Steffen Foullon's hunt for the legendary Carpathian chamois
Hunting in the legendary Făgăraș Mountains, located in the heart of the Carpathians, offers a unique and challenging experience. About 90 years ago, the world-record chamois was shot here, with an unrivalled 144 CIC points to this day. Steffen's main motivation, however, was not the trophy hunt, but rather the pursuit of an adventure in the majestic mountains.
The Carpathians are considered a challenging hunting ground, although the challenges are determined less by the general altitude above sea level and more by the local conditions. The mountains are steep and therefore require a good level of physical fitness.
Steffen and his team decided to spend the night in a fly camp, a so-called outdoor camp located near the hunting area. A fly camp offers a practical solution for hunters who want to be on site early to have the best chance of a successful hunt. Being close to the hunting area saves valuable time that would otherwise be spent travelling and allows you to start hunting as soon as light conditions permit.
The hunting ground in question was at an altitude of 2,500 metres.
The chamois, as a typical mountain game, often stays on the steep slopes of the mountains. These slopes offer the chamois natural advantages, as it usually looks down and thus has a better view of its surroundings. With this in mind, an effective hunting strategy may be to go around the chamois and stalk it from above.
However, due to the extremely steep terrain, it turned out that a strategy of going around the chamois was not feasible. As a result, Steffen and his team decided to stalk it from below.
After a very physically demanding ascent, Steffen finally managed to successfully shoot ‘his’ chamois at a distance of just over 200 metres.
For demanding mountain hunting, Steffen has chosen the RWS EVOLUTION GREEN in 6.5 Creedmoor calibre. The RWS Evolution Green is characterised by its lead-free construction as a partial fragmenting bullet. This means that the front part of the bullet fragments on impact. This property leads to a high shock effect on the game animal's body and increases the probability of a fatal injury from bullet fragments, even with less than ideal hits. This combination of precision and effectiveness makes the RWS Evolution Green a suitable choice for the special requirements of mountain hunting.
When hunting in the mountains, an appropriate ASV (adjustable reticle) is of enormous importance to Steffen, as game can appear at different points at any time. In particular, when approaching game in unknown terrain, it is difficult to prepare for a specific shooting distance. A versatile ASV makes it possible to react flexibly to different distances and to adapt quickly to changing hunting situations.
In terms of bullet and calibre, Steffen places particular emphasis on velocity. The selected bullet, in this case the RWS EVOLUTION GREEN, should be as light as possible and have a flat trajectory. The latter is not only advantageous ballistically, but also has the practical benefit of reducing the number of clicks on the ASV for a calibre ring. This in turn makes it easier to count the clicks, especially in stressful situations when there may be no calibre ring available.
What Steffen and his team experienced here is truly unique! Steffen Foullon's enthusiasm for this mountain chase is unmistakable:
‘What an experience! Here at 2500 metres, on the second highest mountain in the Carpathians, in the heart of Romania. And to be able to share such an amazing experience with you!’
