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EDITORIAL
The world of shooting is the world of Beretta by Ugo Gussalli Beretta
hen I met our trap shooting champions on 20 April in Brescia, I felt FOTO DI ALESSANDRO VILLA
both proud and joyful. At the party held at Villa Fenaroli there were around eighty people, including the Olympic champions Chiara Cainero, Vincent Hancock, Francesco D’Aniello and Andrea Benelli. And these champions were the very people who conveyed a
sense of serenity, simplicity and naturalness in their relationships - all factors which single out Beretta’s approach to the world of shooting. Beretta has been a supporter of this sport for decades, manufacturing and customising arms and giving athletes an all-round service during competitions and training, because the very nature of shooting is clearly reflected in the philosophy which has been a driving force of the company over the centuries: commitment and passion, a respect for and love of nature, spontaneity and transparency. The feats of Cainero and the other athletes who stepped on to the podium at the Beijing Olympics with their Beretta shotguns still come to mind. And meeting the athletes a year on, the same emotions and enthusiasm were aroused by the look in their eyes and the words they spoke. I would like to thank them again in public, as I did at Villa Fenaroli, convinced that in three years’ time, we will still be together ready to take on the challenge of winning olympic medals (as the athletes have promised in the interviews in the comprehensive article on shooting in this issue); along with new athletes joining the Beretta team, to whom I wish the best of luck: Giovanni Pellielo, three times Olympic medallist, the young Cypriot hopeful George Achilleos, the Indian Sodhi Ronjan and our own Deborah Gelisio. Special thanks go to another two trap shooting athletes for the important results they have achieved, Silvano Basagni and Terzo Bertoni, shooters who have become valuable sales agents working for our company. Another reason to be proud is the contract signed between the Beretta Arms Factory and the US government, renewing supplies of M9 pistols, which the US army knows by the famous name of the 92 FS. The new supply hails a success for all of us and in particular for Beretta USA Corporation that competently and swiftly negotiated the agreement. The centre pages of this issue of Excellence focus on a famous American: Peter Beard, photographer of the latest Pirelli calendar. In 1998 Beard spent a few months at our headquarters in Gardone Val Trompia illustrating R.L.Wilson’s book “Il mondo Beretta” (The World of Beretta). I fondly remember his unique style and collages, which in just one shot were able to convey the story of a life, the passions and values of a man. I hope you enjoy reading this issue. E
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SUMMARY
hunting 6 Russian with an Italian touch
events of luxury 14 Gallery: and glamour
FEATURES
3
“Arms&Hunting” in Moscow. A passion uniting the nation
THE EDITORIAL
Parties, encounters and competitions at Dallas, Milan and Paris. And the "Set of Two" makes its way round the world
The world of shooting is the world of Beretta by Ugo Gussalli Beretta
by Leonardo Coen
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HUNTING ADVENTURES
fable of Christian 16 The the gunsmith
Following that love song...
Hunting gear and new & used luxury firearms at the two Vienna stores by Fabrizio Bandinelli
and Sporting Clays 12 Polo in New York
24 Two-time star Beretta presents the 2009-2012 Team at EXA, and holds a private celebration for our Beijing heroes
Beretta sponsors a team in the Ambassador Cup and holds a sporting clays competition for the riders
Heroes of Beijing: 18 The "We’ve still got goose-bumps." Chiara Cainero, Vincent Hancock and Francesco D’Aniello. The three flag-bearers of the Beretta "team". by Matteo Recanatesi
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SUMMARY
noble home 26 The of the English Setter
42 AforPassion adventure
are the new 39 Here Beretta knives
The Paris kennel Roc Mignon breeds and trains four-legged champions
PachĂŹ Collection 1526, a limited edition of handmade pieces by Silvester
Beretta's 2009 Spring/Summer collection inspired by great journeys and safaris
savannah 40 The on a blade
on TV 44 Hunting is a spectacle
The "African Big Five", the most coveted trophies, are engraved and painted on the ivory handle
US Army 27 The chooses Beretta
A competition between three women and three men with Beretta shotguns and clothing by Cristina Carducci
and Whisky 50 Hunting in Perthshire
A mega-contract is signed for the supply of up to 450,000 92FS pistols
In the Scottish countryside, amid the pheasant, woodcock, grey partridge and tastings by Fabrizio Bandinelli
Beard, 28 Peter the elephant whisperer A photographer of wildlife and beautiful women, a writer and explorer, Peter Beard has escaped death on more than one occasion. by Roger Pinckney
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Russian hunting with an Italian touch Beretta at the International “Arms&Hunting” Exhibition in Moscow. A passion uniting the nation. From Nicholas II to Stalin, Brezhnev and Putin. Russia’s most powerful men have all been hunters. Bears and elks the most prestigious animals. by Leonardo Coen Moscow correspondent for “La Repubblica“
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THE REPORT OSCOW – I discovered Lenin's hunting permit - number 2159, issued on 25 July 1922 - in a display cabinet in the small but delightful Hunting Museum in Golovinskoje chaussée 1, in the northern suburbs of Moscow, near Sheremetyevo airport. Close by is the Hunters Hotel, which is a short distance from a very well stocked shop selling accessories, equipment and clothing for hunters and anglers. Moscow has 62 of these shops, St Petersburg 30, and Izhevsk - where the famous Edinov and Kalashnikov rifles are manufactured - has 10. The shop is rather unimaginatively called “The Hunter”. Guns and particularly Beretta and Benelli guns take pride of place. Russia is a haven for Italian exports, because when it comes to hunting arms Russians like Italian guns. Nearly half the guns it imports are made in Italy. Italian exhibitors are in the majority at the International Arms&Hunting Exhibition, which is organised each October by Mapipo, Russia's national association of manufacturers and dealers of sporting arms, at a venue near the Kremlin. As MasterRuzhjo, the specialist journal (which has an interesting internet site) puts it, “Italians set trends in the world of arms too” and it is easy to see when you go into “The Hunter” or the nearby “Hunting Season” and “Paradox-T” shops. There is also a taxidermist and “The Hunter” restaurant in the vicinity as well as a Dog Fan Club. In fact the area where the museum is located is at the service of hunting (and fishing) enthusiasts and a passion which has been the most popular in Russia for centuries. As the painter Alla Serioskina, specialised in hunting scenes, says, “hunting is seen as an integral part of our most deeprooted rural traditions.” A culture within a culture.
Above, a view of the 2008 International Arms&Hunting Exhibition held in Moscow. On the left, Vladimir Putin, during a shoot.
Even in Lenin’s times, hunting was considered a “natural” and essential practice, linked to the very essence of all things Russian. When Lenin was exiled to Siberia by the Tsarist authorities, to the village of Shuscenskoje in the region of Krasnoyarsk, the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution would often go hunting for hares and pheasants. Some people say hunting is the most popular hobby in Russia. It is a collective instinct of the Russians. It is in their blood. It is woven into the fabric of the world’s largest nation. From Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, there are some 19 million square kilometres with eleven time zones. Here hunting is a haven, with countless varieties of fauna in places that are as stunning as they are fragile, attractive and mysterious, in unexplored regions, in remarkable, dynamic, tempestuous worlds of forests, tundra, taigas, pine and birch woods. The sheer scale of Siberia and E
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the Urals, the forests of European Russia, the arctic frontiers, the Caucasian and Central Asian regions are home to game preserves extending over 1.5 billion hectares where 135 species of animals live, and where hunting is governed by regulations and practices requiring what Russian hunters call “okhotminimum” (a “minimum awareness”). For example, hunting animals on the Red List of threatened species is a crime which may be punished with a fine of up to 200 thousand roubles, which is equal to around 3000 euros, two years of community service and a prison sentence of six months. If the person committing the crime holds an institutional position, the punishment is even more severe. In fact, it was Lenin who codified regulations, passing a hunting decree in 1920 that was published in the first issue of the monthly “Diana”. Basically the sector was reorganised, on the model of the new Communist Soviet States. Two years later, the central committee of the Pansovietic Union of Hunters unanimously voted to certify the membership of “comrade Vladimir Ilich Uljanov”, electing him an honorary life member. The heads of
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A splendid bear. Alongside, top, during a shoot. Below, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev.
the USSR continued to invite foreign guests of the Kremlin to take part in shoots, as the Tsars had done before them. The stills from a documentary on Fidel Castro’s visit to the USSR in 1962 are famous. Kruschiov took Castro to his country residence at Zavidovo, 130 kilometres from Moscow on the way to Leningrad, to hunt wild boar. Obviously the animals were brought to the area and rounded up so they were in Castro's “firing line”. Forty-four years later, King Juan Carlos of Spain, a guest of Putin at the time, was on the receiving end of the same treatment. The King was in the area of Vologda, a region north of Moscow, in late August. The local authorities hurriedly organised a shoot, as hunting is a favourite pastime of the King and Putin, even pushing a bear right in front of the King’s gun. “It was an appalling scene”, declared
The Hunting Society anxiously await the arrival of the Tsar: prepare the bear! MOSCOW - On a cold grey day on 13th November 1862, the council of the recently established and noble Moscow Hunting Society came to a historical decision: to ask the Emperor Alexander II to take part in a shoot during his stay in Moscow, “the second capital”, surrounded at the time by dense woods and forests with elks and bears in abundance. The council met just a few days before the arrival of the Tsar and there was not enough time to track down the den of a bear at the beginning of hibernation. An animal in “acceptable conditions” was required, noted members of the council, suggesting to
Sergej Prokudin-Gorskij, appointed to carry out the tricky task, that the bear's den should not be far from the railway station. Prokudin-Gorskij decided to go straight to the province of Pokrov in the governorate of Vladimir, east of Moscow and an area he knew well. He could not fail in his mission. The invitation to the Tsar was extremely important and in fact essential for the hunting society which had just been established. If the Tsar came on a shoot, it would validate the society and its activities. In fact, from 1850 onwards, the principle of controlled hunting in Russia was gaining ground. With no E
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environmental activities whatsoever, hunting was destined to quickly die out, unless rules, controls and limits on unrestricted hunting were imposed. Therefore in Russia the time had come to create hunting associations, whose members agreed to respect nature and prevent poaching which was a true curse of the country. One of the first associations for “fair hunting” was in fact the Moscow Society, established in 1859 (but de jure only from 25 November 1862, when the Minister of the Interior finally approved its by-laws) by 11 hunting enthusiasts, which were then joined by seven more members in 1860, including Prokudin-Gorskij.
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THE REPORT
The Russian Hunting Federation protects threatened species, such as the arkhar Sergej Starostin, deputy director of the Department for the protection and development of hunting resources in the Vologda region, in a letter sent to the governor Vjaceslav Pozgalev. Like any other country, a hunting permit is required in Russia. The permit shows that the holder is familiar with regulations on hunting with the use of hunting arms. The permit, in compliance with laws in force, entitles the holder to own hunting arms and to hunt, acquiring licences and vouchers indicating the hunting venue each time (the permit is valid throughout the Russian Federation). Permits are issued by the Department for the protection and development of hunting resources and are called “state” permits. Moreover there are numerous hunting associations, the most important being the Rosokhotrybolosovoyuz (Union of
From the very beginning of its inception, the Society's activities were consistent with the purpose of its by-laws: to hunt only collectively. The “trapping” register in the three years prior to the Minister's approval of the society’s by-laws, show that only seven bears, four elks and a wild goat were shot down. Moreover, several years previously the twenty-two stories of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev in his “Sketches from a Hunter’s Album” (Zapiski Ochotnika), which came out in 1852 (although the first story was published in the magazine Sovremennik in 1847), had caused a sensation, making the immortal author of “Fathers and sons” famous. The character of the stories is a hunter who tells of the peasants, small landowners and simple people of the vast Russian province he meets while
Russian Hunters and Fishermen), which has 444,000 members. The Military Hunting Society is also
important, while the sporting and recreational Dynamo clubs, established by the USSR (and initially sponsored
out hunting, with descriptions of Russian nature and country life as noone had ever written before. The clarity and realism without rhetoric with which Turgenev portrays the miserable life, wrongs and injustices caused a terrible scandal, to such an extent that E
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the author was exiled to a mother farm on the border. The book had an inflammatory effect, like running fire against the existence of land owners. The sketches were read by the Tsar and made a great impression on him, giving him ideas for his reforms, including first and foremost his reform abolishing serfdom. Hunting became a metaphor for the old world trying to protect itself from the need for renewal. The good Prokudin-Gorskij, formally appointed to oversee the imperial shoot, was lucky. He found the bear's den, near the village of Golovino, just twenty kilometres from the railway station at Pavloskaja. Alexander II was known for being a resolute and awesome hunter of wolves and with his reforms, work began to revise and reform the Russian hunting regulations that had been in
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THE REPORT
Hunting - a passion which has survived revolutions and the collapse of regimes
by the Soviet Ministry of the Interior) still exist. The permits issued by these private organisations are instead called “social permits”. From a legal point of
force up until that time. Indeed the Tsar had only recently abolished serfdom, signing a decree on 19 February 1861. He also had a hand in changing an old-fashioned Russian society, although he was careful to protect the rights and privileges of autocrats. He was, one could say, a confirmed reformist, and would have approved of the suggestion to take part in a shoot organised according to new principles which he had helped disseminate and which were gradually taking hold with the aristocracy. The directors of the Moscow Hunting Society hoped the Tsar would not turn down the invitation and in fact he accepted. On 28th November, a delegation from the Society went to the Kremlin and was presented to the Emperor.
Top, a magnificent exemplar of a moose. Bottom, Tsar Alexander II. Opposite, a group of Russian hunters show off their prey after a snow hunt.
“I am delighted to receive you – said Alexander II – I know there are excellent places near Moscow for a fair shoot. I could attend on 10th December, arriving the previous evening and staying at Golovino”. Thrilled by the response, the delegates took leave of the E
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view, there is no difference between state and social permits. But in practical terms, the differences are often quite considerable. A state permit usually costs less than a social one. However, in nearly all central Russian regions, which are the best and most popular areas for hunting, most game preserves are run by private organisations. These reserves are the best equipped, they offer good logistics and animal supplies and often have highly qualified staff. Members of the organisation that owns the preserve have the most benefits. Thus it is important to know where these game preserves are located and to choose an organisation based on its reserve. Members pay fees that cover the maintenance costs of facilities, they sponsor biotechnical activities and are involved in the management
Tsar and immediately set to work. The den had been found. But what of the accommodation? The diligent Prokudin-Gorskij took on the task, coming to an agreement with the landowner Gorinkov who was happy to lend out his estate, while 29 isbas were specially prepared for the imperial entourage. The bear's den was watched over day and night, to prevent a distracted peasant from disturbing the animal, forcing him to go goodness knows where else. The forty-four year old emperor kept his word. He arrived late, at one o'clock in the morning. Eight hours later, his entourage led by Count Apraksin arrived at Gorinkov's estate. With the usual pleasantries over, preparations began. The fields and underwood were covered with snow. Alexander II was
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THE REPORT
Game preserves extending over 1.5 billion hectares, home to 135 species of animals and protection of the fauna system. A debate is now underway as to whether to introduce a single state permit which would simplify hunter registration procedures and make compliance controls easier. In any case, permits are issued only after applicants have passed a test proving they are familiar with regulations in force and the use of hunting arms. Agencies that organise hunting/shooting holidays give their clients a temporary hunting permit. The cost varies depending on the type of hunting requested, from 10 to 30 euros. Plus, permit holders have to pay attention to changes in regulations. Rules for using fire arms may change from one year to the next. By law, it is prohibited to use arms that are not registered in the name of the hunter. In theory, this means it is not possible to hire arms. A special
taken to the “firing line” and told where to shot. At long last, the Tsar took up his large gun and after inspecting it, stood perfectly still waiting for his prey to come into sight. In the meantime, the gamekeepers Dudin, Prokudin and some others moved towards the bear's den. The enraged bear came out, but the shouts of the gamekeepers and peasants who had joined in forced the bear to retreat to the right side of the “target” area. After coming to within fifty steps from position number 18 of the “firing line”, the bear suddenly changed direction, turning left towards where the emperor stood, as if he were aware of his sad fate. Alexander II seized the moment. Hunters know they have to slightly wound a bear to see it majestically rear up. Strong nerves and a good aim are
temporary import permit is required and agencies usually deal with this. As for hunting trophies to take home, the Russian customs authorities require a receipt of payment (and the agencies usually handle this as well). Elk trophies are huge.
The antlers may be more than 1.70 m wide and can weigh 50 kilos.... While the Kamchatka brown bear is the largest in the world, with some specimens more than 3 metres tall and weighing 360 kilos: “Hunting for real hunters”.
necessary. And so the Emperor took aim. All the Romanovs who hunted were a good shot and Alexander II was as well. The Tsar pulled the trigger of his large bore gun (perhaps a 48 bore, the records do not contain details) aiming for and hitting the shoulders of the bear. Yet the bear did not rear up. Roaring with pain and driven into a rage, the bear tried to escape in leaps and bounds along the “firing line”. Some might not have resisted the temptation to shoot, but the peasants waiting for the bear forced the animal back to his den where other peasants were lying in wait: a trap. Their shouts drove the animal back towards the Tsar
who fired two quick shots one after the other. The bear fell onto the snow. But he was not yet dead: gathering his remaining strength, he dragged himself towards the woods opposite and was found by the gamekeepers beneath a birch tree. Pleased with the perfect organisation of the final result, the Emperor did not wish to wait for the body to be found. He took his sledge and went to lunch with members of the Moscow Hunting Society. While the Tsar and his guests were eating, the body of the bear was brought before Alexander II. The bear was a three-year old female, with a thick, dark coat of fur. (l.c.)
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THE EVENT
Polo and Sporting Clays in New York Beretta sponsors a team in the Ambassador Cup and holds a trap shooting competition for the riders from 19 to 21 September at the Mashomack Polo Club, Pine Plains, in New York State, just 90 minutes away from New York city. More than 100 players took part in the numerous events held over the three days. Players from 84 countries took part in the tournament organised by the International Polo Federation, with “ambassadors” from another 16 nations, taking part in the game.
eretta is now a “polo player”, sponsoring a team of international players in the sport's most important competition, the Ambassador Cup. The team, with players from China, Brazil, the United States and Russia came in second the competition, winning the silver medal. The Cup, in its 62nd year, was held
The challenge between the Persians and the Sumerians Polo originated more than two thousand years ago in Persia, the current day Iran, as an activity for exercising horses. Over the centuries polo was taken from the Far East to America via Europe. The centuries-old origins of the discipline are documented by verses and illustrations of the epic Persian poem "Shah-Name" written by the poet Ferdosi, which recounts a polo game played in the 7th century BC in which Prince Siawosch exE
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celled. The historian Tabari (838-932 AD) tells of the Persian King, Darius III who, in the 4th century BC sent a mallet and ball to the young Alexander The Great as a challenge. And King Darius the Great in 522 BC took polo to India, where it then spread throughout the world, first to England, then to the rest of Europe, the United States and Argentina, the new home of internaE
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THE EVENT
Three days of games and more than 100 players at the Mashomack Club Before taking part in the games, all the players were able to challenge each other in a sporting clays competition organised by Beretta and held in the splendid setting of the Mashomack Preserve. Some of those taking part were first time shooters and enthusiastically commented on their experience during the lunch held by Beretta at the end of the competition. Many pointed out how age-old origins, a passion for nature and time shooters were all common factors shared by Beretta and the world of polo.
On the right, the sporting clays competition organised by Beretta for polo players of the Ambassador Cup at the Mashomack Club. Below and alongside, three pictures of the international polo competition, held at Pine Plains, in New York State.
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THE GALLERIES
Events of luxury and glamour Parties, encounters and competitions at Dallas, Milan and Paris The eighth “Beretta Cup” in Paris Co-ordinated by Mr Lionel Bar della Guardia, vice-president of the Shooting Committee at the Polo de Paris, 160 competitors from the French capital’s most prestigious clubs and societies (Jockey Club, Inter allié, Automobile Club de France, Polo de Paris, Maison de la chasse et de la nature, Maxim’s Business Club, Nouveau Cercle, Cercle du Bois de Boulogne and Le Travellers) took part in the “Beretta Gallery Cup” held on 15th September at the Polo de Paris. The shooting match was held in a festive climate of great sportsmanship, and brought to a close with a Spanish victory as twilight approached. After the match, an exquisite dinner was served in the dining hall, where two classic Beretta rifles – a “Silver Pigeon” and “DT10ELL” – were on display, along with various garments from the men’s and women’s Autumn-Winter collections designed by the Gardone Val Trompia-based company. The night came to a close with the presentation to the winners of the special prizes offered by Beretta and other prestigious partners such as Cartier and Mellerio. Financial aperitifs make their way to the Gallery They call them “financial aperitifs”. Organised by the Italian Private Banking Association (AIPB) in partnership with the men’s magazine Monsieur, the encounters bring together leading private banking companies to discuss market trends and strategic future developments. After Santoni, Jaeger Le Coultre and Valextra, Beretta Gallery hosted the fourth event in this special aperitif series in December. A festive event followed the closed-door
Top, the Dallas Gallery cocktail party. Left, Tanya Foster, Heather Asbury and Barons John and Deborah Scott Cattle.
ches and other small objects with the monogrammed initials of the owner.
meeting, open to the “Friends of Monsieur”, featuring world champion helice shooter and Beretta consultant on luxury rifles Dario Anguissola and master engraver Luca Casari, head of the Beretta engraving studio and school, who showcased various metal engraving techniques to the delight of guests, and personalised watE
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A luxury cocktail party in Dallas On 5th November 2008, the Beretta Gallery in Dallas hosted a special “Outdoorsman’s Night”, treating over 250 guests to a barbecue and cocktails, as well as a buffet of entrées in the exhibition halls showcasing the Beretta shotgun collection. Partners for the event included the makers of other iconic luxury brands, such as Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, King Pacific Lodge, Modern Luxury, Presnell Sporting Collection, Bang & Olufsen, Land Rover Dallas, Milestone Distributors, Viking and Republic Beverage.
The “Set of Two” world tour The “world tour” continues for the “70th Birthday Set of Two”, the gift presented by Beretta employees to chairman Ugo Gussalli Beretta for his seventieth birth-
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THE GALLERIES
New trends: managers sip on aperitifs while discussing market trends
day. On 23rd September 2008, the set, featuring a prestigious writing desk made by David Linley’s London atelier, and two SO10 Over&Under, was on show at the Beretta Gallery in Milan, treating the store’s devoted customers to an exclusive opportunity to appreciate the superbly crafted items first-hand, and discover their innovative characteristics and details designed in partnership with the product managers that co-ordinated the initiative. On 27th November, the exclusive set of two, valued at nearly one million pounds and representing the emblematic embrace of tradition and innovation, was unveiled at the London Gallery. The set was presented during an exclusive cocktail party to some 120 guests, along with Dr. Franco Gussalli Beretta, Viscount David Linley and the Waktare family, including Bjorn Waktare, founder of GMK Ltd. and his sons Karl and Oskar. Vip guests abounded at the event, including the Italian ambassador Giancarlo Aragona, Charles Finch (chairman of Finch & Partners), Dylan Jones (editor of GQ), Selma Day (editor of Mayfair Times), Will Hetherington (editor of Shooting Gazette) and James Marchington (editor of Sporting Shooter magazine).
Top, clockwise from the left, the Polo de Paris event poster; the Montefeltro team at the Milan Gallery; Mr Franc Philippe at the opening of the Polo de Paris event. Right, another photo of the Milan Gallery.
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THE SHOP IN SHOP
The fable of Christian the gunsmith Hunting gear and new & used luxury firearms at the two Vienna stores by Fabrizio Bandinelli
t was one year ago that Christian Johann Springer stepped up to lead the family business, taking the reins of Joh. Springer’s Erben, a longstanding maker of firearms and custodian of a grand tradition, which first opened its doors in Vienna in 1836. Christian Johann comes from a family with firmly-rooted traditions. What line of business were your forefathers in and how did you develop your passion for hunting? “The first members of the family arrived in 1808 from Hungary and Slovakia. Both lineages had the gunsmith’s tradition running through their veins. For about 150 years Joh. Springer’s Erben manufactured pistols and rifles of outstanding quality for Europe’s aristocrats, noblemen and wealthy families. I was born in 1967, and back then, the only thought was to keep our gunsmith’s tradition alive. In 1982 I started school in Ferlach, Austria, and graduated five years later. After gaining experience in various companies, I started working in the family business.” When and why did you decide to open a store dedicated to hunting in Vienna? Whereabouts in the city is it located? “Last year, in 2008, my mother Margarete Weixelbraun retired and I took over the management of the family business. I moved our two stores to the city centre. The best-known of the two is in Graben 10, at the new location in Weihburggasse 27, Vienna. Just five minutes away on foot from Graben, we have rented a 750 square-metre building near the Palais Coburg Hotel. Here we
have three floors of practical and stylish hunting gear, as well as new, used and luxury firearms.” What items sell most? “In November 2008 we launched our first ever in-house ‘silent auction’ for second-hand pistols and rifles, hunting accessories, artistic objects and hunting trips. The auction involves confidential bids, and is something we intend to organise twice a year. Generally speaking, we are very happy with how E
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Top, Christian Johann Springer and his wife.
our business is going, and in particular with our special partnership with Beretta.” How are the product displays arranged and how are the staff organised? We have divided the three floors of the store by type of product and the interests of our customers. On the ground floor we have standard clothing collections
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THE SHOP IN SHOP
“Our clients? Austrians, though also people from the former Soviet Union and Americans”
and optical goods produced by wellknown manufacturers such as Swarovski, Zeiss and Leica. New and used firearms at standard prices are displayed on the lower ground floor, while the top floor showcases our luxury firearms, clothing collections and special items. The majority of my colleagues began their careers as apprentices in the company, or received specialist education as gunsmiths. They know the general market very well and need to be flexible when serving our clients. Some of them are specialised in particular in our top quality range of goods.” How would you classify the majority of your clients? “Due to our highly selected range of goods, our clients tend to invest, even considerably, in products of great quality. The majority of our clients are Austrian, though in the past fifteen years the number of foreign clients has grown very much. We are proud to serve the
best clients from countries in the eastern part of the former Soviet Union. We also have a long tradition though of serving clients from the United States, who are extremely well-informed collectors of firearms.” How would describe Austrian attitudes to hunting? “We are very traditional hunters, meticulous in studying the animals we hunt. When we speak about hunting and animals, we use a very precise German vocabulary, which is highly articulate, lots of fun, and you never finish learning all the words!” You were the first to arrange silent auctions in the world of firearms. Can you tell us how it all came about? “We decided to organise silent auctions to give our clients more time to choose their products. It also eases the pressure that bidders feel when they find themselves in an auction hall. We hold two auctions a year for second-hand E
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firearms sold at medium-low prices. Sometimes we add higher-range items such as Purdey, Beretta and Ferlach pieces.” Could you tell us more about your business and how it will be developed in the future? “We intend to focus increasingly on quality goods at all price ranges. We won’t be limiting ourselves to high-range goods or only to pistols and rifles either, but will be extending our range to include optical goods, knives and leather accessories. Soon we will be unveiling a range of interesting and collectible pieces of hunting art, featuring modern painting and sculpture. Our latest new business unit was launched in 2008, and acts as a hunting consultant. We have a professional hunter in the unit dedicated to meeting clients requests. In this sector, we also have a discreet range of Austrian hunting grounds and superior quality trophies.”
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THE OLYMPICS, ONE YEAR ON
The Heroes of Beijing: “We’ve still got goose-bumps.” Olympic champions Chiara Cainero and Vincent Hancock, and Francesco D’Aniello, silver medal-winner in the double trap behind the American Eller, though ahead of China’s Hu Binyuan, the favourite at the eve of the event, talk about life after the Olympics and how the event has changed their lives. “We give more interviews to newspapers, though skeet shooting has taught us not to lose our heads,” explain the three flag-bearers of the Beretta “team”. by Matteo Recanatesi
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THE OLYMPICS, ONE YEAR ON
“Caressing my gun under the rain is an image fixed in my mind.” thunderbolt, then rain. “It was raining so hard, it was like being under a waterfall. I didn’t think of covering myself, I just continued drying my Beretta with the palm of my hand. A simple, repetitive gesture. That’s the memory I will always have of the 2008 Olympics – my fingers on the gun, the grey skies of the storm, and silence all around.” Chiara Cainero, gold medal-winner in the skeet, tells the story of her Olympic victory through a frame, as she caresses her gun, the tension dissipates, and her concentration levels rise. It was the third qualification round. The shooting range was a quagmire, Beijing a city wading in water. In skeet shooting, extreme conditions make the event doubly hard. Your grip and position slip. Chiara, how did you feel at that moment? “Dazed, though incredibly confident. I
Applause for Chiara Cainero after winning the gold medal. Bottom, Cainero at the Olympics. Opposite page, shooter Vincent Hancock, another gold medal winner in China.
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hit 24 targets. It was a real feat. If I had hit only 20 I would have been out of the final. Instead I got to the shoot-off together with the American Rhode and Germany’s Brinker.” Yes, and then you kept hitting target after target, leaving your adversaries behind. How does it feel to step up onto the highest place on the podium? “With the medal around my neck, the national anthem playing... I just couldn’t believe it. For a minute or two it was like an out-of-body experience, I was in a trance. The next day I went back to the shooting ground. I took a few steps, then stopped and looked around me. Everything was different. All silent, out of time. It seemed impossible that right there, 24 hours earlier, my Olympic event had unfolded.” How has Chiara Cainero changed since that adventure? The World Cup at the end of September was quite a
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THE OLYMPICS, ONE YEAR ON
“Every time you need to be willing to put yourself to the test.” disappointment for you. “I receive phone calls more frequently, and journalists contact me for interviews. But I’m a level-headed person, used to keeping my calm in situations. I probably arrived at the World Cup mentally exhausted though satisfied. But now I can’t wait to get back into competition. Every meeting is a challenge that comes to a close, and then another starts. Skeet shooting is like that. It is always full of new stimuli and every time you have to be willing to start over, and put yourself to the test. That’s something my father taught me, himself a hunter and shooter.” Was he the one who whet your passion? “On my fourteenth birthday, my Dad sat down to dinner with a brightlycoloured box. I was so excited as I opened it, finding inside my first-ever shotgun. That gun became the extension of my very arm, my closest friend, the
symbol of my determination, and not just a tool for shooting down targets.” Today, your most trusted “friend” is a Beretta. “I have competed with a Beretta ever since my debut with the junior national team, not only because they are the most precise gun in the world, but also because of the assistance that the Italian factory offers athletes before, during and after the game. In skeet shooting, your gun plays an enormous part. A personalised shotgun offers concrete advantages. The stock is designed on the basis of the distance between your hold and shoulder, the weight of the barrel has to match the athlete's strength, and the choke always has to be adjusted. I work in symbiosis with Beretta technicians. My Beijing gold medal is also theirs.” What advice would you give people approaching skeet shooting for the first time?
Hancock, the Tiger Woods of shooting A true prodigy. Vincent Hancock, the third medal-winner of the Beretta "team" in China, was predestined for success. He fired his first shots at the age of 11, before becoming, in 2005 at age 16, world skeet champion and "Shooting Athlete of the Year" in the United States. Then, in 2008, at 19 years of age, his first Olympics, confirmation and triumph with the gold medal at Beijing. His natural talent for shooting was first sharpened by his father, himself a shooter with a handful of successes under his belt, and then by the US Army Marksmanship Unit (US AMU), where Vincent trained non-stop. In competitions, Hancock has always claimed that he takes his philosophy from golf star Tiger Woods. "If you’re not playing to win, why take part?". Anything but De Coubertin! Determined, bold in his declarations, this Florida-born, and Georgiaraised boy is actually quite emotional when it comes to performing in competitions. In Beijing he felt out of form, leaving others to be flattered as favourites. But then he performed with the determination of a true champion, drawing strength from his own insecurity. To win top spot on the podium, Hancock first had to keep the French shooter Terras, and Cyprus’s Nicolaidis at bay, and then take up the challenge of the shoot-off against Norway’s Tore Brovold. They remained head to head until the Scandinavian finally committed an error, delivering a 4-3 win to Vincent, who celebrated raising his Beretta shotgun to the sky. E
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“The first thing is to have lots of patience. It’s hard at first. Targets are like crazy beasts, impossible to tame. You shouldn’t give up though, because in the long run it really is satisfying. And when gratification comes, you begin to see the many positive aspects of the discipline – it’s an outdoor sport, in wide open nature, you travel the world, and it helps you reflect, like all individual sports.” From Cainero to Francesco D’Aniello, who won another medal for Italy (and the Beretta team), with his second-place finish in the double trap behind America’s Walton Eller (190), with 187 targets. How do you keep your emotions in check during an event? “Trap shooting is a sport that’s all about the mind. Psychology accounts for 80% of your results. Shooters can’t enjoy the moment when a target explodes. You have to keep your cool and concentrate solely on your
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THE OLYMPICS, ONE YEAR ON
D’Aniello: “I was passionate about hunting. Then I tried trap shooting” The Beretta Shooting Team. Objective: London 2012 Well-known names:
shooting. The time for celebration comes later.” How did Francesco D’Aniello begin his adventure with trap shooting? “It was purely by chance, though it was also love at first sight. I was passionate about hunting. I loved guns, dogs and being outdoors. One day, out of curiosity, I took part in an amateur trap shooting competition, and shot down 21 targets out of 25. It was a result worthy of a professional. Since then, I’ve never stopped shooting.” At what age do people stop shooting? “There is no age. You stop when you don’t hit the targets anymore. I would like to keep going until London 2012 at least, then I’ll see. As for amateur shooting, I intend to keep stepping up to the station until I’m 80. Trap shooting is an amazing sport, a great school of life, which is now also infecting my four year-old son Michele with enthusiasm. He already loves hunting and has his own toy gun that shoots darts. He can already hit paper cups at 4-5 metres away.”
Francesco D’Aniello, silver medal-winner in the double trap in Beijing. Right, the Beretta shooters’ box. Objective: London 2012.
The full list is available on www.Beretta.it, under Eventi & Competizioni, Tiratori.
SHOOTER Bacosi D. Cainero C. D’Aniello F. Eleuteri C. Falco E. Faulds R. Hancock V. Jensen H. Kiermayer S. Kisilzu A. Luchini V. Mansher Singh Mark R. Mola M. Nakayama Y. Nicolaides A. Ruettgeroth S. Vella A.
SHOTGUN DT10 DT10 DT10 DT10 DT10 DT10 DT10 DT10 DT10 DT10 682 DT10 SO5 DT10 DT10 DT10 DT10 DT10
New entrants this year, to name but a few: Achilleos G. DT10 SK Andreou A. DT10 SK Carneiro A. 682 F.O. Cristoforou K. DT10 SK Del Din D. 682 F.O. Exton C. DT10 F.O. Gelisio D. DT10 F.O. Liptak J. DT10 F.O. Pellielo G. DT10 F.O. Roiall S. DT10 F.O. Sodhi Ronjan DT10 D.T.
How long has the DT10 Trident Trap been your Shotgun? “Since 2003, and I haven’t put it down since. A shotgun is like a Formula 1 car, the driver has to be good at fine-tuning every part. Everyone has his own shooting style, and even the gun has to be customised. Beretta showed faith in me and believed in my potential by preparing a rifle especially for me. It was a sort of reciprocal investment, E
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SPECIALTY SK SK D.T. SK SK D.T. / SP SK SK F.O. F.O. SK F.O. F.O. F.O. F.O. SK F.O. F.O.
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NATION ITA ITA ITA ITA ITA GBR USA NOR GER TUR ITA IND AUS ITA JAP CYP GER AUS CYP CYP LUX CYP SMR GBR ITA CZE ITA AUS IND
and the results were a sure thing.” Why did you choose Beretta? “The name is a guarantee. Its guns are excellent. I was born with a Beretta shotgun in hand. Even when I only went hunting, I never had any other gun. I originally had a A300, and then a A302, before discovering the DT10 Trident Trap. But I also use lots of Beretta accessories. My glasses, vest and cap are all from Beretta. They’re indestructible.”
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THE OLYMPICS, ONE YEAR ON
Even glasses have a place on the podium The secret is in the lenses. Photochromatic lenses offer extremely high definition and contrast, and help prevent eye fatigue. Another reason why shooters that wear Beretta glasses win. Such high performance comes thanks to a long process of polymerisation that exalts the optimal uniformity of the new, special photochromatic lens NXT®-HCBN (High Contrast Narrow Band). Each single lens undergoes a 20-hour thermodynamic cycle that hardens and compacts the liquid polymer. Once set, the lens is shockproof and resistant to impact and chemical agents. Light and comfortable, the lens guarantees visual well-being and maximum UV protection. The glasses can be carried in a jacket pocket or bag without a problem and when worn, the glasses protect the wearer from accidental shocks to the eyes. Beretta is the first company in the world to have introduced this
specific lens technology, used to date only in the military field, in the shooting and hunting sectors. Tests taken by Beretta team members have produced significant results, demonstrating the great contribution that an accessory like glasses can help to improving your performance. HCNB photochromatic lenses act as a “brightness corrector”. In strong light conditions, they reduce reverberation and eliminate the trail effect that targets, illuminated by the sun, create along their trajectory. On poorly lit days, the eyeglasses accentuate contrast and "turn up" the target in flight. Just another step towards the future through research, thinking of all those people that have moving targets in their sights and tend to confuse them with background light and colours.
OCMX 0001 0009 Insert for mounting corrective ophthalmic lenses, from single vision lenses to progressives
Champion vests and gloves OLYMPIC VEST GT38 74 58, enabling fast and safe gun use, maximum freedom of movement, as well as accommodating lots of space for cartridges of all kinds and other shooting accessories. These are the main characteristics of the new Beretta shooting vest, developed along the advice and needs of professional shooters. Featuring a stitched fabric recoil pad, mesh and stretch inserts for breathability and freedom of movement, adjustable belt, four cartridge pockets, chest pockets, a large mesh pocket on the back, earmuff hook and removable Gel-Tek recoil pad. Available in two versions, for left-handers and right-handers, in three colours: green, Beretta blue and navy blue. SKIN GLOVES GL52 5022 99, achieve perfect feel, maximum protection and optimum temperature with these super thin shooting gloves made in Aquatec, featuring mesh on the back and adjustable cuff.
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EVENTS
Two-time star Beretta presents the 2009-2012 Team at EXA, and holds a private celebration for our Beijing heroes by Matteo Recanatesi
eretta was the two-time star of the show last Monday 20th April in Brescia, at an institutional event, followed by an exclusive, private function organised at a historic residence. On occasion of EXA (the International Sporting Arms, Security and Outdoor Show), Italy’s
leading exhibition for the sector, Beretta brought together the medal winners from the Beijing Olympics that it proudly sponsors (Vincent Hancock, Chiara Cainero, Francesco D’Aniello) and Andrea Benelli (gold medal-winner at Athens 2004) to present its 20092012 Team for the London Olympics.
The presentations at EXA. Top, from left: Vincent Hancock, Giovanni Pellielo, Chiara Cainero, Ugo Gussalli Beretta, Massimiliano Mola, Andrea Filippetti, Daniela Del Din, George Achilleos. Bottom: Francesco D’Aniello, Franco Gussalli Beretta, Valerio Luchini, Cristian Eleuteri and Andrea Benelli.
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The shooters were awarded a medal by the Province of Brescia, before accepting the warm embrace of the trade show audience, who overwhelmed the champions with technical questions and simple curiosities, along with the usual requests for autographs and souvenir photos. The heroes from Beijing mingled willingly with the huge crowd, offering answers and replies to
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EVENTS
Andrea Benelli receives an SO10 featuring engravings of the medals won over his career
everyone’s questions. On the same day, chairman Ugo Gussalli Beretta invited all the athletes to one of Brescia’s oldest and most prestigious villas (the eighteenth century Villa Fenaroli) for a private function reserved to some eighty people, including workers in the sector, journalists, institutional figures and representatives from shooting federations. The guests of honour were the Beretta-sponsored athletes, who each received a personalised and branded shotgun and watch. Particular appreciation was shown for the gift with which Beretta chose to commemorate the long, successful career of Andrea Benelli – a premium SO10 Over&Under featuring engravings of the main medals won over his career. Born in 1960, Benelli is a star athlete in the shooting world, having participated in six Olympics with two podium finishes (bronze at Atlanta 1996, and gold at Athens 2004), and having won two world championships, a world cup, a European championship and many other competitions.
Top, from left: General manager of Beretta, Mr Carlo Ferlito, introduces Vincent Hancock; Chairman Ugo Gussalli Beretta presents Andrea Benelli with an SO10, featuring engravings of the main medals won by the champion over his long career. The chairman awards Chiara Cainero. Below, left: the chairman and Francesco D’Aniello display an original, official Olympic flag from Beijing, autographed by the medal winners and presented by Mirco Cenci, coach of the national double trap team, to chairman Ugo Gussalli Beretta. Right: Ugo Gussalli Beretta awards Vincent Hancock .
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HUNTING COMPANIONS
The noble home of the English Setter The Paris kennel Roc Mignon breeds and trains four-legged champions wonderful hunting companion. Well-trained, balanced and carefully bred. This is the English Setter from the Roc Mignon kennel, managed by Bernard de CrĂŠmiers with an attentive eye for detail and ambition. Roc Mignon has an outstanding tradition of breeding dogs (it was created in Paris in the 1950s by Jean Marie Pilard, chairman of the English Setter Club for 25 years), and today still produces winning, world champion and European champion dogs in various field trials. The kennel selects breeders on the basis of four qualities: intelligence, equilibrium, passion and style. The best French and foreign exemplars are used to ensure regular breeding. In recent years, a Competition Team has been set up in Roc Mignon, bringing together true champion dogs, fielding the team that represented France at the last European grouse hunting championships in Italy.
Islaine de Rocmignon, one of the champion setters bred and trained by the Paris kennel. Top, another member of the Competition Team.
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THE JOB ORDER
The US Army chooses Beretta A mega-contract is signed for the supply of up to 450,000 92FS pistols n agreement equivalent to a consecration. The contract, signed at the end of last year by Fabbrica d’Armi Beretta, through its sister company Beretta U.S.A. Corp., and the US Army, is for the supply of the world’s most famous handgun: the Beretta 92FS, the evolution of the historic 92 series first developed in the 1970s. Worth a total of $220 million, including spare parts, up to 450,000 guns will be supplied, at request, under the deal. "It is a great honour to see that the quality and performance of the Beretta Model 92FS is still so evidently appreciated," remarked Cav. Ugo Gussalli Beretta, chairman of
Beretta Holding, "and it is a pleasure to know that the 9mm-calibre Beretta continues to represent the standard of reference for armies throughout the world."
The world’s most famous pistol
The pistol Mod. 92 FS
1970 is a year to be remembered. It was then that the world’s most famous pistol was first produced, when Pier Carlo Beretta, Vittorio Valle and Giuseppe Mazzetti came together to design the Beretta 92 project, based on three key principles:
safety, reliability and resistance. Five years later, after rigourous testing, the pistol was officially unveiled. COMSUBIN, the naval arm of the Italian special forces, was the first military unit to adopt the gun. It was followed by the Brazilian army. Then came the avalanche. The Beretta 92 has a series of winning characteristics. With its aluminium alloy shaft and open sights, the gun is easy to dismantle and clean, featuring an excellent double action coupled to a highly reliable sear. In 1977, the 92S, an evolution of the 92, was the most widely used pistol by the Italian police, and was gaining popularity on the US civil gun
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On the employment front, Ugo Gussalli Beretta expressed great satisfaction as "the contract will guarantee work for hundreds of employees at the Accokeek factory in Maryland for many years to come." Beretta USA currently employs 300 workers, divided between the Accokeek factory and the Fredericksburg warehouse in Virginia. It manages the two Beretta Galleries in New York and Dallas, while manufacturing pistols and shotgun for the US market, and distributing guns, clothing and accessories produced by Beretta in Italy, and rifles produced in Finland by Sako and Tikka. market. Just a few months later, the United States Air Force launched a call for bid to choose a new US pistol. In response, Beretta presented the 92S-1, modified to meet tender specifications, featuring an ambidextrous safety catch, reversible magazine release, and checkered grips. Beretta won the contract, repeating the success (with the 92SB-F model) in a rerun of the call, following protests from competitors. The success of the semi-automatic Beretta has continued thanks to ongoing developments to the gun. Since 1987, Beretta USA has produced 1.4 million pieces, of which 540,000 have been delivered to the United States Army and its military allies. According to recent estimates, over 3.5 million guns in the Beretta 92 range have been sold around the world (in over 25 countries) on the military and civil markets. Today the Beretta 92, also known as the M9, is the standard issue pistol in all five branches of the US Armed Forces.
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PROFILE
I’LL WRITE WHENEVER I CAN, KOO BI FOR A, LAKE RUDO LPH, KENYA, 1965, © PETER BEARD / ART + COMMERCE
Peter Beard, the elephant whisperer
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PROFILE
The man who also whispers to rhinoceroses, warthogs and all the animals of the savannah. “Human beings are the worst disease, not animals“. A photographer of wildlife and beautiful women, a writer and explorer, Peter Beard has escaped death on more than one occasion. A consultant for Beretta, he was also photographer for the latest Pirelli calendar. by Roger Pinckney*
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eter Beard is a man who it is hard to pin a label on. A photographer of wildlife and beautiful women, a writer, ethnologist, explorer, hunter, naturalist, champion of the environment, adored by women, a married man and a very wise person. This could be a good description of Peter Beard. But watching a video of him being trampled by an elephant, you can’t help adding “mad“ to this long list of attributes. There are never enough words to describe Peter Beard down to a tee. He is still full of life, a true force of nature. He was telling one joke after another when he was put in the jeep, but when the bush plane landed in Nairobi, he had stopped joking. With his stomach practically torn open, he was declared “clinically dead”, but luckily he pulled through - surviving yet again. Peter Hill Beard is the great-grandson of the legendary J. J. Hill, the “Empire Builder”, who in 1893 crossed the continent with his Great Northern Railway. Some people called J. J. Hill a “robber baron”, and he probably was just that. He owned, among other things, steam boats and coal mines. He erected an imposing building in St. Paul, and financed the construction of the city’s magnificent cathedral. He was prepared to do anything if need be. This headstrong immigrant from Canada, blind in one eye, personally oversaw the supervision of building sites for the construction of the railway which would cross the Great Plains, travelling on a dog-drawn sledge. It was said that after two weeks, he stank of the dogs. Turned away by a hotel in North Dakota, Hill changed the direction of the railway line, moving it 40 miles further south, so
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GARDENERS OF EDEN - 1984/2007, © PETER BEARD / ART + COMMERCE
Great-grandson of the legendary J.J. Hill, who owned railways, steam boats and mines
the unwelcoming hotel was isolated and went bankrupt. Then there is Hill City in Minnesota, the Empire Builder of the Amtrak line which extends to Seattle, and a bar in Fargo, North Dakota, named after Hill, where an advert says “Get up and walk”. On the other side of Peter’s family, his grandfather-in-law was a tobacco
Growing up among the jet set of New York, Beard was already keeping diaries and taking photographs at 12 years old, creating very personal albums. E
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magnate, Pierre Lorillard IV. Immensely rich, Pierre IV was also a property developer, a philanthropist, a great traveller, a yachtsman and horse breeder, whose thoroughbreds showed in the Derby, won the Belmont Stakes and won awards throughout Europe. It was said that Pierre IV invented the tuxedo, but some people claim he was
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PROFILE
The fateful meeting with Karen Blixen that stopped him becoming a surgeon
simply the first American to wear a tuxedo in New York, after “copying“ the model from the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of England. So it is no surprise that Peter Beard has such a long and diverse curriculum vitae. Growing up among the jet set of New York, the young Peter was a precocious child. At the age of twelve, he already kept
diaries and took photographs, creating his own very personal albums. A fun pastime, thought his family, who had decided their son would attend Yale Medical School. With an excellent eyesight and a very steady hand, Peter Beard would have made a good surgeon, if it were not for Karen Blixen. Karen Blixen, alias Isak Dinesen, had written Out of E
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Africa, a novel on which the romantic film, starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, with the same name as the book was based. Beard went to Kenya in 1955, and again in 1960 when another great-grandson of J. J. Hill, Jerome, organised a meeting with the writer. At the time, Karen Blixen had returned to her homeland, Denmark, but after their first
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PROFILE
meeting, the two started to correspond regularly. Beard was fascinated by Blixen “whose persona and life reflected the old-style Africa which had been lost... an invisible support for me, and a person with a real, poetic importance for the rest of the world”. Peter Beard bought 45 acres of land bordering Karen Blixen’s coffee plantation, and built a farm, which he called “Hog Ranch”, because there were so many warthogs in the area. Beard got to know Karen Blixen’s old cook, Kamante, and took him back to his farm. He fed the warthogs until they were completely tame. “It was amazing to discover this supernatural world, where centuries-old laws still ruled, and good sense was still fundamental... and where survival was more than a simple expression”, wrote Peter. In fact, this was exactly how it was. The warthogs at Hog Ranch were perhaps used to living with human beings, but not with each other. And one afternoon, a ferocious fight broke out between two dominant warthogs, with curtains pulled down and tables knocked over, making all the ranch hands flee from the furious fray. Peter Beard lost all interest in medicine, reaching the conclusion that “human beings are the worst disease”. He specialised in the history of art and after graduating, he went to Kenya, where he joined an expedition in 1955 to lasso and capture white rhinoceroses and move them away from overpopulated areas near the National Park of Tsavo. Beard, capable of using language with the same precision as a camera, began his tale like this: “In a remote corner of Zululand, the keeper of Umfololzi park was talking of the time when he
FAYAL TALL - 1987/2008, © PETER BEARD / ART + COMMERCE
On his farm, he fed the warthogs until they were completely tame
came up against a large number of a very rare animal... on a moonlit night, in the plains, he saw sixty-four white rhinoceroses all together, illuminated by a silver light ...an amazing sight in the full moon”. After mountains of paperwork Beard obtained the necessary permits and began to work with his assistants. “That was my first job in Africa, and the one I enjoyed the most”, he said. “We were keepers of the Garden of E
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Eden”. The reality was different though. The relationship between the men and animals was exhausting. There were numerous, foreseeable incidents (vehicles destroyed, people gored or trampled on), as well as some unexpected episodes, when for example a rhinoceros calf bit off the finger of an assistant who had offered him a sweet and had not taken his hand away in time. At the end of four or five months of chaotic rodeos in
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SINGLE CHEETAH - © PETER BEARD / ART + COMMERCE
Beard considered rhinoceros hunting as the “insanest kind of environmental protection”
the bush, those involved began to get to know some of the animals. In fact the rhinoceroses had returned! But this did not change anything. The rhinoceroses continued to be caught and relocated. In the meantime, government officials went back to Nairobi, were paid their salary and considered the project a huge success, in view of the number of rhinoceroses that had been “relocated“. The capture of the rhinoceroses (“the insanest kind of environmental protection”) was very much a learning process for Beard, who realised that protecting wildlife from local hunters or hunting enthusiasts was causing
His first book, “The End of the Game“ was set in the Tsavo area, where 50,000 elephants died of hunger
overpopulation problems, and as a consequence many wild species would end up dying of hunger. This situation was very evident in the National Park of Tsavo, where some 50,000 elephants would eat their own kind to survive. Beard went to “Starvo”, as he called the park, in E
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1961, to photograph this catastrophe and as a result he produced his superb first book: “The End of the Game”. Extremely disturbing and politically incorrect, “The End of the Game” is a compelling combination of photographs taken by Peter, indigenous art and old photographs of Karen Blixen, alongside quotes by everyone who has written of Africa, from the Greek historian, Pliny the Elder (“Africa always offers something new and strange”) to Colonel J. H. Patterson, the man who in far off 1898 shot down the man-eating lions that were preventing works for the construction of Uganda Railway’s “Lunatic Line”.
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PROFILE
The “End of the Game” was reprinted last June by Taschen Publishing, but forty years ago when it was first published, the book was silently removed from many school and public libraries. Apparently, boys would swoon over Beard’s photographs of bare-breasted African women, while girls would cry over the photographs of elephants that had died or were dying of hunger. Today, if you are lucky enough to find a first edition of the book, it could well be a reject from the Orange County Public Schools, which did not make it to the incinerator and instead was duly sent by a second-hand book dealer in London. When the programme “60 Minutes” ran a report on the death of the elephants, saying it was the fault of poachers, Beard personally delivered a letter of protest to the New York HQ of CBS. His letter “ended up in the wrong hands”, and was never taken into consideration. In the meantime, Peter Beard was out hunting crocodiles. The Kenyan government had to decide whether to make crocodile hunting legal, but it first needed to collect data on the animals, their size (length, circumference and weight), life expectancy, reproduction rates and so on. The government was prepared to let someone kill 500 crocodiles for their skin or meat (if the person could stomach it), on condition that the data they required for the study were also collected. Beard put his name forward, along with Alistair Graham, a former zoologist with the Department of Hunting, involved at the time in his research company. Flying their bush plane, the two reached Lake Rudolf, an area populated by numerous crocodiles.
The Lake (which was later named Lake Turkana) is in the middle of the infamous North Western District, along the border with Somalia, a land of nomad tribes, scorpions, vipers, shabby lions and Shifta bandits in an even worse off state, prepared to rob and skin travellers alive for the sake of it. From the alkaline waters rose a Volcanic island, which constantly burned because of the underground fires. It was a place that was “hard to reach, uncomfortable once we got there, and dangerous when we were in the thick of it“, said Graham. Beard and Graham camped on a stony beach, in a deserted, wind-swept bay, called Ferguson Gulf, ironically wondering who Ferguson was and why such a place had been named after him. They worked with Turkana skinners and porters and began their sinister task which would lead to the death of 500 crocodiles. It was an extremely hard and clearly dangerous job. Graham and Beard decided on a count of 50 crocodiles a month. Although the animals had never been hunted before, they were extremely wary. They would lie in the sun on the banks of the lake, in full view, but would slither below the water when the hunters came into sight. Sometimes Graham and Beard hunted at night, placing nets directly between the eyes of the crocodiles that shone red and yellow in the beam of light from their electric torches. By day, the two would camouflage themselves to get as close as possible to the crocodiles, smearing themselves with mud from the lake, and sliding behind a cover made from tyres and vegetation, to reach the right distance. Like all reptiles, even when shot to death, the crocodiles did not E
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SERENGETI LION 1976/2006 - © PETER BEARD / ART + COMMERCE
A sinister task: leading 500 crocodiles to their deaths
always die on the spot, but would start to thrash about and roll under the water, so they had to be fished out with a harrow. The relaxed manner of Beard when faced with such obvious
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PROFILE
danger reinforced the Turkana’s idea that all white men were mad. A year had gone by on the lake, and only three more crocodiles had to be hunted, when the two men
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PROFILE
ELEPHANT IN FRONT OF KILIMANJARO 1964/2007 - © PETER BEARD / ART + COMMERCE
The risky photo in the jaws of a crocodile with rigour mortis that had just set in
imprudently set off on a long boat trip. They captured the crocodiles, but a sudden storm overturned their boat, and when they finally managed to stagger back on shore, they admitted that 497 crocodiles were more than enough. The book “Eyelids of Morning” was written based on the experience. Like “The End of the Game”, Beard and his co-author Graham did not just describe their adventures with the
The horrific image of a man in the water with no arms or legs
crocodiles and the Turkana, but they wove their story into the larger fabric of the history of mankind. The book’s subtitle conjures up “the mingled E
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destines of men and crocodiles”. Sometimes, the story evokes more an idea of “mangled destinies”, particularly if you see the photo of Beard writing his diary from the jaws of a crocodile that had just been killed. The crocodile was dead, but as soon as rigour mortis set in, its jaws clamped shut and in a very painful procedure, the Turkana had to remove Beard from the trap full of teeth. The book contains another horrific
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PROFILE
A pretty dark-haired girl photographed in Nairobi became Iman, the famous top model
photograph portraying a very real event: the arms and legs of an imprudent Peace Corps volunteer, who had gone for a swim where he should never have ventured. After returning to civilisation, Beard started to imagine what his next adventure would be. It was obvious. Why not go on tour with the Rolling Stones? Well, why not? After all, he knew Mick Jagger and Truman Capote from when he lived in New York. Beard
would take the photographs of Mick, and Capote would write the text for a large format book, called “It Shall Soon be Here”. The many people who know of the Rolling Stones will probably remember the infamous tour of 1972, coinciding with the album “Exile on Main Street” coming out, considered a milestone in the Stones’ discography. After hundreds of arrests, five of six riots and an explosion, the Stones had become exiled from the mainstream, as in every other place. When the band began to go round with pistols in their suitcases, Capote backed out and the project “It Shall Soon be Here“ was abandoned. Africa was now a more attractive prospect than ever for Peter Beard. Returning to Nairobi, he spotted a pretty darkhaired girl. Beard introduced himself, took some Polaroids and sent them to a modelling agency in New York. The directors wanted to know who the girl was. She was Iman Abdulmajid, a university student and daughter of a Somali ambassador in Saudi Arabia. Abdulmajid went on to become the famous top model Iman, one of the most well-known and photographed coloured women in the world. So a new stage in Peter Beard’s career began, as a photographer of beautiful women in exotic locations for the most prestigious fashion magazines. Beard went on to marry the model Minnie Cushing, and then the actress Cheryl Teigs. His latest wife, Nejma Khanum, is probably the most beautiful woman of Afghanistan. They have a daughter, Zara, whose name in Arabic means Yellow Flower of the Desert. Zara inspired Beard’s next book, E
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Zara’s Tales, of stories never to be forgotten by Zara (and by Beard’s readers). Beard has recently published two art books of his works, both as luxury limited editions, numbered and signed by the author. If you were thinking of asking how much one of these books costs, forget it. The same goes for prints of his photographs, each an original creation by Beard, some framed with strokes and sketches by local artists, some with Land Rover tyre marks or painted with Beard’s own blood, used as ink for the pictures. These highly original works have fetched prices of up to 300,000 dollars. Beard’s latest venture is the Pirelli 2009 Calendar, published in a limited edition. Famous to the extent that it has a cult following, The Cal (as it is simply known in artistic circles) simply had to have Peter Beard as photographer. It was just a matter of time. All the pictures were taken in May, at a camp with a low environmental impact, in Botswana, “a wild, beautiful and entirely uncontaminated country...”, says Julie Naylor, Head of Communications at Pirelli,“a thrilling project, fully reflecting all the energy and exuberance of Peter”. Well done Peter Beard, you did a great job! Your great grandfathers would have been proud of you. Rest your broken bones, now that they have been put back together again. But keep on telling stories and taking photographs. But please: stay away from elephants...
* Article kindly reprinted courtesy of Sporting Classics magazine (USA).
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PROFILE
His wonderful collages for the Beretta family His brilliant style on the pages of the book telling the story of the Brescia dynasty In 1998, Peter Beard spent a couple of months at the historical Beretta premises in Gardone Val Trompia, looking after the layout and the wonderful collages that appear in the book “Il mondo Beretta” by R.L.Wilson, published by Sperling & Kupfer. The photo below captures the photographer-writer-hunter in a moment dedicated to the preparation of the book. The first of the collages you can see on the right describes the professional and personal history of Carlo Beretta, who led the company from the 1950s to the 1980s (at the bottom, there are photos of various football teams, as Carlo was a great fan; in fact he was coach of the Italian national team from ’51 to ’53). When he died, in 1984, the British magazine “Shooting Times & Country Magazine” referred to him as “one of the greatest arms technicians and experts of the century”. The collage below, on the other hand, is dedicated to Pier Giuseppe Beretta who worked alongside
Carlo to give the firm fame and prestige. He died in 1993, at the age of 86. “Corriere della Sera” wrote: “His
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great merit was to understand that the arms industry couldn’t survive on military production alone”.
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FINE ART OBJECTS
Here are the new Beretta knives Pachì Collection 1526, a limited edition of handmade pieces he design of these unique pieces, made entirely by hand by expert Italian artisans using Damask steel and valuable briarwood, displays a prestigious antique feel that's the perfect combination of modernity and tradition, creativity and history - the blend that has driven the Beretta passion for almost half a century. Unique design, superb materials and attention to detail make these luxurious objects unique and prestigious. Hunting knives with either a fixed blade drop point, or "lock-back" closure, in Damask stainless steel with semi-concave razor grinding; the detachable bolsters, in stainless steel Damask and valuable briarwood, bear a unique design and were inherited from the actions of our luxury SO models. In addition, great enthusiast collectors can further personalise these prestigious objects with the same handmade incision used for the actions of their over and under shotguns. Damask steel was created from pack steel processing - a technique used to increase the carbon content in wrought iron, making it sensitive to the temper. The story tells of this technique being used by many cultures to produce prestigious swords that took the name of the city where the technique itself was knowingly applied, but the name is still used today to identify high quality knives. A blade made by forging various layers of steel with different carbon contents, alternated to form an initial compound pack. The bar obtained in this way is then folded back on itself and beaten again. The process is repeated, creating
a bar formed from thousands of layers and then forged as required. The polishing operation brings out the damascening (the effect similar to the grains in wood, and typical of Damask blades). This effect can be further highlighted
by plunging the object in acid, which corrodes the various layers to differing degrees. The forger's experience and talent are pivotal elements in the production of such a work of art. In fact, the welding and processing temperatures are determined on the basis of the colour assumed by the metal, but when the metal is heated the layers become almost invisible during processing. The quality of the Damask blade is evaluated according to the layers obtained and the complexity of the resulting design.
Designed by Pachì and produced by Silvester Francesco Pachì was born in Genoa in 1961. Great lover of nature, expert archer and hunter, and knife enthusiast. From 1991 to 2006 he worked as a full-time cutler, becoming one of the most well-known and appreciated knife-makers and taking part in many exhibitions in Europe and the United States as a member of the prestigious American Knifemakers Guild. Founder of the Corporazione Italiana Coltellinai (Italian Cutlers’ Corporation), he was first its secretary and then its president. In 2006 he resumed his work as a photographer, collaborating with various specialist journals and producing photo
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books considered by fans and collectors of good blades as real “reference points”. He currently works as a designer for internationally renowned companies, offering them that experience as a top knife-maker acquired thanks to many years' activity at the highest levels. Fabrizio Silvestrelli known as “Silvester”. Member of the board of directors of the Corporazione Italiana Coltellinai. Currently recognised as one of the best Italian artisans for the quality of his products and their exemplary finish, appreciated at international level by knife collectors and enthusiasts.
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FINE ART OBJECTS
The savannah on a blade The “African Big Five”, the most coveted trophies, are engraved and painted on the handle
he elephant emerges in chiaroscuro on the glistening blade, the crafty buffalo darts a challenging glance from the sharpened knife. Then the lion, the rhinoceros, the leopard. The five animals that together form the “African Big Five” - the dream of hunters in the dark continent - are represented on a hunting knife that’s also a marvellous work of craftsmanship. A savannah of metal and ivory, inlaid, engraved and minutely coloured with ink powders. The idea came from Beretta and was put into practice by Mirella and Francesco Pachì, world-renowned masters and experts E
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FINE ART OBJECTS
Rather than a weapon, it's a highly detailed work of great craftsmanship in design and engraving. More than a year's work, starting from the basic project: a long, sturdy blade, an extended handle to display the frames of the inlay work (the “windows” containing the designs). The meticulousness of the work is clear from the details. Just one example: the five ivory bases for the various animals were cut from a single tusk in order to obtain the same degree of consistency and colour, also thinking ahead to the ageing of the material on the knife. The ivory was cut and thinned out, then reduced to the right size for the inlays; this occurred a good few months before the start of engraving, to optimise its degree of stability. The engraving technique employed by the artists is also extremely precise: they used a very fine tempered steel point, kept perfectly sharpened at all times, and inked in the figures with a special black ink purposely imported from China. The details were emphasised using a microscope with magnification factors of 20 and 40. Only after bringing the work on all five elements to a good point did Mirella Pachì begin to finish them, working on them all at the same time in order to give the same strength and intensity of impact and chiaroscuro.
These two pages show the various phases in the production of the Beretta hunting knife created by Mirella and Francesco Pachì, world-renowned artists. Mirella looked after the engraving and the actual depiction of the designs. Francesco handled the design and research. In the large photo at the beginning, the finished knife.
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CLOTHING
A Passion for adventure Beretta's 2009 Spring/Summer collection was inspired by great journeys and safaris. The new catalogue features Bermuda shorts, safari jackets, t-shirts and boots. Practical, hard-wearing, superbly designed items, to wear with flair navigating along the Mekong or walking down Madison Avenue, in search of far flung corners of the world or a new exclusive restaurant.
New Correspondent Jacket GU95 2514 83, cotton lined canvas jacket with inner waist drawstring, buttons and zip fastening, four pockets, back with “easy movement” side panels, central vent and detachable braces for Beretta “Handsfree” transport. Indian British Colonial Shirt LU89 7718 585, Indian cotton poplin shirt, with contrasting Oxford cotton collar and cuffs and pocket. DT Trap Shoes SC05 0163 58, water-repellent suede and Cordura® sneakers with rubber sole. Aviator Glasses OC60 0001 95, sunglasses with polarised lenses and metal frames, supplied with a Beretta case and cleaning kit. B1one Maxi Trolley BS67 0119 83, leather and canvas trolley, 70x38x35, with padded handles, four outer pockets, clothes compartment and detachable boot bag. E
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CLOTHING
Exclusive accessories: perforated leather gloves, silk scarf, leather and canvas bags
Kalahari Shorts BU33 2591 82, double twist cotton gaberdine (double-twisted gabardine cotton,)Bermuda shorts with six pockets and adjustable waist. Gallery, leather belt with contrasting stitching and brass buckle. Kalahari Hat, BC29 2591 80, double twist cotton gaberdine safari hat with rim side buttons, air holes and adjustable leather tie. Travel Hunt Over Shirt LU94 2518 101, super compact cotton canvas shirt-jacket, with roll tab sleeves and pocket on the left sleeve. On the back, lumbar pocket with dual opening. Kalahari Boot, water-repellent suede and Cordura® boots. Kudu Camp Tech Shirt LU88 2267 707, technical shirt in ultra-light poplin with anti-insect and anti-bacteria treatment.
Travel Hunt Women Jacket GD2C 2518 101, super compact cotton canvas jacket with three buttons, neck with wind protection, roll tab sleeves with toning elbow patches and central back vent. Calfskin Shooting Gloves GL18 0132 88, snug-fit perforated leather gloves with adjustable fastening. Travel Hunt Women Pants CD61 2518 101, super compact cotton canvas trousers with six pockets. “PB” Foulard SF90 0276 88, silk scarf with logo. Gallery, leather belt, with double steel buckle. DT Trap Shoes SC05 0163 82, water-repellent suede and Cordura® sneakers with rubber sole. Sac de battue BS28 2059 100, hunting bag in waxed hemp and waterproof leather with adjustable strap, double interior compartment, detachable lining and gun pockets.
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THE REALITY SHOW
Hunting on TV is a spectacle A winning challenge between three women and three men with Beretta shotguns and clothing by Cristina Carducci
unting - one of the oldest arts in the world - underwent a rediscovery on the television screen, thrilling the public of Sky channel 235, Hunting and Fishing. Last November, this channel began a new TV experiment: “6 nel mirino” (“You are in the foresight”), presented by Nicoletta De Vecchi, was the first reality show based on hunting. Three women and three men were the key figures in a competition played out in the Scottish woods, with eight hunting expeditions: the rabbit with the ferret, the night-time expedition with shotguns, wood-pigeons and grey
partridges, partridges and geese, ducks, hares, and roe deers. Then, for the grand final, the much-desired stag hunt. The competitors had to demonstrate skills and knowledge, but above all ethics. At the end of the day, the real spirit of the hunter is of one who lives within nature, respecting and protecting
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it. And it is that very respect for nature and the love of open-air life that are also the principles inspiring Beretta, the leading company in its field and one of the sponsors of this reality show, supplying the firearms and clothing for the challengers. In Scotland, a charming old country house was home to the six hunters/competitors and the two reserves (whose role was to make the game more interesting by obstructing the first players). The competitors were required to demonstrate team spirit and key skills when facing the tests, plus the ability to choose the right clothing for each type
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THE REALITY SHOW
An old country house in Scotland became the headquarters of the competition broadcast The photo on the left-hand page shows the six competitors of the reality show “6 nel mirino”, lined up just before the competition which took place in Scotland. The three women and three men are all wearing Beretta clothing. Below, the women’s team. On the right, the ancient Scottish castle, headquarters of the reality show. On the next page, a competitor.
of expedition. The key figures in this adventure came from various Italian regions and represented various hunting styles: Andrea Propana, a factory worker from Viterbo who began hunting when already an adult, and 30-year old Arianna Cipriani, an office worker from Prato whose passion is hunting; Denise Marzi from Trieste, who discovered her love of hunting during a holiday in Africa, and 40-year old Martino Belmonte from Cuneo; Barbara Bonetti, an office worker from Brescia who's also the mother of two children, and the youngest competitor, 27-year old Simone Palumbo from Erba. Simone went on to win the competition and was awarded a silver trophy along with the new Beretta SV10 Perennia over and under shotgun. For both Beretta and Sky, the prize lay in the high viewing figures of the programme, with the promise to work together again in the future.
Palumbo, the winner: “I’ve got the hunter's spirit” “6 nel mirino”: an innovative reality show for hunting enthusiasts. What was the most exciting aspect? “Walking in the Scottish woods, coming across uncontaminated places, having the chance to try out what were, for me, new types of hunting. It was a fantastic adventure, of the type that gives you goose pimples.” The reality show brought out that love of all the competitors for hunting. How did you get into this passion? “I like the idea of the ‘hunter's spirit’ - a spirit that makes you enjoy walking in the woods, breathing in the magical atmosphere of nature, waiting for daylight or drinking in the light of the setting sun: these are the things the real hunter loves. The killing of the animal is just part of it, not the main aim.” As the youngest competitor, did you ever think you could win? “It was very satisfying just to be selected to take part; my only goal was to live out a new experience. No, I didn't really think I'd win. And for this I have to thank "Hunting and Fishing" and Beretta even more, for giving me this amazing opportunity.” E
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THE REALITY SHOW
All equally armed with the third generation Beretta over and under shotgun
Sky’s Hunting & Fishing chose Beretta to dress and arm the competitors and presenter of the first reality show dedicated to hunting, during their stay in Scotland. The competitors battled it out at the same level, all using the new Beretta SV10 Perennia III over and under shotgun - the new generation of Beretta over and under shotguns for hunting and the Tikka T3 Hunter rifle, made for the demanding hunter who's always on the lookout for improved performance and innovation. Beretta offered each competitor the opportunity to spend a voucher worth €2,500.00 at the Beretta Gallery in Via Durini, in Milan. The competitors selected over 150 different articles from
the Beretta Autumn Winter 2008-2009 collection, concentrating their choice around technical clothing items such as the waterproof articles with Gore Comfort MappingTM technology, and the technical underwear in Dryarn®, the padded BIS Beretta Interactive System models, lightweight but warm, and the robust yet elegant leather and Cordura® soft gun cases of the Beretta B1one line. The best-selling suit of jacket and trousers for both men and women “Zero Seams” - chosen by all the competitors, has been designed for harsh weather and is made with “seamless” technology that eliminates seams optimising its waterproofing and temperature regulation. Featuring a new fabric in wool and Cordura® that is
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silent, warm and resistant, finished and padded with the exclusive BTP (Beretta Thermal Padding). The jacket is short with a soft silhouette that hugs the body, featuring an adjustable waist, a high collar with removable hood made with high-visibility orange laminated fabric and adjustable cuffs. Fitted with waterproof zips, non-slip shoulder patches, napoleon pocket with zip and chest pocket with cartridge loops. Inside, more handy pockets and the unfailing Beretta "Handsfree" shoulder braces. An innovative construction with attention to every last detail for the trousers too, made of a new stretch fabric that's highly resistant for a maximum freedom of movement.
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PRESS COVERAGE
The indispensible Beretta safari jacket Amanpour never goes anywhere without it. The company as featured in Style and Vogue
In the Parisian Gallery (Connaissance de la Chasse) A full-page report about the Beretta Gallery of Paris opens the October edition of "Connaissance de la Chasse", a specialised journal that's very popular in France. The title of the article is emblematic: "Italy on the Champs Elysées". It contains an interview with the Gallery manager, Carole Voute, who emphasises: "We offer our clients all type of services: not only clothes and firearms for hunting, but also clothing designed for the outdoor life and weekends in the open air". Jackets, trousers, bags, boots. Technical yet elegant, as illustrated by the photos that accompany the text.
one of the most authoritative international correspondents on American television, is often to be found in the most dangerous and hot spots of the world, interviewing presidents and local ministers. “Departures”, an American journal, interviewed Christiane and asked her amongst other things - what she packs into her suitcase when she sets off for the trenches. Christiane answers straight away: “A Beretta trench coat”.
Franco Gussalli Beretta: “We have a niche target” (Financial Times) The Financial Times interviewed Franco Gussalli Beretta for the 5 October 2008 edition. “It’s not only the hunting enthusiasts who come into our Gallery, but whoever's looking for objects and clothes with a certain style - declares the managing director of Beretta - The new Beretta collection, based on distinctive fabrics and materials, is aimed precisely at that niche target group”.
Amanpour’s suitcase (Departures)
Christiane Amanpour, American journalist, chief international correspondent of CNN and considered
Portrait of a company (Style of Corriere della Sera) A portrait of Franco Gussalli Beretta for “Style”, the magazine that accompanies Corriere della Sera. Presenting Beretta in this way: “Here’s a family firm with a social aim (‘can you imagine an unarmed police force?’) that also dresses E
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people and furnishes their homes”. Four pages full of photos, some of them even rare (particularly striking are those depicting Ernest Hemingway with his shotgun, and Coco Chanel out hunting with two Churchill generations).
A touch of cheerfulness at the home of Molly Dineen (Vogue) The must-haves for the home? Molly Dineen, British director, invites “Vogue” into her home and adds a series of objects to “embellish and cheer up the environment”. The first is an elegant Beretta ashtray decorated with four hunting dogs. Alongside, the price: 55 pounds.
When craftsmanship combines with luxury (Gentleman of Milano Finanza) Five inside pages and a “window” on the front cover. “Gentleman”, the Milano Finanza supplement, dedicates considerable space to the company of Gardone Val Trompia, which produces “not just luxury shotguns for hunting but sheer works of art that blend high technology and craftsmanship. These are the unique collector’s items custom-made by Beretta”.
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HUNTING TALES
Following that love song... In the imperial forests of the Tyrol, in search of wood grouse. Wild, superb and powerful, it loses contact with the world at the end of its mysterious call. That's the moment when the hunter can draw nearer. by Gigi Foti
T
he May night in the forest of Kaiserberg shivers with the whispers of the wind through the freshly budding larches, firs and beeches whose black silhouettes rise up in the dark sky. The whistling of some far-off night bird, almost an appeal to his solitude, breaks the silence. Dawn is still far away but the tiny cluster of hunters have already set off through the huge trees, in a surprisingly clean undergrowth that makes the walk easier, further aided by the torches that gently light up the ground. The silence amongst the hunters is that of a Carthusian refectory and even the coming hunt is one of the most intimate and mysterious rites of the entire hunting adventure. The late spring, following a snowless winter, and the overcast weather with its light rainfall (which, at just over 1000 metres, breaks on the conifers), help the ceremony that's being repeated now exactly as 50, 100, 200 and perhaps 1000 years ago. The route leads through the forest, violating it right to the hidden recesses of its most ancient parts, until the gamekeeper is sure to have arrived at the first destination. It's pitch black, but your eyes quickly get used to it, probably like those of that ancient man who hadn't yet fully understood the flame. And the sky, despite being covered in clouds, gives a precise outline to the profile of the forest. The four hunters, with a dog that's used to the silence of the most
demanding expeditions, arrange themselves as if around a camp fire, sitting on a log or a rock and surrounded by a blanket of blueberries.
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verything is reduced to the absolutely essential: a lightweight backpack, soft jacket and trousers to reduce the rustle of the fabric, dark gloves and hat. An Alpenstock and a single, smooth-barrelled shotgun. Now the silence is even thicker: it has to be totally respected so that the first weak sound of the wildfowl can be heard, coming from some undefined point in the forest. And with that sound the hunt - no the rite - draws you into the dream. Your eyes look around, almost as if they could grasp the tiniest murmur of that forest abandoned to the night. The tension is subtle, both in those who already know what that sound will be like and in those who've only heard it told, or who've read of this real fable of our times. Absolute stillness; only thoughts are free to wander and recall the age-old hunts of emperors with all the splendour that accompanied them in these very places. You'll have realised that this is the hunt, an extremely simple rite that only needs the hunter and his guide. And you wonder too who gave you the right to make that long, silent walk through the forest, trampling over ancient pathways, brushing against centuries-old firs and breathing in the most hidden atmosphere of these mountains. Yet,
that moment of social soul-searching only lasts a second: a faint noise, like a twig being snapped in the distance, penetrates the forest as far as the hunters' camp. A trifling sound, but with the senses this taut it seems like a trumpet blast. Even if this is the first time you've heard it, you understand that the rite has begun. The gamekeeper lifts his hand ever so slightly: we go on waiting, still motionless and silent, with our hearts and minds in turmoil. In the couple of hours before daylight, the forest appears even more closed, darker, almost as if it wants to conceal its hidden treasure forever. And now that slight noise is heard again, invading the silence. It's the signal; the gamekeeper gets up and nods to only one of the group, the chosen one, the lucky one who must stand up and follow him, gun in hand.
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he others stay where they are. For them there's just the wait for the final act, imagining the route to reach the animal. Gamekeeper and hunter work their way upwards, following a long stretch of pathway slowly in the dark. A pause with the head stretched up towards the tips of the conifers, to grasp another signal from the creature that now repeats the noise or three times. Yet it's still far off, and you ask yourself where it's hiding; from what point or what tree it's launching its message to this night world, that's still the master of
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HUNTING TALES
Raise your shotgun, take aim. Then the shot - just one - shakes the forest everything. It's at this point that the gamekeeper and hunter, moving in a precise direction that doesn't take into account ascents, descents, obstacles of any type and, in particular, the enveloping darkness, begin a strange dance to approach that sound that's now become a more regular sequence of quick "tech tech", ending with a deep "tock" and a gurgle. Then silence before the song starts up again, always the same. With that deep gurgle - no more than 2-3 seconds - the gamekeeper moves forward by one or one and a half steps, maybe two. But not with one foot in front of the other. Instead his legs widen as if he were following the rhythm of some indigenous dance. In this way he avoids scraping his boots on the ground and making an alarming noise. Thus our dance in the forest continues, waiting for that sound which at first tempted the night air in search of any opponents, and then dissolved into a cadenced love song to call out to the female. It's in the moment of that deep gurgle, in the amorous paroxysm, that the animal loses contact with the world of the forest; and it's in that moment that the hunter begins his dance of approach.
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multitude of minutes pass like this, with some prolonged intervals of silence during which you fear you've frightened the animal, that seems to have disappeared into the dark. Then the song starts up again, this time nearer, and the direction is the right one. You've arrived without even being aware of the hard climb in the pitch black, always with your eyes facing forwards towards the tips of the larches and firs that stand out black against the still dark sky. And finally it's there, 2030 metres away. The gamekeeper doesn't need to point it out: you saw it
in that very same moment, or maybe you felt it in the air; a dark, unmistakable silhouette on the dry branch of a larch, pointing towards the valley. A step forward is useless, just as it's useless to wait for the song to restart. The silence is now mixed with the darkness, both of them continuing to envelop the ancient forest even if dawn isn't far off, but that profile of an animal of the past still stands out against the sky. You raise your shotgun and take aim, then lower it just for a second; perhaps a prayer, a hymn to such beauty. Then the shot - just one - shakes the forest.
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rotected in Italy, the wood grouse is the largest of the grouse family. A real monument in terms of size, colour and habits. The male can weigh up to nearly five kilos, the female half this figure. The wing span ranges from one metre to one metre and 40 centimetres. A robust, fearful beak that, for males, can be up to 4cm long. Its Italian name - gallo cedrone - recalls the term "cedro" ("cedar") that was once used without distinction for all conifers. Then there's the scientific name of the species - tetraone, from the Greek "tetrazo" meaning squawk or gaggle, a typical characteristic of the wood grouse and the black grouse (known in German as the gamegrouse). Less clear but still interesting is the origin of the wood grouse's other Italian name urogallo. The uro (urus) was a large wild ox common to the planes of Prussia and Poland many centuries ago, and from there the transposition to the largest bird of the forests. It prefers the conifer forests, at a height of between 1000 and 1500 metres, with rather old trees with strong branches that can bear its weight, and clearings
amid the trees to allow a bird of this size to take flight. It feeds on buds, conifer needles, shoots and forest fruits like blueberries, strawberries, bearberries, redcurrants and raspberries. The smaller wood grouse also eat insects. It can easily survive the hardest winters, feeding on just pine and fir needles. It's rare but present in the Central Alps, but more common in the Eastern Alps, eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Scotland, and in the Pyrenees. At the end of winter, the males win a place in the unchanging courting ground (also known as the "lek") and, after chasing off their rivals, begin to attract the females. Upon the death - or physical decline - of the dominant male, a young specimen immediately takes his place in the same arena. During the mating season, generally towards the beginning of May, the grouse stay initially on the ground to sing and parade up and down. Then it's time to define the personal boundaries, at least 200 metres between one male and another. This space will be defended or occupied by force. A particular fir or larch will be chosen from the oldest ones that dominate a fairly open slope, thereby allowing the landing of the male or the arrival of the females invited with that mysterious song on which so much hunting literature is based, and for which the song hunt is practised.
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THE JOURNEYS
Hunting and Whisky in Perthshire In the Scottish countryside, amid the pheasant, woodcock, grey partridge and tastings by Fabrizio Bandinelli
reat hunting combined with respect for traditions and the environment: from Romania to Scotland, from Mongolia to Italy, the hunting tour operator Montefeltro proposes stays in dreamlike settings where you can cultivate your passion while enveloped in comfort. In the boundless spaces of Mongolia for example, Montefeltro's decennial experience has allowed the building of two camps where guests can stay with all the comforts, and from where the hunters set off every day in search of grey partridge and black grouse. They never repeat the expedition into the same territory however, to avoid damaging the unique and precious ecosystem of those marvellous places. Woodcocks, pheasants, hares and rabbits, on the other hand, throng the countryside of Perthshire, in Scotland. There, Montefeltro can count on twenty different reserves, hosting the hunters in prestigious noble residences. At the end of the expeditions, all managed in the perfect British style, magnificent dinners are organised in the castle, followed by tastings of malt whisky and mature sherry. Skylark hunting is the distinctive feature of the Montefeltro trips to Romania. Comfortable hunting lodges purposely fitted out with pretend decoys and owls are set in the framework of the endless Romanian countryside, where the gaze is lost amid the cultivated fields and slightly undulating ground. Montefeltro reserves a prestigious base for its clients in Italy too. It's called La Stoppa and is located in the hills of
Piacenza, approximately one hour from Milan and Brescia. Its 1500 hectares, characterised by the alternation of fields with woody areas, are home to grey
partridge, red-legged partridge, pheasants and hares, hunted above all (thanks to the ample hunting area) by dog lovers.
THE PROPOSALS “ITALY” Period January ‘09/December ‘09 - grey partridge, red-legged partridge, pheasant, hare
“SCOTLAND - PERTHSHIRE” Period February ‘09/April ‘09 and July ’09/December ‘09 - wood-pigeon, woodcock, pheasant, grey partridge, hare, rabbit, goose
“MONGOLIA” Period late August ‘09/mid October ‘09 - grey partridge, black grouse
“ROMANIA” Period late August ‘09/mid October ‘09 - skylark, quail
INFO AND BOOKINGS Montefeltro Sport S.r.l. Via della Stazione, 50 - 61029 Urbino - Tel: +39-0722 307229 Via Crocefisso, 1 – 25030 Lograto (BS) - Tel: +39-030 9972982 - Fax: +39-030 9972973 www.montefeltro.it; info@montefeltro.it
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