Отчеты

I arrived to Tashkent on November 19th. The hunt started next morning. After four hours of riding we arrived to the place where the guides had seen sheep before. It was foggy and we couldn’t continue and had to ride back. It was still foggy next day and we spent it in the kishlak located in an hour drive from our base. In a day the weather wasn’t well but we decided to try. We trekked about 6 hours and climbed 800m. When we approached the area without the fog the guides noticed the group of animals with two trophy size males. I shot from the distance 458m and angle 27 degrees. Unfortunately the ram fell  into the ravine and damaged the horns’ tips. I bring my appreciation to Ulugbek, who allowed me to get the privilege for this hunt. Thank you very much to Olim Nazarov who organized everything and special thanks to Evgeny Haritonov who supports me in most of my trips.

I did this expedition at last. Thank you very much to Dmitry Medvedev- candidate of biological Sciences, the Presidents of the Fond “Snow Leopard” who took part in this trip. Thank you very much to Zafar and Attobek Bekmorody, the co-owners of the Murgab company, who  organized this exciting and interesting from a scientific point of view hunt.  We wrote before in the” Magic of real  Safari” that there is one more specie of argali with the distinctive horns ‘form which inhabit in Tajikistan.   I won’t  go into scientific terms and descriptions as part of this report , it’s to early to sum up the results. We have to do great scientific work to study the specific features of this argali but you can judge about it by the picture. I got 9 years old sheep which had a number of differences. On the second day of the hunt I got 9.5 years old Ibex. It had white saddle in the back of the body. Its color was characteristic for males which inhabited in Himalayas but not for Mid-Asian Ibex. We took samples of geomaterial for tests.  After examining this question and  the reading the Atlas of mountain ungulates files we could conclude that the procured goat could be treated to the transitional form of the Himalayan subspecies which inhabit in the region of the Vahansky corridor on the boundary with Afghanistan and Tajikistan, where the hunt was organized. This transitional form inhabit on the boundaries of inhabitation of two species (Mid Asian and Himalaya) Ibex. We took samples for tests which will show  what kind of the goat I’ve got. The base camp was located on the height 4200m. I took the medicine and it helped me to adapt and feel well. It was my last hunt in 2016. Totally I got 12 mountain trophies in this year. Happy NewYear

I hunted in the North-Ossetia  hunting farm.  At 6 am we drove to the hunting area -Karmadonskoye gorge where noticed the herd of Chamois which pastured on the slope.  It took us 40 minutes to climb to 1700m height. I approached 360m distance. I got the trophy from the first shot and it was the last one for getting the Russian Mountain Hunting Award.

Before the tripI decided to visit Tajikistan and hunt for the argali Marco Polo when I’d been in Azerbaijan and hunted for the Dagestan Tur. Thus I solved to do it and contacted Stalker group company. Its’ representative called me in a week and suggested to take part in the hunting trip at the beginning of the season in October.Arrival DayI left home on October 8th and flew directly to Dushanbe where landed in three hours. The local outfitter Nikolay and his son Dashish met me at the airport. From there we drove to the cozy eastern restaurant to have lunch. We had a long way to go, about 12 hours we had to drive to the village where would stay for a night and then drive once again to the hunting area. About 600 km we drove on asphalt but then it ended and I appreciated the comfort of our car Toyota Land Cruiser. The gravel road leaded along the boundary with Afghanistan and went through the mountains. The driver said that it wasn’t repaired from the Soviet time. There were some parts covered by asphalt and some parts of the road were even in the good conditions what proved that the quality of the Soviet roads was high but there were some parts without any sign of the cover. So I guess that it depended on the contractor who did it. Let’s come back to my trip. 12 hours later we arrived to the house of Iskander, one of the Nikolay’s sons and stayed there for the night. Next morning on October 9th we got up at 6 am because we had to drive 500 km more to the sheep habitat. The total distance from Dushanbe to the hunting area was 1150 km. We said thank you to the family of Iskander, took tasty apples which grew in his garden and continued our way from the height 2300 masl.The road passed near the Chinese border and we could see lots of posts and fences. We met a huge group of Marco Polo, about 100 animals, which consisted of females with babies. The guys tried to banished them from the border but unsuccessfully and we went on further. At 3 pm we arrived to the camp and found that all staff was examining the surroundings so we didn’t’ want to waste time and had tested guns. It was necessary to do because I didn’t know how the rarefied air could influence to the shooting accuracy. We put the target on 300 meters and did the correction a half of a minute. It meant that the bullet went to 7 sm above than on the plain. That time I felt oxygen starvation for the first time, it was accompanied by headaches, dyspnea and total discomfort.Day #1The long-awaited hunting day had come. At 6.30 am Iskander, I and three of his guides drove by UAZ to the hunting area. In two km we met a big lynx and they suggest me to get it. I refused because my goal was to take Marco Polo. The first group of sheep we detected 30 minutes later in 3-4 km from the camp. There were several good males in it but we had no opportunity to come closer because they grazed on the open area and could notice us very easily. We drove by.Then I spotted 5 males which lay on the slope in 1.2 km from us and we decided to approach them. We hiked about 2 km and were crossing the gorge when stumbled on the lonely sheep and frighten it. It ran away from us and all other 5 males followed it. All our efforts had gone to waste. That way in the highlands made me to feel all “the beauty” of the mountain’s climate. I was in the good physical condition but that walk was very hard to me. The rarefied air was the reason of the dyspnea as if I ran long distances. I needed to have rest every 50 meters of walk but noticed that felt much better when we were going down. My body was thankful for it. After that unsuccessful approach we moved to another gorge. Iskander seeing how hard it was for me offered to stay near the car while he and the other guys would check the surroundings. He promised to call me if they detected good trophies and we would join them. They called us in a half of an hour and told that they found them. There was a group of females and cubs which pastures near the hill on the top of which the males settle down. Our strategy was to go between females and didn’t discover ourselves. We moved around in small dashes by 50-70 meters, I couldn't run more and reached the foot of the mountains on the level 4200 masl. But it wasn’t the end of the difficulties. The rock consisted of loose rocks, and we had to climb 300-400 meters.At last we reached the height 4571 masl. The distance to the sheep was 600 meters with the angle +15 degrees. I set the gun, aimed but the breathe interfered me to focus. The cross in the sight moved from side to side. But I pulled myself together and held the breath. A few seconds passed and they all congratulated me with the trophy! It was pure delight. I got the trophy from distance 600 meters by the first shot and on the height 4000 masl. Thus I got the King of Sheep- Argali Marco Polo.Rahim and Iskander brought the trophy to the place where we made pictures. Then we delivered it to the camp and celebrated the hunt.

I was glad to get the license for this rare species of the argali. Thank you very much to my friends from Uzbekistan. The hunt started at the early morning but we managed to find rams about 4 pm after we trekked about 30km. We noticed 3 males on the rocks in the bushes. The shooting distance was 200m. I harvested the biggest one by the first shot. It was 8 years old ram. Both of its horns were damaged but it but it didn’t detract the value of the trophy. It was my 27th sheep from the Sheep of the World List by the MHC version

Kamchatka had the leading position in my wish list of visits and I planned the trip there beforehand. I put the bid for the hunt in April-May. It was my first visit to that amazing land and I asked the hunting agency in Moscow to organized the trip without the usage of the helicopter. Then I paid for the hunt and the agent gave me the contacts of the local outfitters Evgeniy and Semen. I called them and we arranged all details: terms, how I would hunt, transfers, accommodation and etc.My hunting trip started on September 2nd when I had flown from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The flight took 8 hours and I was tired when we landed. It happened because of the time difference between those two parts of our country. It’s hard to get used to the time lag for a human body but fortunately the local time is several hours ahead it’s easier. The outfitter met me and my cameraman Alexander at the airport we took the luggage, guns and drove to the first point in our trip, to the village Milkovo. That place was located near the mountains. But before driving to the village we visited the fish market and bought the local delicatessen some fish and caviar. The way to Milkovo took 4 hours, there we changed the city cloth to the hunting ones and loaded all equipment which we’d need in the mountains. The next part of the way was to drive to the river and crossed it by the motorjet. The four wheelers waited for us on the opposite shore and we moved to the first camp. In two hours being totally tired we arrived to the place. Fortunately there was a wooden bath, which was built close to the shore. Water procedures washed away all traces of fatigue and we being in a high spirit, went to sleep. Next morning on September 4th, we loaded everything we needed to stay in the tent camp and drove to the hunting area. The way took an hour and a half. Two guide’s assistants waited for us there. The guys set the common tent which we used as the canteen and two tents where we’d stay. I used to travel with my own tent. It’s more comfortable for me. The first time when we went to the mountains was after the lunch, examined the nearest slopes but didn’t find anything. We came back to the camp when the fog had covered the surroundings. The pouring rain started at night and didn’t stop for a minute two days (Monday and Tuesday). The mountains were spread by the thick fog and it was out of the question to hunt in such weather. The sky become clear at the Tuesday’s evening and we almost ran to the mountains. It was about 5 pm when we started to observe slopes. One of us detected the only group which consisted of three females and babies when suddenly the fog covered everything and the rain joined. There are no smoke without fire and there are no fog without rain on Kamchatka. We went back to the camp and started to study weather forecast for our region for the next few days. According all of them it’d be foggy next few days and they were right. Next morning we climbed the gorge and examined the “mountains circle” on the opposite slope. Semen detected 3 males which had trophy size and grazed in 840 meters from us. They stood near the fir grove and could disappear there at any moment. We could try to shoot from such distance 840 meters with the angle -16 degrees but decided not to risk and approached around them. We did it in an hour but the place where we saw them last time was covered by fog.It was 9 am and we solved to wait when the weather would become clear. The fog lifted in an hour and we observed three males which lay below us in 340 meters. I had to shoot immediately but I did the fatal mistake! Instead of shooting I started to help my operator to set the camera to make the video of the future success. Time was passing on. We did it at last and I tried to choose which of the male to shoot and aim. And than the miracle happened as if the mountains decided not to give me none of sheep. The fog covered everything in a second. It was a pitch dark. We waited and waited but nothing had changed. In two hours it lifted for a moment and we saw that there weren’t sheep on that place anymore. They moved to unknown destination and we couldn’t define where because it started rain with snow. We had no choice but went back to the tent camp.I was coming back very dejectedly because realized that lost good chance. We had the excellent visibility, the comfortable position and distance. I was sure that I would hit the male if I fired. We could celebrate the trophy that night already, would seat around the table and tell hunting stories but the scenario was different.We couldn’t predict the future and didn’t know the price of that decision.The next day Thursday we spent in the tents and could hike only in the evening. Semen had the principal stance not to hike in the mountains in the fog because we couldn’t see the sheep but they could smell us and leave to another region. We came back with empty hands. My mood was the same like weather. I was unhappy. I scrolled that moment, when we saw sheep, again and again and blamed myself for it.Our stay in the tent camp was also the challenge. The humidity level was so high that we slept in the wet clothe if wanted to wear it next day and it was the only way to make it dry. We hadn't to make fire because the changeable wind could blow smoke to any side. The camp was located in 500 meters from the sheep habitat. Those were very hard days in the tent camp. At last on Friday morning we saw the blue sky and weather promised to be good. In 2.5 hours we climbed 525 meters from the camp and divided into two groups. Semen went to the right, my cameraman, Pavel and I went to the left. In 500 meters when we parted, I spotted the group of three males and took the decision to approach. I had the bad experience before and didn’t want to taste it once again. Moreover we all saw the coming fog. So Pavel went for Semen while Alexander and I were approaching sheep which stood in one km from us. I managed to close in 550 meters to them. The angle was 34 degrees.I did all corrections which need and fired. The first shot passed above the animal and the group ran. Suddenly one of them stopped and I shot once again. The bullet hit to its back but it was very strong animals and moved for a while. We went down and found it staying near the waterfall. I shot the last time. The trophy was taken.The hunt finished successfully and I hope that mountains forgave our arrogance when we decided to kill two birds with one stone- to get the trophy and to make video. Now I had the only goal to get the trophy and to leave that wet tent.The most significant thing on that hunt was that I found the trophy, approached and chose it by myself. I did the most things by myself and took the decisions. It was my small but very important victory. The hunt was over and we descended to 500 meters to cut the meat and to load the trophy. Same day we climbed to the main camp and I changed tickets to fly home earlier.Thank you very much for the organization of the hunt. Everything was done on the high level and I’ll fly back to Kamchatka once again. Thank you to Semen and Evgeniy and their assistances Pavel and Sergey.