Today, the guest of our magazine is Andrey Anatolyevich Zaika – one of the most famous trophy hunters in Russia and abroad. He is the member of the Moscow Safari Club, the International Safari Club SCI and the Club of Mountain Hunters. Last year he became the owner of a number of unique trophies: great Eastern Cape kudu, red (Natal) duiker, Cape bushbok, Limpopo bushbok, bontbok, Cape grisbok, as well as copper and white springbok, Vercors chamois, Mexican white-tailed deer of the Central Plateau, white-tailed deer Carminis, white-tailed deer Texanus and many others. Some of these species are very rare animals.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Andrey Anatolyevich! Our first traditional question is how did you become a hunter. How did it start?
A.Z.: I went to it since my childhood, read books about hunting, about animals and it was interesting to me. My first hunt took place in Murmansk. I was already about 30 years old at that time. I got a partridge. It was the first time when I went to the forest on my own and got it. My first rifle was “Baikal”. In a half of an hour since I got a partridge I met a moose. I did not shoot although my gun was loaded with bullets – there are a lot of bears in those places. I have always been and remain a law-abiding hunter. But it was very interesting.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: When did you get carried away with trophy hunting?
A.Z.: I became interested in trophy hunting in 2005, started to get the first trophies, slowly learned how to hunt. Since 2007, I started doing this actively. And very active from 2010.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What trophies do you have?
A.Z.: About 200 species. I am a member of the international safari club SCI in addition to being a member of the Moscow Safari Club. It’s a very good club, they organize everything competently for the benefit of the development of trophy hunting all over the world. I liked what they do. It’s really interesting.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: You are a member of the CMH.
A.Z.: Yes, It’s true. I want to praise the Club of Mountain Hunters. Their points system is much more thoughtful, more democratic and more interesting than even the principles of SCI. It is easy to become a member of the CMH, you only need to hunt. And I recommend this club.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: How have you entered into this club? - How that started?
A.Z.: Leonid Palko invited me. I went, looked, it turned out to be a really interesting club. The most important thing is their rating. In Safari or SCI, everything is mixed up, but here people are stimulated to compete. The first mountain trophy was Marco Polo's ram. I got in in Kyrgyzstan. It turned out later that this was Argali Severtsova. Then I took Marco Polo, which turned out to be the Tianshan argali. Unfortunately, such things happen often on mountain hunts.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What is the geography of your mountain hunts?
A.Z.: I recommend Azerbaijan to all beginners. Hunts there are physically difficult, but they are a good school. The locals are very hospitable, they meet you like relatives and teach the behavior in the mountains – how to behave, how to breathe, how to relax, how to move depending on the slope, how to use a mountain poles. This is a really good school. And the mountains are beautiful there. They are not high – there is no mountain sickness, but they are rocky, there are a lot of stone screes and everything is interesting.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you prepare and train before hunting?
A.Z.: It’s late to train just before the hunt. It is necessary to keep in shape all the time If you are engaged in mountain hunting. I go to the gym; I keep an active lifestyle. You have to train specially on the uphill climb.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: How do Western hunts benefit if you compare them with hunting in Russia? What is the difference between the hunting industry and the Russian one?
A.Z.: If we compare our industry to the leading hunting countries – the United States, Hungary, Germany, It’s not organized in any way. Trophy hunting in Russia is at level zero. It hasn’t mass character in our country. There ara just several hundred people who are engaged in trophy hunting on the scale of our country. It’s nothing. There are many businesses in the west that connect with hunting – the production of weapons, ammunition, equipment, tourism, the sale of hunting, taxidermy, many works of art on hunting themes are being created. I would say this is a whole industry. All hunting trips are organized very competently abroad, only with the exception of Asia. What is very pleasant is that helps the wild nature.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: I talked to many hunters on my duty, and I can say that most hunters have a negative attitude to trophy hunting based on our mentality.
A.Z.: I think it's not about the mentality. This is rather from that situation – I haven't read Pasternak, but I condemn him. People have a negative attitude to what they do not know and do not understand. One of the reason is that we do not have hunting specialists. This is a huge problem in Russia. It becomes a shame – we have a huge potential for trophy hunting, we can earn a lot of money, can give people the opportunity to earn, but nothing is done, even more than that, everything is done to prevent it. Most of the legislative decisions in the industry are populist, not based on science. So everything is sad so far. Hunting needs to be developed, it’s a lot of money. The country can earn money by organizing hunts, both for Russian hunters and for foreigners. But it’s future. Trophy hunting causes minimal damage to the animal world. There is no need to build special bases for trophy hunting, we do not need any infrastructure – we are ready to walk, ride horses, etc. Ordinary tourist routes have a more negative impact on nature.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What trophy do you remember most of all?
A.Z.: Not really. Once upon a time I was in a hunting castle in Europe. There were some quite nondescript trophies hanging on the walls. I asked them why? These trophies were of no value at all. I would never forget their answer that determined my whole attitude – there was no bad hunting, even a small trophy was still a trophy. Therefore, I can't single out which one is better. They all are valuable and I will not single out something. Of the latter, I can say thatI hunted for moose on Omolon in September. The dogs stopped it and started to bark, we didn't see the animal and came closer and it jumped out of the bushes and ran straight at us I shot it 5 steps away from me. I shot from a .375 caliber.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What weapons do you use?
A.Z.: I was skeptical about small calibers before, and after this hunt I began to believe that there is a lot of caliber, only if it affects ballistics at a long shot. It is necessary to use as much maximum caliber as possible. I recommend everyone not to forget about our military 7.62 by 39 and the like. They say that it harms meat – colleagues, we live a civilized country, there is meat in the store. It is much more ethical not to leave a wounded animal. I am a supporter of maximum calibers. In the same way, I would prohibit hunting with hollow point bullets.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Many environmental organizations are against hunting and especially against trophy hunting.
A.Z.: It's my personal opinion, I do not impose it on anyone that most environmental organizations, especially the large ones, are purely commercial projects. First of all, they are concerned about collecting money, and only then about nature protection. Take, for example, the ban on the trade of baby seals. This is the absurd decision, the most harmful to nature, completely unfounded biologically. The ban was made only on the basis of aesthetic considerations – a baby seal is beautiful, it's a pity. One more reason is that seal’s skins have ceased to be in demand. Nobody thought how many fish they would destroy later. The White Sea is a local, closed reservoir and there is nowhere for fish to come from, its reserves are limited. The fact that then most of the population will die either from hunger or from epizootics, and all these conservationists don’t care. They get their money, and they don't care about the state of nature. I don’t mention the social aspect – the natives already have nothing to live on, and they have been deprived of a serious income.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What weapons do you hunt with? What is your favorite?
A.Z.: My favorite is the Sauer 202 with three interchangeable barrels. They cover the entire range, the main ones are 300 WMag. which I use for mountain hunting and .375 H&H Mag. I just bought a Blaser R8 .338 caliber for hunting in the mountains.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you use any devices for hunting?
A.Z.: Of course. Binoculars, a rangefinder. I don't use the ballistic calculator. But always have a calculated table with me. I don't say that a calculator is bad, I just don't use it.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Where have you been? What is the geography of your trips?
A.Z.: I have been everywhere – Russia, Europe, Asia, Africa, America. I prefer to hunt in Russia and in Europe, I have been to Africa a lot.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Will you tell us about the equipment? Do you have any personal recommendations?
A.Z.: First of all, you need to make a list of what you need so that you don't forget something. I even have such list in my phone. As for the equipment, I have now simplified my clothes as much as possible – this is a shirt, two thin down jackets, a raincoat from the wind and rain. I don't wear warm clothes and use the cabbage principle: cold-dressed, hot-undressed. The development of clothing for outdoor activities has been simply revolutionary in recent years. The clothes and materials are very comfortable and comfortable. I can say the same about mountain hunting. It's still more relevant there. The sun come out – you sunbathe, when there are clouds or the wind blew – you put everything on yourself.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What do you put in the first-aid kit with you?
A.Z.: The first-aid kit must always be with you and is quite extensive. It is the same for both mountains and plains. Anything can happen. Sometimes it’s difficult abroad to explain what you need if there is no highly professional translator. In some developed countries, such as Hungary, for example, they will not sell anything without a prescription at all.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you a trophy room? How do you keep your trophies?
A.Z.: I have a large trophy room. It’s a very right question. Many hunters do not have trophy rooms and store their trophies anywhere – in basements, garages where they rot and deteriorate. I do not share the opinion of some of my colleagues and I regret that they do not register them and do not exhibit them. I think that if you have a good trophy, you need to show it to people. Everyone will like it and be interested. Unfortunately, I have seen unregistered trophies that would be included in the top ten SCI trophies. For example, I got a moose in the Kashinsky district of the Tver region, which took the 13th place in SCI. I think that I wasn't the only one who took such trophies. But many of Russian hunters keep them at home, and the prizes are taken by foreigners who fix everything. If we talk about mountain hunting, I have a good trophy of the Carpathian chamois. I also have a nice trophy of ibex – 126 cm. But I can't boast of something directly outstanding. The process itself is more important.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What of hunting agency do you use?
A.Z.: The main agent, and I really like to hunt with them, is the company Profi Hunt. In addition, Yulia Zvereva actively helps me a lot.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Were there any extreme cases?
A.Z.: As a rule, all extreme situations are caused by improper preparation of either yourself or the people who prepared the hunt. Once, we were in the Altai, the beginning of September is already a serious time. They said us not take tents because they had their own. We followed their advice, arrived and saw that their tents had more holes in than tents. Those three nights were like a feat. And we couldn't leave – because saw the ibex and had to sit. Once in Canada, I didn't want to sleep in a small cabin and asked for a tent. They looked at me very surprised, but set it down. In the morning we went hunting and when arrived, and the tent was taken away. The locals reacted to this with humor, they say-do you still need to set up a tent?
S.G.: Andrey Anatolyevich, thank you for an interesting story and successful hunts.
