We were a group of 3 hunters and 2 observers. 3 of them flew in from India and my brother and I joined them from NY. We all arrived Almaty and were met by the outfitters representative who did a stellar job clearing us through gun control and immigration. We opted to spend a day in Almaty which is a nice modern city (the old capital of Kazakhstan). The hotel we stayed at was very nice a 3-4 star hotel by US standards and left nothing to be desired. Free wifi, clean rooms, big breakfast buffet etc.

The next morning we driven in comfortable SUVs to the camp.



The camp was top notch, clean and neat and had a proper kitchen which served up some great local cuisine. I am always apprehensive about accomodations and food in Asia so had warned my clients who brought with them packaged foods, etc which was not needed.



A comfortable bed helps one recharge after a tough day of walking in the mountains. This is one of the reasons I call it the easiest Mid Asian Ibex hunt!



Our little bar!



Plenty of food!

Each one of us had our own guide and driver so the entire team went off to sight in our rifles after we unpacked





Oh not so good!



Group photo after we were all sighted in. Our group consisted of experienced African hunters but not experienced mountain hunters so this was a new experience for us. We were there for the laughs and fun of the trip. We all had tags to shoot 2 Ibex each but the senior citizen among us missed one and couldn't climb or get to the others so unfortunately didn't get one. My other client and I shot an Ibex each and were content to take it easy after that. I did try for roe deer, unfortunately that day it was raining and fog, so although we saw 4 of them and gave it our best effort, it was in vain.

The guides were really very professional and well organized. While they did not speak any English, one got by with Hunters lingo and sign language. They were genuinely nice people and did everything they could to make our hunt a great experience. On many Asian hunts the local guides turn out to be the biggest problem, but these guys were truly the exception.



The entry in to Altyn Emel national park



View of the mountains that we would be hunting, its a very dry barren landscape.



Goitered gazelle we saw quite a few of them on the plains while driving to the hunting area each day. They are protected.



View of the terrain and ibex herd. we saw a lot of ibex each day. As with any hunting the big ones don't hang around and need some effort and luck.



I took this photo to show that it is possible to get a shot from the road in some areas for hunters who cannot climb or walk. this cannot be depended on but the possibility exists.




Lunch was cheese, bread,tinned meats etc.



Glassing. the guides could spot Ibex at incredible distances using their old binos. I always advise clients headed to asia to bring a cheap second pair of binos for the guides. Which you can also gift to them if you wish.





My hard hunted Ibex! While we were having lunch on the second day my old guide (60+) picked out an Ibex that was literally on the last mountain on the horizon at the edge of the plains. It had backed itself in to a cave and all we could see was the V shape of its horns in the mouth of the cave. How he saw it especially with his old binos was just incredible. We initially passed it off as "look at that damn beast"! But the more he looked at it the more determined he became that we must shoot that Ibex! This required us to climb halfway down the mountain we were on, up the next one and then a stalk down hill approaching from the side of the cave!

I quizzed him a dozen times if the route was clear as I had already taken my life in my hands more than once that day, crawling around jagged peaks and steep drop offs walking on loose shale. OK I am not a mountain hunter and don't have a head for heights. He assured me that once we got on top of the next mountain from there it was a walk in the park down hill. Bloody liar!! Too long to narrate here, but we had first ranged the Ibex at 1500 yards, the stalk to get to 210 yards of it took over 2 hours! Finally in place with the rifle rested on a flat rock we were dicking around when I realized that it could decide to move at any moment. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind the Ibex began to emerge from his lair! As his shoulder came in to view, I let him have it with the 300 RUM, he leapt off the ledge and faced us from thirty feet below. Taking no chances I shot him twice more and that was it. There is a shakey video which I will post later.

Finally I could stop playing the words of my friend "If it lives on the mountain let it die on the mountain, I don't want any part of it" again and again in my head!!!



This is where we were sitting when we first spotted the Ibex, it was on the last mountain on the left hand side of the photo on the right sloping edge backed in to a cave.



Contemplating another climb!



Wolf kills, we saw quite a few of these.





The top photo was taken from the plains looking at the mountains and the bottom photo is the other way around. One big advantage here is that once you are done for the day or shot something, you can descend to the plains and the vehicle can pick you up! At least that's the rough plan!



If you look carefully you can see ibex below the peak in the center




The plains in the foreground, lake Kapchagai (in the middle) and the Tian shan mountains on the horizon



Old ibex rock carvings






We saw loads of wild chukar / Hungarian partridge




I finally had enough of these damn birds taunting me that I shot two with the 300 Ultra mag, we had them for appetizers that night. My guide and our translator with them. We had one translator for the entire group. She was great and really made the trip for all of us. On day 4 our senior citizen hunter who was full of aches and pains and ibexless was looking sorry for himself in the morning. She put on his coat, zipped him up and dragged his ass to the car . She even accompanied him up the mountain a few days to help him try and get his Ibex.



Mr. D's Ibex



Mr. CG's Ibex - he hunted the following week after we returned.



Our wrap up group photo, the head guide became so fond of me that he promised to kill a sheep in my honor the next time I returned.

All in all a great adventure with good friends.

In closing Kazakhstan offers a great hunt for Ibex. The area we hunted only have a limited number of tags each year. I will be posting a hunt offer once I get the new prices for 2016, if anyone is interested please feel free to contact me.

Thanks for being part of the journey.



Arjun Reddy
Http://www.HuntersNetworks.com
30 Ivy Hill Road
Brewster, NY 10509
USA
Tel: 845 259 3628

What a great report of a great adventure.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

Thanks! Great hunt with pictures. Been bitten by the ibex bug for sure.

Ski+3

Thanks for sharing..

Nice report and pictures. Yep, more and more I think a hunt like this would be fun to do.

nice

Awesome report would love to do it one day. How would it be for a female Hunter. The wife really wants to hunt ibex.

Well done Arjun!

Great report Arjun!

Splendid! Thanks for posting Arjun.

Please send me price and details for 2016 when you have them.