Reports

The hunting took place on the lands located in the Middle ridge of the Bystrinsky district of Kamchatka at altitudes from 1200 to 1600 meters. The guides made a reconnaissance of the alleged location of the sheep and the next day after our arriving to the camp, we moved to the hunting . At the beginning, small Polaris cargo quadrics with the formula 6X6 were used on the way, and then the path was already on foot. In total, we covered 15 km on foot that day. I was worried about the shot (it was my first mountain hunting), but I was worried also about my physical training. Fortunately I overcame that route quite well (regular 8-9 km running affected me). We arrived at the place at noon and by 5 o'clock we detected three males grazing on the slopes (in the so-called "circus"). The guides estimated the trophy qualities, and began to plan the tactics of the approach. At that moment, the distance was 650 meters, not attainable for me yet. We descended a little from the ridge and moved to the left under the cover of the ridge. As a result, we managed to get to a distance of 240 meters from where an accurate shot was fired at an angle of 35 degrees and a crosswind of 3.5 m/s. My first mountain trophy was got in the very first day of hunting. It became a Kamchatka snow sheep at the age of 9-10 years. It is also worth noting the excellent and well-coordinated work of the guides! In total, the whole hunt took 3 days, including the hunt itself, the road to the camp and back! And in general, the whole hunt, taking into account flights to Kamchatka and back, was 5 days, although it was originally planned for 13!!!

At the end of November, 2019 I hunted at the Elson hunting lands. It was cold about -15C. There was snow in the mountains that’s why we drove when it was dark from the valley side towards Azerbaijan border. Then we climbed by foot to the place where the group of animals had been seen a day before. The shooting distance was 780 m, 338 LM at the upward angle. The trophy became 13 years old male.

I hunted for the Dagestan Tur at the end of the season. My goal was to get the trophy of the adult male and better the oldest one. It took us three days to detect the desired trophy on the Malkamud mountain. It was really hard to shoot. The gulp wind about 4-7 m/sec. I almost stood when shooting. The shooting distance was 518 m. It was the hardest shot in my life and in my hunting career.

At the end of October, 2019, I hunted in Karachaevo-Cherkessia near the Uchkulan village. Hunting was organized in public lands. We used horses to drive to the mountains. It’d be too hard without them. The shooting distance was 480 m at the angle 27 degrees. I doubted if I hit it or not because the tur ran very fast after shooting. It was a strong animal and ran about 50 meters more. I liked the nature. My personal thanks to Khasan for his jokes and sharp eyes! I hope to come back again and to get more serious trophy. I know they are there.

Four days – four bears and a capercaillie! The approximate sizes - 2.10, 2.10, 2.80, 3.00m. The used gun – Mauser 9.3-62, bullet RWS 18,8 gr. The shooting distance – 130-180m. Weather was fine, - 7C at night and +10 during day hours. The sun! There are lots of snow in the mountains and not all bears have awakened yet. I saw plenty of tracks but didn’t see animals. Each day we drove about 100km. It was a real extreme! Hunting hours are from 9 am to 10pm!

We hunted the group of four on the horses. The group of animals had been detected in the first day after a lunch. We spent the night in the old shepherd's lodge and left it in early morning when it was dark. The group was moving along from the northern side of the slope covered by cedar and larches. After a hard climb we passed the ridge and found  the animals. It was about 11 am. I shot from 240 m distance. There were not old males in the herd and I fired to the seven years old one. The used cal. 6,5х55. The first shot stopped the male and the second one killed. It was a hard but emotional hunting. I was impressed by the number of musk deer, we saw there. Hunting was organized in the remote but very beautiful area.

In 2018 I hunted in the lands belonged to the Pro Hunt company. It was a very interesting hunting. The group of three men (a guide, a groom and I), four horses, including the packhorse, left the camp for three days. It took us the whole day to reach the hunting area. The animals density was high there. One third of the group of 150 animals had trophy size. I had a chance to get the monster but the shot of my friend that happened in a couple of sec before mine, broke that plan. In any case I took three nice trophies with horns, 128sm, 125 sm and 115 sm. The shooting distance was 760, 830 and 550m. The hunt was organized by the Eventus company.

20 марта 2021 г. по приглашению компании «Профихант» вылетел из Москвы до Хабаровска. Там меня встретил Вадим Атрощенко, местный организатор охоты. Проехав несколько часов на восток, мы оказались на небольшой стоянке. Там мы переоделись и выдвинулись на двух снегоходах до базы.Через несколько часов мы были на базе. Переночевав в тёплом бревенчатом доме  мы наутро начали собираться на охоту.Упаковались и на снегоходах выдвинулись к берлоге.Не доезжая до берлоги, мы спешились и по снегу начали подходить.Не доходя до берлоги метров 100 мы увидели, что наш медведь встал из берлоги и мало того идёт в нашу сторону.Шёл он в лесу,среди деревьев,я изготовился для стрельбы стоя, как только он повернулся немного боком я выстрелил .После этого он ускорился я выстрелил ещё два раза он медленно уже шёл и выстрелил 4 раз и он упал. Когда мы подошли к медведю, мы увидели что нам невероятно повезло,Медведь уже встал дня два-три и гулял возле берлоги и в тот момент он находился в берлоге ,а не где-нибудь снаружи… Когда мы подошли к добытому медведю,Вадим сказал что это может быть самый крупный представитель амурского медведя! Я был чрезвычайно рад добытому медведю.Организовали фотосессию.Затемно вернулись на базу. Наутро выдвинулись до остановки,где стояли машины. Вечером я уже был в Хабаровске. Благодарю за проведённую охоту Атрощенко Вадима и Веселова Артема! PS.Трофей занял первое место в мире в рейтинге SCI.

The hunting land: Kamchatka, Valaginksy ridge. Hunting was organized in Milkovo region on the heights from 1600 to 1800masl. It was hard though took place not on the extreme altitude. I’d lost about six kg but was not upset. The shooting distance was more than 300m. I got a nice trophy of Kamchatka snow sheep, It was elder than 16 years old. The broken nails and bleeding hands will remind me about that hard but emotional hunt. The trip was organized by the EVENTUS company.

I got a nice trophy of 12 years old ibex male. The length of horns are 127sm. The shooting distance was 450m. The hunt was organized on the high level.

I used the chance and took part in hunting for a Desert Bighorn Sheep. The hunting was organized on the Isla del Carmen island, which is protected by the Loreto Bay National Park, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List "Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California" .That hunting was organized in the frames of the program, aimed to restore the sheep population on the island. I got a nice trophy.Thank you very much to the Stalker group company and personally to Evgeny Kharitonov for their help and support in that expedition.

France. Going for a hunt in this year I wanted to choose the country where could get several trophies during one trip. It’s problematic to travel now that’s why I've selected France where could hunt for three different species for my “Capra World Slam” collection: Vercors Chamois, Pyrenean Chamois и Chartreuse Chamois. It was the first time when I’d found the outfitter in the Internet. He had lots of positive feedbacks and I didn't doubt in success. I wrote to Jean-Francois Picheyre and we discussed my hunting for Vercors Chamois и Pyrenean Chamois. When I was ready to sign the contract the outfitter told me about the chance to get the exclusive trophy of Chartreuse chamois. One of the Poland hunters canceled his trip because of the covid risks. The beginning of the trip was not promising. I arrived to Lion but my weapon left in Paris. Jean-Francois handled everything and next morning I tested the rifle, given me by the local guide and moved to the Chartreuse mountains. I could hardly expect that it’d be so hard. The thickness of the snow cover was 80 centimeters. It took us four hours to reach the place, all way we went bogging down deep snow. Soon we detected the group of animals but the problem was that if the trophy didn’t fall down after shooting we wouldn’t climb to the place where it was and needed call the climber with the special equipment. But the climber could be there only next day. There was a cabin where we could make fire and warm. It was snowing hard, and a cold, bone-chilling wind was blowing. We discussed all variants and came to the conclusion to stay in the cabin for a night and to continue hunting in early morning if I was not sure that could make an accurate shot and we get to the trophy easily. Before a sunset we did a short outing near the cabin. We were lucky to find the good size trophy in the place which suited us. I shot and it fell down as we hoped. The shot was done from 90 meter distance at angle 30 degrees. I was really happy because Chartreuse chamois was an exclusive trophy. We descended when it was totally dark. That time the tradition was born: we always drank a bottle of champagne near the trophy. Vercors Chamois. Next day the transport service of the Lion airport delivered my rifle. Jean - Francois and I went for a Vercors chamois hunting. That night we spent in the historical house, built in 1688 and located near the foot of the mountains. After arrival we tested guns and met the local guide. Next morning he should lead us to the mountains and help to find the trophy. He was the former soldier of the French mountain special forces. The guy was elder than me but more energetic and endurance. It was dark when we left. We rode where it was possible, then left the car and went on foot. I was embarrassed that the guy who was elder made a trail in snow for me to keep up. I was struck by the abundance of snow. The weather on the mountain plateau was really hard: if it was rain in the valley where we came from, a piercing wind was blowing and the blizzard did not stop on the top. We put on crampons to be safe. Bad weather was interfering to the hunt but soon we spotted two chamois in 200m from us. My Blaser, I used many times, failed me first time. All moving parts of the carbine had been frozen and I couldn’t make any shot. We decided to go down. We were descending when I lost the balance, fell and slide down about 200m on the back where the rifle was. Next day we went to the mountains once again and I forgot to check the weapon. The weather was fine. Soon we detected the group of chamois, not far from us. I did three shot and missed them all. Something was wrong with the gun because of my yesterday's descent. We came back without the trophy once again. I was fully upset how we spent the day. The weather forecast for the next two days didn't look optimistic and we resolved to drive 6 hours and to Pyrenees and would come back when it was better. Near the Pyrenees mountains we made a stop to check and test the rifle. We spent almost on the hunting ground. The local hunters gave us a warm welcome with local delicacies and the best drinks in a day before hunting for a Pyrenean chamois. In early mornig we left the camp and went to the mountains. After 3 hours’ hike Jean- Francois noticed the good size male. I got it from the first shot and 185m distance. It was 11 years old male of Pyrenean chamois. That hunt was the easiest among all three. I was impressed by the views of surroundings and could even see the Mediterrian sea when we stood on the top. The mountain peaks around us were covered by snow when the temperature in the valley was 18 degrees or even higher. When the hunt was over we went down, packed our bags and drove back to the Vercor mountains. The forecast promised good weather and we decided to sleep in the place where we had been before. In early morning Jean -Francois, I and our guide moved to the mountains to try once again. Vercor: The weather was fine but a faint breeze was blowing. I put on the cover on the rifle to avoid all accidents. I noticed the track of the snow avalanche on the slopes where we were afraid to climb few days ago. It broke lots of trees. We were having lunch when noticed the good size chamois. The shot was done from 195 meter distance at angle 35 degrees. Thus, I got the desired trophy of Vercors chamois. The third attempt was successful. I was exhilarated because had cancelled the return tickets and decided to stay there until didn’t get all three trophies. The most difficult place in that trip was Rona-Alpine in the Vercor mountains. Jean-Francois Picheyre did his best. The hunting and the traditional reception were on top. I can write the article about French cuisine. It was not matter where we stayed for a night. The dinner consisted of several delicious dishes each time. Food culture is extremely important for the French, forming an integral and valuable part of their lives.