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Many years have passed since that hunt, but it is still in my memory. I decided to share my memories about it. 2006 year. Kyrgyzstan. It took us 9 hours’ drive from the airport to the hunting lands. The climbing on 3500 masl is difficult for each person. The only difference is how the physiology of definite man perceives the change in the place of your stay? It was not a problem for me at that time to rise from the plateau to the mountains. I always accompanied hunters for ibexes and Marco Polo sheep and my body was used to significant differences and changes in the oxygen composition of the air. The same heights in Kyrgyzstan are handled much easily than in Pamir. I don’t know why it's so but it’s true according my experience. It’s a pleasure to arrive to the place and to accommodate in the warm cabins of the field camp, no matter they are not so comfortable as the hotel but there is a canteen, a bed and that's enough. Our hospitable hosts cooked tasty dinner while waited for us. The outfitter introduced me the guides with whom I’d go to the mountains next day. We discussed the plan while eating. We should stay few days in the field camp and then to ascend to the highest peaks where ibexes stuck at that time. It was October, the rut season had just begun. From the one side it was good because the males became more active but from the other not so. The adult males, which prefer to keep separate in all other periods, join the herds of females and the young. It’s more difficult to approach the herd to the shooting distance when the surroundings are monitored by both males and females. Chances to make it reduce in several times. But we are the hunters and know all nuances of animal’s behavior and always try to win in this competition. The temperature on the lounge height was not really cold but it dropped to -10-15 C at each night. The guides warned me that it’d be even lower when we would climb. We know the words of famous song “nature doesn't have bad weather” and I can add but you need to choose the right clothes. I’m used to cold in the mountains. Fortunately, I had warm thermal underwear and clothes which could protect me from low temperatures. But my sleeping bad wasn’t so good. It wasn’t bad by its parameters. I bought it on VVC. The qualifil insulation was designed for temperatures up to-15 C. Qualifil is a synthetic material, permeated with seven air channels, what provides poor thermal conductivity. It helps to keep warm inside the sleeping bag. The scientists tried to use the idea of fluff filler for sleeping bags. They did it partially. But there is nothing absolutely perfect in this world. That’s why all temperatures below -15 will be able a problem for my health and physical conditions. I could hardly expect that there were -25C at night in Kyrgyzstan in the mountains in October. The only chance was to get the trophy as soon as possible and to hope that my thermal underwear will protect me if it was cold. Next morning after a hearty breakfast we left the camp. Our group consisted on two guides Almaz, Alik and me. Almaz was of medium height, with a strong build. He was always smiling and could speak Russian, not like Alik, it allowed me to hope that we’d talk a lot while hiking in the mountains. Alik was of medium height too but younger and skinny but he looked strong. They both were good in handy with horses and helped me with harness when it was necessary. It was not an easy matter to harness a horse in such cold. The locals didn’t take care about harness with stirrups, bits and girths and sometimes I couldn’t even fasten the girth belt. The harness wets from the horse sweat during a day, then freezes till morning that’s why it's hard even to straighten it. . I don't know why but the locals in Kyrgyzstan often use the only girth and it makes problems in the mountains. Down, up, and so on all day. The saddle begins to move back and forth, and you feel uncomfortable. You feel as if you can fall back while climbing or to fly over the horse's head forward while riding down. It can be the reason of chafes and the horse can be out of commission because of the serious damages, scuff marks on its back. You should always control and pull up the girth. I should say how my friends from Altai prepare their horses for long expeditions, to compare both ways. Each horse has three girths, a breastplate and a tailpiece. And leather archimakis on both sides. You feel like driving in a car when riding such horse. But I was in Kyrgyzstan. And had no choice. The only way was to adjust to the circumstances. We were going. We rode about three hours and arrived to the field camp. It was located on the height 4000m. There was the only dugout with the stove inside. There was a huge shortage of firewood there, and they used litter or dung for the stove. Could you imagine how warm was there. But it was better than nothing. It’s much better than to sleep on the open air under the sky I know what I talk about. We decided to leave their bags, to have lunch and to go exploring. The local caretaker was already there. He’d keep our things in order and safe. It took us two hours more to reach the place where we were going to hunt. We examined the mountain slopes trying to detect the trophy size ibexes. But there were none of them. Even the females didn't show up. It happens in the mountains. It seams that there are not animals in a definite place and you have to go further. You leave the place but suddenly turn back and see the herd. The animals are real Profi in the art of camouflage and use the terrain in the best way. It was getting dark and we should go back to the camp. We still had enough time to get the trophy. After coming back, we ate dinner and went to sleep. Next morning, we all got up early, had breakfast, harnessed the horses though it was really cold and moved. A beautiful sunrise in the mountains always impresses with a variety of colors. You are the viewer in the theater who seats in the first row and enjoy the performance put on by Nature. You have enough time to admire the show because doesn’t need to waste time to drive the horse. It obediently follows the one in front. The sun gilds the mountains peaks, which shine by virgin white and shimmer in like expensive diamond crystals. But you mustn't forget about the sun and to take care about your face and lips. It's easy to burn under its deceptive rays. You should put on the protective lotion and a lipstick. I know what sunburn is from my own experience. Soon the legs begin to catch the frost from a stationary position in the saddle. You should make stops to dismount and make physical exercises not to get cold and to freeze legs. Next two hours we monitored the surroundings which were the favorite places for ibexes, as my guides assured me. We noticed the group of females with babies and several young males. None of the adult males were seen at that day. We turned back and went to the camp. One of the guides noticed three horse’s tracks that came to the mountains from the side where we had already been before. The caretaker said that three guy who said that they were from the environmental control passed near the camp not long ago. They were going to account the number of ibexes as they said to Beshen. We could hardly imagine at that time what it would mean. We all were tired and dreamed about hot dinner and the warm sleeping bag. I was happy even to eat Doshirak though I hated it in my ordinary life and didn’t eat. But Beshed cooked meat which we took with us and that dish was delicious. I turned to the remedy I had tried not once, to warm faster. You should need to mix black and red pepper in a small amount of vodka and drink it in one gulp. The effect comes very quickly. You shouldn't abuse this tool not to burn the mucosa of the digestive tract. I warned the other fellows about it when Beshen liked it and wanted to take some more shots. Thus, we warmed and went to sleep. Next morning, we left the camp before the sunrise. Once again we found the tracks of mentioned riders when moving close to the hunting area. They led to the small gorge. Our path ran in the same direction. We entered the gorge for 500-700 meters and met those accountants. The first thing we saw was three butchered bodies of the ibexes. Those animals had been accounted already. The hunting lands where that hunt was organized were the private one and all hunts there had to be agreed by the owner. We were sure that they did not notify him about “that accounting”. The guides asked me to make pictures of that crimes to prove their words and use photos as physical evidence. I took on the camera and made several shots. Almaz said that probably he knew who could make it and asked me to make pictures of their faces if we met them in the hunting lands. Suddenly we heard several shots. It was evident that several more ibexes had been accounted. Almaz knew the place from where they fired. We leaped into our saddles and rode to where the shooting was taking place. It took us 30-40 minutes. Almaz was right. Soon we met those poachers. In the East, it is not customary to swear and clarify relations in raised tones or to fight. They began to talk with those guys. I used the situation and made their photos but tried to do it discreetly as if I was making pictures of nature. Later I gave those photos to my friends, the owners of the hunting lands. They called me and told that fired those poachers and brought them to justice. Thus, we helped to identify violations and bring to justice poachers who worked in the government agencies. Telling the truth, it didn't make it any easier for us at the time. They spoiled one more hunting day. We came back without a trophy. The days passed by and there wasn’t any chance to find the male and approach the shooting distance. I began to doubt in the success of our operation. The time limits didn’t allow me to stay there longer but the hunt hadn’t started already. Next hunting day we rode to the mountains with a hope to find ibexes. The frost grew stronger at night and it was harder and harder to get in the saddle in the morning. In that day the guides suggested me one more test that would safe my strength as they thought. They offered to go to the mountains and to stay there until we would get a result. We took all things we needed, including sleeping bags, mats and all warm clothes which I had. Telling the truth, I’m always ready for any challenges in any conditions. But that time I doubted the adequacy of the efforts we did to capture the ibex. My equipment was not designed for such conditions in the mountains. We couldn’t make fire there because of the lack of firewood. They knew nothing about portable burners at that time in Kyrgyzstan. The prospects were not very bright. We were not used to retreat and collected everything, we would need, we loaded the bags and to meet new challenges. It took us an hour to reach the place where we were yesterday but then we turned from the well-trodden path and moved to the left through the gorge to climb the rocky mountains. In an hour we ran into a very steep climb. I looked up questioningly but Almaz said that there was not any other way to go the place where we were going. I asked him, did he climb in that place before? He answered yes, a couple of times and promised trophy size males there. Their favorite place was a plateau surrounded by gorges from all sides. They prefer that place because it's visible from all sides and no humans, not predators can come close being invisible. Nice. What must be must! But how should we bring it to life? It became clear from the first steps that danger is waiting for us at every step. We should go by the narrow path with the abyss from one side and the rock from the other. I put my shoulder against the rock often, and horses were constantly touching the stone by the harness. We dismounted and were rising by foot. The altitude was more than 4000 masl. I felt the first symptoms of the mountain sickness. You don’t feel it when seat in the saddle and don’t move but as soon as you go with the load, you immediately understand what you're dealing with. The path in some parts had been so rough that it looked as if it drained to different sides when I stepped on it. It was hard even to make a step there. But we had no choice. Thanks to my Meindl boots which clung to the rocks plus I helped myself by hands, we moved forward slowly. The horses followed us. It was much easier for them. They are used to such height; the load wasn’t heavy and no riders. We were riding about an hour including several stops to take breath before the next march throw. At last we reached the plateau. Only peaks of inaccessible mountains were higher than we were but we had no need to climb them. We could take a breath and regroup for the next part of the way. One more gulp of tea and step forward. Later we made one more stop and my guides began to watch the surroundings. Almaz pointed to the ridge where beautiful males stood. The group consisted of females and trophy size males. It was the place, my guides had high hopes. And they were right. But to see the trophy didn’t mean to get it. The guys knew how the ibexes moved and expected to intercept them when the animals would go to have rest. We left horses behind the rock, invisible for ibexes. Our group came close to the edge where we could see the valley, spread between two ridges. Just imagine, how surprised we were when the group of five wolves run out from behind the edge. We stood in confusion and didn’t know what to do. The wolf is the predator that has to be destroyed in the first turn. But if we made a single shot, we would forget about ibex hunting in that area. The guides warned me about it. I had to submit to advice and common sense and to restrain my hunting excitement. If I didn’t I would spoil all efforts of the last days including the last dangerous rising. I just managed to take the camera and made several beautiful shots of those predators. It happened that not only poachers - predators but the wolves too dwelled there. That could be the explanation why we didn’t see goats before. The herd stood on the place and we got on the horses and rode, hiding behind the ridges, to the area where the ibexes were. We arrived to the place from where should try to approach the group. The guides uploaded the horses to give them rest. Alik and I stayed to set the bivouac while Almaz ran to look on the goats and to define the plan of hunting. We got out some food and tried to chew it that was difficult, everything was frozen. Tea in out thermoses wasn't hot but still warm. But even warm tea was very welcome. The frost grew stronger and we could hardly bear such low temperatures without warm gloves. We thought that it was -15C. But we didn’t know the truth. It was difficult to say. Almaz came soon. The ibexes were on the place and next morning we’d try to get the trophy. Oh dreams...,- I thought at that moment. And came to sleep. There were several hollows near the rock, where we stopped, we put there our mats and sleeping bags. It didn't take much time. But it was comfortable to sleep. The most important was that you needn't think that you’d roll down by the slope because the cavities protected us from it. We slept like in cradles. I worried about temperature only. How cold would it be at night? I’m used to sleep in the pants or to put on the thermal underwear if it's cold. It helps me to restore my strength. But it was too cold and was getting even colder. I put on the sweater and lay down in the sleeping bag. And put the upper clothes near me. It’s not comfortable to get up in the morning when you've slept in the clothes that has been on you the whole day before. You are more cold than warm when put on the upper clothes after the sleep. I even put my boots close to the sleeping bag to prevent them from being frozen. Thus, we slept under the cover of deep and starry sky. I woke at night when guys were covering me by heavy blanket. It was the horse’s cover or something like that. After it, I warmed and fall into a deep sleep. But the temperature outside dropped even more. I was breathing the frosty mountain air. The temperature was already over – 20. It seemed as we were on the North pole at all. The sharp pain in the throat woke me up. A lump the size of a plum popped out in my throat on the left side. It was an inflamed lymph node. The only thought flashed in my mind. “It's the end of your mountain hunts! You’ll come back to the camp in the morning without the trophy”. I tried to banish those thoughts and still hoped to get the trophy of ibex. The mountain sunrise was beautiful. I saw them mane times but they all are different and I can’t compare them with nothing else on the earth. We began to crawled out from our sleeping bags and to share how we spent that night. I told guys about the lump in the throuat but said that was going to hunt in any case. They gave me a mysterious look. Probably they thought that I was ready to surrender. I put on the frozen clothes and boots while they discussed something on their language. It was a problem. I didn’t know how to warm feet in such situation. I did some physical exercises to dispersed the blood through the body, but feet.. It didn’t help to them. There was nothing to do. We tried to eat something that we could chew. And Almaz suggested the plan. They both would try to direct the herd to the definite side. I should seat and wait the animals in the definite place. They knew the animal’s paths and were sure that ibexes would cross the place where I would wait. Fortunately, that place wasn't far from our bivouac. I understood where I should be and was there in twenty minutes. I dreamed about such walk because hoped my feet would warm. And so it happened but not full. There was nothing to do. I found the comfortable place and sat. The place, between the huge cliff from the right and a small ridge from the left, had a great view. I was invisible from all sides. But could see on 1-1,5 km. There was just one disadvantage. It was very cold. I couldn't seat for a long without moving. There was a huge mountain cup, surrounded by the rocky ridges, in front of me. The sun was rising from the left and its rays shined on the snowy slopes of the ridge that was from the right. The guides told me that animals would go by that ridge. I got out my SAKO 75, cal. 300 WinMag and prepared to wait. It’s not a problem for a real hunter to wait. Those people can spend hours waiting in any climate conditions. Who were the snipers in the war? Almost all snipers before the war were hunters. Why? Because they had been already trained for the war, they could wait for the chance to make the only but the accurate shot. I prepared to spend time there waiting for a chance to get the trophy. Time passed. It'd been an hour or more. There was not any sign of ibexes. I’d got cold and a light tremor passed through the whole body from time to time. At last I noticed first ones on the ridge. One, two, three... About twenty animals had appeared. I could see all the group through the binoculars. But none of them had trophy size. The herd moved slowly to my side. In twenty minutes, the goats were in the gorge near me. I saw females with babies and young males about 2-3 years old. It was not necessary to talk about their trophy characteristics. Their path came through the place where I was and soon they all were in 5-7 from me. Even the females that led the group didn't notice me. I held my breath and watched the animals go. I could even see the lashes on their eyes. It was fascinating though I didn't fire. Not only shot gives pleasure. It was a rare luck to see those animals in their habitat. This was a great pleasure. My hunting principle - to come as close to the animal as it was possible worked well. I wasn’t upset that didn't get the trophy. I was so close to those careful animals, moreover I watched wolves from 70-100 m before. But I couldn’t unnoticed for long. One of the ibexes had noticed me or smelled and the herd took off abruptly and ran down the slope, kicking up a huge column of dust. I watched them go and realized that I could move to keep warm. Then I saw Almaz who appeared on the ridge and gave a sign to go back. Being more pleased than upset I went back to our place and hoped to warm while walking. When we gathered Almaz explained what had happened. There were two big males in the group. But they stayed separated from the herd. When the group went by the usual route those two moved by different way. That’s why I didn’t see them. There was nothing to do. I got used to the idea of a failed hunt. We began to pack bags. It was time to go back. The horses were hobbled but managed to go from the place where we left them. Probably they were looking for food or just walking. Almaz ran to look for them. Alik decided to examine the ridge for the last time and went somewhere. He didn’t go two hundred meters as turned back and waved me, then pointed to the gorge where we saw ibexes. I understood that he detected something. Caught the carbine and ran to him. The tremor and a lump in the throat still bothered me. But nobody would pay attention to such things when there was a chance to get the trophy. I moved by the slope trying to be invisible. Alik said about two males in the gorge. When I asked him how far, he replied far. But I resolved to use that chance. My guides said that they have one more extra licenses that I can use. If I was lucky, I’d get two ibexes. Alike led me to the place from where I could shoot. “How far to the ibexes?”- I asked him once again. “Far!”- he answered. I thought for a moment and took the initiative. Got out the rangefinder and crawled on the ridge. Then aimed it to one of the animals and pushed the button. It showed 204 meters. Ok. Now I knew what meant far for Alik. Not many hunters could shoot more than 300 meters at that time. The locals had smooth barrel rifles and had to approach animals not less than 70 meters to make the accurate shot. But it was not the distance for me. I always tested my guns on those distances. I entered the cartridge, took the safety off and put the soft carbine's cover on the stones which I always took with me and crawled to the edge of the ridge and set the carbine. I like that cover because it protects the carbine and optics from the dust and mud and allows to regulate the carbine position without any uncomfortable positions. I took the comfortable position to shoot. Then set the multiplicity to "8" and only then could I see the animals. There were two adult males but not record sizes. They were not old as I thought at that moment. The value of the trophy doesn’t correlate with its size but with the way you go to get it. Well, the moment of truth has arrived. To get or not to get the trophy. The male was on the shooting distance. I caught its neck in the crosshairs and pushed the trigger smoothly. The shot. The echo of the shot sounded long in the silence of the gorge. The ibex fell down and rolled down by the stone scree. The another one stood and watched how its brother was rolling down and turned its head trying to find the source of the danger. I heard the cheers of my guide and how he insisted I’d shoot the second one. I reloaded the carbine and aimed it to the neck of the second one. The next shot and the second ibex repeated the same way. The powerful cartridge and a good bullet CDP 10,7gr, produced by RWS for Blaser made their work. Alik I didn't hold back his emotions, hugged me and congratulated. He couldn’t believe that I got two ibexes from such distance by two shots only. Telling the truth, I didn’t know who was more happy Alik or me. I guessed he was happy because they’d have enough meat. I felt drained because of tiredness, chill and a lump in the throat. I was just knocked out. And wanted to be somewhere near the fireplace in the armchair. I could barely make it to the bivouac. Soon we met Almaz who had found horses. He was smiling. We packed everything we had and began to descend to the taken ibexes. I’d warmed while we were going down thanks to the sun and temperature that was higher there. I realized that I got those trophies only when we came to them and I touched their horns. It wasn't all in vain! But it was too early to relax. After a short photo session, we butchered the goats and to load meat. It took us two hours and only then we could go back. The way home is always shorter but it was late evening when we reached the dugout. One more night in the field. But next day the very old but reliable UAZ delivered us to the Main lodge. At last I took a hot shower, ate tasty dinner and slept in the bed. The chills and swelling were gone. Only unforgettable memories and burned face stayed. Fourteen years has come from that time but I still remember that hunting, what obstacles I have overcome to get that worthy trophies. P.S. One more plus of that hunting was that we managed to justice those poachers and my pictures played not the last role in it. Dmitry Vstovsky.

I noticed that many hunters prefer to deal not with intermediary travel agencies, but with outfitters, in our opinion, hunting users. Therefore, when a few years ago in Kamchatka land in the north of the peninsula, on the border with the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, was put up for auction, I decided to participate. The price was relatively small due to the fact that the logistics are very complicated, and in the end, over the next 49 years, he became a hunting user of 700 thousand hectares. In general, when I took these lands, I began to count. It is correct to do the opposite - first count, and then act. But I simply did not have time to count - as in a joke: I have no time to think, I have to shake. And then - further, as in another joke, apparently, just lucky - the past season showed that everything was done correctly. The grounds are a terrain with a varied relief - there are also mountains, although not as high and rocky as in central Kamchatka. They are rather gentle, rather hills. There are valleys here where elk are found. But in the north of the Kamchatka Territory, elk hunting is prohibited. Therefore, the whole reckoning on bighorn sheep and to a lesser extent on bears, since in the north of the region the bear is noticeably inferior in size to those found in the center and in the south, and their number is small. That is, it is advisable to consider a bear in these lands only as a passing trophy, since getting here is a serious problem. I do not know, unfortunately or for joy. Why to joy? Because it would be difficult to protect land in these places - there are no settlements here and it is impossible to recruit local employees, but it is the absence of the local population and the inaccessibility of land for non-local people that solves the problem with protection - it is simply not needed. But about how to get here with the hunter-client, I had some thoughts. It is clear that Kamchatka hunting users, due to the fact that they live on the peninsula, use the same time-tested scheme for delivering clients to the north: first, they fly by plane to the village of Tilichiki, rent a large helicopter there and go to the lands on it. I was to fly there from Moscow. Having studied the alternative options, I came to the conclusion that it would be more convenient to get to the place through Anadyr. And from it already by helicopter. The hunting season this year began at the end of July. And, accordingly, we flew from Moscow to Anadyr with one of the members of the CSC, Sergei Razzhivin, at the very end of July. Here, according to a preliminary agreement, the local hunter Ildar met us in a car, brought us to some garage cooperative, where we could change into camouflage. To my surprise, it turned out that the garage, in which civilian clothes were to be left, was decorated in such a way that you could at least spend the night in it. We did not need to spend the night, we quickly changed our clothes, and in the same car we were taken to the airport, where the helicopter was already waiting. You need to understand that a helicopter is an expensive pleasure and, in order to minimize transport costs, I decided to conduct hunting in these places according to the principle of reasonable minimalism. Through trial and error, I have found the optimal formula for a hunter who is not afraid to be face to face with the wild. Firstly, delivery to the place is carried out by a Robinson helicopter - this is the cheapest option. The car is designed for three passengers, so we only fly together with the hunter - there are no cooks, camp workers, huntsmen-guides in this case. Accordingly, I undertake all their functions. The third passenger seat is for equipment. Since we arrive at the place by helicopter, there is no point in landing in the valley and then wasting time climbing the mountains. We immediately disembark on the ridge and this usually happens in the afternoon, towards the evening. I managed to study the territory in advance - I flew there the year before last and last, looked and know where to look for sheep. Still, 700 thousand hectares is 70 by 100 kilometers, and you need to have a good idea of ​​where and what can be found here. Our landing was not the most successful. The weather pumped up - on the day of departure there was low cloud cover, and we could not land where we had planned. The pilots suggested waiting a day or two, but I know that in Kamchatka a day or two can easily turn into a week or two. Therefore, we flew without waiting. And the pilots were right. The highest mountains were shrouded in clouds, and it was constantly drizzling with a nasty rain. I had to land below, where I could land, or rather, sit down without turning off the engine - the helicopter. They threw equipment on the ground and waved to the helicopter pilots. As soon as they left, we set up two single tents, which became our camp for the next two days. The only advantage of this place was that there were streams nearby. There are no streams on the tops, and going down to them - it is 700-800 meters - is not the greatest pleasure. Therefore, I take with me 15 liters of water in plastic bottles, and this amount is usually enough for the entire duration of the hunt - it takes from one to three days, as a rule. We threw our equipment into the tents, took all the essentials and immediately left for the rest of the day, making a rather long detour through the mountains. Usually I move along the ridges - it saves energy, I don't need to run up and down. Well, there is a good view from the ridge. Traces of animal activity on the neighboring slopes are clearly visible. An experienced person, having examined a place where no animals are currently visible, will always be able to get an idea of ​​their presence, if he notices traces - paths trodden by animals, beds, and so on. From them he will understand how active the vital activity of the beast of interest to him is. Neither on the first day nor on the second day did we even see females with lambs. There were traces, but such that left no doubt that at this time the rams must be looked for higher. We caught sight of several bears at a fairly large distance, but they did not interest us at all. Two days later, the weather improved, and therefore a helicopter was called by satellite phone. Recently I have been using Iridiums, which have a navigation function. You send a point to the pilot, and he takes you where you are. Of course, you need to find a suitable seat, since not even "Robinson" can sit everywhere. The new place, where they landed, was much higher and, accordingly, better in terms of hunting. Even on approach, we noticed a herd of females with young growth. When the helicopter “crouched” on the ridge, the animals ran away, but as soon as it flew away, they calmed down and continued to graze calmly. This fact more than lucidly indicated that the territory is wild, the animals here are not familiar with humans. It's just that last year I managed to hunt in Tuva and saw how female bighorn sheep with lambs rushed away, barely hearing somewhere in the distance the noise of a helicopter, which was still not visible. We set up camp again - put up tents, looked at the calmly grazing herd and went to look for trophy stags. We were moving all the time along the ridge, periodically stopping to take some glasses. Probably we walked about four kilometers, no more, and saw stag beetles. We approached them about three hundred meters already at dusk. The two males were very good. Sergei decided to shoot. I mounted my .338 LM carbine, and after firing one of the stags immediately fell. The second rushed down. I must say that Sergei shoots well and walks in the mountains very well, which, generally speaking, is a rarity. I decided to spend one license on myself in advance, and when I saw the ram rushing off, I ran after it with my Blaser .300 WinMag in the hope that the beast would stop to look around. And so it happened. The ram stopped, and I fell on the ground with my chest and prepared to shoot. It was 360 meters before him, and he was much lower than me. I use a relatively inexpensive Winchestver cartridge with a bimetallic sleeve and a Ballistic Silvertip bullet. I put all the data of the cartridge from the Winchester company website into the Lake ballistic calculator, and at 500 meters I shoot quite confidently. The ram stood for a while and moved downstairs. The first shot hit him in the body, and with the second he hit the one who had already stopped. Between the catch of one and the second ram, no more than ten minutes passed. Of course, the first thing we did was take pictures with the trophies. Then they started cutting. When we finished, it was already dark. We still had a decent walk to the tents, so we took one trophy and a piece of meat in order to return for the second the next day. The weather was favorable, and the next day a helicopter was called. All morning we were busy dragging to the landing site what we could not pick up yesterday. In the afternoon, we said goodbye to the lands that gave us both a trophy. We landed at the base of friends, about 300 kilometers from Anadyr. In fact, it is possible to use two bases - one in the form of a country house with all the amenities and a sauna, where we ended up. The other is an apartment in the village of Markovo. And depending on the situation, you can stay there or there - spend the night, wait for the weather, and so on. At the base, the first thing they did was send the meat to the freezer, and the next morning I started processing the trophies - carefully removing and salting the skins for the cape, boiling the skulls. For two days we waited for the wind to disperse the clouds, and as soon as the weather allowed, the same "Robinson" transferred us to the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. This time there were no adventures, flew out early and immediately sat down in a good place. That is, at the dominant height, on the ridge, from which several other ridges diverged, thanks to which we had the opportunity to explore a large territory without much hassle. We immediately set up tents and put the basic equipment in them. It was just lunchtime, and the rams do not graze at such hours. I offered to have a quiet lunch and then go. I definitely take a gas burner and freeze-dried foods to the mountains. I can’t be on top without hot food. Usually I buy a Rolton, but not our "beach packs", but a good one, of European quality. I like Aptonia very much - Kazhym Dzhumaliev got me hooked on it. We had a quiet lunch, checked the weapon and went in search. Many rams were seen - more than three dozen, although at first they were unlucky for trophy ones. We moved along the ridge and walked, probably, no more than two kilometers, when suddenly on the right, seven hundred meters away, we saw three rams of about the same trophy quality, one of which stood out a little for the better. The animals were clearly older than those that have come across until now. Sergei decided to shoot. He was ready to make a shot at these very 700 meters, but since there was an opportunity to come closer, I dissuaded him. We descended from the ridge to the left and moved forward under the cover of the ridge so as to climb up the ridge again and be just above the rams. In general, it was not far to go, but when we looked out from behind the ridge, it turned out that we were either mistaken in the distances, or the rams moved away a little. They were about two hundred meters away. Sergei looked and said that he would not even click with optics. He fired, the beast immediately fell. And before I had time to congratulate him, I suddenly notice that a group of rams with simply excellent horns is breaking down three hundred meters away from us! .. What is there to do?! Shooting another one is too expensive. If I had licenses for my lands, then here - alas. How worried he was! Then there was a photo session, butchering a ram ... At night we sat on the top of the mountain, by the fire, had enough talk. It's generally great to sit at night in good weather on the top of such a mountain, around which there is not a single person for hundreds of kilometers. And the most important thing, perhaps, is that it was very comfortable to communicate with Sergei - this does not happen often. No, it was not in vain that I participated in the auction...

The discovery of new countries and the remote parts of our planet is the real gift for people who love to travel. Thanks to my job I can visit such places where I could hardly be. To accompany the trophy hunter is the special level when you can improve your professional skills by immersing yourself in the features and nuances of exciting trophy hunting. Pakistan is the place where each mountain hunters has to visit. There are people still fear to fly there, the reasons of such attitude are the past when we treated to Indians like brothers while the citizens of Pakistan were our enemy. It’s nothing more but just a myth but some people still believe it. In fact, there is no reason to worry at all. Pakistan is a very hospitable country, opened for tourists from all over the world. People arrive there to climb Himalayan peaks and to know the ancient history of mankind. It's also very attractive for trophy hunters because of its variety of trophy animals. Hunting industry is on a very high level there and trophy features can satisfy the most demanding hunter. The hunters who collect the domestic and international awards and slams cannot avoid traveling to Pakistan. The most of trophies, habited there you can get in Pakistan only. The Himalayan ibex, Karakurum blue sheep, Sindhi mountain goat, Blandford's urial, Punjabi urial, Afghan urial, Nilgau, Astor markhor, Kashmir Markhor, Sulaiman Markhor are hunted here. It's not possible to get all trophy species, habituated there, during one trip. It depends on season, the hunting terms and logistics. Pakistan ranks 34th by area among other countries and animals’ habitats are located in different parts of the country. If you want to get maximum, you’d have to be ready to spend plenty of time there, be patient and change your plans in the direction of increasing. The average number of trophies which you can get in a one expedition is 2-3 species. The hunters return to Pakistan several times until the trophy plan is 100% completed. The most popular combination for the first time is Sindhi mountain goat and Blandford urial. The outfitter gives three days for each but according my experience it's possible to get these animals faster. It happened that the goal was achieved in one day! Sindhi mountain goat and Blandford urial habitat in the South-East of the country. The hunters arrive to Karachi – a giant metropolis with an international airport. The number of hunting days per one species must not mislead you because some hunters think that it's easy. Hunting is organized on the open areas. The density of animal’s population is very high what is a plus and height are not critical. The average altitudes where we hunt are from 700 to 1200 masl. There are no rocks, scree or steep slopes. The disadvantages are the long marches across the sun-scorched Thar desert. The march through these lands killed more than one phalanx of the army of Alexander the Great in the past. The best variant for a first visit is the combination of the species, we mentioned above and a Punjab urial. But I need to mention, that mountains in the area where the sheep habitat, are steeper than in the south, the ascents and descents are more tedious. The slopes are covered by dense thickets of shrubs and stunted trees It is necessary to take into account the specifics of local logistics when planning the expedition. It's very important to decide if you are going to use your own gun or will rent on the place. If the hunter wants to hunt a Sindhi mountain goat and a Blandford urial with the rented rifle, he can fly directly to Karachi. But if he can't image his hunt without the favorite gun, he should travel through Islamabad. You can officially import hunting weapons into the country only there. After all necessary procedures in Islamabad the hunter has to fly to Karachi by the domestic airlines and then fly back to Islamabad after hunting on the South of the country. I've suggested to add the trophy of the Punjab Urial because it habitats on the north of the country and hunting logistic for that species starts from Islamabad. The next combination - a Blue sheep and a Himalayan ibex has other features. Hunting for these species is organized on the North. The starting point is the city of Gilgit. You can get there by the domestic airlines from Islamabad. But Himalayan weather is very changeable and often adds the corrections. I know about the situations when all flights have been cancelled and the only way in such case is to drive by car there. It takes 14-17 hours in one way. It's a tradition or a feature of local mentality but the hunter there is always accompanied not only by guides but by group of staff more than a dozen of people. Once when we were hunting for a Blandford Urial and a Sindhi ibex, I accounted 12 guides and the representatives of local authorities per a hunter. The number of Sherpas in the hunting trip for Himalayan ungulates can reach 20 persons, plus guides, the representatives of the local community and state organizations. Hunting for a Afghan Urial is organized in the South-West of Pakistan. The expeditions start from the city Kwett. Also you can hunt for a Sulaiman Markhor there. Markhors belonged to the auction species. You need to take part in the action to book a hunting trip. A Sulaiman markhor isn’t the only one what habitat there, you can try your hunting luck to get trophies of Astor and Kashmir markhors. If you choose hunting for a Astor markhor you need to arrive to Gilgit. Kashmir markhors dwell in Chitral. You need to take the decision about hunting in that country beforehand, it's very important for hunters who can’t imagine the adventure without their own weapon. The paperwork in the Pakistan government agencies takes about 3-4 months Nowadays it’ s became easier to get visa. The traditional way is to submit documents to the consular department of the embassy in Moscow, but you can send them online and get the electronical visa now. I hope the given information was useful for you. Don’t hesitate and get ready for a trip if you want to visit this beautiful country. Pakistan wont’ disappoint you!

In June 2020, Afanasy Sleptsov, from the Even Life company, suggested his help in registration of my snow sheep trophy in the Record Book of SCI. According our preliminary estimates it could claim the title of Champion by SCI system. And I asked Afanasy to organize hunting trip for the snow sheep on his hunting ground. We agreed to organize it in September. In August he hunted with a guy from Yakutsk who got nice trophy. I chose Afanasy because of the trophy’ quality he could provide. It’s always risky to hunt with new people. In September two more hunters from St. Pete and I arrived to Yakutsk. Afanasy met us at the airport and invited to his house. The shaman, he invited beforehand, made a hunter rite of passage. We thought It’d help us. The weather was fine and we flew into the hunting area at the same day. It took us the whole day to drive by car to the base though we flew the part of the way. I’d remember for a long how we drove those 69 km by stones. On the third day we arrived to the mobile camp. It had been set already and the local guides told us that detected the group of good sizes males. Next early morning we went to the mountains for hunting. We climbed the top and didn’t spot the group of males, they talked about. But decided to look for them on the next tops and ridges. In one km from us we noticed three groups of females with babies. There were not any signs of males. We resolved to check other places but with the same result. In the evening we came back to the camp and suggest our guides to divide into two groups and to examine the surroundings without us. The news, they told us next evening, gave us with hope. On the fifth hunting day we left the camp, rose the mountain where the guides watched the sheep and didn’t find any. Several groups of females were grazing there.  We asked the evens what was going on and they confessed that didn’t see any trophy size males at that area and inform Afanasy about it before our arrival Afanasy preferred not to tell us the truth but lied that the guides found the males and everything was under the control. The best variant was to transfer our arrival to the other dates. We made the decision to finish the hunt and to fly back to Yakutsk. Afanasy demanded on payment for the second part of the trip. I suggested to compensate our travel expenses and to transfer the hunt for the next year. But he didn’t agree. My hunters did what he asked. Dear colleagues! I don't recommend to book hunting trips with Afanasy Sleptsov - the owner of the "Even Life" company, not to be disappointed and not to lose time as we did.

This hunting in Sudan was organized by HUNTGEO company (Eric Muller). The local outfitter was the family of natives who didn't have the experience how to organize trophy hunts. Some people could say that there were other alternatives and I could choose the other variants? As I know the other touristic companies, registered in Sudan, has nothing to do with hunting. When Sergey Yastrzhembsky and I arrived back from Sudan, I could assure you that there is just one company which organizes hunting trips. The last legal hunting, organized for a foreign hunter, took place about 10 years ago. It was Oleg Popov, who hunted in Sudan in 2011. The trip was organized by Angel Dacey. Over the years that have passed since that time, the poachers (mostly gold diggers) undermined the population of hunting animals. That's why I think that it's not professional from the Profi Hunt company side to use the ten years old data about the number of populations of hunting animals. It doesn't reflect the current situation. The information about 100% success misleads the readers. I visited all hunting places there and can declare that 100% success is out of the question. The prohibition to import their own guns by the foreign hunter don’t increase the hunting success too. I guess you realize how much does it mean for each hunter. The rented rifle, we used, wasn’t bad but not shot enough. We took our own sights and fixed them as we could. I tested the gun as long as I could and succeeded to put all shots on one list of paper A4 format. The shooting distance was 200m. We resolved to start our hunting from a Nubian ibex. The locals don’t know how to hunt from the approach. They are used to hunt in corrals and shoot whatever they see. The native beaters are so emotional that animals run like hell. So we couldn’t approach the ibex because our guides haven’t understood what we wanted from them. But I’m sure that there are ibexes in the mountains and the chance to get them there is high enough if they change the tactic and allowed the hunters to use their own weapon. After hunting for ibexes, we moved to the habitat of Barbary sheep. The outfitter told us that it’d be much difficult to take a sheep trophy because its population was small. We drove around all nearest mountains where Konstantin Popov and Rene Schneider had got their trophies and detected the old sheep trail. All other attempts to find the new trails or to see an Aoudad sheep were not successful. But we discovered the group of poachers who were digging just behind the next gorge. That meeting confirmed our thoughts about sheep absence those mountains. Not many hunting days left and we moved to another hunting ground to hunt for gazelle. The guides set the camp. I could write the article about that camp and our accommodation there. In the last day we saw three males but all of them we far from us and I didn’t risk to shoot using the rented gun because wasn’t sure in it. Despite this, I managed to get a small trophy. The representative of the foreign company which organized that hunting trip was honest and told us that didn’t know the real hunting situation. That trip was like a test. We were ready and didn’t have any illusions. I decided to repeat this hunt once again when could take my own rifle there. The local businessman told us that the permission to visit the country for hunting purpose with personal weapons would be get the next months. You can read about this trip in more details in Sergey Yastrzhembsky article which will be published soon. I would like to thank Eric Muller and Sergey Yastrzhembsky for the opportunity to participate in this hunt. Thank you very much to Evgeny Kharitonov ( Stalker group) for his help and support duting this trip.

Dear Members of the Club of Mountain Hunters! We want to comment the information published by Mr. Reznik on the site of CMH about the ad of Profi-Hunt company which mislead the readers. https://kgo-club.ru/stati/item/vnimanie-reklama-vvodyashhaya-v-zabluzhdenie.htmWe need to clarify that to mislead means a fraud and other unauthorized actions. This statement is unacceptable in relation to our company.  1. Hunting of Mr. Reznik in Sudan has nothing to the Profi-Hunt company. We don't know where he has book that hunting trip and other hunting details. It’s not correct to connect the result of his hunting with the Profi-Hunt company.   2. His decision to travel to Sudan was taken on the base of another ads.   3. The pictures, used in our ads, were made by Konstantin not Mikhail Popov, as it was mention by Mr. Reznik.   4. We write honestly that hunting has been opened after seven years break.   5. When we say about 100% success, we are based on the results of Konstantin Popov hunting who got three from three declared trophies what means 100% success.   6. There is the link where we give all details concerning that hunting: http://profihunt.com/hunt/ohota-v-sudane       Respectfully yours, LLC “ Profi-Hunt”

The weather was merciful to us in that trip. We arrived by chopper in time and the visibility was great. There were two groups of hunters in different camps. In the first day we saw lots of sheep tracks but didn’t spot any animal. Next day we went to another gorge and found four males. Two of them had trophy size. I shot from Blazer 300 WinMag. The shooting distance was 215m. The sheep ran about 100 m, after I hit it, and fell down. It got dark while we fetched the body and skin it that’s why decided to sleep there. It got colder at night and started raining. Fortunately, we took primus with us and could drank hot tea. Next morning, we came back to the camp and I flew away to Milkovo. Thank you very much to my guide Vladimir and the outfitters.

Dear Club Members! We are glad to tell you that the Club created new prized in the next nominations: The International Wild Goat Award (the detailed description) and the International Wild Sheep Award  (the detailed description) The Club Member who reached the International Wild Goat (Sheep) level can order the Prize. He has to get 12 mountain goats or sheep from the Club rating list. After reaching the next levels ( Super 20, Super 30 and so) - you can order the additional bronze nameplate and put it on the three-tiered marble base of the prize.  The prizes are made to order and the nominee's names are engraved on it. You can get more information and send the request for the prize production by email: kgo.alexander@gmail.com kgo.irina@gmail.com All information concerning new prizes will be published in the section Rewards and in your personal accounts.

I don't know how other people plan their journeys but I often start to think about the travel when see the beautiful picture, made at that place. There are lots of accounts in Instagram where people post fantastic photos from the different and amazing parts of the Earth. Thus, I saw the picture of the Karakorum mountains and the Hunza river valley in Pakistan. And started to plan my trip to that place. Like most of people , born in the USSR, I didn't have the positive perception from Pakistan. My country took a side of India at that time which was in war with Pakistan for hundreds of years and we all imagined that country to be the mainstay of global terrorism and treated to its citizens as to the ruthless thugs. I realized that people who lived there were the same as everywhere but was anxious a little bit. Usually the acquaintance with the country starts from its airport. But 98% of the plane passengers were the locals and began to watch them in the flight. Some bearded men looked like Bashi-bazouks. But it was just my impression. I saw how carefully they treated to their relatives and realized that everything would be good. We arrived to Islamabad. I was surprised how polite and friendly the local customs officers were. They didn’t cavil me though I traveled with the weapon. Only in the mountains I realized that it was not the country which had the problems with tourism as my country had. The car was driving by the picturesque road from Gilgit to the Chinese border and the Hunza river valley and I saw hundreds of small hotels, guest apartments and touristic offices, which showed that the country was popular among the tourists. Almost all people spoke English! First impressions The mountain villages in the river valley looked like on posters. Probably thanks to the Islamic traditions they all were ethnic and very clean. People there didn't look like Persians, they had white skin, red or brown hair, every second had green eyes. I didn’t know about other villages but the most part of the population of Gulmit, where we stayed, was Tajiks. They spoke wahi, an ancient Persian language. They didn't profess radical Islam and women weren't’ obliged to walk with covered heads. They communicated with the foreigners, drove the cars and worked in the touristic industry. They all were very friendly especially when I told that I was from Kazakhstan. “Stan” there was a magic word. I think that wahi language was similar to to the language of Targariens. Probably the movie authors found it there. I couldn’t understand a word! But I studies a couple of them: shukari- a hunter, uksh- an Ibex, baff- good, luk- big... I need to say some words about the structure of the hunting farm or about conservation hunting. There is no hunting industry as we know it. The huge population of people and a small territory make it impossible. But there are wild animals which have to be protected. Pakistan was among the first countries which took the strategy “Hunting for the protection”. Prohibited measures didn’t work and the natives were exterminating animals for years. They needed meat for the families, used to hunt from the childhood or had other reason. Nobody could catch them. The animal’s density had fallen down in times. No world community, no the official authorities could do anything. The Government took the unprecedented measures and put up the International Hunting auction the one license for the markhor. The authority raised about 200K and gave the part of the income to the local community. The mountain part of Pakistan, the Himalayas is the motherland for lots of many small nationalities which peacefully coexist on the rights of limited self-government. The allocation funds to the Elders, leaded the Communities allowed to achieve the impossible to stop poaching! The peasants realized the value of the animal resources and had chosen roads, new schools, hospitals and other advantages instead of sheep extermination. Thus, the local communities became the outfitters. Our inspector Kamal Bey, accompanied us on the hunt, has confessed that poaching is still exists in the region. But it happens very rare. People have lots of weapon and there will always be individuals who put themselves above the interests of society. The taken measures gave the result. The density of the markhor population increased from 70 individuals to 2500. It was the same with the Punjab Urials and Sidh Ibexes. The authorities didn’t forget about the Pakistan hunters, the permits are divided between the natives, country citizens and foreigners. The price depends on the category, the lowest one is for the native hunters. All licenses are without the right to transfer. The outfitters earn money on the service and take part in the auctions. And there is the problem. The limit is approved in a month before the hunting season starts but the auctions are organized in two weeks before the opening of the season. The hunter hazards a lot booking tickets and making all papers beforehand. Moreover, you don’t know how much your outfitter will pay for the license. Our group, as many others were screwed. Our outfitter was able to buy only 3 licenses in the limits of our budget for four hunters and they all were in different places. Thus, my friend Jordy, a well-known outfitter from Spain, who organized that expedition, abandoned it in my favor but took part in the trip to make movie about our hunting. Two more Spanish hunters from Madrid met us in Islamabad and we all, accompanied by the local outfitter Razi, flew to Karakorum. The Gilgit airport is located in the deep gorge. I had never landed in such conditions. About 1,5 km we were flying in the stone tunnel between two rocky mountain ridges. After the landing I realized that if I came back alive, the trip would be lucky. The views around us were like on the Instagram pictures! I couldn’t but admire by Lombardy poplars, persimmon and quince trees, hung with fruits and watched how sunny rays reflected from the light rock and lighted the valley. I was in the golden kingdom of fall and incomprehensible in his greatness the mountains. We left Gilgit and drove by the new highway, built by the Chinese. It followed the ancient Silk Way. The road in the valley of the Huanza River is on top in my own rating of world roads. The photographers can understand what I’ve felt seeing the amazing views each hundred meters. I watch pictures which have been done on phone from the car and imbue with the greatness and beauty of these places. When the phone memory was full you, I began to pay attention to the people's life. The first thing I noticed was the absence of mosques. The most of people in that area are Tadzhiks and they practice Ismaili Islam with the spiritual leader Aga Khan the Fourth. This religious movement has definite features: that doctrine says about the cultural, ethnic and racial diversity, social justice, and so on. People there are very friendly and hospitable. The kunzite, it's the name of the valley inhabitants, are the longest-lived people on the planet. Most of them live to 110 years. I couldn’t understand how the natives adapted to the life in such severe land. They used quadrillions of stones and built terraces, fences, houses and shed. They are very hard-working people. Once we invited ourselves over to the weavers and know how they lived. They earned by weaving carpets. The family lived in a stone house with a couple of windows on the roof. They didn't make windows in the walls. One of the windows is a chimney, they heat the houses in the traditional way. The house is divided into two parts for men and women. They eat, what they grew on their own farm. Each family has a kitchen-garden where they grew potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables. Most families have sheep or goats, the rich ones have cows or yaks. I liked their meal! In every place we stayed for a lunch, all dished were high quality. I tried lots of traditional cuisine but the karakorum cuisine is the best one. It's the mixture of the Indian and Turkish cuisine. All meal is bright but not heavy with the balance of protein and carbohydrates. It doesn't get old you can eat it every day. I ate there so much rice as had never eaten before. A standard meal on the local market for two persons costs one dollar. We try to hunt. We arrived to the valley and divided. Brothers Jorge and Israel drove with Razi to the Afghanistan border. Jordy and I and Salvatory stayed in Gulmit. (Salvo was our cameraman). We all accommodated in a small hotel with all conveniences even including Wi-Fi. The tourist’s season there was from May to September, that’s why we were the only guests and our hosts were happy to help us. The first day we waited for the permits and the inspector. According the local law all trophy hunts have to be done only with the participation of the official representative of the Wild Life Department. The only useful thing, we did, was the gun testing. After the lunch the local guys and Kemal Bey ( our inspector) left the village and drove to check the surroundings. They drove back in the evening and told that there was a group of Ibexes just opposite the village. We watched the group through the binoculars and found only young males and told Razi about it. The guides were surprised by our knowledge and skills to define the size of the trophies. When we had dinner and talked, I had insisted our our participation in the researching expeditions. The local guides had only one Chinese binocular for all and it wasn’t effective way of monitoring. They didn't expect such reaction. It seemed that they thought the hunter had to lay, smoke hookah and did nothing while they’d look for the trophy. Next morning, we all drove to the hunt on the old off-road car. It wasn’t the difficult process: to stop on the highway from time to time and to spot the nearest slopes. We saw 35 individuals during the morning hours but all of them were females. None of the worthy trophy. We couldn’t but drive back to the camp and discuss it with the outfitter. Nothing had changed during the evening and the next morning. It had no sense to stay on the place and we moved to the mountains. The climb should take us 4-5 hours to the Sherpa cabin, where we were going to stay and to spot from there. We ascended by the good path though there were some extreme places on it. I was shocked when saw how they did the entrances to the pasture through the rocks. How much labor and dynamite they used to build them? Our team consisted of me, my Spanish companions, Kemal Bey and the native guys who were porters and guides at the same time. It was clear for me when we reached the cabin that it was their first climbing. They were in jeans and snickers but not trained to such trip. Finally, I realized that they all were the beginners when saw what they had brought for cooking. It was a huge stove model with 20 L. gas balloon. It came me to the conclusion that all hunts, organized before, had been done from the highway. If it was so. Kemal Bey confirmed my hunches that it was the first time when the community won the right to organize the hunt. According to the Pakistan laws we shouldn't change the location or to refuse the hunt. You agree with these rules when take part in the auction. What could I do? The right answer was to look for the animal and to hunt! So we went on hunting. We reached the height 3700 masl and began to spot. There were animals in that area. I accounted several dozens of ibexes in that circus. There were good males but with horns smaller than allowed by the Pakistan rules. We still had time. To be continued...

Urgent news! Congratulations to Alexander Egorov on awarding him one of the most prestigious hunting awards - "Weatherby" !!! Stay tuned for more information on the site.

The rifle for mountain hunts, on the base of M98 system, is produced from the titanium alloy, cal. 300 WinMag. It's weight is just 2.870 kg. The barrel is from Nickel-chromium-molybdenum gun steel with the length 665mm. The magazine capacity is 3+1. Made by Johann Fanzoj (Ferlach, Austria). Constant striving to improvement and gun’s optimization is the main feature of “Johann Fanzoj” management team. One of the main direction in the company is the development of classical Mauser rifle with a longitudinally - sliding bolt, which was canonized in 1898. It’s easy to explain why they are adherents of this system. M98 has genius construction which allows to control the transfer a cartridge from the magazine and not matter what the shotgun orientation is or how fast you pull the bolt action. The system 98 has the most reliable locking of cartridges in the magazine among the same class rifles. The original bolt action has the third, emergency lug in front of the bolt handle, in case the primary ones fail under pressure.. It’s fixed in the back part of the receiver and activates when the breech bolt moves to 0,2mm back. One more advantage of this system is that the controlled-feed mechanism, consisting of a large, non-rotating claw extractor, engages the cartridge case rim as soon as the round leaves the magazine and firmly holds the cartridge. When the shooter tries to make pressure and to remove the cartridge, the hook of the bolt mechanism pushes it to prevent its slippage. It makes M98 one of the safest and reliable systems in the world. Not long ago, all rifles of “Johann Fanzoj” company was produced on the base of steel system M98. It’s evident that piece production allowed to improve guns’ quality in the comparison with the original a century ago drawing of the Army rifle M98. The manufacturer used not only good quality steel but provided less dimensional tolerance. The highest level of all surfaces treatment, especially the connected ones, allowed to increase the lifetime of their rifles. The company reduced the diameter of a striker and the place for it in the bolt action. This measure reduced the risk of breaking through the powder gases when primer exploded. The hole in the breech bolt displays torn gases to the side, perpendicular to the axis of the shotgun. The third position safety mechanism, rotated on a vertical axis on the right side of the trigger, adds more comfort when you use the rifle. The family hunting lands are located on the steep slopes of the Karawanken ridge and the management of the company realizes how important for the mountain hunting is the weight of the rifle and they try to minimize it.   If they tried to reduce the weight cutting the length and the diameter of the barrel it could damage its ballistic. Every hunter knows that each gram is very important in the mountain. It’s easy to understand the mountain hunters desire to have light and long-range weapons. Some hunters can say that the recoil depends on the guns’ weight and is stronger then the gun is lighter. But it’s not important in this kind of hunting because you feel real euphoria when detect the rare trophy and don’t pay attention to anything. The power of the recoil is important when you shoot with high tempo but it’s more actual for sport shooting than for hunting. In case you have some problems with the recoil intolerance you should order the rifle with a muzzle brake. All Fanzoj rifles have the elastic backing for such case. The company spent few years looking for the best decision how to reduce the weight. They rejected all variants connected with the lighten of a barrel or locking system. It’s unlikely to get accurate shooting with the barrel length less than 600-650mm. So idea was born to use titanium for producing almost all parts of the rifle, excluding a barrel. Not pure titanium but doped one. The history of this metal is very interesting. The titanium oxides were discovered in different minerals in the end of XVIII century. Then the titanium oxides was wildly used in the paint production (titanium white). Today about 90% of these oxides is used as the pigment in the paint, the fillers of paper and plastic. Only 10% of all titanium is used as metal. It became possible in 1925 after Dutchmen had invented that technology. Titanium is very light. Its’ density is 4.54 gr/sm3, steel has 7,8-7,9 gr/sm3. The pure titanium is soft and plastic but alloying adds it toughness. Its toughness, resulting in a cross section of equal weight, exceeds steel. Titanium is heat resistant and quite chemically inert. It is prone to oxidation but the process is limited to a thin surface layer. The mechanical processing of this metal complicates by the proximity of the forced yield strength to the tensile strength. Thermal conductivity of Titanium is in four times lower that steel conductivity. It means that it heats in the local cutting zone and became plastic. Metal sticks to the cutting tools and it leads to a catastrophic deterioration in the quality of the treated surface. Changing the geometry of the incision doesn’t improve the situation. The only way to avoid it is to reduce cutting speed and to cool intensively of the cutting area with an emulsion and to use of cutters with special coatings. You have to know that Titanium dust has the property of spontaneous combustion. It means that grinding needs special tools and ways. Titanium viscosity and thermal conductivity cause the problems in cases when parts of items rub each other. But telling the truth today we have some technologies which help to decide this problem. The Fanzoj management have found and attracted specialists who can produce rifles with the same accurance characteristics as heavy tactical rifles have. But they are much lighter. It happened four years ago when I tried the Titanium rifle, produced by Fanzoj company, for the first time. The first impression was overwhelming. Just imagine, the very serious bolt-action rifle with the weight 2.870kg! But the balance of the titanium rifle is moved to the barrel in the comparison with the original Mauser rifle. It only has sense when you shoot from the lying position or use bipods. The barrel is obtained by cold rotary method from Nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy steel used for the barrels of automatic guns of modern NATO Eurofighter fighters. These barrels are almost non-corrosive and have long lifetime due to its resistance to high- temperature erosion. This characteristic depends on nickel content which increases steel temperature. It also prolongs life time of hunting gun’s barrel. The production of all bolt parts from Titanium (except a striker and a spring) has led to reduction of strikers weight and time of the trigger system. It also helps to increase the shooting accuracy.   The shotguns vibrate when we are aiming and we try to catch the optimal moment to shoot. The faster we can shoot, the better. The lighter all parts of the trigger are, the rifle moves to the side less before the gunpowder combustion. They used special coats, sprayed in vacuum. The same covers, used for Formula 1 cars, allow to make all movement of titanium parts softer. Even the dry bolt moves easily. Stocks of Fanzoj rifles are made of natural walnut which dried in the natural conditions. We know that engraving and the inset of precious metals to Titanium is more complicated process that to steel but all rifles are decorated by elegant engravings. The top of the magazine is decorated with a Golden emblem of the company "Johann Fanzoj".

I wasn’t going to visit Kyrgyzstan but my friend Andrey invited me to join him  in that expedition. He told me that hunted there twice and wanted to try one more time. I took the invitation and decided to try my hand and to get an Ibex. I've hunted for marals in Kazakhstan for two times but it is not the same. The heights there are lower and we rode by horses not hiking. Andrey's  advised me to start to practice long distance shooting because it is the obligatory skill for each mountain hunter. I started to train in a year before, had treated your injured  leg, and practiced shooting on the shooting range in Pesochnoe. Then I bought all necessary equipment including some things which had never used before like special trekking poles, energetic gels and foot heaters. The wife gave me the special ointment for frostbite and burning at the same time. Spoiler: I used poles, gels and they helped a lot. But let’s I will tell everything by order. The flight from Saint-Petersburg –Moscow-Bishkek was on schedule and there were not any problems with flying with guns. The Custom Union rules allowed to organize everything without the custom. I didn’t need  to get any permits from Rosgvardia.  There was really nice VIP service at the airport in Bishkek . You pay 50$ and wait when the airport staff make all papers, put stamps and get your weapon. It took us about five hours drive to the Base “Archal” located near Kazakhstan border on the altitude 1900 masl. The base consisted of comfortable cabins made from the several twenty-foot containers connected by common hall and canteen. It wasn’t five star hotel but there were normal beds and hot batteries.   The only thing  caused discomfort was the toilet outside because it was cold to stay there long when the average temperature was - 10ºC. From the other side if I treat to that situation using  the philosophical approach, the half of the population in Russia live in such conditions all year around and don’t suspect  about another. Our camp cook Natasha was very professional and the only problem was that it was so tasty that I couldn’t but ate too much. We hadn't any meal problem. It was snowing when we arrived and our guide had got stuck on a car somewhere. He drove to the base at night and we moved gun’s testing on the next day. In the morning we drove to the  Sarlatur tract. The locals used the car which they called  “Tien Shan” and which was the hybrid of our GAZ -66 and Mercedec). It delivered us to the altitude 2900 masl, but then we should walk. It was snowing steadily. Everything was covered by snow and the mountains’ top were unvisitable because of a whitish fog. It was impossible to see anything there. It became colder while we were testing guns and suddenly the sun appeared.  We drove along the gorge and detected the group of Ibexes in one km from us. The guide pointed to the trophy size male and I agreed. My guide Sergey and I changed our clothes.  I was really surprised when saw Sergey put on the rubber boots. He was perfectly climbing in that boots, didn't  fell or slid.  I used special mountain boots, ordered in US and waited three month for delivery but didn’t feel as comfortable in them as Sergey in his rubber monsters.  I know what you’ll tell me that he had been born in that place and use to wear them from his childhood. But he was 63 years old when I was younger 50! I even lost 5 kg before that trip and was in good physical condition. The guide offered me one of his wooden stick before we started climbing but I refused because had my own special ones. I noticed doubt in his eyes  and asked what’s happened? He was a very delicate man and answered evasively that I could use what I wanted.  I didn’t know would I like my new poles or not because tried them for first time. I used trekking poles in Alps but walked on the trails and even rose one vertical km. It seemed that there wouldn’t be any problems. I smeared the face and lips with the cream my wife gave me, put on sunglasses, took the rifle, polls and standard set for long distance shooting which included a meteostation, binocular, a rangefinder, a calculator in the phone, energetic bar and shooting gloves.  There was one thing that I had never took before but added that time. I was a small shooting bag, I was going to put under the gun when would shoot. It was good that I didn’t take the backpack or I would die with it. We should overcome the distance about 800-900 meters up and it was much harder than to go same distance in Alps.  There were not any sign of trails. Everything was covered by snow which had the consistency of cereals. It wasn’t deep but I didn’t see where I step. The slope consisted of different size stones was hidden under the snow. I started briskly but  Sergey went ahead, and I fell behind. They warned me that he hiked fast but I didn't pay attention.  I tried to walk my own tempo but instinctively followed the leader. The guide didn’t go in his full force, but it was enough for me to lag behind him. We overcame about a quarter of the way when I felt sick.  I wasn’t tired and my feet didn’t hurt me but I couldn’t go fast.  I felt like after a knockdown,  and every sudden movement , every step reflected to my stomach.  I suggested to take a short rest but Sergey grimaced in annoyance and told me that there were just 200 metes left and our trophy would just behind the rock. I overcame the distance on moral and volitional qualities but nobody waited for us behind the rock. We couldn’t stay long on the top, It was too windy, and after the short discussion went to the next rocks. We both hoped the herd would be there. Walking to the scree I asked Sergey to give me his wooden stick, my metal ones made lots of noise. It was much more comfortable to descend using it! We reached the next rocks. Sergey looked out behind the stone and whispered that male was just in 100 meters from us! But if we try to go around the rock along the ledge, the animals would notice us.  The wind was  changing the destination very quickly, that’s why I offered to go to top and to fire from there. The guide managed to crawl to the top but there was not any place to observe and make a shot that’s why he suggested to creep to the ledge. We moved very slow, Sergey was the first and I followed him.  Suddenly I saw the herd, in 150 meters from us. There were two good size males and Sergey pointed to one of them. I aimed sitting on the knees though it want’ comfortable at all. My guide was nervous because goats could smell or notice us, and hurried me.  The chosen goat pushed the female goat to the rock and I lost the opportunity to shoot. I can’t say if Love save the world but it saved one Ibex! Sergey watched the scene from the different angle and advised to get another one. It stood on the scree with the chest to me and I agreed. Probably I was tired or used not the right position but I missed. At first we thought that I hit it but didn’t find any sign of blood and realized that I missed. We both were very disappointed and I couldn’t describe our feelings by literary words. We did such great job, ascended that top, approached the male and I missed! I was stifled with annoyance. The phase “Hunt is hunt” didn’t inspired at all and we went down. Sergey  ran ahead but taught me beforehand, how to go down by a scree. I was going down leaning on the stick from behind and I was thankful to him for this knowledge because didn’t know how to make it in the best way and was ready to use the fifth point. I had time while descending to analyze what had happened and came to the conclusion that the only reason of my failure was that I was in a hurry. I shouldn't have to listen to anybody while preparing for the shot and to use the support because felt tired. But in any case, it was my fault. Being in thoughts, I mused, stumbled, did a flip and hit my Blazer a stone. When I came back in a second I was happy to realize that didn’t damage myself. Sergey didn’t see what had happened. Soon I noticed him in 200 meters lower than me. He was waving me actively and I waved in response but he went on to do it as if calling me to go him faster. At last I realized that he found something and moved as fast as I could at that moment. Sergey stood on the ledge and showed me  to the herd which moved up along the gorge. There were two trophy size males. I laid on the stones and tried to measure the distance. Unfortunately my rangefinder was frozen and didn’t work correctly, later we understood that the problem was in a new battery. Ibexes were going up and reducing the distance. I chose the rock which the male would cross and measured the distance. The distance  was just 210 meters with the angle 28 degree. I added new data to the calculator, entered the vertical correction to the sight and aimed the male which hide behind the bushes or stones. At last it came to the open area and stopped. I waited the gust of wind abated, aimed the cross with the shoulder blade, hold my breathe and shot. We both heard the distinct slap and the male laid down! I reloaded the gun taking it in the sight but it wasn’t necessary. It was over. Sergey congratulated me with the accurate shot and I realized that everything was over and discharged the shotgun. We came to the trophy and Sergey was the first one who reach it. It was getting dark we had to be in hurry if wanted to make pictures with the trophy.  Looking' to the picture today I  don’t know who looks worse I or my trophy. Sergey stayed to cut meat and sent me to the Base. I  shoud have to be in a hurry because didn’t have the flashlight and was tired but in any case  I looked like a disabled person, going down with two trekking poles. The guys  who waited us near the car, switched on light to illuminate the road. I figured the star and the rock which would use if I loose the way while coming to the car. But it was not dark because of snow.  But one unpleasant thing had happened in any case. I slipped on the wet stone and fell, waited for a while and   went on going. Sergey overtook me when I wasn’t far from the car. He used the Ibex like an anchor because it slipped on snow and could be used like a sled or brake depending on the situation. At last we reached the car! All team congratulated me with the trophy. It was the they who informed Sergey about the herd which moved to our direction. I ate the energetic gel, we loaded all our equipment and the trophy and drove to the Base. Hot soup and fried meat waited for us there. We celebrated the birth of the new Mountain Hunter and I, from my side, thanked Andrey for his help because It was him who arranged everything. After a tasteful dinner  I went to bed and slept all next day. Andrey was going to get super trophy with horns not less than 140 sm. But there was not such size male and we decided to fly back to Sant -Petersburg. I write this report sitting in the airplane and feel and miss the mountains and want to come there back. I think that in a year I’ll try it once again.

The border between Catalonia and Valencia is so called the mountain region of Spain and very beautiful place. The weather, in the mid of November, isn’t comfortable. Rain drizzles from time to time and frost is in the morning.  My friend Sergey and I arrived from Belarus because wanted to get the trophy of the Beceite  Ibex, one from four species habituated in Spain. It’s always interesting to visit the new place, to meet new people and to get acquaintance with new culture… I had to mention that hunting lands, where we hunted, wasn’t large but the animals density was really high. We went for a hunt twice in a day, in the morning and in the evening, and I detected nine trophy size males while we were  looking for the best one and countless number of females with youngsters. Huntign in Spain isn’t difficult and all hunters know about it, but there are some moments which adds complexity to the hunting process. I talk about the great number of people who are hiking, driving bikes or picking up mushroom there. Telling the truth I was surprised  that picking wild plants and mushrooms is as  popular in Spain like in Belarus. Many years ago that mountain region was  densely populated with people and moving up and down in the mountains we noticed and not once the signs of former presence of human beings such as abandoned villages, detached chalets and haciendas, agricultural terraces, not talking about the old road system which still exists there. It’s not the secret why people left that area. It’s more comfortable to live near the sea because of the mild climate and it’s easier to farm there and to fish. But a couple of centuries ago it was dangerous to build settlements near the sea because the pirates made regular raids on civilians and people should have to hide in the inaccessible places. When the danger was over people descended from the mountains and all villages were deserted. The influence of the environmentalist lobby in Europe grows from year to year and it adds more problems to the local hunters.  We talked with the locals and they said us that the State authorities don’t allow them latitude, though the Ex-King of Spain is the  avid trophy hunter. We monitored the group of Ibex, which was going down to the valley, when noticed the car. The guided asked me to cover weapons just in case, though everything was legal and we had all necessary permits. That case reminded me, our ordinary Belarus hunter who is intimidated by lots of rules and different kinds of authority's control. The hunting legislation in Spain is the strictest one among other countries in the Western Europe and the guides there is the most terrorized ones.  There are three kinds of police which can control the law’s implementation in the hunting sphere. The demands to the hunting users include the installation of the informational boards,  making roads, salt licks, digging and maintaining fire reservoirs in the most remote mountain areas. It’s interesting to note that it’s prohibited to sow crops for feeding of the wild animals. They say, that it’s done to protect the local bio types, the less human beings interfere the wild nature the better. But the owners of hunting lands find ways around these restrictions. They rent the nearest land for farming. I could hardly believe that any vegetation grow on that inhospitable land. There were just macadam under our feet. It was morning when we detected the group of Ibexes on the slope. There was one big male among females and youngsters. The guide an I decided to ascend and to get it. The approach was easy because all slopes were covered by the thick forest consisted of pine trees and mountain oaks. It took us some time, to come to the place. But we didn’t find the herd  there. The guide wasn’t perplex at all and asked to follow him. We went through the bushes and came directly to the animals.  I had no idea, how he could find the way there. Unfortunately we saw just the horns because animals were hidden in the bushes and there wasn’t any opportunity to fire.  That morning we hiked about eight km. Then the rain started and we should come back because all ibexes disappeared in the thicket.  Next day we found the same group, the animals were moving directly to us.  It was about 270 meters to the male and I was preparing to shoot from the rented shotgun Browning X-Bolt.300 WinMag when the guide asked me to wait for a moment. He assured me that the male would come to us in any case. But we lost the best moment for shooting when the herd descended to our place while the male stayed alone for a moment. I observed it through the binoculars and didn’t notice that the rest of the group approached us 30 meters and considered us with the interest. They didn’t wait and signaled danger. My Ibex jumped aside following them. I didn’t have any second and should have to shoot. The distance to the goal was about 300-310 metes. I aimed, shot and missed! Few minutes I couldn’t see the male then found. It run behind the young males and wasn’t wounded. I aimed once again and shot. The goat ran to the forests and I decided that  missed  the second time.  But another guided who watched everything through the scope told me that I hit its belly. One of our team went to the place where we saw the goat last time while the others went back to the camp. The guide, who left, found blood on the stones but didn’t chase the ibex. He allowed the animal  to lay down somewhere. Our host in the camp congratulated me with the successful hunt and told that there wasn’t any case when they lost the wounded animal. Next day the young guide took  his hunting terrier and went for the trophy. He found it while we went for another hunt. Sergey took very interesting Ibex. It had small horns but all guides declared  unanimously  that it was the eldest male  they had ever got. It was about 15 years old. Thus we took two trophies of Ibexes and my friend shot two selective individuals.  There is an outbreak of epizootic among Beceite Ibexes .  The sick  animals looked unattractive, the bodies covered with scabs and they almost don’t have hair. They reminded foxes or wolves when they got scabies. Sergey took such two samples. The guided supposed those animals could hardly live more than one week. Recently there was an abundance of wild boars but most of them died because of African swine fever. Spain was one of the first countries in Europe which felt the consequences of epizootic. The only way to prevent the spread of the disease was to shoot boars. I want to share with some more notes which made during that trip. I consider the Spanish guides are close to the embodiment of  Ideal Guides as we all imagine them. They are professional,  correct and responsible. You have to respect them and to treat them as equal.  We accommodated in the ordinary farmer’s house and eat plain food but it was tasty and good quality. Each day we used clean car. Few words about the funny story that happened to us there. Before I’d get the trophy I asked the guide to cut me the piece of meat and he asked for what purpose.  The friend of mine lived in Barcelona and I wanted to present it to him. The guide smiled when heard my explanation and decided that I want to make fun on him. -          No. I want to make him a present. – I replied. -          A piece of meat? Goat meat? What harm has he done for you? Later  he explained me his reaction.  There were hungry times in the early reign of Franco. People should had to poach to survive and shot almost all chamois, deer and boars and only goats left. The reason was very easy. The meat of wild goat smelt so awful that nobody could eat it even being hungry. Only dogs and vultures could eat it. Two species of vultures habit that area and the guides are responsible for feeding them . As you guess we  moved to Barcelona without meat.

The editor of our magazine Vladimir Tikhomirov celebrated his 80th anniversary on February 14. Our readers know him by his articles about hunting in Russia and Germany, and about European gunsmiths. But anniversary is the reason to tell about his life outside of hunting world and journalism. He was born in Moscow in 1940 but soon his family relocated to Kasimovsky district in the Ryazan region. The Great World War II had started in a year. After finishing school in 1958, he entered Moscow State University of Fine Chemical Technologies named after M.V. Lomonosov. Being on the third year of the University Vladimir chose the diploma’s theme which was devoted to the radiation chemistry. The head of the lab V.D. Orekhov advised him to listen a course of lectures in Fiztech. The practical part of the diploma was done in the lab of Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry. Being a students our hero was keen of sports such as gymnastic, athletics, ski, shooting and biathlon. Each time he should have to pass all exams in advance to take part in summer or winter training camps and was also responsible for the sport life in the Institute. After graduating the University he was assignment to the organization which made researching in the sphere of changes in the structure and performance of materials under the influence of ionizing radiation. All studies were done by the requests of our space and rocket industries. The young scientist needed to study all theoretical, and experimental aspects of the radiation physics that’s why he had no choice but to study the technical translation from English, French and Japanese. At that time he got acquaintance with the leading scientists such as A.P. Aleksandrov- the President of the Academy of Sciences of USSR, N.N. Semenov- the Director of the Institute of Chemical Physics, G.N. Flerov- the Director of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and others. In 1971 he defended his PhD thesis in the chosen field. All his projects were connected with the usage of strong sources of ionizing radiation. Such work allowed him to have two month vacation per year which he spent taking part in the volcanic expeditions or in the hunting trips in different regions. Last twenty five years he hunted with dogs in the Altai Mountains. Several time he even worked as the brigadier with two local hunters. The hunters surrendered production to the state and it gave them the right to buy the rifled weapons. At the end of 70s he became the Member of the Academic Board of radiation physics of a solid body. He had lots of business trips to different scientific institutes in Russia and Soviet Republics. Vladimir was lucky to take part in variety of projects devoted to problem in the space and rocket industries. In 1984 he joined the scientific team of Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry, leaded by now late Academic Y.M. Kolotyrkin. After the state coup he started the cooperation with two others Academic institutes. His income at that time was very low but continued to work thanks to different grants which allowed to survive but required a huge number of paper work. At the beginning of 2000s he left the science having more than 130 publish scientific articles and 35 certificates and patents. His love to hunting and nature found the reflection in his articles at the end of 70s when he started to write for the local newspaper. Later in 90s he began to translate hunting articles and joined as the interpreter to the team of the publishing house "Friend”. He has collaborated with many periodical hunting publications during the last years but in 2014 he became the editor of our magazine “ The Magic of Real Safari”. The Editorial Board congratulates Vladimir Tikhomirov with his 80th anniversary and expresses a special sense of respect. We all wishe him great health, long active years and positive events. Fabbrica Armi Luciano Bosis, Brescia, Italy Dear Mr Tikhomirov, We know that soon will be your 80th birthday. We are writing this letter to send you our birthday wishes and to wish you many years ahead of successful work due to your great professionalism, competence and kindness. Wish you the best, Luciano Bosis Gardone V.T. Italia. Caro amico! Accetta sinceri auguri per il Tuo glorioso anniversario! Per me è sempre stato importante sapere il Tuo giudizio da imparziale specialista con profondo talento di conoscenza ingenieristica che distingue le specifiche di produzione delle armi, e aiuta i lettori a fare la giusta scelta! Voglio augurarti salute, positività e successo nel lavoro. Für die Firma Peter Hofer Jagdwaffen war und ist es immer wieder eine sehr große Herausforderung, sich mit ihren einzigartigen Kreationen weltweit in den unterschiedlichsten Kulturkreisen zu etablieren. Die Mentalität und die Jagdgepflogenheiten des jeweiligen Landes standen für uns bei der Kreation unserer erlesenen handgearbeiteten Jagdwaffen stets im Vordergrund. Bereits seit dem Jahr 2000 ist die Firma Peter Hofer Jagdwaffen für viele sehr versierte Jäger und Sammler in Russland tätig. Schon zu Beginn seiner Präsenz in Russland hatte Peter Hofer das Glück, Vladimir Tikhomirov kennenzulernen und hat in all den Jahren ein sehr freundschaftliches, fast väterliches Verhältnis zu ihm aufgebaut. Für Peter Hofer gilt Vladimir als wohl der am besten informierte Jäger in Punkto Waffen und Waffensysteme. Herr Tikhomirov wird daher von Peter Hofer immer wieder zu Rate gezogen, wenn es darum geht, seine Texte in ein fachlich korrektes Russisch zu übersetzen. Oft ist es so, dass gewisse Fachbegriffe in anderen Sprachen nicht existieren und daher umschrieben werden müssen, oft wird sogar der deutsche Begriff verwendet. Der Wissensdrang von Vladimir ist ebenso grandios wie einzigartig. Wenn er uns in Ferlach besucht, ist er immer bestrebt, sein waffentechnisches Wissen zu erweitern und kommt aus dem Fragen häufig nicht mehr heraus. Jedes Mal, wenn ich ihn treffe, erfüllt es mich schon beim Händedruck und der Umarmung mit Dankbarkeit, denn ohne Vladimir Tikhomirov hätten die Leser unserer Artikel nicht so viel Klarheit über die komplexe Welt der Waffentechnik erlangt. Wir beten zu Gott, dass Vladimir mindestens noch einmal so alt wird und wir ihn noch sehr lange als tollen Freund und Lektor an unserer Seite haben, um dem hoch interessierten russischen Jäger auch weiterhin von unseren handgefertigten Kunstwerken berichten zu können. Wir wünschen Vladimir Tikhomirov auf diesem Wege alles erdenklich Gute zu seinem bevorstehenden 80. Geburtstag und bedanken uns für seine langjährige Freundschaft. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Hofer Peter It’s not easy for any company to open new markets with different cultures. But we always take into account the hunting traditions and the mentality of the country for which we produce our handmade production. We started to work with Russian hunters and collectors from 2000s. And from that time I was lucky to get acquaintance with Vladimir Tikhonov. Over the years, we became more than friends. He is the most qualified hunting expert, who knows most of hunting systems. I always consult with him when need to make the correct translation to the Russian language. He's one of the few, who understand how the weapon works and can explain it to readers. I can explain his unique knowledge by excellent technical education and his passion to arms. He is open to the new knowledge in this sphere. Each time I welcome him with gratitude because he helps our readers to understand clearly the most difficult aspects concerning to the hunting arms. I pray to the God that Vladimir will live at least as long and stayed my friend. I wish him great health and thanks to our longtime friendship. Your friend Peter Hofer. Our first meeting with Vladimir Tikhomirov, which happened several years ago, influenced me much. I realized that met the very experienced hunter who travelled all around Russia and was impressed by his rich inner world. He is the real collector and the keeper of the best we have in Russian culture and nature. Unfortunately the man in our modern life is far from the Nature and Vladimir is the best example of the man who not only knows much about it but respect it and can use its’ gifts. He is the expert in picking up wild plant, has deep knowledge about wildlife and vegetation. His respectful attitude to all life on the Earth is in his nature. I can characterize his treatment to the Nature just by one word “Do no harm”. You can listen to his stories endlessly and someday I want to read the book which will be devoted to him. Please accept my heartiest anniversary congratulations. I wish you great health and luck. Valentin Pazhetnov. My Dear Vladimir Sergeevich! We sincerely congratulate You on your anniversary and wish great health, endless energy, optimism and new plans! I couldn’t but admire your articles and deep knowledge of the hunting arms’ theme. Thanks to God I met you! I cherish our friendship and your support. Respectfully yours Ludmila Vlasaeva on behalf of the team of Schools of gunsmithing. L. Vaseva. First time I met Vladimir Tikhomirov was in 2006, on the high-precision shooting competition, organized by the Safari Club. I read his articles before but never met him personally. I know him as a highly qualified specialist in the hunting arms sphere. I know him as the experienced hunter, who fluently speaks several foreign languages, including German- the language of teh country where all leading arms industry is concentrated. He personally know the most of European gunsmiths. Not lots of people can boast of such a " portfolio” but at the same time he is one of the modest people I’ve ever met. I enjoy each times when can talk to you because each our conversation is useful and gives me a lot. Eighty year is the age of early wisdom, that’s why I wish you long life and great health. Michael Dragunov- the leading structural engineer of the Izhevsk mechanical plant, honored scientist of the Udmurt Republic. One of the most experienced and well-known gunsmith Vladimir Tikhomirov celebrated his 80th anniversary on February 14, 2020. We happily join to the congratulations and wish him great health, interesting projects and hundreds of exciting articles. Editorial Board of the magazine “ Kalashnikov» Many years ago I invited Vladimir Tikhomirov to be the expert in my hunting program on the radio “ Radio of Russia”. To say that our broadcast was bright and interesting would be an understatement. We all listened to his stories about the past, about adventures and hunters life in the Siberia or Kamchatka’s expeditions in a one breath, not to mention his memories about friends and colleagues, the world-class gunsmiths. I could tell a lot about him as about a family man, an experienced hunter who saw a lot, about the patriot who loves his Motherland or about the scientist who worked for the good of his country. But all these description could be united in one phase, he is the GOOD MAN. I’m grateful to Providence that could meet such a GOOD MAN as he is! I wish you great health, success in all your projects and one more thing which we always say in our hunting world “Best luck!” Respectfully yours Nikolay Mamulashvili, the political commentator of Radio Russia, author and host of the program " Hunting luck!» There is hardly to find the more open minded, curios person than Vladimir Tikhonov. Probably these features of the character helped him to become one of the best hunting arms expert in Russia. His professional knowledge makes a strong impression. This man is a walking encyclopedia All his articles are filled with love to Nature and men. Probable the time, he spent in Altai helped him to find the life harmony and at the same time he is very modest and friendly. His activity as the hunting expert influenced Russian hunting magazines. The most worth is the series of the articles published in the magazine ‘The Magic of the Real Safari”, where he describes his hunting experience, opens a deep layer of modern history, introduces his inner world, full of love and respect for all living things. He is the real Hunter in the best meaning of this word. Dear Vladimir Sergeevich! We thank you your high appreciation of our job and production and congratulate you with 80th anniversary! We wish you long life! Daniela Fanzoy, vice-president of “Johann Fanzoj” company! Dear Vladimir! I congratulate your with your anniversary! I really value our cooperation and enjoy our communication. I wish you great health, success and reliable partners! Respectfully yours Osvaldo Manzoni.

Why our people don’t like others who have shotguns? It’s the rhetorical question, which gains popularity nowadays. Ordinary citizens, who know nothing about shooting, don’t like hunters and the official authority treats to them like to enemies, we can judge so according their acts. What is the reason? Let’s start from the excessively strict actions, which have to regulate the ways of shotgun usage. The shotguns licenses for keeping and bearing arms are issued by tate authorized bodies represented by departments of the Ministry of internal Affairs and Rosgvradiya, for getting it you have to have the hunting ticket, the license and hunting permit. Plus you need to have the license for keeping and bearing arms from Rosgvardiya. But there is one interesting moment! This license doesn’t give you the right to shoot! You can keep and carry your gun! But bearing shotgun doesn’t mean shooting. If we check the meaning of the word “bearing arms” in the Ozhegov's dictionary we won’t find it. According Russian dictionary “bearing arms” is the same like “carrying smth” it means that gun's bearing is the separate action from shooting. To bear, in Russian linguistic, doesn’t mean that you can use what you bear, to shoot in our case. It’s clear but it’s sounds ridiculous. You can bear arms, if you have such license, but you don’t’ have rights to use it. If you have rights to keep and bear arms you should have rights to shoot and nobody could argue it. Does it mean that you can shoot where you want? Does it meant that ROH (license ) don’t limits your rights for firearms usage? Does it mean that if you have such license, issued by the state authority, nobody could limits your shooting rights? Unfortunately its’ not true. We know about cases when the representatives of the authorities wrote administrative reports for shotgun's testing in the hunting lands. There are several cases of judicial practice when the authority have confiscated hunter’s weapons. We’ve analyzed those cases and the whole pictures looks so as if judges don’t try to get to the bottom of the cases but execute the order of another government agency for charges, penalties and the confiscation of the weapons. Probably it’s a new way of control of hunting or compulsory measures of reduction the numbers of gun’s owners. The friend of mine told me about the cases when the authority confiscated guns by somebody’s order. When one person wanted to have the gun which another hunter had, he paid for special people to organize the forced confiscation. You’ll be surprised when know that the authors of the restriction of testing guns in the hunting lands are the explanations given by the officials from the licensing and permitting department of Rosgvardia, those people, who give permits for having a shotguns. The Deputy head of L&P department of Rosgvardia A. Z. Dishekov wrote in his letter from 14.11.2018 №3/180000094299, that “ the term Hunting, doesn’t include the testing hunting weapon and shouldn't be organized on the territory of the hunting lands”. But we have to note that this Department is the structural unit of Rosgvardia, belongs to the Federal Executive authority and it doesn’t have rights to give the explanations of the Federal Law, especially which the question doesn’t belong to its responsibility. All questions about hunting are in the responsibility of the Ministry of Natural Resources of RF. It means that all explanations given by the Rosgvardia offices aren’t legal. This is an abuse of authority. We can’t understand the logic of that letter. According the Law “ Hunting is the activity connected with finding and tracking and chasing of the object of the hunt (which belongs to the hunting resource), taking, primary processing and transportation ( i.5 art.1 FL “ About Hunting and hunting resource conservation…”) and it doesn’t include the words about shotguns’ testing, that’s why it can’t be done on the territory of the hunting lands. A.Z. Dishekov refers shotguns’ testing to the training activity. It’s really surprised. If you want to practice shooting you have to test the gun, to be sure that it works well, test it once again with the sight and to shot for the different distances. After that you can practice shooting. We admit that the link to the item 62.1 The rules of circulation of civilian and service weapons has done on purpose (resolution №814 of RF Government) but it has no connection with the shotguns testing. Only sportsmen, like pidgeon shooters pentathletes, biathlete can train shooting. Testing guns isn’t the same. For example the hunters wants to check the new gun, how it works and he has the right to do in during twelve days after the purchase. Where will he do it, if there is not the shooting gallery in the village or the town where he lives? We want to refer to the " Standard rules for safety when handling hunting weapons... on the territory of the RSFSR” from 05.05.1983. There we can find the definition of gun’s testing “ Gun’s testing has to be done in the special places or organized in the area enclosed by the natural ravines or shafts, in some cases it can be done on the open area but the hunter has to see the whole distance” . Why we ignore the experience of the previous generation of specialists? Why do we destroy everything to the ground and create the new acts which don’t reflect the objective processes in the society and are not logical at all. Why don’t we use the experience which we alreday have? It looks like somebody want to pressure and to influence the hunters. These people forget about historical reality. The Civil code of the Russian Federation obligations must be fulfilled properly in accordance with the requirements of the law or legal acts, if there are not equal conditions or demands, they have to be fulfilled in accordance with the traditions or usually imposed requirements. The definition of the tradition in such case is, the usual rule of conduct established and widely applied in any field of business or other activity, not provided for by law. It’s no matter is it fixed in the law or not. Let’s ask ourselves, who were the best snipers during the World War II? The right answer is Hunters who helped to neutralize the whole enemy units. How do you think, have the Siberian hunters had the special places for testing guns? They still don’t exist in the most villages of Siberia and Far East. Where do the small nations of the North test their guns, though their lives depends on their skill to use hunting weapon. There are not special shooting galleries in Taiga or Tundra but the locals check their guns in any case. If something is wrong with the gun’s sight when the hunter is in hundreds km from the nearest settlement of people, will he need to drop everything and to drive back to the special place to test it? It sounds absurdly! Does it meant that all Siberian and Yakutsk hunters are lawbreakers. Hunters always tested weapons in forests, ravines and swamps in the Imperial Russia and in the USSR too. There were not any problems with it. This process was logically and legally justified. One more question. Why do we destroy it? I don’t talk about the Siberia but nowadays our State don’t provide the normal conditions for hunters and other shooters to test the shotguns. There are not enough numbers of special places, shooting galleries in each settlement or each town. The todays’ legislation don’t take into account existing realities and don’t make the condition for the implementation of legal provisions. Where are new shooting galleries or special places? The classical hunting writers pointed to the fact that we have to take into account the historical customs of the locals. We all agree that hunting land is the area for hunting. It means that there we can shoot. If the hunter misses, does it meant that shot is illegal because he doesn’t have the trophy. It can be so, according to the logic of officers who treat to shotguns’ testing like to the separate kind of activity but not hunting. When USSR existed all hunting question were controlled by the Soviet power. I’ll show some examples of normative-legal acts established in the Soviet Union which have regulated the connection of hunting and shotgun testing. The model hunting rules of RSFSR have been validated by the Order 66 of the Main Department of hunting and nature reserves from March 1st, 1974. “According to those rules it was prohibited to bear with loaded guns, shooting in the populated areas, shooting to the invisible or unclear target, shooting to the sounds and rustles, under the height of human beings, shooting birds with the usage of the smoothbore rifles in more than 35 meters, shooting when being drunk. There was a remark to this point: Testing shotguns had to be done in the special places or in the places with natural barriers such as ravines and ditches, to prevent accidents, far from the people’s settlement. Somebody had to control the process while the gun’s testing. The shotgun’s testing was prohibited when organized in not special places or when the hunting season was over”.   It means that hunters could check their weapon in the shooting galleries and other places too. The new model hunting rules were ratified on January 4th, 1988. They allowed to test hunting weapon in the special shooting galleries, hunting lands when the hunting season was opened and the hunter had all necessary permits from Gosokhotnadzor. The hunter should have to comply all security measures to prevent any accident with humans or animals. Unfortunately all these rules had been cancelled. What did we get in return? The book, written by E.V Sheingold “ All about hunting weapons” was published in 1978. There is the chapter “ The Verification of shotguns in accuracy, sharpness and stable operation”. There we can find the detailed description of shotguns’ testing process and concrete recommendations. The author tells about the situation when shotgun’s testing is obligatory: after the purchase when you have to compare the factual results with data in the gun’s papers, cases when the hunter has to define the actual hitting results relative to the aiming point, when you test different types of cartridges, after the gun’s repair, if you change thy type of the cartridges, when you change the shooting buckshot to bullets. The test has to be done in the windless weather but in the season when you are going to hunt. If it’s windy you need to test the weapon the special fenced place or in the ravine. There are not any word about training shooting. The shotguns’ testing depends on the hunting season. It’s a technical reason. The testing process connects with the shotgun production and hunting. All these documents describes the testing hunting weapons. There is a remark in the edition, published in 1988, that shotgun test can be done only by hunter, not trainer or trainee. It is an independent type of shooting, and does not refer to training shooting. The new “Hunting rules” had been verified on November 16th, 2010 by the Order 512 of Ministry of Natural Resources. These rules don’t have the reference or the definition of the shotgun’s testing. But there we can find the restrictions, listed in the p.16 of the Section I “Generalities” and in the p. 53, of the Section VII. We don’t find there the prohibition to test guns in the hunting lands during the hunting trip or season. According our legislation, the shotgun testing isn’t prohibited and even officially provided and allowed. "Standard safety rules for handling hunting weapons and conducting hunts using hunting firearms on the territory of the RSFSR" 1983. It means that the given information about the illegality of the shotgun’s testing in the hunting lands does not comply with current legislation and existing customs of Russia. According to the well-known decree #288 from April 12th, 1999, Ministry of Internal Affair, about administrative regulations of the provision of state services for issuing a license to a legal entity for the purchase of civil, service weapons and ammunition, ratified on May 11th, 2012. And the addition #5 to the current Order , established form 2019, there are seven kinds of shooting: training shooting, training shooting, control shooting of firearms with a rifled barrel, checking the combat of weapons and their shooting, shooting competitions, performance of official tasks. Six kinds of shooting stipulates by the Order of the Ministry of Natural Recourses #19 from February 25th,2019. The instruction to the Order describes of accounting, storage, issue, use and transportation of weapon including hunting shotguns used as the service weapon, and special means. These kinds includes training shootings, studies, control shooting of firearms with a rifled barrel, shooting of weapons, checking how it works, performing official tasks in the departments of the territorial authorities of Rosrybolov (p. 2. 15 of the instruction). The instruction has lots of links to the Order #288 of Ministry of Internal Affairs of RF. It means that it helps to execute this Order #288. We also want to write how the another State Authority Rosleskhoz of RF treats to that situation, we can find this information in its Order #98 from June 17th, 1996. It’s written in the Chapter 7, about the procedure of testing barreled rifles, that all training shootings have to be done after technical checking and testing shooting. Thus it means that all explanatory information which equate testing shotguns as training shooting contrary to the norms Chapter XII and pp. 62 and 62 (1) of the Resolution #814. Hunting is separate from training shooting. The statement, that shotguns’ testing is regulated by p. 62(1) and has to be done only in the shooting galleries, is not true. This p. 62(1) doesn’t regulate the usage of hunting weapons. All these sections 62 and the Statement #814 is about the usage of hunting weapon on the hunt. It’s strange that “Rostec” is involved in resolving contradictions in the legislation. The specialists from the State corporation “Rostec” reported on the meeting, which took place on April 18th, 2019, that there are several problem areas but their correction doesn’t’ affect public safety, but can make life much easier for market participants. They pointed to the problem that shotguns testing before a hunt is illegal equated to illegal shooting. It was decided to make the special commission under the leadership of M. M. Khubutiya to define all problem questions in the weapon legislation, to prepare the proposals and to transfer the Government of RF. We can't say who had initiated such decision. What does Rostec have to do with shotgun testing? The citizen has two weeks to register the new weapon. He has two weeks to be sure that it works well, to check it, to identify hidden defects, to test it. After that he has to make the decision to register it or to give back to the shop or to replace it. The citizen should have to have the right to test the gun apart from time of the year and a hunting season. He mustn’t depend on the existence or the absence of shooting gallery in his settlement. He can use the special place somewhere on the nature but need to follow safety rules. We insist that the Ministry of Natural Resources has to reflect the information about shotguns testing in the Hunting Rules or better in the Law about “Hunting and conservation of hunting resources…” Why don’t they use the rules accepted in USSR? They still actual and reasonable. There have to be special places for gun’s testing in each hunting land. These place should be fenced by natural ravines or earthen shafts. We want to analogy with other implementations of legislative acts and responsibility for violations by citizens in other areas of daily life. It is necessary to correlate responsibility for violations of the administrative Code and the criminal code of the Russian Federation committed by both hunters and all other categories of citizens, including drivers. According to the statistic, there are from 23K to 25K traffic accidents per year. But no one has thought to deprive a driver of a car for a offence. We know about 24K cases of domestic violence when people use household utensils to make damage but we don’t treat to irons, pans and kitchen knives like to weapon. Why is there such discrimination to the hunters?

When I remember my hunt for the Chamois in the Austrian Alps , it reminds me the ski mountain trip. I visited lots of alpine chalets and noticed and not once the small horns which decorated the walls of those nice apartments. Each time when I saw those decoration I asked myself where did they habitat? Rising the mountain by the ski lift I saw the hoof prints but had never seen the chamois.  At last I decided to hunt for that outlandish animal which habited on the slopes where we skied.  It sounded romantic, isn’t it? I got the chance to do it on the New Year Party organized by the CMH, when won the slot from the ProfiHunt company “Hunting for the chamois in Austria”.  I gotta hand it to the outfitter and personally to Artem Veselov, - all the conditions and wishes were  done in the full accordance with the slot. I wanted to take my family  and one more condition was that I wanted my daughter took part in the hunt. It imposed the restrictions to the dates of the trip, we could hunt just in the dates of the school vacations, though the Austrian consider August and November to be the optimal time for hunting . In a week before the departure Artem send me all recommendations and contacts of my Austrian PH Uve.  I contacted with him and discussed all details. He suggested me to rent one of the rifles which he had. and I’d chosen Blazer R93, cal. 300 WM. At the beginning we were going to hunt in the area which belonged to Uve, near Rissek but then he changed the plans and suggested to organize everything in the nearest hunting lands, which belonged to his friend Ulrich. It was October 5th, when we arrived to Carinthia near Muldorf. Uve waited for us at the place and accommodated in the cozy 100meters apartments with the valley view. Nice restaurant was located in the next house. The next three days should be devoted to the hunt. In the morning we had breakfast and I tested the gun. I was surprised by the way how we did it. We just descended to the valley, drove about 1 km from the highway to the small lake, surrounded by the the houses. The aim was put on the opposite side of the lake.  The way to Ulrich’s land leaded through the deserted rocks, covered by high coniferous forest. The parts of forest were changed by rocks and bright green meadows with cows. Sometimes we met wooden cabins. It was very picturesque.  Ulrich lived there with his wife, five kids and cows. He wasn’t at home and nobody left the home to say us Hello when we had arrived though all family members were in as we knew later.  We waited for the host, wandered around the yard and considered the antlers of different sizes which were everywhere.  Those animals were hunted by the host and his guests from almost from the house. Ulrich arrived in 15 minutes and told us that was reconnoitering the surroundings but didn’t find anything. He looked like I imagined. He wore Austrian hunting hat and leather trousers.  We discussed where we’d drive and moved along the deep gorge to the hunting land. In a half of an hour we stopped, hiked about 200 meters when the guide detected the chamois which grazed on the opposite slope in 400 meters from us. Ulrich was not in vain on checking the surroundings before our arrival.  We should have to descend along the slope and to go through the valley. It wasn’t hard and soon we came to the old hunting sit-in located near the cut forest but there wasn’t our chamois. We began to move to the right discussing where it could be and spotted the male on another side of the logged forest. The chamois moved from the one edge of the meadow to the other one and was in 100 meters from us. Uve referred to me that I had to decide what to do because it was the male (as I wanted) and had trophy size. I could hardly hear what he told me because watched the male which had good size and was ready to run away. Uve and Ulrich was really glad that I did the accurate shot because not all clients could fire accurately. But the distance  was just 100 meters… It was short and luck hunt but it was wild and honest hunt in the same time. We were lucky. I got really nice trophy, it’s horns were 23 sm each. We didn’t estimate its age but it was clear that it was old. That trip agreed my idea that the value of  hunting trips was not in only in getting trophies but in the opportunity to plunge into a new atmosphere. So we had enough time to travel around Carinthia and enjoyed the Austrian hospitality.

A growing upper class in China is poised to be the next key market for growth in international hunting. At the November 2019 Convention and AGM of the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (PHASA), safari operators learned about the expanding interest in hunting among the Chinese during a presentation from Jerry Li, CEO and founder of the new China Hunting Show. According to Li there is a growing segment of Chinese who actively hunt in China and now dream of hunting elsewhere. This growing interest led Li to launch the China Hunting Show in 2019, the first international hunting show held in China. He invited PHASA members to join him for the show taking place in March 2020 in Shanghai, China. Despite tight government controls on firearms and shooting activities, hunting and the shooting sports have become a growing interest among well-off Chinese citizens who are joining government –approved hunting clubs. Hunting opportunities in China are restricted to properties called hunting farms, which must be registered with the government. Li says there are 180 registered hunting farms throughout 21 of China’s 26 provinces. Local club memberships can run up to 13 000 members. Hunting is mostly for wild boar, with licenses issued by the local governments of each province. Who are these hunters? According to Li they are successful upper-middle to upper class professionals. “Chinese hunters are very wealthy,” he says. “They are the kind of people who do business through private banks and have lots of investments.” These hunters do not come from the long and established hunting cultures typically found among hunters in North America, Europe, Africa and other destinations. This market is at an early stage of development , but participants have a heightened interest in all things hunting, including traveling to go hunting and pursuing a variety of species. Many developing Chinese hunters are eager to create trophy rooms like those they have seen in books, but they don’t’ quite know how to go about doing it. That offers international hunting companies a unique opportunity to educate and mold a growing hunting community. “Chinese hunters trust outfitters from outside of China and they want to travel and hunt, “ Li told PHASA’s safari operator members. The first show took place in 2019, with outfitters from southern Africa, New Zealand and Canada among the international exhibitors. Jumbo Moore of Chapungu- Kambako Safaris exhibited at the 2019 China Hunting Show and says there is great opportunity in China as a developing market, but operators dealing with Chines hunters must be prepared to educate their clients. Chinese hunters are eager to experience different species, but they are not yet accustomed to the selective nature of trophy hunting. “Many of the just want to experience the bush and pursue whatever they may come across,” he says. “ They are enthusiastic but need guidance in developing their hunting skills and understanding.” Moore says that while there are some more experienced Chinese hunters, many Chinese clients would benefit from starting out with cull hunts first and then being guided to more selective forms of hunting. Li describes the China Hunting Show as an “international platforms” to communicate, serve and do business with China’s growing hunting industry. The show includes international hunting grounds, hunting products, associations and organizations, hunters and hunting agencies. He say the goal of the show is to promote and create commercial opportunities for the Chinese hunting industry as well as strengthen communication and cooperation with the international hunting industry. “We welcome partners from all around the world,” he says. “Our goal is to develop the emerging Chinese hunting market, spread the hunting culture in China and create business value for the developing industry in China.” For more information on the China Hunting Show, check out the website at www.chinahuntingshow.org.cn Li can be reached at jerryli@chinahuntingshow.org.cn.

Edward Bendersky – the President of the CMH, has become the first hunter who got 50 mountain ungulates from the Capra list of CMH, and won the award “CAPRA of the WORLD. SUPER 50”.   Once Edward Bendersky has said that his life position is to set high goals and reach it. The mountain hunting becomes more popular among the hunter all over the world. They form specialized clubs and try to reach the definite levels. He also set such aims. From 2010 about 80% of all his hunts were for  the mountains ungulates. The collection grew fast and at last at the beginning of October, 2019 he became the first hunter who got 50 SPECIES, SUB-SPECIES AND MORPHS ACCORDING THE CAPRA LIST OF THE MHC! The lists of Ovis and Capra are in different hunting clubs too but there are two main differences.  According to the rules in the foreign hunting clubs the hunter can get the limited number of the mountain ungulates but no limits for shooting other species such as stags or others. The trophy commission of the CMH stroke down such restrictions and expanded the lists. One more moment which we had to mention is that about ten sheep from forty seven listed in in the GSCO are recorded in the international Red Book. Some hunters are lucky to take those species while it has been possible but none of the beginners can reach the level of 40 sheep now. The list of Capra GSCO contains several goats which can’t be legally hunted now. Who needs such guidelines nowadays? The CMH chosen another way.  The Club’s ratings include animals which belong to the same species or sub-species but taken in different regions or countries. The Club make the differentiations by subspecies, populations and morphs.  It gives the additional advantages to the hunters because they can get the new experience hunting in different regions and countries and communicating with new people. Such actions provide people who live in that areas with the job and help to save and protect the population of the animals because the locals who work in the local hunting companies begin to protect them from the poachers and wolves.  The protection of animals is one of the Club’s goal. The members of our Club can take 50 and 60 mountains ungulates because our lists are wider. The Club doesn’t compete with others and we open to cooperation and ready to contact.  We don’t mind if the members of our Club will be the members of others.  We respect the experience and status of our north American colleagues but out rules and rating tables are in priority for us/ Traditionally the American hunters try to outdo each other in hunting for sheep.  The expansion of mountain hunting has started from the USA but there are several species of sheep and only one kind of the goat (The goat of Rocky Mountains) inhabit there.  One of the most important American Grand Slam is for 4 sheep which inhabit in the North America.  But there are lots of mountains ungulates which belong to the Capra Group which inhabit in other parts of the world.  Hunting for some of them is even more hard and interesting than hunting for the sheep. They haunt  in the remote rocky mountains and hunting in such condition is really taught. Edward Bendersky estimated the level of complexity when hunting for  ibexes and elected hunting for the  Capra species to Ovis. He got the level Super 40 and took the new frontiers Super 50! The editorial of our magazine  and the Administration of the CMH congratulates The Presidents of the Club with the outstanding result and wish him new records and success  in the projects of conservation and enhancement of wildlife.

Well- known zoologists V. Geptner, A. Nasimovich and A. Bannikov wrote the fundamental work of “Mammals Of USSR. Artiodactyls” and set up the idea to acclimatize chamois in the Crimea mountains. It was in 1961. At first glance it looks very attractive because the Crimea Mountains look like the Alps in Europe and we all know that chamois habitat there since time immemorial. Moreover we know that chamois acclimatized well in the New Zealand where they hadn’t dwelled before. The fact of introduction of this species to the new territory, allowed us to hope that they would settle in Crimea. We found the report about the expedition in Crimea written in 1858 by the zoologist from the Kiev University Karl Kessler, who wrote :”… the population of chamois in the Crimea mountains is much higher than the deer’s one”. Relying on this information and wishing to increase the number of biodiversity of mountains ungulates in Russia, the Club of Mountain Hunters considered appropriate to make the scientific research of this problem. We signed the agreement with the FSBI “Federal Center of the development of hunting” for making the preliminary researching of possibility of reintroduction of Chamois in Crimea. According to the agreement the officers of FSBI and other involved professionals had to make the analysis of the historical habitat of chamois in our country, in particular in Crimea. The specialists had to study the opportunity of (re)acclimatization of chamois in Crimea. They had to study special faunal sources and to make the analysis of documents but the most important thing was to define the optimal territory on the peninsular which will be enough or optimal for the acclimatization of chamois. The needed territory must have minimum number factors which can limit the population. For example there have to be small number or full absence of big predators and low anthropogenic impact, it must have lots of pastures and other analogies with the habitats of the Caucasian chamois. All desk and field works are finished already and main specialists (the specialist of the 1st category S. Ponomarenko, the leading specialist T. Sipko) prepared the report “"Crimea-the territory of the probable historical range of chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra L. 1758) and the prospects of its introduction into the established ecosystem”. In accordance with the 1st Part of the Federal Law #9 ,art. 33 from 14.03.1995 “About specially protected natural territories”, the introduction of living organisms , in order to acclimatize them, is prohibited on the territory of the Natural reserves. The only variant which we could use in the Crimean Natural Reserve was to (re)acclimatization. After we’d studied the historical literary sources and consulted with the specialists from the Crimean Federal University we excluded the possibility of habitat of chamois on the peninsular. We admit that Karl Klesser, whose report we mention before, was mistaken when called roes like chamois. Probably it happened because people from the Eastern Europe called roes like srnčy. It sounds like chamois in Russian. The data of the paleontological researches didn’t prove the idea that chamois habituated there before. It meant, that we can talked just about the introduction of chamois to the territory of the hunting lands. The specialists explored the potential biotypes for chamois habitat on the territory of the Natural Reserve and made visual estimations on the 130 km route. The most of pastures are used by the ungulates which historically dwell there such as deers, roes and mouflons. The density of their population is 64 animal per 1 thousand ha. The serious damage especially in winter is caused to ungulates by feral dogs. Moreover wolves came there in 2014. The rocks which are the natural shelters from predators occupy just small area which is not enough for the living of big chamois population. The idea of introduction of chamois to the area of Natural Reserves didn’t find the support. In the end of June the officers explored the territory of two hunting lands “Alushtinsky forest land” and “ Hunting area “The cold Mountain”. The route distance was 143 km. Alushtinsky hunting area- Demerdzhi Yayla is protected area and all kinds of hunting is prohibited there. It has good food supply and there are enough places where ungulates can refuge. According the forecast of our experts about 85 animals can habit there. The ridge Karabi Yayla can became the home for more than 100 chamois. Those two centers has square 4 861 ha and located in 4 km from each other. The micro population of 200 chamois could emerge in that place someday. We has to note that one of the specialists , the candidate of biological Sciences, head of the laboratory for monitoring of focal ecosystems A. I. Dulitsky, gave the negative estimation of the project of acclimatization of chamois in Crimea. His main argument was that the territory of the prospective acclimatization is too small and densely populated by other ungulates. The addition of chamois would lead to the ecological problems. He reminded about the unsuccessful resettlement of bison in Crimea. Now it’s clear that there not enough food for those animals on the peninsular. The FSBI “Federal Center of the development of hunting” wrote the report based on the researches they did. We print here the full version. Conclusion According the data received from the literary and questionnaire sources the Crimea peninsular is not the historical habitat of Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra L. 1758). The results of the researches didn't confirm the approval that Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra L. 1758) had dwell Crimea before. The following conclusions concerning the acclimatization of Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra L. 1758) on the territory of the Crimea peninsular made on the base of the modern explorations. They are: 1. The mountain ridges of the Crimean Mountains, located on the territory of the Natural Reserve, were examined in the period form 28th to 30th of May, 2019. They were checked by the following characteristics: food supply, interspecific trophic competition, the availability of places where you can hide from predators. On 28th of May,2019 they explored the mountain Malay Chuchel, Nikitskay and Yyltinskay Yaylas. The distance of the route was 91.2 km. The pastures on the mountains slopes are eaten by the ungulates which habitat there and the food supply isn’t enough for the new species. The population density of ungulates which reside in Yyltinskay Yayla is less than on the mountain’s slopes but there are not places where chamois can shelter from the predators especially from the stray dogs. Protective conditions are not well. The herbage in Nikitskay yayla is better than in other places and there are some natural rocks which can protects animals from dogs and wolves. That place can suit for the small population of chamois. On 29th of May,2019 the officers checked the western and southern slopes of the ridge Chatyrdag yayla with the top Eklizi-Burun. They trekked about 14 km and found lots of places where animals can shelter. There were many rocks and ledges. The natural competitors of chamois in that place are deer, roes and boars. There are enough food but only for a small group of chamois. The ridge Babugan Yayla has the most tough condition for the habitat of these ungulate in winter. The predators, which habitat there, are dogs, wolves, foxes and raccoon dog. Thus, after examining of all slopes the most suitable are Nikitsky Yayla, the southern and western slopes of the Chatyrdag Yayla ridge with the top of Eklizi-Burun. 2. The acclimatization process has much influence the well-established climatic and environmental conditions in the territory and we must realize that the resettlement of animals which have never habitat in Crimea before could cause great damage to the biocenosis of the Peninsula. The new species will add extra load on the forage base which is barely enough for the existed species. The specialists consulted with the scientists from the Tavrida national University and Crimean agrotechnological University. The scientific community is against the importation of chamois to the peninsular because this species will ruin the existed ego-systems and biocenoses. The multi-directional positions of the scientific community, ecological and state organizations can be the reason of negative situations and conflicts. Given the above, we can conclude that the acclimatization of Chamois on the Crimea peninsular is inexpedient”. The Club management analyzed the report of the specialists and the expert opinion of the zoologist Dylitsky and came to the conclusion that the project which looked very perspective doesn’t’ have sufficient grounds for implementation now or in the future. The CMH doesn’t seek to implement all its’ ideas if they aren’t supported by the Science. We know the cases when people, leaded by their own desires, made the illegal introduction of the alien species and it came to the dramatic ecological crisis if some regions. The CMH rejected such practice and implement the plans in accordance with the principle of " Do not harm”. That was the reason why we ordered the scientific research of this idea perspectives. We took into account all negative estimations and the project won’t be realized. But our readers know that it’s not the only projected under the auspices of our Club and we will keep you informed.