Reports

My first mountain trophy! I’ve got Siberian Mountain goat in the hunting farm Idzhir, Krasnoyarsk region. The shooting distance was 150m. The length of the left horn is 99.3, with the circle 20.6. The right horn 98.7, the circle 21.2. The beginners are lucky. The trophy was taken in the first day. Thank you very much to my guide Vladimir who detected the male and did his best to approach me to it. We won!

I’ve got the trophy on the second hunting day. The shooting distance was 260m. I fired and the ram fell but then it tried to ran away when I came close that’s why I needed to shoot twice. I hit to its heart, we determined it when butchered the trophy.

There was a heavy fog on the day of arrival. The next day in the morning the fog cleared, it was a sunny windy day. The camp was well equipped, there were good tents with stoves. The first hunting day we went hunting with 3 guides and detected three sheep in the first two kilometers. We could approach 400m. I shot and hit to its right shoulder blade. My mistake was that I didn’t take into account the side wind 5-6 m/s. The bullet went 20 cm to the left.   The ram jumped down and stood, but it was not visible from my position. The second time I shot from the distance 600m but missed. It took us 6 hours to find the wounded animal but at last we got in at the end of the day. It was the late night when we came back to the camp. We went 27 km at that day. Thanks to Alexey Alekseev for the professional service.

It was the last but very important trophy of snow sheep. I got in 2020 and it took me a week. My friend but not a hunter joined me in that expedition. We arrived to Yakutsk where met old friends. Next morning, we left the hotel early to be in time for a ferry across the river Lena. Then we drove to Magadan side by the famous Kolyma Road. There was one more ferry that we used when crossed Aldan River. The way to the village Khandyga was 410 km but it took us nine hours to get there. We spent a night in the village and left it in early morning. Our next goal was to meet our future guide who waited for us in 370km more. The meet point was on the meteorological station located just on the road. The local staff invited us for tea and we agreed. Soon our guide arrived. He was a very typical representative of the natives – a mid-age man. He rode by horse and took four more for us. Then we changed the car to horses and rode about seven hours. We saw how the landscapes changed from the taiga to the mountains, where there were no trees at all. One more guide waited for us in the camp. That day we had rest but next morning went to the mountains. We hiked there the whole day but didn’t detect any sign of sheep. The second day was the same that’s why we made the decision to take a mobile camp and moved to another place. It was the right decision because just in the next morning we spotted several sheep. The shooting distance was 350m, Blaser 338LM. I got 8 years old male. It’s not outstanding in trophy qualities, but is very hardworking and will certainly take an honorable place in my collection. I have closed all types of snow sheep and, in general, mountain ungulates of Russia, which are allowed for production. Many thanks to everyone who helped me in this.

On August 23rd I arrived to Kamchatka and we drove to the base camp immediately.  It took us 3-4 hours drive from the airport. The camp was well organized, the each hunter had its own tent with the cot and a stove. There was a shower tent near the river. The first night I slept well. The next morning we tested our guns and moved to the hunting lands. We had only guns and necessary equipment for few days. The first day we hiked about 8 km and climbed 600-700 vertical meters. That night we spent on the slope. In the morning we got up and began to ascend. We rose higher and went on going by the tops of the rocks. In five hours we detected a sheep in 1 km from us and started to approach. We could reduce the distance to 500m and I made a shot.  I hit the target but the ram still stood and I shot the second time. It was the final. The used rifle Blaser R8, a bullet Berger 210.  I want to note a good organization of the trip and the high density of animals.

In August I hunted in Yakutia. We were lucky with weather. I’ve got the trophy of Yakutia snow sheep. It became 11- years old ram. Thank you very much to Afanasy Shishigin and my guide Yakov Kondakov.

On August 23rd, 2021 I got the trophy of American mountain goat (male) on Alaska. It wasn’t a difficult hunting. We saw about 10 animals during two days of hunting. I had a choice. We climbed up to 1000 meters. We hiked during day hours from the mobile camp where had been delivered by light plane. The shooting distance was 200m, the rented rifle - Sako, cal. 300 WM.  The outfitter - "Fejes Guide Service Ltd". This company is know not in the USA but also abroad. The owner Sam Feyes made comfortable conditions for hunters and fishermen in his lodge, had boats and planes to deliver customers to the mountains and to the coast. Sam isn’t only a manager but the experienced pilot and hunter at the same time. He is very sociable, pleasant in communication, attentive to customers. His company maintains close contacts with the Russian company "Stalker Group".

In mid-August, we went to Taimyr with Yuri Viktorovich Vasiliev. Our goal was to get the muskox. We were going to make that hunt in 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic prevented it. The trip was organized by the company "Profi Hunt", personally its general director Artem Veselov. The muskox lives in several regions of Russia, but licenses for its production can be obtained only in Taimyr. This rare animal is under special control. There were only 20 licenses were issued for the muskox in 2021. The logistics of such a trip required careful planning. We could fly from Norilsk but it turned out, that flights are often canceled there, and we were advised to fly from Krasnoyarsk. Therefore, the route turned out to be Moscow – Krasnoyarsk-Khatanga. Only a charter flies to Khatanga from Krasnoyarsk, and tickets had to be taken in advance. We arrived to Krasnoyarsk normally. Yak-42D flied to Khatanga. The interior amenities of this plane leave a lot to be desired. There were no empty seats, and 1 kg of overload cost 250 rubles due to the end of the summer season. It took us 3 hours flight. After arrival to Khatanga, we reloaded our luggage to MI-8 and flied to lake Taymir, Cape Sabler. The hunting lodge belonged to Yuri Zhdanov, a helicopter pilot and a local outfitter. It took us one hour and forty-five minutes to fly there. The lodge consisted of one main building and several small ones. We accommodated in different rooms with hard beds. Then we tested the gun on 100m and ate lunch that consisted of soup and salted char. Several notes for everyone who is going there. You have to be prepared for the fact that the diet there is very poor: deer meat and Arctic char due to the lack of food delivery to Khatanga. On the same day, we found a single muskox near the base. I shot form 306 m distance and all four bullets hit the aim. The bull walked a little and collapsed. We concluded that it was an excellent trophy, a very old gray-haired muskox after examined it close. Yuri Viktorovich got his bull the next day.  Our trophies are in the Top 5 SCI according to preliminary estimates. Additional I could get the trophy of a reindeer not far from the camp. The shooting distance was 437m. It was also an excellent trophy with taste meat that we used for soup. So, all our tasks were completed. But we couldn't leave Khatanga as we planned. There were flights just two times a week and we had to wait several days to leave it. There was just one cafe in the rural locality and it has the specific time schedule. Nobody saw us off. We took with us luggage and frozen meat and fish. And had to pay for overloading once again. But it was cheaper just 100 rub per extra kg. We had to make a veterinary certificate for the trophies, and send them separately. Unfortunately Yuri Zhdanov's son Ivan let us down. He was responsible for that part of the trip but he turned out to be an irresponsible performer. The plane from Khatanga arrived in Krasnoyarsk late, but we still managed to catch our flight to Moscow. I thank the company "Pro Hunt" and personally Artem Veselov for organizing the hunt.

My second trip to Kamchatka was successful. I did the only one but an accurate shot despite on the whims of the weather: angry wind and torrential rain, endless fogs. My trophy became 9 years old Kamchatka snow sheep. Great thanks to the High Hunt Pro company. I wish “no fluff, no feather" in the coming season to all teammates and hunters.

The August in Magadan met me by cold weather and strong wind. That was the reason why we decided to scout the near hills first. We reached the top of the hill and detected the group of sheep in 1,5 km from us. The plan was to approach the group and what we did. I got 14 years old sheep male. I have to note the professional organization of the host party, knowledge of the terrain and the habits of animals.

I got Dagestan tur in Dagestan. It was very interesting and had hunting. We rode by horses 10 hours and overcame 36 km distance to the tent camp. After it we climbed 7 km one way.

In August 2012 I hunted for a Kolyma snow sheep on the Kolyma highlands. The rainy and windy weather delayed our flight to the remote and inaccessible hunting lands. We flew from Chukotka only when it became possible. We walked a lot before detected the male. It was eating mushroom that came in abundance after the rains. I got the nice 14 years old trophy. The shot was done from 580 m at the angle. I consider that hunt to be an average difficulty except its logistic. My personal thanks to Sergey Tyutchev who accompanied me.

He hunted the Koryak bighorn sheep in the southeastern part of the Penzhinsky district in August 2021. The weather was rainy and windy, which made it difficult to fly to the land and forced, as they say, to seize the moment. The grounds are inaccessible, and a turntable was indispensable. They flew into the grounds from the direction of Chukotka. Early in the morning, in the fog, we noticed a group of six rams, the oldest of which was killed. Shot 450 meters with 300 Norma. Hunting of medium difficulty.

It has sense to think about Spain in a spring when the hunting season is over in most regions of the world. I decided to go there for the trophies "Mountain Goat of Besait” and "Mountain Goat of Gredos". That time I chose a local hunting outfitter in Spain. My choice was based on positive feedback I read in the Internet, and I did not have to regret this decision. I had already hunted in Spain before, and knew the general organization of such an event. My flight from Estonia (Tallinn) was canceled a few hours before the scheduled time, and I had to take a flight the next day, so I began to doubt that I would have time to hunt twice. Mr. Augusto Rodriguez Zafra met me at the Madrid airport. I got my weapons at the customs office, and we drove east from Madrid. The hunting land was located a little north of Valencia, in the municipality of Castelfort. We found a place to test the gun and managed to walk a little before dark in the same evening. The landscape was not particularly mountainous, there were gentle ascents and descents. In the early morning of the next day, we went to the place where a group of animals had been seen a few days ago. After a few hours of walking, we saw several males, and there was one trophy size one. But the animals noticed us and ran away while the huntsman was trying to explain to me which animal to shoot . But the huntsman knew the territory perfectly well and was sure that the animals had gone to a certain direction, and suggested to make a circle to arrive to the expected place of their next stop. After 40 minutes, we saw the animals down in the valley, I managed to hit an 11-year-old Beceite Ibex and from a distance of 185 meters . After hunting, we decided to relax in the cafe-bar of a small nearby village, and I was surprised how many people decided to take a break from work and, to have a glass of wine at the same time we came there. People treated me very warmly, and took told about their hunting affairs. The next morning we left Castelfort. After 7 hours’ drive we arrived to the next place where I was going to hunt for a Gredos ibex. In the evening, we accommodated in the hotel and had a great time in the restaurant, where we tasted excellent local dishes and wines and discussed the plan for the next day. I had to get up very early in the morning, it wasn't even dawn yet. It took us an hour to drive to the place. The hunt took place in an area called Villarejo del Valle. Augusto carefully prepared for that hunt: we were accompanied by two local hunter-guides and two students from the local zoo college, who had been observing animals moving along the foothills for the previous couple of days. The landscape in that region was significantly different from where I got the first trophy. It was very mountainous and higher above sea level, the ascents were longer and steeper but the views were magnificent. No wonder “Gredos Ibex” is considered to be the most exclusive of all four ibexes found in Spain. At dawn, the interns settled down with their binoculars on the mountainside, and we went to search on the opposite side. The reconnaissance did not let us down, and soon we noticed a group of males. We were cautiously approaching them in the direction of the mountain top, looking for a suitable one. It was risky to get too close, that’s why I fired from a distance of 280 meters and hit a 10-year-old Gredos ibex. The guide told the students in detail about the principles of determining the age of the animal and the features of measuring the length of the horns when we came down from the mountain. That time we also celebrated a successful hunt in a local restaurant. I was particularly impressed by the hunt for Gredos ibex, as well as Augusto’s preparation in order to make the hunt for the guest as effective as possible.