Post by Ken O'Neill on Nov 25, 2012 15:55:37 GMT -5
Dmize posted a question about the Trans Siberian Orchestra a few days ago, and it was thoroughly hijacked by people talking about cross dressing spaniards and Russians, etc. I even got carried away and posted a picture of a dead Russian brown bear. Whitworth asked for more details on that bear and hunt, so here 'tis:
My wife Kay and I had been shopping for a brown bear hunt for several years without success. I didn't care if it was in Alaska or Russia, as long as there was a good population of bears there, and the hunt could meet my self imposed spending limitations.
Other places like Turkey, Spain, Bosnia, etc have small brown bears, and Romania / Bulgaria prices are out of sight.At the 2002 SCI Convention, we were the successful bidders on a hunt for 1 hunter and 1 non-hunter in Russia.
It's not too bad going to Russia via Anchorage, then flying via Magadan Airlines to Petropovlavsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula, but Kay wanted to visit Moscow ... in other words, go 2/3 of the way around the world instead of 1/3. A wise husband does as he is instructed, and I will admit that it was worth it.
Here's the home of the Bolshoi Ballet, for Axehandle's daughter:
The entrance to the Kremlin:
Red Square, with a Kremlin wall in the background:
St Basil's Cathedral was undergoing renovations at the time:
After flying overnight across 8 more Russian time zones, we arrived in Petropovlavsk, then drove 8 hours to Esso, spent the night then took this MI-8 helicopter to the camp:
Arriving in camp:
Kay settles into camp with her firewood and stove:
One of several plateaus near camp:
My friend Bruce borrowed a n O/U Baikal from camp and shot these 2 capercallie hens for dinner one night:
We traveled pretty far from camp each day, lunching here at a trappers cabin where the Russians had some food cached:
Birch are the predominant trees where we hunted:
On the day I shot this bear, it was overcast, foggy with windblown snow, and with visibility ranging from 10 yds. to 100 yds. High pucker factor.
I shot the bear after following his tracks for several miles, at 55 yds. with a Win. Mdl.70 in 416 Rem. Mag. I ws disappointed at not being able to use my .375 JDJ Encore, but I was told by my Russian outfitter that handguns were not legal for hunting in Russia at that time. Yes I know 2 people who hunted with handguns in Russia, but I believe they may have put buttstocks on their 16 1/2" barreled T/C's to clear customs. I didn't want to do that.
I'm sorry for the tremendous distance between some of the pictures. If you've had the patience to hang in there thus far, bless you. I don't know what's wrong. I've posted about a gazillion photos before, and never had this problem. I've fiddled with this for about an hour now, and it's finally worn me down. The space doesn't show on the "Message" area on my computer, so I can't back it out.
My wife Kay and I had been shopping for a brown bear hunt for several years without success. I didn't care if it was in Alaska or Russia, as long as there was a good population of bears there, and the hunt could meet my self imposed spending limitations.
Other places like Turkey, Spain, Bosnia, etc have small brown bears, and Romania / Bulgaria prices are out of sight.At the 2002 SCI Convention, we were the successful bidders on a hunt for 1 hunter and 1 non-hunter in Russia.
It's not too bad going to Russia via Anchorage, then flying via Magadan Airlines to Petropovlavsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula, but Kay wanted to visit Moscow ... in other words, go 2/3 of the way around the world instead of 1/3. A wise husband does as he is instructed, and I will admit that it was worth it.
Here's the home of the Bolshoi Ballet, for Axehandle's daughter:
The entrance to the Kremlin:
Red Square, with a Kremlin wall in the background:
St Basil's Cathedral was undergoing renovations at the time:
After flying overnight across 8 more Russian time zones, we arrived in Petropovlavsk, then drove 8 hours to Esso, spent the night then took this MI-8 helicopter to the camp:
Arriving in camp:
Kay settles into camp with her firewood and stove:
One of several plateaus near camp:
My friend Bruce borrowed a n O/U Baikal from camp and shot these 2 capercallie hens for dinner one night:
We traveled pretty far from camp each day, lunching here at a trappers cabin where the Russians had some food cached:
Birch are the predominant trees where we hunted:
On the day I shot this bear, it was overcast, foggy with windblown snow, and with visibility ranging from 10 yds. to 100 yds. High pucker factor.
I shot the bear after following his tracks for several miles, at 55 yds. with a Win. Mdl.70 in 416 Rem. Mag. I ws disappointed at not being able to use my .375 JDJ Encore, but I was told by my Russian outfitter that handguns were not legal for hunting in Russia at that time. Yes I know 2 people who hunted with handguns in Russia, but I believe they may have put buttstocks on their 16 1/2" barreled T/C's to clear customs. I didn't want to do that.
I'm sorry for the tremendous distance between some of the pictures. If you've had the patience to hang in there thus far, bless you. I don't know what's wrong. I've posted about a gazillion photos before, and never had this problem. I've fiddled with this for about an hour now, and it's finally worn me down. The space doesn't show on the "Message" area on my computer, so I can't back it out.
