Trophy hunting. Hunting trophies - general information about trophy hunting, the intricacies of trophy design, evaluation rules Types of hunting trophies

Nowadays, hunting has lost its former decisive importance in the development of society. But even now the importance of hunting in the formation of a person’s spiritual world is great. There are more and more hunters who hunt animals not for material gain, but out of love for the hunting process, for communication with nature.

Receiving a hunting trophy is the hunter’s highest aesthetic pleasure and a reward for his courage, dexterity and skill. In a highly organized hunting industry, there is a constant culling of sick and developmentally delayed animals, which prevents to some extent the negative consequences of the pursuit of the largest trophies.

Selective shooting of animals allows you to select the best manufacturers and form a population of animals distinguished by high trophy merits, constantly improve and maintain it long years in order to obtain better trophies in the future.

The quality of a hunting trophy depends primarily on the hereditary inclinations of the animal’s body and environmental factors. In this regard, the properties of the trophy are characterized not only by the individual characteristics of the animal, but also by its living conditions, the degree of its provision with nutritious food, the necessary nutrition, the presence of various kinds of diseases, etc.

Based on the value of the trophies obtained, one can generally judge the general condition of the population of game animals.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TROPHIES AND THEIR EVALUATION

Hunters in our country annually shoot tens of thousands of different game animals, obtaining high-quality meat, skins, and horns. The most popular are trophies of ungulates. Characteristics of a hunting trophy, according to the structure of the horns of wild ungulates can be divided into tight-horned and bovid.

A characteristic feature of dense horns is the development in males of branched, annually replaced bony horns. Females, with the exception of reindeer, do not have antlers. Horns are formed on the bony outgrowths of the frontal bones - stumps. After changing the horns, the top of the bone stump is covered with special cartilage and skin with short thick hair. In the spring, new, young antlers grow from these stumps. They are soft, covered with skin, riddled with blood vessels and nerves. As the horns grow, they ossify, peel off the skin and turn into dense bone tissue.

Horns in bovids do not develop from bone matter, as in bovids, but from the epidermis. They look like sheaths placed on the bone shafts of the frontal bones. The horns never branch or change; they are characteristic mainly of males, but they also occur in females. Their horns are usually small. Bovids include goats, rams, antelopes and bulls.

Measurements of hunting trophies are carried out in strict accordance with existing international or national rules, each element of the trophy is measured with great accuracy, since the score and then the award received depend on it.

To measure the length, use an elastic measuring tape with a width of no more than 0.5-0.7 mm with a mandatory accurate millimeter division scale. If the tape is made of fabric, it should not stretch; before measuring, it should be checked with a metal measuring tape.

It is necessary to know the specific measurements of each element of the trophy

Thus, the circumference of the horns is measured with the narrowest tape - 0.5 cm, since the horns have many different tubercles (deer), transverse rings (rams), and lobar elevations (goats). The length of the horns is always measured along the outside, starting from the very base to the top point of the apex. The skins of predatory animals are measured using a measuring tape with millimeter divisions.

When measuring the skulls of predators, the width of boar tusks, and in some cases, when measuring the span of horns, a caliper is used. The antlers of deer and bovid ungulates, skulls and skins of predators are measured in centimeters with an accuracy of 0.1 cm, the girth of the tusks of a wild boar and musk deer - in millimeters, with an accuracy of 0.1 mm. Weighing the antlers of deer and roe deer is carried out with an accuracy of 10g no earlier than three months after they were harvested.

The assessment is based on a point system. To measure some elements of trophies, special coefficients have been introduced by which the results of measurements of these elements are multiplied. Elk, among the representatives of deer, the most common trophies in our country are elk antlers. In male elk, the first horns in the form of pipes grow in the second year of life; in the third year, forked antlers develop. Up to five or six years, the number of shoots may coincide with age. The growth of new horns begins in April, and bulls shed them in November and December.

The horns reach their greatest power at 10-12 years of age. Moose antlers are extremely variable in both size and shape. The most common horns are spade-shaped. The round bases of the horns turn into wide shovels bearing numerous shoots. The shovels are slightly concave at the top, their plane faces slightly forward and then protrudes to the side. The shovels are whole, not divided into sections, but often there are horns with a wide massive shovel, divided into two parts: a smaller one - the front one, with a powerful process forked at the end, and a large one - the back one, separated from the front one by a rather deep narrowing of the shovel.

The antlers of the so-called deer type, or trunk-shaped, do not have a loyage or it is in its infancy. Thick short trunks of such horns branch symmetrically into horizontal plane, forming up to five, less often up to six, longer and more powerful processes on each horn. Such horns, in comparison with spade-shaped ones, give the impression of being small and light. If the mass of spade-shaped antlers of the European and East Siberian elk reaches 20-35 kg, then the deer-shaped (branched) antlers of the Ussuri elk are only 5-8 kg. For almost forty years, only spade-shaped elk antlers were judged at international and national exhibitions.

In 1972 At the International Council of Hunters, for the first time, representatives of Poland made substantiated proposals for evaluating deer antlers, and in 1975. After discussion at the meeting, the method for assessing deer antlers was approved as international. Evaluation of elk antlers.

1. The girth of the trunks of each horn is measured at a distance of 4 cm from the rosettes. The sum of the measurement results gives a score.

2. The span of the horns is measured between the most distant opposite shoots of both shovels. The results are multiplied by a factor of 0.5 (Fig. 63/1).

3. The length of each horn is measured according to their outer surface from the end of the most distant superior process to the tip of the longest anterior process. The results are added up and divided by two.

4. The width of the shovels is measured along the outer surface (at the widest point of the solid shovel, in the space between the shoots) along a line running, if possible, parallel to the axis of the horns. The results are summed and multiplied by two. With a forked shovel, its width is always measured along the rear shovel, even if the front shovel is wider than the back. According to international rules, the measurement of stag antlers is slightly different from the measurement of spade antlers (Fig. 63/2). The first three measurements (girth, spread and length of the horns) are measured in the same way as for spade-shaped ones, but then instead of the width of the horns, the girth of the shoots is measured. To do this, select the longest shoots, but no more than five on each trunk. On these processes, a mark is made with chalk in the middle of their length, and their circumference (girth) is measured exactly at this point. The results are summed and multiplied by a factor of 0.65; The results obtained serve as a score.

5. Determine the average length of the processes on both horns. Processes less than 2 cm in length are not taken into account. The length of the processes is measured along their outer side. When assessing spade-shaped horns, when the average length of all processes is less than 5 cm, no points are given. If the average length of the shoots is more than 5 cm, the trophy is awarded one point for each centimeter (up to a maximum of 15 points). When assessing branched horns, a number of points equal to the average length of all processes is recorded. 6. Count the number of shoots on both shovels.

Only those whose length is at least 2 cm and exceeds their width at the base are accepted as processes. For spade-shaped horns, 1 point is given for each process over ten; when assessing branched horns, 1 point is given for each process; up to a maximum of five processes on each horn are taken into account. If an elk's antlers cannot be classified as either spade or branched, they are measured as both spade and branched. The higher score is final.

Rice. 63/1. Moose Antler Measurement:

1- spade-shaped.

Discount on horn evaluation

The discount when evaluating horns of any shape is set to 8 points: for a significant difference in the length of the processes and for the asymmetry of the horns.

Noble deer

The antlers of red deer have a complex structure. In the second year of life, young animals grow straight, match-shaped horns. From the age of 2, males develop branched horns; they are fully developed by the age of 5.

In an adult deer, the main trunk, or rod, develops from the base of the horn - the rosette; the first and second supraorbital processes are located on each trunk; behind them are the third and fourth. If the horn has more than five processes, then the end processes, as a rule, diverge to the sides like a bush and form a crown or bowl at the top.

Rice. 63/2. Moose Antler Measurement:

2 - branched.

The most valuable trophies

The most valuable trophies for red deer are at the age of 12-15 years; larger adult animals have more powerful antlers. In older males, the horns grow thinner and shorter, the number of processes is reduced, and symmetry is often disturbed.

The evaluation of red deer antlers is quite complex, involves measurements of many elements and requires certain skills. In addition to measurements, the mass of the horns is determined, the shape of the crown, the color of the horns and grain size are assessed. Therefore, the assessment of red deer antlers should be carried out by experienced experts. Maral is common in the mountain forests of Altai, Sayan, and the Baikal region. This is the largest deer. The horns are large and thick. Their external structure differs from the antlers of other deer.

The first supraorbital process begins at the very rosette, the second supraorbital (ice) and third are located not far from each other. On each; The horn has no more than six to eight processes, the longest being the fourth. At this point the horn makes a rather sharp bend back and down. The horn often ends in two processes, but if there are more of them, they always lie in the same plane and do not form a crown. Red deer live in the mountain forests of Transbaikalia and the Far East.

It is smaller than the deer and has lighter horns with five to six branches. The trunks of the horns are shorter, but sometimes they are thicker than the horns of the deer, and the camber of the horns is less. The largest process is the fourth, but is less developed; like the deer, the horn sharply bends back and down. There is also no crown at the ends of the horns. Roe. In young males, horns appear in the fall of the first year of life in the form of small protrusions.

in spring next year they look like simple rods; but sometimes the first shoots appear. In winter, the young male sheds his antlers for the first time, and by spring he grows horns with two or three ends. In the fourth year, the antlers reach full development, but the most valuable trophies for roe deer come at the age of six to nine years. According to their structure, roe deer horns are divided into two types. European-type horns are small, their length is usually equal to or slightly longer than the length of the skull.

The trunks of the horns on the skull are located vertically and are directed almost parallel to one another, but sometimes they make a weak lyre-shaped bend. The horns, as a rule, have no more than three processes; one is directed forward (front), the second - back, the third - upward (end of the horn).

At the base of the horns, large rosettes almost touch one another. There are tubercles (pearls, or pearls) developed on the rosettes and trunks. They are larger and somewhat rougher on the inner and back sides of the horn and sometimes rise along the trunk to the base of the third process. The length of the horns is rarely more than 30 cm. The horns of the Siberian tan are much larger in width than the European ones; the skull (more than 45 cm), more often than not, their shapes are set wider, diverge more to the sides, forming a much larger scope.

Their tops often bend inward towards one another, and the posterior processes bifurcate at the ends. The anterior processes are also directed inward. The rosettes of the horns of Siberian roe deer are often less developed than those of European roe deer. The tuberculation is less dense, the tubercles are larger, the processes are up to 2 cm. There are three to five processes on each horn.

Our country is home to five species of roe deer, of which the Far Eastern, North Caucasian and two subspecies of the Siberian have Siberian-type horns, and the European roe deer is the smallest size with European-type horns. Assessing roe deer antlers is also difficult. It requires not only a large number of different measurements, determining the scale of the horns, and determining their volume; without having a large vessel, it is almost impossible to evaluate the horns of a roe deer.

Boar

The boar's trophies are the lower and upper tusks. They have a triangular cross-section on the outer part and a round section in the part that is located in the skull. The ends of the upper canines are dark brown or black (opal). The lower fangs are saber-shaped and have a triangular cross-section: they are often called daggers.

The animal's canines grow throughout its life; the length of the lower canines can reach more than 30 cm. The largest trophies belong to the Ussuri wild boar, the smallest - to the Transbaikal one. Evaluation of boar tusks.

1. The length of the lower canines is determined along the outer arch from the root to the upper point, the results are added up, divided by two, points are obtained (Fig. 64).

2. The width of the right and left lower canines is measured at the widest point, the results are summed up, divided by two, the average value is multiplied by a factor of three. The circumference of the upper canines is measured at the thickest point. The results obtained are added up and points are obtained.

An allowance is provided for up to 5 points for color, symmetry, size, and curl of the upper canines and a discount of up to 10 points for underdeveloped, ugly canines.

Rice. 64. Measuring boar tusks.

Goats and rams

Hunting for mountain goats and sheep is extremely limited and is predominantly of a sporting nature; most of these animals are hunted by residents of high mountain regions.

Hunting products are mainly used for personal consumption; valuable trophies such as antlers are often abandoned by hunters on the spot. But if a hunter weighed the value of meat and the value of the obtained antlers, for which he can not only receive various awards, but also decorate a museum, local, and international exhibitions with them, he would certainly prefer to take away from the hunting site not meat, but a trophy. Goats differ from rams in that they have a slimmer build, a beard, and have a specific smell.

The horns are never twisted into a spiral, like those of rams, they are compressed on the sides, and have deep transverse plaques on the front. Valuable trophies are the horns of the Siberian goat, horned and bezoar goats, Dagestan and Kuban aurochs. Of these, the horned goat and the bezoar goat are listed in the Red Book. Hunting for them is completely prohibited, but hunting organizations, museums, as well as individual hunters keep these trophies obtained in past years.

Among mountain goats, the stone goat, or Siberian ibex, has the largest horns. The horns of this goat have a crescent-shaped curve of varying steepness, with well-defined triangular ribs. Dagestan and Kuban tours are common only in our country. The horns of the Dagestan aurochs are black, almost round in cross section, the surface is covered with shallow transverse wrinkles.

The shape of the horns differs sharply from all other species of wild goats. From the forehead, the horns first go up and to the sides, then back and slightly down, and finally go inward to the neck, and the ends diverge to the sides. Their length reaches more than 100cm. The Kuban Tur has saber-shaped horns, diverging strongly to the sides, the lateral edges are rounded, and there are transverse tubercles on the front edge. This is the thickest and shortest horned goat (horns up to 75 cm long).

Unlike goats, the horns of rams are massive, triangular in cross-section, have clearly defined transverse folds and are twisted into a spiral in males. According to the shape and size of the horns, rams can be divided into the first three - mouflons. These are medium-sized rams, including mouflons, Bukhara rams and arcal steppe rams. Their horns are small; when bent, they do not form a complete spiral; the ends of adult males are directed forward or forward and inward. The shape of the horns is very variable, but the entire curve of the horns from the base to the ends lies in one plane; the second is argali.

These are large sheep. The horns have a distinct spiral shape, their ends extend below the neck and are strongly bent outward. The Altai argali ram, the Pamir argali ram, or kachkar, the Turkmen ram, the Kazakh ram, etc. have such horns; the third is the chubuk snow sheep, or bighorn sheep. It is smaller in size than the Altai and Pamir rams, but the horns of the chibouk are very massive and heavy, especially at the base, with smoothed transverse wrinkles, the front edges are wide and flat, but the camber and steepness of the spiral bend are very variable.

When measuring the horns of a Siberian goat, a horned goat, a bezoar goat, and a Kuban tur, the following measurements are taken:

1. The greatest span is measured on the outer sides of the horns or their ends. If the span is greater than the length of the longest horn, then the difference serves as a discount.

2. The length of the horn is measured along its front surface from the lower edge of the horny sheath to its end. If there is a difference in length, a discount is given.

3. The girth of the horns is measured in four places; for this, the longest horn is divided into four equal parts. The shorter horn will have a shorter end than the other three. The horns of the Dagestan Tur are measured using the same system.

Predatory animals

The trophies of predatory animals are their skins and skulls. There are slight differences in the methodology for measuring the skins of bear, wolf, and lynx (Fig. 65).

For those who want to measure the skins themselves, below is a summary table

For skins, bonuses of up to 25-30% of the total number of points are given for the length, thickness, uniformity and shine of the hair, the presence of a mane for a wolf, whiskers and whiskers for cats.

Rice. 65.

Skin group measurement: lynx.

PROCESSING AND DESIGN OF HUNTING TROPHIES

Properly processed and decorated animal skins, horns and fangs of wild ungulates are valuable trophy exhibits that have a deep emotional impact on viewers.

Before starting to directly process the hunting trophy, the hunter must take care of it at the hunting site, since very often damage to trophies occurs during their transportation.

PROCESSING OF SKULLS

The processing of the skull includes its cleaning, boiling, filing, degreasing, bleaching and, finally, choosing a stand and mounting. First of all, the brain is removed from the skull with a scraper, stirring it until soft, and removed through the foramen magnum without expanding it. You can also use a wooden spatula or a wire hook or a stick with cotton wool wound at the end instead of a scraper.

Then the skull is washed under a strong stream of running water. When cleaning the skull in stagnant water, table salt is added to it, the water is often stirred and changed. There are several methods for final cleaning of the skull, but the simplest and fastest is boiling the skull in water. The skull is immersed in cold water and the dishes are placed on the fire; Under no circumstances should you put it in boiling water. During cooking, tendons and cuts of meat are constantly removed from the skull using a scraper or tweezers. Remove foam and dirt from boiling water.

If the skull is boiled without removing the horns, then at the required height a stick or plank is attached to the horns, which is placed on the edges of the dish in such a way that the horns do not submerge in water. Bottom part The horns are wrapped in a white rag to prevent exposure to boiling water and steam. The skulls of goats and rams are separated from the horns; if the horny covers are not removed, they are wrapped in a rag and watered hot water until the eyes are removed.

After processing the skull, the horny sheaths are placed on the skull rods. The duration of boiling the skull is 1.5-3.5 hours, depending on the size, type and age of the animal. Particular care should be taken when processing the skulls of small ungulates, whose bones do not fuse. When boiling such skulls, check every few minutes to see how the meat separates from the bones. When it separates easily, stop boiling so as not to destroy the bones of the skull. When the muscles and tendons are cooked to sufficient softness, the skull is lowered into clean water to cool and they begin to clean it.

The softened, boiled meat is separated with tweezers, and the ligaments fused to the skull are scraped off with a scalpel or knife. Then the skull is cleaned of the remains of the brain and films, immersed in water for 8 hours, then removed and dried in the shade in a draft. After cleaning the skull, it is filed. It is best to preserve entire skulls of deer, goats, and sheep. Such a trophy is more valuable, since the age of the animal can always be determined by the wear of the teeth. It is recommended to attach the lower jaw to the trophy with a cord or thin wire.

If the horns are large and massive, then only the base of the skull with teeth is removed. In this case, not only the nasal bones, but also the premaxillary bones and the upper parts of the eye sockets are preserved. The base of the skull is filed with a surgical or carpenter's saw with fine teeth, outlining the filing line in advance. To do this, the skull is immersed in water so that only those parts that need to be preserved with the horns remain above the water. Having secured it in this position, mark the water level with a pencil, then remove the skull from the water and cut along the line. When cutting, the skull must be wet, otherwise dry bones will crumble easily.

Grease stains on the surface of the skull are removed using a 10% solution of ammonia. The skull is immersed in this solution for 24 hours. Good degreasers are chloroform, gasoline, ether. It is enough to wipe oily areas several times with cotton wool soaked in one of these solutions. Another method is to cover the washed skull with cotton wool or gauze, place it in a container protected from light and pour a 10% solution of hydrogen peroxide to a height of 2-3 cm with the addition of 5 ml of a 25% ammonia solution per 1 liter of water. Bleaching of the skulls of small predators lasts 4-5 hours, large skulls of ungulates - 15-20 hours.

A quick way to whiten your skull

A quick way to whiten is to boil the skull for 5-15 minutes (depending on the size of the skull) in a 25% solution of ammonia. Make sure that the horns do not touch the water. At the end of boiling, a 30% solution of hydrogen peroxide is applied several times to the hot bones with a brush and, without washing it off, the skull is dried. It is better to work with hydrogen peroxide while wearing rubber gloves.

After bleaching, light cosmetics of the horns and skull are allowed; light horns can be slightly tinted with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or an infusion of walnut shells; for this, the shells are dipped in hot water and insist for several hours. You need to tint the horns very carefully, since experts can give a discount for light-colored horns during the evaluation, and remove them from the competition for ineptly tinted ones. Coating the horns with varnish or other dyes is not permitted, otherwise they will not be allowed to participate in exhibition competitions.

Before applying cosmetics, the skull should be tied in a plastic bag. The tips of the deer's antlers can be polished white with fine sandpaper. To add shine, dry horns are brushed with paraffin dissolved in gasoline. After the solution has dried, the horns are brushed until shiny. To eliminate any roughness on the skull, it is polished with fine sandpaper and wiped with chalk powder dissolved in denatured alcohol.

Talc is applied to a cleanly wiped bone and covered with a thin layer of a liquid solution of colorless synthetic varnish, or the bones are wiped with cotton wool soaked in polish. This type of varnishing is usually carried out on the skulls of predatory animals.

PROCESSING BOAR TUSKS

To extract boar tusks, a part of the animal’s muzzle is cut off between the eyes and fangs; this piece of the muzzle must be at least three times longer than the visible part of the lower canines. The sawn-off part is placed in a cauldron with cold water so that it is completely hidden under water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the fangs over low heat for 2-3 hours.

After cooking, the jaws with fangs are removed from the cauldron and, without allowing them to cool, the fangs are removed. The upper fangs are usually removed easily, but to remove the lower ones, they need to be pulled forward 3-5 cm, and then carefully open the jaw bones from the back so that the fangs come out freely. Then they are placed in a cauldron of hot water to cool. Cooling in oily water, they become saturated with fat and acquire a protective layer. Fangs should not be left without water and should not be washed with cold water.

After cooling, remove the nerves from the fangs, wipe the inner surface with cotton wool and dry. To avoid cracking, the fangs are rubbed inside and on top with paraffin. To prevent them from deteriorating due to changes in humidity, they can be coated with a thin layer of synthetic varnish.

Fangs should not be bleached. The inside of the fangs can be filled with BF glue, or epoxy resin, or cotton wool soaked in epoxy resin. An even better idea is to fill the fangs with wax or paraffin. They should be stored at the same temperature and away from heating devices.

CARE OF TROPHIES

Nowadays, trophies are regarded as works of art. As valuable exhibits, they require constant attention and care; they must be protected from dust, dirt, dampness, mold, and the skins must be protected from moths and skin beetles. These insects cannot stand strong odors; they die from the fumes of naphthalene, the resin of coniferous trees, and the smell of wild rosemary. A good disinfectant is carbon disulfide, which, when burned, forms a toxic substance that destroys not only moths and beetles, but also their larvae.

The skins should be cleaned periodically by wiping them several times with hardwood sawdust mixed with gasoline. In this case, precautions must be taken. It is good to clean the skins with washed clean river sand. It is heated until hot and scattered over the spread skin. Use a fluffy brush to rub the sand into the fur, repeating this several times until the sand collects grease and dirt. After cleaning, the skin is shaken out well and thoroughly ventilated.

After this treatment, the skins take on a fresh look. Old or very dirty skulls are washed with a stiff brush in warm water and soap, then wrapped in gauze and boiled in soft water, after drying they are bleached with a 15% hydrogen peroxide solution. Contaminated horns cannot be washed with any washing powders; it is better to wash them with warm water, wiping them with a stiff brush. Very often, trophy skulls of ungulates break in the middle. They are glued from the inside with BF glue or epoxy resin, and the skull is pulled together until dry with rope or rubber strips.

It is very difficult to hold the skull of large animals (elk, deer, etc.) broken along the midline with glue along the seam, so it is better to fill such skulls with epoxy resin from the inside. To arrange the future attachment of the skull to the medallion, two or three small wooden blocks can be laid inside it and filled inner part skulls with epoxy resin so that the blocks sink in it. Before drying, the skull must be tightened in a vice.

All trophies must be checked periodically in order to put them in order in a timely manner. Mounting of hunting trophies. Well-processed trophies are mounted on special medallion stands. Medallions can have the shape of a circle, oval, shield, etc. But in all cases, the shape and size of the medallion should not attract the viewer’s attention more than a trophy, so it is not recommended to decorate them; the stand should be modest in comparison to the trophy.

The size of the stand depends on the shape and size of the trophy. Medallions are made with a thickness of 1 to 2.5 cm, depending on the weight of the trophy.

To make a stand use

To make the stand, spruce, pine, fir, oak, beech, birch, and aspen are used. The color of the surface of the stand should be in harmony with the color of the trophy, the furniture and the room where the trophy will be hung. The stand can be black or brown, coated with colorless varnish, or it can be fired to give it the appropriate color. Good stands are made from a round log, slab or knotty birch board with or without bark. The prepared stand is cleaned with sandpaper, fired or covered with stain.

For small trophies, you can make small carved stands from wood. It is not recommended to make stands from polished wood; this is allowed if such a stand is in harmony with the furniture of the room. The antlers of deer and roe deer, prepared together with the skull, can be hung on the wall without a medallion. When installing any trophies, you must always remember that if they are evaluated, they must be easily removed from the medallion and attached, this especially applies to the antlers of deer, roe deer, and wild boar tusks. The most difficult thing to make is a stand for ram horns.

The shape of these horns is such that it is impossible to hang them on the wall without a special stand. In this regard, a special protrusion is made on the medallion, and a trophy is mounted on it. Such horns can be hung on a beautiful, strong cord, which is passed through the occipital holes and holes in the wall, and tied on the back side. You can make a stand for ram horns from a piece of round log, sawing it to the desired height.

It is better to cut the upper part at an angle of 30°. The size of the top part of the log should be slightly wider than the ram’s skull so that its curled horns can freely fall along the sides of the stand. A wide variety of medallions are selected for mounting boar tusks. The upper fangs are placed symmetrically in the center of the medallion, and the lower ones on the left and right. To attach the fangs to the medallion, special decorative frames made of various non-ferrous metals, wood, and bone are used. The fangs are mounted so that between them and the surface of the medallion there is a gap of about 1 mm in height, necessary for subsequent measurement of the girth of the fangs.

Otherwise, the commission of experts is forced to dismantle the trophy. Often, for the frame, they take a semi-rigid copper plate 0.3-0.4 mm thick and cut out narrow strips from it to install clamp-type fastenings, which are used to grab the fang in several places, their ends are threaded through the holes in the medallion and secured with nails on the reverse side. The fangs can be attached to the medallion with screws, but the installation of such fastening requires certain skills; cases of cracking of the fangs during the installation of fastenings are not uncommon.

To attach large and heavy trophies (elk, deer, ram), four holes are drilled on the skull and two for light trophies. The length of the screw or screw must be calculated taking into account the thickness of the medallion; the head of the screw is placed in a recess located in the medallion on the reverse side. Skulls of predatory animals can be mounted on stands of different thicknesses and an inclination of 20-F. Mounted using screws. The jaws are better open so that the fangs do not cover one another. On the medallion under the trophy you can place a label in the form of a metal plate. The label is engraved with the name of the animal species, the year and place of production, the surname, first name, and patronymic of the owner of the trophy.

For these purposes, it is better to make plates of organic glass with special grooves into which a card with the above data is inserted. The skins of predatory animals must be tanned in a special workshop. The finished skin is hemmed with cloth, preferably green completely or only along the edges of the outline. The edges of the cloth are cut with teeth or other patterns.

Then, in accordance with the contour, a lining is cut out of the fabric and hemmed to the cloth on the back side of the skin. Between the skin and the lining, it is good to lay batting in the shape of the skin. Metal rings are sewn to the head, tail, and paws at a distance of 30-50 cm from one another to attach the carpet to the wall. The main task of the owner of the trophy is to preserve it so that it always has a good display appearance.

Hunting is the oldest human activity and a sport that allows one to show courage, dexterity, strength, and endurance.

Having emerged victorious in a fight with an animal, the hunter kept fangs, skins of predators, and horns of hoofed animals as evidence of his valor. The owner of such trophies enjoyed the respect of his fellow tribesmen.

The most popular trophies are horns, fangs, skins, and skulls of wild animals. Properly processed and mounted on special stands (medallions), they have a deep emotional impact on viewers, delight in the perfection of their form and beauty, and amaze with their size and power. In terms of the depth of aesthetic impression, hunting trophies can be compared to works of art, which is why trophy exhibitions always arouse great interest and attract many visitors.

As hunting sports develop, interest grows; hunting trophies, holding international and national exhibitions, there was a need to develop a system for evaluating hunting trophies.

For the first time (1894, Austria), red deer antlers were evaluated using the Meran method. The initial assessment of trophies was carried out subjectively, without special rules, based on visual impression. The measurement of trophies did not play a significant role. Even several decades later, only a few characteristic dimensions were taken into account. Only at the end of the 20s of our century were more objective assessment methods developed and became widespread.

In 1927, in Germany, Beger proposed a method for assessing roe deer antlers, in Hungary Nadler - a system for assessing red deer antlers, and later in Hungary, methods for assessing the antlers of fallow deer, mouflon and wild boar tusks appeared. In Germany and Austria, methods for assessing elk and chamois antlers have been developed.

In 1932, in Czechoslovakia, Dyk substantiated his rules for evaluating the antlers of red deer, fallow deer and roe deer, excluding the weight of the antlers from the evaluation elements, since it changes over time.

In addition, the weight of the trophy is also affected by what part of the skull is left with it (sometimes the entire skull is left).

In 1937, at a meeting of the International Council of Hunters in Prague, when discussing the issue of holding an international exhibition of trophies in Berlin, the most objective methods were chosen and, after making changes, adopted as international rules.

After the Second World War, the question arose about the resumption of international hunting exhibitions. At the meeting of the International Council of Hunters in Madrid in 1952, the international scoring system was clarified and significantly expanded. However, there are still controversial issues regarding the methods of measuring and evaluating trophies, in particular red deer. In Austria and Hungary, the pioneer countries of the scoring system, they sought to keep Nadler's method unchanged. However, it focuses primarily on assessing the physical properties of the trophy (such as size, power, massiveness) and does not sufficiently take into account its aesthetic merits, therefore, at the meeting of the International Council of Hunters in Copenhagen in 1955, the international assessment system established in 1952 was officially approved. in Madrid.

Over several decades, methods for assessing hunting trophies have changed significantly and have become more objective, taking into account their size, weight, volume (with a certain point system of measurements by animal species).

The aesthetic elements of the trophy began to play a lesser role, since their assessment is subjective: different experts do not like the same elements of the trophy to the same extent.

The creation of more advanced methods for assessing trophies was facilitated by international exhibitions. Subsequent changes to the international trophy scoring system were made at the World Hunting Exhibition held in Budapest in 1971.

Unified international methods for measuring trophies and scoring make it possible to establish a gradation of demonstrated hunting trophies and award them with appropriate awards.

International hunting exhibitions have been organized for more than half a century. They played a big role in promoting the sport of hunting and developing criteria for evaluating hunting trophies.

The first such exhibition opened in the summer of 1910 in Vienna. It exhibited 2,900 trophies from five European countries. At that time, the evaluation of trophies was carried out subjectively, by free judgment, i.e., according to their external data, and as a result, more than a thousand trophies were recognized as the best.

The next exhibition took place in 1930 in Leipzig, where 3,000 trophies from six European countries were displayed. The evaluation of trophies here has already been carried out using specially developed methods.

In 1937, the largest International Hunting Exhibition took place in Berlin, exhibiting 7195 trophies from 24 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Soviet Union. This was our first appearance at an international show. The champions of the exhibition were the antlers of the European deer (Czechoslovakia), rated at 242.0 points, the antlers of the European roe deer - 184.3 points, and the tusks of the wild boar - 151.0 points (Poland). These boar tusks are still champions on their own merits. During the war, the fangs were lost, but their measurements and photographs were preserved, from which a copy of them was skillfully made in Poland. At the Berlin exhibition, the championship in fallow deer horns belonged to Hungary, and in chamois horns - to Romania.

In October 1954, the first post-war exhibition dedicated to hunting and sport fishing took place in Düsseldorf. It featured 2,639 trophies from 21 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. Of the socialist countries, only one participant in the exhibition was Yugoslavia. At this exhibition, new champions were established only for the antlers of the European deer - a score of 248.55 (taken in Yugoslavia).

In 1960 and again in 1964, the Italian National Hunting Exhibitions were held in Florence. The first of them was attended by four European countries, which exhibited a total of 205 trophies, in the second, seven European countries, which exhibited 396 trophies.

In 1967, an international exhibition was opened in Novi Sad (Yugoslavia) with the participation of 18 countries. Its two pavilions displayed 2,377 trophies, of which 1,190 received gold medals. Trophies at this exhibition were evaluated according to the rules approved by the International Council of Hunters.

Socialist countries took the leading place at the Yugoslav exhibition: six champions belonged to Romania, two each to Hungary and Czechoslovakia, one each to Yugoslavia, Poland, and the USSR. The champion of the exhibition from the Soviet Union was elk antlers (score 406.55 points).

The largest and most popular was the World Hunting Exhibition in 1971 in Budapest (Hungary). For about four years, the organizational bureau carried out preparatory work with the involvement of hundreds of specialists from different countries.

The World Hunting Exhibition was held under the motto “Man, Hunting and Nature”. The main objective of the exhibition is to demonstrate the influence of hunting on modern life people, display the level of development of hunting, summarize the achievements of science and best practices in the development of this sector of the economy, show the role of hunting in nature conservation and the development of international tourism.

For the exhibition, 40 hectares of park territory with a pavilion area of ​​30 thousand m2 were allocated. Open areas of land were allocated for animals.

51 countries from Europe, Asia, Africa and America took part in the exhibition. Of these, 34 countries exhibited the achievements of hunting in their national pavilions, 6 countries in joint pavilions and 11 countries took part in individual events.

Most of the display in the national pavilions was occupied by hunting trophies. More than 30 countries presented 5,389 trophies of 122 species. The assessment of hunting trophies was carried out by an international expert commission according to the rules approved by the International Council of Hunters. The most extensive displays at this exhibition were presented by socialist countries. Nine countries of the socialist camp exhibited 4013 trophies, i.e. 74% of the total number of trophies exhibited. They received 2,750 gold medals out of 3,349 (about 80%).

The most extensive collection of 534 trophies from 36 species and subspecies of animals was presented by the Soviet Union. In terms of the number of trophies, it ranked second after the Hungarian one, but in terms of diversity it had no equal. Romania was in third place, Poland in fourth.

The list of participating countries, the number of trophies that received medals and the main prize of the Grand Prix exhibition is given in Table 1.

TABLE 1

Central place on world show occupied by the antlers of red deer - 1111 specimens from 18 countries. The expositions of 9 socialist countries displayed 1019 trophies, which received 585 gold awards. There were a total of 92 trophies from Austria, England, Belgium, Iran, Spain, France, Chile and Switzerland.

The Soviet collection consisted of 98 trophies of five subspecies: deer, red deer, Caucasian, Central European and Bukhara deer. 41 trophies were awarded a gold medal.

The antlers of the European roe deer were extremely popular at the exhibition - 1,102 specimens from 17 countries. Roe deer trophies were presented by Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia. They offered 846 trophies and reaped a rich golden harvest of 545 gold medals.

The most representative was the exposition of the Hungarian People's Republic - 316 copies, of which 130 were awarded gold awards. Large collection shown by the Polish People's Republic - 114 trophies, of which 104 are gold medalists. The title of champion was awarded to the horns from Hungary with a score of 228.68 points.

Among the most interesting trophies were elk antlers. At exhibitions they attracted the attention of visitors with their enormous size, power and variety of shapes. Moose antlers (74 trophies) were displayed by five countries: the Soviet Union, the Mongolian People's Republic, the Polish People's Republic, France and Sweden. The owner of the largest collection was the Soviet Union - 53 trophies, 40 of which were awarded gold medals and 13 - silver. First place and the title of champion went to elk antlers from the USSR with a score of 415.9 points (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Moose antlers are world record holders

Among hunting trophies, the horns of wild sheep occupied a worthy place. Their power, remarkable spiral curve and perfect symmetry aroused the admiration of visitors. High-class trophies were displayed by socialist countries. Mouflon horns were exhibited by 11 countries, including 4 socialist countries. The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic presented 72 trophies, the German Democratic Republic - 28, the Hungarian People's Republic - 25 and the People's Republic of Bulgaria - 2 trophies, and the remaining 7 countries together - only 39 trophies. There were a total of 127 mouflon horns from socialist countries, of which 102 were awarded gold medals. In addition to the horns of mouflon, the socialist countries showed the horns of three more subspecies of mountain sheep: 11 trophies of the Altai sheep (Argali) - Mongolian People's Republic, 3 - the Soviet Union, 11 trophies of the Turkmen steppe sheep (arkala) and 17 trophies of the Pamir sheep (Marco Polo) - also Soviet Union. Of the 42 trophies, 21 were awarded a gold medal.

The Soviet Union also exhibited 15 trophies of bighorn sheep. Two of them were awarded gold medals, eight received silver, and three received bronze.

The most representative collection at the world show in Budapest was the collection of wild goat trophies from the Soviet Union (82 out of 92 received gold awards). They were distinguished by a variety of shapes: the long saber-shaped horns of the bezoar goat and the Siberian ibex, the massive horns of the Dagestan and Kuban aurochs, the horns of the horned goat twisted into a bizarre spiral.

The Mongolian People's Republic received 12 gold medals for the horns of the Siberian ibex. In addition, ibex horns were represented by Iran - 14 specimens and Spain - 21 specimens.

Fallow deer antlers (154 specimens) were exhibited by ten states. The title of champion was awarded to the horns from Hungary with a score of 217.25 points. The USSR did not show this type of trophies, since fallow deer are few in number and are not the object of hunting.

The decoration of the world exhibition were the horns of saiga, goitered gazelle, and gazelle from the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People's Republic; 21 pairs of saiga horns and 8 pairs of goitered gazelle horns from the Soviet Union were awarded gold medals; Mongolian trophies received 59 gold medals. The champions of the exhibition were the saiga horns (Fig. 2), estimated at 91.77 points, and the horns of the goitered gazelle from the USSR (111.4 points).

Rice. 2. Saiga horns are world record holders

The most popular hunting trophies turned out to be boar tusks. At the world review they were exhibited by 14 countries, including 9 socialist ones. The total number of these trophies was 816 copies, of which 758 were demonstrated by the countries of the socialist camp and received 530 gold medals, the remaining five countries (Austria, Belgium, Iran, Germany and Spain) showed a total of 58 trophies.

The subject of special pride for hunters in socialist countries were trophies - world record holders, as well as gold medalists of the world hunting exhibition "Budapest-71". Socialist countries hold the world championship in trophies of 28 species and subspecies of animals.

In the collection of the Soviet Union, trophies of 15 species and subspecies are recognized as world record holders: European moose antlers - 415.90 points; maral - 391.70; red deer - 157.65; reindeer - 989.00; Siberian roe deer - 267.30; Turkmen arkala ram - 311.85; Pamir sheep (Marco Polo) - 385.45; bighorn sheep - 269.80; Kuban tour - 269.75; Dagestan tour - 308.95; markhor markhor goat - 283.70; goitered gazelle - 111.40; saiga - 91.17; polar bear skulls - 70.61 and wild cat skulls - 19.57 points.

Four world record holders of the Socialist Republic of Romania: chamois horns - 141.10 points, brown bear skull - 65.75, brown bear skin - 398.55, lynx skin - 160.84 points.

The Hungarian People's Republic has three world record holders: the antlers of the Carpathian deer - 251.83 points, the European roe deer - 228.68, and the fallow deer - 217.25 points.

The Mongolian People's Republic held three world records: the horns of the Siberian mountain goat - 270.15 points, the mountain sheep (argali) - 424.30 and the gazelle - 77.09 points.

The skulls of a wolf - 44.25 points and a lynx - 28.40 points, belonging to Czechoslovakia, were also world record holders.

The following are recognized as world record holders: one trophy from the Polish People's Republic - a wolf skin - 148.00 points and one trophy from Yugoslavia - boar tusks with a score of 142.30 points.

Socialist countries received 25 of the 29 first places in trophies among European countries. The awarding of 18 Grand Prix, 329 gold, 158 silver and 47 bronze medals to the USSR is a great victory for our hunters.

In 1976, in Czechoslovakia, in Cessk Budejovice, for the first time, an exhibition was held of the achievements of the hunting industry of the socialist countries over the past five years. Hunting organizations from Bulgaria, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia took part in the exhibition, demonstrating more than 4 thousand of the best hunting trophies of 28 species (Table 2).

TABLE 2

The expert commission included 47 expert specialists from six socialist countries, including the Russian Union of Hunters and Fishers. The trophies were assessed according to international rules.

The expert commission reviewed and approved a new award scale. As a result, our trophies, such as the antlers of deer, red deer, and Siberian roe deer, received higher ratings than domestic ones.

European deer antlers were presented by 7 countries - 1152 specimens, of which 189 were awarded gold medals.

Czechoslovakia had the largest collection - 984 copies. Most of the gold medals went to the Romanian Union of Hunters. The world champion was the red deer antlers belonging to Bulgaria - 253.62 points.

No less interesting and large was the collection of trophies of European roe deer, mouflon antlers, sika deer, fallow deer, and wild boar tusks.

The exhibition featured 120 specimens of skins from four species of wild animals. Romania continues to hold the absolute championship in terms of the largest bear skins. The lynx skin of the Cherepovets District Society of Hunters and Fishers of the Vologda Region improved the previously set world record by 3.48 points. New record - 164.12 points.

Skulls of wild animals in the amount of 486 specimens of five species were exhibited in 5 countries; 12 new world records belong to socialist countries.

The trophies, which received a record rating, were demonstrated in a specially equipped “Peoples of the World” pavilion, where each country had its own exposition.

The collection of trophies of the Russian Hunting and Fishing Union in Česk Budejovice consisted of 95 specimens of 15 species. Among them, elk antlers belonging to the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Livestock Raw Materials and Furs were valued at 470.29 points and improved the world record by 54.39 points.

Deer horns set new record, receiving a score of 187.47 points (Fig. 3). The horns of the red deer also exceeded the previous world record, receiving 176.40 points.

Rice. 3. The horns of the deer are world record holders

The Main Exhibition Committee awarded the board of the Rosokhotrybolovsoyuz with a Certificate of Honor, a diploma and the Golden Spike medal for demonstrating outstanding trophies, achievements and prospects for the development of hunting and sport fishing.

By the beginning of the exhibition, a catalog of hunting trophies, an album containing world champion trophies, magazines with the results of trophy evaluation and posters on hunting and nature conservation were published.

The participation of socialist states in the joint exhibition and its brilliant success demonstrated the widespread development of hunting in the socialist countries.

Exhibitions and competitions of trophies were held in 1973 in the Altai, Khabarovsk regional, Moscow regional and Bashkir republican societies of hunters and fishermen.

The most successful and interesting was the exhibition of hunting trophies in Altai. The main objective of the exhibition is to demonstrate the level of development of hunting and the beauty of the native land.

The trophies were assessed by experts who completed the All-Russian courses. More than 140 trophies of 20 types were exhibited, 68 of them were previously demonstrated at the All-Russian Competition of Hunting Trophies, at which 30 trophies were awarded gold, 25 - silver and 12 - bronze medals. Based on the results of the All-Russian competition, the regional society of hunters was awarded a challenge prize.

Collections of stuffed birds and animals, as well as medals and diplomas received at domestic and international exhibitions. The sale of various souvenirs and crafts was organized. Specialists provided qualified advice and conducted excursions. The exhibition aroused great interest among residents of the city of Barnaul.

The first steps to organize such exhibitions were taken by the Bashkir Republican Society of Hunters and Fishers. In Ufa, about 30 trophies of 11 types were presented in the hall of the Sports Palace. In addition to hunting trophies, the exhibition included hunting rifles, equipment, furs, various souvenirs, and photographs. Particularly interesting were the living corners of nature of the local region with their inhabitants and the “Nature Sculpture” corner, where crafts made from twigs and roots were exhibited. In 1976, the Bashkir Republican Society of Hunters and Fishers held a second exhibition.

The Moscow regional society displayed hunting trophies in the board assembly hall. All trophies were decorated with great taste and placed on special stands. In terms of species composition, they were not much inferior to the exhibition of hunting trophies that took place in Altai. Visitors got acquainted with the antlers of elk, deer, wapiti, fallow deer, goitered gazelle, saiga, wild goats, rams, skulls and skins of wild animals. Of the 42 trophies on display, 18 received gold, 11 silver and 4 bronze medals.

A competition for the best hunting trophy was held in Khabarovsk. The exhibition featured 25 trophies of four types. This is too small a collection for the Khabarovsk Territory, but the hunters of the region began collecting trophies and continue this work now.

The example of regional and regional societies of hunters and fishermen was followed by regional societies. The Cherepovets District Society of Hunters and Fishermen of the Vologda Region organized a competition and exhibition in 1974 with a demonstration of not only hunting trophies, but also corners of wildlife, interesting photo exhibitions telling about the natural resources of the Vologda Region. At the entrance there was a stuffed animal of a huge boar, made in good quality. professional level. Further among the trees there was a large group of showing black grouse and wood grouse, and stuffed partridges. The main exhibition was hunting trophies. Elk antlers were especially widely represented - 24 specimens. In addition to elk antlers, the exhibition included trophies of deer, wapiti, European and reindeer, Siberian roe deer, ibex, saiga, fallow deer, chamois, lynx skulls, wolves, and brown bears. The well-dressed and beautifully decorated lynx skin attracted much attention.

Before organizing the exhibition, the board of the society announced competitions for the best hunting trophies, stuffed animals and photographs of wild animals, and the winners were awarded medals and diplomas.

The organization of such exhibitions is necessary. Their main task is to promote the sport of hunting, the ideas of nature conservation and instilling love for their native land.

All-Union and international exhibitions of hunting trophies have shown that the currently used national and international assessment systems and measurement rules provide objective indicators that satisfactorily characterize the physical properties and advantages of trophies of each type. However, the current rules are still far from perfect. For example, the qualitative elements of the trophy, in particular such as typicality and symmetry, are not sufficiently assessed.

Typicality should be understood as the quantity and location components, shape and relationship of individual elements of the trophy. To evaluate these elements, there is a system of bonus points, and discounts are applied for atypical shape, asymmetry and other defects. However, the premiums are very small. For example, in the overall assessment of the horns of the European roe deer (130 points or more), the premium for symmetry and beauty does not exceed 5 points; The horns of the mountain sheep - mouflon, receiving more than 300 points for length, girth and scope, can only be added up to 5 points for perfection of form and beauty.

Within the same limits, discounts are allowed for asymmetry, atypical shape and other defects. And in the assessment of red deer antlers, no premiums are provided. Only discounts are possible for defects (asymmetrical horns, broken, bent ends, etc.) within 3 points for a total trophy score of 200 points or more.

At exhibitions of hunting trophies, the winners, as a rule, are the most powerful, massive, but not always beautiful and typical. This encourages sports hunters to get the most massive trophies and stimulates hunting farms to select animals in this direction. It is known that some hunting farms in Yugoslavia and other countries even use special fertilizers that accelerate the growth of antlers in deer. The typicality of the trophy, perfection of form and symmetry in this case are relegated to the background in breeding work. Hence the need arises to develop additional methods for assessing these properties. In particular, it is advisable to revise the scale for assessing the span of antlers in deer and roe deer.

According to the current rules, points for the span of antlers for Carpathian, Caucasian, Central European and Crimean deer and for all subspecies of roe deer are determined by the percentage of the largest span of the horns to the average length of their trunks. If for deer this ratio is less than 80%, then no points are added to the trophy; for 60–70% - 1 point, for 70–80–2, for 80.1–100% - 3 points. If the camber is excessive (over 100%), no points are awarded. There is no justification for this gradation.

The span of the horns is one of the most important qualitative elements of the trophy and signs of the typicality of its shape, but its score does not exceed 3 points, which is much less than the points for the length and girth of the horns, the circumference of the rosettes, etc. In addition, the rules allow the span to fluctuate over a wide range (60–100%), within which the trophy is awarded a point. We assume that the assessment of antlers will become more reasonable and natural if for each subspecies of deer and roe deer the average span is determined, which should be considered normal, typical and assessed with high scores (no less than for the length of the antlers). Any deviation from typical camber must be taken into account as a defect, for which discounts must be made from the total amount of trophy points. The discount can be up to 2 points for each percentage deviation. It is also advisable to introduce premiums for the symmetry of the trophy and large discounts for asymmetry.

High scores for typical structure, perfection of form and symmetry, discounts for various defects will allow us to establish a natural relationship between the qualitative indicators of the trophy and its quantitative characteristics and objectively evaluate each trophy.

Differentiated criteria for evaluating trophies of each species and subspecies of game animals are of fundamental importance. This is a requirement of international rules. It is also reflected in the Temporary Regulations on hunting trophies taken on the territory of the USSR. However, at past exhibitions, separate evaluation of trophies was carried out only in cases where the trophies differed sharply from each other in size or structure. None of the experts had any doubt that to evaluate the antlers of European and Siberian roe deer, different criteria must be used. In size, volume and weight, even the weakest horns of Siberian roe deer presented at exhibitions usually exceeded the best horns of European ones, so exhibition champions and contenders for awards were identified separately among the horns of Siberian and European roe deer. The antlers of wapiti, maral and red deer were assessed separately, since they differ noticeably in structure.

But trophies of several subspecies of the same species without clear structural differences and externally identical in size were assessed according to the same criteria, i.e., undifferentiated. This was done with the antlers of Caucasian, Central European and Crimean red deer, the horns of numerous subspecies of mountain sheep, the tusks of subspecies of wild boar and some other trophies.

An undifferentiated assessment of trophies can cause considerable damage to the development of hunting sport in our country, since the trophies of the subspecies of many game animals, having practically no visible structural differences, still differ from each other to a greater or lesser extent. For example, the antlers of the Carpathian deer are, on average, longer and thicker than the antlers of the Caucasian, Central European and Crimean ones. In this regard, with uniform criteria for assessing the trophies of these subspecies, the antlers of the Caucasian, Central European and Crimean deer, as a rule, will lose to the antlers of the Carpathian. It is no coincidence that the antlers of the Carpathian deer remained the world champion among red deer trophies until 1971. At the Dusseldorf exhibition in 1954, at the world hunting exhibition "Budapest-71" and the national exhibition in Czechoslovakia in 1976, the antlers of the Carpathian deer again became the world champion.

According to the size, the antlers of the subspecies of the European red deer can be arranged in a row, at the beginning of which there will be the antlers of the Carpathian deer, and then in a descending line - the antlers of the Caucasian, Central European and Crimean deer. Similar rows can be compiled for the horns of subspecies of roe deer, mountain sheep, wild boar tusks, etc.

With undifferentiated evaluation criteria, owners of trophies of small subspecies of animals at exhibitions will be unfairly defeated and these trophies will lose popularity among sports hunters, which can gradually lead to a reduction in sport hunting for small subspecies and the loss of interesting trophies. On the contrary, a separate assessment in order to identify the champion and contenders for gold, silver and bronze awards for each subspecies will put the trophies of various subspecies in an equal and independent position and will maintain undying interest in them among sports hunters.

At the World Hunting Exhibition in Budapest, hunters of the Soviet Union exhibited 534 specimens of trophies from 36 species and subspecies of animals. This collection adequately presented the results of sport hunting in our country. At the exhibition, 329 trophies were awarded a gold medal, 158 - silver, 47 - bronze, only 31 trophies received no awards.

However, their estimate would be higher with more careful subspecies separation. In reality, the trophies of the five subspecies of our rams were divided into only three groups; the first is Altai sheep (Argali), the second is Pamir (Marco Polo) and the third is East Caspian (Turkmen Argal).

As a result of this division, the third group included five trophies of the Turkmen ram itself and six trophies of such large subspecies as the Tien Shan (five trophies) and Kazakh (one trophy) rams. The Turkmen ram, medium in size, is not able to compete with the Tien Shan and Kazakh ones, as a result, five specimens of its horns were awarded only bronze medals.

The second group of Pamir sheep also turned out to be mixed. And it included trophies of four subspecies: nine trophies of the Pamir ram, two of the Kazakh, three of the Tien Shan and three trophies of the Ladak ram. In this group, both Kazakh ram trophies were awarded silver medals, while they deserve gold medals in their subspecies. Two of the three Tien Shan ram trophies received bronze awards, but deserve silver ones.

In this regard, each subspecies, taking into account its characteristics, should have its own award point scale. Thus, the development of differentiated scoring criteria is an urgent task that is of great importance for the correct assessment of trophies.

Obtaining a valuable trophy is the highest hunting interest of every athlete.

The development of horns, fangs, and the value of the skin depend primarily on the hereditary inclinations of the animal’s body and environmental factors. In this regard, the properties of the trophy characterize not only the individual characteristics of the animal, but also its living conditions: the degree of provision of nutritious feed, mineral supplements, the presence of various types of diseases, etc. The quality of the trophy serves as an indicator of the well-being and culture of the hunting industry and indicates on the state of the population of game animals. In the conditions of a cultural, highly organized hunting industry, a regular culling of sick and developmentally delayed animals is constantly carried out, which prevents, to some extent, the negative consequences of the pursuit of the largest trophies.

In the magazine “Hunting and Hunting Management” (No. 10, 1967), Yu. P. Yazan, summing up research over a number of years, reports that every year the antlers of hunted moose become smaller and smaller, as everyone strives to catch the largest animal , which will give a lot of meat and outstanding horns.

Only rational hunting management with mandatory selection of animals for trophy quality will prevent the undesirable consequences of sport hunting. In this regard, the experience of breeding work on farms in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and the German Democratic Republic is of great interest.

In Czechoslovakia, breeding of fallow deer, mouflon, red deer, and roe deer is practiced in specially fenced areas. The workers of these farms know every animal. Here all newborn cubs are registered and marked, which later makes it possible to determine the age of the animal with an accuracy of several days. Depending on food supplies and other conditions in hunting farms, norms for the optimal population density of animals are established and the sex ratio that is natural for each species is maintained. Animals are systematically fed with complete feed, prepared industrially, with the addition of vitamins, microelements, and medications. In collections, animals are divided into three age classes (Table 3).

TABLE 3

Animals are counted strictly by class. In the first class, 50% of the recorded animals are shot, preserving individuals with well-developed horns. In the second class - no more than 20 and in the third - 30% of animals with good, high-quality trophies. However, even in these two classes, males with prominent horns are preserved.

According to the observations of Czechoslovak specialists, the most valuable trophies for roe deer are 6–9 years old, for fallow deer - 8–10 years old, for red deer - 12–15 years old, and for mouflons - 7–10 years old. Larger animals, as a rule, have high-quality horns, as can be seen from the data in Table 4.

TABLE 4

Many years of work by Czechoslovak specialists has led to an increase in the number of animals with valuable trophies. If in 1971 they received one trophy with a rating of at least a bronze medal from 143 shot fallow deer, then in 1976 - from 31. When shooting sika deer, European roe deer, red deer, mouflon in 1971, one valuable trophy were caught from 22 sika deer, 747 roe deer, 77 red deer and 36 mouflon, and in 1976 - from 6 sika deer, 398 roe deer. 54 red deer and 11 mouflon.

The experience of Czechoslovakian hunters can be used in our advanced hunting farms to create valuable animal populations. During this important breeding work, sport hunting on the farm should be sharply limited or temporarily prohibited. In the future, animals will be shot selectively in order to preserve producers with the best trophies. Such systematic selection will make it possible to form a population of animals distinguished by high trophy merits, maintain it for many years and constantly improve it.

Improving the rules and criteria for evaluating hunting trophies in our country will help improve breeding work with animals in assigned hunting farms. However, this task is feasible only if game managers and rangers of hunting farms receive the necessary knowledge on assessing hunting trophies, learn to evaluate their advantages and disadvantages in practice, and have a good knowledge of the composition of the population of hunting animals in their farm.

The International Council of Hunters has developed uniform rules, formulas and tables for evaluating trophies submitted to international exhibitions different countries.

Evaluation of trophies using existing methods takes into account big number signs and characteristics of trophies, sizes, weight, volume, appearance, correctness of shape. In deer, the branching of the antlers, the symmetry of the processes, the power and complexity of the crown, the nature of the surface of the antlers, etc. are assessed.

The assessment is based on a point system that characterizes certain dimensions of the elements of trophies of each animal species.

To obtain an accurate score for individual measurements, special coefficients have been introduced.

The score is the sum of the resulting digital measurements multiplied by a coefficient.

For certain types of trophies (deer, fallow deer, mouflon, etc.), special tables have been developed to facilitate the calculation of measurements of various parts of hunting trophies.

For some types of trophies, a certain system of premiums and discounts has been adopted. Bonuses are given for the aesthetics of the trophy, that is, for its decent appearance, the symmetry of the arrangement of individual elements of the trophy, color and other characteristic external data. When assessing the skins of wild animals, premiums are provided for fur density, coat length, etc.

Discounts are established for asymmetry, deviation from the characteristic color, poorly developed processes, their different lengths, for existing defects (fracture, deformation, porosity, etc.). Supplements are added to the amount of points received, and discounts are subtracted from it.

To correctly determine premiums and discounts, it is better if each expert makes an assessment independently, and then, by discussing the results for individual elements of the trophies, a single decision is made. In controversial issues, you can calculate the average amount of premiums and discounts in points.

Trophies of those species of animals that are protected, in accordance with the decision of the International Council of Hunters, are not evaluated and are not shown at exhibitions, unless the owner can prove that the trophy was taken before the ban on hunting for this species was introduced.

For each type of trophy, an award scale has been developed, according to which gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded.

When comparing the identified winners, hunting trophies that differ in size, power, beauty and other qualities, which received the highest score, are awarded the title of champions of the corresponding exhibition (district, regional, regional, all-Union, international, etc.). All measurements are carried out with great accuracy, since the score of the trophy depends on this. Thus, measurements of horns, fangs, skulls and skins of wild animals and their individual elements are carried out with an accuracy of 0.1 cm, the weight of the horns is carried out with an accuracy of 10 g.

To measure the length, use a fabric measuring or elastic narrow metal tape 0.5–0.7 mm wide and 1.5–2.0 m long (necessarily with an accurate millimeter division scale). The main thing is that the fabric tape does not stretch when tensioned. To avoid mistakes, the soft tape is checked with a metal measuring tape before work.

The expert must know the specific measurements of each element of the trophy. Thus, the circumference of the horns should be determined by a measurement not wider than 0.5–0.7 mm. When measuring with a wider tape, there may be errors, since the horns have many tubercles and various transverse and lobar elevations. The length of the horns is measured from the outside, starting from the very base of the rosettes (crowns) to the top point of the apex of the horn. The span of the horns (camber) is measured with a measuring tape, caliper or measuring file with an accuracy of 0.1 cm.

When measuring the width of the tusks of a wild boar, walrus, or the skulls of predatory animals, you should use a caliper.

The weight of the horns is determined in rapeseed less than 24 hours after they are boiled. Errors often occur when weighing the antlers of red deer and roe deer due to an excessively removed part of the skull. This happens when hunters remove the occipital part of the brain to extract the brain from the skull, and when filing during installation of the trophy, they reduce it or, conversely, preserve the entire skull. In such cases, the expert commission has the right to add or subtract a certain amount of weight.

If the cutting line runs from the occipital crest through the middle of the eye holes and further under the nasal bone, no discounts are made when determining weight.

When preserving the skull of a red deer with the upper jaw, when the upper row of teeth is cut off, a discount of 500 g is made from the total weight of the trophy. When weighing with a full upper jaw, no later than eight days after boiling, to obtain the dry weight of the antlers of European deer, 700 g must be subtracted. To establish a score for the weight of the antlers, the weighing results are multiplied by a coefficient, which for European deer and fallow deer is equal to 2, for roe deer - 0.1.

When weighing the horns of a roe deer, the skull of which is preserved with the upper jaw, a discount is made from the total weight of the horns: for European roe deer - 90 g, Siberian - 110 g. If the specified cutting limit is violated, a certain weight is added to the total weight or subtracted from it .

Rice. 4. Determination of the volume of roe deer horns

The volume of roe deer horns is determined in the following way: a pharmacy or hydrostatic scale is placed on the table so that one cup hangs over the edge of the table (Fig. 4). The antlers are hung from this cup on a ribbon or cord and their total weight (in grams) is determined. Then, under the horns, on a specially designed lifting table (on a jack or on a rotating medical chair), a vessel with water is placed (a cylindrical aquarium is best) and the horns are lowered into the water to the edges of the rosettes. In this case, it is necessary to remove the weights until the scale pointer stops at the zero mark. The result obtained will be the weight of the antlers in water (in grams). The weight in water is subtracted from the total weight of the trophy (without discounts and surcharges) - the difference is equal to the volume of the horns (in cm 3). To obtain points, the volume is multiplied by a factor of 0.3.

Hunting trophies are assessed by an expert commission of three people. Two take measurements, and the third writes down the measurements. As the number of trophies increases, the expert commission is established depending on their number and species diversity, and subsequently it is divided into subcommittees of three to seven people, headed by a representative of the subcommittee. Typically, each subcommittee measures only a specific type of trophy. To avoid possible errors, it is recommended to calculate all arithmetic calculations on calculating machines.

Correct assessment of hunting trophies on site allows owners to take part in All-Russian, All-Union and international exhibitions of hunting trophies (Table 5).

TABLE 5

Previously, in our country there were no rules for assessing hunting trophies. Only in 1967, the Main Directorate for Nature Conservation, Reserves and Hunting of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture approved the Temporary Regulations on hunting trophies taken on the territory of the USSR, which provided rules for measuring and evaluating trophies various types wild animals.

The measurement rules were developed based on the evaluation formulas adopted by the assemblies of the International Council of Hunters. Since that time, there have been some changes in international valuation rules, which are taken into account in this book.

Each hunter has his own minimum program, but there are especially iconic animals, the capture of which is a matter of honor for a true professional.

When the Brandenburg Elector Frederick III shot a huge deer in the vicinity of Frankfurt an der Oder in September 1696, he could not even imagine that the unique antlers of this animal would play a significant role in the history of German diplomacy. It all started with the desertion of a company of Saxon soldiers, who were led astray from the righteous path by a Prussian recruiting officer operating in Saxony. Upon learning of the crime, the Saxon ruler Augustus the Strong ordered the culprit to be hanged. In response to this, his Prussian “colleague” Friedrich Wilhelm threatened the Saxon envoy in Berlin with similar reprisals. Diplomatic correspondence nevertheless bore fruit - there were no executions. And as a sign of reconciliation, Prussia sent Augustus, who was known as a passionate hunter, those same famous 66-pointed horns. Today they are kept in the “Hall of Monsters” at Moritzburg Castle, the collection of trophies of which has been collected for hundreds of years.

When exactly the tradition of leaving a fragment of an animal killed during a hunt, be it a claw, a fang or a head, began, is not known for certain. It is obvious that in ancient times there was more ritual and sacred meaning in this desire than a desire to emphasize one’s exclusive status, as in the era of noble monopoly in hunting. A male earner, who picked up a spear not for the sake of whim, but solely due to “productive necessity,” decorated himself and his home with such amulets, believing that the strength and dexterity of the animals he struck would pass on to him. It is unlikely that modern hunters profess the same philosophy. But, like many years ago, hunting trophies are an indicator of skill and a kind of order of courage.

Red deer - royal prey

• Where to go: England, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, etc.
• Hunting cost - from $2,000

In medieval England, the red deer was one of the objects of the royal hunt, so no one except the monarch could shoot at it. Even the barons in their own forests did not have the right to encroach on this trophy under pain of a huge fine. If a killed animal or its remains were found on the territory of the royal forest, the culprit faced blindness.

In modern Britain, deer hunting is available to both local residents and foreign hunters. However, as in many other European countries, where the horned beauty is found. But, despite its vast habitat, the red deer is considered an extremely difficult, and therefore honorable, prey. Just getting close to it in the forest is already a great success, since the animal has exceptional vision and sense of smell and can smell a person even from the leeward side. In addition, he is naturally shy, so any rustle or movement - and you can say goodbye to a potential trophy. It is believed that the easiest way to catch a cautious animal is on salt licks when it feasts on salt and at least briefly loses its vigilance.

Spanish hunters often mistake domestic cows grazing on hunting grounds for wild deer, and mistakenly shoot at them. To protect their livestock, local farmers write VACA - "cow" - on the sides of their animals before the start of the season.

Argali Marco Polo - climbing ram

• Where to go: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan
• Hunting cost - from $18,000

It is no coincidence that the hunt for this handsome wing-horn is considered one of the most elite and prestigious in the world. And the point is not at all in the impressive financial costs (the license alone costs $ 8,000 - 9,000). A high-altitude safari in Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan is not only a real test of professionalism, but also an excellent test of endurance. Sensing danger, hyper-cautious argali can go to a height of up to 5500 m, so the hunter will simultaneously have to pass the test of rarefied air, and often extremely cold temperatures. The organizers of such tours recommend that, upon arriving at the place, you do not immediately rush into battle, but spend at least a couple of days acclimatizing and practicing “mountain” shooting, which has its own nuances.

In some areas, hunting involves riding a horse, so being confident in the saddle may be more important than hunting skills. Mountain sheep have a unique ability to move along almost vertical cliffs without falling down, but horses and humans, alas, are not given such a gift, so you should not expose yourself to unnecessary risk. Even to decorate a country house with the iconic trophy head with meter-long spiral horns.

Marco Polo owes his name to the great Venetian traveler. He was the first to tell Europe about the existence of a graceful mountain animal with powerful horns.

The elephant is the master of the savannah

• Where to go: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa
• Hunting cost - from $20,000

This is the most impressive hunting trophy of the great African five and also the largest land mammal in the world. Add to this monstrous strength and the ability to quickly move into a state of aggression, which makes hunting an elephant extremely dangerous. It seems that such circumstances are quite enough to inspire an ambitious hunter to go to the Dark Continent for the main safari of his life.

Only an amateur might think that there are no difficulties in “elephant” hunting. The object cannot be larger, it can be seen from afar, you can hit it from any distance. In reality, the hunter must show pinpoint precision, being able to accurately select the oldest male from the herd, and then hit him with one well-aimed shot. A mistake can result in either a substantial fine, since in most African countries there is a taboo on the hunting of young individuals and females, or the death of the shooter. The giant beast has only two “killing” points on its head, but hitting other places protected by thick skin will only anger it, and then the giant’s attack cannot be avoided. And with such a turn of events, the chances of saving the hunter are very low.

In many South African countries, an original dish is made from elephant meat - biltong. Thin strips seasoned with salt and spices are dried in hot air and served. Including visiting hunters who got the game.

Water buffalo - horned aggressor

• Where to go: Australia
• Hunting cost - from $10,000

Even those who already have one of the representatives of the Big Five of Africa - the buffalo - will be interested in getting a trophy of its Australian brother. Despite family ties, each animal has its own specifics, which means that a safari on the Green Continent will in no way be a déjà vu of hunting in Africa. Australia is still just gaining momentum as a hunting Mecca, and in some places the infrastructure is poorly developed and there are no decent roads. In addition, local antlered trophies can graze all day long in wet floodplains, which are also difficult to reach by transport. It is recommended to shoot a buffalo at close range, so the chance of missing tends to zero. The vegetarian nature of the “Australian” does not make him a safe creature. The reaction to the threat, which he quickly senses thanks to his excellent sense of smell, vision and hearing, is aggression, but if the buffalo is wounded, he is already mortally dangerous. Considering that there is no car nearby, and nearby is an angry animal weighing nearly a ton with meter-long horns, the hunter must be very confident in his physical capabilities.

Recently, Australian authorities have increasingly announced their intention to resume crocodile hunting, which was banned for more than 40 years. If this significant event for hunters happens, the giant reptile will undoubtedly become the main local trophy.

The polar bear is the king of the Arctic

• Where to go: Canada, Nunavut province
• Hunting cost - from $39,000

The largest land predator on the planet is one of the coveted trophies of any hunter, not only due to its outstanding size. Today you can hunt a formidable beast, whose weight can reach a ton and height - 3 m, in only one country - Canada. This circumstance makes bear hunting a truly exclusive pleasure. Although the activity is quite dangerous, given the tough temperament of the animal, for a true professional it does not present much difficulty. A large target, pursued by dogs, quickly becomes exhausted, and due to its myopia, it usually allows it to get quite close to itself. What you really need to stock up on is patience - sometimes it takes more than one day to find a bear. Binoculars will help you spot the owner of the Arctic in the white “interiors”. You will also need special clothing and a sleeping bag made of caribou reindeer fur - only such equipment can protect against frost of 30 ° C, which is not at all uncommon for polar latitudes. It is important to remember that shooting at an animal while on an all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile is strictly prohibited. Vehicles used exclusively for moving across the icy desert.

Unlike other countries that have a moratorium on polar bear shooting, Canada has been issuing hunting quotas to indigenous people for 45 years. At the same time, an aborigine who holds a license is free to transfer the right to shoot to a foreign hunter. The main condition: a local resident must accompany a foreigner as a guide or simply an observer.

Puma - the thunderstorm of the prairies

• Where to go: Argentina
• Hunting cost - from $11,000

This big cat, capable of jumping 3 m and landing safely from a height of the sixth floor, is perhaps the main symbol of the entire Western Hemisphere. Its habitat stretches from Canada to Patagonia. Fiercely hated by farmers because of its gastronomic predilections for livestock and just as fiercely revered by Indians for its strength and endurance, the puma is of constant interest to hunters from all over the world. Hunting for an American predator is always an exciting contest of cunning: it often takes several days to unravel the intricate tracks and pursue it.

Despite the outstanding “technical characteristics” in the form of four-centimeter fangs, capable of killing prey with the first bite to the ridge, the puma rarely shows aggression towards humans. Over 100 years of observation, only 50 attacks of pumas on people were recorded. But the life of dogs, which play a key role in hunting, literally depends on the speed and professionalism of the “hunter”. After a while, an animal driven by dogs into a tree ceases to be afraid and pounces on them. Therefore, a responsible hunter has no right to be late or miss.

The puma is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as an animal with the maximum number of names - more than 40. In different languages ​​of both Americas, this animal is called a cougar, deer cat, red tiger, Mexican lion, mountain devil, etc.

Since ancient times, hunting has been one of the main ways of human survival. She provided food and clothing. In addition, ancient people believed that trophies obtained from hunting warded off evil spirits and protected their owner from various troubles, so people decorated themselves with fangs, teeth, parts of the horns and skins of killed wild animals. But, with the development of progress, such aspects of this ancient activity have undergone obvious changes. Hunting has become more of a hobby, a sport, a way to get a trophy to confirm one’s worth. This is what we will talk about modern hunting trophies.

Since ancient times, hunting has been one of the main ways of human survival. She provided food and clothing. In addition, ancient people believed that trophies obtained from hunting drove away evil spirits and protected their own, so people decorated themselves with fangs, teeth, parts of horns, etc. But, with the development of progress, such aspects of this ancient activity have undergone obvious changes. Hunting has become more of a hobby, a sport, a way to get a trophy to confirm one’s worth. This is what we will talk about modern hunting trophies.

Trophy hunting goals

Today's hunters practically do not decorate themselves with amulets, but it is the trophy that is more often than not the meat that is hunted. Today there are a huge number of methods for tanning hides, not only traditional, but also using various chemical substances And modern technologies that the production of stuffed animals, skulls and decorative skins brings good income to craftsmen and skilled taxidermists.

There is another aspect of modern hunting - the improvement of species and the expansion of populations of wild animals, for which the shooting of sick and weak individuals is organized, from which stuffed animals are made for the study of animals and birds. Also, such material is of great importance for veterinary medicine.

Hunting trophies also have status significance, and with the growing interest of financially wealthy people in them, recently exhibitions and competitions are increasingly being held at which owners exhibit their exhibits from home collections.

Rules for evaluating trophies

At first, the evaluation of trophies was carried out practically without rules - exhibits were assessed visually by size, shape and “like/dislike”. And only in 1920, a number of European countries - Austria, Germany, and Hungary - developed a unified system for evaluating a number of trophies. In subsequent years, this system was repeatedly improved and became more and more objective. Nowadays, innovations are also constantly being introduced, and there are many national assessment rules. A system of discounts and point bonuses has been created for a number of trophies.

For example, premiums are awarded for the presence of certain characteristic features, and discounts are awarded for their absence. There are also exhibitions of anomalous trophies.

Uncharacteristic signs are different lengths horn processes, congenital or acquired defects during life, damage received during hunting. The trophy rating scale is based not only on determining its size, but also originality, beauty and quality of workmanship. The latter depends both on the physical data of the hunted animal, on its living conditions, and on the literacy of processing the trophy and the skill of the manufacturer.

One of the first sets of rules for evaluating trophies in Russia was the book “Temporary Regulations for Hunting Trophies Taken on the Territory of the USSR.”

One of the important rules is that trophies of animal species for which hunting is prohibited are prohibited from being presented at exhibitions, unless the owner can provide documents that the trophy was obtained before the ban on hunting for this species was introduced.

Trophy horns of ungulates

Of the thousands of trophies that are annually caught by domestic hunters both in the Russian Federation and abroad, the most valuable are the horns of ungulates - elk, red deer, wapiti, and large antelope. Our country has simply fantastic collections. And the most luxurious and interesting is the collection that it dropped from year to year. The apotheosis of such a collection is the skull with the horns of this beast. Naturally, the hunter is interested in the animal living longer and catching it when the time comes for natural death.

In order to be guaranteed to get a high-quality trophy, it is necessary at the stage of preparation for the hunt. Firstly, you need to choose the right place for hunting, because most of the skins and heads are damaged during transportation.

Secondly, the literacy of cutting and initial processing is of great importance. We will talk about this in detail later.

How to design trophy antlers

And now there are some generally accepted rules for preparing trophies in a presentation. Exhibition appearance is one of the decisive factors for evaluating a trophy. Trophies processed and prepared for exhibition are placed on special stands called medallions or cartouches. They can have the most different shapes- circle, oval, shield. But, the condition is that this medallion should not attract more attention than the object located on it - like large elk antlers or. Dimensions are selected taking into account the size of the trophy and its weight; thickness can be from 1 to 2.5 centimeters. For small trophies, carved stands are more often used.

The type of wood should also be in harmony with the object itself.

The interior and furniture of the room where this trophy will be placed are also taken into account. Most often, the stand is black or brown, or fired and varnished. The most suitable species are conifers, oak, birch, aspen, and beech. A stand made of a birch slab or circle looks very picturesque. Polished wood is used less frequently. The workpiece must be well sanded, fired, treated with stain, and most often varnished after installing the horn mounts.

Deer and roe deer are often hung on the wall rather than placed horizontally on a medallion. Important rule- for exhibition or evaluation, horns, like the tusks of a wild boar and other animals, should be easily removed and placed back on the medallion.

To attach heavy horns, 4 holes are drilled in the skull, for light ones - 2.

Ram horns - features

Separately, it should be said about the features of making a stand for ram horns.

The difficulty is that the horns are large, heavy and curved. Therefore, the stand must have a special shape. If it is impossible to secure the horns in this way, they are hung on a strong cord either on the wall or on the ceiling. Another option for attaching strongly curved antlers is to cut a stand from a thick piece of log, but the cutting angle of the upper part should not exceed 30 degrees.

Tusks of wild boars and beavers

Medallion stands are also used for display. They are attached symmetrically, the top ones are placed in the center, the bottom ones are placed on the left and right. To be able to measure their dimensions (in particular, girth), be sure to leave a gap of about 1 mm in height from the stand. To attach fangs, frames made of non-ferrous metals, bone, and wood are used. For example, narrow strips are cut out of a copper plate up to 0.5 mm thick, which grip the fangs in several places.

It is customary to indicate on the medallion the name of the animal, the place and year of the trophy, and the name of the hunter.

Before sending the trophy to an exhibition or placing it in a home collection, it also goes through dressing: the skins are cleaned, treated with poisons to remove pests and fungi, the skulls are boiled and bleached, and the antlers are polished.

We will tell you in detail with recipes in the future how to do the initial processing of the extraction yourself. And also about making stuffed animals.

After initial processing, the trophy is handed over to a taxidermist, who creates a real work of art from it. Whatever trophy you choose, you must remember that the process of making it requires a lot of patience and painstaking work. Therefore, such products are very expensive. But the aesthetic pleasure and pride received from contemplating this creation of nature and human hands will justify all the efforts and resources expended.

Video about processing buffalo horns

Video about the hunting exhibition

With the advent of wealthy people in Russia, the opportunity arose for a certain circle of hunters to travel to other countries and to remote corners of our country to hunt for rare and exotic animals. Naturally, to confirm their hunting successes, they brought trophies and showed them off. Some trophies were better than those of colleagues, others were inferior to them; Accordingly, competition appeared. Exhibitions began to be held, trophies were assigned categories and medals. Thus, the so-called “trophy hunting” came to Russia, which has a long tradition in Europe. Just don’t talk (as some members of hunting clubs do in their interviews) about the revival of the traditions of Russian trophy hunting. There has never been such a tradition in Rus'. At best, the antlers obtained were used for hangers or knife handles, and the elk antlers hanging in the executives' offices were not obtained by them at all. Our distant and immediate ancestors hunted for pleasure and meat (and hunters did it for money). Yes, yes, for the sake of meat and there is nothing wrong with that. The man who brought a piece of meat into the house was always respected and honored.

However, a group of people who call themselves "trophy hunters" and hunt animals only for trophies, disdainfully call other hunters butchers. “Butchers” in response laugh at “hunters of domestic cows” and do not consider them hunters at all. The antagonism, as they say, is obvious. As a result, I speak very seriously now, a split has emerged among people obsessed, in general, with one passion. And this, it seems to me, only plays into the hands of opponents of hunting, who don’t care what it is like.

I've been hunting for 40 years and I think I know both hunts. Some from my own experience, some from the stories of friends. Among my trophies there are those that received medals at exhibitions, and almost all the “meat” animals and birds that live here and in Europe. Lots of trophies from Asia.

Let's figure it out. But first, let’s cross off from the list of hunters those who are in both categories. The “butchers” (I’ll call them that for brevity, sorry) are outright poachers who do not recognize either deadlines or rules, killing hares from cars and females in the spring. “Rednecks” who destroy birds and animals for the sake of the desire to shoot at any distance and at any target. And people who do not recognize hunting ethics. (In my opinion, some reasonable excess of unreasonably low standards is acceptable). Among “trophy hunters” these are hunters who want to get a trophy at any cost. That is, shooting from cars, from helicopters, at actual domestic animals and hunted animals, or resorting to the help of professional shooters.

Then, it seems to me, there will be real hunters left, regardless of their preferences. By the way, here too the difference is more in words. I don’t know a single “butcher” who would refuse the antlers of an elk he has killed, and the “trophy hunters,” although they say that they are not interested in meat, are happy to take their fair share of the meat. It’s just that in Africa, no one will give them meat, so they are proud of their selflessness, content with photographs and horns.

There are no words, getting a record trophy of a Marco Polo ram high in the mountains is happiness for some. And here everything is without deception, the happy face of the hunter in the photograph cannot be faked or played. The hunter who shoots with a medal deer or buffalo is also pleased. The hunter should be pleased. For his considerable money, he got the opportunity to take a shot and did not miss his chance.

Have you seen the face of a hunter who killed an antlerless elk during a collective, driven hunt? What if this is the last run and the last chance for the whole team to return home with a piece of meat? That's where happiness is. This is where honor, respect and glory are. For all the trophies in the world, such a lucky person will not sell this moment. Or maybe you will have fantastic luck and a bull with horns will come out? Any, not necessarily a medal. Yes, this trophy, perhaps the only one in life, will be remembered until the end of days. And this day will be the happiest in the hunter’s life. By the way, each of us, “butchers”, has such a trophy (after all, I would classify myself in this group; I can’t be impartial), but no, it will definitely happen.

What about moose, I have seen absolutely happy people who have hunted a hare or a goose. Aren't these trophies? Isn't the first duck a boy catches a trophy?

I remember a bus with hunters returning from the spring draft about 30 years ago. One woodcock was caught for the whole company, hanging in a visible place in the center of the salon. Respectful glances at the lucky winner and endless questions. How did you fly? Horkal or tsvikal? How did you shoot? How did you search? I don’t think that at that moment anyone in the whole world was happier than the owner of this trophy.

I happened to catch dozens of geese in one morning in Germany. So, I don’t remember the details of these hunts at all, but the only gander from the hunt near Yaroslavl and the pair from near Rostov still stand before my eyes. So everything is relative, and one hare from the Moscow region is incommensurably more valuable than two dozen shot in Scotland in half an hour. But trophy hunting, especially in Africa, is a chance to quickly become famous. To be considered a serious hunter, you do not need to study the habits of animals, read their tracks, know their habitats and the secrets of camouflage. You shot a lion or an elephant on your first hunt, and now your photos are in magazines, they respectfully interview you and invite you to TV shows. Beauty. You can't get far in the middle of nowhere and bunnies. Again, next to you all the time the whole team professional guides. They will find a herd of animals, and will lead you to it, and will point out a worthy trophy. All that remains is to shoot from a helpfully placed tripod. But if you miss or get wounded, it doesn’t matter, a professional shooter will finish everything for you. And you are a hero, African hunter. But it seems to me that if you give such a hero a double-barreled shotgun and send him alone into the forest near Moscow with the task of getting a bunny or hazel grouse, he will not only return empty, but also get lost. But a hunter is, first of all, a tracker. So you shouldn’t raise the status of “trophy hunter” so high. Let me make a reservation right away: there are real hunters in both categories. There are also solid “trophy” professionals who are capable of walking many kilometers off-road, experiencing all possible hardships for the sake of their goal. But one cannot reject or place native Russian hunting below any exotic one. I recently visited England and shot pheasants and partridges, as they say, to my heart's content. But if you knew with what impatience I wait for the onset of spring to hear, perhaps, the only woodcock stretching out on the draft.

On the other hand, the thought that in Africa, in places where trophy hunting is not carried out, the animals were killed by poachers leads to serious reflection. Since the money received from hunting goes to protection, the animal is preserved, multiplies, and the influx of hunters can be increased. It would seem that this is an example worthy of imitation, and it would not be a bad idea to transfer it to Russia. However, for some reason I am not sure that the money received from hunting will go to animal protection.

Second point. Trophy hunting must necessarily be combined with selective shooting. Otherwise, there will be degradation of populations (even though we are assured of the opposite). But with the current distribution of shooting quotas, selection is not beneficial to hunting organizers. For example: the head of a hunting farm has ten licenses for shooting moose and, naturally, he will receive the greatest income from trophy hunting. Consequently, ten of the largest and most beautiful breeders in the area will be killed, and there will be nothing left for selection. And the demand for trophy hunting, which is expected to be developed, will only push him towards this. It will be objected to me that “trophy hunters” are only interested in adult animals that have already passed the peak of their prime and are not actively participating in reproduction. That's right, that's right. But such animals are of interest only to very wealthy hunters. Those who have less money agree to a more modest, younger trophy, with fewer shoots and, accordingly, cheaper. Next age group hunters with even more modest incomes will get it. And if in Europe it is prohibited to shoot young, promising breeders, then we don’t even have this in the hunting rules. “I think trophy hunters should work in this direction.

By the way, not everyone in Europe is a trophy hunter. The French, for example, are simply obsessed with woodcock. Italians are outspoken “butchers”. I personally saw how they, while hunting with us, packed the carcasses of dead ducks and geese to be sent home. My friend, the famous English stand shooter and hunter Philip Thorrold, does not at all like to shoot with a bullet and hunt deer, of which there are many in England, but prefers pigeons, ducks and geese. Nevertheless, one “trophy hunter” stated in an interview that there is trophy hunting and hunting...uninteresting. Wow! But Aksakov, Pravdukhin and other classics of hunting thought that they were doing an interesting job.
I think some “trophy people” should curb their snobbery. Moreover, any “butcher” who knows how to track hares will, on occasion, not lose face in Africa, but whether the “African” will be able to sling a hare is a big question.

However, it must be admitted that trophy hunters, who often travel to Europe and Africa (where the same Europeans hunt), bring a lot of useful things from these trips. The culture of hunting, rituals, ethics, safety of handling weapons, in a word, everything that we have in Russia today is rather poor, we will be happy to import. And the “trophy hunters” will help us with this.

Unfortunately, as we know, existence determines consciousness. One of my acquaintances was a wonderful feather hunter. I remember how many years ago he was the first of us to kill several (if I’m not mistaken eight) geese in Astrakhan. This event was discussed for a long time among Moscow hunters. Now, moving among trophy hunters, he thinks more about the length of the fangs and the number of processes on the horns. It's a pity.

I'll take the liberty of giving some trophy hunters some advice. Try, after all, to descend from the “Olympus” and descend to “uninteresting” hunts. Stand on the draft, during an ordinary duck flight (with your capabilities, you can choose richer places), listen to the hound, whistle to the hazel grouse, shudder from the flapping of the wings of a flying grouse. Suddenly it turns out to be more interesting than shooting zebras and giraffes.

True, success will not be guaranteed, but maybe this is the hunt?

One of my wealthy friends said that driven hunting is not interesting for him, since the huntsmen cannot 100% put the paid animal on him. Well, here is his direct path to Africa, Europe or to the boar stern tower. Everything is there according to the price list. But we will still patiently wait for our chance at the number.

I read in an interview with one “trophy hunter” that it is not recommended to hunt more than three or four times a year. They say that you can get tired from hunting, and the severity of sensations will dull. I fundamentally disagree. In my opinion, you can only get tired from shooting and killing, but not from hunting. Indeed, if you shoot dozens of heads of animals in Africa during a trip, or fifty hares per day of hunting in England, then, of course, the sensations will dull. For example, I get bored after the fifth quail while hunting with a pointer, and after the third drake with a decoy (these are just my feelings). However, I will never get tired of trampling a white hare into a black trail for weeks or guarding the bait of an old cunning fox.

It is difficult to explain something to a person who asks why I sit for hours in the cold at night on a tower, guarding a fox, if its skin is worth nothing today. After all, this is not a trophy or even “meat”, since fur is devalued. So there is something else we are hunting for. And this “something” cannot be hung on the wall in the trophy room.

Let me quote the great hunter John Hunter, whom no one can blame for his negative attitude towards trophy hunting: “I must note that in last years the passion for trophy hunting has reached such a level that it has become meaningless. I think it's stupid to spend weeks hoping to get an animal with antlers a quarter or half an inch bigger than the world record, just to see your name in a directory." And he wrote this almost a century ago. Will the passion for records lead our hunters away from hunting as such?

I assure you that I am not at all against trophy hunting, but rather in favor of consolidation, however, with some revision of priorities and serious preparation of the base for its implementation in Russia. If today there is no place for racers and other hunters in the lands where ungulates are hunted, then I can imagine what will happen tomorrow when the “trophy hunters” reserve the lands for themselves. Then the confrontation will result in outright war. This must be avoided before it is too late. And let’s consider as a trophy not only antlers over 60 inches, but any game honestly caught on any hunt that interests you.

S. Losev. Magazine "MASTERGUN" No. 157