I have long realized that hunting is a disease. But I had to fully experience of that disease during my trip to Yakutia. I organize trophy hunts in various regions of the country and beyond and often have to visit various hunting lands and where I help to organize hunting for maral, Siberian roe deer, bear and other trophy animals there. The organization and conduct of such tours is very strenuous and hard work, but it still gives me great pleasure. My soul becomes a little uncomfortable when I don't go anywhere for a long time (2-3 months of the off-season.)
I really like these trips because they are interesting and I can see the beautiful corners of our country and neighboring countries; nature in various forms of its manifestation. You can touch those secrets of nature that only a few people have seen before you. Believe me, there are still such corners! There you quench your thirst with crystal clear water from a mountain stream; can eat fragrant berries and brew tea from a variety of roots, adding leaves of useful plants, shrubs or berries there. I don't want to drink tea in urban conditions after such natural delicacies, no matter how high-quality it is.
There is an opportunity to observe various interesting natural phenomena when you are so far from civilization. The last time in Yakutia, we admired the enchanting flashes of the northern lights every night, which was simply impossible to forget. I always watch with interest the behavior of the local population apart from the beauties of Mother Nature. I am interested in the psychology of the peoples that live in this or that territory where we come to hunt.
The aboriginal name of the Sakha people gave the name to the autonomous entity on the territory of Russia - the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). They are excellent hunters and fishermen, like none of the nationalities I have met before. They feel nature, the animal world and everything connected with it. These are the real "children of nature", her creation. I have rarely met such a careful attitude to nature as the modern descendants of the Sakha peoples.
The people I work with during hunting (our guides) will never raise a carbine unnecessarily and won't shoot at hunting animals if it is not necessary at that time. It's a rare thing when you meet such a careful attitude towards nature among the local population. I am far from illusions that all Sakha people are like that, and I cannot make such generalizations. I tell you about what I've seen.
Sakha hunters have great respect for their pagan patron - the God of hunting Bayanai. He is always remembered. As soon as we landed by helicopter and set up camp, bread, tobacco and something alcoholic were immediately "given to the fire". The flash of flame that swallowed those gifts "symbolized" that the gift was accepted by Bayanai. I looked to my guides and adopted the same habit to "give something to fire" by honoring Bayanai and asked him for good luck, food, a good night's lodging if we were somewhere in the taiga or tundra and couldn't reach the hut.
The Sakha people calmly accepted the twists of fate if they failed to implement the plan they had thought out in advance. "Bayanai did not let us over the pass!” So all that was for the best. If he did not allow you the road there by rain, fog or snow, then you need to wait for success elsewhere. As a rule, this is exactly what happens. Their good-natured positive calm attitude always gives them the opportunity to try their luck. After the noise of the engine of the helicopter that flew away had died down, my three clients (hunters from Hungary); our guides, the cook and I were left alone far from civilization in the Arctic Circle. We had set up camp quickly and had a snack with a hot dinner cooked by Natasha (the wife of one of the guides, Rodion), then we "gave gifts to the fire" and went to the tent, trying to sleep after sleepless nights associated with long–distance flights. It always succeeds with great difficulty due to the large hour difference (8-10 hours). It happened that time. I slept not well with frequent interruptions, despite being very tired. We discussed the physical capabilities of hunters in walking on the tundra, the peculiarities of shooting and some details of hunting moose" on the roar" in Yakutia. It turned out that one of the hunters, Janos (who was the initiator of that trip for the others), was operated on the Achilles tendon of his left leg. He needed rest and almost bed rest instead of being among the swampy hummocks and tallow bushes in Yakutia. But he dreamed of that real hunt for 5 years and could not miss that opportunity to hunt at the last moment. Their hunting friends in Hungary assured them that none of them would leave Yakutia without a trophy moose. And the service would be the most primitive. It was 6.20 am of the first day of hunting when Rodion came running to our tent and said in a loud whisper that there was a moose right next to the camp behind the stream. We quickly decided that it was a good chance for Janos. And we gave him the opportunity to use that chance. The moose really stood 200 meters away. It was partially hidden by a human-sized willow and the predawn twilight. We decided to approach Janos to the moose. It was a good size trophy bull. Rodion walked in front, I helped Janos to get into a good shooting position. Those who remained in the camp at that time watched the process from a small hill.
We waited until the moose entered the gap between the bushes, and gave the command to shoot. A shot rang out. The moose walked another 20-30 meters and stood up, directing its gaze in our direction. It was necessary to make another shot so that the beast would not leave, but Janush could not cope with the carbine being in the excitement and insert the next cartridge into the chamber. I tried to help him. The moose disappeared from sight while we tried to solve that problem. Fortunately for us and to the indescribable delight of Janos and his partners, the moose fell in the same place where it stood. So, the first trophy was got in 200 meters from the camp at 6-30 am, the first day of hunting. We celebrated our success immediately and didn't forget about the offering to Bayani. Two more hunting days followed. Each of them brought good luck to one of the two hunters. It was necessary to see how tired the Europeans were after a day of walking on the Yakut tundra. They were exhausted by the local vegetation, the talc bushes, the soil that slurped from the water and hold our foot like a sucker and didn't not want to let go. We had to bypassed or jumped over fallen trees. But the second Janos, and then Shandor, were rewarded with beautiful trophies. There was no limit to their admiration. Hungarian hunters were not spoiled by trophies, they still could not imagine that they got three beautiful trophy moose with beautiful, typical for this area, horns in the real conditions of the Yakut tundra just in just three days! They were even more amazed by the fact that they could see moose right from your camp almost every day. The guides equipped a primitive observation tower on the trunk of two larch trees on the hillock. It was from there, we watched with our binoculars what was happening around the camp. Visibility was up to 2 kilometers. We even gave names to some of our regular "guests" whom we saw them for several days in a row, and that was necessary to distinguish the "indigenous" population of moose among the passing ones.
It was my turn to go hunting. I also had the right to shoot a trophy moose that year due to agreements with my partner in Zyryanka, Alexander Maheed. Hungarians, who tired of walking on the Yakut tundra, wished me good luck. But they wanted me to follow my trophy properly, and not shoot it right at the camp. It's a holiday for me, any exit to the hunting lands, and when I also hunt myself, it's a double holiday! I lived with that premonition for the last months before the trip. (I'm a trophy hunter in spirit, and envied my lucky customers, who were already rewarded by Bayani with gorgeous trophies.)
The only thing that didn't allow me to relax in that situation was a sense of responsibility for my work and for the success of customers. But when the tension subsided a little after the effective shooting, and I could switch to my hunting. How often, unfortunately, it happens: "We assume, but God disposes!" I felt symptoms of some kind of malaise on the eve of the hunt. I just felt completely overwhelmed by the fourth day of my stay in the camp. The reason was the fact that one of our guides came to the camp with some kind of viral infection. That infection had successfully passed through each of us in turn. Almost all of us have suffered from that cold disease in one form or another. So, I was faced with a dilemma - either refuse to go hunting and be treated in a camp near a warm stove or to overcome the disease, still go hunting. The decision had to be made, taking into account the weather conditions of the area where we arrived to hunt. The weather there could change in just half an hour and for a long time. A sunny day, which Bayanai has so far gave us, a hurricane could come and cover us with rain or even worse, with snow. It was absolutely impossible for me to relax for that reason, and I decided to go out in the morning. I have learned from many years of practice that the most important thing in that state was not to eat a lot, and drink a lot (preferably hot tea with lemon). We had breakfast and moved to the hunting area. My guide Fedor took some food in order to have a snack during the day. Two more guides, Ivan and Rodion, went with us. They wanted to pack the meat of previously shot moose for shipment by helicopter and made a landing pad for the helicopter at the shooting site. There were four of us! The noise is enough to scare away all living things for kilometers when such a "crowd" goes hunting. Surprisingly, we were lucky right away, as soon as we approached the place where the first moose was shot. At first, we saw a female with a calf, then a young male moose 600 meters away. A huge male appeared in the bushes, 400 meters away from us. It scratched its horns on bushes and trees, but wasn't in a hurry to go out into an open clearing where a female and a calf were grazing. Fedor and I made an attempt to approach. We used the terrain, and moved like one four-legged creature, smoothly flowing over bumps and fallen trees All our movements were smooth and well-adjusted. That method of movement allowed to get as close as possible to almost many wild animals. The moose has poor eyesight, and it can look in your direction for a long time without running away It always relies more on its sense of smell and hearing. Thus, we were able to reduce the distance to the female with the calf to 350, and then 300 meters.
At that time, a huge moose male was standing in the bushes and continued to scratch its powerful horns. We hoped the female would continue its journey with the calf, and the bull would follow it and appear in a clearing where it would be possible to make a confident shot. I had a 300win.Mag SAKO 75 HUNTER carbine with me on that hunt. It was the first time I took cartridges with a CDP bullet weighing 10.7 g from RWS, made by order of BLASER and, subsequently, I was very pleased with the choice of that particular bullet. It was possible to try to shoot through the bushes having such a weapon. Some hunters would have done so. But the hunting ethics did not allow me to do that.
There was still a certain internal struggle for some time. I threw up the rangefinder, admired the horns again, looked at the bull through the sight and decided that everything was in the hands of Bayanai. If he brought the moose to the clearing, I'd shoot; if not, the moose was not mine (although it would be a pity to miss such a trophy). Everything was resolved faster than we thought. Fedor and I just waited, merging with the surrounding vegetation. At that time, the female and the calf turned to the bull, slowly entered the tall bush. All three of them slowly dissolved into the willows. I think that real trophy hunters will understand what I've experienced at that moment. But I couldn't step over my moral foundations, and I didn't see the point. We should work with axes to clear the landing pad for the helicopter at the site of the shooting of the third moose. However, I felt very bad when I arrived at the place. Weakness and chills called into question my further hunting. It is best to drink strong tea and to relax in such cases. Fortunately, there was a small pile of hay that was prepared, as if specially for me. I apologized to the guys for the forced idleness and explained the reason, then settled down on a hay feather bed. I was right to do just that. I got up like a reborn after 10 minutes of light sleep and was even able to help the guys in clearing the site by working with an axe. Soon we divided into two groups and started on their way back. Then we turned to the place where saw a female with a calf and a huge bull. To our chagrin, neither those moose nor any others were found. The day was already running out, and we had to move towards the camp. Finally, we came closer to the valley of the Hosky Creek, on which our camp was located. There was an opportunity to view more places where the moose might appear. I didn't know why, but over the past two years, when I went with Fedor and drove clients, it often turned out that I was the first to see the moose. It happened that time. A good bull was moving in our direction in short dashes from the bottom of the stream. It was constantly looking around, which seemed rather strange to me. Fedor didn't hear well (and, as it turned out later, he already saw poorly due to his not young age), but he ran almost like a moose, and I had to catch up with him to show something, or just stop him I nodded in the direction of the moose and asked about his opinion about the quality of the trophy. He didn't tell me anything definite. Then I realized that I would have to rely only on myself and my own experience of Yakut hunting. I carefully examined the moose and its horns through the eyepiece of a rangefinder and a 10-fold LEUPOLD sight.
The rangefinder did not show the distance Because of the twilight and fog. There was about 400 meters away to the moose according to my calculations. The horns were no more than 18kg in weight and about 1m20cm wide. I strictly aware that it might be the last trophy that I would ever see, I decided to let this moose go. I really wanted to get a typical Yakut subspecies of moose with good trophy qualities. We went on our way. Fedor, as it seemed to me, lost all interest in looking for a trophy moose and completely relaxed. My feet started to freeze from walking in rubber boots all day in cold water, and weakness was piling up again. There were about 3 kilometers to the camp according to my GPS. Soon I saw a dark spot on the edge of the sparse woodland and floodplain of the stream, it could only be a moose, judging by the size. The spot remained in one place with amazing tenacity and did not move. I touched with my walking pole with a slingshot at the end to Fedor and pointed him at the moose. “It's a cow!” (The female of moose) - he said indifferently and we continued our way. It was almost impossible to see a moose that stood in willows, from a distance of 1 kilometer in the descending twilight. We were still moving along the slope, constantly monitoring the moose. The moose didn't move. I began already to doubt - maybe I dreamed it?! When the dark spot was already 500 meters away, I put the carbine on the pole once again to determine the presence of horns in that moose.
I looked through the eyepiece of the sight, gave the maximum magnification and at that moment the moose turned its head. I could clearly make out the horns on its head. There was no doubt - there was a trophy animal in front of us. But what was that trophy like? I will explain all the behavior of the moose before and after that a little later. Then we decided to try to approach the moose at a distance of a shot just for the sake of at least to see the horns. It was getting darker by every minute. We had about 10-15 minutes left to get closer, assess the situation and the quality of the trophy and make a shot, if circumstances allowed. Meanwhile, the air temperature had already dropped below "0" and it felt great. We were dressed quite lightly. We went down to the stream and crossed it, trying to tread as quietly as possible. The moose was about three hundred meters away. It remained where it was with enviable stubbornness. The experience of determining the distance by eye plus the excitement of folding, slight excitement made the rangefinder device unnecessary at the moment. It was clear from the behavior of the moose that it was controlling our movement no matter how hard we tried to make as little noise as possible. It remained a mystery to us at that moment, why did it stay in place all that time? Fedor constantly insisted on further progress. But when there were about two hundred meters left, I stopped him. I explained my position to him. If the trophy was good enough, then I could shoot it from that distance. The last question left. "What was the quality of the trophy?” I already realized earlier that Fedor practically didn't see the horns, and then he admitted to me that he could not help me in the visual evaluation of the trophy.
I could only rely on myself. I asked Fedor to stay where he was and not move anymore. Then I put the carbine back on the staff's slingshot and stood intently (as much as it was possible at dusk) consider the moose and its horns. Almost the entire body of the moose was covered with a willow. I could clearly see the head with horns thanks to the excellent optics of LEUPOLD. The difference between a high-class sight is that at a critical moment it is its "slightly" better aperture that allows you to consider exactly what you need. But I could not say with certainty that the trophy was worthy, since it did not show up in its entirety.
We were standing in an open place among swampy hummocks. Our feet were up to ankles in water. Chills from the evening frost, fatigue, a cold infection and cold water covered my entire body. I realized that the longer I stood, the harder it would be for me to aim under such circumstances.
And then, His Majesty chance decided in his own way. I didn't understand why but Fyodor suddenly went to the left. The squelching of his footsteps had to have reached the moose. To my surprise, the moose moved exactly in the direction of Fedor's movement. It gave me the opportunity to finally fully see the trophy. All that happened in some moments. I could clearly see the shovels of the horns and the long ends of the appendages. I calculated in my mind all the consequences of that day hike, my physical condition and the changeability of the Yakut weather, as well as a relatively good trophy, I decided that I would shoot as soon as possible. I suddenly felt that my whole body was already shivering from the cold when clung to the eyepiece of the sight. The moment of truth was coming for me as a trophy hunter. I chose a clearing among the willow where I could take a shot at the moose. I looked through the scope, and didn't close the other eye, I controlled the movement of the bull. I pulled myself together to set me up for a shot. The palm gently squeezed the ergonomic handle, characteristic of SAKO. For a moment, the trembling went away. Moose showed into the field of view of the eyepiece I aimed at it a little. The crosshair was on the body, just behind the shoulder blade. I touched smoothly the trigger... shot! And I heard the slap of a bullet on the body of a giant!
The roar of the shot, which broke the peaceful silence of the Yakut tundra, brought everything back to its place. The trembling returned to me immediately. I reloaded the carbine quickly and prepared to take another shot, which Fedor desperately insisted on. But I was absolutely sure that I had hit, as well as that the cartridge and the bullet would do their job. Meanwhile, our moose took two more steps, stopped and ... fell on its side with an anguished groan. I realized that I wouldn't need another shot. But still kept the carbine ready. We were at the moose in less than a couple of minutes. It was pass away when we came.
I always feel sorry for the animal I have got, even though it may seem strange to someone. First you shoot – then you regret it?! But the feeling of pity has a different nature. A real hunter is not a butcher. The main thing for him is the hunting process. And confidence is given to you by the realization that you are doing everything in accordance with the Law, the norms of shooting and in accordance with your ethics of a cultural hunter. I took out of my backpack, where all my photo and video equipment lay, a flask of cognac specially reserved for such an occasion, opened it, splashed some on the ground in gratitude to Bayanai and handed it to Fedor. He did not drink, but the situation demanded and he took a sip from the flask. We paid the last respects to my beast; I took a couple of sips. It immediately pleasantly burned the throat and dispersed the blood. It allowed us to take several pictures, almost in the dark, and gut the moose so that the meat would not be lost. A lot of fallen trees, dense tallow undergrowth, soft loamy soil with an abundance of water, which holds your foot like a sucker, made our moving even during the day not easy. It seemed that you pass two, or even three km instead of a kilometer . Walking in complete darkness in every possible way complicated the ability to navigate and posed a danger of bumping into a sharp knot sticking out towards us.
The camp was already not far away, only 1.3 km, judging by the GPS readings. Thanks to this device, it was possible to choose the shortest path and successfully reach the destination without physical damage. We were met in different ways at the camp. The Yakut guides had some doubts about our success. The reason was that everyone heard the only shot, but not everyone believed that it was an accurate one. My Hungarian hunters were absolutely sure that I had got a moose. We had discussed a lot of hunting topics with them throughout those days, including the ethics of shooting. I explained to them my position on this issue. That's why when a single shot was heard in the camp, they assured the guides that Fedor and I had won a trophy.
Now I will explain what remained for Fedor and me and for you readers behind the scenes. The reason why that moose stubbornly stayed in one place was the presence in the immediate vicinity of the female, which we saw every day from the camp, and which was guarded by that male. In addition, the guides who left Fedor and me earlier that day, saw that male was fighting with another contender for a female just in the very clearing from which I fired the shot. They watched that performance for several minutes and were amazed by the force of the blows of powerful horns and the grace of the movements of the Yakut giants. The reason why the second moose, we saw, was running and looking back was that it had lost the fight and was afraid of being chased by the moose we approached later.
Then there was a little fuss in the camp, Natasha (our cook) quickly set the table. It was only at that moment that I began to fully realize that I was already the proud owner of the trophy of a typical Yakut moose (Kolyma subspecies). It was impossible not to say a toast of gratitude to our guides for their competent work. Then we paid tribute to Bayanai for his kindness to us and a generous gift in the form of a good trophy. I drank a little cognac, ate a little snack and I apologized to my colleagues and went to bed, as I felt completely exhausted. Illness and fatigue could not but affect.
The next day, after a little rest, we were going to walk to the moose. It was necessary to remove the skin and butcher the meat, prepare it for transportation, take the head with horns to the camp for boiling. And I wanted to take good photos with my honestly obtained trophy. The Hungarians began to congratulate me once again and helped me take good pictures after they saw the giant and its horns. I cut off the beard of the moose without violating local traditions and hung it on a bush of tallow at a height slightly below human height. We butchered of the carcass quickly and prepared the landing site for the helicopter, which should sit down and pick up the meat.
There were still a few days left before the departure from the camp and we devoted all that time mainly to household chores and cooking trophies. But I would like to highlight one event in particular.
One of us noticed a moose not far from the camp on the opposite slope of the stream. The moose was small by Yakut standards. It was moving towards the camp. I immediately had an idea - to try to photograph it. But it was necessary to get as close as possible. The wind was from the direction of the moose for my luck. The moose relies mainly on the sense of smell and is able to smell smoke at a distance of up to 3km not distinguished by good eyesight It was necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the behavior of males during the rut. They can attack people at this time. Therefore, I chose a place next to a tree so that I could climb it in case of an attack by the moose. I could not overcome only a fairly high willows, which could be in the frame and make shooting problematic in terms of focusing. I froze among those willow bushes, and watched carefully the huge silhouette of the moose moving in my direction. That male was quite young, no more than 4-5 years old. 50, 40.30 meters. Bushes interfere with shooting. I was feeling the same excitement at that time as I was on the hunt. Then the moose appeared 25 meters away from me and I manage to take some pictures. The shutter clicked treacherously for an animal photographer. The moose stopped and turned its head in my direction. I froze holding the camera near thee face. I knew perfectly well from practice that it was at that time that I should freeze and not a single muscle of mine should move. It took me for a certain part of the environment, and took a few more steps slowly and was already 15 meters away from me. I did another series of camera "shots" and I froze again. The moose took two more steps. 12 meters! It looked straight at me. I was sure that there were one or two good shots, I decided to shoot when that giant was looking right at me. It was interesting to me, at the same time, to study its behavior in that situation. I took all the pictures at that time without moving. The moose heard the noise of the shutter only. But no one had invited it to the photo studio until now, that's why it did not know the nature of the shutter sound. At the same time, I remained motionless, the wind was from the moose to me, which meant that it did not see any danger. So, it stood in thought for 1-2 minutes between me and our camp. I experienced an indescribable feeling of unity with nature at that time, when a huge wild moose stood 12 meters away from me without being scared, and therefore my presence was not alien to the surrounding nature. I could hear it was breathing. I even saw its huge eyelashes and the confident look of its deep dark eyes. I could hardly to describe my feeling of what was happening around me at that moment! We were all struck by the growth under the lower jaw of that moose, which we simply called a beard. Even local hunters hadn't yet seen a beard of that shape in local moose. A relatively small outgrowth in the front of the beard turned into a wide and long outgrowth closer to the body.
I was able to press the camera shutter button a few more times. The moose froze, looked around and ... slowly disappeared among the bushes and fallen trunks in search of the partner for the continuation of the Kolyma moose. I sincerely wished it good luck and thanked Bayanai for such a close acquaintance with a representative of his kingdom and another generous gift from him.
Dmitry Vstovsky
