Publications - OVIS Magazine - WINTER 2006

Gary Parker - OVIS Winter 2006 - Page 13

Gary Parker (NE) has accomplished a pretty amazing feat. In August 2005 he traveled to Azerbaijan and Russia to take all three turs on the same trip. He booked his hunt with Vladimir Melnikov, and Vladimir was with him for the majority of the hunt. It took almost an entire month, but Gary got the job done, and here are the reports:

Dagestan (Eastern) Tur

This Dagestan (Eastern) tur was taken by Gary Parker (NE) in Azerbaijan, August 2005. He booked with and was guided by Vladimir Melnikov of Profi-Hunt.

Early in the hunt we spotted a group of 150 rams moving about  800 to 1000 yards away from us. They had probably been 200 yards from us earlier, but we could not see them below us in the rugged terrain. We kept track of the rams and eventually got within 100 yards of them, but we elected to pull back in fear that the younger rams closest to us   would wind us and spook the entire group. The five biggest rams finally  bedded down at the top of the mountain ridge while the younger rams moved lower.

The ram I wanted was about 650 yards from our location with open area between us, which made getting closer almost impossible without our movement being spotted.  Fog began to move in after a while and '  Vladimir decided we could use the fog as cover. After four or five starts and stops, we were within 365 yards of the bedded rams on the ledge.

Now the fog was getting thicker, and if we tried to get any closer, we might spook the lower rams. The ram I wanted was lying down at a 3/4 angle facing me, with most of his body covered by rock. I decided to take a shot with him lying down. I squeezed the trigger and the big ram lunged forward off the ridge and came to rest 20 to 30 yards below the ledge. I had my first tur: a 12-year-old Dagestan with the longest horn being 36"+. Vladimir took an exceptional ram himself the following day, on the way back to base camp. That tur of Vladimir's was seen last  time in OVIS.

Kuban Tur

Gary Parker (NE, right) and his Kuban (Western) tur taken in August 2005 with Vladimir Melnikov (left) and Profi-Hunt in Russia.

Two days later we were in a new base camp, ready to hunt Kuban tur in the Karachaevsk region of the western Caucasus Mts. The weather was unusually warm, and for this reason insects were thick and the turs were not in the anticipated areas. We spent the next seven days climbing, glassing and setting up spike camp after spike camp.

Our luck changed when local guide Rashid spotted two lone mature rams on the ridge across the canyon about 1000 yards from us. As before, the fog was beneficial in providing intermittent cover, allowing us to close within 370 yards of 'he bedded Kuban turs. 1 was able to jet into a comfortable position, and ve waited for the ram to stand. The longer we waited, the thicker the fog was getting. Just as I told Vladimir I would shoot the tur lying down, he stood up. Within a fraction of a second I squeezed the trigger. The ram took a leap forward off the ledge and ended up 80 to 100 yards below, but still a long way from the bottom. My Kuban was 11 years old with big bases and a length of 32"+.

Mid-Caucasian Tur

Gary Parker (NE) and the horns of his outstanding Mid-Caucasian tur he took in Russia, August 2005.

After a long day driving from the Karachaevsk area, I arrived at the hunting department. The next morning, my guide Max and I were loaded into a vehicle and four hours later we met the local guides, sighted rifles and started climbing to where we would establish the first of three spike camps over the next eight days. Warm weather was again a major factor during our hunt for Mid-Caucasian tur. We were challenged by rugged mountains, warm temperatures and heavy foliage on trees at lower elevation, making this the most difficult of the three tur hunts.

Finally, at the end of the hunt, the guides spotted five rams, and we were able to get within 300 yards. However, the ram I wanted was directly in front of a smaller ram, and a shot in the vitals could wound the second ram. So, I waited until the front ram lifted his head and tried for a neck shot.

The ram went down, but traveled over the edge into a rough area and we lost the blood trail. Max and I had to return to Moscow while the guides continued to search on the difficult slope. I left Moscow with two of the three turs I had wanted, but disappointed and concerned that the third tur, the Mid-Caucasian, may have been lost. When I arrived home, I had welcome calls from Nalchik and Profi-Hunt. They had found the ram after our departure! These 30 days were challenging at times for this sheep hunter, but definitely worth the time and effort that resulted in memorable hunts.

Congratulations, Gary, on three fantastic trophies. By the way, two of those three turs were in the Top 10 of our 2006 Trophy Awards. I will not spoil that report, as we will be publishing the winners in the Spring issue of OVIS. And, those three turs got Gary to nine toward his Capra World Slam.

George Kraft - OVIS Winter 2006 - Page 21

George Kraft (AL, left) and guide/interpreter Vladimir Koscheev (right) of Profi-Hunt with George's Marco Polo ram taken November 2005 in Kyrgyzstan. This sheep completed George's Ovis World Slam.

Now we go to George's Slam hunt:
It was an easy flight for Dennis Campbell (AL) and me from Atlanta to Moscow. A 13-hour layover in Moscow was a little tough before we flew on to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. An unexpected phenomenon happened in Bishkek: we were ushered into a lounge, served tea, and before we knew it we were on our way to camp without the usual customs delays. Eight hours later, we were in camp, about 10 miles from the Chinese border, in the Tian Shan Mts. When I say we, I mean Dennis and our two interpreters, Vladimir Koscheev & Alexey Maximov of Profi-Hunt.

Camp - what a surprise! A horseshoe shape of metal buildings, with the dining area at the bottom of the horseshoe. One side of the horseshoe was a 10 x 50 building which consisted of two bedrooms, one on each end, and in the middle a wash area with, yes, hot water. Next to our hunter building was a sauna - another surprise. Yet another surprise was the generated lights in camp. Temperatures in mid-November were cold, as low as minus 10°F and occasional snow. It would warm up during the day, but only to 20° to 30"F, and when the wind blew in the mornings, it was VERY cold.

This Hume argali was taken by Dennis Campbell (AL) in Kyrgyzstan, November 2005. The hunt was booked with Vladimir Melnikov and his company Profi-Hunt.

Dennis and I both came prepared to shoot 400+ yards, and we each had to do so - at 450 and 480 yards respectively. We each took classic sheep. Dennis got one with the Tian Shan look, and my ram has the classic Marco Polo look, which is what I wanted. This ram completed my Ovis World Slam exactly as I had envisioned it in my dreams. Tidbits from George: Vegetation is grass, 6 to 8" high, and no trees or shrubs. Altitude at base camp was at 11,000 and we hunted as high as 13,800.

All of the above was written on the  flight back to Alabama.   Dennis   I developed a problem with his left knee two months prior to our hunt, so he was far from 100%. A few days  f after our success on sheep, his left  . knee locked up on a slope and we  / both knew it was serious. I talked to Dennis after his MRI in Birmingham and it does not sound good, but he is planning surgery for next week. We  I all hope that surgery goes well and recovery is swift, because there is a convention on February 9-12 and W more sheep to hunt in March. With   s the knee as an exception, the hunt  " was outstanding, and I can only say good things about Profi-Hunt, our interpreters and guides.

Giancarlo Boienti - Winter 2006 - Page 52

Giancarlo Boienti (Italy) took this 57" Marco Polo ram on his October 2005 hunt in Tajikistan. He booked his hunt with Profi-Hunt and Vladimir Koscheev.

It is always a pleasure to get a report from Giancarlo Boienti (Italy). We met for the first time on a Yakutia snow sheep hunt a few years ago, and as is the case so many times when we share hunting camps with new acquaintances, we became fast friends. Matter of fact, we have gone on to hunt the mountains together since then, and my wife and I visited with him and his wife in Italy last year. Anyway, this young man (who sure climbs the mountains better than I do) is working hard toward both his Ovis and Capra World Slams. He likes to do the toughest hunts, such as is the case with this report:

For my successful hunt I have to thank my local guide Atobek, and Vladimir Koscheev, the guide interpreter, and Profi-Hunt, who took care of me the entire trip. It was a fun, yet hard and frozen hunt. I lost the first day because of snow, but after four hunting days I got what I was looking for: a good 57" Marco Polo. What a population; I saw at least 1,500 sheep in one day!

Congratulations  on  a  great ram, Giancarlo, and good luck on your next hunts.