RUSSIA: Kamchatka Brown Bear

[mark-hunter]

What a story!
Now, next question is, what about the trophies?

 

[Nyati]

Congrats for a great hunr !

There are a few countries I have no intention to travel to, Russia is certainly one of them.

 

[chonk34]

The police didn't seem to have much interest in the fate of our trophies, so as long as Alexander has that paperwork in order we should get our skins and skulls eventually. It might take a year or two to get them.

 

[deewayne2003]

Love the report!

@chonk34 What caliber rifle were you hunting with/borrowing from Yuri?

 

[chonk34]

Love the report!

@chonk34 What caliber rifle were you hunting with/borrowing from Yuri?

The rifle was a .30-06, which we were nervous about as we'd have liked to be shooting a .338 or .375 at such big bears. It put them down quickly, though, without any tracking or chasing needed. Average range was pretty close, within 50-75 yards on all shots.

 

[WAB]

You guys are lucky to be out of there! Your personal risk tolerance is certainly much higher than mine!

 

[poco]

Adventure travel in hostile territory isn’t for the faint hearted
loved the report !
wish or maybe not we got more good , bad and the ugly reporting
some day I will recount a trip to Morocco, libya and Tunisia that was quite the adventure

 

[chonk34]

Adventure travel in hostile territory isn’t for the faint hearted
loved the report !
wish or maybe not we got more good , bad and the ugly reporting
some day I will recount a trip to Morocco, libya and Tunisia that was quite the adventure

I think it's harder to post about the hunts that don't go well, especially if the poster made choices that contributed to the bad experience, like us going along with Yuri's plan to try flying out instead of keeping our appointment with the police.

I've got a 2021 trip to Romania that I've never posted about because it didn't turn out the way I'd hoped. I only got 1/4 trophies back from that hunt, and technically that one trophy still hasn't made it's way all the way to me yet.

 

[Iwannahunt]

I'm happy you made it home safe after taking two great bears. Congrats.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Sorry but there is no Fu**ing way I’m hunting in Russia with the current political climate/wars. You’re both lucky to be home. Congratulations on the bears.

HH

 

[NE 7x57]

Well you made it back and you have an incredible story to tell. Hopefully the trophies will arrive someday.

I'm glad I visited Russia in the mid 90s, I wouldn't go back now regardless of the reason.

 

[Brod]

Wow..Incredible adventure to say the least. I can't imagine how frightening that must have been sitting in jail.

I've often thought about this hunt over the last couple years and know a few guys who have recently done this as well. My question is:

Would you do it again?

 

[Daisy]

I have a buddy that took a trip to Mexico for vacation. He left from the hunting camp after hunting, and when he arrived in Mexico, they found a couple of pieces of ammunition in his luggage. He ended up serving 16 days in a Mexican jail. His friends that were there with him had to Continually pay the cartels to keep him alive. The story reminded me of that one.

 

[Troubleshooter]

Yuri has some additional legal issues he will have to clear up, but he was released from jail with us and allowed to escort us to Moscow.

It looks like Yuri had better get used to wearing those "prison stripe" shirts!

Congratulations on some nice bears. Glad that you and your dad made it back OK. It sounds like it was a fun and exciting hunt up until the return flights.

Nice bears..but I would not do this at the moment if you paid me for it.. FSB is overhysterical..

I think that the only way I'd do this hunt at the moment is it I was accompanied by a full-up armored corps. With air support.

 

[chonk34]

Wow..Incredible adventure to say the least. I can't imagine how frightening that must have been sitting in jail.

I've often thought about this hunt over the last couple years and know a few guys who have recently done this as well. My question is:

Would you do it again?

I would probably do it again. An Alaskan bear hunt is unattainable for me unless I hit the lottery. I felt like this was my one realistic shot at a big bear, given my life situation. I might make different choices while I'm there, or choose a different outfitter. It might be difficult to convince my wife a second time around. Other hunters before and after us came and went without issue, but there is that small percentage chance that you'll get hung up on something like we did.

 

[chonk34]

I have a buddy that took a trip to Mexico for vacation. He left from the hunting camp after hunting, and when he arrived in Mexico, they found a couple of pieces of ammunition in his luggage. He ended up serving 16 days in a Mexican jail. His friends that were there with him had to Continually pay the cartels to keep him alive. The story reminded me of that one.

That sounds pretty scary, a lot scarier than my experience. You have to be careful on foreign hunts. It's a whole other world out there. It's easy to get caught up over something relatively small, and then you're deep in the political/bureaucratic world of a culture you're not used to operating within.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Congrats on your bears and thanks for sharing EVERYTHING in your hunt report! I have one question: Did you have to pay Yuri or someone else an extra "entertainment fee" for the side tour of the Russian court system and jail time? I'm surprised you didn't have to tip the guards? LOL

 

[chonk34]

Congrats on your bears and thanks for sharing EVERYTHING in your hunt report! I have one question: Did you have to pay Yuri or someone else an extra "entertainment fee" for the side tour of the Russian court system and jail time? I'm surprised you didn't have to tip the guards? LOL

When we were first detained we asked if we could just plead guilty, pay the fine, and walk away to avoid the court process. The police informed us that would be considered a bribe, and that bribes are not okay. All of the police and guards we dealt with were very professional. I did wind up bribing officials in Kazakhstan last year, but in Russia it was out of the question. We did pay the stupid tax in the form of airline change fees, luggage storage at the airport, extra days in hotels, and I lost some wages as the 12-day extension to the trip caused me to overdraw my leave balance at work.

 

[LivingTheDream]

That sounds pretty scary, a lot scarier than my experience. You have to be careful on foreign hunts. It's a whole other world out there. It's easy to get caught up over something relatively small, and then you're deep in the political/bureaucratic world of a culture you're not used to operating within.

I was actually thinking that. Somehow through this thread, I now want to hunt Mexico less than Russia...

 

[Mekaniks]

When we were first detained we asked if we could just plead guilty, pay the fine, and walk away to avoid the court process. The police informed us that would be considered a bribe, and that bribes are not okay. All of the police and guards we dealt with were very professional. I did wind up bribing officials in Kazakhstan last year, but in Russia it was out of the question. We did pay the stupid tax in the form of airline change fees, luggage storage at the airport, extra days in hotels, and I lost some wages as the 12-day extension to the trip caused me to overdraw my leave balance at work.

I have actually bailed people out of jail so they could come to work...
But I would love to hear the office conversation when the text message comes in... "sorry I can't make to work, I am in jail in Russia for the next 10 days..."