Riccardo Tamburini, Kevin Murphy and Agnieszka Walczak
rickygh5 camo.kev setkaingreenwonderlandPhotography:
Pulsar Brand Ambassadors
In summer, everyone likes to spend more time outdoors – the warm days and the long nights make it too tempting to stay inside. For hunters, summer also means focusing on a different game, adhering to its summer behavior, and updating the gear. To get more insight into summer hunts, we asked our brand ambassadors to share their experiences. So, join us for a conversation with Riccardo Tamburini from Italy, Kevin Murphy from the UK, and Agnieszka Walczak from Poland.
Interview
Do you change your hunting locations based on the season?
Riccardo: Generally speaking, I would say no, although, during summer and winter, I practice different ways of hunting. During the winter, I go out with my dog looking for woodcocks or take part in wild boar driven hunts. During the summer, I hunt from the stand: reindeer, fallow deer and wild boar.
Kevin: I would consider changing the location or premises I choose to shoot on both based on the quarry and the land itself. During the summer months, some pieces of land I shoot on are just too overgrown and make hunting a little more difficult. I also shoot a lot of small vermin like rats, and they tend to be around more in winter on most of my premises.
Agnieszka: Yes, I do, too. In summer, I hunt near the fields where the game finds a feeding base.
Riccardo Tamburini, Agnieszka Walczak and Kevin Murphy
For wild boar in summer, you can only use a thermal device, ensuring to always have your eye on the scope because if the display light reflects on your face, they are able to see you.
Riccardo Tamburini
Where and what do you hunt in summer?
Agnieszka: In summer, I hunt for wild boars and predators. In my hunting area, it’s mainly foxes, which are the enemy of small game such as pheasants and hares.
Riccardo: In addition to reindeer, fallow deer and wild boar, which I look for near my home, I also like hunting roe bucks. I often go where my mum lives, 500 kilometers away from my home; there, I have the chance to hunt a lot of roe bucks in a completely different environment. It’s fun.
Kevin: I enjoy hunting more on open farmland during the summer and try to do as much roe buck hunting as possible as I always find this enjoyable and more of a challenge.
What are your favorite Pulsar devices to use during summer?
Agnieszka: My favorite Pulsar device, regardless of the season, is the Axion 2 LRF XQ35. Thanks to it, I can check whether there is game in an area and what species it is from a distance and then make a decision about stalking.
Kevin: Since having the Thermion 2 LRF XP50 PRO for testing, I have to say that this has become my favorite scope due to its ability to offer such great image quality even in warmer conditions. It just provides an all-around pleasure to use.
Riccardo: And it’s both of them for me! I always prefer to use a spotter, a small spotter such as Axion 2 XQ35, which allows me to explore the environment around me easily. Then I love the Thermion family. Actually, I, too, am using the Thermion 2 LRF XP50 PRO. Thermion is probably the best thermal scope in the market. XP family, with a base magnification of 2x, is perfect for my purpose because I try to avoid long shots, especially during the night. I prefer to stay within 100 meters.
Interview
Do you travel to hunt abroad during summer?
Riccardo: It happens. Sometimes, I travel with friends who invite me to film their hunts. For example, last year, I was in Zimbabwe to film a cape buffalo hunt.
Kevin: No, I have never traveled abroad to hunt, but I hope to have this opportunity in the future.
What season of the year is your favorite hunting season?
Agnieszka: Spring is my favorite hunting season. Nature awakens from hibernation. The world takes on color, and each outing is a feast for the eyes.
Kevin: I always enjoy the summer and the beginning of autumn due to the longer days and the warmer weather. It’s great to be outside and not have the need to wear as much gear. This also suits my lifestyle as I’m able to enjoy family life and time with kids, and then once they are in bed, I have plenty of light available.
Riccardo: Summer, of course, because you have more hours to hunt than during winter. It’s great to spend time looking for wild boar at night, with the temperature still warm and not having too much to wear. It’s a great chance to observe animals during the night – they have completely different habits than the day, and you can learn a lot of things about their biology. Also, using a thermal device which reads the smallest difference in temperature in the animal body, you can easily see if they are digesting or they are alarmed or calm and quiet. In Pulsar devices, you need to use the Ultramarine color palette for this.
Since having the Thermion 2 LRF XP50 PRO for testing, I have to say that this has become my favorite scope due to its ability to offer such great image quality even in warmer conditions.
Kevin Murphy
Interview
What are the biggest challenges of hunting in summer?
Riccardo: The longer nights are nice, but they are also a challenge, too. You really need a lot of patience. During the twilight or sunset in summer, you have the chance to spot a lot of animals, but you have to wait for the right one. For example, thanks to the most advanced thermal device, I can tell if a female wild boar is nursing or not by simply looking at her nipples.
Avoiding mosquitos can be a big challenge, too, because I don’t use repellents. Also, you have to wear the best camo ever because there is a chance the animals will be very close to you. Everything must be chosen with great attention.
Agnieszka: Indeed, mosquitos and flies are a challenge, and they can make hunting quite unpleasant. Then there are the high grains and grass in which the game finds shelter and cannot be seen.
Kevin: Keeping yourself cool while carrying a rifle and any other equipment on the hot days is always interesting. Also for me, I suffer from hayfever allergies, and this is a real challenge while in the fields of flowers, but it’s not enough to keep me inside.
What do you like most about hunting in summer?
Agnieszka: I am a person who likes warmth, so definitely the high temperatures, which make me want to spend many hours hunting.
Kevin: I really enjoy the longer days giving more time to be outside and just enjoy the better weather. I’m a bit of a sun worshiper, so this is my favorite part of being outdoors in the summer.
Riccardo: Hunting the big wild boar males. They are clever, suspicious, always alarmed, and they come to a feeding point very late in the night, always exploring the area looking for a possible danger beforehand. Many hunters think that wild boar have poor sight, but my experience says that they see much better than roe deer or red deer. Maybe the fallow deer have the same ability. In that case, you can’t use a digital NV device because if you switch on the IR torch, they immediately go away, not giving you the time to pull the trigger. You can only use a thermal device, ensuring to always have your eye on the scope because if the display light reflects on your face, they are able to see you.
Riccardo Tamburini
Thanks to the most advanced thermal device, I can tell if a female wild boar is nursing or not by simply looking at her nipples.
Before purchasing any night or thermal vision device, please make sure you adhere to the local legislation and only use it when it is allowed. Our ambassadors come from various countries and travel a lot, which allows them to test different devices. We do not encourage or support the illegal use of our devices in any events. If you wish to learn more about export and sales restriction policy, please visit the following link: Export and Sales Restriction Policy.