I am planning on booking a hunt for mid Asian ibex with Arpa-Marco polo and was told that the best time for a really big ibex is the January time frame, can anybody on here give me your opinion on this? Also, I have never hunted in this cold of weather before so I am looking for suggestions on the gear people have used for this hunt? I have a -40 down sleeping bag I will take. I also have a pair of HanWag Alaskan GTX boots that I love but am just unsure about how they will work in that cold of weather. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

What do you consider a big Ibex?I just returned from Kyrgys on Oct 25 with good weather while hunting using horses and my concern would be just getting to the area to hunt as the main roads out of Bishkek are terrible, I mean between the potholes that are more like craters & I would guess the really remote roads haven't seen a road grader since the Soviets left.As for -40 degree weather,it had better be a pick-up hunt as that is too cold to spend more than an hour or so out in it. What I've seen of local hunting guides equipment I doubt they spend much time out there either.My recommendation is go in Sept to Nov. just my thoughts.

My opinion is that the best time to hunt for any member of the caprinae family is during the rut, which takes place in early December.

Even then it may be too cold, or there may be too much snow too move around with the horses or hike. In January things could only be worse.

Like hvrhuner is telling you, most likely you will have problems to access the hunting areas by road.

So no, January is not the best time.

I must say that I had those concerns myself. I am going to try and go in September/ early October instead. That is the only other time that will work for me. Should be much more pleasant! Anybody have any suggestions on what to expect/ bring with me or pointers that you can think of? Thanks so much for the help

You can get a lot of info from past members that have posted their hunts.My list would be quite long,so I will keep it to this bino's under a $100 to give to your guide as he sold the last pair given to him.a cheap knife,set a limit to your tip keeping in mind that wages are less than $2400.00 annually.

I was in Kyrgystan twice about 2 years ago. First trip was in October. We had snow and cold in October. We were out in tents and over 10 days only came back to the main camp one night. I got an ok ibex but no Marco Polo. I could not stay longer since I had a NM desert sheep tag that there was no way I was going to cut myself short on.

I was offered the chance to go back the end of February and had the concerns you have. It was probably as cold as I have ever seen except for a spring muskox hunt. Did the hunt a little differnt. We stayed in a cabin this trip. Every morning the wrangler would head out with the horses before daylight. We would leave a little later and drive to a prearranged meeting place, get on the horses and hunt all day. We would reverse it at the end of the day. Those guys don't need the cold weather gear we do, truthfully I don't know how that wrangler did not freeze to death. The guides I had were tough as nails. I got my ram and much better ibex. We had no issues getting around. There was snow but not enough to hinder travel. I would go back either time. We did see much more game on the later trip.

I would contact Greg Brownlee or Jeff Neal on this as they have been there many times.
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I lived in Kazakhstan (Atyrau, on the north side of the Caspian) for three years and it is a cold place in the dead of winter. We saw -30C several times in Jan and Feb.

quote:

Originally posted by hvrhunter:
I will keep it to this bino's under a $100 to give to your guide as he sold the last pair given to him.

LOL...so true. I've never seen a Kyrgy guide with binos but have heard from many hunters they left theirs as a tip.

January is good hunting BUT it will be very cold.
February is normally slightly nicer weather.
The advantage of the winter hunts is that you won't have peoples or domestic animals up in the high mountains, which can be a problem in early season.

Like Montero said, the rut is normally pretty good for Ibex.
The size of your ibex will depend mainly on the area you hunt. Your shooting abilities and abilities to suffer will be a factor too.

Cheap Knives and cheap binos. I would bring 2 cheap binos and give thm to the guides before you start hunting. Otherwise they will ask you to borrow yours and you don't want to borrow a pair of expensive binos to a kyrgiz ...

Dennis

Been to Kyrg 2 times in the past 8 yrs. Both time were the end of Feb hunts. Weather was surprisingly good for both hunts. Lows were perhaps 10 or so. Had some days up close to 40. Lots of sunshine. Guides told me the best time to hunt big Ibex was Oct. Said Nov for the MP rut. I got an Ibex the first trip and nada the 2nd trip. Others here have more experience than me so listen to them. I probably wouldn't hunt Jan. Feb I'd do again. Longer days and its a bit warmer. Bruce

Thanks for all the help, I ended up booking for the last couple weeks in October 2016. Now I just need to figure all the details out. As of right now I plan on flying from Chicago to turkey, then on to Bishkek. If the bags are checked all the way through do I need any special permit for the rifles while passing through turkey?

I plan on bringing some extra leupold Yosemite 6x30's to give to the guides as they are the only cheep binoculars I have ever thought were worth owning!

Any other thoughts or suggestions are always welcome. Oh yeah, what about tipping? Any standard out there or is it like Africa and kinda all over the map? Thanks

I was hunting Ibex in Kyrgz last year in November. I took way too much stuff as I didn't know what to expect. But I would take a set of warm water proof clothes. Good gloves and boots are essential. A good -20C rated sleeping bag is the most important thing I'd say tho. Also take loo roll & snacks. Check whether your expected to bring your own tent too. Also if you've got no horse riding experience I'd recommend getting some.

Take a few things for your guides as gifts. They like knives, gloves, jackets or anything useful really. Also cigarettes and whiskey will go down a treat. I was advised to limit cash tips to $100 for guides and $50 for others.