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We should say some words about one more sheep species. This isolated population arouses high interest to hunters from all over the world. We talk about the Putorana snow sheep, subspecies Ovisnivicolaborealis(Eschscholtz, 1829).   It looks like other sheep but is heavier a little bit. The body length is about 150-180 sm. The medium size animal has massive carcass with thick and short legs. Rams have massive curved horns, ewes also have horns but they are smaller and arc-shaped. The weight of adult rams can reach 100 kg and 60-65 for ewes. The bodies of wild sheep are covered by a coat of thick hair to protect them from cold. The main color of back and sides is brownish with a white-yellow belly. That species has separated from its main habitat more than a thousand years ago but hasn't got features which differ it from other sheep. A Putorana snow sheep is considered to be a rare species (III category) and listed in the Red Book of rare species. Nowadays it is not in danger of being destroyed. From 1984 it dwells under protection in Putorana Republican Nature Reserve (in 1988 it was transformed into the State Nature Reserve "Putoransky" with a simultaneous increase in the area of more than 5 times). Its population increased from that time. You can ask why have it decreased before? The anthropogenic pressure on that species couldn’t be high. The animals inhabit in the inaccessible mountains with rocky cliffs and tundra pastures on the heights not lower than 1700 masl. They prefer to stay on places with low snow cover where they can feed and move during the winter time.  Their favorite habitats are terraces near the forest border with steep edges. They descend to the forest free terraces during the winter season but if there is much snow they rise to the plateau. The scientists think that a large number of multi-snow winters and the lack of pastures could influence the growth of population. We shouldn’t forget about the population growth of their natural enemies -wolves and wolverines. Gadflies, blood-sucking insects, other parasites and diseases has added problems too. But the most destructive effect had the grazing of domestic deer on the original snow sheep pastures. The shepherds shot snow sheep for meat without any limits. The significant growth of sheep population was notices in the areas where the herding had been stopped.  The members of many researching expeditions hunted snow sheep without any control too. The population of Putorana snow sheep was about 800-850 individuals at the end of 70s last century. At the end of 70s the deer husbandry was pushed back from the Putorana plateau by wild deer who chose that areas as wintering grounds. The number of animals increased twice to 1400 animals in 1977. After forming the reserve the scientists accounted the number of sheep and it was 3578 individuals! The effective the population size has exceeded the level that provides conditions for its long-term survival. The researches, made at the beginning of 90s, showed the constant population growth in the main habitats of the species. In 1995 it has reached the number 5500 animals! The growth of the population continued in out century. In 2002-2003 it reached 6000-6500 individuals. We want attract your attention to the moment, concerned the population density. In the past sheep was widespread on the North West of Mid Siberian plateau- the Putorana mountains and surroundings. The border of the areal was by the steep north edge of the Putorana plateau (70°30' n.l.); on the South by Polar circle latitude (66°30' n.l.), on the West by the watershed of rivers Pyasina and Hantayka. The Eastern border was not clearly defined because of the flat form of relief. The habitat of snow sheep had focal nature and the conditional border was 100° e.l. Sheep inhabited an area of about 200 thousand square kilometers. To 60s-70s of last century their areal reduced in two times and was limited by the highest part of the central plateau. The main population, with the density of 3.3 animals 100 sq.km, was concentrated in the center of that area. The distribution of population on the periphery of the areal was dispersed and the density wasn’t higher than 0,11/per 100 sq.km. At 70s the areal was about 60K sq.km. , now it reaches 120K sq.km and it tends to expand. The dissemination is mosaic and has a ribbon-intermittent character. It's closely depends on the separate sections of numerous valleys of the plateau. There are 12 sheep groups with the population more than 100 individuals in each. The usual group size is about 5-20 animals. They are concentrated in the watershed of rivers Delochi, Duluk, Holokit, and a number of others. The expansion of the areal is not particularly active and is very uneven in different areas because of sheep's requirements. The significant areas that suit for the habitat of this subspecies remain uninhabited. Harpicha Lake Valley, lower reaches of the river Gulyami and others. We don't know why it happens. But it’s good that we have space for the population growth. The scientists suggest to introduce sheep in the Urals. 28% of the modern sheep areal is in the Putorana Natural reserve and about 40% from the total population of the subspecies. The reason of the population growth is not only in the protection but in the remote habitat. The reduction of geological exploration and a serious increase in the cost of helicopter service has great positive effect to the dynamic of the growth. The legal hunting is for that species is prohibited except the cases noted in the legislation (for scientific purposes and others). All trophies, we got, have been taken in such way and five of them are in the Record Book of SCI. There were just 18 official hunts for Putorana snow sheep during 90s of the last century.  The record belongs to Hussein Golabchi, who got his trophy in 1995 in the Putorana mountains.  The trophy characteristics: the length of the left horn – 91.1 sm (35 7/8 inches), the right horn – 91,8 sm (36 1/8 inches); the circumference of the left horn at the base– 35,6 sm (14 4/8 inches);  the circumference of the right horn – 35,9 sm (14 4/8 inches),  the circumference of the left horn at the 1st quarter of the length – 33 sm (13 2/8 inches), the circumference of the right horn at the 1st quarter of the length – 33 sm (13 2/8 inches). The number of points - 164 1/8. In the last years legal hunting for Putorana snow sheep wasn’t conducted. There are not Putorana snow sheep trophies registered for Russian hunters in the Record Book of SCI. The expedition of wildlife photographer Sergey Gorshkov found the entrails of sheep on the plateau. They were killed not far ago. The poachers used MI -8 to get there and kill the sheep. Those poachers are not interested in the trophy features of the animals because non of the Hunting clubs will register such trophy. They need only meat that's why they kill ewes. The State won’t allocate money to protect these animals and the only obstacle which can save them, is the inaccessibility of their habitats. There are not hunting farms, located near the Reserve which are interested in the protection of that subspecies because of the conservatism of the state's environmental policy. Though we know how it works on the example of project, realized by Juri Matison in Pamir.

I've always wanted to interview Nikolai Smirnov- the hunter and cameraman who is the author of many documentary films about hunting. He makes worthy movies which show hunting as it is in reality. The process of making films about hunting is just as interesting as hunting itself but can be even more difficult because the author has to be a hunter, a zoologist and a cameraman into one.     “The Magic of the Real Safari”: Nikolai, when I watch your films, I feel that they made by the man who is a real hunter at heart and understands everything. How have you become a hunter? Nikolai Smirnov: I was born and grew up in Moscow. The father of my best friend was a game-biologist. Once he invited us for a hunting. We hunted with the sitting duck. They gave me a rifle and explained what I should do and I got my first wild drake. I’ve been fifteen and still remember it. That hunt excited me. “The Real Safari Magazine”: What is you favorite hunting? N.S.: I could hardly select my favorite one. If we talk about hunting in Russia, I like bear hunting on oats when the approach. Definitely from the approach. Such kind of hunts are more dangerous and exciting! I always want to come as close as it’s possible. You can make a shot from the long distance but I don’t like it. Some of the hunting farms sow with oats the 500-700m lines and leave a narrow sand path between them. You should look around when walking there. It keeps in suspense! I don't like corral hunts and hunting from the towers. I like moose and deer hunting in the roar when the result depends on your skills only. It's you who call the moose male and it comes to your voice but it can happen only if you can deceive it! I called the males many times when making movies and tried to make them to come close. It made me to feel the situation and to change tactic, sometimes it was better to crackle, sometimes to call. I tried to imitate the young bull voice. Not far ago I and one more hunter traveled to Kostroma. I could call six bulls! Another hunter was so surprised that didn’t make a shot but I'd managed to make 45 sec videos while the last one didn't disappear. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: Why did you start to make films? N.S.: I began at the end of 90s. I wanted to save those hunting moments to myself to watch them later and to experience it again Later I started to film not only trophies but people, animals in their natural habitat to show the atmosphere of hunting. And edited those parts at home. It was only hobby. When I achieved some recognition in that sphere Oleg Malov, the editor of Russian Hunting newspaper called and asked to help Nikita Mikhalkov. He needed to montage a movie, filmed by his operator Elizbar Karavaevev. They hunted in Tanzania with a famous outfitter Zdenek Wagner. Hunted and filmed. To say that I was surprised is to say nothing: who was I, and who was Mikhalkov! Probably they didn’t have time. I dreamed to make a TV program about hunting at that time. It took us a month and a half to montage that video. I tried to make each film frame perfect. Dobrodeev, Yastrzhembsky and Elisbar watched the pilot version and decided to start the TV show. It didn't happen but stimulate me much. Plenty more fish in the sea. There was not many films about hunting at that time. I decided to devote my time to it. We registered our own studio Nick’sHoliday, got brand and began to make films with the common name “Bandolier of Wanderings” and sold through the hunting shops. We started from videotapes then DVD. It’s difficult to sell film through the shops now because of the bootleg distribution in Internet. I mostly work with the personal orders. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: Who dominate when you make movies: a hunter or a cameraman? N.S.: I learned that quick that they were two entirely different camps. Though, I tried to make several attempts. I thought that could fire and make video from the tower. I put the camera on the tripod and prepared. The small boar male came, I switched on the camera. I aimed, prepared to shoot when noticed that the boar came out the frame! Ugh! Put off the gun and pointed the camera. It’s in the frame. OK. It almost left while I was aiming. It made one step, then another. Each time when I pointed the camera, it changes its location. I made a wide-angle lens and aimed. I got it. And made video. But I can’t call it hunting or filming. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: How many movies have you made now? N.S.: You can buy about 20 series of the “Bandolier of Wanderings” but we filmed much more. We work with the private clients who want to have films about their hunts. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: What regions do you work? N.S.: I took part in about forty mountain hunting trips in different regions. And same number of times in Africa. I filmed movies in Australia, Island and other countries. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: Tell me about mountain huntings. What region did you like most of all? N.S.: Our Caucasus! The most beautiful mountains. They are not the hardest for climbing and not so many ungulates habitat there but I feel their energy, something touch me personally there. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: In what mountains did you film? N.S.: I was in the Caucasus a lot of times, six times in the Altai, Tajikistan, Nepal. I like Kazakhstan. We'd got good trophies of ibexes there - with 1,40 and 1,45 sm horns. I was struck by the Charyn Canyon- it's like the Grand Canyoun! It’s the ancient 300meters cliff with the fantastic relief and relict plants. I’ve been in Kyrgyzstan about 10-15 times. I traveled there to hunt to my old friend Alexander Barykin- the head of the local community of hunters and anglers. There is good hunting farm and ground. Unfortunately, he was killed two years ago by the gunmen (we wrote about in in our magazine №4/2014 -ed. note). He was a good guy, a great hunter and a mountain expert. I remember how we sat on in the tent on the top of mountain and he told me endless stories from his life: how he saw Bigfoot trails, or was catching snow leopards for zoos and others. He knew mountains like the back of his hand, knew animal's habits and how to catch them without making harm. He’s told me that if you cover the head of snow leopard by the jacket and it doesn’t resist, you can do whatever you want. We were going to fly to him to hunt for Marco Polo when the tragedy had happened. Well, that was it. He lives in my films. I was in Pakistan three times. We traveled all the country up and down. Tough hunts. Difficult mountains with lots of dangers. We were first of Russian who explored Karachii. We left them and in two weeks the war began. It's an interesting country but I don’t want to go there anymore. The terrorists shot the bus with the English tourists just before our arrival. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: Where else have you been? N.S.: Kamchatka, Magadan. I like Magadan more. The unique region. I think, it’s more Russian and more severe. Telling the truth, I like Russia much more than other countries. But it frustrates me when I see how we treat to our nature. There is not any piece of paper, any trash in Africa. They put all trash into special place and burn. But in Russia … We hunted for a bear and elk not far from Vladivostok and I was shocked how many junkyards were there! How can this be done?! It’s clean not where people clean, but where they don't litter. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: Did you take part in unusual hunts? N.S.: I traveled to the mountains with archers several times. Once we spent a week there, the guides helped the client to approach 35-40 meters eight different flocks. I did great video but the archer never hit the target. Though we got three trophies with the carbine. I took part in several hunting with a bow but saw just once when the hunter hit the boar. The animal ran about one km with the arrow. We could find it just the next day when it had been rotten already. After it I became the opponent of the hunting with a bow. It’s not mine. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: On what heights did you film? N.S.: I did movies on the altitude 5600 masl in Kyrgyzstan and 5200 masl in Tajikistan. Telling the truth I feel the altitude starting from 4000 meters. You should take mountain hunts very serious. Everything has to be extra quality: your clothes, equipment and your weapon. Physical training is also very important. If you don’t train enough, I’m not sure that you’ll get a good trophy. It happened in Kazakhstan. The guides led the hunter to the herd of animals. There were about 400m to them (a normal distance for a mountain hunting). There was no wind, everything was ideal. A magnificent ibex laid just in front of him, I had never seen such goat before. I guessed that it was a world record. He was aiming for forty minutes than shot and missed. He fell down with a carbine in a day before and didn't test it after it. When we checked and tested it later, the bullets flew in 80sm to the side. I asked him: “Why didn’t you tested it after your fall?!” He: “I was tired”. There are laser cartridges for a "cold gun shootings". You can take your caliber and check if optics is well or not. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: What can you tell us about the height? N.S.: I've noticed that my condition can differ in different mountains and the altitudes where I can feel the mountains sickness, are also different. I breathe easily in the Caucasus mountains but don’t feel well on the same altitude in Nepal and Pakistan. They are banal words but you have to treat it seriously. The body adapt much better when you climb gradually on multiple tracks. Once we were in Tajikistan, the way to the base was 400 km or 21 hours’ drive. The rest of the guys decided to fly by chopper. I tried to dissuade them, said that it’d harm them but had not rights not persisted. The Base was located on the altitude 4200m. We arrived there and devoted one day for the adaptation. Next day they’d arrived. I saw how one of the hunters left the chopper, made a breath and fell down to snow. They loaded it and flew down. The hunt for him was over. Next time in Kyrgyzstan the client got a pulmonary edema because didn’t spend enough time on the height before climbing. We should have to evacuate him as soon as possible. Mountains make us to treat them seriously. We should train muscles and respiratory system. But from the other side you never know how your body will react to the altitude whether you will run by stairs or not. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: How do you train and prepare for hunting? N.S.: Few times I got the invitations to take part in the mountain trips in the last moment. My backpack with a camera and other equipment weights from 25 to 30 kg, I has always to be in a good physical form. I try to ran twice in a day- in early morning and in the evening. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: What are special features of the operator's work on mountain hunts? What moments you have to film? N.S.: It depends on the audience, who will watch it. The personal video, filmed for a hunter differs from the movie about hunting. I should show the beauty of nature, mountains and animals habituated there. I like to present all hunting process such as approaching, gun testing, hunting itself and shooting. I always try to give some useful advices for people who are just going to the mountains. We don’t know everything but our experience allows us to give some advises. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: For example? N.S.: How to keep safe the trophy if you are going for it. It can be damaged easily if the staff is not professional enough. You’d better control the primary processing yourself if don't want to butcher the trophy. You need to monitor they will cover it with the salt to keep safe eyelashes and other nuances. “The Real Safari Magazine”: Is the shot the climax of the movie? N.S.: Yes, it is. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: What is more important to show how the hunter pushes the trigger, his emotions or the moment when he hits the animal? N.S.: You has to try to show everything: how he shoots, pushes the trigger and the hitting moment. But some moments can be montaged or filmed separately. Or to use frames when he was testing the carbine. They are our directing techniques. All hunting are different and I often change camera angles. The most advantageous one is from behind the hunter’s shoulder. In any case you audience shouldn’t be tired to watch the film. It must not boring that they’ll want to smoke or drink tea. If you can make it, it'll make the film really exciting. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you have the same feelings as the hunter when make a film? N.S.:  I'm worried I try to support him if he misses. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: What were the most dangerous moments? N.S.: It happened in the mid of May, on the Caucasus, in Arkhyz. We were going to hunt for a tur. Our group ascended to the height about 3000 m and set the tents. The next days the storm had began. The wind speed was more than 30 m/sec, we couldn’t see anything. I still remember that night when the wind has been tearing our tents. We woke up each time when the silence came. In the morning, the snow cover was more than one meter but the wind continued to howl. What a hunt there was! We left everything there, took only rifles, equipment and went down to the Base camp, sinking waist-deep in snow. It took us the whole day. I filmed that all: the beauty of nature, its power and the wind. Next time in Arkhyz we were caught in a heavy rain. We should leave urgently. The car was carried by the current when we were crossing the river. It floated. And we were inside of it. Fortunately, it was caught by something and we could get out. One harder and more dangerous trip was to the north of Pakistan. To Himalaya, to the north – Karakorum. There are several famous eight-thousand-meter peaks-K2 and other peaks. The expedition lasted 18 days. Several times we were hit by rockfalls that blocked the roads. We rose mountains with yaks and Sherpas. One of them almost fell off the glacier. We got the ibex. But had one more license for a blue sheep. The storms forced us to come back. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: What mountain hunts were the most interesting? N.S.: When I was lucky to see and even filmed a snow leopard! I saw them twice in Kyrgyzstan and on the Pamir. In Kyrgyzstan the leopard went long by the slope in 800 meters from us. It was so interesting to watch! But it was too long for making video. The second time it happened on the last hunting day on Pamir. We got two trophies of Marco Polo and had one more license for an ibex. At the end of the day, I detected a group of ibexes. We set the scope and spotted a snow leopard, in two km from us. I desired to get a better look at it. Still, such a rarity! I asked the client to approach it what if I could make a video. And we drove. The leopard noticed us. But I managed to make 20 sec video how it was leaving. I wouldn’t forget how it descended, stopped for a moment, looked at us and left away. We came to the place where it was and found the killed lamb. These 20 sec. mean a lot for me. Then some of us rose the head and detected the group of ibexes. Some of them were really good. And we resolved to shoot and got the it from 874 m distance. The snow leopard brought us to the ibexes. I put off gloves while filming and my hands frozen so much that I couldn’t feel anything. And soon the sun set and the frost hit. I was as cold as I'd ever been. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: What was the longest shot? N.S.: The shot, I’ve described you above, was one from the longest. The hunter got the ibex with Blaser 300 UltraMag. But the longest shot was done with Prechtl (we wrote about that rifle №7/2015). We got the trophy of Marco Polo with 61 inches horns from 980 m shooting distance. “ The Real Safari Magazine”: Is the trophy size important for you as for a hunter? N.S.: The hunting process is more important. But I want to get a good size trophy in any case. But I care not for it. My main trophy is a film what satisfies me. But I know what the trophy hunters feel. It’s a hard work and a real hunting.

I don’t advise you to hurry after arrival to the place. All hardships and trials will start when you climb in the mountains. You are still tired after the flight, have changed the time zone and the usual diet. It’d be better to spend 1-2 days having rest, sightseeing and talking to local people. Don’t drink alcohol and smoke hookah before a mountain hunt and don't forget to continue to take vitamins and adaptogens which you’ve started to take at home. It’ll be yours acclimatization - the best way to prevent altitude sickness.   It is scientifically proven that a man needs 1-3 days to adapt for an altitude. The hunter who didn’t finish the acclimatization process, has higher chances to get the altitude sickness. The oxygen concentration on the sea level is about 21% and an atmospheric pressure is 760 mm Hg but as far as the height increases, the atmospheric pressure reduces and the air becomes more rarefied. We get just 50% from the oxygen norm when make a breath on the height 5500 meters. We should breathe more often to compensate the lack of oxygen; it means that our heart has to beat faster. But such intensive work of our body doesn’t help to get the needed oxygen concentration. About 20% of people who rise the height 2700 masl and more without the acclimatization has symptoms of altitude sickness. It can have different forms. The risk factors are the high speed of rising, the absolute altitude, excessive exercise, respiratory tract infections, chronic heart and lung diseases. A man who felt the mountain sickness once, has some predisposition to it, but the receptivity of different people or even one person can change and depends on different reasons and situations. Hypoxia (the lack of oxygen in the body) comes to the accumulation of fluid in human cells what is the core - the pathophysiological basis of altitude sickness. Mostly we can see the acute mountain sickness (AMS) which manifest in 6-12 hours and even on the height 2000m. The acute mountain sickness is characterized by headache, increasing when you seat or bend, dizziness, a feeling of "lightness in the head", increased fatigue and drowsiness, shortness of breath, nausea, edema, palpitations, impaired appetite and sleep. The symptoms may increase when you do something. It usually resolves itself in 72-96 hours. The highlands pulmonary edema is a rare but very serious complication. It progresses in 48-72 hours after being on the altitude or even faster if the hunter has risen promptly on the height more than 2700m. The acute mountain sickness precedes to the pulmonary edema. The risk is higher for people who has stayed long on the height then goes down for a short period of time and climbs once again. It’s a typical situation for a mountain hunter who look for a sheep or chases the animal. They also feel the increasing shortness of breath, fatigue, up to weakness, irritating cough with or without pink sputum. The other features of the pulmonary edema are increased respiratory rate (more than 20 times per minute), increased heart rate (more than 90 beats per minute), increased body temperature above 38 degrees, blue lips and fingertips, audible wheezing in the chest when breathing. One more form of the mountain sickness is HIGH-ALTITUDE CEREBRAL (CEREBRAL) EDEMA. It is usually preceded by the acute mountain sickness symptoms which don’t resolve in 72-96 hours. It's characterized by constant headache that cannot be treated with analgesics, confusion and loss of orientation, drowsiness, poor coordination of movements when performing simple tasks, weakness and fatigue, blurred vision and double vision, gait disorders, swaying when standing with closed eyes, blue lips, fingertips, wheezing when breathing. The acute edema can come to the loss of consciousness, coma and death. All forms of the mountain sickness, described above, are the state where one of the components can dominate. The altitude sickness can be accompanied by hemorrhages in the retina of the eyes. In several situations we can see it even on the height from 2700m but it's almost normal when we climb to the altitude 5000 masl and more. It’s a common phenomenon without any symptomatic and passes without consequences. The hemorrhages in the nail bed areas or from the nose on the heights from 5000 m are quite rare. The peripheral edema of legs, arms or a face can connect with hard physical activity not only mountains sickness. They are not so dangerous as the other forms of the mountain disease but annoy and can inconvenience as the boots with wrong size, a wristwatches or rings can become tight and cause scuffs. The influence of mountains appears not with the altitude only, the other factors which affect our condition, are ultraviolet radiation, wind, precipitation, temperature, and others. Low temperature and a strong wind increase the metabolism, the oxygen consumption increases and the oxygen starvation of the tissues worsens. That is the reason why the manifestations of altitude sickness can differ in dependence on the region. The critical value to reduce the negative influence has not the medical issues but the right choice of the hunting equipment, boots, glasses and lotions. We shouldn't forget about high quality tents, sleeping bags, stove and others. Let’s come back to the medical theme. What you should do if find that you or your friends have first symptoms of that disease.? I suggest to decrease the speed of climbing or better to make a stop while the symptoms will resolve. Don't do anything rash and don't panic though the lack of oxygen can provoke you. Take a half of an hour rest in the safe place, take off the backpack, the carbine and take the comfortable position and drink some tea. When the unpleasant feelings will go away, you can go on moving but don’t’ forget to control breathing. It takes much time to train how to breath when moving in the mountains but you’d reduce fatigue, increase endurance and mileage of transitions, your internal well-being during transitions will become better after you make it. Unfortunately, the ability to breathe right is a skill which is very individual and nobody can recommend how to do it. It has no sense. When you are going a whole day hiking or even more, the total load for a trained hunter shouldn’t be heavier than 22-25 kg. The total distance for a one day of hiking with the speed 2 km per hour should be about 15 km. We suggest to make stops each 35-40 minutes when rising by the gradient is to 12 degrees, if it’s from 12 to 20 degrees it’d be better to have rest each half of an hour and to make a pause in each 20 minutes if the steepness of the ascent is more than 30 degrees. Don’t forget to restore the normal rhythm of breathing and heartbeat each 10-15 minutes while climbing. Another way to plan the mountain route with the ascent of 12 degrees and more can be calculated by the heights difference, by vertical. The normal distance when you rise is about 300-350 meters per hour and 600-700 when you go down. It’s better to make a halt before climbing the most difficult parts. Lifting speed control is the best way to avoid the mountains sickness the same as the route planning and breath control. The modern medicine recommends to rise slow. It can take two days to ascend from the sea level to the altitude 2500 m and then 600 m per each day. It's import to sleep on the height which is higher than 300 in the previous night. It means that you should go down to the height 300 m plus where you have slept before even if you have climbed higher during a day. The mountain hunter could hardly follow these recommendations in comparison with the tourist or a climber. He doesn’t take a decision where to sleep, it depends on lots of reasons which we can't predicts. It’s clear that we can't foresee all circumstances but can try to reach the optimum and to reduce the number of accidents. Good physical training and climbing experience don’t guarantee that you won’t suffer from the mountain sickness but they allow to work harder using less oxygen. I recommend you to avoid heavy physical activity during first days but the bed rest is less useful than the moderate activity. Our reactions to different activities are very individual that’s why you should define by yourself what climbing speed suits to you. If there are several hunters in one group the speed of moving is defined by the slowest member of the group. Breathing of dry air on the height and physical activity lead to the loss of water. Dehydration of the body together with the lack of oxygen make you feel worse. It’s very important for a mountain hunter to drink enough. It’s better to drink more than usual. Each day you need to drink not less than 4-6 Liter. But you have to restrict the amount of salt to avoid edema. Alcohol and smoking can aggravate the acute of mountain sickness while the frequent intake of easily digestible food such as jams, carbohydrates and others, increase resistance to altitude sickness. I advise to eat them during first days on the altitude. I can write a lot about food in the mountains and it can take many pages. The short recommendation is to eat often and easily digestible food with a predominance of carbohydrates and vegetable proteins. A breakthrough in this area has been achieved in recent years in Russia at the junction of medical and food industries. The therapeutic nutrition became the base for a lot of products with 100% digestibility. They are made on the base of the vegetable protein and vitamin and mineral complex. They were specially produced for clients who experience high physical and psych emotional stress, work hard in tough conditions including mountains. The uniqueness of these products is in their ability to safe healing properties in the wide temperature diapason and in the convenient form of consumption – compact bars. I wrote about the positive influence of adaptogens, biostimulants, vitamin and mineral complexes in the Part 1. You have to continue to take them in the mountains. Next time I’ll write about the positive preventive effect on the development of altitude sickness of other groups of drugs. Sergey Rudnev, expert on certification of the ACC of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia

The horses neighing woke us up, the guides were loading them, just near the place we slept, for the mountain expedition. We were in Azerbaijan, in the Ismailli district, on the Kel Dag base. That day the American hunter Derek Armadio and I should have to ride to the tent camp, located in the mountains. Our goal was to get the trophies of Eastern turs. Suddenly our Chief Guide Nariman Zulfigarov informed us that we had to take one more hunter - Robert Mappa. But his luggage and gun didn’t arrive yet. We took him without hesitation. There is an unspoken rule that hunters help hunters and each of us can be in the same situation.   Sale of rifled weapons is prohibited in Azerbaijan that’s why we couldn't give him a personal rifle. Derek agreed to give him his 300 WinMag. I consider the family of 300th calibers to be the best choice for the mountain hunting, especially with the semi-jacket bullets and have nothing against 338 LapuaMag but there are some complaints to caliber 308. All hunters would go to different places with their guides not to interfere each other. Usually, the hunter is accompanied by three guides including the chief one. The guide is your boss in the mountains and you should have to follow his commands not matter if you are the President of International Corporation and have 10K people under your command. You can be Big Boss at home but there in the mountains you have to listen to your guide and did what he asks though he is your employ in some way. If he says to freeze, seat, run or lay and you want to get the result you should have to forget about your social position at home and be ready to do what he commands. I hunted with Nariman from 2003. He is the professional of the highest qualification and the real artist. Many hunters from different part of the world will agree with me including Russian hunters whose number is growing from year to year. Many of them are well-known in our hunting community, they are Valery Eliseev, Igor Raevsky, Vladislav Reznik, Igor Gaidukov, Leonid Palko, Alexey Kim, Sergey Gladky, Sergey Ikrennikov, Viktor Likhachev, Sergey Yastrzhembsky. Nariman hunted with Vladislav Gorba who highly appreciated his job. He's employed all guides who work with him and have trained them. I won’t speak for foreign hunters but Zlatan Ibrahimovich called him “Maestro” and means a lot. The Chief guide shouldn’t only know the animal’s habits, where to hunt and to be the be an authority with your subordinates, but he has to be very communicative, to know how to talk with clients with whom he hunts. The clients (most of them are very influential persons) haven’t seen such steep mountains before, are not used to mountain winds, snow and rain changed by hot sun in one moment. It can be a real surprise for them and the guide has to be the skilled diplomat not to show it. I know Nariman as a very honest and humble guy and appreciate it very much. Few words about physical conditions of hunters who arrive there. It's evidently that the guide with 60 kg weight can easily go through the places where a heavier hunter (about 85 kg and even more) cannot. Nobody won't make the hunter to go faster if there is not any necessity and where he can move in the optimal way for him. It is not always so. There are the situations when the client and guides should have to move fast up and down, crossing the considerable distances on foot. The physical condition is one of the most important components in your mountain hunting. It’ obligatory to train for the mountain expeditions and I advise to treat it seriously. I knew about the situations when guides begged the hunter to climb 100 meters more to shoot the huge tur what slept there but the tired hunter can't force himself to make a step. It’s not guide’s fault that such hunters can’t get the desired trophies. Where the forces end, the character starts. I know what I’m talking about. Hunting is a really good motivation to stay in good physical form. I know several hunters who have lost more than 50 kg because of hunting. Last but not least is long distances shooting skills, especially at the angle. Each hunter has to practice it. We ate breakfast and left the camp. Our group consisted of two American hunters, Nirman, his assistant Sasha, Mushvig (the youngest son of Nariman), one more guide Adil and the author or the story. We moved to the Kel Dag slopes.  The weather was dry and sunny.  It took us 6 hours to reach the place where we were going to camp. Usually, we rode in 5 hours. We had to move further into the gorge. It was evening when we arrived. After a quick lunch we set the tens and went to examine surroundings. The guides had gone ahead and we followed them slowly. I draw your attention to my words, I said above, don’t chase the guides if they don’t ask you. They are the champions there, they won't lose the breath, and their leg muscles won't get clogged with lactic acid. The hunter has to dose his efforts in the right way what comes with experience. If you are a sportsman you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Don’t forget to take a bottle of water even if your guide has taken many. You never know where you and your guide will happen to be in the mountains. Fill the bottle each time when you can do it and drink. Don’t listen to advices not to do it. It's very important not to feel thirsty. You need to drink 2 Liters per day when you are in the town not talking about mountains. I also advice to put some protein bars into your pocket or nuts and dried fruits. The ordinary Snickers - as the last resort. We reached the steep slope and came to Nariman and Sasha. They had detected turs already and we began to look through the scope the trophy size males. In 40 minutes, we spotted the group of turs, laid on the steepest spurs. There were not less than two dozen of them. They heat under the sun and most of them had trophy size. The place, they had chosen, was not far from the camp but we should have to cross the steep slope. Few words about the equipment. The poles help a lot in the mountains, you use them when climbing and going down. But it's much better to use wooden poles, made from the local trees because the metal poles can betray you in the most important moment. There is just one step from friendship to betrayal that's why the hunter has to treat to it very serious. Never use the new boots! It’s better to wear light, waterproof (Gore-Tex) with the rubberized soles. They step softly but have a good grip with the rocks. I advise to test the rifle and optics at home and then to test once again on the place. Once I hunted with my Spanish friend. He arrived to the hunting ground with the new carbine and optics. Moreover, he took just 20 cartridges instead of 40 which were allowed. He lost almost all cartridges while testing and only 5 left. When I asked him, had he tested it before, he replied that did it in the gun shop. He got the trophy because the guides did their best and could approach the animal on 100 meters but that hunt was really nervous. I think, that the best hunting clothes are made by Sitka and Kuiu companies. All my experience says about it. It was strange but only I and Nariman had clothes of those companies not foreign hunters. The animals stay still on the place while we were discussing what to do next. We didn’t have time to walk them around or to approach the group from above. It was getting dark. Some of us doubted that we wouldn't see them from that place. I should say that did it many times before and preferred the second variant. The dilemma was to wait them till late evening when the turs would go by path in front of us and the shooting distance shortened to 200 meters (we should climb and wait them there in such case) or to shoot now. The distance was 311 meters. Nobody gave us 100% guarantee that animals would go by the way where we waited but Nariman was absolutely sure. I was for shooting if the hunter felt comfortable. I'm always for the usage of the first chance to shoot because it can be the only one. We had 4 hunting days more but weather in the mountains is unpredictable We asked Derek if he was ready to fire on 311 meters? Nariman stared into his eyes like the X-ray. American measured everything in yards once again and answered confidently: «It is OK for me». It satisfied our Chief guide, we repeated what male he should have to shoot. The chosen male didn't look to our side and turned sideways to us. It laid peacefully and we could clearly see it. Nariman tried to define the horns’ size. They were about 82-86 sm what fitted for both sides. Derek set the bipods and started to watch it through the optics. The guides watched the situation through the binoculars I used the camera not to lose the shot though the sun was blinding mercilessly. One minute passed, then one second one… Nariman looked at me, he was puzzled why the hunter didn’t shoot. I looked at Derek and suddenly he asked me: “Can I shoot?” He asked my permission to shoot! That was the culture of the trophy hunter! He waited for a final command of the Chief guide though we had discussed and agreed everything already. Nariman smiled and replied:’ “Yes”. I still see the dust after the shot and the male which freeze on the place. The rest of the group ran away to the right by the slope. The guides shouted and began to jump. I congratulated Derek.   Nariman was watching the running group all time while we were celebrating the shot than took the carbine and gave it to Robert who was waited for his turn. They both plus Sasha climbed above the place where we were. If Robert had a carbine they would ascend to the place before the shot and wait when the turs run near them but he had not. It made the task more difficult. The animal always stops for a second or two before descending from the other side of the mountain to be sure that everything is clear. It gives the hunter one more chance to aim and make a shot. We continued to observe where they were moving. The group came close to the path. Fifteen males from that group had good size horns, which were not ashamed to hang on the wall. The distance was 450 meters. Moreover, Robert had the carbine which he didnt’ tested. Very ridiculous and difficult situation. First three turs were nice and I said Robert about it. Each of those three gave the hunter 3 seconds when stopped before hide behind the slope. The rest of males reached the top of the ridge and stopped for a moment before crossing the mountain. Two fine males gave him 5 seconds to shoot. They stopped together. The hunter fired and the dust kicked up between them. The turs started up, crossed the mountains leading the rest of the herd. We were upset. But it has nothing to do, it was hunting. Then we went down to the trophy. It was not an easy matter, not talking about how we rose back. It happened to be a perfect 10 years old male with 86 sm horns and 33 sm base. Great result for the mountain hunting! After the photo session two guides butchered the animal. Everything had happened not far from the camp but it was dark when we came back. Next morning Derek, Mushvik and I moved to the Base while Robert and other guides left to continue hunting. He got his trophy in two days and joined the group of hunters waited for him in the valley. The descend under the burning sun took us six hours. Some readers can think that the impressions of the observer can't compare with what the hunters feel. I won't argue with them but I was on both sides. I can assure you that you will never forget such experience even if you are the observer only. I know what I’m talking about.

A year ago I successfully hunted for a Caucasian tur in KCR and promised to come back for a Kuban tur and chamois. My dream was to share that experience with the friend and to be in the real adventure. Spoiler: all, I dreamed, had happen.   So first things first. I was happy that my friend and my namesake agreed to join me in his first mountain hunting. I hope he haven’t felt sorry for it. Oleg and Alexey Podtyazhkiny helped us to book a trip in a year before it happened, we even asked to book the guides whom I knew and began to prepare for a future expedition. It meant that each our visit to the hunting shop ended by the new purchase. I wanted everything to be perfect. I dreamed to have the latest modern gadgets and new equipment. We expected it for a year but everything had finished very quick. I write these words to prolong my impressions.   The departure day flashed like a single moment- a morning, working busy day, taxi to the airport, baggage check-in. At last, we could seat in the business launch of Sheremetyevo, relax and say a toast for the beginning of our hunting. All flight to Min Vody we remembered funny hunting situations and talked about similar themes.   The representative of the local company had already waited for us at the airport. He met us as old friends. Each time I surprise their hospitality. They announced that we would drive to the other guides and I was upset but looking ahead I'd say that the outfitter sent us to the optimal hunting area which suited to our needs. The hunt was supposed to organize in Urupsky district.   We discussed the detail of hunting and the features of turs and chamois life in that calendar time while driving to the hotel. Next day, as we discussed it when I was even in Moscow, we had to be in the hunting area, in the mountains. We left the hotel at 3 am and drove to the mountains, in few hours we’d changed the car to another one, met the sunrise and arrived to the intermediate stop. The rest of the way we should have to ride by horses. We had cut the right poles while driving through the thick, hazel forest. "The third leg" helps always. After arriving to the fold we got acquaintance with our guides - Issa and Ibrahim. The first thing is always to test the guns. There was a special area near the base where we could do it and to shoot for 200 meters. I affixed the target on the rusty barrel and shot several times. My carbine worked well but we did the correction for Misha’s one. It took us about a couple of hours. When everything is done, we are ready to move to the mountains.   Everything is packed, we saddled the horses. I was trying to argue with Ibrahim, being very delicate, about the small amount of food which we took with us. He asked me not to worry because the expedition would take two days maximum. We’d get two trophies and come back. There was no need to stay longer there. I used all my authority and made him to take more. Later they all thanked me and not once. They showed us horses which would be ours all next week. I took Dobrick while Misha chose “Kolbasa” - what meant the sausage. I guessed that our guides gave those names to horses just before our arrival. There was about 30 km to the mountains, and we should bum our way through alpine meadows where the herds of horses, sheep and cows were grazing. It was unreal. It was even more beautiful than in Austrian Alps. It was fall but there were lots of flowers everywhere. All ‘lawns” had been cut. The fantastic smells and fresh air filled us with the energy. The team spirit, floating in the air proved my idea that we waited for an unforgettable hunting week. But Misha couldn't find common ground with his horse. Once he even hopped down and almost hang over the abyss, after the second case he dismounted and went on foot. But in common everything was great. The weather began getting worse... What would be next? Did I want difficulties?   We had reached the point 2000 masl where Issa planned to make the camp, set tents and the fog covered everything. A minute ago, we saw the magnificent peaks then suddenly if somebody put on a shroud and hide everything. We had plenty of time and didn't worry about it that’s why just enjoyed the new impressions and mountains’ smells. Next morning nothing had changed and the rain began. The usual guides method, to look for turs while being down and then approach, didn’t work. We discussed the plan and resolved to rise where the fog was not so thick and to try to find animals there. Issa and I went first. Misha and Ibrahim stayed in the camp. We climbed to the place higher our camp but the fog there was also thick. It was risky to go further because we could frighten the animals off.  We agreed to stay on that height till 2 pm but could seat just till 1.30 and went back to the camp. Oh bother, the fog lifted at 2 pm and sky cleared but we had already left the height. OK, no matter we still had many days... The fog became even thicker while we had lunch. We waited and waited while got zero patience, then defined the destination where the fog could lift as we thought and moved that way. It was almost evening when we hiked around the nearest mountain. We ascended a little and saw the mountain’ peaks. Took the positions not far from the places where turs were used to eat in the evenings. Time had really gone by fast but nobody appeared. One time the stone from under somebody's’ hooves rolled to our side but it was all. All that time I enjoyed by the view of the mountain lake, located in one km below us. The guides told us there was no fish and water is cold all year around. I could see snow on its shores. Once the poor cow which tried to swim it across, frozen and drowned. Also, the guides told us about the crowds of tourist who burn naked on its shores in the summertime. Romantism. Next evening we saw tourists who went somewhere through the valley near the lake. It was +5o at night. Indefatigable people... Suddenly a terrible downpour with lightning and thunder had begun and we all began to go down to the tents. We were absolutely wet and didn't hurry. We were descending for two hours and when few hundred meters left, the rain had stopped and wind blew. My membrane clothes dried what surprised Mikhail. He thought we couldn’t dry our things at all. Next morning met us by fog and drizzling rain. We were tired to wait mercy of nature and I called by satellite to my friend in Moscow and asked to check the weather forecast. He checked the Internet and said that such weather would be for the next three days. We discussed the situation and resolved to wait when the rain would stop and go up to the mountains. The prophecy of Ibrahim, to get two trophies in two days wouldn’t come true in another way. We rode to the altitude 2500 meters above the sea level then dismounted and went the further way on foot. Everybody carried a backpack and a carbine. At last, we reached the nearest rocks. But the fog was there too. The icy rain began. The breeze came into wind and the storm from time to time. Misha asked me several times if it was normal situation and all famous mountain hunts had to be so. I tried to save the face and replied that I told you about and warned but dreamed when I could put on the extra warm layer under the coat. Few times I began to run up and down to get warm and each time returned with the smile on the face. I tried to show that everything was great! But the perspective was not so positive. The fog, grey rocks around us, Avatar... We waited for three hours. The fog and rain still went on. Then the guides said that the weather didn’t change and we should go back. We went down to the horses but suddenly Issa asked Ibrahim to take horses and move to the camp alone while the rest of our group would stay and wait for a while. Ibrahim went away. We stayed and decided to drink tea with snickers. How tasty they were! In an hour the weather had changed: the fog lifted and the rain stopped. We came back to the viewpoint. Nobody there. Issa thought for a moment and commanded to go ahead. We crossed the ridge and happened on the famous Caucasian talus. We should go about 2 km by it. At that moment I realized the necessity of the right poles and boots. We went on and on and I saw that Issa was thinking over if we had to go further or to come back because evening was approaching. But didn’t say a word and we moved. Few times we did stops to breathe or drink water. We had frightened mountain partridges while hiking and I could manage to make some pictures of them. It was a good sign. Telling the truth, we didn't see any turs, no males or females but I noticed their beds near the mountains tops in the places protected from rain. Probably they detected us first and left away. Soon we realized that coming further was shorter than going back. Suddenly Issa noticed something and ducked down but we were late and stumbled onto the lonely male which appeared from behind the rock but it noticed us and raw away. To make clear I should explain that there were two kinds of ways, we hiked - across the scree with different size, sharp stones or by the mountain ridge on the height of 3000 masl. It was not surprise why we didn't react fast to our guide commands. In three hours, we reached the point where began to descend to the camp. It was getting dark. The guide went in 50 meters ahead of me. Suddenly he ducked down once again and waved at me. I reached him, blending with the stones. and looked from behind the rock. The group of turs grazed not far from us. Then everything happened quickly. Removed the backpack, put the carbine on, watched through the sight. The distance 250 meters, the angle 45 degrees. I detected the male and several females near it. I doubted because wanted to get the biggest one and such males preferred to stay separately from the females at that time. I said Issa about it, he objected me, but not very confidently. I thought he wanted to finish the hunt because it was our fourth day in the mountains. Then Misha crawled, the animals hide under the rock while we were arguing and appeared in 300 meters from us. There were 30 individuals in the herd. I saw Misha was watching to the animals but couldn’t shoot. It was twilight and we couldn’t see the horns even using Leica 3 optics. Why did I need it? Later I would scold myself that prepared a whole year for that hunt and I got a 5-6 years old goat though it was a labor trophy. I refused and saw the disappointed on the guide face. Misha didn't shoot too. The descend to the camp took us two more hours. We hardly reached the camp, made lots of stops to drink and to have rest while going back. It was 10 pm when we came, drank 2 Liters tea each and went to sleep. None of us wanted to eat. Next morning it was fog and rain once again. And a wind. I sat in the camp and drank morning coffee, made in the tent. I specially took a stove, gas and coffee with me. I was drinking coffee and wondered what did trophy hunting means for me? What was my priority? The process, the possibility to be alone with nature, the trophy or the biggest trophy which I could show to my friends or to get the record trophy - the biggest in the world? Last time when I hunted there it took just one day to get the trophy. Did I like it or not? I realized that enjoy to be where I was at that moment, to drink coffee sitting in the tent while it was rain and fog outside. I was tired after yesterday's adventure but felt strength to go further. I wanted to get difficulties and got them. But it was the fifth hunting day, it was time to get a trophy. At 9 o’clock the rain had stopped and the fog lifted. Thanks to God and the wind! I'd grabbed the scope to monitor the surroundings and was raring to go! Fortunately, we detected the big male. It stood in the most impregnable rocks. I could clearly see the massive horns. It pastured in 2km from us, the group of females stood significantly lower it. It was definitely the lonely male. I knew that had to get it. And told my guides about it. We packed everything we needed and moved fast not to waste time. The first part of the way we rode by horses, then dismounted and went on climbing on foot. The group reached the altitude 3000 masl and stopped. The guides looked for place where it laid. We spotted group of three trophy size turs in 800m from us. They stood on the opposite ridge. The male, we were looking for, was somewhere on our side of the mountain. We detected two more goats while monitoring the slopes. But my aim is the first one! I was absolutely sure that took the right decision not to shoot yesterday. I was calm and focused on hunting the male, we saw first, and didn’t pay attention to the others. At last, the guides found my tur, it laid on the small spot with yellow grass against the backdrop of steep cliffs. It was a secret how it could get there.  The direct distance to the male was 600 m but if we walked by rocks it’d be about one km. The gusty wind prevented me from shooting. I tried to go around using the ridge like a cover, and to test wind's speed on the way around. The result upset me; the wind would interfere the bullet to reach the aim. I came back to the guides and talked about my doubts. My offer was to approach the male from side of the rocks above it. They tried to dissuade me saying that I wouldn’t see it from that place but I insisted that could come back if it was so. The goat looked calm and was not going to leave that place. Issa and I climbed 3200m. I was really surprised when we came out to the definite place above the tur and could even see it. My guide whispered that I would be the Moscow tur champion if could get it. It inspired me but then I look to it attentively using 16x optics and saw it was not older than 12 years and figured out the idea of the guide. But I wanted to get that definite tur. I desired that trophy. Telling the truth, it looked massive from the place where we were. I didn’t know why but I was absolutely sure when caught it in the crosshairs. We stood above it and it couldn’t smell or notice us. The shooting distance was 150 meters. The bullet knocked it down from the rock edge, it fell down and rolled. At last, it stopped on the place where we could ride by horses. It happened to be 11 years old male. I got the nice trophy of the Kuban tur which didn’t have yet. Ibrahim took horses and went around while Issa and I descended by the talus like on ski. We cut meat, loaded everything on the horses and moved home. It was totally dark when we arrived. Thus, the first trophy was taken just on the fifth hunting day.   Next day we packed the camp, ate the last meal we had and rode to the base to go on with hunting for chamois. If we stayed for one more day we didn’t have enough food.   Day # 6. Rest. The fog covered the ground when we arrived to koshara and we had not choice but stayed on the place. At the evening the fog became so thick that we couldn’t see further than 10 meters. I took on the duties of a cook and fried fresh meat. Our team was happy, we were tired to eat canned food and instant noodles. The cooked dish was tough but we finished it with great pleasure. After a dinner we sat on the bench and listened to cows, lowing all around us in the darkness, then tried to definite the deer voices in that noise, it was a rut time and they could be there. What a pleasure it was to seat there, not hurry anywhere, plus one trophy had been taken already. Next morning, we went for a chamois hunting. The area where we were going to hunt, significantly differed from place where we had been before. The mountains were covered by forest and thick bushes. There were some barenesses covered by grass and small rocks on our way. Chamois could habitat everywhere in the forest or rocks. We took the comfortable position in the first row- just behind small bushes to watch the whole valley. Everybody got the binoculars and we began to examine surroundings. All I could see was the flat slope on the right, the hollow, covered by yellowness forest on the left and endless forest-covered hills with small rocks just in front of us to the horizon. Some hills were dressed in grass and wild tea thickets. Last year I couldn’t get chamois, I saw it and even tried but had no chance to fire. We spent there about an hours, whispering about everything. Then we heard a crackle from the forest and stood motionless. The female deer and a fawn appeared just in front of us. They were not our “clients”. Suddenly I heard someone cough. “Chamois”,- whispered Issa and we began to look it using the binoculars. The chamois stood in the wild tea thickets which reached its belly, probably it laid there all time. It was a big, dark colored male. I put the carbine on the backpack and aimed. The shooting distance - 340 m but I didn't look to the second figure with the angle accounting. It was my mistake. Ibrahim told us and not once that chamois wouldn’t wait, I followed his advice and so how it slowly disappeared behind the hill. I missed it. I jumped up, overwhelmed with emotion and Issa and I began to climb. The next actions reminded me chaos in the madhouse. I overtook Issa and went ahead who was rising from the right side of me. He followed the track, as I knew later, and found the chamois in 20 meters from me but I was not with him at that moment! The guide tried to fright it to run to my side but I didn't’ understand what he was doing. Misha and Ibrahim stood in the wrong place and the trophy size chamois male could maneuver between our stupid company and ran away. I was fully upset that missed the shot, didn't give my friend the chance to make a shot and everything was so clueless. Chamois won in that war. After that happened, we made a stop to drink water, quarreled and discussed what to do next. Our team divided into two: I went with Issa while Misha stayed with Ibrahim. Issa led me by the most difficult places - forest, thick thickets on the slopes, and rock in the river hollow. We dismounted several times, went on foot and monitored the opposite slopes. Flies and hot weather made that hike more difficult for me, it differed so much from the first part of our hunting. But I was full of desire to settle the score with chamois. We saw lots of fresh tracks of those animals and bears. Telling the truth, we constantly found the bear’s tracks not matter where they were on the rocks or on the grass slopes. At last, we detected the chamois. It pastured on the opposite slope in 340 m from us. It had light color not dark and I thought that it’d be a female. Hunting for females is also legal and their horns are even longer. But I wanted to get the male, we lost few hours ago. Moving ahead, they are light on top and black on the bottom. But I guessed that Issa would throw me off the rock if I refused to shoot (and I agreed with him), found the place where I could put the backpack and prepared for a shot. I carefully prepared for that shot, measure and checked everything and shot and heard the bullet’ slap. Issa looked at me, shook my hand and said sarcastically, " rehabilitated.” It was the real adventure to come to the place where the trophy laid and took us two hours climbing through the thick and wet grass and trees. How happy I was when found that it was a male with good horns more than 22 sm what means that it could claim a prize among the registered trophies. My suffering and efforts were rewarded. Next hours we lowered the trophy to the river where cut meat and loaded horses. And on top of everything Misha's horse, I used it that day, fell down twice from the 20 meters cliff to the river and we should nothing to do but saved it. Fortunately, nobody was riding on it at those moments.   Misha got the trophy at the same day. They told us that it happened in such creepy gorge that could not even take meat. In the evening we had delicious dinner , fried liver, got salt cucumbers and drank a little alcohol. I was really happy! Next day we visited the Forest Opera! We sat on the bench in the first row and listened on the roaring deer. I hoped to spot one of them and to make video but couldn't find any. They gave the concert two times in a day in early morning in the pre-dawn haze and in the evening, when the mountains fell asleep. Our trip was almost ended. We didn’t observe deer but heard them enough, till the next year, to the next hunting. Next time I’m going to fly there for a deer and bear hunting. I have one more idea for November because there are just two Caucasian hunts in the collection.

The only one who can understand a hunter Who felt the same When leaving home, full of hope And miserably coming back     It was sunny next morning like at the first hunting day. It became warmer - 150 C. The weather was comfortable for hunting and after a short lunch our team- Sanzhar, Dushan, Vladimir and I went on looking for a ram.   We went to the opposite direction. We were riding by horses about five hours climbing the mountains and descending to the gorges. We crossed the picturesque valley where found the bones of ibexes killed by wolves and entered the gorge where saw how the small spring pierced ice flowing down to the valley. The horses clung to the icy source immediately and we followed their example. We took a short break and then started to storm the next climb. After reaching the top everything had began. A grand panorama opened up from the height. We could see how the wide valley ran to horizon, in some places if was crossed by mountain gorges and small hills. This beauty from both sides was surrounded by majestic peaks. It was the place where Sanzhar wanted us to be. He was sure that there we’d find flocks of Marco Polo sheep. In a few minutes we detected three or even four flocks in two -three km from us. There were not less than 100 sheep! The animals grazed in some distance from each other. The core of those groups were ewes with lambs and young sheep males but we noticed several trophy size adult rams between them. They gathered in small groups in 5-6 individuals and moved fast if felt any danger. Sanzhar set the scope and started to monitor the surroundings. Dushan helped him. Vladimir and I watched the territory through the binoculars looking for a worthy trophy. In an hour Sanzhar told us what he had noticed. He spotted the group of argali with five or six trophy size rams which stayed in three km from us where the gorge adjoined the valley. According to Dushan estimation one of the rams was a worthy one. The only question was how to approach them by the open area. After a discussion we resolved to go there by the plateau above them along the mountain ridge. We had to sneak up to the herd and try to get the trophy if there was one. There were no any other ways. Saddled horses and moved to the mountains but did stops from time to time to check where the rams were. The rams, we were interested in, entered the gorge and the rest of the flock followed them what was just as well for us. Then the events took a completely unexpected turn. We rode about four km and dismounted. I took the carbine and ammunition while Sanzhar and Dushan carried their guns and scopes and then we all walked along the ridge to the gorge where the sheep had to be. Vladimir followed us. He carried a camera and was not in a hurry at all. Suddenly Sanzhar jumped up, caught me by the sleeve and knocked me down to the ground. The rest fell down and froze. Sanzhar crawled by the rubble, then I, taking the bipod and a carbine. I crawled over and lay down beside him. He looked disappointed. He gestured Dushan to come and to be ready to fire. Then he pointed to the opposite ridge and we all snuggled up the binoculars. In 600 m from us I saw the huge wolf which also hunted for sheep. It was hiding in snow and reduced the distance between him and the flock. The wolf carefully descended wagging the tail and making from 10 to 20 steps in one pass. It was obviously clear that sheep didn’t see the predator nor us. It was interesting and could help us. We move in short bursts, crawled from time to time and trying to cross the wolf’s line and approaching the sheep. At last, the predator laid down into snow and froze. It was clear that it was watching sheep from above while we’d have to crawl to the place from where we could see the group. I measured the distance to the wolf by a rangefinder while we were crawling; It was 540 meters. We could try to take out the competitor... We moved up by the plateau, climbed the hill and detected the flock. It consisted on the dozens of argali. The animals were having rest and laid along the small ascend near the gorge. The group of ewes was nearest to us, the group of rams laid behind them, stretched from the left to the right hided by the youth sheep. All rams were clearly viewed. I put the carbine on the bipod and measured the distance - from 300 to 320 meters. It was really good. There was no wind but the sun shined just to my face. We accounted eight Marco Polo rams and three of them had trophy size. One of those three didn’t suit because its horn’ base was small, the horn of the second one had the broken tip. The third one was magnificent. It had long spiral horns with a huge base and the horns’ tips twisted outwards. The other members of our team confirmed that it was what I needed. I began to prepare for a shot. But didn't want to fire while it was lying down. The plan was to wait when they’d start to stand up and to shoot at that moment. We were lying on the frozen rocks, covered by snow and began to freeze. The sun was shining but low temperature and a wind affected us. In a hour I got shivers but there was not any sign that the flock was going to move. The wolf, on the opposite slope, tried not to betray its presence and hid in the snow only its head moved up and down. It smelt sheep and also waited. I guessed that could take a while and sheep could lay till the late evening. One more hour had passed, shivers became stronger. Sanzhar and Dushan was fidgeting on the rocks, they tried to change the positions, raised wrinkled hands to the mouths trying to warm them up with breath. I commanded: “Lift the flock, Sanzhar!” and took the carbine aiming my ram. My fellows rose groaning to their full heights - but there was no reaction in the flock. I watched attentively to my ram through the crosshairs trying to catch any movement. Sanzhar rose his hands and shouted something. The wolf saw us and disappeared behind the ridge. Something was going on in the flock, the ewes stood up first and turned heads from the left to the right. The rams joined them. My male also moved. The flock stood up and ewes mingled with rams sheltering them with their bodies. Then they began to go up by the ridge and to descend to the gorge smoothly. My trophy was among the last ones. It reached the horizon when I shot. The heavy bullet hit to the center of the body just below the shoulder blade. It shuddered and fell down. At the same moment the flock rushed at a gallop, lifting the clouds of snow dust and hid in the gorge. Only the wide road of tracks reminded about them. We began to jump and shout happily, patting each other and congratulating with the trophy. It was unbelievable! After it we saddled the horses and rode to the place where it laid. I have no words to describe how nice it was. Its huge, heavy horns with a big base confirmed my thought that it was the worthy sample of Marco Polo sheep. The length of the left and right horns was 135 and 137sm. It was a very lucky hunt in Kyrgyzstan. Then we went down to the camp. Later when having dinner, we were remembering how we detected the wolf, it was it who drove the flock to that gorge near the mountain ridge and helped us in our hunting, my accurate shot, weather and how we were freezing there but still hoped for luck. Ibexes Next day everything started once again: packing, horses, gun’s tests and others. We didn't want to waste time because only three days left before the departure. I still had chance to get the trophy of the Mid-Asian Ibex. Sanzhar- our experienced guide knew that area very well and knew where we could try our hunting luck. It was dark when we left. Then we rode by valley to the east. It lasted quite a long time. We spent on climbing all daylight hours. Few times we stopped to have rest while rising, then reached the top, rode it around and dismounted. I followed the guides and we went about 250 m then stopped. Sanzhar stared at the neighboring peaks and valleys for a long time. Then sat down, pulled out the scope and began to look for ibexes. It gave the results! Soon, we spotted the group of ibexes, about 15-16 males, in three km from us. He commanded to horse and we started our hike. When there was about 1,5 km to the flock, we dismounted to check the group. There was not any movement. Some of the males stood while the others laid down near the huge rock and heat under the sun. Dushan suggest to have lunch and then to approach them because it didn’t look as if they were going to go anywhere. The others agreed. We went down a bit not to frighten them, lit a small stove, boiled tea, ate some sausage with bread and were ready to continue. One of us looked out from behind the rocks and found that there was not any sign of animals. We had nothing to do but climb to the rock from where we saw them for the last time. Our group marched in a single file but made stops to breathe. Thus, we reached the top. The huge, long gorges, about 800-900 m length, stretched from it to the left and the right sides. They rested on insurmountable high-altitude peaks. Sanzhar told us that ibexes went down to the beginning of the ridge where we were. After a short discussion we resolved. If Dushan went down from, the flock should move near the vertical rocks where we stood and my task was to make the accurate shot in such case. We found the place and made a blind. I imagined the line where they would rise from the lowest point to the opposite mountain ridge at my eye level. The rangefinder showed 450 m to the nearest rocks. The wind spun snow to the top of the mountain but it didn't bother us. I was sure that I would have a chance to shoot. Dushan climbed to the rock slowly and then began to descend to the ibexes. In forty minutes, we heard the shot, he gave us a signal. I detected the first ibex who was leading the rest of the group to the top of the ridge. It was unthinkable! Our plan had gone to the hell but it was worth to look at. The ibexes stood in line and began to storm the vertical slope of the peak drowning up to their necks in snow. It was unforgettable! As if they knew what would happen and nobody wanted to die! I measured the distance: It was 1,200 meters. There were three good size males, two of them has spiral horns and the last and the biggest one had large recurved horns. I started to aim the biggest one. A shot! I missed it. I fired once again and missed. The animals stretched in the line from bottom-up about 100 meters length and went on to move to the peak. It was a beautiful picture! I made two more shots but with the same result. The side wind with the gusts prevented me to fire. It has no sense to measure wind speed. I could hardly believe but Sanzhar looked satisfied. It happened that the flock passed the mountain ridge and entered the gorge on the opposite side where we could find and approach them tomorrow. Sanzhar told us that there were some vegetation and ibexes go there for feeding. We resolved to continue our hunting tomorrow. And began descending to the camp. We chose the shorted but the hardest way through the saddle of the mountain directly to the camp. It took us five hours to reach the camp. At last, we reached it totally devastated but undefeated!   Once again! Next morning we got up at 3 am. Ate short breakfast, saddled the horses and left the camp. Sanzhar was in a hurry and made us to gallop by the valley to the Northeast. His plan was to reach the end of the plateau from the other side of the mountains while it was dark, to lay behind the rocks waiting for ibexes when they’d go down in the morning. We shared his impatience and rode as fast as we could, rose hill after hill, crossed one ridge after another- the idea was to reach the definite place before the sunrise. It was getting light but we almost arrived. Sanzhar pulled out the scope, set in on the bipod and began to monitor the mountain massive. "Here they are! » - he shouted and we all peered through our binoculars. The distance to the males was about 3-4 km. The ibexes had descended already and was meeting the sunrise. We noticed the females and babies with them. The procession was ended by three amazing males, I’d paid attention yesterday and even tried to get one of them. Each of us looked at them through the scope to estimate the giants. Two males had horns more than 125-130sm but the last one had even bigger horns about 140 sm! I checked the carbine and cartridges. We packed the scope, flung ourselves on horsebacks and went on. Dushan suggested to approach the group from the leeward side but Sanzhar offered to attack from the end of the mountain where they’d enter the plateau. The hunt has begun! We were wobbling up and down along the small hills, hiding behind the rocks, we approached the ibexes. We were near the mountain edge when wind changed the direction and a herd turned back and began to climb in the opposite side. Sanzhar realized that had to do something or we’d lose the chance and galloped down to the mountain foot. I spurred on my horse too and followed him. After reaching the place where he stopped, I dismounted, took a carbine and ran after him. We ran up about 50 m and then Sanzhar almost moaned: “Shoot! I beg you shoot! Or they’ll leave!” I fixed the bipods, laid down and prepared to shoot at a sharp angle. The ibex’ flock was rising fast and soon they all would disappear behind the rocks from the right. The starting distance was 500 meters. I set the corrections and tried to look for a trophy. But none of us could see the three males which we were looking for. Suddenly I detected the first one, it was jumping from one stone to another flickering between rocks. It was all I needed! A shot! I missed it. The trophy males mingled with the others and I couldn’t fire. I shot two more time but without any result! I had no time to put the corrections and I could only make shot by shot using the correction for 500 m. Ibexes were moving up and up. Vladimir, I had given him a credit, corrected the distance constantly: 650… 700… 800 meters. The further was the worse, the goats had mixed with each other and It was impossible to get the desired trophy. Once or two times I saw the giant male through the crosshairs. Each time when I aimed the trophy, I tried to remember the sets of the reticle to make the accurate shot. The animals reached 1000 meters, built the row and went from the first mountain massive through the rocky mounds to the next. The first male led the group carefully from one rock to another. I didn't doubt for a moment and shot. The 19gr bullet left the barrel with a whistle. Moment ... And we all gasped! Sanzhar sat with the open mouth what meant how he was surprise. The bullet hit the first goat! It looked amazing on such distance. The goat fell to its side, rolled over few times in the air and fell down from the mountain to the stones. I raged. The ibexes stopped on the edge of the rocky mound thinking to move further or not. After a while they began to cross one by one sinking hooves in the rubble. And I saw my yesterday's macho with curled horns. It was huge with the long beard, dark hair and a a whitish spot on the belly. My trophy ibex began to go, accelerating to the male before him. The shooting distance was more than 1000 m. I entered the corrections for the angle and shot. The bullet hit to its breast (we checked it later). It fell headfirst and tucked the front legs under it. The heavy bullets did its job. I watched it through the crosshairs and saw how it crawled to the rock leaving the wide bloody track. Everybody kept silence. My shooting practice for long distances helped me once again. I was delighted that we got two trophies of ibexes. Then as if all awake from a trance we realized: Hunting is over! I had no forces to rise to trophies. Sanzhar, Dushan and Vladimir began to ascend and I had nothing but followed them. We were overcoming the rocks and mounds when crawled to the goats at last. The first male laid with the broken jaw. It was more difficult with the second one: Dushan followed the blood train and got the macho which was still alive. We measured the trophies: the first male had 105 sm horns but the second one was bigger. The length of its right and left horns were 125 and 126 sm. The photo session became the climax of our expedition, then we cut meat and went to the camp.   The conclusion. The sun was shining brightly. My soul wanted to fly in the blue sky because there was not enough space in my breast. I was impressed by that hunting and surroundings. The Tian Shan mountains around me reminded about the frailty of life. My hunting in Kyrgyzstan was over. I’d got three great trophies in Aksay valley. I think that I’ll come back there to get the champion trophy!

I’ve written this article to attract the attention of hunters, game-biologists and other people who are interested in the conservation of wild ungulates in our country. I say about the potential threaten of the deadly disease spread - CWD, Chronic wasting disease of deer. First time this disease was described for the North America deer. It's one of the form of Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), which attacks the nervous system and other organs of animals and leads to a fatal outcome, to the death of a sick animal. We still don’t know how to treat it and there is not vaccine yet. We are used to think that animal’s and human diseases cause worms. The most dangerous one is trichinosis, the simplest ones are amoebas and other protozoa what goes to piroplasmosis and other bacteria and viruses. CWD is caused by not studied enough protein structures, which are called prions. They are infectious self-replicating proteins which are modified in comparison with the usual protein, and have spatial structure of the molecule. Not only deer suffer from it. The most famous prions diseases are "mad cow disease”, Scrapie, a Kuru disease described for the Furu people of New Guinea, characterized by a commitment to cannibalism. But now we talk about deer disease. According to currently available data, CWD affects only deer. The last years' researching haven’t confirmed that it affects people or a livestock. But it’s dangerous for deer and moose because it's fatal and spreads very fast. It’s not only because they move actively and live-in herds. There are other objective reasons, connected with the disease specific and how the pathogens of the disease spread. In comparison with other diseases the infection can happen not only when the animal is in the contact with the sick one or when the infected part of dead animals gets into their bodies but when it contacts with their urine, excrement and saliva from infected animals. Pathogens – prions persist for a long time in the environment – on vegetation and in the soil. The experimental data have confirmed that infection can occur not only between individuals of the same species, but also between representatives of different species. The pathogen taken from the whitetail deer and inserted to the wapiti (American red deer subspecies) caused the CWD. You need to know that sometimes it’s impossible to identify the sick animal. The incubation period can be longer than the quarantine. This disease is widely spread now among the whitetail and blacktail deer, wapiti and moose in North America. According the data on May, 2015 the disease cases are fixed among wild and semi-free animals in 23 states of USA and two provinces in Canada. These countries have developed the special measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Many European countries take part in the programs of testing for infection of this prions disease and develop measures to prevent its spread. Special attention is paid to the problem of genetic predisposition to this disease while studying CWD epidemiology. There are several description of gene mutations, for different species. They encode the prion protein and can be connected with the high predisposition or resistance to this disease. Genotyping by these mutations are done for the North America deer and there are data for Scandinavia. The research, devoted to the potential genetic predisposition/resistance of ungulates of Russia to infection with the disease of chronic wasting of deer Has started in the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution. The data, we obtained at the first stage, lead to disappointing conclusions. The analysis of 160 samples, taken from different part of Russia, has showed that all moose from European part of our country, Ural and Siberia are characterized by low resistance to infection of CWD. A small population of moose, inhabited on the northeast (less than 40%), have higher resistance to this disease. All the studied red deer (more than 100) from the European part of Russia are characterized by the low genetic resistance to infection with the disease. Our researching in this area still go. It’s clear now that red deer and moose, inhabited on the most part of Russia, are not genetically protected from CWD. And we don’t know other ways how to treat it. The importation of deer from the New World is associated with a high risk of spreading CWD among the deer and moose in Russia. The duration of incubation period doesn't allow to identify the sick animals. We know about the negative experience in other countries. The group of deer imported from Canada in 2002 to one of the deer farms in South Korea was infected by CWD. When they realized that one of the individuals was infected it was to late and the only way was to destroy the whole number of deer. It is not necessary to repeat such experiments! The introduction of exotic species, such as whitetail and black tail deer, to the hunting farms of Russia can lead to the to very serious consequences. Quotes: A prion is a protein with an abnormal three-dimensional structure that can cause the transformation of a normal cellular protein homologous into a similar one (prion). Prions, appeared as the result of this procedure, can rearrange the normal protein molecules closest to them into prions. A chain reaction is triggered, during which a huge number of incorrectly folded molecules are formed. Prions increase their number in a living organism. They use the functions of host cells and are similar to viruses. Nowadays, prions are the only known infectious agents that reproduce without the participation of nucleic acids (!). The question of whether prions are considered a form of life is currently open. All known prions form amyloid (protein aggregates). The incubation period of prion disease is determined by the rate of exponential growth of the number of prions. It depends on the rate of linear growth and fragmentation of aggregates. The initial presence of a normally stacked cell protein, which corresponds to the prion protein is necessary for prion reproduction. The organisms with the lack the normal form of prion protein do not suffer from prion diseases. The prion form of the protein is extremely stable and accumulates in the affected tissue, causing its damage and die off. The stable prion form means that they are resistant to destruction by chemical and physical agents, so it is extremely difficult to destroy these particles or restrain their growth. There are several prion forms (strains), each with a slightly different structure. Prions cause the next diseases: transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) of various mammals, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy ("mad cow disease"). In humans, prions cause Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome, fatal familial insomnia, and kura. All known prion diseases affect the brain and other nerve tissues, are currently incurable and ultimately fatal. The importation of exotic species such as whitetail and black tail deer to the hunting farms of Russia from Canada and USA can lead to to almost total extinction of Russian deer and moose within a few years. Marina Kholodova, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Chief Researcher, Head of the Cabinet of Methods of Molecular Diagnostics of IPEE RAS

Sergey Samotin and I have just returned from USA where he hunted for the Desert sheep. It wasn’t easy to get the permit for hunting in one of the most popular area but we did our best. There are not many trophies left to get Super 40 He rented the rifle 7 Remington Magnum because the procedure of  the usage your own gun is more complicated in US than in Canada or Mexico. The accommodation was in a  cozy hotel not far from the hunting area. Our guides were original Navajo Indians and they were very professional. The hunt took just four hours though we were not lucky with the weather. It was steady rain what was not typical for October. 

I studied lots of resources of information before writing the article devoted to the basis of mountain medicine. Now, I’m ready to submit it to the readers ‘ court. The final variant had not less than four chapters and about thirty sections not accounting the attachments. I realize that it’s impossible to publish it in the periodicals and has resolved to divide it into three themes - Medical training before an expedition to the mountains, the medical component of mountain hunting and First aid in mountains. Sergey Rudnev, expert on certification of the ACC of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia Before the trip The hunter who has taken the decision to go for hunting on the highlands, knows or guess about obstacles he’ll meet there. They connect with the lack of oxygen, significant temperature fluctuations, ultraviolet radiation and physical and psychological stress when the daily regime changes. The traveler can protect himself if follow the next rules. You have to be physically and psychologically trained before going to the highlands. Try to avoid serious psychological overloads in your work or family before the trip. We recommend you to visit such doctors as a dentist for a dental sanitation, a cardiologist to make a cardiogram, a audiologist if you have polyps or of inflammatory diseases of the nose, throat or ears and a dermatologist to check the fungal infections of the skin, or tumors if you have ones. If you are going to visit areas, known by their infectious or tropical diseases, we advise you to vaccinate or take all necessary medicine you’ll need there. After getting the information about your health you can make the next step - to start to correct your condition following the doctor’s recommendations the best time to make to make the correction is form one month to a few days before the trip. The most used correction drugs, used for this purpose, are to intensify metabolism, improves oxygen delivery, tissue respiration and muscle function, antioxidants, multivitamins, immunostimulants and adaptogens. But you have to consult your doctor before taking this medicine. I, from my side, can recommend such drugs as lipoxen or olifen, cytochrome C, Actovegin, Mexidol, Mildronate, Phenotropil. Vitamin complexes supradin, berocca, complivit and others. The adaptogens,which are widely spead are tinctures based on vegetable raw materials (ginseng, lemongrass, radiola rosea) and raw materials of animal origin (antlers of maral and other types of deer, beaver jet, bear bile, extracts from marine animals). Polyoxidonium, amixin, and iodantipyrin have immunostimulating properties.   What to put into your medicine kit. The next level of preparation for a highland hunting is to choose the right drugs for your first aid kit. You need to continue to take medicine which have started to take while preparing for the trip. You should definitely take your medication which help to adapt you for being on the highlands and prevent from the development of altitude sickness. These include nifedipine, diacarb (acetazolamide, diamox), panangine, dexamethasone. We recommend to use special lotions and to test them beforehand to protect exposed areas of the skin from UV radiation, chapping and frostbite. There is not the universal recipe of such lotion which suits for everybody. But we can recommend some. First of all you need to know your skin type and if you have allergy for some components. Protective lotion for the usage in the mountains must have a protection factor (SPF) from UV not less than 20 and provide protection from UV rays in the widest possible spectrum (UVA+UVB). It mustn't dry fast or to froze in the pack before you are going to use it. You should also put medicine for suddenly developed diseases, injuries, and help with the exacerbation of your chronic diseases. If we talk about practical side, all drugs packages have to be small and light. All pills have to be packed into the polymer packaging, don’t take extra. Use the additional package to protect medicine. All bandaging supplies has to be in the original polymer packaging, use pills and lotion tubes made from polymer, and don't take ones, packed in glass or metal packages Don't use the secondary packaging (made from a thick cardboard) and we advise to write the expiration date on the instruction paper and keep it in the waterproof bag with a zip lock. We advise to keep the instruction how to use the first aid supplies in the same place. You never know who will use the kit to help you. Check the expiration dates of all drugs you have already have in your first aid kit, add the ones you have used already and changed the ones with the damage package before putting it into your travel bag. It’d be better to re-read the instruction how to put the medicine in the kit, what to in in the first turn and to train the simplest skills of providing assistance, such as applying a tourniquet and a pressure bandage, immobilizing a fracture and performing an intramuscular injection. You will be prepared for unexpected events and nothing tragic will happen if you follow these rules.   The Case Like all mountain hunting equipment, the first aid kit must have minimal weight and size characteristics and maximum protection from environmental factors. First of all, is the protection from physical influences – bumps, falls, moisture and temperature changes. It should have high ergonomic characteristics, provide free visual search, a convenient access to the content and quick recovery of attachments. Success of the assistance process depends on how fast you can find and remove from the bag all necessary banging supplies. If you carry the medicine kit with you , it has to be adapted to the hunters equipment and suited to all upper layers of your clothes or your backpack. It's hard to follow these requirements but the implementation of these requirements is possible, although this is a way of compromise. The usage of hard boxes made from modern polymer guarantee the high level of protection of the content but the low resistant to the low temperatures and a low degree of visualization and the recoverability of the content. The use of rigid metal cases does not provide the required weight and size characteristics. Fabric cases provide high performance and ergonomic characteristics, although the protective characteristics of fabric cases are lower. It depends on you what kind of the case you’ll choose. My experience shows that first-aid kits and cases for them, produced in an industrial, not by artisanal method, have higher performance characteristics. We should say some words about the protection of the contents of the first-aid kit from water and moisture. It's not obligatory for a mountain first aid kit, but the usage of moisture-proof fasteners, valves, wings and covers for fabric cases and special seals for rigid cases does not present technical difficulties and is quite feasible. ( to be continued)

The only one who can understand a hunter Who felt the same When leaving home, full of hope And miserably coming back   Mountains means much more then we can even imagine and hunting there will be the main priority and passion for each mountain hunter. All the work what we do when we perfect our skills training in shooting galleries, when buy new devices for our carbines. All this preparation is just for the one but the most important shot. The years pass away and only our trophies and yellowed photos will remind our descendants how we’ve hunted and we've left behind.   Introduction At the end of October Vladimir Smelov and I arrived to Kyrgyzstan. We were going to take the two main trophies in that region: Marco Polo sheep and a trophy of Mid Asian ibex. The transportation of my heavy bag, filled with lots of equipment, bought for this trip cost me a lot. Though we took sleeping bags and all optics we had as a carry luggage. In four hours we landed at the Bishkek airport and were delivered by minivan to the custom VIP zone. Our friend, professional hunter and outfitter Sanzhar Miyaev was waiting for us there. That young and energetic guy filled quickly all custom papers and declarations. I didn't take much time to overtake that custom obstacle course and then we loaded all bags into his Land Cruiser and moved to the booked hotel. The plan was to spent one night there and to drive to north of Naryn region in early morning. The ibex had to become the first trophy. The brightly lit streets of Bishkek were bustling with nightlife. I saw great numbers of old cars from 90s, watched the locals who talked with each other not as I was used to communicate at home, heard loud music from the cars and smelled the burned goal and meat from the local cafe. Bishkek is the embodiment of the local oriental mentality, which are not in a hurry to give a way for European civilization. I respect people who follow for local customs, moreover it makes unforgettable and shining the color of the city!   Our way. We woke at 4 am and started to load the car. The huge off-road vehicle happened to be too small for everything we had: our personal items and outfitter's equipment. By some miracle we could load all luggage and sat ourselves. Then we drove to the 24-hour grocery store, located in the suburban where bought meal for two weeks ahead. The way to the first hunting ground took us about 10 hours with all stops. In 300 km we drove into a aul where took the hunting inspector, his duty was to control and to take part in the hunting process. We parked near the stable, not far from the inspector’s house where the guys, Sanzhar's assistants shod five, not very strong as I thought, horses and led them into the the back of the truck. We had lunch there and then drove six hours more by two cars to the place where we were going to stay for a night. That part of the remote steppe in the river's valley stretched for many kilometers. It was getting dark and the cold, strong wind blew from the mountains. But temperature was comfortable enough about +5 C degrees. We set tents, had light dinner and went to sleep. Our Kyrgyz guides uploaded and hobbled the horses and left them to graze near the tents. There we found them next morning. Our team consisted of five men: the professional hunter Sanzhar, his experienced friend with the French name Dushan, Vladimir Smelov, the main Jaeger and I. After a quick breakfast we collected the camp and loaded it to the “Cruiser”. We thought to arrive the same place in three hunting days and to drive back no matter if the hunt would be successful or not. We packed horses, dressed all equipment we marched in single file for the mountains. I took the rifle with which I had hunted many times, the carbine HS Precision cart .338 LM and optics NF 5.5-22х56. It was heavy but I was really satisfied by results of its work in the mountains of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. The sun shined brightly and weather was fine. In a couple of miles, the road began to climb sharply. We made our way through the gorges, covered in snow which was up to the horse's rumps. We did our best but some of us had fallen down when we were turning but we still went on to move up. The height rose from 3500 masl (where we spent the night) to 4100m. I felt the lack of oxygen and could hardly took breath. The cold and the strong wind add lyrics to the situation. The plan was to overcome two ridges and two gorges and then arrive to the hunting ground. We monitored the surroundings while riding in hope to detect ibexes while it was light. But all our efforts were in vain: we didn't see any. Sanzhar assured us that we did it on purpose and it worth to go to that remote area. Last year the hunter from Czech Republic got two ibexes with 130cm and 135cm each there. That area was very perspective for good quality trophies. After a while, we came to the foot of the ridge and stood up. The horses began to settle on trembling hind legs, and no power could make them to climb. While Vladimir and I were dismounting Sanzhar and Dushan had already reached the top. They went first The huntsman was beating his horse with a whip and tried to get it to stand up but without any result. He had nothing to do but to take horses by the bridle, knit the reins to the saddles and to pull them up. Vladimir and I start climbing, there were about 300 vertical meters left to the top. We made stops each 40-50 meters to have reached and to breath but could ascend to the top where the other guys and horses waited for us. The most beautiful panorama of the Tien Shan Mountains opened up to our eye. The snow-covered gorges pierced mountains like veins and we couldn’t see their end. The sun was sinking inexorably. We began to go down to the valley making the stops on the small plateaus from time to time to overlook the surroundings. The lower we went down, the higher the temperature rose. It became hot soon. We were riding for about six hours and had to ride as much more while we’d reach the lower camp. It was the late evening when our barely alive cavalcade came to the abandoned barn. I was all for to make a stop there. And was really happy when saw that the guides settle there. That was the final destination! The Kyrgyz accommodated in the barn while Vladimir and I set the tent. We had dinner and went to bed. Next day we should move to the mountains. Good morning! The morning shocked us. A wind, we felt in the mountains last day, carried snow which covered the valley while we were sleeping. We dug up the exit and ran to the barn to warm near the fire. The valley was covered by thick fog. The huntsman said that such weather change was dangerous and there was nothing to think about hunting at that day. We needed to decide how to return to the camp without loss. We left the cars beyond the three ridges from us. There were two ways how to go to the cars. The first one was to ride about 50 km along the valley to the nearest village or to return by the same way through the ridges as we went before. We had to choose as soon as possible to survive. After a long dispute the Jaeger took the crazy decision, as we thought, to go back by same shortest way as we went a day yesterday. It was not an easy matter to leave the snow-covered valley and to rise the mountains. We all prepared to the worst and moved forward. Strong wind and snow seriously delayed the ascent. The horses began to slow down when we just started climbing. They were snoring heavily and stumbled when falling through the deep snow or sliding of the ice-covered rocks but went on moving from the one gorge to another. We tried to keep rein in a balance when the lathered animals rolled over on their sides but not effective. We climbed the rocks as we could: some of us rode, the rest of the group led the horses by the reins, who had the strength for what. At last we reached the pass on the height 4000 masl and made a stop to drink tea and to have a snack. We had been riding for five hours already and had to cross two more passes. Suddenly Sanzhar stopped our truck and pointed for something forward us. I snatched the binoculars and spotted the herd of ibexes, about 10 animals. All of them were males. One of them was really good. Its horn length was not less than 120cm. They stood in 540 m from us but the wind with snow and fog didn’t allow as to approach. Sanzhar spitted, turned his horse to the left and started to climb once again. Turn by turn we came closer to our salvation. We were climbing in line when I took the horse's bridle abruptly, it frightened, bucked and threw me forward. I flew it over, but happened to cling to the reins and hang over the precipice. In a minute I felt the blood flew down my arms. I tried to climb up and threw my left leg under the horse. The horse tried to help me and threw its head back and put the hind hoof on my ankle. The horseshoe bit into the flesh and I felt the animal's weight. I was lucky that it didn't break the leg. The guides ran to me and helped. Six hours later, after all those ascends and descends, deadly tired and cursing the inspector we entered the valley where left our cars. Thus our ibex hunting, when we struggled for our life, ended. Driving back to Naryn I realized how less we need to be happy. The expedition #2 We resolved not to leave it too long and drove to the second expedition. Our way laid through the Naryn region to At Bashi district, to Aksay valley, located on the east near Kontur village, close to the Chinese border. The main sightseeing there was the Issyk-Kul Lake, located on the north and surrounded by mountain ridges of TianShan. The highest mountain peaks Khan Tengri (7,010 m) and Victory Peak (7,439 m) are also located there. We were going to hunt the main trophy of these places is the argali Marco Polo. And got the ibex if it was possible. The average size of Marco Polo horns is about 125 cm but Aksay region is know by its trophies, taken there each year, with horns 140 -150 cm. It’s not easy to get such worthy trophy. The value of such trophy is very high. The Base camp, where we were moving, was located on the height 3300 masl. But hunting is organized on the heights from 3800 to 4500 m. There were lots of adventures before that expedition. We drove about 200 km from Naryn to the East and visited one more aul to take the huntsman. Then we drove off-road by wide valley, framed by mountains massives, directly to the Aksay region. At night we arrived to the border guard post. They checked our weapon and ammunition and soon we went on our way, driving fast and faster by the snow-covered road. The “Land Cruiser’ struggled through the snowy desert at night, its headlights shining on the way. The strong wind with the snow blew and we felt as if happened to be in the biggest barrel in the world. After the midnight we saw the camp and breathed a sigh of relief. It consisted of four separate cabins where we can have rest, sleep, take a shower and to eat. There were a yurt near the cabin, a stable for horses and a shed for equipment. We got acquaintance with the chief of the Base Talay and other guides. Then uploaded the equipment and go to beds. We see sheep! Next morning met us by fine weather. There was no wind and the sun shined brightly. The temperature was -19C. Thin air made us feel cheerful. We even didn’t left the camp when noticed groups of sheep, pastured in two km from us. They were females and young animals. The groups of 30-50 individuals walked around the base camp on the dry mountain plateaus covered by pieces of snow. What's going on up there?! At the end of October the males begin to blend with the females groups to mate and it's possible to find a good one there at a rut season. After a tasty breakfast from bacon and eggs and strong tea the team began to preparation for a hunting. Sanzhar and Dushan went to saddle the horses while Vladimir and I checked the rifle after our last night drifts. I’d changed my clothes to the mountain one, gathered all necessary equipment, got the scope, the carbine and ammunition and went out. Taalay showed me the target where I could test the rifle. It was nailed on a wooden board, put in 100 m from us. I laid down on the soft mat, put the carbine on the pods, took a cartridge and got the aim in the crosshairs. At first the carbine was shot on 300 m with the heavy (19.5 gr) Scenar bullet. It has the best ballistic characteristics and is not so susceptible to wind drift when fired from a long distance. All three bullets went one for each other to the target with minimum distance gap. The gun testing on the highlands didn’t show significant deviations from the initial parameters. It couldn’t but rejoice. In an hour we were ready for hunting. Our group of four riders, led by Sanzhar packed all equipment, tents and meal for a one day, left the camp. We moved by the ice-covered river valley to the mountains on the south. The horses swayed slowly and trudged along behind each other, making a furrow in the snow-covered ground. Our goal was to get the trophy of Marco Polo. We did our best and used all knowledge and hunting skills while examining the territory to find the sheep. Moving by zigzags and urging the horses we climbed the mountains. There was no vegetation at all, only some withered dead wood stuck out here and there. Bright orange peaks with pieces of gray snow were our picture of life, the only we could see there. We were not going to look for a trophy there. The task was to reach the mountain plateau and to detect the sheep there on one of the saddle ridge. They are used to graze or to have a rest there under the scorching sun. We went about 5km and climbed 3800 m. Sanzhar rode ahead of us from time to time, galloped the plateau and stopped near the cliff, monitoring the slopes through the binocular. Then we started to join him because that three pairs of eyes could see more and we tried to help the experienced hunter. But were not lucky. Everything seemed empty, we couldn't even notice the scavengers -white-headed vultures. Then we rode two more km and spotted the first sheep group. They stood on the rocky ledge in 1200m from us. We dismounted, moved closer to the ledge and looked out from top to bottom. Unfortunately, there was not a worth trophy in that group. Two groups of young males pastures in the gorge. I got my Kestrel. The wind blew with gulps and changed the destination to 360o with the speed 10-20 m\sec. The distance to the sheep was about 650 m. I began to dream how I’d shoot but suddenly they jumped up. They grouped together and ran up the mountain, pushing off with the hind legs from the hard stony ground. Probably they felt us when the wind changed the direction. The rest of the day we examined and checked each meter of that territory. We rose the tops where the frost wind blew about us and descended to the valley where the sun burned mercilessly but were not tired to look for the trophy. Each time we hoped to find it just behind the next ridge. We paid attention to every top and every valley but without any result. Once we watched the group of ibexes. They were in five km from us but couldn't detect the trophy size male there. We took a note this group and hoped to to take revenge next time. The evening came and then the beautiful moonlight night. We decided to cut the road to the base and to cross the pass through the glacier but forgot that had to do it in the dark. The way took us three hours but we didn't expect that it would be so hard. The horses were deadly tired, they stumbled and slide on ice. Half of the way we rode, then dismounted and walked, pulling poor horsed by the reins. At last, we reached the plateau and after two more hours horse ride arrived directly to the cabins. Taalay cooked tasty dinner: lagman and roast lamb ribs with beer, were what we could dream about after a long day. The stories about our hunting adventures changed by the deep sleep.

Ovis nivicola is translated as the sheep habitats in snow, in Russia it's called snow sheep, the natives call it chubuk or chubuku. The hair color can varies from brown-black to white in dependence of season and the habitat. There are several reasons to defined the row of snow sheep subspecies. We won’t go to the details of taxonomies and the assessment of the significance of morphological features though the definition of subspecies subspecific taxon are based on them. The CMH used the system, suggested by Nikolai Zheleznov (Chukotksy) who determined six subspecies of snow sheep. I’m going to talk about one of them- Chukotka snow sheep. Snow sheep or chubuk belong to the Bovids in the family of even-toed ungulates. The taxonomies differ the North American bighorns and Asian snow sheep as two species - Ovis canadensis (Shaw, 1804) and Ovis nivicola (Eschscholtz, 1829). But some of them consider the Asian sheep to be a subspecies of the North American bighorns. Let's leave it on their conscience, just like some Americans call their sheep bighorns and the others thinhorns. The only thing which is important, is that all recognized hunting organizations such as GSCO, SCI and CIC, try to find as many differences as they can, not only between American and Asian sheep but between sub-taxon of these species. Let’s start our talk about snow sheep and our today hero is Chukotka snow sheep. Snow sheep dwell in the Eastern Siberia only. If you paint a line from Baikal lake through Khabarovsk region to the north of Chukotka and Yakutia to the plateau Putorana near the border with Taimyr and Evenkia, it’ll cross the habitat of all snow sheep species though some of them are located quite discretely. During the golden century for sheep in the Pleistocene sheep habited from Kuril islands and The Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka and Sakhalin in the east to the Kuznetsk Basin in the west. Sheep preferred to dwell not in the highlands only, you can meet them even on the plateaus too. Later in the Holocene period, the climate changed what decreased the sheep population and formed the new habitat. But it was wide enough till the active development Siberia by Cossacks. In 1665 the protopop Avvakum saw snow sheep on the shore rocks of Angara, where the Bratsk hydroelectric power stations is located now and in the south part of Baikal region. The Cossacks had exterminated the isolated sheep population. It happened on the Kuril Islands and the Aleutian Islands several centuries ago and it continued unchecked in other regions till the mid of XX century. We exactly know when the Vitim sheep population was destroyed. It happened in the multi-snow winter in 1920. They also killed all boars in the floodplain of Chara river. The snow sheep disappeared from Baikal ridge in the first part of XX century. They are preserved on the Kodar ridge only. The climate change led to the reduction of the Alpine meadows, which overgrew by cedar woods. The negative effect had the unchecked shooting of sheep by plenty of geological and topographic expeditions; mining in the sheep habitat and the development of chopper transportation. The expeditions activity has reduced just at the beginning of our century and the price for a helicopter became so high that allowed to reduce the poachers’ pressure. There are several nature reserves such as Putorana, Magadan, Kronotsky and others. But we think that the most effective way to protect and to increase the number of sheep population is to develop the net of specialized hunting farms. There are lots of examples how the hunting farms protect and make their best to increase game species. The area of the modern range of the snow sheep is about 1.4 million square kilometers. You can meet it in the Stanovoy Ridge, on the Stanovoy highland and in the north Yablonovy Ridge, in the mountains of Kamchatka, in the Koryak highlands, in Chukotka, in the mountains of the Verkhoyansk mountain system. The separate western part of their habitat, in in 1300 km from the Eastern parts, and located on the Putorana plateau. The density of sheep population in Yakutia, Magadan, Chukotka and Kamchatka is high enough, you can also find them in the north of Amur and Khabarovsk region. Sheep habitat in the north-east of Irkutsk region, Bodaby district, on the Kodar mountains. The number of isolated populations is about 400 individuals. Some of them were detected in Chita region, on the eastern slopes of the Kodar mountains, turned to the Chara Basin.   The southern and southwestern border of sheep habitat are defined inaccurately, because animals were seen in hundreds km from the place where they dwell. For example, recently – at the end of the XX century - snow sheep were detected in Buryatia, in the upper reaches of the Barguzin River, at the junction of the Barguzinsky and Yuzhno-Muysky ridges. If I try to describe snow sheep, I’d say that all of them have strong constructions. The head isn't big with short ears (about 11cm length), and have a short but thick neck. The front legs are also short and thick. The body length of the adult rams are from 140 to 188cm, 76-112cm height in withers, weight - 56-150 kg. The ewes are smaller. The biggest sheep representative’s habitat in Kamchatka and Chukotka. Chukotka snow sheep, described by Nikolai Zheleznov (Chukotksy) in 1994, inhabitants in the mountain regions of Chukotka and Koryak highland. There are about 100 hearth inside the areal. During the last ten years sheep disappeared from the mountains of Tramvajska, the Ushkany, Ostanevich, in the upper reaches of the rivers of Amguema (Yapranay lake, springs Primetny, Zayzchiy, the mountain Privalnay), Puvetbeema, Pogyndena, in the Ktepnayvaama region and others. Nowadays you can find them on the Anadyr plateau, the Barany mountains of Chukotka, ridges Pikulney, Chantalsky and other highlands. Most part of their habitats are located on the heights from 400 to 1500-1700masl. The density of Chukotka snow sheep is from 0,3 to 3,5 individuals on 1000 ha. The single individuals still dwell in some parts of Rarytkin ridge, Zolotoy, Elekay and mountains the Northern and Southern Vapanaavaam. The total number of snow sheep in the mountains of the Chukotka Peninsula does not exceed 500 individuals. 600-700 sheep dwell on the Pikulney ridge.  The main reason of the reduction of snow sheep number is poaching. A significant number of animals die from predators-wolves and wolverines. Trophy hunting for Chukotka snow sheep is opened from 2012. According to reports. About 10 licenses are allocated for this purpose per year. The hunting is allowed on the Koryak highlands, the most part of which is located in Chukotka region. It’s prohibited on the Anadyr plateau, in the Barany mountains and some other regions.  The management of CMH took the decision to register the trophies of Chukotka snow sheep, officially hunted in Chukotka. GSCO and other American clubs register the trophies, taken in Chukotka region too, as the Chukotka snow sheep. The American hunter Rex Baker who happened to be one from the first foreign hunters in Chukotka, published a report where described his hunting with Justin Reggiseno in the last August. He was sure that they hunter for Chukotka snow sheep. “From Anchorage we arrived to Petropavlovks, then flew to Tilichiki (Kamchatka) and then moved by chopper to the camp, located on Chukotka in 100km to the north from the forest zone. It’s not know much about sheep in that remote area what made our trip even more exciting. We detected the flock of rams while flying by chopper, landed not far from them with the guide and the interpreter. It rained all day but we actively looked for the animals, hiking up and down by hills from 200 to 500 feet height. We found the mob of 80 sheep but there was not the adult males. At last we had hunted young ones. The hunt was organized by Bob Kern, the owner of Hunting Consortium company, I used their service not once. Kern told me that worked for that project for many years. He studied Chukotka from 90s and saw snow sheep during their hunts for Chukotka moose in the floodplain of Anadyr river. Chukotka subspecies has light hair color than other snow sheep. Hunting for Chukotka snow sheep is legal and opened now. Bob could manage to get several licenses. Next year we are going to enter deep to that remote land to find other numerous flocks and to know where the adult rams spend their summer”.

I was two years old when saw “the mobile home” at the first time. My dad took me to his field expedition. We lived in the luxury tent, from Poland, with the rigid skeleton made from the steel pipes and a double layer tent cover. Telling the truth, I wouldn't mind even now to accommodate in such tent - roomy, breathable and strong.  We used it more than 20 years, the only disadvantage of that tent was its weight. I used and tested lots of touristic equipment during my field career. I’ll try to make conclusions basing on the several hunting scenarios which can be different and we need to have different protection in dependence on the situation.      Scenario 1. You can drive to the place where the camp will be located. Thus, you can load everything to the car. I’m used to sleep in the car, my Landcruiser is made for this purpose and do other things under the special awning. Scenario 2. You have to ride by horses to the Base camp. It's the most common scenario. It limits the weight and the volume of equipment which you can take to the mountains. Overnight stay in the mountains is closely connected with the risk to be caught by strong wind, snowfall or a pouring rain. It’s ideal to use storm tents, some people call them Alpine or Extreme. Usually there are three and more arcs, with the snow skirt or not (it can be made with the usage of membrane, the breathable materials). The price for such luxury tent can reach 500$ or even more. I use the old but good one tent “Hannah”.   If you ask me about the minimum requirement to the tent, I’d say that it has to have classical cross construction, invented by legendary Messner when he’s climbed Everest without oxygen. Almost all manufacturers have this model.  First of all, pay attention to the quality of the tent, we know that all tents are produced in China but we advise to choose the branded products because the companies control their quality and reputation. Tent’ fabric and seams have to guarantee the bottom waterproof not less than 6000mm and not less than 3000mm for a tent. The arc diameter, made from aluminum alloys, has to be from 8mm and more (I know when it’s not even enough).  Textolite arcs are heavier on 0,5kg or even more. And they are softer in the same time, such tents fall under the pressure of the wind. The arcs don’t break but external and internal layers touch each other and the tent is getting wet. Once I tried to break the Textolite arcs, twisted them into a ram's horn but broke the steel pipes between the fiberglass links. The tent weight is about 2,5-3 kg. The expedition tent has to have double wall design and to be high enough to seat in it, not less than 120cm height, with a vestibule and good ventilation.   The optimal choice for a one person is to take a double tent (width not less than 120cm). Or to take 3- person tent for two. The backup option is to use NATO 3-person sleeping bag which weights as a tent.   Scenario 3. We have to hike to the camp. All other tourists can take any tents, I've described above, but the hunter has the additional weight, about 10kg, which the tourists don’t need such as weapon, optics, ammunition and others. I have the special decision for this case: the first thing is the no-frame, single layer tent - weight about 900gr, put on the trekking poles; a waterproof bag - 108gr, a silicon awning - 360gr. I've used the tent and the awning for a couple of times but the bag is one of the latest purchases. The no frame construction doesn’t add stability to the tent and I’d be in a very unpleasant situation if used it in last year. The awning would have been blown away.  The single layer tent saved me from bad weather but I won't dare to use it in the fall when snowfall can be. The alternative to this one can be the classical double-pitched climbing tent, tested by time and still used for climbing.   That's why I've bought waterproof bag which guarantee to keep me dry and warm. I guess that the bag, produced by a well-known British company Mountain Equipment, is made from non-breathable materials and it means that my sleeping bag could get wet. But I’ll test it. Fortunately, I’ve found the breathable light bag. Moreover, I can use the membrane from NATO sleeping bag. It weights 1kg but it’s better than to take the tent.

Dear mountain hunters and travelers! The Club of Mountain Hunters initiates the new way of mountain trophy collecting.   Hunting for several hunting species in definite countries is prohibited according these countries laws. In Russia hunting for a Putoran snow sheep, Altai argali and a Bezoar ibex are illegal. China totally closed mountain hunts for foreigners. There are some restrictions for hunting in Kazakhstan. Each hunter has his own motivation when planning where and for what to hunt. We feel the lure of new impressions, new countries and hunting lands, traditions and the culture of people, living in places where we haven't been before. The trophy isn’t the only goal because we choose the definite destination. It just stimulates the hunters when we think over where to movу. The hunters who collect trophies and account them according different rating rules of international hunting clubs, it's a chance to close the new position and to get points. The common demand of all hunting clubs for the trophy registration is to provide the information about the outfitter who organized the trip and pictures of the hunter with the trophy. We have to note such economical aspect of trophy hunting and eco-tourist that these kinds of activity attract investment to the regions, create new jobs for the locals and new infrastructure. It stimulates the row of process which have the beneficial effects to the economy of the region and its social life. It’s very actual for the remote areas where the mountain ungulates habitat. This situation has served as an impetus for the idea’s birth to develop the new rules how to register the PHOTO TROPHY of the animal if the hunting for this species is prohibited. Taking into account the reasons mentioned above, the photo hunting is similar to the classical hunt. To organize the trip, to find the trophy and to approach it the distance which allows to make high quality picture is also as hard as to do when hunt with the rifle for emotional and physical reasons. This initiative will allow the hunters to visit the regions where they are not going to fly because there is not the possibility to take a trophy. The CMH will develop the regulation on the terms of photo trophy registration and we publish it in our magazine and the site. I would like to draw the attention of readers and the heads of the relevant state bodies to such a moment. There are lots of positive examples how the right state regulation helps to decide questions concerning the protection of rare wild species. Pakistan is the most typical example. The markhor population was on the verge of extinction there. The locals didn’t any reasons to protect animals and killed them for food. There were not any limits for them how many animals they killed and what age. The international hunting community together with the Pakistan authority and the representatives of the natives created a stimulus package to limit the usage of that resource and to build the rules how to stimulate people to protect the markhors. The possibility to organize hunting trips for foreign hunters became the income for people and helped to protect the wild goats. The average cost of the hunting tour for a markhor is about 120K $. The 70% form that sum comes to the indigenous tribes what is the essential and stable income source for their budgets. The result of that set of measures, taken by the CITIES Convention which allows to export the limited number of those trophies, Pakistan authority and the rules of tribes is that these animals are no longer considered an endangered species. It's a perfect example how the hunters have helped to safe and to increase the number of animal’s population in Pakistan. We also have to look for and to initiate any processes which can stimulate economy in the remote areas of our country. We are lucky to have the unique hunting resource and have to use reasonable and to develop it. Hunting is the tool to attract serious investments for the protection of rare species. The complete ban and lack of sufficient funding for protective actions are not the effective way to save the population as it's been proved already. The Illegal hunting and poaching of different levels take place in all regions and we know about such cases. The scientist and the game-biologists know that Putoran snow sheep population has a significant number of individuals and the limited trophy hunting for old males won’t damage it. It's easy to account. I’m sure that the price for the hunting permit for this rare sheep on the open auction won't be less than 50K$. I can’t predict the final cost but it’d be 100K$. Five hunting licenses per a year won’t damage the sheep population but the State gets the funds to prove the most effective protective program. At today's rate, this is a significant amount. To what level should the oil price fall, that we start to look for other source of investment and to use other mechanisms to stimulate economy process in hunting? It's time to think about it.

Most of Russian hunters have known about Craig Boddington at the beginning of 2000s. His articles, devoted to the hunting weapon and cartridges, were regularly published in the SAFARI magazine, published by the international Safari club (SCI). Later his books, about the usage of that weapon in Africa, came to Russia. Nowadays, he is one of the most popular journalists, the author of two dozen of books and the broadcaster of the TV Show “Boddington’s experience” where he talks about hunting all over the world and about hunting weapon. We present you the interview with him.   Quotes: Craig Boddington was born in 1953 in Kansas, US. Being the teenager, he was passionate about the boy scout activities and at the age of 17th he became the youngest director of the Regional Boy scout Camp. He graduated the Kansas University and got the degree in English. Later he served in the United States marine corps. In 1978 he stayed in Santa Monica as a reservist and became the hunting outfitter because was sure that hunting was his real vocation. In 2005 he retired with the rank of Colonel. He began to write even being in the College and continued to do it in the Army. From 1979 he was the staff member of the editorial board Petersen Publishing Company where he worked as a Chief assistant in the popular American magazine "Guns & Ammo”, then he became the editor in “American Blade” and another hunting magazine Petersen's Hunting. He is still the editor of the Petersen's Hunting magazine combining it with the work of a consultant on weapons and ammo in several companies. Boddington published more than 300 articles in different professional magazines. Starting from 1981, he is the author of twenty-four books devoted to the theme of hunting and ammo. The books were published in England, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Germany, Spain, and, of course, the United States. The question: Craig, you are known all over the world as well as the mountain hunter too. What aim do you want to achieve when going for a hunting trip: to get the biggest trophy, to add a new trophy to the collection or to enjoy the process? Craig Boddington: I never thought about myself as about the sheep hunter though I got 20 kinds of species what was enough to get Ovis World Slam Super20. I'm more of the ibex chaser and have CapraWorldSlamsuper30 award in my collection. I don’t hunter for super trophies to the exclusion of all else - the process is more important than the size. But I still try to find the super trophy of the white tail deer! The question: Do you remember your fist hunt? C. B.: I was with my Dad and my Grandpa. I was about 11 but I clearly remember that had the Winchester, cal. 20. That year our old dog left us and went to the happy hunting grounds but we did not the new one yet. But my Dad could give the advantage to any hunting dog. He heard the rustle of a brood of partridges, asked me to be ready, It helped me to aim the one of them when the birds flew up. It was my first experience and It was successful. I shot and the bird fell down, then we looked for it in the grass and found it finally. I’d never forget my first Virgin partridge. The question: How wide is the geography of your hunts? C.B.: I've hunted hundreds of times in Africa, in 16 countries of that continent, in 17 countries of Europe i hunted 31 times and 14 times I tried my hunting luck in the 11th countries of Asia. I hunted 9 times in the South Pacific and 5 times in South America. I’m not sure how many time I’ve hunted in the North America but I know exactly that I’ve been in 48 States iand in different provinces in USA, Canada and Mexico. The question: You travel a lot are there some countries where your impressions have happened to be different (to the positive way), from what you expected to see in the reality? C. B.: Several countries in Eastern Europe really impressed me. I really liked Macedonia, Croatia – it's just a holiday! I liked Estonia and other Baltic countries. In Asia you need to move for long distances to reach the hunting grounds but there is a lot of game there. Pakistan – is all fantastic! The biggest surprise in Africa was Burkina Faso (I was called Upper Volta when I studied at school). I and my wife hunted there in March, 2014. It was one of the hottest months but the trip was successful. The question: What countries do you consider to be the rising hunting stars tomorrow? C. B.: Mozambique regained its position as the Safari core in Africa. Probably, the hunting there won’t be never the same as it was in 70s but in the contest of modern Africa I’m really glad for this country. Namibia and South Africa provide 80% of all safari trips on the continent. The hunting situation there had been noticeably improved from the time when I was there at the end of 70s. Argentina is the fantastic place for hunting and I can say so about New Zealand. Our world is huge and there are many great places… The question: What were your biggest failures? C. B.: I don’t like to remember about it but once in 1972 I lose the really big Black tail deer and a huge moose in 1997. I hit myself hard and couldn’t take the very good trophy of the Alaska Brown bear in 1995. But I guess these are not the only failures what happened with me during all these years. I don’t belong to guys who are better with their computer than with a gun but I’m not a sniper. I’m honest talking about my failures we all have them. Fortunately, I don’t have many missed shots or the lost trophies to torment because of them. There were some missed opportunities. I was too young when had the chance to hunt for a tiger but the Time machine doesn’t exist and there is no sense to talk about it. Telling the truth, I repent that lost several opportunities to hunt in Iran. Though there were! I almost arrived to Iran when the Shah was deposed but I say almost... It's a pity that I can’t get visa to this country during the last three years. I’m tired to hope and don't want to think about the third attempt but regret that haven’t hunted there. The question: Will you tell us about your outstanding mountain ungulates trophies. C. B.: There are not many hunters who are ready to go for Marco Polo. The mountains in Tajikistan, where I hunted, are extremely high and the best hunting season is in the terribly cold. My first attempt in 1998 was not lucky because of the many reasons including the mountain disease too. I suffered from it all time I was there. I also got frostbite on both legs. Then I analyzed all mistakes to correct them. I arrived there once again in 2003. It was the end of November and It was very cold. The hunting trip was going to the end when we detected the nice male on the high ridge. It was difficult to approach the animal because it stood on the open place. We began to come close at 8 am and finished at 4 pm and almost reached the top of the ridge. There was about 700 meters to the sheep. The Russian guides told me that the sheep would go down to our side on the sunset and we started to wait. To wait and to froze. When the sun was going to set down the male really slowly went along the ridge to our direction as if somebody gave it the command. It was 350 meters to the male when I shot and got a good trophy. Hunting for the Crete ibex, called Kri-Kri, was difficult because of the features of Greek legislation: hunting with rifled weapon and the optic sights is prohibited. The hunting season on the grounds, controlled by the authorities is just a couple of days. I was lucky to get a good trophy in the first hunting day in 2006. I hunted independently on the second day. The landlord sent me to that part of the Sapienza island where was not ibexes but I could try to get the mouflon there. I found the mouflon but suddenly spotted the huge Kri-Kri and got it from 100 m shooting distance. That Kri-Kri trophy was the biggest one, taken in the free-range. To get the trophy of Markhor with its unique spiral horns for a hunter is like to find the The Holy Grail. I didn’t dare to hope that I would ever succeed. My friend Khan Karakay from Pakistan called me in 2011 and told that had managed to get the licenser for a Sulaiman Markhor. It was the fantastic hunting in the steep and rugged mountains of West Pakistan. I'd ascended twice and both climbing were the most difficult I’d ever did. When we rose the top for the second time, I got the great trophy of the old markhor male. The shooting distance was 390 meters. I cried twice in my life after getting the trophy. The first one was, when I got my first trophy of the Desert sheep in 2003 and the second time - when that screw-horned ibex was rolling down from the mountain. The question: What other hunts do you remember? C. B.: Hunting in Himalayas, Nepal was also very interesting and difficult. My first African safari, which became the fateful thing in my life, can be added to this list too. The outstanding safari in Zambia where everything was super and one more in Tanzania where the luck followed me all the way. I have had lots of memorable hunts and I’m glad that they still go on! The question: Where are you going to hunt in the nearest years? C. B.: I’m sixty-two and I’m still full of strength to travel where ever I want and happy to do it. I want to get more experience in the mountain hunting and going to devote some time to it. Unfortunately, there are many interesting hunts which are unavailable now. But there are plenty of place on the earth where I haven’t been yet. And some of the splendid place I want to visit once again. One part of me want to stop with all these adventures but another one isn’t ready to rest. It’ll be clear in several years which of them wins. The question: Is hunting with PH the obligatory element of the hunting tourism? Are you nostalgic the times when you had hunted without the PH? C. B.: You are absolutely right, It’s one of the disadvantages of the hunting tourism. Being in the hunting trip, I prefer the guides give me more freedom because my hunting experience allows me to do it independently. Hunting alone is one of the things I’m used to do in my small range in Kansas. I chase for a white tail deer there. I’m always alone there and take responsibility for all what I do there. The question: You were in the army, a marine. Did it help you in hunting? C. B.: Absolutely. Zell Miller wrote a book “Everything You Need to Know I Learned In the Marines”. I highly recommend you to read it. I was lucky to write the similar book about my scout leader Jess Elder. The secrets of success in life, work or hunting are very easy: discipline, work ethic and communicative skills. Successful people come to it naturally while the others take hard fate punches, before they realize it. I was lucky that I had the hard youth as a boy scout and a marine. The question: How do you prepare for hunting? C. B.: There is not any special preparation. I work hard and have to be in a good form always, though it's not an easy matter. I regularly train shooting skills at work. As boy scouts say I’m always ready. The question: Recently, you often go hunting with your family. It's known that your daughters and your wife not only accompany you but hunted themselves and Brittany is as popular as her father. Is it their choice or your dictate? C. B.: Hunting is a very special experience which you want to share with people whom you love. Hunting allows us to get the real opportunity to stay with the loved ones beyond most of the distractions of our modern world. I took my daughters for hunting trips from their childhood and then they began to hunt ourselves. We started from the boar hunting in California. It was great! They both fell in love with hunting though I wasn’t sure how they’d treat it. The first serious hunt for them was our trip to Africa. I flew there with Brittany in 2003 and in 2013 with Karoline. The question: If you can hunt with the Great Hunters from the past, who would you choose? C. B.: Captain Frederick Courtney Selou - is one of the greatest African hunters and the hunting teacher of Theodore Roosevelt. He was also the researcher and the conservationist. He hunted a lot in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America long before airplanes became a vehicle. He volunteered in the First World War and was killed in Jan,1917 in a few days after his 65 years anniversary. It happened in Tanzania on the place where the hunting reserved Selou, called by his name, is located now. Most of his trophies still take the high ranks in the trophy list of Roland Ward’s Record Book. The question: What writers do you like and who of them influenced your style? C. B.: Jack O'Connor was a family friend. He was a friend of my uncle, the brother of my Mum. I didn’t know him well but I admire him as the writer. When I was a child, I was a voracious reader of all hunting classic books. They were John Alexander Hunter, and Karamojo Bell and Jim Corbett. They have been one of the best storytellers and they are so until now. I studied how to formulate the sentences and what words to use to attract the reader when reading their books. But most of all, I love Hemingway. If you ask me about other authors, I’m a big fan of John Le Carre and Nelson De Mille. The question: You write a lot about high quality equipment for hunters but in recent times pay more and more attention to the budget weapon and devices. Why? C. B.: My tastes are eclectic and a little conservative. If it were up to me I'd stay North American guy in blue jeans and a wool shirt. As for weapons I’m a snob in this question. I’m interested in good quality rifles. I admit that not all my readers can buy such weapon and I admit the fact that some of the rifles are very expensive not because of their quality but their decoration. The main criteria for all hunters is the rifle must work well and I try to talk about such guns in my programs. The question: What do you dream about when you have time? C. B.: If you think that I dream about a rancho in Africa, I’ll say no. I don’t have a desire to spend time in Africa in the rain season when snakes leave their holes. Same time I don’t dream to winter in Alaska because I hate cold. I’m tired a little bit from my travels and not want to travel nonstop as others. I dream to stay at home in Kansas and don’t leave it for a year. Probably I’ll make this dream come true, but nowadays I can stay there not more than one day. The question: Your rancho in Kansas is the family estate? C. B.: Not so. Kansas is my motherland but we didn't have family estate there. We bought it about 10 years ago, it was something like "the prodigal son's return”. My Dad always dreamed to have his own rancho but didn’t buy it. He could hunt from time to time or break horses and to feed them there. But it didn't work out for him... This piece of Kansas is my tribute to my father and it makes it very special for me. The question: Fame requires certain sacrifices. How do you feel about this? C. B.: Not well! It doesn’t hurt me so much now as it was when I was young. I realize that not all people like me. I make mistakes as we all. Sometime the editors find them before the readers or viewers discover them. None of us is ideal and I’m ready to admit my mistake if I’m not right. I don’t envy the celebrities or other media persons because there are always people who hate them. In the past I tried to defend myself in the chats but then realized that it has no sense. People, who attack and offend me, don’t need the truth, they follow their enmity to me or the desire to become popular among other people. Do I care about it? Of course, that's not nice. At last, I understood that it's stupid to cast my pearls before swine of not want to get more negative in my side. I don’t play these games anymore and not going to give trolls a reason to develop their busy activities in the future. The question: Do they bother you too? C. B.: Some people get pleasure to offend others hiding behind the anonymity of your keyboard. I am taking a constant " artillery fire» but people who try to hurt me can't do it. I don’t see any sense why do they do it but they are. My daughter Brittany, who became very popular after printing on the covers her pictures with trophies, gets even more angry emails than I do. Here is appropriate to recall the harassment that Melissa Bachman and Kendall Jones were subjected to. I hope the Supreme Court will make the right decision because we need to stop it. People should take responsibility for their words in social media. The question: There is a theory that the growth of anti-hunting sentiments is associated with the growing gap between a highly urbanized society and the natural world, which is exploited by anti-hunting organizations… C.B.: Not so bad as it seems from the first sight but I say about the situation in the United States. The independent canvass, made by the National shooting sports Foundation in 2013, showed that 79% of US population approve of legal hunting. The problem is that the most people see the situation from the only side when bad hunters kill good animals. Not many of them know about environmental, and social functions of hunting. The anti-hunting organizations use it. We need to talk about the positive role of hunting for nature and our society, to educate the population in the issues of environmental management! We can't influence the anti-hunters but these politicized groups are not the majority which will define our future. The question: What will you say to people who want to make the same career as you have made? C. B.  Don’t forget that you need to enjoy your work. When I was 22 years old, my editor told me not to make hunting business if I like hunting because it’ll turn pleasure into a duty. I always kept it in mind. If you write, make television or organize hunting trips It’ll become your job. Don’t treat it like a chore, you need to love it. I love what I’m doing and won't give it up if something changes.

Three years ago, I've written the article-review of mountain clothes. But the new technologies and material have appeared. Moreover, all these years I have been getting the new experience and ready to share with it. It has sense to add some changes to the article, written in 2012.   You need to know that I’m going to tell only my opinion, based on my own experience - no theory at all. I’ll try to show two variants - the right clothes (the hunter should try to get it) and the compromise one, what means it has reasonable price.     First of all - underwear. It’s not easy to find the right underpants in the shops. I prefer the thin sports synthetics. One of the recommended sets is pants, produced by Odlo (Switzerland). It dries in 20 times faster than the cotton things and doesn't gather in folds when you wear it.   Most of the hunting trips takes place in the fall season and you can’t go to the mountains without a comfortable and warm thermal underwear. It's better to have two or more sets. The thin one for a warm time and a thicker set for cold. In recent years I’m used to wear thermal underwear made from the wool of the Australian merino. I tried to wear different kinds of underwear but the sets, made by the Australian company Minus 33, is the best one. I don't think that it’s necessary to explain why do we need the thermal underwear. It wicks away moisture, keeps you warm and can stretch (it's important in the mountains). Everybody knows how we sweat when climbing or hiking in the mountains.  The alternative is any synthetic thermal underwear. But you’ll need to pay attention how it can stretch. The lower part of the pants mustn’t make it difficult to move and bend the legs.  I consider trousers to be one of the most important elements of the hunting equipment. Requirements: they have to stretch (in knees minimum). Your legs take the main load when you climb. They should carry your body and fight with the resistance of non-stretch fabric. If you are slim as a cypress, and your legs in the trousers are like a pencil in a glass, the fabric will stick to the skin and increase the load when it gets wet (rain, fog, dew). I heard once, how the hunter said that there was not stretch fabric in the past and everything was ok. I objected that the ancient men hunted with the stone axes and didn't complain about their fate. I realized all advantages of stretch trousers when put them on in the first time.   I’ll tell about the main material from which the product is made. My choice is - soft shell from the American company Kryptek. It’s like a multi layers pie in the one fabric, which has waterproof and breathable properties. If it's fully waterproof it means that one of the layers is membrane. Unfortunately, the very popular GoreTex hasn’t moisture wicking performance when you are too active, hiking in the mountains. The strong rain doesn’t pour each day when you are hunting and it's much better to wear breathable clothes DWR with moisture wicking performance than to get hot in membrane. I advise to have a membrane as a raincoat. The Soft-Shell clothes help with the wind and keep you warm. The mentioned models are made from the stretch and not rustling fabric (not all things from the soft shell have such quality).  I prefer to have trousers with braces. It's more comfortable for me. Other things such as pockets, zippers and puffs are not so important. The model of the pants Cadog has special pocket for the knee pads what is very comfortable. There are two kind of soft-shell fabrics with Single- and Double-Layer Insulation. Cadog has Double-Layer insulation and sometimes they are too warm for me that’s why I have another variant - a single insulation trousers Dallibor - for a hot season.   The budget alternative can be trousers made from different kinds of fabric: where the knees and other necessary places can stretch, but the lower part of the trousers is tough and waterproof. Everything I have said above, can be used for the jackets too. Don’t forget about the regulated wristbands, comfortable fit and a pocket for a camera on the chest. The Cadog jackets have additional pockets on the shoulders where I put the sunglasses and a lotion. The long zippers in the armpits zone gives the additional ventilation. It’s the universal jacket which I use all year around.   The budget set can consist on the windbreaker with membrane + fleece jacket. It’s enough for a hunting when you have to walk for long distances. You put on the fleece jackets when climbing ( or can ascend in the underwear if it has green or camouflage colors) then add the windbreaker if it’s cold or wind. You can buy the jacket with the detachable membrane. You can fasten it only when it’s necessary.   The rain costume, I use, is also made by the Kryptek company. It's made from the membrane fabric, waterproof, fast-wicking, quick-drying, and highly technical packable pant. The trousers have full-length zippers to wear above the main clothes. The jacket has the adjustable hood. The Poseidon model is extra light, doesn’t rustle but stretch and have welded seams. The model line of Kryptek has another raincoat Koldo for a heavy rain.  The low-price variant is any PVC raincoat or even an army poncho. It doesn't have many advantages but will protect you from rain. I like caps with a visor and turn-down ears. The light caps for warm weather and other ones for a cold. The main purpose of a head gear has to protect us from a wind. If we all are wet because of sweat and the head and ears will froze without the cap. The cap color mustn't be dark. The first thing, which the animals see, is the hunter’s head and dark one-color caps contrast against the general background.  You also need to have one softer cap for sleeping.  I advise you to take any fleece hat and a cap the same color.   The extra isolation needs for a hunt when you have to walk for long. The weather in the mountains in a fall can change several times during a day, it can be cold even in October and the temperature drops to minus 25 degrees. You feel warm while you are walking but everything changes when you need to stop and to wait for a couple hours. I froze and not once when we stayed in the mountains for a night. That’s the reason why I always have extra light down jacket “800 Phill” from the American company Marmot. It’s very light and warm. The upper fabric is synthetic and this year I have torn it on a branch. I’m going to buy one more Kryptek down jacket in the camouflage color.   The alternative variant is the jacket with artificial insulation like tinsulate. They are cheaper than the jackets with the technical (professional) down but a little bit heavier. You can buy a cheap Chinese down jacket but it’s heavy and not so warm.   The insulation when you need to seat and to wait. I deal with such situation when have to wait for a wolf, sitting in a definite place. The extra insulation is necessary when you ride by horse or drive by the snow machine or like ice fishing. In any situation when it's cold but you don’t move. The composition: the outer fabric with membrane, synthetic insulation inside, semi-overalls with full-length zippers to put it on above the other clothes. I use the model Aegis from Kryptek. The first time I took it for a hunt was this fall when we hunted on Kamchatka. The jacket (I took just it) seemed to be not warm enough and short, I felt it when we happened in the snow storm. But I changed my mind when hunted in the highlands. it was very cold with a biting wind. The semi-overalls protected me fully. It has the additional insulation for a back and a chest. The jacket is enough when you walk. It's not heavy. But if it’s cold you need to use the full set. Moreover, I have the additional waistcoat from Kryptek with the tinsulate. I never use down layer because if it soaks with sweat it will stick together. This piece of clothing deserves a separate place in the list of equipment. You can use it as the extra set or as the light insulation when climbing in windy weather. In conclusion, I want to say few words about gloves. My choice is the fleece ones which you don’t need to take off when shooting. The mittens are good for a situation when you don’t move.  The disposable fabric Chinese gloves can be not only white color but brown and khaki too. I put on two or three pair in a time if it’s cold.

A Barbary Sheep (Ammotragus lervia), or Aoudad was describe by Pallas in 1777. This animal originated from the desert mountains of Sahara (North Africa) has the impressive mane grows on the throat side of its neck. It’d be more right to call it the beard sheep not barbary sheep, as it’s called in Russia.   The name Aoudad sheep - from the English word aoudad, originates from the Tunis word udad. Tunisians call these animals by this word. It has no sense to ask what does it mean. Another name, used in the English sources, is a Barbary sheep but it's also not correct because it doesn't inhabit only in the Barbary but it belongs to the sheep conditionally. Biologists agree that it takes the intermediate position between sheep and goats.   Adult males stand about 1 m tall at the shoulder, and weigh to 115 kg. The head and body length is about 1,5 m (females are smaller). The sheep males have solid, strong constitution. Their hair of camouflage colors is oriented to the colors of the habitat and can be from sandy -gray to brown- reddish. The lower torso is much lighter. Both sexes have thick horns like all sheep have. They are triangular in cross-section. And they recurve forming the semicircle above the neck. The rings on the horns disappear, when the animal grows, and look smooth. The maximum known length of horns is 80 cm The main advantage of males is their mane. The long, soft hair grows on the throat side of the neck to the its breast. In adult males especially, this mane may form a long "pants" that can cover front legs. The woolly coat is dense, bristly, of medium length.  It's known about animals lived to 17 years old in captivity. Their life expectancy in the wild nature is shorter because the old animals are easy prey for the leopards. It's interesting but the sheep don’t run away when there is a threaten but freeze on the place. Their main protection from predators is hearing, vision and the ability to jump high (up to 2 m in height). They easily jump from one rock to another and climb the steep slopes. The feeding time is in the mornings, late evenings or at nights. Hot hours they prefer to spent laying in the shadow. They go to the watering hole regularly if there is a water source close.  If there is none of them, they lick the morning dew from the leaves and grass. The morning dew and vegetation juice is their usual water source because their main habitat is hard-to-reach rocky areas of mountains in the desert. A Barbary sheep is a gregarious. The group consists of an adult male and several females with babies. Old males and pregnant females stay alone.  The youth gathered in groups by 4-6 individuals. The rut season is all year around but its peak with the male's fights is from September to November. There are six subspecies of the Aoudad sheep: Ammotragus lervia lervia, A. l. ornata, A. l. sahariensis, A. l. blainei, A. l. angusi, A. l. fassini. Their original habitat is shown on the map from the “World Atlas CIC” The animal’s population in the endemic areal is vere small and goes on to reduce. The reason is the locals from the Sahara Desert who hunt for them for meat and skins. They use all part of the animals including horns and tendons. This species is in the International Red Book of Rare species but it doesn’t help to protect it. A few numbers of Aoudad sheep can be met in their natural environment in Chad, Sudan and Tunisia. Previously, they also lived in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, but completely disappeared in these countries. The introduction of Barbary sheep was more effective in the countries where it is grown for hunting purpose. It happened so that hunting for these sheep is not an easy matter. The hunters don’t have the possibility to approach closer than 250 m because of the terrain features. The trophies, registered in the SCI Record Book, are endemics from North Africa (the smallest part, few dozens) and the introduced species (thousand and a half). Russian hunters, who have registered trophies of the Aoudad sheep are: Alexander Smuzikov – 125 3/8"; 118 7/8"; Mechislav Klimovich – 118 3/8";  Konstantin Popov – 117 3/8"; Alexander Moshkalov – 117 2/8". The record belong to Vincent Giner, who got the trophy of the Aoudad sheep in 2009 in Spain. Trophy Specifications: Left horn length-33 2/8 inches (i.e. approximately 84.5 cm), right horn length-32 6/8 inches; the circumference of the base of the horns is 13 5/8 inches. The number of points - 148. The good trophy is from 70 cm. From the editor: Craig Boddington: The Aoudad is wildly spread in North Africa but hunting for it has been always tough. Its population is small and the inhabitant of those animals looks like the Moon surface. The climate is dry and harsh. I was lucky to hunt for this sheep in the mountains of An-Nadi in Chad, when it was legal for a short period of time ten years ago. I remember that hunt as a real safari, one of the best in my life. We saw animals each day but only a handful of them but once we detected the group of fourteen males. Unfortunately, Chad is closed for hunting now and I’m not sure It’d be opened in the nearest future. The only legal possibility to get the endemic trophy of Aoudad sheep is hunting in North Sudan. The main trophy there is the Nubian ibex. Hunting for it is also tough. The only place where you can meet the sheep there is the isolated ridges far to the west in the desert. I heard only about two cases when hunters got trophies there. But don't lose the hope. The definite number of these animals’ dwell in Morocco, I saw them in the park in Tunisia and know about good size population in South Egypt. Each of these regions can open and the chance to get the trophy will rise.   The introduced animals. First of all, it should be said that aoudad was introduced in other countries of Africa. I’m talking about South Africa. First Barbary sheep were imported to South Africa at the end of 70s from the zoos of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and others. Nowadays all animals are rotated in about fifty hunting farms, located in rocky regions of Eastern Cape Province, Free State Province and Northern Cape Province. The number of animals in each farm differs from 20 to 350 individuals. We can judge about the population growth in the sample of one ranch. The herd of 50 sheep had been settled there at the beginning of 90s, now their number is 7 times more. The nearest place from North Africa in Europe, is Spain. The landscape and weather condition similarity gave the Spaniards the idea to introduce Aoudad sheep. It happened in 70s. The first animals were from Casablanca zoo in Morocco. The introduction was done by the Natural reserve Sierra Espuna in the province of Murcia for hunting purposes only. The sheep adapted easily and widely spread among the huge territory. Later they even needed to reduce the population in Murcia. Now there are about 1,500 of them. The species was also introduced to the Canary Islands in 1972. And also, successfully. But then the sheep began to destroy the autochthonous flora, the unique endemic plants and people had nothing to do but to shoot all sheep. The depopulation wasn’t finished and you still can meet the survive sheep there. The sheep introduction to the private hunting ranches made it's possible to hunt for this species in several regions - near Ciudad Real, Caceres, Valencia and Alicante. The ranch Navalvillar de Pela in Estremadura has the unique population of animals which escaped from the corral and survived in the wild nature. Sheep don't have the feed competitors there, such as deer and mouflons. The virgin plants became their feed base and protected from people. The Rocky Mountains and stony soil are ideal for them. The new ranch owner reduced the number of hunts there and it improved the trophy quality and males' age had increased. The Barbary sheep was successfully introduced in USA (California, Texas, New Mexico, recent reports from Oklahoma and Colorado) and only for hunting reasons only. The animals have bred so much in Texas that they cause damage to fields with winter crops.  The first Aoudad sheep were released into nature in New-Mexico in 1950 and then in 1957. This project was also successful. By 1966 their population increased to 400-500 individuals. Later in 1989, there were more than 20K sheep. In conclusion I have to note that species, introduced in Spain in US was Ammotragus lervia lervia, but it's not confirmed. Some scientists insist on the theory that there were no definite subspecies, imported there but their crossbreeds only.   Quotes: Aoudad or Barbary sheep in North America John Williams, the agent for Profi-Hunt in the United States I was impressed by the size of trophies and number of animals during my first hunting trip for a Barbary sheep in the canyons of Western Texas. It was written a lot about world sheep but not all hunter even heard about Barbary or Aoudad sheep (Ammotragus lervia)., introduced to North America. The first animals were imported to America at the beginning of XX century for zoos and private ranches. The first time when they were released to the wild nature was in 1950. It was done for a hunting purpose. Thirty one animals were released in canyon Palo Duro in the narrow zone of Texas (height 862 m), and thirteen other animals in the dry Davis mountains in Western Texas (the highest peak is 2554 m). A small population of these sheep inhabits in California now but hunting for them is prohibited. When the Texas sheep population increased to 400-500 individuals the limited hunt was opened on the private ranches. All hunts were controlled by the landlords. Today's population in Texas exceeds 25,000 animals. The Barbary sheep in New Mexico live on the state or federal lands and the number of hunts is regulated by the number of licenses. Texas is the best variant for a foreign hunter who want to get this trophy. Barbary sheep in Texas give birth all year round. Americans call sheep' mane - the chaps like a leather protection for legs, used by cowboys. This characteristic feature makes this species attractive for the production of stuffed animals in full growth or to the chest. Usually it takes 2-3 days to get the trophy. In some regions this species share the habitat with more rare and well- known species the Desert Bighorn sheep. There are not many predators which can be a threat to these species. The exceptions are mountain lions and packs of coyotes, although they usually attack smaller animals. Hunting for a Barbary sheep is opened all year but the best time is from February to March because of weather conditions. It's dry and not hot yet. Low temperatures are possible at night and in the morning. It's too hot there in summer and lots of snakes. The animals prefer to hide in the shadow during day hours. Aoudad sheep, inhabited on the non-fenced areas in US, is included in the lists of trophy categories of SCI and OVIS "Free territories, introduced". The best way to get this trophy is to find the right outfitter who can organize the hunting trip on the large hunting grounds with good size sheep populations. The carbines with 30th cal and good optics suit well for this hunting. Usually, outfitters provide a carbine to the client for rent.

We moved to the new place to hunt for chamois in Ossetia. The border zone passes, we need to hunt in that area, were prepared beforehand. In a day we were on the place. I can hardly portray the beauty of nature near the border with Georgia. But hunting situation was complicated by the weather conditions. The rains, poured before our arrival, washed out the roads and made impossible to enter some of the gorges, where they hunted for the chamois. It was difficult to stop the hunter- naturalists who were always looking for the other ways how to get the goal.   Tsara Sozanov - the director of the North Ossetian Hunting company accompanied us that time. He's always worried each hunter leaves Ossetia with the worthy trophy. His great-grandfather Nafi Sozanov was a member of delegation which went to St. Pete in 1774 to ask Catherine the Great to annex Ossetia to the Russian Empire. The monument, devoted to that occasion, stands in the center of Vladikavkaz. UAZ were driving up the road when stopped by the deep pool, made by the mountain river. Muddy- gray water were boiling in front of us and ran across the road. We should no way but storm this water barrier by foot. Some of us got wet the others were luckier. Telling the truth I didn't feel comfortable when going through those rushing waters which tried to knock you down. At last it was over. Go ahead! Our guide was Zaurbek. He was a strong 60 years old man with blue eyes and solid constitution as all Ossetians had. Ruslan, a young medium height and very strong build guy, helped him. We took him from one of the villages. Our team were rising by the serpentine mountain road, and examined the nearest slopes. None of us noticed any signs of chamois. We climbed 3170 masl and felt the lack of oxygen. It was difficult to breath. Soon we made a stop to have breakfast. It consisted of the very simply food such as meat, onions, cheese and water. But the cheese, we had, was unusual. Zaurbek created it! Tsara told me that Zaurbek was awarded for that cheese and got the main prize on one from the Cheese-makers competitions. After the breakfast we continued our way, monitoring the surroundings. Zaurbek and Ruslan told us that noticed the chamois. Probably the distance was too long or the shadow game didn't allow me to find them through the binocular. We resolved to come back to the village and to try once again next day and to approach the place they detected the animals. So we did it. After the dinner Tsara left us and we all went to bed. The next day didn’t give any result. There were not chamois but we trained to climb and it was useful. In the evening Zaurbek promised to go to the area, where we would get the trophy with guarantee. It sounded like the promise to show us the way to the place where all animals always migrated. When I asked why we didn’t go there from the very beginning the explained that it was impossible to get there because of the mud flows. It really looked eerily when we reached that place. There were trees with ripped roots and piles of rocks built unearthly landscapes and changed the traditional rivers' beds. The obstacle course with water barriers. We hiked about an hour when Zaurbek spotted the male of chamois. It was feeding on the small glade on the left slope from us. Then it laid down and looked at our side. Ruslan stayed on that place while the rest of our group moved to the nearest gorge which we could use to approach the male. Ruslan had to become our bait for the chamois. It could see him and thought that people stayed on the place and didn’t move. Everything stood in place. This tactic works well when the animal can see a man and to control his movements. They used it many times, Zaurbek told us later. But we soon realized we'd just swapped one hell for another. The small gorge, we were going to use, was an even more eerie sight. Huge rocks hung one above the other, threatening to fall down and to make a rockfall. The fresh mud didn’t dry yet and we had no choice but to overcome that lightly-brown slush. In 45 minutes after we had started to climb, we changed the direction of movement. Then we turned around 90 degrees and began to approach the animal to the shooting distance position. In twenty minutes, we were close to the rocky ridge. It was possible to shoot from there but not comfortable. It was high to stand, there was no possibility to lay and not to support on something. We measured the distance - 250 meters. Zhaisan chose the uncomfortable and very strange position if you look at it from the side. He was going to shoot half-lying, half-standing. He put his left leg on the wall. While the right one was on the ground. Then he tried to keep hand with the carbine on the narrow line of the stone ridge. We couldn’t put anything under it to support. Zaurbek stood lower him. There was no place for me and the slope was very steep. At last, I could base on the left leg and stood near Zhaisan. He began to aim. The sun was directly in our eyes and he could hardly aim. I switched on camera and tried to find the male. And did it. The shot was heard and the chamois ran down. Later we found that he hit to its back leg and wounded it by the first shot. Suddenly the male stopped near the small tree. He did the second shot what stopped the chamois. It fell and rolled down into one of the bushes on the slope. A sigh of relief! We got it. We all congratulated Zhaisan and went down to the trophy. We experienced once again all delights of the rocky scree and thick bushes on the steep slopes. But I was glad that the hunter got all trophies he was going to hunt and it made our way easier. We came to the beast. I could hardly express the hunter’s feelings who got trophies in such tough conditions. Zhaisan tried to tell me what he felt when gave me a short interview near the trophy. It was a memorable picture: the labor trophy of the Caucasian chamois near the hunter's legs and the picturesque view of the gorge from where we came in the background. Snow-capped mountain peaks rise majestically in the distance. The breath of relief, Zhaisan had made before the interview, showed that he considered his mission in the Caucasian mountains was done. He highly appreciated the hunting trip and thanked all people who made it real and promised to come back to Ossetia. Zhaisan and I have the tradition that all our hunting trips are not limited by the hunting process only. We always try to know about people who live there, about their traditions and history. Ossetia is one from the main pearls in the Russian crown. I admire its beauty each time when arrive there. And enjoy by communication with those people the descendants of ancient Alans. P.S. I would like to express my deep gratitude from Zhaisan and from myself personally to the organizers of the hunting trip. I want to say thank you to my friend and partner to Tsara Sozanov. He organized that hunting trip, worried about our failures and wished luck on our way. Thank you very much to our team: Petro, Elbrus, huge Atsamas (Grizzly) and all the guys who experienced these moments of disappointment and good luck during our hunt. Afshati, we raise a traditional toast to the guardian of the mountains and wild animals!

I arrived from Altai, spent one night in Moscow and flew to Alaska. The jet lag was really tough. The time difference was + 4 hours from Moscow time when I arrived from Altai, and immediately flew to - 13 hours. My way to the hunting ground, located near the border with Canada in the Wrangell and St Elias park, consisted of 3 transfer flights, while I got to Fairbanks, one night there and 250 miles drives’ plus 1,5 hours flight on Cessna 206. At last we arrived. All hunting trips, organized by that outfitter are always booked in 2 years ahead. He gets not more than 4 males per year though his hunting ground is about 500 sq. miles. Fortunately, one of his clients couldn't arrived and we used the chance. It was a spontaneous decision to take that offer but none of us regretted about it. We used the rifles, offered by the out host. They were two old Winchesters 6,5х55 (Sweden Mauser) and 300 H&H with a low-quality optics. The weapon was tested on 200 yards. The gun’s testing showed that it worked well for the distances to 300 meters and we agreed to approach the animals not less than 200 m or closer. Our host and the guide in one person told us that the group of sheep males was seen on the nearest mountain. It wouldn’t take much time to look for the sheep, he assured us. He didn’t lie. Next morning, we left the camp and rode just about 2 hours when detected the herd in 3 km from us. It's so easy to find Dall sheep on the landscape. The ascent took us almost all day hours, though we rose just 500 vertical meters. We climbed taking into account how the animals moved, the wind and physical condition of our hunters. The total number of the animals feeding on the slope was 24 individuals. We identified the group consisted of adult males and tried to approach it using any landscape features. The guide asked to take and to put on the white camouflage gowns when we came close. He said it worked there. We looked like four snowdrifts on the green grass or like four Dall sheep, as we calmed ourselves. We drew near the sheep on 200 m. They were in the gorge under us. It’s very important to define the trophy size. If the sheep was smaller than the legal size the guide would have lots of problems. The trophy had been chosen - the hunter confirmed that he understood what male he would fire- the shot- the hit - the trophy is taken by the second shot. The sheep didn’t understand from what side the shot was done because of the mountain echo and began to move up slowly along the opposite slope. The first hunter crawled back and another one took his position. It took 20 sec to define and to confirm the second target. The sheep went up on 300 m. Two more shots and the second trophy was got. We had worked as a team without any mistakes and took two good and same size sheep. Both trophies were 10 years old. The left horn of one of the males was longer and the second male’s right horn was longer too. Then we tried to hunt for bears but the weather became worse. We hunted five days but without the result. Bear hunting wasn’t so comfortable as the sheep one and we enjoyed the north wildlife to the fullest. And then we flew back to home.

A year ago, Andrey and I talked about sheep hunting and he suggested to join the hunting trip in Bohemia. I got his offer and the offer from another Slovenian hunting outfitter simultaneously. The second offer price was very attractive and he promised high quality trophies Later on the popular Russian hunting site found the report about mouflon hunting in Bulgaria and was impressed by the possibility to combine hinting with the family vacation. It looked like the ideal compromise. Telling the truth, my wife gave me the ultimatum: to have vacation on the sea or I don't have to return home. I tried to resist because was charmed by the hunting perspectives in Slovakia but my 4 years old daughter joined the battle and threatened to tell my Mother-in -Low about it. I had to capitulate. It's sure too expensive to argue with the girls. I wrote to three Bulgarian outfitters and heard back soon. The first offer was too expensive, the second one didn’t suit me by the trophy quality, that he could suggest, and I chose the last one - Vasily Tabakov. And so, we arrived to the country. Three days I spent with the family and then the representative of the hunting company took me from the hotel, where we accommodated and I moved for hunting. They provided me with CHZ 550 rifle, cal. 30-06, with the Meopta optics 3-12х50. I tested it to 100 m and we went for hunting. Three days in mornings and nights I sat on the hunting tower waiting for the trophy. I'd seen lots of boars and deer but all mouflons immigrated somewhere that's why we resolved to change the tactic and to go and look for them. The guides told me that it’d be easier to approach the group of sheep while they are feeding in morning or evening hours. There were just two opportunities to get the trophy. The first one was when the mouflons crossed the glade and my guide detected them through his Zeiss binocular. I tried to watch them through the one, I had, with a multiplicity of 10x32 EL, but couldn’t see anything. I didn't want to diminish the quality of Meopta optics but if I had my own rifle the sunset wouldn't come so fast. The second chance happened on the next morning. We detected the group of sheep but the herd went into the forest and we took the position on the crossroads and began to wait. In an hour the animals went to the meadow. My guide Vasil examined them carefully and told me that there was not the male with 90 cm horns but suggested to shoot the one which stood at a distance from the group. He estimated its horns as 80-85 cm but wasn’t sure. I was full of excitement and adrenaline and decided to fire. The shooting distance was 240 meters. In a second before I shot Vasil whispered that spotted a good size male. It stood near the trees. I tried to find it and noticed the male, he said about, stood in half side to us, closed by females staring to our side. I waited for 10 minutes when there would be the chance to shoot but the females notice us and alarmed the herd. In a moment they all disappeared in the forest. So, my hunting in Bulgaria was over. We arrived back to home but I still felt disappointment because had not get the goal, as it was planned. I have heart problems. It’s not good for me to be upset that's why I flew to Slovakia. My friend organized everything. At the end of October, 2013, I arrived to Bratislava. The representatives of the local company met us at the airport and we drove to the hunting farm Baluki. The total hunting area of the farm is 2,800 hectares, of which 420 ha are used for the cage. We were going to hunt in the enclosure on the open territory. It was apparent at the first glance that the hunting area was too clean. I noticed many deer, they were everywhere. After arrival we accommodated in the comfortable hunting cabin. Later in the canteen I got acquaintance with my future guide Boris. He was a chief guide in the company, very calm and it was seen that he really loved what he did. I asked him a lot about trophies, local traditions and other hunters. The locals were bewildered when I refused to drink wine and suggested me vodka immediately. I said no and they interested if I was from Russian at all. My friend Alexey saved the situation. He tried the local wine and said it was good. I preferred the grape juice. After a lunch we went to test guns. They gave me the carbine CZ 550, cal. 300, with the old Zeiss optics. I tested it to 100 m and the bullets hit in 10-15 cm from the center. I resented because was used to hit in the center from 200 m but my guides assured me that it was not important for such distances and I agreed. Then we went for a hunt. I heard about the rut season but had never seen it before and was impressed by all those sounds and roars. We walked along the hunting ground and took the position on the hunting tower. I spotted plenty of animals. Their number increased in several times when the dusk fall. The mouflons, I desired to get, appeared from the forest. There was the opportunity to shoot in the first day but I refused to do it because couldn't see clear the aim. The hunt was rescheduled to the next morning and we spent that evening talking funny stories from our past. I liked the story, told us by the base manager Marian. Once he and his family traveled from Bratislava to Moscow by train. The border guards in Kharkov checked all papers, they had, and asked about the certificate of absence of sexually transmitted diseases. He hadn’t one and no condoms. So those fellows suggested him two variants: to leave the train or to pay them 200 $ and they’d go to the shop and buy him the condoms. He chose the second way. We went to bed late. Next morning Boris woke me and Alexey. We drank tea and left the base. I walked just 300 meters and stopped to monitor the deer feeding on the meadow. It was the unforgettable picture. Probably it was so because I saw it all for the first time. So we stood looking for the trophy size male when Alexey detected the group of several females and the male moving to their side. He told Boris about it. The guide looked to it through the binoculars and told me to fire. He was very excited. I caught the animal’s shoulder blade in the crosshairs and pushed the trigger. The recoil from 300 WinMag didn’t allow me to see the result but I heard Alexey's shout. I missed it. The male bolted. I reloaded the gun and wanted to shoot the second time but Boris stopped me. The male crossed almost the whole glade and stopped near the forest border. I was not in a good position to shoot. Then he suddenly turned out and moved to the females which were not going to leave the meadow. I didn’t give him the second chance. I didn't forget that bullets hit with the deviation 15 cm to the right and the male was moving from right to left. The bullet came through its body, it made just few steps and fell. Everybody began to congratulate me. Then we went for the mouflon. Hunting for mouflon was not so easy as for deer. Those animals were more cautious. One time we detected the one but it ran away while we were approaching it. It was my fault because I wanted Alexey would make the epic video as he did when I hunted for the deer. After the failed approach Boris suggested to go back to the Base and to continue the hunt in the evening. On the way back he showed us the enclosure with Markhors. Two of the were nice and bigger than others. After a lunch we continued the hunt. When we were driving through the forest, it wasn’t dense at all, the guides detected the group of mouflons and one of them had trophy size. I trusted the guide who estimated the trophy size and took part in approaching. I told them in advance that wanted to get the trophy with horns not less than 90 cm. I didn’t know how long we chased the animals. It could be 500 m, one km or more. The excitement was growing by the minute. Boris asked me to calm and not to shoot to wrong one in the moment of passion. Soon I found it, the branches hidden the male from me and I started to change the position. The herd also began to move from left to right. Boris shouted that my male was running the last, then changed his mind and said it was the third from the end, then corrected me that it was the last! I chose the open place between trees and shot. The distance was about 70 m. I didn’t see anything once again and thought that I missed. Alexey was filming the process and said that the mouflon stopped for a moment after the shot. I was sure it’d fall on the place or to go 10 meters maximum if I hit it. But there was no a sign of the male. We rose about 50-70 m and went to the right, and soon I heard Boris voice. I got it. At first, I thought that he found the bloody track but the male was there in 30 meters. Later we guessed that it was running above us and rolled down the slope after hitting. It was a good shot to the back part of the shoulder blade. The bullet went through the body but it could run such long distance after it. It would be worse if I wounded it and it ran away. All's well that ends well. To the conclusion I want to say that I've liked it. I want to hunt there once again. I’m satisfied with everything and the only two things which can be improved are the sizes of blankets in the house and the rifles.