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SWAROVSKI OPTIK
25
MOUNTAIN HUNTING
SWAROVSKI OPTIK enjoys a decisive advan-
tage when it comes to innovations in hunting:
the company’s location. Many of our emplo-
yees are enthusiastic hunters themselves who
bring with them not only the unique experien-
ces they have enjoyed while out hunting virtu-
ally on their own doorstep, but also plenty of
ideas that are an influence on their daily work.
This is particularly beneficial to the develop-
ment of long-range optical devices, for instance
for hunting in the mountains. Florian Kreissl,
head of the hunting division at SWAROVSKI
OPTIK, explains why this is the case.
What makes hunting in the mountains so
fascinating?
Florian Kreissl: First of all, this is hunting in
its original, natural form. The stalking tracks
go through challenging terrain. Hunting in
the mountains is demanding, both physically
and mentally, as well as when shooting at an
angle over long distances. You need to climb
steep inclines, work hard and, if you shoot
something, you need to put it on your back-
pack and carry it down into the valley. It is
hard-going and energy-sapping, but amazin-
gly beautiful.
SWAROVSKI OPTIK has its head office right
in the middle of the most wonderful Tyrolean
mountain landscape. How does this help you
in developing a different, better understan-
ding of hunters’ needs?
FK: I think it helps very much. The best
example of this is actually the development
of the EL Range binoculars with SWAROAIM.
This tool allows you to measure the distance
exactly, which is absolutely essential for long-
range shots. The EL Range has an angle mea-
surement function in addition to this. When
shooting in the mountains where the terrain
rises and falls steeply, the ballistics take a dif-
ferent trajectory to when you’re on flat land.
When long distances with different angles are
involved, your impact point may end up shif-
ting, and the EL Range compensates for that,
making it ideal for hunting in the mountains.
However, when hunting on flat terrain the
function is easily deactivated with two pres-
ses of a button.
How would one imagine the “typical” moun-
tain hunter?
FK: These hunters are passionate and te-
nacious. Most of them have a very deep
attachment to their local region, the Tyrol in
our case. This probably reflects the fact that
people want to reap what nature has to offer
in their local area. However, hunting in the
mountains is and remains a special experi-
ence not just for many local hunters but for
visitors as well, as it is hunting in its original,
rather challenging form.
NATURE IS
THE BEST
TEACHER
MOUNTAIN HUNTING