quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
HUNTER- Larry Shores
BOOKING AGENTS- Greg Brownlee
AREA HUNTED- a communal area about 1.5 hours out of Alichur, Tajikistan
OUTFITTER- H & Cat (I think)
DATES- Early December 2018
SPECIES SOUGHT- Marco Polo sheep and mid-Asian ibex
GUN- Rifles, Inc 300 Win Mag with Swarovski 3-18.
AMMO- Black Hills Gold 180 grain Accubonds

This trip was 2 years in the making . I was about as excited as I have been in many years.

We got to Dushanbe and had a few surprises. Some good. Some not to good. The VIP area in the airport was magnificent. I was shocked. On the bad side, we had some bag issues. On my gun case, 3 of the 5 locks were popped yet still locked. My friend who traveled with me had one of his bags ripped so badly it is unusable.

We spent the night in Hyatt Regency. It was very nice . Excellent choice.

We departed the next morning for Khorog which is right on the Afghanistan border. This portion of the trip was 14 hours over some of the worst roads I have ever seen. The next day, we went to camp which was another 7 hours over horrible roads.

Camp was an old house. It was clean, warm and dry. We had generator power and a shower. What else could one want?

I am going to make general comments about the hunting-

The area is massive and rugged. Camp was between 13,000 and 14,000 feet. I went as high as 17,000. The mountains are VERY RUGGED.

There is a hell of a lot of game. I saw hundreds of Marco Polo every day. To a lesser extent, ibex. My reaction is that the quality of the Marco Polo exceeds that of the ibex.

We went out every day with 3 guides. We drove through an area hoping to spot game . At times, this required climbing. Other times, it did not .

I ended up shooting a large Marco Polo at 450 yards. I ended up shooting a seriously sub-standard ibex having shot the exact ibex the guide told me to shoot. Distance was 245 yards. I missed one at over 700 yards.

While the guides know the area and the animals, their hunting skills were lacking. If you ever go, be prepared to stand up for what is right . Most will readily comply.

Good gear is essential due to the weather. Without it, this might be a miserable experience. It was as cold as -12F while we there. I took several things I never used. However, one hiccup and I would have been glad I brought them .

All in all , it was a fascinating trip. We had a great time. Greg Brownlee did an excellent job. I would definitely recommend the trip.

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
Afghanistan border

quote:

Originally posted by Overland:
Absolutely a dream trip. Way to make it happen and what a fantastic sheep! Is he destined for a full body mount?

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Congratulations on a great sheep. Any videos?

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Spartan:
Well done Larry! Out of interest, what boots did you use on the hunt?[/QUOT

I used two different boots. One was a pair of Irish Setter boots with 1,000 grams of insulation. Excellent boots.

The other was made by Solomon. I believe they are called Toundra Pro. Also an excellent boot.

Neither is expensive. Both are light. I also took Neos overboots but never used them.

quote:

Originally posted by bobby7321:
Very cool! Nice ram!

Any issues with the elevation?

Looks like you got lucky and were able to fly Khorog to Dushanbe?

Has anyone ever caught the flight going the other way?