.




Lord, I am blessed! Krygyztan! How many guys get to travel to and hunt in such remote parts of the world as Kyrgyzstan, for truly amazing animals such as Asian ibex? And not only that, but get to do it with your wife / partner hunting alongside you? Well I do and I did and boy oh boy it was very, very special!


The Kyrgyz Republic




Summarizing this hunt at the outset, I find myself having to use that favorite old cliché - "We are not in Kansas any more!" and oh was that the truth and I would also add "Africa it ain't either!" I am pretty well traveled having visited some 76 countries yet Kyrgyzstan was so different and so new. It starts with the language and alphabet - you cannot read the street signs unless you speak / read Russian. The people are mixed Asian and European / Russian origin. The city, the food, the buildings, simply everything was different. A pot pourri of Asia and Europe! The only thing we had in common with this country and indeed this hunt is that they drive on the right hand side of the road! And only then when they are not driving in the middle to avoid potholes or animals (that bit being very similar to Africa).

The Kyrgyz Republic - 200.000 sq km and 6 million inhabitants speaking Kyrgyz and Russian and a pretty young democracy having obtained independence from the Soviet Union only just back in 1991. Landlocked and neighboured by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China, Kyrgyzstan is not a large country. To put it into perspective the country is the size of Nebraska! Something that all AR Nebraskans can get excited about if they want to. "Nebraska, twinned with Kyrgyzstan!" How about that for a State boundary welcome sign! And half of Kyrgyzstan is over 2.500m above sea level with the highest point being 7.439m above sea level, being one of the Tian Shan peaks. Now to put that into perspective passenger airplanes cruise at 10.000m plus - only 2.500m above Kyrgyzstan! This was going to be unique, high altitude, physically demanding hunting. In fact, we could not have imagined how physically challenging this hunting trip would be. It was an amazing trip and truly, truly, the hunting trip if not hunting adventure of a lifetime!



Booking and preparation

Anja and I booked this hunt in early 2018 through Tim Herald of WTO, after reading his group hunt report here on AR. A few phone calls and mails back and forth and we put in the deposit and booked. Tim then booked / arranged the hunt through Bryan Martin, of Asian Mountain Outfitters. So basically we dealt with Lynzy at AMO for all hunt and logistics with two - three pre hunt calls / WhatsApp exchanges with Bryan and the payments all went thru Tim.

AMO wanted to wait until after the 2019 shows before firming up the dates and so in May we got the go ahead to book flights and fix dates, which we did. An early August hunt from 10th - 20th August. We booked. AMO then advised that the hunting season had been changed to start on the 20th August so we would have to change flights. We juggled and rebooked and got stung with a USD 290,- rebooking fee. Strangely on arrival in Kyrgyzstan, we learned from the local outfitter and also other hunters at the airport that the season had not changed but opened as planned on the 10th August. AMO advised "it's Asia, these things can happen." Yeah right! The only other thing I found a bit unusual was being asked to sign two agreement / contracts - one with each party and pages full of waivers. In all our Africa hunting I cannot recall ever having signed any contracts / agreements. Anyhow - different strokes and easily done. We would be hunting from 20th - 30th August, some 4 to 5 days into the new moon phase.

Now Anja is not a great snow person and neither am I, so from the start Tim suggested an early season hunt, August, deep into the Tian Shan mountains in areas that are not easily accessible - hence hopefully not frequently hunted. We would spike camp and specifically target big, knuckle horned, ibex billies and not planning to full mount any trophies we would take, we were not concerned about them not being in their winter coats with their classic, long beards. We are not tape measure hunters and have until now never set out on a hunting trip with a minimum target size in mind, however, on this hunt we were specifically looking to hunt big big billies, this being a likely once only hunt for this species for us in Kyrgyzstan. It was to be a "Go big or go home!" kind of hunt. Don't get me wrong here, this was not a hunt about inches, we absolutely soaked up everything about this hunt from the travel to Bishkek to the mountains and the ibex and so much more. But I guess we were setting high goals on the animals and high anticipations from the outset, the trip and the hunt being so unique.

We are not die hard sheep / goat hunters; we have hunted in Austria and Scotland, but cannot class ourselves as mountain hunters; the furthest East (excluding NZ) we have hunted is probably Hungary and this was also the first hunting adventure involving us sitting on horses!

A double big ibex late summer hunt deep into the Tian Shan "heavenly" mountains in Kyrgyzstan! A UNESCO World Heritage Site on both the Eastern side (2013) and Western end (2016).

Let the show begin!



Gear including a new rifle!

Firstly, this was an opportunity to buy a new rifle. We did not have a suitable long range mountain rifle in a long flat shooting medium caliber. At least that's what I told Anja! So I thought about calibers and guns and then checked out the new Sauer XT in the carbon shaft (light weight right!) but was not sold on it. The hefty price tag is not IMO justified even if the rifle breaks down into dozens of pieces like a piece of IKEA flat pack furniture with 4 different trigger weights !! 'Over engineered' would be my summary of this rifle. The Blaser R8 did not get my vote to start off but I came back to it after looking at a Tikka in .300 WSM and then settled on a Blaser R8 Professional in .270 Win with a Zeiss V6 3-18x50 scope on top. A robust rifle, very accurate out of the box, easy to take apart for travel and a good resale value especially in Germany - should we decide to sell it one day. I now own a Blaser! Well, my wife does actually as technically it's her rifle. We got in some good range time and were comfortable shooting 3 - 5 inch groups out at 300 meters with Norma Oryx 150 g factory loads. I like Norma ammo. Such grouping was plenty good for us and good enough to put a round into the vitals of an ibex at those sort of distances.

(As a bit of additional info, the Norma factory in Sweden was a great help in providing me with various ballistic data and tables for this ammo out to 750 meters with detailed trace reports based on elevations / altitudes of 3.500 m and 4.000 m.)

The jury was out on my caliber selection - the .270 Win camp was of course fine but a lot of others said it was too weak and that an ibex at 300 m needed as a minimum a .300 WM! Well I have seen plenty of zebra and oryx fall to the .270 at those distances and fall they did and they are bigger in size to an Asian ibex. It's the old adage of a quality bullet in the right place and they will drop. I was not far wrong as the results will show.

The rest of the gear came together based on our thinking and wants plus a gear list from AMO and suggestions on AR. I guess it was easier for us as this was an autumn hunt and not a full on winter ibex hunt. I think we had all bases covered as to needed equipment and for us, interestingly, it was the first time we carried a Sat phone. In all of our hunting lives and trips, this was the first trip where we were totally away from fixed phone reception, wifi or any other means of everyday communication. The sat phone was our sole link to the outside world. We tested it before departure in Germany and then on arrival in Bishkek. More on the sat phone later. Also of note, we purchased all our meds including Diamox, strong pain killers, antibiotics and more whilst we were in RSA at a 1/3 of the cost of Europe. RSA has a few pluses on top of the hunting there and the cost of medicines is one of them.

I have tagged on our gear list in another thread after this as a reference / information item for anyone that is interested.



Travel & flights




We booked the flights with Turkish Airlines from Dusseldorf to Istanbul and then on to Bishkek, and advised that we would be traveling with a hunting rifle. Turkish did not charge for the rifle. All good and we were very happy in Turkish Airlines business class - super ground service, good food, comfortable cabin configurations and a great lay over in Istanbul. The new Istanbul airport is amazing and the Turkish Lounge is super - including a golf driving range, dozens of food and drink stands and various music and movie theatres!!

We planned travel without a tourist stop over in Istanbul on the way out but rather 2 days in Bishkek to see the sights and also adjust to the time difference and then start our hunt on day 3. We would have a brief stop in Istanbul on the return trip with enough time for a lunch in the old town and a visit to the Grand Bazaar and mosque.



Fitness

Now to the fitness section - I realised / decided, especially after our last Scottish Highlands trip in autumn 2018, that I needed to loose 10-15 kgs or approx 25 - 30 lbs plus. I didn't want to be the one at the base of the climb gasping for breath and holding everyone up. So on January 6th. I started a 6 month routine of swimming in the morning and working-out every day at the gym for an hour, plus no alcohol and no carbs. It was tough but it worked and I quickly dropped 30 lbs and felt / feel a lot better for it. In fact in total I dropped closer to 50 lbs / 23 kgs and I dropped it within the first 3 months! Not only did I drop it but I have held my new weight and continue to exercise daily.

On the horse and riding section, Anja signed up for lessons in March, and riding twice a week from March onwards she has become a very competent rider! I used to ride a lot and I was hoping the horse part of this trip would be like riding a bike, you don't forget how it's done! Plus I got a few hours in the weeks before the big off. Maybe we underestimated the riding side as some days we ended up 10-12 hours and more in the saddle including some very tough hill / mountain riding and night riding - but we managed it well and enjoyed it and we were never saddle sore thanks to thick saddle blankets and sheep skins!



Dusseldorf to Bishkek!




And then the big day arrived. Our son drove us to the airport. Check-in with a rifle at Dusseldorf Airport on Turkish Airlines was totally hassle free as were the flights to Istanbul and then Istanbul to Bishkek.




We had a short layover in Istanbul in the new airport business lounge. Simply great! And then, on time, we touched down at 05h40 at Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. A year and a half since first booking this hunt trip and we had finally arrived!

And nobody was there to meet us!

Despite our email confirming dates and departure time, plus a WhatsApp to the local outfitter, nobody was there to meet us as they had us down for arrival a day later. A few WhatsApps, and with some help and calls from one of the VIP staff, the outfitters cousin was dragged out of bed and told to pick us up at Manas Airport! Further as there was no rifle import paper available, Kyrgyz customs impounded our rifle! Far from a great start! The VIP manager who helped us then hit us for USD 200,- for the VIP service and taking our rifle to customs!

The cousin arrived and drove us into town to the hotel that we had been booked into and this was the next surprise - no booking and no vacancy! We googled and drove to two other hotels but they were full and then we finally got a room at the Park Hotel late morning and collapsed for a few hours. The Park Hotel is super btw!

The cousin then called and he and I spent the next 4 hours back at the airport at customs clearing the rifle. 12 official stamps later (1 stamp is on the back for those that counted!) and USD 75,- in charges and fees and the rifle was cleared and I was back in town at the hotel.








At 5.00 pm the outfitter and an interpreter came to the hotel to meet us and tell us the plans for the next couple of days. Turns out that this was not the outfitter that Bryan Martin / AMO had booked us with ie Sanjar Miaev, but rather his brother, Ruslan, who also runs a hunting business. After pleasantries, he then tells us that we cannot go to the camp as planned in 2 days as the check points in the Tian Shan were closed due to military maneuvers! We would have to spend an extra day in Bishkek.

So day one in Kyrgyzstan, no meet and greet, rifle impounded by customs, no hotel booking, afternoon spent at customs, a new outfitter and grounded in Bishkek for an extra day! Things were not going great ! We would however go with the flow and not let this grey the start of the trip!


Continued ...

.

Bishkek


Park Hotel terrace and breakfast




In Bishkek there was lots to see and do - Ala-Too Square and the changing of the guards, the White House (please don't tell Trump but yes there is another one!), the main Train Station (built by German PoWs in 1946 - which I don't quite understand as WWII ended in 1945?!), the Osh bazaar and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Plus we drove out of town to the Ala Archa National Park and hiked in the mountains. It was colorful, vibrant and busy. We had a lot of fun, saw the sights, ate great food and settled into 'hunt vacation' mode. Bishkek is an absolute melting pot where Eastern Europe meets Asia. The food market, with its vibrant colours, was wonderful to see, smell and sample! Fruit, meats (beef, goat, chicken and horse - lots of horse meat!), breads, textiles! We had a lot of fun, we smiled and laughed a lot and took lots of photographs as we discovered a bit of Bishkek! And the city is extremely clean and easy to get around with hop on / off Mercedes Sprinters that cost Som 10,- ( 8 cents US) per ride however far you go!

It's worth a mention that Bishkek is the second 'greenest' city in Eastern Europe after Kiev. There were dozens on parks and flower gardens and the city was remarkably clean! A joy to walk around! And of note is the fact that they did not destroy all the soviet and Russian art and statues at the time of independence, unlike many of the Eastern European countries / states. Kyrgyzstan maintained its art and the capital city boasts hundreds of statues and art works throughout the city!

And if anyone wonders why the airport IATA code for Bishkek is FRU it comes from the old name of the city, Frunze, which was the Soviet name for the regions capital in the 'old days'. It's also the name of one of the best 'old style' restaurants in town - if you eat there try the horse filet and corn!























(Big 5 in Bishkek!)





(This was supposed to be a selfie of the two of us!)




(Street vendor selling an 'interesting' cracked corn and wheat drink - tried it!)










(Hiking in the National Park)


.

.

Osh Bazaar




This needs a section of its own. I loved it. Colorful, uncomplicated, fresh produce, busy and happy people always with a smile. I could have spent the whole day there. Plus there is a whole section selling military uniforms, hunting clothing and camo. Great fun.




(The horse meat butcher - a madly passionate Chelsea fan!!)





(A special kind of cheese !!!)



















(Askat called this 'rat shit tobacco'. It's a kind of chewing / sucking tobacco that they put in the bottom lip and suck and spit. They say it gives a great high and is totally legal. A whole row of people selling this in the market. Just standing in the row talking to one of the sellers and taking pictures, we started to cough the smell was so strong!)














Continued ....


.

.

Long, rough and rugged drive to camp!




And then early on Tuesday morning 20th August, after a 04.30 room service breakfast, our driver plus interpreter, cook and hunting guide met us at the hotel and we loaded our gear into a Ford truck and set off on the long, long, rough and rugged road of our Mid Asian Ibex hunt! Oh yeah, did I mention long, long, rough and rugged?!




(Som 77,73 to the USD - price of gas)


The trip took 11 hours including three military check points, where packs of cigarettes and fruit were handed out, and a memorable rest stop at a shepherds yurt where we had tea, bread and fermented horses milk! 10 -15% of the population still live in blissful simplicity as nomads tending their sheep and other livestock in the countryside and mountains. On the fermented horse milk - tick that box, done it and will not be doing it again! Interestingly a horse milk buyer was doing the rounds in an old Russian UAZ 469 pick up and he and I spent 15 minutes looking over his jeep and conversing through sign and pointing and smiling. What a great old vehicle! USD 500,- and I could have driven it away!










(The tent roof - the central motive on the national flag!)










(Russian UAZ - they go anywhere!)




(The most environmentally friendly toilet we have ever 'had to' use!)




(One of the three military check points entering the Tian Shan)




(Sign warning about poaching - Som 1.0 million fine for Marco Polo and Som 100.000/- for ibex)


The Tian Shan Mountains (also know as the Tengri Tagh or the Tengi Too) (meaning Mountains of Heaven) is a large Central Asian mountain range stretching some 2.900 kms between China and the 'Stans'. It is in fact one of the longest ranges in Central Asia and originally forms part of the Himalayan orogenic belt. It's highest peak is at 7.439 m and lowest point stands at 154 m. We would base camp at 3.600 m and then be spiking and hunting up to 4.500 m. Interestingly, the range has year round permafrost starting at 3.500 m. So we would be camping and sleeping on permafrost! The Tian Shan, well what we saw and hiked and climbed of it, is simply spectacularly breathtaking (no pun intended on the breathtaking!). I have never seen anything like it before! The pictures hardly do its raw beauty justice!



The camp







We arrived at camp late afternoon and settled in - a simple corrugated structure with 5 bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining area with a TV and 4 old DVDs, a toilet and shower and a sauna. Outside some workers were putting up a corrugated alu horse stables which they finished after a couple of days. We relaxed, unpacked a bit, drank tea and drank more tea.

The following day, we test fired the .270 at 100m, 200m and 300m and were happy with the way we were shooting and then we went for a long horse ride, killing time, waiting for the Government Hunting Inspector and a group of 4 Latvian hunters to also arrive in camp. The guides spent the late afternoon shoeing the horses ready for hunting and riding the next day. It had now become clear that the delay in Bishkek (extra days) had been done to accommodate the arrival of the hunting inspector and also to put us with the other hunting group for the purpose of easier logistics. Absolute BS, but not much we could do about it!











We went to bed that evening full of eager anticipation of the 06.30 depart and start of our ibex hunt!


Continued ....


.

.


Day 1 - We went through the mountains on a horse with no name!





The next morning, at breakfast, Askat, the interpreter, told us that the plan was to ride a long way from camp looking for large billies and that we would be spiking out and also - as they were short of a horse for him - it would just be the two of us and two guides. The deal was an interpreter the whole time. That had just gone out of the window! We hastily packed our gear for a tent overnight and Anja, myself and the two guides set off riding east at 07.00.





The local horses are simply amazing. Kyrgyzstan is a horse country. Horses are part of daily life and also a delicacy. One in five geldings will be kept as a work / riding horse, the other four go into the food chain! Mares are kept for breeding and for milking, with cheeses, fermented horse milk and butter being made from the milk. We saw thousands of horses on the drive out to the Tian Shan after Naryn, where we stopped for fuel and a leg stretcher and in Bishkek we saw dozens of statues of horses and riders in the parks and gardens. A true horse nation!

Hunting we rode the same horses 5 days in a row, morning til evening and on the final day we spent over 18 hours in the saddle. Tough, hardy, sure footed beasts, that walked, climbed and slid up and down some of the toughest mountain country you can imagine. We rode in the inky darkness of a starless night with the horses never faltering. We climbed up to 4.500 m with the horses walking zig zag up the steepest mountains, sides heaving and snorting air. Some days we rode as far as 60 miles, up and down hills and mountain sides, through streams and rivers, in sunshine and driving snow! And the horses never missed a beat or faltered! Simply amazing animals! They did not have names. Understandable. I would not name something that I may end up eating either.

Climbing deeper into the mountains on day 1, we stopped for an hour after midday to rest and graze the horses and brew some tea and share a tin of sardines and a loaf of the round bread that they bake. Naan. And then we rode on, deeper into the mountains!











Kuba, the younger of the two guides, had a plan and at 6.00 pm, some 40 miles from camp and at 4.175 m in altitude (I know, I could see it on my Garmin), we glassed down over the side of a sheer rock cliff wall onto a herd of forty plus ibex billies, grazing in the last sunlight in a mountain canyon 450 m below us! I took out my spotting scope and carefully glassed the grazing herd before we settled on a seriously large ibex billy at the edge of the group at a distance of 470 m! I am guessing he was 45-50 inches.





Continued .....


.

.


Mid Asian Ibex









Whilst we refer to them as Mid Asian ibex, their correct name is in fact Siberian ibex (Capra Sibirica Alaiana), the largest and heaviest member of the ibex gene. Their global conservation status is 'LC' ie Least Concern, with males typically weighing between 75 - 125 kgs and females between 35 - 55 kgs,which puts them up there with black wildebeest and hartebeest in the Africa books size and weight-wise. They both sport knuckled horns and the males big beards. Females horns are 10 - 12 inches in length with males averaging 45 inches and both building growth rings, big thick, strong horns. Outside of the rut they tend to form single sex herds, which is what we were looking at, whilst during the rut from October onwards herds average between 5 and 30 in number. In the summer and autumn months the ibex seek out the heights for safety, good grazing and a relief from insects. And here below us we had a herd of forty plus billies at 450 plus meters and more.



A big billy in my scope - Allahu akbar!




What happened next will remain in my memory for ever! I bedded my pack into a gap between the rocks in the cliff top and, double checking my ballistic tables, adjusted the Zeiss sights out to 500 m and chambered a Norma round. As I started sighting onto the billy, Kuba the guide, started chanting and reciting "Allahu akbar!" over and over and over getting louder each time. I had to pull off and ask him to be quite and then searched again for the - now moving - billy in my scope. At this point Kuba started his chanting again and long and short is that I over shot the billy by 2 inches at 490 m! Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming Kuba for my miss. I pulled the trigger. But it was certainly an unusual scenario - me about to shoot an ibex billy and Kuba singing praises to Allah! The billies all took off around the mountain with Kuba nearly dragging me around the top of the mountain to try and catch them. We did see them again but never had a chance of a shot and so we saddled up and rode down the mountain into a grassy valley with a stream where we set up camp for the night.

Now try and find a piece of flat ground in a country that is 75% mountains. As crazy as it sounds we ended up pitching the tent on a slight slope but which was enough slope that we spent the night sliding down the sleeping pads in our sleeping bags. Not a great nights sleep but hey ho, it was camping in the Tian Shan!

That evening we brewed and drank tea and shared a tin of corned beef, heated over the gas flame and spreading the soft meat onto chunks of torn off bread, washed down with more sweet tea before collapsing into our tent for some sleep. The guides hobbled and unsaddled the horses for the night allowing them to graze around where we camped without wandering too far.





Continued ....


.

.

Day 2 - a big, tough climb rewarded with an ibex!



In the early morning light, we drank more tea and shared half a dry loaf with some jam and the remains of a sausage before breaking camp and setting off east and up into some steep and high mountains where we periodically stopped and glassed for ibex.








We stopped on a snow capped mountain and Kuba found a herd of ibex slowly grazing into a valley which we glassed over for an hour but decide that there was no shooter in amongst them. And then Kuba spotted 6 - 8 billies crossing a far hillside and heading up a steep mountain and he made a plan! Anja would stay with Joki and Kuba and I would set off riding and then walking and climbing after the billies up the opposite mountain peak and so at 09.00 we set off, leaving Anja and Joki glassing the ibex herd in the valley below whilst we rode higher and higher around and up the opposite face of the mountain.

Anja took the following sequence of pictures of our ride across -








When I look at these pictures, I question my own sanity at riding across that scree face!!


Now here is maybe a good moment to describe the terrain that we were riding and hunting on. In the valleys and around camp at 3.600 m it was mainly grassy plains and low earthy / muddy slopes and hills. But as we climbed higher the grass gave way to rock and thorny, low gorse plants and these in turn gave way to rocks and lichens. As we rode and climbed we began to traverse loose rock screes and sheer rock outcrops, some covered in snow.






(This was good footing!)


At one point I actually dismounted and bum crawled after Kuba across a mountain face that was sheer broken shale and slate, which gave no hold at all! Half way across I slide about 40 m down the slope and Kuba literally threw himself on me to stop and break my slide. The end of that slide would have been a sheer drop off the edge! Thank you Kuba! Anja, with nothing better to do to kill time managed a few pictures of me and Kuba from the opposite mountain face.

At 11.30 and 4.250 m or thereabouts we spotted the small group of billies, bedded down on a large rock plateau / outcrop, a mile away from us and some 250-350 m up. We hobbled the horses where we had stopped in the snow and started to climb. Ten steps and a minutes rest! Ten steps and a minutes rest! This was thin air altitude and we both sucked deeply, me more than Kuba! We slowly worked our way up and closer, using rocks and walls for cover, now and again putting a handful of snow into my mouth to ease my thirst.

After an hour plus climbing, we were opposite the group and 418 m out. We took our time glassing and discussing the billies in whispers, using small stones to map out the group, and finally I settled the cross hairs on the third billy from the left with big sweeping horns and I put in my shot!

"Kaput! Ibex kaput!" declared Kuba, followed by "Shoot! Shoot!"

The ibex was up and moving, trying to follow the other five up the cliff side. A second and third follow-up shot by me and the ibex disappeared from sight, hard hit. With hand signs and logic, Kuba suggested / asked that he climb up and over to where the ibex had gone up and drag the ibex down to a slope below the ledge where the group had laid down. He took the rifle with him and after a 20 minute climb - Kuba up and over and me down and across, a finishing shot rang out followed by the scream of "Ibex kaput!" and we had our Mid Asian ibex billy !

Kuba dragged, rolled and slid the goat down to me and I was able to admire this magnificent animal close up for the first time! Large, large solid body, stocky legs, heavy chested and thick necked and the goaty head and long beard supporting a magnificent set of sweeping, knobbed horns on which we counted 10 growth rings ! A solid 10 year old billy taken up at 4.250 m plus and at 418 m. I was thrilled !! What a day, what a climb, what a stalk and what a beast! Amazing!







My first shot was high left lung and the second shot through both hips. The third was a miss. Kuba's finishing shot was through the neck.

We managed a few photos, balancing on sliding rock and propping the billy's legs and hooves up with larger rocks to stop him sliding further down the mountainside! And then I carried the billy's head and horns down the mountain whilst Kuba climbed and hiked back across the mountain to the horses carrying 'the Winchester'. For some reason both guides called all rifles 'Winchester'.





And two hours later we all meet up on the valley floor next to a crystal blue stream where Kuba made tea and we rested for an hour with the ibex head / horns next to us in the late afternoon sunlight! What an awesome hunt. What a great trophy. I was elated.









It was late afternoon and the initial plan was to return to the main camp - a 6 to 7 hour ride meaning we would get back around 10.00 or 11.00 pm. I suggested we camp out another night and hunt on for a billie for Anja. Kuba and Joki agreed.

We rode to another valley and an hour before dark we spied a large group of ibex grazing up a mountainside. Anja and I left the guides glassing the ibex and we rode back down to the valley floor and set up camp for the night. This time Anja selected the tent site and in fairness it was somewhat flatter than the night before!

Kuba and Joki returned and we shared a tin of canned mackerel and the last of the bread - with tea - before calling it a night. The plan was to be up and out at 04.00 and hopefully catch the flock grazing down in the green valley at first light! That was the plan.





Continued .....

.

.

Winter sports! Caught in a snow storm!




"It's raining and the tent is sagging!" Anja woke me at 03.00 with the sound of solid rain hitting the tent canvas. The roof was sagging heavily and Anja banged at the cloth. Snow!

I unzipped the tent opening and was greeted by a winter wonderland and 15 cm of fresh snow and - 2 degrees Celsius and more snow coming down! I pulled on my trousers and Douvre boots and jacket and went out of the tent. Everything was white with heavy low hanging snow clouds throwing down more fresh snow!

Kuba asked if I had matches ("fire") for 'chai' explaining that one of the horses had somehow bolted that night, spooked by the snow and Joki was following it on foot, trying to trace the missing horse. Joki had the matches. I had packed matches and a lighter and we soon had tea brewing. Breakfast was Mars bars and some dried fruit shared by the three of us.




We broke camp in the snow and loaded everything onto the now three horses and set off slowly westwards towards camp. Asking about leaving Joki and the horse some 40-50 miles from camp in a snowstorm, Kuba replied "No problem!" and we rode off.




The snow became heavier and we shortly had to dismount and walk / lead the horses down a mountainside, slipping and sliding as we went. An hour plus later and we reached the valley floor and took shelter under a rock ledge for a couple of hours hoping that the snow storm would ease. Kuba made more tea and we shared our last Snickers bar and boiled sweets. Note to self - next time pack more snacks and foodstuffs!





(Smiles all around despite the snow storm!)






Long and short was that we finally rode out of the storm back to camp - along a creek bed between two cliffs with falling earth and rocks - a 6 plus hour ride out including two or three big river crossings to arrive back in camp late afternoon! Joki was not too far behind having walked / hiked out and back getting to camp at 7.00 pm.

We shed our wet clothes, showered, enjoyed the sauna and spent the evening relaxing and warming ourselves in the camp, sharing dinner with the four Latvian hunters that arrived back after us and toasting my ibex with vodka that they had brought with them.


Continued .....


.

.


Muddy boots & a narrow miss




Up early, a couple of fried eggs and some tea and coffee and we were on our way again. We rode for a few hours and found a couple of smaller groups of ibex but they were all nannies and kids. Around 10.00, Joki lead us up a very slippery and muddy wet slope and we dismounted and, keeping low, peered over the crest into the valley below. Ibex! Billies! Big billies!

We all switched to hunt mode! A very large billie at 385m got everyones attention and Anja took her time setting up on the Blaser bipod and sighting onto the billy. She squeezed the shot off and we clearly saw earth fly up some 4-6 inches to the left of the billy's chest. A miss. The ibex took flight and left us pondering what happened.

We made two mistakes. On the hill top where we lay there was no wind. Down in the valley the wind was blowing hard up and into the valley and had pushed the bullet 8-10 inches off. Secondly, had we thought about it, we could have eased our way along the crest of the hill and got to within 125 m of the ibex with good cover from the crest and still no wind and a pretty straight forward shot. Hindsight is 20:20 !











With some 3 - 5 kgs of mud sticking to our boots we walked and slid back to the horses!

We came across various groups of nannies and kids throughout the late morning and early afternoon and we also spied the missing horse from the day before, which one of the guides rode off to rope and bring back to camp.




Later that afternoon, coming up a rock outcrop, we had a small flock of ibex in front of us at 30 m! They bolted but only after we saw that there were no shooters amongst them.




(Wolf tracks - lots both old and new)





(Bear tracks - a few of them about too)


Back at camp, Anja test fired the R8 just to make sure everything was good and she put two rounds in the bull at 200 m. The rifle was good.

Continued ....

.

.

Camp and spike camp food








This was not African lodge luxury and neither did we expect it to be. Meals and soft drinks were included in the package. A cook was brought in from Bishkek to cater for all in camp. We only spent 3 days in the main camp and spiked the other 3 days.

Camp food was simple and plentiful and all washed down with tea, tea and more tea!

Rice, potatoes, fish, chicken, beef and ibex all featured on the menu. I am sure that some of the beef was in fact horse, but Anja was told it was all beef!! Breakfast was either left overs from the night before or fried eggs and bread. All pretty simple stuff.






(A South African braai this was not! But neither did we expect it to be )

Camp out food consisted of tinned fish or corned beef and loaves of bread and sometimes sausage and a few boiled sweets. All washed down with tea!

I cooked twice in camp - a pasta dish with dried sweet peppers and walnuts and the other time an ibex filet done as an Indian spicy curry with rice. The curry I really enjoyed.

Tea and bread are regular features at the table anytime anyone sits down. And the tea is drunk with lots of sugar or spoonfuls of jam stirred in and the bread dipped into sour cream or butter.




There were always snack, sweets, biscuits, nuts and dried fruit on the table. The novelty wore off on day three!

We took some coffee from Germany and had coffee at breakfast - along with the tea!


Continued .....


.

.

The ultimate adventure - Anja's billy!





"On top of the world looking down on creation!"


Kuba suggest that night that we leave at 03.30 the next morning so as to be able to scout and glass a number of far far away valleys where he was sure there would be ibex feeding at first light. Anja was not thrilled at a night time start but humored me and went along with the plan.

In the inky darkness we rode out of camp and eastwards and two hours later we were glassing some 60 - 70 ibex but with no large billies amongst them we quietly pulled back and rode on. We spotted and glassed about half a dozen groups but did not spy any billies worth a second look and then around midday Kuba had a plan! We should have worked out by now that Kuba's plans are always adventurous !

We would ride quickly ("tempo tempo") to the furthest point from camp, almost on the Chinese border, where Kuba knew ibex would be grassing towards late afternoon and last light. And that is what we did. We rode and rode and rode for some 6 plus hour, eastwards and upwards into the mountains without a break and finally arrived in the area where Kuba wanted to be around 6.00 pm. We started glassing and it was not long before Kuba, who had disappeared around a cliff top, came racing back to announce "Ibex! Big!"





The three of us followed, climbing, sliding and crawling around a rocky outcrop on a cliff top to a 'V' in the rocks where Kuba climbed a ledge and, literally balancing on the cliff edge, told Anja "Come, come. Ibex!"

Anja, who is fearless when it comes to heights, unlike me, climbed into the "V" and glassed the ibex taking a range of 470 m. I set the turret on the scope and handed her the Blaser .270 Win and with the rifle resting on Kuba's knees (talk about a solid rest!) Anja sighted in on her billy and fired!

It was a hit at 470 m spining the billy, which was enough to send Kuba off down the mountain into the valley on foot (a mad crazy scramble, slide and dash) to administer a finishing shot (or two) to Anja's ibex !



(Up on high where she shot from)








As if that was not adventure enough for one day, we caped and butchered the goat in the now twilight and whilst the guides rode down the hillside on their now packed horses and leading our horses, Anja and I walked / climbed down in the now darkness, carrying packs and rifles.




We were 63 miles from camp and it was now 7.30 pm and dark. A 10 hr ride back to camp. We should be back for breakfast! We set off, holding torches to light the way and riding through some pretty rough and steep terrain. At one point we crossed a river, which was high and flowing fast with the heavy snow melt. Anja's horse went very close to a rock ledge-face in the river forcing Anja off into the icy water. Joki pulled her back up and bravely she got back on her horse and we trekked on.

At 11.00 pm Kuba announced "No light!" and we switched off our lights. We were on the border to China and - unbeknown to us - the plan was to take an 8 mile shortcut through a little bit of China on route back to camp!

After half an hour of riding parallel to the river in the pitch dark, we spotted headlights further up the river. The guides stopped. Anja and I stopped. Nobody moved. The horses were happy for the break.

A searchlight suddenly cut the darkness. A pick-up with a mounted spot light? Kuba, who was carrying my rifle in a soft carry case, handed it to me and, mumbling something about "China police", rode off into the dark to investigate! Joki, who stayed with us, repeatedly said "No problem" and we remained motionless in the dark on our now sleeping horses!

Words don't really do this event / scene justice! Here we were at midnight, cold and wet, on the Kyrgyzstan Chinese border, loaded with ibex meat and horns, me wearing a British military camo jacket with a Union Jack on the shoulder, a Sat phone in my pocket and a rifle over my shoulder, and ballistic tables out to 750 m in my pocket and no ID or any documents on me at all. Nor did I have any money on me. And neither did Anja. And we were some 500 meters from a Chinese military border patrol unit scanning left and right with a spot light!

Anja whispered "At least a Chinese prison cell will be dry!" I love my wife!

I texted our GPS coordinates to my son in Europe using the Sat phone. Checking the coordinates later we were exactly on the border and just maybe a little bit in China!

After half an hour, Kuba returned. Not one patrol but two. We turned the horses around and rode back the way we came - the long way home. "No problem."

After another hour plus, the mountainside that we were on became simply too rugged to go forward with impassable cuts and banks and so we dismounted, hobbled the horses, off-loaded the packs and continued on foot. Kuba's house (an old military border post) was 6 miles away, we would head there for shelter. And that is what we did.

We walked, stumbled, climbed, and slid up and down the mountain sides running along the river for two hours towards Kuba's house. Three times we got bluffed out and had to enter the river and slowly walk along the cliff / rock base, hugging and gripping the rock wall with knee high ice water flowing down on us. We learned that when Kuba said '10 meter' of river it was really '25 meters' but we persevered and walked, climbed up and down and stumbled on in the darkness carrying our packs and the rifle. My torch batteries died, so did Joki's. Anja lite the way with a Samsung Galaxy flash light app! And at 02.00 a.m. we arrived at Kuba's home where he woke his children, banging on the door and they unbolted the front door letting us into his home, lit by a single bulb hanging on a single strand wire running from a car battery on the floor.

At 02.30 a.m, Ruslan, Kuba's 12 year old son, boiled water for tea and we shared one tea bag between the four of us, making weak sugary tea. Ruslan warmed up some potatoes and ibex meat and we shared a warm, simple meal, in the simplest of surroundings, whilst Kuba's other younger children peered at Anja and I from the kitchen doorway. Kuba's wife was in Naryn, working, and his son Ruslan manages the house and brothers / sisters whilst mum was away! Wow!

Kuba made up two old iron beds for Anja and I and piling up thick woolen blankets explained that we should sleep and that he and Joki would set off at 04.00 for the horses and a vehicle to drive us to camp. Ruslan explained in his wonderful schoolboy English that "when river water big, can"t go over" but we were too tired to get his meaning and collapsed into bed at 03.00 a.m. We had been on the go for 23.30 hours and Anja had her ibex !







Continued ....

.

.

The river is too high to cross!


We slept like the dead, waking at 08.00 and joined Kuba's children in the kitchen where we were given a ladle of cold river water from a bucket and some dry bread. Our boots and socks were drying on the charcoal burning stove. We gave the children the last Snickers bars and the four boiled sweets that we had left and watched as they ate them with big smiles!








At 09.00 Kuba arrived, accompanied by a Kyrgyzstan border patrol guard wearing a smart camo uniform and driving a Land Cruiser! Kuba had walked to the Kyrgyz border post and persuaded a border guard that he knew to come and collect 'the two foreigners' and drive us back to camp. We picked up our load, ruffled the children's heads in a farewell and climbed into the Cruiser.





The border guard drove fast along the muddy tracks parallel to the river, crossing two bridges before arriving at a washed out bridge where he drove down the stony bank to the edge of the river.



(No issues with this bridge!)


A discussion then followed between Kuba and the guard and we supposed that they decided that the river was too high and too fast to risk trying to cross in the Cruiser. Plan B. We wait. Joki, had gone for the horses and would then be riding back to camp and alert everyone as to our situation. I thought that maybe I should have saved the Snickers bars!





And that is what happened. We waited and some three hours later at mid day, Ruslan (PH Ruslan), the interpreter, the cook and two other guides plus Joki arrived with smiles and laughter in the Ford Monster Truck, crossed the river with ease, and 'saved us'!

An hour later, in a now heavy snow storm, we drove into camp, where Ibec, the cook, made us big omelets and pots of tea and coffee and fresh bread ! We ate like kings and queens and then relaxed the rest of the day in camp, drinking tea and snacking on dried fruit and biscuits!

Ruslan, the Latvians and one of the guides set off back to Bishkek. We would see them again in a couple of days in the capital.


Continued ....

.

.

The trophies!




Micky, one of the permanent camp staff, was responsible for the trophies. And I must say he did an excellent job of caping Anja's billy and then boiling the two heads after covering the horns in thick plastic wrapping. He then spent two hours cleaning the heads and salting them and prepping the horns and cutting the cartilage with a grinder. The scrapings and cartilage from the heads was saved up and later went to the camp dog!






Praise due - he did a top job on the field trophy prep!



(Permits issued after the hunt by the Inspector)


I told Ruslan that my biggest concern was him having the paperwork ready for us to take the trophies with us. AMO recommended 2 days allowance for the paperwork in Bishkek, permitting us to carry the trophies straight away back with us to Germany. Ruslan shook my hand and 'guaranteed 200%' that it was no problem.

I bubble wrapped and packed the two skulls, 2 jaws, 4 horns and 1 salted cape into a large canvas pack bag that I had taken with me specifically for the trophy transport. It worked well.

Easy to take the trophies with us on Turkish Airlines. We just needed the export paper work.

The following day, driving back to Bishkek and two hours from the city, Ruslan, who was in Bishkek, called the interpreter who was with us to explain that the person in the Ministry who issued the export and Cites permits had been fired 4 weeks earlier supposedly for taking a bribe ! There would be no export papers!

I called Bryan Martin at AMO and he told me that he was aware of this and that the guy had been fired last month! Great!

I was furious! Firstly Ruslan had guaranteed and gave me his hand on the papers being completed in time and then to hear that everyone was aware that the Ministry Official had been fired! A simple heads up before the trip would have been great. But no, we were now forced with no other option but to Sharpie label the trophies in a hotel bedroom and leave them with Ruslan for him to send mid September, after his next hunt. We had returned to Bishkek a day earlier on AMOs recommendation for the paperwork to get done. We could have stayed a day longer in the mountains. Poor comms. We'll see what happens with the trophies.

(In fairness whilst typing this report today, Ruslan just WhatsApp'd that he is back in Bishkek and working on the papers. Keep you posted)


Continued .....

.

.

Optics





A quick paragraph on optics. Anja and I both had Swarovski binos, both 8x42 with Anja having the new 2018 EL O Range model.





I also took and used my Swaro telescope. The range finder in Anja's binos was essential! The telescope was good and we all used it a lot. I will upgrade it to one of the newer Zeiss or Swaro models.

The rifle scope, Zeiss V6 3-18x50, worked well, was totally clear and easy to adjust for distances at 1/4 MOA clicks. I am pleased with the scope.



Sat Phone or the 'Sputnik'!


One evening, from the spike tent camp, we got out the 'inmarsat IsatPhone2' and phoned the kids to say hi and share a sunset with them. You know you are in a remote place when you wait and watch your handheld link to a satellite and then confirm the connection before you hit dial! As an aside, I dealt with 'expeditionstechnik.de' in Munich to update my SIM card and buy 200 units of airtime (read 132 minutes of talk time). Very professional and user friendly. And as a second note, we had zero hassle at the airports and security checks carrying a sat phone (plus binos and a scope) in our hand luggage.

A useful and important piece of kit to have in such a remote place but I did question its usability a couple of times. In the snow storm the sat phone (or 'Sputnik' as the guides called it) could not get a reception / signal probably due to the heavy cloud cover and snow storm. A couple of other times we could not get sat signal when we were in the valleys of canyons. As I said, a useful bit of kit but not 110% certain!

Continued ....
.

.

Sunshine!





We packed and used Factor 50 sunscreen and lipbalm. As we rode into the snow fields at altitude the guides pulled on full face / neck balaclavas. They may have looked like terrorists but the didn't get sun burn! The Latvian party forgot their suncream and burned badly on day 1, to the point that one of them was rubbing breakfast butter onto his cheeks and lips! Pack sunscreen if you do this hunt and use it!



That old hairy chestnut - tips!

We have been hunting for years and we know the ropes, so it frustrates / irritates when on the last day the Outfitter through the interpreter finds it necessary to tell us about tips - starting with the Government Inspector (whom IMO sat around the camp all week doing nothing but eating and drinking and then on the last day did his job and filled out the documents for us x 2 and whom it was suggested should get USD 100,- from each of us!). The suggested list then included the guides (not an issue and they got more than I had originally planned plus our tent as they did not have a tent and were sleeping on horse blankets when we spiked out the two nights!), the cook, the cleaner, the camp manager (who also prepped the trophies!), 2 drivers and the daughter of the cleaner / camp manager who came out from Naryn for the week to visit mum and dad and helped a bit in the kitchen and the interpreter. 10 in all. We looked after the staff that worked hard and made our trip what it was and we looked after them properly.

Some Outfitters need to learn to stop announcing / dictating on tipping!



Altitude & Diamox

The hunting camp was at 3.600 m at we hunted up to 4.500 m. On the advice of a number of hunters who regularly hunt at altitude and also AMO, my wife and I took Diamox against the altitude plus a Cardio aspirin every day. We also started taking iron supplements a month before the trip on the suggestion of a Doc friend. We had no issues at all. We drank lots of water - 3 to 4 liters a day plus tea, tea and mor tea. The Latvian group did not take anything against the altitude - other than vodka - and also had no issues.

We felt the elevation and thin air when we were hunting at 4.000 m plus and we took it slow to allow for the air and altitude. Step by step.


Communications




In Bishkek and in camp we had no issues as in Bishkek there was more often than not someone who spoke English near by and in camp, Ashkat, the interpreter was there.

On the field we were reduced to Google translate (English Russian) saved to my iPhone and when that failed hand signs or drawings and pictures. The above was the map to Kuba's house on the last hunt day when we were trying to work out how far we still had to go !?
The answer was 500 m which took us an hour or so over some crazy rough ground!

Between us we speak 6 languages but sadly Russian is not one of them!



Continued ...

.

.

Bishkek again!



We returned to Bishkek departing at 04.00 a.m and swapped vehicles with incoming hunters in Naryn.



(Excellent vehicles all round!)


We stayed at the Park Hotel again and they comped us an upgrade to a suite at the standard rate! We visited the bazaar again and got in some early Christmas shopping and in the evening we found a great burger bar and enjoyed burgers, fries and mugs of beer.

On the morning of our departure, Ruslan sent a Mercedes Sprinter airport shuttle to collect us and we were back at the VIP lounge at 4.30 for the 6.30 flight. Here again we got screwed around, with the airport (not the airline) charging a USD 90,- weapon fee and surprisingly the printer was down so we could not get a receipt. Also, again Kyrgyzstan rules not the carrier, but we could not carry ammo or empty rounds in our main bag - we did on the way out with no problems! We left the ammo with Ruslan and paid the fees. Shits!

Saying goodbye to Bishkek, we departed for Istanbul on the red eye, tired but totally happy and thrilled, inspite of admin and organizational balls ups. It had been an amazing trip and a totally amazing hunt!






Continued ...

.

.

Istanbul






On arrival in Istanbul, with an eight hour stop over, we raced through the airport and I got a "visa on arrival" - Anja being German didn't need one (there's positive chemistry between Turkey and Germany) and we caught a cab into town. We enjoyed a mezze lunch and Turkish coffees in the Grand Bazaar, where we did some early Christmas shopping, and heard and saw the Friday 'call to prayer' at the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It was then a taxi back to the airport for the last leg of our return - Istanbul to Duesseldorf and home - and a glass or two of champagne in the Business Class lounge before the flight to toast coming to the end of a once in a lifetime hunting trip!





Continued...

.

.

Final Comments




This hunt is not for the faint of heart - and we did the autumn option as opposed to the winter hunt! But if you enjoy really wild adventure, are reasonably fit (I got there so you can too!), can forego all creature comforts and first world luxury and are happy with a tin of sardines for lunch then an ibex hunt in the Kyrgyz Republic is a totally full on rewarding hunt and something very special! And it is a hunt that I am so glad to have done and especially done with my wife, with the two of us sharing and experiencing this adventure and the rawness of the Tian Shan ranges together. It was simply an amazing trip to Kyrgyzstan, with two good billy heads and fantastic lifetime memories to take away with us (hopefully we'll get the billy heads soon!).

Organization and admin screw ups from not getting the arrival date right to the trophy mess up at the end did somewhat mar the hunt and left a bitter taste and resulted in additional costs of USD 1.600,- in flight rebookings, customs fees, extra hotel days, likely trophy shipment costs etc etc. But as my dad used to say, a shroud has no pockets and I will get over the extra costs and poor admin and relive and enjoy the great memories of this hunt! Bryan Martin AMO in fairness offered to pay half of the shipping costs for the trophies to Germany, dulling my pain a bit. Thank you Bryan.

The heroes of this hunt are without doubt the guides and the horses and a huge thank you goes out to Kuba and Jorki our guides and the horses with no names! The guides showed us really remote, wild and beautiful parts of the Tian Shan mountains that are normally not accessible in winter and the horses took us there! Thank you!

PH / Outfitter Ruslan has a great concession, good solid well maintained vehicles and the camp. He too just needs to get the comms right and it would up the whole show. Thanks to Ruslan too, he was part of our amazing adventure / trip.

Also a thanks to Tim Herald of WTA, whose AR report sowed the seeds for this hunt and Bryan Martin of AMO and Lynzy, for putting this together, in spite of the 'balls ups'. Do better next time guys! These are top Dollar hunts and such simple / basic mistakes are frankly not acceptable.

Also a big thanks to all at AR members for coming along on this adventure through these texts and pictures. I am not sorry that it is so long and has so many pictures. I got a bit carried away on this one but hope those of you who had the staying power to the end enjoyed this report!

And finally a very special big big thanks and a huge hug to my wife , for joining in on this most unique adventure and never complaining once (although she had cause to) - chasing big billies deep into the Tian Shan "heavenly mountains" in Kyrgyzstan!

.

.

Fitness & Gear




First the fitness section and I am putting it out for general interest and comment if anyone's feels the urge and maybe, just maybe, as an inspiration to anyone with those few extra pounds on them that is considering a mountain hunt!

I am 55 years old. In September 2018, my wife and I hunted Scotland. The countryside was hilly with one or two peeks at 750 m plus. At 114.6 kgs / 252 lbs and out of shape / condition, I struggled, stopping frequently for short rests and to catch my breath. On steeper sections and climbs, I was the last one up, again stopping frequently and out of breath and soaked in sweat. Ian, our stalker, at 68, was totally fit and never missed a beat or a breath! He has been on the hill his whole life. He was like a goat!

Off the back of this and looking at the 10 day ibex hunt in Kyrgyzstan, I knew that I must do something! On January 6th, 2019, I pulled the hand-break on and I pulled it hard! Mind set, diet, no alcohol and lots of exercise and no excuses!

A close friend who manages a hotel here in Lagos gave me complimentary access to the hotel gym. He will never understand how important and valuable that gesture was / is to me although I have thanked his many times over. It contributed to a huge life style change.

I started a 'zero excuses' routine of swimming in the morning before work Monday, Wednesday, Friday and both days at the weekend - 06.30 a.m. - initially 250 m building up to 500 m a session. A 25 m pool. Swimming lengths. Closer to the hunt departure date I was swimming daily - 20 lengths.

Then in my lunch break, I started going to the gym every day and working out for 60 minutes and then 20 minutes in the steam room. Treadmill, X-trainer, floor and weights. A month out from the trip, I was training every day carrying my 8 kgs pack and wearing my Meindl Douvre Extreme mountain boots on the treadmill and X-trainer. I got a few looks and questions from other gym users but it was worth it. I put between 50-60 kms on the boots in the gym before Kyrgyzstan. The gym trainer, unbeknown to me, added weights to my pack taking it to 11 kgs. I guessed as much, but let it go and trained with the extra weight.

On the diet side, I ejected all starches from my diet - no bread, no pasta, no potatoes, no pizza and no rice. Vegetables, chicken, some fish and occasional beef became the staples. And lots of fruits and ZERO alcohol and I mean ZERO! My how I learned to love Schweppes soda water with ice and lemon!

The pounds and kilos dropped off me every week! And I mean kgs / lbs every week - I could see the difference literally every day on the gym scales!

My goal was to shed 20 kgs / 44 lbs and get down to 95 kgs / 210 lbs.

In 3 months to the end of March, not missing a single gym day and swimming as per plan and eating well and no alcohol, I dropped the 20 kgs / 44-45 lbs and hit 95 kgs !

I carried on with my routine through to the days of the hunt departure and dropped a few more pounds to hit 91-92 kgs / 200 lbs and a BMI around 25-27. I feel totally great for it. I am still exercising and swimming post hunt and enjoy it. I started to play squash again every Friday. I go to bed physically tired at night and I sleep really well!

I had a tailor in Lagos take in all my office outfits, trousers and office shirts and I started buying L instead of XXL or XL shirts and T shirts!

In 3 months I achieved my goal. My wife actually nearly walked passed me in the arrivals hall of the airport in Lagos returning from Germany after being away 4 months!
Maybe it was the beard!

Kyrgyzstan was a very tough, tough hunt - the altitude, the weather, the horse riding and the hiking. I managed it well and totally enjoyed every moment! The '2018 me' would have suffered, been short of breath, soaked in sweat and constantly have had to stop for breaks and breath catchers. The old me would not have enjoyed this hunt so much as the new me. We were riding and hiking / stalking 10-12 hours per day. The days that we shot ibex were physically more than demanding (check the hunt report).

Loosing 23-24 kgs / 50 lbs +/- equates to a suitcase - a suitcase the I would check in at an airport weighing 20 or 23 kgs / 45 - 50 lbs! I "lost a suitcase" and feel so much better for it ! Again pat on the back for me! I know self praise stinks but allow me to indulge just this once!

And now to the gear!

My gear list - being "my equipment" for a 7 - 10 day Tian Shan Mountain Mid Asian ibex hunt in August :

- Travel documents plus 1 x photostat copies
- Passport photographs x 4 (never needed them but ...)
- Ripcord Med evacuation and search cover ($300/- for my wife and I for the 17 day trip)
- Rifle Blaser R8 Professional .270 Win with Blaser bi-pod, Zeiss V6 Conquest 3 - 18x50 scope plus scope cover
- 60 rounds Norma Oryx ammo 150 gr (factory ammo in new boxes)
- Cleaning rod with jag, brush, mop, solvent, oil and patches
- Eisele hard alu flight case
- Blaser soft gun slip (used this when riding to carry the rifle and also stalking to protect the rifle and optics from knocks and bumps - Scotland style) (note - at about 10 kgs bag, gun, scope and ammo box the soft carry slip cut hard into the shoulder carrying it 10 plus hours a day when riding. Something with a big soft foam shoulder strap would have been better)
- Swarovski EL 8x42 O Range binos inc built in ranger (excellent piece of kit)
- Swarovski 30x75 CTC spotting scope
- lens wipes
- Leatherman tool
- Parforce hunting knife
- rifle target / sighting target ( useful as the other option was their bow target taped to a vegetable box - also works but squared target was easier and a better measure for accuracy)
- gorilla tape
- K-Way Ridge 35 l backpack
- 2 man tent (essential piece of kit which kept us dry in snow storm)
- SeaSummit Venture Vt1 sleeping bag (minus 5 degrees Celsius)
- First Ascent sleeping bag liner
- TrailLite Therma Restpad (bulky for travel, ok but not great)
- Turkish airlines Business Class pillow (yes I did !)
- Meindle Douvre Extreme boots (with 20 plus hours and 60 kms plus pre trip gym time on them) ( these were fantastic and I cannot recommend them enough - great ankle / foot support on the toughest grounds, warm, totally water resistant / proof - simply great )
- leg gaiters
- 2 pairs thick hiking socks
- 3 pairs underwear
- 2 hunting pants (1 Fall Raven and 1 IceFox - heavier weight and lighter weight) ( Ice Fox pants were super - riding and tough hiking / climbing put them to the test and they were winners )
- 2 under shirt long sleeve
- 1 under longs (not needed)
- 2 T shirt second layer
- Schoffel fleece long sleeve
- British army MTP Goretex hooded camo jacket
- K-Way light weight down jacket
- Browning ball cap
- wool beanie (worn over ball cap - useful and warm!)
- pair leather gloves (very useful for crawling / climbing stony and rocky ground)
- sweatpants
- 2 T shirts
- Courtney boots (travel, Bishkek and camp)
- leather belt (knife and Leatherman)
- hand torch / flash lite plus extra batteries
- head lamp / lite plus extra batteries
- water bottle 1 ltr

- first aid kit including -
- diamox altitude tablets
- emergency heat rescue blanket
- asthma inhaler - Atravent inhaler pump (for use in event of altitude problems)(not needed)
- lip balm x 2 (1 sunblock)
- sun block ( essential !! The other group of hunters in camp did not have / use sun protection and all 4 of them got badly sun burned on their faces and I mean badly!)
- butterfly bandage
- forceps clamp
- scalpel 2
- sutures x 3
- gauze x 3 (different sizes)
- latex gloves 3 pairs
- Ace sport bandage
- 2 disposable razors
- iodine disinfectant
- blister pads
- alcohol wipes
- anti inflammatory tablets ibuprofen
- broad band antibiotics
- diarrhea tablets
- paracetamol
- iron tablets (4 wks before travel)
- tweezers
- small scissors
- aspirin

- Sony camera plus new memory card
- iPhone
- charger pack
- Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro2 plus 200 units prepaid airtime & spare battery
- vehicle cigarette lighter charger adapter & cables
- 6 cable ties (various sizes)

- foodstuffs and snacks including -
- electrolytes
- musli bars x 10
- Mars & Snickers bars x 10 each
- coffee pot & 2 lb real coffee
- packet tea bags
- 1 tin evaporated milk
- 4 x nuts & raisins trail mix
- 4 x gin miniatures (thanks to Turkish Airlines!)
- 4 x Schweppes tonic small tins (again Turkish Airlines!)
- 2 fresh limes
- 1 x whole salami
- 1 x pack Rivita
- 2 hard plastic cups
- coffee mug
- 1 bottle Veuve Cliquot champagne
- 2 x lighters
- dried fruit (purchased in Bishkek at market)

- trekking pole (carbon) (never used them but they were there)
- large nylon Ghana bag (trophy transport home)
- 2 x trash bags & bubble wrap (trophies home)
- aluminum foil (wrapping base of horns when boiling to protect)
- small ziplock of washing detergent powder (clothes and boil trophies skulls)

- wash bag (toothbrush, paste etc)
- wipes XL and standard
- toilet paper x 3 rolls
- travel towel

- note book
- 2 x black Sharpie
- 6 x Ziplock bags (various sizes)
- Alpine para cord

- USD 2.500 /- inc small bills tips and travel expenses

- Ziplocks with curry spices
- small bag rice
- 100 ml chili oil
(I cooked the last evening - Ibex backstraps as a madras curry with rice - it was super delicious and tasty treat!)

- 2 x EastPac soft canvas travel duffles



What could / should I have taken that was not on the list and would have been useful or an improvement on what I took or what to do differently next time on a mountain hunt like this one :

- better quality torch / flashlight ( we rode and hiked / climbed the last night in the pitch black for 5 hours and ended up hiking the last 90 minutes using iPhone and Samsung phone lights to see where we were going - far from easy and not good)

- face mask or balaclava - protection against sun and also wind and snow

- soft gun case or day carry option with great soft shoulder pad

- 10 m lightweight cord / climbing rope in pack - useful to tie gear to saddles and also for toughest / extreme hiking and some climbing we did

- better quality spotting scope and tripod

- second pair warm snow gloves in addition to leather gloves

- cards or a board game for evenings and down time at camp

- carry more snacks and extra food in day pack (we got caught in a serious snow storm and also had a 7 h night ride / hike to an alternative camp / shelter on the last hunting day and we were literally down to a couple of Snickers bars and gum being all we had left although we carried what we thought was enough dried fruit / nuts and snacks at the start of the day(s))

- get fit and then get fitter ! As above, I dropped 25 kgs for this hunt and I managed well including hiking / climbing / stalking up to 4.300 m to shoot my ibex and boy was the air thin at that height. 10 steps and a short breath catcher / break then repeat. It was a 90 min / 1.5 km climb up and I managed it well being pretty fit. After the hunt I would say I was fit enough but maybe could have done some extra weight sessions in the gym!

That's my gear list folks.






.

Fantastic report Charlie! And congrats to you and Anja on two fine billies. I have always heard Asian hunting is "unique" and your report confirms this rumor. And well done on the weight loss program, you have to feel very proud of yourself for working out to get in such great shape.

Oh, and love the choice of calibers... the .270 is one of my favorite medium power cartridges.

Charlie and Anja,
Congrats ( again ) on your fortitude in seeing your hunt through, your outstanding success and not allowing the many adversities stopping you living a grand adventure. Interesting that the guides worked their butts off ensuring you had opportunities on game while the admin side of the operation seemed to totally drop the ball. I suspect somewhere in the chain a damn good arse kicking might help reset the correct attitude. Hunters willing to pay good money for these special but generally infrequent hunts should expect at the very least the basic logistical matters would be a matter of routine. What you experienced was very poor. However, I'm glad despite that you maintain your positive outlook.
Thankyou for a truly comprehensive report. Your hunt was truly the definition of adventure. I hope your trophies arrive soon, in good shape.
Cheers

Congratulations on a great hunt and a BIG congratulations to your wife to be part of this grand adventure. Apart from the dangerous game. Hunting in Asia and Russia is far far more gripping and intense than Africa! You have to absolutely go with the flow and be in the right frame of mind.

As a well travelled Spanish Asian hunter who had hunted all the Stans once told me on every Asian or Russian hunt there will always come a moment when you ask yourself "what the fuck am I doing here never again", but there is something in those countries that lures one back.



Arjun Reddy
Hunters Networks LLC
30 Ivy Hill Road
Brewster, NY 10509
Tel: +1 845 259 3628
2020, DSC booth # 2350
2020, SCI booth # 3167

Once again you have come up with a most interesting and well put together hunt report! Congratulations on your trophies as well the whole adventure. I enjoyed the before the actual hunt pictures as much as the hunt itself.

It did seem the guides more than did their part to make it a success but the administrative side needs to up they're game quite a bit. Hopefully your trophies arrive soon.

Hell of a report, thanks for sharing.

Dave

You can't make this up!
Congratulations on a successful adventure! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences in my favorite country.
Mountain hunting is a test. You took it seriously and it paid off.

Ski+3
Whitefish, MT

Great report1 Well done and congrats!!!!

Charlie,
That was one fantastic report! Congratulations to you and Anja on the ibex billies. And congratulations on the weight loss/fitness improvement!
Jeff

Great report!!! It brought back great memory's to me. My back started hurting when I saw the Russian Jeep!!!

Brilliant but I ain't doing it. Well done you and Anja.

Hi Charlie ..

Great report... you have experienced everything you can experience on such a hunt … I was brought back to my 5 hunts in these countries including Tajikistan and Kazakhstan...

Happy that you and Anja made it - adventure for life and as you put it .. DIFFERENT !

Now you have to get you a Maral in Kazakhstan and a Marco Polo in Tajikistan…


Morten

That was an extremely well written, entertaining hunt report...I enjoyed it immensely and thank you for taking the time. And congratulations on your new found health/fitness, hopefully it will lead to more excellent reports like this one!

Looks like a great trip. Congratulations!

Charlie;

You and Anja are my new heroes!!! Wow what a hunt!

Your report and pictures are as amazing as ever!

Well done! Darin

Excellent report - what an adventure.

Mike

Now that is how to document a hunt !!!! 1st class....
CONGRATULATIONS are certainly in order...

.

Guys and Gals (Darin!), Thank you all for the feedback and comments. It was indeed a lifetime adventure that had it all! Be hard to top this one I think.

Working on sorting out the trophies now, which will cost a few extra Dollars than we had planned, but hopefully we will get them this year and have them hanging on the wall soon enough!

Time now to start thinking about another adventure .....

.

Thoroughly enjoyed your adventure and what an adventure it was. what did the outfitter have to offer for all the snafus?

An excellent read. Thanks for putting the effort into producing this report.

Charlie: You’re a better man than I am. After the No Show on the Meet and Greet, the lack of hotel reservations, the bait and switch on Outfitter and the intentional delay of your hunt to save a few bucks on picking up the Latvians, I would have been on WhatsApp with Tim Herald and raising holy hell. AMO screwed you at every turn, and yet you had a successful hunt despite their devious efforts. I would trust AMO as much as I’d trust gas station sushi.

.

Good day all. Quick update on the trophies. Reported by Ruslan to have been sent by DHL Freight. Have not seen any copies of paperwork so I am a bit skeptical but will see what happens. DHL sending trophies!? That will be a first for me!? Keep you posted.


.