of American brand Wilcox and Swiss brand Vectronix. The devices like this are able to work at great distances, to calculate the target coordinates, azimuths and designations, transmitting this data to a variety of offensive weapon systems. The computational algorithms they use are excessive for hunting. Thus, being devices of special military purpose it’s almost impossible to buy them on a public sale.ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND GADGETS NECESSARY FOR THE MOUNTAIN HUNT
Modern technologies are always one head ahead of us and gradually penetrate into all the fields of our life. Mountain hunting is not an exception. Below are some our recommendations on that matter.The most important element of the coordination iscommunication.
1. SET OF WALKIE-TALKIES
We recommend each hunter to have a set of two walkie-talkies with extra batteries. It is always hard to tell in advance whether there’ll be any electricity network or a generator on the spot. Using batteries in such cases is safer. One can easily estimate the necessary amount of them for the trip. Local outfitters may have their own set of radio transmitters but you could hardly rely on that fact. Good coordination work before the start of the hunt is a guarantee of success.
2. SATELLITE PHONE
There are several systems of satellite communication, the most common of these are Iridium and Thuraya. It’s better if you’ll type all the necessary contacts to the phone memory in advance. However, the satellite phone will work for no more than two days without being charged.
3. SATELLITE TRACKER
In our opinion this device is rather more suited to long hunting trips. Depending on the setup mode it will work up to three months without a charge periodically transmitting signals of your location to a central control center or to mobile device. Modern models support text messaging which makes it a perfect tool for transmitting some important information. For example, it will be useful for a hunter to make some notes on a certain site or to request a weather forecast for the hunting spot. But the most necessary and important feature of the device is the transmission of an emergency signal. The principal factor of your safety in such kind of a situation is timely information on the details of an accident supplemented with exact geographical coordinates. To protect your tracker we recommend to put it into waterproof Aquapac or DRUPAK cases..
4. MOBILE SATELLITE STATION FOR THE INTERNET CONNECTION
It is very important to be well informed about the latest events in the country and the world in general. If you’re a businessman it is absolutely essential to stay in touch and to be able to run your affairs remotely. For this purpose we recommend to have a mobile satellite station. As with satellite phones the principal brands are Iridium, Inmarsat and Thuraya. They offer a range of devices providing stable Internet connection. Although the traffic speed leaves much to be desired it’s quite enough for the most basic purposes.
5. EXTERNAL ACCUMULATORS AND SOLAR BATTERIES
One of the most crucial things with all electronic equipment is its recharging ability. Field conditions during the mountain hunt are mostly tough and very few places can provide you even with a simplest electricity network. That’s the moment to think of accumulators and solar batteries. There’s a plenty of variants on offer both of Russian and foreign brands. The models range from very light carpet-like to bulky suitcase-like with huge capacity allowing using them for many hours and even to power up the camp lights. In most cases you’ll be housed in some sort of a base camp, where you can leave your entire luggage and reach it, as a rule, using a car or a helicopter. Of course, you don’t have to carry all that stuff with you directly to the hunting site and it’s actually hardly possible. But creating comfortable conditions at the base camp where you’ll have a kind of command center and recreational area is quite reasonable.
6. PHOTO AND VIDEO
Hunting, especially trophy hunting implies photo or video registration of the trophy taken. It’s a kind of mandatory ritual and you can’t go without it. Moreover, when entering a trophy almost all hunting clubs require a photo of a hunter with a trophy. With all these requirements a technical reliability question arises. With plenty of models on offer one should count for compact size, safe casing and good zoom. As we mentioned above an IPhone 5 in waterproof SLXTreme case is a good option. It’s well known that a picture quality taken with this model is quite reasonable; besides, the device has got a number of other useful functions being, in particular, a GPS-navigator. There are good reviews for Canon SX700 HS with 30x optical zoom. Despite its small size it manages to take excellent photos and, if necessary, to capture objects at great distances. It is also helpful in terms of assessing the quality of your future trophy. By the way, the Garmin Company has launched a line of GPS-navigators with built-in photo cameras.
7. GPS-NAVIGATORS
They are very important accessories in the equipment of the mountain hunter. They solve a complex of tasks including navigation, reconnaissance, geo-positioning of the current location and notable events happened to a hunter. Base camp coordinate, the spot where the trophy was taken or a place where a cargo container was packed – all this and many other aspects require a precise GPS data. Nevertheless, have in mind that these devices are quite power-hungry and need a constant supply of batteries.
8. E-BOOK ON A NOOK PLATFORM
Mountains are notorious with unpredictable and frequent weather changes. It is quite common to get several days of pouring rain, winds quall or impenetrable fog. The long days like these force a hunter to kill the time by all possible ways while waiting for the weather to improve. On these days one more gadget will be of great help to the hunter – the E-book on a Nook platform. It features considerable memory capacity and low power consumption. During the preparations for the hunting trip, you can download the books you want (fiction or documentary) and then enjoy them during the nasty weather.NECESSARY FIELD EQUIPMENT AND FIELD OUTERWEAR
1. BIG ROOMY HANDBAG
The number one item in this list is a roomy handbag where you’ll place the bulk of your equipment. It should be a waterproof bag to securely cover all your goods. As an example we can name Tatonka Barrel L and handbags of Beretta Company.
2. BACKPACK
It is another important part of the field equipment. Some details will be appropriate here. Today you can find lots of different models on market, but most of them are intended for mountain tourists and not all of them will be suitable for a mountain hunter. A hunter should have several backpacks depending on purpose. Some people classify backpacks by the volume: 20-30-40 liters and so on; others group them in terms of time of the hike: daypacks, two-days and many-days – there’re lots of other classifications. Each backpack has to meet the certain requirements depending on the tasks in a given trip. The basic requirement for all is water and moisture resistance. Despite all the assurances of Gore Tex manufacturer we strongly recommend additional rain cover which will act as an extra waterproof layer. Some backpack models are fully made of rubberized fabric. Backpack has to have comfortable frame and straps to evenly distribute the load. Special pockets and mounts for holding a rifle are very convenient. Always carrying a mountain carbine on a shoulder strap is a tiresome and exhausting work. Whereas, the rifle put into special pocket will improve the overall body balance and will evenly offload its weight over your shoulders. For example, the backpacks of different capacity made by “Group 99” company – is a very good option for mountain hunting. It is important to note and to list the most principal items for an autonomous many day march. These include:- A one-person double-skin tent
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping mat (ground pad)
- Extra set of clothes
- Water flask and supply of food
- Electronic devices, including parts of your firearms
- Ammunition
3. ONE-PERSON TENT
We strongly recommend the hunters to have their own one-person tent. It should be equipped with the outer waterproof tent which will protect them from rain, dew and condensate. There are lots of different models on the market, but the principal criterion to be considered – it’s the weight of the tent.
4. SLEEPING BAG
It is a very important part of equipment. After long, exhausting marches you’ll have to gain strength and to sleep well. For this you’ll need a sleeping bag which fits the local air temperature. The best option is to have a range of bags for different temperatures from -15, -25 to -40 or even -60°C. Austrian brand Carinthia, Dutch brand Arctic and Russian company BASK are all good enough to provide you with all sleeping bag models you’d need. Take with you only the bag which will surely suit to the expected conditions.
5. SLEEPING MAT
It is another necessary detail for safe sleeping on snow or ground. These can be of manually inflated, self-inflated or foam types, made of polyethylene foam. It is important to choose the model of a sleeping mat as to reach maximum insulation properties as well as compact size and shape. At the base camp the camp bed is the best option. No sleeping mat can be compared to a camp bed in terms of comfort. But Iit is necessary to have both items as each of them has its own fdifferent aim.
6. PERSONAL FIRST-AID KIT
The Companies as “Group 99” and “Transcript NPC” offer a wide range of individual and group first-aid kits. They are packaged in accordance with the most common potential threats to human health, but certainly each hunter will have to add some of personal medicines. We also recommend the hunters to add broad spectrum of antibiotics, medicines against cold and pain killers. There are some mountain specialties like Glycine and Aquagen which speed up the adaptation to height.
7. HIKING BOOTS
It is hard to say what part of the field equipment is more important than others, but the footwear is vital one. Wrongly chosen footwear may result in bruises and corns and consequently, untimely end of hunting or even end in a tragedy. Below there is some advice on proper choosing of your hiking boots. Firstly, these should be specialized hiking boots on a Vibram outsole. This type of sole must have the right rigidity and an excellent grip with any surface. The boots have to be of moderate rigid, to fix an ankle properly and to be made using Gore Tex technology, i.e. to be waterproof. Better to buy boots half a size bigger than your actual foot size, this will allow you to wear thick warm socks and also will leave some space for the first toe – it is very important when descending a mountain slope. We recommend brands MAMMUT and LOWA. The specific trait of specialized hiking boots is a wide rubber strap, covering lower parts of a vamp and a toe cap next to the sole. Boots of these brands are easy to choose; as consultants on the spot will provide you with more than enough information on particular model they have.
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Travelling by snow-covered peaks requires hiking gaiters to prevent the snow or moisture ingress inside the boot. For some extremely difficult routes in the Pamirs or the Tien-Shan mountains one may need snowshoes or even crampons.However, while being in the base camp you’ll need another kind of footwear. There may be lots of different variants depending on the air temperature, presence of snow cover or if staying in a comfortable lodge. The basic thing is that this kind of footwear should be warm and comfortable and unlike hiking boots, not be tight on your feet, and boots should be quick to put on/take off. As an option, pay your attention to CROCS shoes, present in both summer and winter variants.
At higher altitudes and low temperatures feather boots on a rubber outer sole can solve the problem. Lots of models can be found in specialized stores and Internet shops.
8. HUNTING KNIFE
Unlike the plain hunting where one can meet the most diverse variations of a hunting knife, the knives for mountain hunt have to be light and compact. The knife in the mountains is a necessary tool for preparing food, skinning and butchering of an animal and for many other things. That’s why you don’t need those exotic machetes, Damascus and bulat steel. What you really need is a jack-knife with a blade length of 10-12 cm. Another good option is multi-tool Leatherman knives.
9. HEADLAMP
That is a thing you must have any time, no matter what time of day you leave the base camp, and scheduled time of coming back. It is very difficult to move at night in the mountains.10. ROPE
No, we don’t mean dynamic rope, rather a small but strong “just in case” cord. Paracord bracelets are good option.
11. SUN GLASSES
If the group plans to stay at elevations from 3500 m and higher, there is a great probability to get onto snowfields. On a sunny day the light reflection from the snow may lead to snow blindness unless you wear the sun glasses. It may take you just about 30 minutes to feel the pain in the eyes and temporally to lose your vision. Therefore, you should take all possible precautions and simple sun glasses, protecting the eyes from UV rays is the best option. In case of emergency, if you don’t have any glasses, cover your face with a kerchief or bandana and try to screw up your eyes leaving as tiny slits for watching as possible. It’s better to choose sport models or even special glacier glasses with blinders at the sides. Choose the model with rope for quick taking off.
12. KERCHIEF OR BANDANA
This accessory came from the Middle East being sort of military symbol adopted by many modern armies. The main reason for becoming that widespread is in being versatile and functional. Arabian keffiyeh may be equally useful in hot afternoon and in freezing cold night. There are models made in white, red or green colors. Depending on climate, it will be useful to cover your neck, face or the whole head.13. SUNSCREEM FOR FACE AND LIPS
14. CLOTHES
Clothes are the most extensive concept. Cotton fabric, thick felt, cloth and beaver lamb all have become things of the past. Today we have light, membrane and multifunctional synthetic materials instead. The principle of five-layered clothing solves different tasks of insulation, transpiration, protection of our body from moisture, wind and low temperatures. Thermal underwear i.e. inner layer, Gore-Tex jackets, shell layer and warming middle layer – that’s the standard of modern outerwear concept.
There is a plenty of possibilities, starting with Canadian Sitka, Austrian Carinthia, American 5.11 Tactical and ending with Russian brands like BASK and Group 99. We recommend trousers with knee-pads. During the mountain hunt you have often to crawl and fall to knees so knee-pads are very helpful in doing this. In general, we recommend the following set of clothes- Underwear – no less than 3 sets. Better to choose seamless models which won’t bring any discomfort while being in a constant move all day long;
- Inner layer of warm underwear for everyday use – 2 sets;
- Warm thermal underwear for sleeping – one pair is enough;
- Multifunctional warm and light jackets of Polarteс or Softshell technologies;
- Down-filled vest;
- Waterproof jacket made of Gore-Tex membrane fabric;
- Wind stopper jacket;
- Leather Down jacket;
- Ghillie suit;
- Poncho shape raincoat covering the whole body;
- Base camp clothes;
- Warm trousers for low temperatures;
- Warm socks – 3 pairs;
- Warm hat or cap. Preferably not knitted one, because these are subjected to draughts. At extremely low temperatures it is better to have even two of them;
- Gloves. A thinner pair for everyday use and a pair of warm gloves for low temperatures.
15. FOAM CAMPING SEAT
16. TEST TUBES FOR GENETIC DATA COLLECTION
You can get a plenty of those at the Club of the Mountain Hunters. If you don’t have any on the spot some small vials filled with ethanol will do. Russian scientific community will be thankful to you for genetic data collected from different mountain areas.17. AQUAPAC WATERPROOF BOXES FOR DOCUMENTATION
18. EXTRA BATTERIES OF ALL TYPES OF USE
19. PERSONAL MEAL KIT
It is made of titanium alloys or hard plastic20. DUCT AND ELECTRICAL TAPE
A versatile material useful for camping or repair works.21. THREADS AND NEEDLES
22. LIGHTER
23. CHAMCAL AND OTHER WARMERS
These devices will help to keep your hands and feet warm, to keep warm inside a sleeping bag or a tent.Now you see how impressive is the list of hunting and field equipment that you’ll probably need for a mountain hunting trip. Of course, these are just recommendations to have in mind and each hunter follows its own preferences and personal experience.
