That evening we stayed at the base camp, where a neighbouring Nomad visited us. He spoke through our translator and thanked us for coming to the area to hunt. He seemed very grateful and on his way out said that he was going to slaughter a sheep for us. He didn’t look very well off so I thanked him and said not to. We met the local agent at the base camp and he asked us how we were getting on. I said that we were having a great time but the language barrier detracted from the experience. The only words we had in common was ibex and shoot. Anyway the agent went into the other room and about 20mins later the agent came through with the translator and said that the translator would be going with us on the second part of the trip. Myself and my brother were very impressed with their response. This made a significant difference to our enjoyment of the remainder of the trip.
Next morning we set off to our next hunting area. This was very close to the Chinese border. We had been told that the wooden cabin had been damaged by the bears over the summer so we didn’t know what to expect. Anyway as we were riding to the spike camp we came across a nomad and his wife at their camp. The gave us bread and dips and our guides were asking him if he had seen any ibex. The nomad looked a bit on edge but anyway we left an carried on. There was a stream running down from the mountains near his yurt and one of our guides rode ahead along the river bank. After a couple of hundred yards he stopped, got off his horse and started pulling some large rocks out of the river, and then pulled out two milk churns. He opened one and pulled out a heart. By this time, we had caught up with him and our translator explained that they thought the nomad had been poaching ibex or Marco Polo which would result in him being arrested and fined $4,500. If it was Marco Polo the fine would have been $13,000 ☹.
The bears had made a mess of the cabin, which took a bit of time to sort out but we dropped our gear and hunted for the afternoon, saw ibex but didn’t get a shot. The next day we rode to another hunting area and spotted about 12 large ibex bedded down on a mountain ridge. The guides decided to wait on another mountain and watch them, hoping that they would come down later in the day to feed. We waited but the didn’t come down. We headed back to the cabin for the night and the next day was going to be our last so we set off early, up at 5am, and off about 5:30am. We were hoping that the ibex would be down lower on the mountain feeding and we might be able to stalk in to the top of the ridge on the mountain and get a shot from there as they were feeding. Anyway as we were riding to where they were we spotted them coming out on the ridge of a nearby mountain. The guide got very excited, I jumped off the horse, set the rifle up on my rucksack and took a shot at one at about 280m. I hit it but it ran. We then ended up back on the horses and tracked it back around the mountain. It ended up heading up a mountain and bedded down, so needed a second shot to finish it off quickly. The top ridge on the mountain that he had bedded down was the border with China. If he had made it over the top we wouldn’t have been able to retrieve it. Anyway the guides said that thy would go and try and retrieve the ibex but I said that it looked too dangerous and that if it was then we should leave it. After about 2hrs they managed to get to the ibex and radioed to us to ask if I wanted the cape. I said that if it was too dangerous I would be happy if they took a pic of it where it was. I also said that I had only intended bringing the horns back anyway so best case would be to get the head back. Anyway they decided to try and get the whole ibex down. We watched from the base of the mountain as they dragged it to an area where there was snow and then they launched it down the mountain into the snow. This continued for about 2hrs when they eventually got down. They had radioed to us to bring them water and the horse. The two guides were exhausted when they got down. Fortunately we had energy drink supplements and tablets so after a lie down they were back up and moving about. They said that they wanted me to get a pic of the Ibex so that I could take it back to my friends and family, I was very impressed with the work that they put in.
After taking lots of pics we headed back to our log cabin, picked up our gear and rode back to base camp. We had our meal at about 11pm that evening after a long and busy day. It was lamb for dinner, slaughtered for us by the Nomad we had met previously.
Next morning after breakfast they had boiled out the head and horns and we headed back on out 10hr drive to Bishkek where we had an overnight stay and an early flight out in the morning.
On the way back the local agent arranged for a contact of his in airport security to sort out the rifle checkin which was very smooth and only cost $50. He also arranged for us to get seats with extra leg room at no extra cost.
This was definitely a trip of a lifetime, where the locals were friendly, couldn’t do enough for you, the hunting and scenery superb.
If you are looking for something different then this is it.
Next morning we set off to our next hunting area. This was very close to the Chinese border. We had been told that the wooden cabin had been damaged by the bears over the summer so we didn’t know what to expect. Anyway as we were riding to the spike camp we came across a nomad and his wife at their camp. The gave us bread and dips and our guides were asking him if he had seen any ibex. The nomad looked a bit on edge but anyway we left an carried on. There was a stream running down from the mountains near his yurt and one of our guides rode ahead along the river bank. After a couple of hundred yards he stopped, got off his horse and started pulling some large rocks out of the river, and then pulled out two milk churns. He opened one and pulled out a heart. By this time, we had caught up with him and our translator explained that they thought the nomad had been poaching ibex or Marco Polo which would result in him being arrested and fined $4,500. If it was Marco Polo the fine would have been $13,000 ☹.
The bears had made a mess of the cabin, which took a bit of time to sort out but we dropped our gear and hunted for the afternoon, saw ibex but didn’t get a shot. The next day we rode to another hunting area and spotted about 12 large ibex bedded down on a mountain ridge. The guides decided to wait on another mountain and watch them, hoping that they would come down later in the day to feed. We waited but the didn’t come down. We headed back to the cabin for the night and the next day was going to be our last so we set off early, up at 5am, and off about 5:30am. We were hoping that the ibex would be down lower on the mountain feeding and we might be able to stalk in to the top of the ridge on the mountain and get a shot from there as they were feeding. Anyway as we were riding to where they were we spotted them coming out on the ridge of a nearby mountain. The guide got very excited, I jumped off the horse, set the rifle up on my rucksack and took a shot at one at about 280m. I hit it but it ran. We then ended up back on the horses and tracked it back around the mountain. It ended up heading up a mountain and bedded down, so needed a second shot to finish it off quickly. The top ridge on the mountain that he had bedded down was the border with China. If he had made it over the top we wouldn’t have been able to retrieve it. Anyway the guides said that thy would go and try and retrieve the ibex but I said that it looked too dangerous and that if it was then we should leave it. After about 2hrs they managed to get to the ibex and radioed to us to ask if I wanted the cape. I said that if it was too dangerous I would be happy if they took a pic of it where it was. I also said that I had only intended bringing the horns back anyway so best case would be to get the head back. Anyway they decided to try and get the whole ibex down. We watched from the base of the mountain as they dragged it to an area where there was snow and then they launched it down the mountain into the snow. This continued for about 2hrs when they eventually got down. They had radioed to us to bring them water and the horse. The two guides were exhausted when they got down. Fortunately we had energy drink supplements and tablets so after a lie down they were back up and moving about. They said that they wanted me to get a pic of the Ibex so that I could take it back to my friends and family, I was very impressed with the work that they put in.
After taking lots of pics we headed back to our log cabin, picked up our gear and rode back to base camp. We had our meal at about 11pm that evening after a long and busy day. It was lamb for dinner, slaughtered for us by the Nomad we had met previously.
Next morning after breakfast they had boiled out the head and horns and we headed back on out 10hr drive to Bishkek where we had an overnight stay and an early flight out in the morning.
On the way back the local agent arranged for a contact of his in airport security to sort out the rifle checkin which was very smooth and only cost $50. He also arranged for us to get seats with extra leg room at no extra cost.
This was definitely a trip of a lifetime, where the locals were friendly, couldn’t do enough for you, the hunting and scenery superb.
If you are looking for something different then this is it.
and several hrs drive from anywhere that I could get a replacement. I had packed the bins in my rifle peli case and recon that it was packed so tight that the range button was pressed all of the time. Lesson learned, remove the battery or make a cut out for the button. Anyway I met a French hunter a few days later who had finished his hunt and he had a spare battery.
