Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Russia, for big bears. Anyone done it

So I have an opportunity to go to Russia next spring to hunt griz. Apparently really big griz, from what I'm told. Sounds like it would be one heck of an adventure. Curious if anyone on here has done it and could maybe tell me what I might expect.

I'm short on details, other than we would travel to Siberia and get on a helicopter and go from there. We would not take our own guns, would use a gun that the guide will have there. Hopefully it's not some old gun from the first World war era.

I have not hunted there but I'll give you my opinion which is basically worthless.

Going on a hunt of that magnitude you owe it to yourself to call the guide and ask very pointed questions first and foremost. Ask for references including ones that did not kill!!!!! Your post here is a good start but hopefully it is just the very start.

A few things I would want to know for sure.

Success rate over the last 10 years to include sizes both squared and Pumpkin measurements.

Number of hunters they guide per year.

Number of other guides that can hunt that same area.

Yeah, Id get a BUNCH more info first. The gun would probably be a Mosin Nagant. A friend did it years ago on Kamchatna...used his own gun, had a whale of a time. But they hunted mainly on snow machines, meaning the weather wasn't exactly rosy...

I went booked thru a reputable USA booking agent, 4 buddies and I. What an adventure in getting burned for a ton of money. The booking agent was worse than worthless for helping us. We booked at SCI convention check a list of references did our homework an we still got burned for $20,000+ each.
The woman whom met us at airport spoke the best English of anyone we met on trip and she was very hard to understand.Food was not edible but vodka was good. Our heated cabins were flimsy umbrella tents with open fire smudge pots for heat. We saw several bears but none were mature boars 2 -3 years old that our guides wanted us to shoot,none weighed over 400#. 1 truck out of 3 would start on a good day the head guide rented a 4door sedan to transport us or try to in snow 40 kilometers to the hunting area each day.
We had over $100,000 invested between us on this fiasco. We'd have been better off staying home with hookers and good booze for a month.

well, a good friend of mine was booked to go this spring, and of course with Corona, it got bumped back to next spring. So he's done the leg work as far as figuring out who he wants to go with. Now my friend is trying to get me to go with an offer that is going to be tough for me to turn down.

Ingwe, sent you a PM.

Do your own leg work. Relying on even the best of friend is crazy when that much is invested.

Go to Accurate Reloadering.com. There are quite a few guys over there that have been on a Russian Bear hunt. There are a couple Russian outfitters that offer hunts there too.

] If I go it will be with my friend who is already booked, so here I am asking questions to try to figure out if it's something that I want to do. Looking for those with EXPERIENCE of having gone to Russia.

Thanks for the tip RMerta

Just an anecdote but I had a client that used to hunt that Kamchatka hunt every year, said that when he would check into the hotel they would ask if he preferred blonde or brunette. Said those were the best hunts he’d ever been on. I don’t believe he ever killed a bear....

Asking questions is great. But you still need to do your own homework irregardless.

More of my friends own Corvettes than any other sports cars. I hate Corvettes! But going on your theory I should buy a Corvette because that is what my friends bought.

You can get pissy about the advice, but fact of the matters is the advice is solid. Good Luck in your decision and Hunt

Well at least you got one thing right....I'll take you're advice for exactly what you admit that it's worth...Now a hardy 24hourcampfire......GFY....

The classic Weak Brigade I love it.

I've probably read 10 horror stories to every good one. I'd love to go if anybody can recommend an outfitter they have been with. TRnCO, what outfitter are you going with?

TR I bet it will be a good time. Have fun!!

I've got a customer/friend/mentor that's probably been close to 10 times. He has a blast, usually kills two bears, some absolute monsters. I believe that the guy runs out of Utah that deals with everything and does the guiding. I know he takes his own rifle, but sometimes they go to BFE on an eight hour tank ride to the destination. The price for the hunt, plus travel sounds reasonable, it's all the methods of travel that scare the chit out of me. I'll be happy to get more details if someone is interested.

Check out this book "In the Land of the Bear: Danger and Adventure Hunting Brown Bears in Russia's Forbidding Siberia" available on amazon. It is written by the guy who started some of the first Russian bear hunting operations in the early 90s. Some good information and stories.

I’d rather stay here in the US and hunt big bears. Use their gun? No thanks

With the right outfitter (where not?) bear hunting in Russia offers a lot of value for the money.

Accomodations and gear quality are reasonable, food is horrible, bears are plentiful and guides, these days, are perfectly up to western standards. All for about 40% less of what you would pay for a hunt in Alaska.

All our clients got their bear and some got a second bear for a trophy fee. None of them lived any horror stories and neither did I in any of my three Sheep hunts there (I do not hunt bears).

Never had a problem with the shipment of trophies.

As a side note, the very same hunts in Russia sell for less money booked through a European agent than when booked in the US. It happens with other hunts as well, basically with all hunts in Europe and with some in Asia, more specifically those which are not dominated by the North American customer. There are many examples.

And the only time I have been scammed was by a Canadian outfitter, and I have been in the business since 2004.

My friend is booked through EuroAsia hunting unlimited.

I still have a month or so before I have to say "yes" or "no" weather or not I'm going.

I've seriously considered doing this hunt too, and have heard good and bad things about them.

A friend went to Kamchatka and had a great time, shooting two big brown bears. The guides made sure they were looking at mature boars. I think he took his own rifle, which supposedly wasn't too hard to do, with the right paperwork.

Other people I've talked to with different outfits have told me that the guides will have you shoot the first bear you see, regardless of size just to be "successful". I've also been told that their hunting rifles are SKSs.

I think that like usual, doing your research on the particular outfitter is absolutely critical, but going on a hunt in Russia I'd be 10 fold more up tight about outfitter research.