Instead of a prologue. This article is intended for those inquisitive hunters who have some experience of hunting with rifled weapons, but would like to test themselves on the most difficult and beautiful mountain hunts and get an honorary trophy that will remind you of the difficult path passed before it.
What do you hunt with in the mountains? The question is as rhetorical as it is complex. Hunting in the mountains is one of the most difficult types of hunting. These hunts are difficult due to many reasons. First of all, mountains are a hostile environment for human life. We are faced there with low atmospheric pressure, low oxygen content in the atmosphere, increased solar radiation, extreme temperatures. It waits the hunter during the hunt for ibex and sheep and other inhabitants of the mountains that’s why the price of a shot fired by a hunter on an honorary trophy is so high, regardless of its size. It is necessary to have a good weapon and ammunition in order for this shot to be successful that can not only hit, but stop a mountain animal that is strong for a wound.
It would be a mistake to consider hunting in the mountains only through the prism of a well-aimed and accurate shot. There are no trifles in mountain hunting, and the accurate shot is rather the final stage of a complex and long way to the goal, rather than a simple defeat of the target. I would divide mountain hunting into two main types. The first category includes hunting in the mountains at altitudes up to 3,000 meters above sea level. The second type of mountain hunting will include hunting at altitudes over 3,000 meters. Why exactly this division? It’s easy. A well-trained many doesn’t feel the influence of altitude at heights up to 3,000 meters. The oxygen content doesn’t have any noticeable negative effect on the work of the musculoskeletal system and the cardiovascular system. Physical exertion can be exorbitant during these hunts due to the complex mountain landscape and very steep mountain slopes. I would include to this category hunting in the Caucasus for turs and chamois, for snow sheep in Kamchatka, in Yakutia, Primorye and in the Magadan region, hunting for bear, ibex in the Sayan and ibex in the Altai mountains.
Our body is exposed to many external factors when hunting at altitudes above 3,000 meters. First of all, I talk about hypoxia, when the hunter is haunted by nausea, pounding in the temples, shortness of breath appears after a short walk. These negative effects of altitude can have a significant impact on the accuracy of the shot. The hunters don’t have to go so much in such conditions because the main movement is mainly carried out on horses or by cars.
Taking into account all the difficulties that await a hunter on mountain hunts, a serious question arises: what arms he has to take with on such a responsible hunt, where every shot can be valued at its weight in gold?
Hunting is a creative process and does not depend on one person. There are outfitters and local organizers - owners of hunting grounds and guides. A lot depends on the guides on mountain hunts. How much the guide will be able to understand and feel the hunter will depend on how close he will be able to approach the hunter to the position for the shot. And it’ll allow to determine how correctly weapons and ammunition were chosen for this type of mountain hunting. It is necessary to divide the hunters into those who have already had experience in mountain hunting and the beginners. Those who like to shoot at an animal from exorbitant distances, and those who prefer to walk the path and experience the sensations that are characteristic of close contact with the animal. Ultimately, the choice of weapons will be determined by these factors. I will take the liberty, based on the experience of mountain hunting, personal moral and ethical attitudes, and hunting rules, to give recommendations to those hunters who, in addition to owning an honorary trophy, want to leave in their memory both observations of the animal in its natural habitat, and unforgettable impressions of chasing the beast, and how to get into the shooting position and the shot itself. I remember always, the process how I’ve approached the beast and prepared for shooting. It always occupies a significant place.
It is necessary to take into account the fact that almost all mountain animals are very endurance on the wound when choosing weapons for mountain hunting. Even a mortally wounded ibex or a sheep can go far into the rocks and be lost by hunters as a trophy. Therefore, the widely held opinion that it is necessary to be guided by the principle of range and flatness, is unlikely to stand up to criticism when you choose weapons for mountain hunting. Usually, 7 mm Rem.Mag calibers have good flatness characteristics and others like them. You can hunt an ibex with a caliber of 243 WinMag., BUT ... It can apply to the very experienced mountain hunters who can approach the animal and "scratch it behind the ear". A caliber 243 Win bullet that hits the beast in the neck or behind the ear at a short distance of up to 50 or even up to 100 meters, won’t give it any chance. But not many hunters can make such a shot. I will follow the considerations of the need to stop the animal at distances up to 300-350 meters when choose the caliber of the weapon and the cartridge. This distance it enough to predict the trajectory of the bullet, and the impact of the energy remaining at such a distance will be sufficient to ensure that the beast doesn't go far. I don’t want to speak about the manufacturers of weapons not to offend some and not advertise others. We’ll talk about calibers, bullet weight and energy. Everything starts from a cartridge with the specified characteristics that always developed first, and a carbine was made for it. It's easier to pick up the carbine when you have a clear idea of the characteristics of the cartridge. There are adherents of BLASER carbines, someone prefers MANNLICHER, someone goes hunting with SAKO carbines only, CZ carbines are very popular and have a good price/quality ratio. You can argue about the advantages and disadvantages of any of the carbines produced by the above and other companies, but we won’t do this. We have other goals to talk about the optimal weapon for hunting in the mountains. The starting point is the cartridge. We’ll focus on two main indicators when evaluate the cartridge and the bullet that are crucial for defeating and, most importantly, for stopping the beast. I talk about the flatness and the amount of energy delivered by a bullet at a distance of 300 meters.
It's not to note light mountain calibers. I would like to mention the 243 Winchester caliber cartridge. The one equipped with a Teilmantel-S bullet that weights 6.48 grams, produced by NORMA brings 1462j to 300 meters and has a deviation from the aiming line at the same 300 meters only-22.7 cm at the GEE or MRD point (the optimal shooting distance) of 200 meters. Such a cartridge will make it possible to hunt small animals, such as chamois and roe deer in the mountains and on flat terrain. The minimum caliber for hunting ibexes, turs and snow sheep is 6. 5X68 with a bullet weighing 8.16 g from RWS that bring 2049 joules to 300 meters. and fall only 20.4 cm from the aiming line. All the above-mentioned animals can become trophies in the hands of a well-aimed and experienced hunter with such energy and with accurate shooting.
I consider it necessary to highlight various variants of the 7mm cartridge. Why? It’ a very peculiar cartridge. Some cartridges of this caliber don’t have enough energy to confidently stop mountain animals despite their apparent power and strength. Here are some examples. The hunter made an accurate shot at a Siberian roe deer male from a 7 mm Rem.Ultra Mag carbine. The bullet passed through the animal at a distance of 100 meters. The hit was on the front part of its torso. The animal disappeared behind the ridge, and then into the dense bushes. We didn’t find it despite our long search. Later, the same hunter fired at the deer with the same carbine. He fired three times from the distance 120 meters. All three shots hit the target, but the animal stood, then disappeared into the thicket, and was found with great difficulty. The bullets went through the animal's body in both cases, but didn’t have enough energy to stop the beast confidently. My clients wounded several beautiful trophy male with the same caliber, and also with a Kieplauf carbine, when hunting ibexes in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. We even saw one wounded male’s insides, which fell out of the wound, but we managed to get it the next day only . And didn’t find the other two.
The use of these calibers in mountain hunting is negatively affected by such factors as: weak energy delivered by a bullet at a distance of 300 meters and further; a large deviation of the bullet trajectory from the aiming line at a distance of 300 meters (on average from 26 to 41 cm) at the GEE point, on average, from 165 to 180 meters. Only a few 7mm caliber cartridges can be distinguished on the positive side. They are: 7X64 SAKO with a Teilmantel-S bullet with the weight 11.02 g with energy of 2430j and a deviation from the aiming line by 32cm, with a GEE of 175 meters; 7MMREMINGTONMAGNUM with a Federalpremiumc Nosler10 bullet, 37gr that bring 2715j, with a deviation from the aiming line by only 26cm at a distance of 300 meters with a GEE of 179 meters.
If we talk about the 300-caliber, I would like, based on my personal experience, to give a restrained negative assessment of the cartridges of the caliber 30-06 Springfield; 308 Winchester; .30/30 Winchester and others of a similar category, including 7, 62X39; 7, 62X54. The only exceptions are the 308 Norma Magnum caliber with a TP bullet with the weight 11.66 g; an energy of 2914j and a deviation from the aiming line by 30 cm at a distance of 300 meters and the 30-06 Springfield caliber from Hirtenberger with a Nosler bullet the weight 9.72 g delivering 2258j and deviating from the aiming line at 300 meters by only 25.5 cm.
Experienced Mountain hunters practically don’t use these cartridges on serious trophy hunts. There are obviously several reasons for this. The main reason is that the cartridges of this category deliver too little energy at a distance of 300 meters or more. The flatness characteristics of these cartridges also deteriorate sharply after 300 meters. I have never met serious mountain hunters who take carbines of the above calibers to the mountains.
I would like to draw the readers ' attention to the most universal and common caliber among mountain hunters. We will talk about cartridges 300 Winchester Magnum; 300 Weatherby Magnum and identical to them. Why is so much attention paid to these calibers? First of all, they have worked vigilant and faithful and still work those inquisitive hunters who are looking for a worthy trophy when hunting in the mountains. These hunters want to know the intriguing mystery of the whole process of mountain hunting, which includes tracking, hiding the animal, taking the shooting position, getting ready for a shot, aiming and the shot itself. This category of people makes up the main backbone of mountain hunters. These people go to the mountains to see how an ibex or sheep behave in a herd among their relatives, how their relationships are built, how a proud leader who was tracked down by a hunter with a guide defends his status quo, how steam comes from its nostrils excited by natural passion. There were cases when a hunter, fascinated by its natural performance, forgot that he was hunting and came to get a trophy. This perception of the process is possible at distances from 10-15 to 300 meters. The world of wildlife is perceived as a kind of documentary film at more distant distance and the sharpness of sensations is not the same. This category of hunters prefers to use reliably proven 300-caliber guns on mountain hunts.
Why these calibers are so attractive for mountain hunting? First of all, almost all cartridges of these calibers are delivered with a bullet at a distance of 300 meters of about 3,000 joules and even more, which significantly affects the stopping effect of the bullet. The second thing is that their deviations from the line of sight are on average 20-30cm with a GEE of 180 to 200 meters with an average weight of about 11 grams of bullets. As we can see from the above data, the hunter has every chance to confidently get his trophy even at distances of 300 meters and a little further. There are cases when an ibex or a ram stands at a distance of 350-370, or even 400 meters. But the trophy is really worth it. It is these calibers that will allow you to make an accurate shot and stop the beast, using all your shooting skills. I consider it necessary to allocate some 300-caliber cartridges: a Winchester bullet with Teilmantel 11.66 grams; 300 Weatherby Magnum from the Federal Premium Safari with Nosler bullets, Trophybonded with a weight of 11.66 grams. The 300 Winchester Short Magnum cartridge also has good characteristics. I should have to make a reservation on the 300 Weatherby Magnum calibers. The cartridge is very hard and makes itself felt in the hunter's shoulder with each shot with very good shooting characteristics.
I would like to note two calibers that are similar in many parameters. They are 300 Remington Ultra Magnum and 8х68 S . These two calibers are characterized by super-high energy. The bullets carry more than 3000j even at a distance of about 300 meters. I know about cases when people hunted with carbines of such calibers and wounded animals due to the fact that the bullets simply went through the animal without having time to give energy. Once we hunted for the Dagestan tur and an 8x68 S caliber bullet pierced a good trophy tur through at a distance of 280 meters. The beast disappeared from sight. We lost plenty of time while looking for a wounded animal that fell on the opposite side of the mountain ridge. Approximately the same situation is obtained when firing a 300 Remington Ultra Magnum cartridge.
Another detail deserves attention when shooting in the mountains. You should carefully approach the choice of a bullet even giving priority to any caliber. You should always pay special attention to the ability of the bullet to give this energy in addition to the indicators of weight, delivered energy and flatness. The experience of hunting with a CDP (Controlled Deformationprocess) bullet of joint production of RWS and Blaser is indicative in this aspect. It delivers 2627j to a distance of 300 meters and deviates from the aiming line by only 20 cm at GEE 200 meters with a bullet weight of 10.7 grams. Many of the hunters confirm that this bullet is very effective on trophy hunts due to the fact that it begins to give off its energy immediately after touching the animal's skin. This is one of the most valuable qualities of a hunting bullet. I noticed a cartridge with such a bullet a few years ago at one of the hunting shows in Moscow. Then I received more detailed information about this bullet from a representative of the Blaser company at the Show in Salzburg. I learned there that the V-shaped partition located inside the bullet, due to its flexibility, makes the obturation of the bullet in the barrel channel optimal. The entire design of the bullet is designed to regulate the process of unfolding the upper part, that differs this bullet from the same type of bullet Swift A Frame, from Norma, which I shot before CDP. A representative of the NORMA company told me that they did an experimental shot at a 50 cm thick piece of soap, then studied the bullet channel and it turned out that the bullet began to open immediately as soon as it touched the soft structure. This bullet always opens into four petals, which cut the flesh with their sharp edges of the petals, causing abundant blood loss in addition to the usual dynamic pressure. In all my practice of shooting in the mountains, I have never had to shoot at animals more than once when using this cartridge. Even such large animals as the Yakut and Kamchatka moose lay down after the first shot. I got with one shot many trophies such as snow sheep, ibex, marals with the same bullet.
It’s similar to the CDP bullet produced by the same NORMA Barnes Triple Shock bullet weighing 9.7 g. This light bullet brings 2802j to 300 meters and deviates by only 30 cm, and this is at the GEE point at 100 meters. It means that if a hunter wants to shoot a cartridge with this bullet at "zero" at 200 meters, then the sagging of the bullet will be within 20 cm. A characteristic feature of this bullet and its difference from the mentioned above CDP is that, unlike the lead body in the CDP, the Barnes Triple Shock bullet is completely made of a copper alloy without a lead core. This is a completely new approach to control expansiveness. It also opens into four petals, but the probability of loss of lead filler, and the energy dissipation is "zero". This gives it the greatest preferences in terms of the stopping effect.
Optics on mountain hunts plays a great role too. It allows the hunter to clearly see his target. I would like to describe briefly the requirements for an optical sight for mountain hunting. The choice of sights provided by modern companies is quite wide. Each hunter must determine for himself what he likes most and what suits for his method of hunting and his preferred shooting distance. The desired requirements for the sight can be defined as the following: multiplicity from 4.5 to 14 or 20. At the same time, you should keep in mind that the angle of the view decreases significantly with an increase in the multiplicity and it will be more difficult to catch the target in the crosshairs. The Paralax device will help a lot when shooting, especially for people with visual defects. It allows you to focus the target image at 50 or 100 meters and also at 300 meters and beyond. You can always clearly see your goal.
It’s necessary to have the illumination of the crosshairs or point in your chosen sight. The illuminated one will give you the opportunity to focus your attention on the place of aiming without losing sight of the target. Illumination is especially relevant in conditions of fog, dust haze, twilight.
Bipods and additional equipment. You can absolutely do without bipods on mountain hunts, I made this conclusion from my practice of mountain hunting. The basis for this conclusion is as follows. A real mountain hunter knows the price of a good trophy perfectly well. The path that the hunter goes to a high-quality trophy is fraught with many difficulties. The main one is to get to these remote places where the trophy animal lives. It should be taken into account that males with high-quality trophy features are always stay higher than the main herd (with the exception of the rut period). You’ll feel every extra gram of your luggage when will climb to the sky-high heights. You’ll be happy if you just climb to the heights where the turs and sheep live. I talk about hunting Caucasian turs and Kamchatka and Yakut snow sheep. You are forced to carry the necessary equipment and food for survival in the mountains. Just believe me that the desire to carry equipment, which is impossible to do without, won't inspire you. The local guides say that only a few out of a hundred hunters are able to pass the routes that we’ve taken in these mountains. Any additional equipment will make itself known to you immediately. Thus, there is no urgent need to carry an extra load, if there are very few such situations when you can safely use bipods. This is a common situation when you can’t appear from behind the ridge, behind which the animals are located, until the very last moment. You don’t have the opportunity to install bipods safely on stony ground. As soon as you want to take advantage of this opportunity, you risk being discovered by animals. The mountain ungulates have sharp eyes and they are able to notice the slightest movement at a great distance, that’s why your attempt to make an accurate shot is doomed.
You can always use your backpack or jacket instead of bipods. I always carry my carbine in a soft cloth case. This case is extremely light, but you are always sure that your carbine is in fully operational, the optics, as well as the shutter, are not clogged with dust or dirt. Another great advantage of such a cover is that it can always be placed under the carbine on any kind of surface, including sharp stones. You can achieve good stability of the carbine in any position and, most importantly, to minimize the possibility of being detected by an animal. The local guides never liked my cover because, they said that I wouldn’t have time to shoot when the beast suddenly appeared. Believe me, this is all nonsense. There had never been a single situation when I did not have time to remove my cover from the carbine and to fire a shot. But I am always confident in my carbine. One case is very indicative. We hunted in the Kyrgyzstan mountains at an altitude of 4,300 meters above sea level, we were extremely exhausted for 7 days of hiking and hunting. We actually had the worst luck of all time. We even spent one night in the mountains when the temperature was -20 degrees. We were already packing our camp for the return trip, when saw two ibexes on the slope of the ridge. It took us about 1 hours to approach them. I didn’t see animals all the way while we were going to them. I was led by our Kyrgyz guide, who looked cautiously from time to time out from behind the rocks and monitored the location of the animals. I didn't see any ibexes throughout the entire route. At the last moment, I folded my case, put it on the rocks, put the carbine already on the case and crawled out on a small elevation to take a firing position. I put my cheek to the stock and saw two ibexes on the slope of the ridge at a distance of 200 meters. The soft cover gave me the opportunity to place the carbine noiselessly and conveniently. Two shots and two males rolled down the slope. The reader may wonder what I shoot myself from? What kind of carbine and with what optics do I take with me to the mountains? I have the Finnish SAKO 75 HUNTER carbine in the performance of De Lux caliber 300 Winchester Magnum for several years. It has LEUPOLD VARI X 111 4.5x14x50 optics, parallax and crosshair illumination. Recently, I have been using CDP cartridges with a 10.7 g bullet produced by RWS in conjunction with Blaser. But currently, NORMA cartridges with the same Barnes Triple Shock bullet weighing 9.7 grams. I have bipods, but don't use them just because they are unnecessary.
I would like to say a few words about long-range shots on mountain hunting. In my opinion, such shots are absolutely justified in a situation where: 1. You have weapons and cartridges that allow you to make a shot at a distance of up to 1 km; 2. You have the experience of shooting at long distances; 3. There is no way to get closer to the animal, but there is an assumption that the animal with an outstanding trophy can disappear from sight. 4. Weather conditions allow!!! The shooters usually use special rifles designed for shots at a distance of 600 meters and up to 1.2 km when shooting at long distances. I know that the shooter feels proud that he’s hit the beast from a distance of 800 meters or more, but...! Can we call it hunting? It's the rhetorical question. Yes, the target is hit. But what about soul? What about fluttering feeling of the proximity of a trophy, when the heart is pounding in the throat? Will you remember the animal when you watched it? The animal is noticeable as a small figure from a distance of 600 meters and beyond, and at longer distances it is just a small dot. You don’t see clearly the trophy horns nor the size of the animal. I’m not sure that I will have anything to remember from my feelings, except for the satisfaction of hitting the target after getting a trophy with such a long shot. It should be remembered that such specialized rifles will weigh at least 5-6kg, or even all 8-10kg. Are you ready to carry such weapons, plus bipods (when shooting at such distances, it will be difficult to do without bipods!), plus a good pair of binoculars, plus a rangefinder, not counting other necessary equipment in your backpack? You can give all this to your guide, but ... can you consider yourself a real mountain hunter after that, who uses a sherpa to transport the most sacred for any hunter, your reliable friend, a part of yourself– a hunting carbine.
Hunting for me is to be as close to the beast as possible. It's not because of the fear to miss, but because of the sharpness of the sensations that I experience when I hear the breath of an animal and see every hair on its skin. This is precisely the high professionalism of a real mountain hunter, who enjoys both communication with the harsh nature of the mountains, and overcoming all sorts of difficulties that await him on mountain hunts.
But tastes differ. I've tried to present my vision of the problems of weapons for mountain hunting and how I treat to the hunting process in mountain conditions. Someone will agree with this, someone will not. It's up to everyone to choose what they like. I just tried to give information about the possibilities of using weapons and cartridges of different calibers on mountain hunts.
In conclusion, I’ll try to summarize what weapons are the most suitable for a hunter on mountain hunts, if the hunter is physically prepared and psychologically sustained. The last factor is also important. An example from a practical hunting in the mountains of Khakassia. The German hunter could not hit a large maral from a distance of 180 meters, which stood sideways to him. His teeth were chattering so much from excitement that I could not even determine what or who could make such a strange sound.
If I summarize all the above, we can conclude that the main goal of hunting in the mountains is to stop, not to wound an animal! Each hunter must choose a weapon and caliber based on his idea of hunting in the mountains. The analysis of calibers and bullets allows us to come to the following conclusion: a 30-378 Weatherby carbine with a Nosler bullet weighing 12.96 grams that delivers 4483j at a distance of 300 meters and deviates from the aiming line by only 17.7 cm at GEE 201 meters can be close to ideal for all categories of trophy mountain hunting.
I would like to note that it is important not only the weapon with which you go to the mountains, but also a whole complex of factors that affect success. The main one is the state of health, physical fitness, psychological and volitional stability, a high moral and ethical level of the hunter. A real mountain hunter will pass where even some special forces soldiers do not pass. Real mountain hunting is a much more complicated process than a scholastic shot for the purpose of obtaining a trophy. Good luck to all of you.
Dmitry Vstovsky.
