Chamois hunting. The beauty of chamois hunting at high altitudes: nature, adventure and physical effort make this hunting specialty one of the most rewarding. To practice it, not only experience is required, but great respect for the mountains, nature and weather conditions.
La chamois hunting is an adventure: every time I talk about it I define it as such and as every adventure is not suitable for everyone. You have to like the mountains, you have to be comfortable with the cold and above all you have to be physically prepared because the chamois sells its life as long as you sweat a lot of vests. I learned to respect the mountains since I was a child; papa took me with him since I liked walking and from what he said I looked like a goat. Even today I can climb almost everywhere and enter into perfect symbiosis with nature. The first thing you need to learn if you want to go chamois hunting is that nature is capricious and the weather can change at any moment. The days before the hunt, when papa was still there and there was no meteo.it was spent watching the flight of birds, the clouds and the night sky.
Papa did some quick calculations and knew precisely whether or not the next day was going to be a good day. He's only been wrong once for as long as I remember, but even the best of times fail.
Chamois hunting. The weather is therefore a factor to take into consideration: at high altitudes you can take a big risk so hunting is only done in good weather and without doing nonsense, as long as you don't want to stay dry under the snow.
I experienced the most beautiful hunt I remember a few years ago, papa was already gone for some time but every time I go up to the mountains I seem to have him close with his usual advice which in recent times had become rather repetitive but always useful. The climatic conditions were rather worrying: the night had snowed a lot, as in the previous days, and only thanks to my driving wheels and snow tires I was able to reach the mountain village where Francesco, a dear friend, lives. Had our father been there we would not even have left the house, but after so much waiting to go up to the mountains to hunt chamois, you don't give up right away. It was a cold early November day, I had left my husband and two children in bed and ran out like a gazelle. I love being a mother, but sometimes I need to escape.
As usual he decided for a rather frugal breakfast at the usual bar where even today they look at me a bit strange: hunting is a man's thing and I'm definitely a woman. After consultation, we decided to go up. From the car, the spectacle that slowly opened up before our eyes was unparalleled: the white of the snow became blindingly illuminated by the sun's rays and the sky was a postcard blue. At the usual crossroads it was decided to go down and take a look with binoculars: the path we walked every year was clearly visible. It was the only way to reach the area where the chamois feed. Of course it was to be covered strictly on foot. The effort, the more the years advance, the more you feel, but it is almost always well rewarded. Thanks to our excellent lenses that day we were able to identify nine specimens of chamois among which there was also an old female who was part of our slaughter plan. Nothing better and after a good hot coffee the good mood returned to everyone.
Chamois hunting. When you have to choose the chamois to be killed, it is necessary to pay a lot of attention: even that day I stayed a long time to observe that female and after a long study I realized that it was the specimen that was right for me.
I went up in the company of Giuseppe while the other two friends chose to take another path. Climbing the mountain with a backpack, a rifle I and Giuseppe binoculars was quite heavy, especially because of the snow. From time to time we interrupted the climb to check that our chamois was always where we had seen it. At a certain point the snow really got very high so that moving forward became almost impossible with that load. We looked like two bulls in an enclosure until I decided to try the shot directly from the position in which you were, on the other hand the distance was not too much, and my experience would have helped me, as long as you also put luck, as my father always said. I took all the time I needed: I set up the rifle and binoculars, looked for the female chamois, took a deep breath and fired. It is difficult, when using optics with high magnification and rather powerful weapons, to immediately understand the result of the shot, luckily with me there was Giuseppe who advised me to reload. I had failed but he could be there. The chamois, for its part, had not noticed anything. I found myself repeating all the previous actions only aiming slightly lower. A deep breath and away ..
A delicious sensation when the blow hits, a nice pat on the back and a generous smile immediately interrupted by a thought: recover the chamois. I do not hide it was the most difficult and dangerous part of the whole day. I stayed a long time looking at that elegant specimen of female chamois, I examined that the slaughter was compliant, the age of the game and its physical condition. We carried the camozza to the car by dragging it by the horns, recovered optics, rifles, cartridge cases and backpacks and ended the day with some good chat. That night, after a generous family dinner, I allowed myself a restful sleep not before having answered all the questions of my children: I am sure that sooner or later I will take them with me to hunt, they have it in their blood.
Good morning to the good huntress. Congratulations on the nice article. More than a comment I wanted to ask if possible where the lady lived the day of hunting and mountain described and what kind of rifle, caliber and bullet she used for the occasion. I am a mountain walker (shelters, high routes even if I don't climb and ski) and I hunt in the plains and hills (smooth and lined). I would like to combine two passions and therefore ask for advice: which weapons and calibers in general do you recommend in the mountains, also taking into account legal obligations? Thank you for the attention you can give to this mail of mine. FB