Hello Gents,
Here's a few photos from my past season in Ukraine.
It was another fantastic season with over 100% success with some clients taking 2 stags.
I had a mix of Americans and European clients and with Australians not being able to travel i luckily still managed to fill all spots for the year.
We managed to harvest two (what i would call) magnificent stags for the season, both of which would place very well in the book.
Kenneth's was an old wide one with great tops which i somehow spotted thru the trees as he stood motionless watching us stalking past. Seeing only one side of his antlers i took the gamble and instructed Kenneth to take him. We managed to find a hole between the trees thru which Kenneth sent the bullet thru nicely.
The other was Greg's old and super heavy thumper of a stag. With the heaviest set of antlers ive seen to date. I had found that stag while hunting Roe deer on the edge of our hunting area with my previous client, where usually we dont see many Sika and but more Roe (they dont really like each other). It was right on dark and suddenly he wandered out into the opening we were watching. An incredible animal, and we watched with open mouths as he strode across and dissolved into the forest on the other side.
Greg and i hunted him for 3 days, stalking and calling but he was smart, hardly roaring. He finally slipped up on the last evening on dark and Greg got himself a true trophy of a lifetime!
Some clients spent a bit of extra time in Kyiv to soak up the culture in this beautiful and historical city but all clients went home with great memories and nice trophies. Some are already planning their return.

I also managed to sneak in a trip to Kamchatka just before my October Sika hunts to meet and hunt with an Outfitter i have partnered with. More on that later.

Great Trophys Congrats

Some nice sika there

Super Sika Deer there. The mass on that one is impressive.

What subspecies of sika are these ? Absolutely mind boggling hardware they are carrying.

Dybowsky sika from Eastern Siberia aka Primorsky Region
Far larger then Japanese sika for sure

quote:

Originally posted by SIKA98K:
What subspecies of sika are these ? Absolutely mind boggling hardware they are carrying.

Hi. These are Dybowski or Manchurian Sika. Their home range is Far Eastern Russia like boarkiller mentioned. They they brought to Ukraine decades ago and now run free range in a number of areas.

Wow; super antlers.
Your licenses will be coming out of Moscow for the 2022 season, looks like.

That's not funny!!
Putin is not helping my Outfitting business that's for sure!

Does anyone know if there exists any legal hunting of Manchurian sika stag in their native range? Never heard that there is

Yes, there is now in Russia.
It has been closed for many years but now there are some limited number of licences.

Roy

Trophy fees for russians?
Season all year long?

Thoughts are with all you guys over in Ukraine. The last 24 hours have unprecedented. I hope Mr Putin comes to his senses, or at least those around him see the error of his ways and take appropriate action. Until this happens keep safe and keep all around you safe.

Bet your glad you moved to Panama now. Guess if the dispute carries on the local wildlife will pay for it

What’s hunting like in the Ukraine these days? … sniping Russian soldiers aside?