The jacket of the fifth book of the Great Hunters album. The album "Their trophy rooms & collections" was printed in 2010 by SafariPress Inc. in California. We can see there the picture of hunting house design belonged to Oleg Andreev. The tome starts from the article devoted to Oleg Nikolaevich and presents the photo tour about his house. We suggest your attention the interview with the hunter, considered by Americans to be famous.
“The Magic of the Real Safari”: I looked through the old hunting magazines and found the article where you tell about markhor hunting. It was published in the Safari magazine in 2002. I remember the phrase which impressed me that you began to be keen in mountain hunts in 10 years before that date. It was the beginning of 90s, wasn’t it? So, when did you start mountain hunting?
Oleg Andreev: First of all I need to say some words about “my hunting challenges”. There is no exaggeration in this phrase. My friends - Alexey Ogorodnikov and Alexander Shishkin and I had taken part in several hunting adventures, including such tough ones as hunting trips in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. They all happened before 2002. I hunted three times in Krasnaya polyana. The first time we spent time waiting and didn’t hunt at all because there was a conflict between the outfitter and the owner of the hunting grounds. The second time was more romantic. It was night when we arrived to Krasnaya polyana. We were riding under the unrealistic huge stars, then accommodated in the tents and fell asleep. Next morning, I woke up and suspect that something was wrong. It was too light for the morning. I got out the tent and discovered that everything was covered by knee-deep snow. The guides were drunk and gave us a lot of arguments not to go for hunting. They suggested to wait when snow would stop. Ok, they knew better. I got into the tent once again. And slept a little bit. When I woke up the second time: there was much more snow and the guides were fully drunk as a skunk. At noon I realized that the best variant for me was to leave that area as soon as possible while I could do it. Snow covered all roads and we could hardly see where to go. The other guys helped us to tie the Chief guide to his horse and it carried him to home. While I and the other guide followed it. We reached the nearest base and I had a lot of trouble persuading them to move further to the town. The trees were falling across the road under snow weight. We stopped several times to made passages. Fortunately, we had the chainsaw in the car. Snowplows didn’t work and we cleaned the windshield by hand. That way took us two hours a day ago but that time we drove more than six. The guides, we left on Krasnaya polyana, couldn’t leave it for four days because all paths were blocked by large trees. My third trip hadn’t been done without adventures. It was in spring. Snow was almost gone but horses could find several places in the lowlands where they sank to the bellies. One of them fell, rolled down the slope and scattered all the things it carried. Unfortunately, we loaded that horse with the most important things such as docs, money, cameras, cartridges and so. We spent two hours collecting them all on the slope. That time I got my first tur. The irony was that we looked for the males and monitored the remote slopes but it jumped out at us twenty meters away. Miracles do happen. One of the guides took all meat but it was heavy to carry the body he tossed it before him and it was rolling down the slope hitting all stones. The chops were almost ready when we descended and the guides ate that old 13 years old male.
Two times we hunted abroad in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for a markhor. One time I traveled there alone. Then that hunt was closed and we were almost the last ones who hunted there legal.
“The Real Safari Magazine”: Let’s come back to the question: When? I’ll explain why. The hunting press began to write about trophy hunting in Africa and about mountains hunts in the beginning of 2000s. And our compatriots developed taste to that kind of hunting a few years later. Only a few people in Russia knew about it at the beginning of 90s. There were not touristic companies worked in this sphere yet. The pioneers were Pavel Gusev, Alexader Lisitsyn, Alexander Khokhlov...
O.A.: First time I had hunted in Africa was in 1992 or 1993. Can't remember the definite year. Alexey and I found the outfitter and traveled there together. We had flown to Kenya through the Embassy then drove to Tanzania where hunted for gazelles and a buffalo. We had one offer for two. From that time I visited other countries in Africa -Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon… but the best and the most wild hunting is in Tanzania. My wife and my eldest son were there too. Three years ago they both finished the hunt in 10 days. Each hunting offer included - a lion, a leopard, a big crocodile and a hippo.
The Magic of Real Safari: So, you had been the desperate travelers and hunters at the beginning of 90s. When did you start to hunt?
O.A.: Everything began from the shooting gallery. Once at the mid of 80s I visited the shooting gallery, was interested and started to train shooting. The champion in bench shooting Galya Sabitova took us under her wing. She had taught and trained us a lot and got us into hunting. Thank you very much to her for it. However, this did not happen immediately. The first hunt, I took part, was for moose. Then we all drove in the car with that meat. The blood smell mixed with others. I wasn’t impressed. Later I felt excitement and understand what people mean when say about "a sense of unity with nature". It was a very strong feeling. We hunted in corrals with Yasha Kolesnikov, who is a very positive guy. Once we met the photo journalist Anatoly Digilevich and accompanied us in the hunting trips lots of times.
One time we were invited in Kyrgyzstan and it was a real mountain hunting. We took part in hunting for Marco Polo. I remember, it was cold and we all were frozen. We slept in the tent heated by coal and the compressed dung what gave a specific smell. We opened a window to breath but the temperature was 20 degrees below zero! And didn’t go a lot, used horses. We spent there a week but didn't get a trophy. I saw males but couldn’t approach them. Later it turned out that we had almost became the reason of the international conflict. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China send the note to the MFA of Kyrgyzstan because we accidentally crossed the border of Chine and didn’t know about it. The mountain hunting affected me. All time you have to overcome yourself. I go in for sports for many years and know that feeling when your consciousness defeats the panic and the body’s laziness. The hunting award is the trophy. Which you desired, worked hard to get it and got it. I agree with the words that the most pleasant victory is over yourself.
You’ll never see such beauty as in the mountains. Nothing to compare it to. And amazing, cosmic silence!
Despite the failures at the beginning I was seriously interested in mountain hunting and probably forever.
“The Real Safari Magazine”: Don’t you feel monotony to hunt mostly in the mountains?
O.A.: Mountains are always different and can’t bore at all. Thanks to mountain hunts I'd been in such countries where I was not going to visit as a tourist. I mean Iran, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan. I have been in the place where it has borders with China, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“The Real Safari Magazine”: Once I overtrained before the expedition and had inflammation of the knee joints when we had arrived already to the mountains. How do you train before the trip?
O.A.: It’s enough to go to gym regularly and to do runs on the treadmill few times a week. But it’s individual. I personally saw how the body accumulated the experience of being on the altitude during your stay there. It's hard from the very beginning but each time, each new trip it becomes easier.
Probably you’ll need to add the aerobic exercise. The most important thing in the mountains is your breath. And legs. And arms. And your head.
You don’t need to run after your guide. Choose your own optimal tempo and move in this regime. The guide doesn't test your stamina he is just used to walk in the mountains and doesn’t know your obilities. When you choose the optimal tempo, he will adapt to it.
“The Real Safari Magazine”: What mountain hunts do you remember? Do you need time to adapt to the normal oxygen level when go down from the top?
O.A.: My problem is that I don't sleep well in the mountains. I don't get enough sleep and my body doesn’t recover. But after going down everything comes to normal.
It’s hard to hike there because of the air lack. Horses save the situation if they are used. It's easier to rise and move there by horses. But not descend. I always lead the horse when we move down. When we arrived to Kyrgyzstan for the second time, the state authority and military met us. We celebrated our meeting and next morning sat on horses and rode to the mountains. My horse looked calm. But soon it began to act strange. It jumped over each obstacle we met. It was not difficult to rein her at first. We reached the stone part of the path and it suddenly jumped. I flew out of the saddle, but my left foot caught in the stirrups. But the horse ran. Nobody understood what had happened but just stood and look how it dragged me over the rocks. Fortunately, I had a backpack. But the gun’s stock shattered into pieces. The backpack started to crack while I tried to protect the face by hands. It even tried to kick me to get rid of unnecessary ballast. My angel saved me because I was going to put on the knee-boots first but chose sneakers. At some moment my foot popped out of the sneaker. If I were in lace-up boots I would not save my head. I guessed that I’d got the brain concussion but went on hunting and spent five hours suffering because of the swollen leg. Unfortunately, we didn’t detect any beast. At last one of the guides felt sorry for me and suggest to come back to the camp... alone. He told me to go along the spring not to lose the way. I plodded two hours making stops from time to time to dive my leg into ice water to ease the pain. Later at home I made the operation because it happened that I had torn my anterior cruciate ligament. And what I have known later? They didn’t enough horses and took several culled ones from the racetrack. So, I got the old horse with its own kinks instead of the calm one which is used to ride in the mountains. I”m wary of horses from that time and always go down by foot.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: What happened with the rifle?
O.A.: I used the carbine Zaur.202, cal. 300 WeathMag. The gunsmith made the new stock from the walnut. It became heavier but I use it for eighteen years already.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Kickback from 300 WeathMag calibre... would be massive.
O.A.: I don’t say so. Probably I’m used to it or the new stock compensate the recoil. My wife and my son also shot from it. My son does it since he was twelve. My wife has a very slim constitution, she is ballerina but doesn’t have any problems with it. She even hunted with it in Africa. So, the recoil isn’t so massive as you think. Probably because of its weight.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Once we are talking about your wife I’ve remembered that we’ve published the article about your kids' hunts. Do you have a hunting family?
O.A.: Yes. The kids have grown now and I want to show them the world of real hunting in Russia and other countries. It’s too early for them to hunt in the mountains and I teach them to hunt outside Moscow. But they took part in hunting tours in Poland and Rostov-on - Don. While my wife Angelica and my eldest son hunt seriously.
“The Real Safari Magazine”: Do you think it makes sense to teach children hunting from their childhood? I mean not just to teach but to allow them to shoot from serious weapon and to get trophies?
O.A.: It depends on the child and his parents. I can’t say that I’ve insisted on it. It was their own desire, their passion to hunt. If the child wants it why not? He sees his parents and his elder brother hunt. His mom is the member of the International Safari Club. Juniors really like it. They are ready to get up early and to go as long as it’s necessary. Nobody taught them to hunt they just were with us when we hunted and dreamed to join us one day. But I’m absolutely sure that parents are responsible and not to leave their children with guns unattended. If the child wants to hunt but the parents don’t allow, he’ll find the way how to do it and they won't be able to control the process. We all know lots of stories when a boy steals grandpa’s rifle and goes for bird hunting. But only those become hunters, who don’t hurt somebody or themselves. The only way to make it is to hunt under the parents’ control. One more thing I have to note is that if the child study the hunting culture without any control it can make him a poacher in future. When he hunts with the parents, he’ll receive the right information that the hunters don't shoot females and their babies. Later in future he’ll understand that it makes sense in several cases but it's another level of hunting knowledge. They’ll learn to use meat they’ve got. My family is used to eat the wild meat only and other right things.
We have the hunting house where celebrate all children parties - birthdays and New Year party. They play with the stuffed animals, saddle and mess with them. They live in that atmosphere. Taisiya grew up on the bearskin. She was four when we came to the zoo and she pointed to the animals and called them their names. “It's Hartebeest, it's warthog”. People who stood near and heard those unknown words, compared them with the names written on the tablets and were surprised because she was right. Once when she entered the school the teacher told to my wife. Your daughter is a big dreamer. Will you pay attention to it. My wife asked: “What has happened?” The teacher: “ Tasia told pupils that you have an elephant's head on the wall in your house”. The wife said that it's strange. “ You see. It’s sounds strange.”- the teacher replied. I mean, it’s strange that she’s mentioned just one elephant though we have two. You can imagine the teacher's eyes at that moment.
“The Real Safari Magazine”: What do you think, at what age can children to hunt with weapon and how to organize it.
O.A.: The Germans understand it and even make special rifles, the lighter ones. There were special rifles Monte-Cristo produced in Russia for children. They fired weakened cartridges. It's normal if the kid is engaged in shooting with a coach from the childhood. It's legal. Or even hunt with the parents. It’s also legal from the definite age. It's also depends on the physical condition of each child. One child can shoot with a semi-automatic carbine while another one of the same age can't even manage with the one-barrel rifle. The deputies when adopted the law used the recommendations of the doctors-pediatricians who gave them the average age when they can start to shoot. But every case is individual.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: Let's come back to your hunting. Your huge trophy collection contains of many mountain ungulates including rare ones. But the only award you’ve got is OVISWorld Slam.
O.A.: Two years ago I became the member of the OVIS club and they are in process of estimating my trophies now. I have 20 sheep and many ibexes and think to get more awards in the nearest time. I didn’t worry about it till now but then decided to get the “thirty”. The new dream leads to the new plans. You’ve noticed I have trophies which can't be hunted legally now. I hunted in China where all hunts for the mountain ungulates are prohibited now, got the sheep trophy in Kazakhstan which is also closed. I have the trophy of Severtsev sheep but hunting for this species is prohibited now. I’m in the better position than the beginners and want to use it.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: You are the member of Russian Club of Mountain Hunters. Why do you choose it?
O.A.: Not only member, I’m one of the founders and the Presidium member. Why have I chosen.... First of all, It's the Russian club. Its mission statement coincides with mine and this Club of Mountain Hunters is the club as it has to be. The Club became the very interesting specialized platform for communication where all hunters can get the info they need. The Ovis and Capra list in the CMH is bigger than the OVIS list and it give the opportunity to discover the new regions and to test yourself in the new situations.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: To the conclusion I want to ask you about traditional huntings. Do you have time for it?
O.A.: Of course. I like all beast hunting. I’m not interested in birds hunting but as for bears, wolves, ungulates. I established the hunting farm in Karelia where we can hunt for bears over bait. I really like it. There you can merge with nature. You can fully immerse in the excited and fascinating world. I can seat there for hours just listening and watching. The bear walks completely silently. It's difficult to define when it goes close. It always walks around and tries to catch the smell.
Ten years I hunted in the Ilinsky hunting farm while the owner had not been changed. I drove there with kids. A half of the day we spent in the corrals and the rest of time sat on the tower hunting for a boar. I’ m the hunter and love any kind of hunting.
“ The Real Safari Magazine”: We wish you good luck and thank you for the interview.
O.A.: From my side, I want to wish good luck to your magazine and I do it sincere because consider it to be the best Russian hunting magazine.
