The Hunting Consortium

RUSSIAN BROWN BEARS

(Kamchatka and Khabarovsk)

The Russian Far-East is the greatest brown bear hunting ground on earth. The density of Russian brown bears per square mile is almost double that found in Alaska today. Come discover what Alaska was like 50 years ago! Hunt the famous Kamchatka peninsula with Russia’s most experienced outfitter. The Average Russian brown bear trophies for the past few years have been over 9 feet with many of our clients’ Russian brown bear trophies exceeding 10 feet in size. Exclusive areas, best guides and professional travel staff attend to all details of the trip.

Wisdom from Experience

The Hunting Consortium Ltd. has been working in Russia since 1987. This firm has established the best record in the industry for Russian brown bear hunts! Our success rate exceeds 100%, as many of our hunters take two (2) brown bears and NO hunter has ever returned without at least one brown bear during the 20 years Kamchatka has been open to foreign hunters - more than 400 brown bear hunts! We offer the best guides in the Russian Far-East and have a Hunting Consortium representative in every camp.

Russian Brown Bear

The Asiatic or Russian Brown Bear is found from the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan throughout Eastern Siberia to the Pacific coast of Russia. By far, the largest brown bear is found in the Russian Far East, in the provinces of Kamchatka, Magadan, and Khabarovsk. These salmon-eating Russian brown bears compare favorably in size to the brown bears of Alaska and numerous brown bear trophies with hides squaring over 10 feet, have been taken. The largest specimens (several exceeding 11 feet) have come from the Kamchatka Peninsula (Kamchatka brown bear). The population is quite high at the moment and hunting pressure has been kept modest in our three outfitting areas. Normally, several shoot-able brown bears can be seen each day, so the hunt is a search for the biggest possible trophy. There are generous quotas on the number of licenses issued and we can routinely arrange two licenses per client.

The best Russian brown bear hunting is had in the spring from late April until the end of May and in the fall during late September and early October.

Russian Brown Bears vs. Alaska Brown Bears

As with the brown bears of Alaska, there has been much exaggeration regarding the size of the Russian brown bears. Hunters should be realistic in their expectations in order to avoid disappointment. Mature Russian brown bears in Kamchatka usually weigh between 700 and 1000 pounds, and hides usually square 8 to 10 feet. These Russian brown bears are virtually identical to the Alaskan brown bears. Hunting success, however, is better in Russia, due to lower hunting pressure and higher bear population density. The brown bears of Khabarovsk (mainland) run somewhat smaller than brown bears from Kamchatka (peninsula). The coastal regions of Magadan produce the smallest coastal brown bears of the Far-East. Brown bears found further inland in Magadan and Yakutsk are smaller yet, comparing favorably in size with the inland Grizzlies of Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia.

Hunting Areas

Bob Kern and The Hunting Consortium Ltd. have explored the Far-East extensively and have selected what we consider to be the finest and most remote areas for hunting Kamchatka brown bears available. These hunting areas encompass many thousands of square miles and are outfitted with multiple campsites. All hunting is done on foot, but scouting and travel are done with the use of snowmobiles.

The Camps and Our Staff

We offer well equipped, tented base camps with a full staff of guides, skinners, cook, and other camp personnel. Normally, four hunters, each with his/her own guide (1x1), can be accommodated in each camp. We have Hunting Consortium camp managers/interpreters in every camp. Camps are equipped with field beds, medical kit, satellite telephones, and other conveniences. All tents are heated and supplied with electric lighting.

Travel and Programs

Travel to/from camp (often more than 100 miles from the nearest town) is accomplished by helicopter.

Programs vary from region to region, but are normally 12-14 days in duration, and allow 8 actual hunting days. Arrival and departure dates are set based on the flight schedules of the airlines serving Petropavlovsk, which may be reached via Moscow. Special itineraries containing more or fewer hunting days can be constructed upon request.

As with all of our hunts in Russia, brown bear hunts include reception at the destination airport by a member of our staff, a competent translator/escort with every group, transfer fees, guide fees, accommodations and meals during the Kamchatka brown bear hunt, and the license for one bear (additional licenses may be purchased). Hotels before and after the hunt and additional tourist services, not directly associated with the brown bear hunt are extra, as are all international and local flights.

As a full service travel agency, the Hunting Consortium routinely arranges all necessary international and local flights and hotel reservations, as well as assisting our clients in obtaining the necessary visa and firearm import permit. Our competent, experienced staff in Moscow handles coordination with local operators and government agencies to obtain licenses and the required CITES export permits. Clients generally take their Russian brown bear trophies home with them on their homeward bound flights. Hunting Consortium employees in Moscow assist with all details of entry and exit procedures. One of our competent, experienced translator/escorts accompanies every group of hunters throughout the entire program.

Combination Russian Brown Bear and Kamchatka Bighorn Hunts

We also offer combination hunts on Kamchatka for brown bear and snow sheep (Kamchatka Bighorn). The Kamchatka brown bear and snow sheep hunt is an 18 to 22 day program involving two camps, and has had a previous success rate (17 years) of 100%. These hunts are conducted in September and early October.

Wherever in the world my hunting dreams take me, I know that Corey and Bob will have everything well-organized. Their amazing knowledge and continuous research has put me in a position to take some truly extraordinary trophies, with the very best guides in the hunting world today. They know from personal experience how to get someone into and out of the most remote places in the world and they keep up with the ever-changing regulations concerning hunting, firearms and travel options. This is the most “can-do” team I have ever worked with in hunting! They have risked their reputation and their very lives to blaze your trail. If you’re not booking with The Hunting Consortium, it’s most likely your loss and someone else’s gain. You sure can’t do any better - their word is good!

-Lary Knowlton

EXPERIENCE - “Wisdom from Experience!” is no hollow epithet. Bob Kern and his experienced staff have traveled throughout the world and hunted or visited all of the major destinations available to hunters today. We know who is reliable and who isn’t.

This experience is time consuming and expensive to amass, but costs our clients nothing extra. In fact, it has spared our clients countless problems, saving them precious time and money, while maximizing their chance for success and a positive experience.

RESEARCH - Current and accurate information is essential to the success of any hunt. No other company engages in more field research and scouting than The Hunting Consortium Ltd. Our experienced staff are traveling continuously throughout the world gathering up-to-the minute information on active hunting areas, programs and outfitters, as well as exploring new areas and creating new programs. The Hunting Consortium has built a far-reaching network of expert advisors who periodically furnish us with news in their respective areas of expertise.

SERVICE- Our multilingual, multi-national, travel experts make all travel arrangements including; air tickets, hotel reservations and firearm permits, as well as arranging other tourist services to complement the hunt arrangements. Our staff is the finest team ever assembled in the hunting industry, providing all types of services to our clients before they leave and even while they are in the field. The Hunting Consortium also advises its customers regarding firearm regulations, licensing and permitting requirements, taxidermy, and a variety of other technical subjects according to the needs of each client.

I would be raw meat in a pool of sharks, without Bob’s sage direction and advice. There is no way that the businessman/hunter can even begin to navigate these convoluted and dangerous safari waters without Hunting Consortium at the tiller. I owe the Hunting Consortium team for the most wonderful and successful experiences of my hunting life! Especially during the economic recession, when outfitters and safari companies are struggling to survive and the temptation to overstate capabilities is often overwhelming, the Hunting Consortium’s experience and first hand knowledge of the operators and their areas is even more valuable and important to the planning and purchase of expensive hunts.

-Ray Paolucci

“Bob and his crew are experienced professionals. Every trip is meticulously planned with true military precision. I have very much enjoyed my trips with Bob and would not trust anyone else to outfit my hunts in Russia and Asia!”

-Craig Boddington

"For almost a decade now, I have asked Bob Kern & Corey Knowlton to provide me with the best international hunts on planet earth. They have always came through and provided me with some of the most exciting adventures that I have had in my career."

-Jim Shockey