Just returned from leading a WTA hosted hunt to Kyrgyzstan for Mid-Asian ibex. We started out being booked in to Kazakhstan, but when hunting was closed down there a few months ago, we quickly switched to Kyrg. One of the reasons we chose Kazakhstan was that you can hunt ibex without going to very high elevations (not so in Kyrg). The group ended up being me and 5 other friends/clients.

(I apologize for typos, duplicate photos, etc. I haven't had time to go through it all again...)

This was sort of a trade off. We ended up having to hunt regularly to 13,500+ feet, but ibex numbers and trophy potential should be higher in the area we ended up hunting.

We had quite a mess with Air France and rifles. We only received 4 of 6 rifles, and that was for the whole trip. Most of us ended up using loaners. That really stinks when you expect some long range shooting, you have setup rifles specifically for a hunt like this, and you have confidence in your setup. All that out the window when you start borrowing a rifle.

This was a 1x1 hunt, but because of the rifle situation, I hunted 2x1 with a friend Tom N. We were late getting to camp by 1.5 days waiting around in rifles, so we lost hunt time. It was to be a 7 day hunt, and we were down to 5.

The first afternoon we all went to Spike camps by horseback. Tom and I ended up being the farthest away, but as we setup camp, we could see a couple of big groups of ibex way up high. Camp was at about 9,500 feet.

The next morning, we rode up high with our 2 local guides and Jose Castresana who is a very experienced mountain hunter from Spain who was there to help us judge animals, etc. We bumped a group of ibex over the top of the mountain, but we spotted a good billy feeding in some grassy swales just under our level. We were at 11,200’.



This one proved to be pretty easy as we made a 200-300 yard stalk, the billy was oblivious to us, and having plenty of time, Tom made a good shot at about 410 meters. It was 9:00AM on day 1. Tom’s ibex was just beautiful with 46” horns, a great coat, and a big stout body.



After skinning the entire animal, taking photos, etc., we started the rough ride down a very steep drainage, back up the opposite mountain, and then off toward camp. Less than a half mile from camp, we finally hit some flat ground. There was an old cabin there with a field of thigh high grass over sandy ground.


"BOB"

My horse I had named “Bob”, had been fairly steady, but he stepped in a marmot hole, went halfway down, and then decided to throw me off. My left foot hung in the small Asian type stirrups, and the horse freaked out and took off on a sprint dragging me. I could feel his rear hook brushing my shoulder with every stride, and I tried to lean away and keep my head from being smashed by Bob. I was getting thumped up and down a good bit as well and the back of my head was hammered to the ground over and over as I was dragged along. I was incredibly lucky that this area didn’t have rocks everywhere, and that is about the only place we found like that the whole trip.

Finally, the local guides converged on Bob and got him stopped. I slowly got up, and my left calf was killing me and starting to swell. Obviously I had lots of other bruises and scratches, a bloody lip, etc.
I tried to walk it off, and then got back on Bob and finished the ride to camp.

I decided to take it easy for the afternoon and spent most of the day and night in the tent.


Day 2 I was really sore, but we struck out at daylight and rode way up on the opposite mountain. We eventually slipped in to 100 meters on a big bedded billy. Jose thought he was 46” minimum and likely 47-48”. The ibex was facing us, and I told Jose we should just set up and wait him out to stand up and have an easy shot. He wanted to look for an angle and slipped out to the side, the ibex saw him, and he was up and around the mountain out of sight pretty quickly. I was bummed.

We went back to the horses and were going to go over the top and try to find the billy, and we figured he had gotten with some others we had seen earlier. Going into a steep gulley, Bob slipped, and he threw me again. I came all the way off this time, but hit on my back. After the day before, it seemed pretty minor, so we walked the horses down, and then rode to the ridge.

We hit the top at 13,500 feet, and it was cold, and the air was thin for someone who lives at 600 feet. We finally found the ibex over the edge. There were 10-12 really nice billies, and I think all of them were likely over 45”. They were at 182 meters, but I had no shot. On my pack, I could only see horns through the scope.

13,500 feet and trying to get to the ibex

Jose moved around the hill, still couldn’t see, so he went up and around about 25 yards. He motioned that he was in a good position, so the local guy with us, Tom and I started around to Jose. The wind shifted 180 degrees, and the ibex all blew out.

That was it for the day. We didn’t get on anything else. Late afternoon, we packed up spike camp and rode back into base. We got there way after dark, and we were told one of the locals had found some ibex in another big basin, and we would head out at 4AM.

We rode for a couple of hours in the dark, and then made a grueling hike up through a swift river, over a boulder field and up the mountain to the high basin. Jose slipped out in front and peaked out in front of us and over a hill, and he could see a big group of ibex feeding toward us. They were still about 400 yards out, but it looked like they would end up about 200 yards from a huge rock we could get to easily and setup for the shot.

When we got to the rock, we crawled around to where we wanted to be, and to all of our dismay, the ibex were high-tailing it for the top of the mountain. Again, the wind had shifted as there was no way they saw us. We threw down a pack, I tried to get on the ibex on a super steep uphill angle, and it was mass confusion.

One guy was yelling which ibex was the biggest, someone else was yelling yardages, one of the locals was yelling “Shoot, Shoot, Shoot”, and Jose was trying to do the calculations for yardage and the clicks for the turret on his gun that I was using. I took very rushed shots at about 400 and 480 yards as a big billy paused while scampering up the mountain, but I did not connect. That is a long shot for me when I have time and can really settle in and concentrate on the shot, there was no way I was going to make either of those shots, and I should have saved the ammo.

Everyone was pretty bummed out, and in the chaos, I didn’t study all the billies, but Jose and Halit (another experienced guide who joined us for the day) both said the one I shot at was somewhere in the 52-54” range. He was a true monster, and there were a number of other shooters in the group as well.


That afternoon we rode very high to where we could see another remote basin, and there were ibex all over. There was a group at 560 meters, but the largest billy was mature but short. I wasn’t interested in any of those.

At 1,000 meters and 1,300 meters there were two groups feeding, and through the spotting scope, we could see a number of shooters. Then a group of 12-15 billies showed up in the rocky area that looked to be the source of the creek that ran through the valley. Every one of the ibex in this group were mature and big enough to be shooters. There were two that really stood out above the rest. One was really wide, had great curl, and we all thought he was a dandy.

It was quite late, and there was no way we could make a move on the ibex and get a shot before dark. I told the guys I would rather leave them undisturbed, come back in the morning, and try to get on them with plenty of time.

So that was the plan, but late that night, my old local guide conveyed the message to Jose that he didn’t want a whole group going. He wanted to take me with his assistant guide, and no one else. I wasn’t too happy about it because I wanted to be able to communicate with Jose, and I didn’t know how to properly calculate and use the turret on his rifle.

The old guide was insistent, so I borrowed a rifle from Michael Fix who had killed a super massive old billy a couple of days earlier, and his turret was simple with yardages clearly marked. He told me form 300 yards in, just shoot, longer, I should use turret.

We left early the next morning well before day break, and we got back to the lookout from the evening before. All of the ibex (probably 200 animals) were together feeding in the highest area of grass in the basin, so my guide conveyed to me that we would hit the creek in the bottom, follow it all the way up the basin under the ibex, and then try to figure out a final approach.

We climbed down about 200 yards of very steep rock, and started the trek. We got to the first place we could check the ibex, and to my horror, they were all running up in the high rocks. A wolf was chasing them, and I thought the hut was over.

Well up in the rocks, the ibex settled down, and my guide motioned that we were going on. Two and a half hours later, we were below where the ibex were originally feeding, but now they were over 800 yards above us and bedded.

Through very basic signals, I figured out that the plan was for us to wait through the day, and when the ibex got up in the afternoon to feed, we would try to do something.

The ibex didn’t move until very late in the afternoon, and they didn’t deed where we thought they would. They moved over one drain and came out on a grassy slope. We climbed and crawled, and finally we found ourselves lying in the grass with about 40 ibex feeding at 300 yards.

I had no way to talk about which to shoot, so I just looked them over and found one with really good curve and he was super wide. I couldn’t have told you if he was 45” or 50”, but he looked good, and possibly the big wide billy we had seen the evening before in the bachelor group.



I felt good on my shot, but the ibex all took off in a dust cloud to a drain to our left. My guide motioned that he was hit hard, and I assumed he would be lying dead when we got to the gulley.

Instead we found blood, and it want up the drain, around a corner, and up a boulder strewn avalanche chute. I was sucking wind, and I was just in disbelief.

Finally, we caught up with the billy and one more shot dropped him. On my first shot, he must have been angled away just a bit. I though he was broadside, and I tried to shoot him right in the shoulder to drop him. I had hit him a bit forward and it came out forward instead of going through. His leg/shoulder was broken and he was on 3 legs and bleeding a lot, but it wasn’t enough to put him right down.

When we got to him, it was literally minutes before dark. I was able to get some low quality photos as my guide may have never operated a camera before, and again, the light was all but gone. I didn’t care how big the ibex’s horns were. He was down, and I was just relieved to finally get my hands on him. He was lying at 12,054 feet.

We caped him, and it was pitch black dark. I knew we probably had 6 hours of misery before we would make it back to camp. I figured a 3-hour hike in awful terrain with a straight up climb at the end, and then a 2.5-hour horse ride back to camp.

I told myself over and over that I could do anything for 6 hours, and I would be able to lie down and sleep after we got to camp. I counted down hour by hour until we got back at 1AM (20 hours after we left in the morning).


I was 100% physically and mentally done. You can imagine how unhappy I was when I was told we were getting up at 5AM and leaving at 6AM on the 12-hour drive back to Bishkek. I think our logistics guy wanted to get back to the city and out of the remote camp, and I was the loser in that situation. It was a long miserable drive the next day.

Our last day in Kyrg, we walked around and checked out Bishkek, ate some good food, did some shopping, etc.



Then we flew back to Istanbul and spent a day seeing some sights like the Blue Mosque, etc., and we ate some fantastic seafood. I want to go back to IST and spend 2-3 days. I really liked the city.












This rug was priced at $5 million!!!


Each day, my back we hurting more and more, and though I took some muscle relaxers and a few pain pills, things just continued to get worse. By the time I got home after a couple more long flights, I couldn’t bend over to tie my shoes, have serious pain if I take a deep breath or cough, and honestly I am getting a bit worried.

I thought initially it was a pulled muscle from the horse incidents, but now I am not sure. I am hoping it is indeed muscular, but I am going to the doc tomorrow to make sure that it isn’t something more serious with a disc, or something internal.

This was a serious adventure. There were huge numbers of ibex and some world class animals. I think I saw 40 plus ibex over 45”, and 3-5 billies in the 50”-plus range. Every high basin I went to had ibex in it, and I literally saw 100-300 animals a day.

Everyone in our group scored on nice mature billies. Two guys shot “wrong” ibex out of the herd they were on and didn’t get the biggest in the group in front of them. Again, one guy chose to shoot a super heavy billy with 13.5” bases, One guy took an ibex on day 2 that he really liked, Tom took his great goat on day 1, and my ibex ended up being a serious 49”.


Tony's big billy



Considering only 2 of 6 of us received our own guns, we did pretty darn well I thought.
This was by far the toughest hunt I have ever been on physically. Between the altitude, the horse falls, and the rough steep terrain, it kicked my butt.

I don’t have all the guys’ trophy photos and will try to update as I get them. The Tian Shan Mountains are truly a wild and beautiful place.

Tim,

Serious hunt and beautiful photos! Those are some fantastic trophies but being born and raised at seal level and being old and broken down now, rules out that kind of hunt for me.

Very nice!

Ah the trials and tribulations of riding horses. They're your best friend when things go well but you want to kill'em other times.

Yes exactly ! This hunt would be virtually impossible without horses. You otherwise would have to do as a bivvy backpack hunt, and you would need to shoot the first mature ibex you saw- and do a 10 day hunt.

Congratulations Tim on an outstanding adventure. I loved your Photos and the report.

Regards
Aziz

Congratulations!
Those mountain hunts are dangerous and draining. Also much more rewarding.

Hope your back is not serious.

Ski+3

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
Yes exactly ! This hunt would be virtually impossible without horses. You otherwise would have to do as a bivvy backpack hunt, and you would need to shoot the first mature ibex you saw- and do a 10 day hunt.

I would agree with Tim. It's not impossible without horses, but VERY difficult. You might not get anything and trophy expectation would need to be low. You would also need a lot of time and superb physical conditioning. This is coming from someone who does DIY backpack sheep hunts here in Alaska.

Brett

Congratulations Tim!

Brett

Great report on a testing adventure.
Fabulous photo’s.
Thank you.

Great report Tim and some great lessons to be learned from your report. Having just been to Kazakhstan your pictures are making me want to try kirgistan!

A real hunt to be had that's for sure !

I was paired up with Tony as we both didn't receive our weapons. On top of that i didn't get my duffel either. It was just plain luck that i had to take some clothes out of my tuff pack and duffel and put them in my back pack. If I hadn't done this i would have been SOL. As it was Tim loaned me a puffy and some light gloves. One of the Shikar guys loaned me a neck gaiter and some thick gloves. My feet were pretty cold a couple of times with non insulated boots on.

First afternoon we road into a high basin. We saw two different groups of Ibex. There were no big males in the groups. Spike camp was pitched at 11,741'.

Day two we road over a high pass and glassed into a small valley. We identified a small group of males. We repostioned on them but the biggest billy was about 40". We headed up over the top and into the next basin. We found a group of 27 billies. There was goat that was estimated at 44-46". The only problem is there in a bad spot. we moved in but 400 meters was as close as we could get. The target animal had layed down facing away from us. I declined the shot. Tony decided to try it. We talked about the hold for the 10 mph cross wind but we didn't quite get it right. At the shot rocks exploded right beside the billy. The head guide and tony rode around to the other side to see where the billy's had went to. They had holed up in some tall cliffs and were inaccessible. As they were working there we back to us i noticed a storm building. We ended up riding back over the pass in a raging Snow squall.

Day 3 Up and over the pass we go again. It took us until lunch to find any group of males. The biggest one was about 40". I declined. Tony decided he would shoot the biggest if given the chance. They were in a bad spot for s stalk. So Bic sent the assistant guide to get around and up wind of them. I didn't give it much chance but it worked. The got up and strung out crossing in front of at less than 300 meters. I couldn't see the first shot but the 2nd definitely hit him in the hind quarter. It looked like the 3rd missed from my angle but the billy went down shortly after with one shot right thru the boiler room. It took the rest of the day to butcher and pack him back to camp.

Day 4 Bic sent Tony and his son back to base camp. He asked me if i wanted to go. I said no, big ibex. We headed off in a new direction. I just thought we had done some difficult riding over the last couple of days. Bics horse lost it footing and almost flipped over on a shale slope. I got off mine and led him across. He fell twice on the same slope. When we got to the top the basin was empty. Across it we road and up the other side. We were up on one of the most prominent points along the valley.



When we left of this point it was so steep we didn't even attempt to ride down it. I kept having to talk my horse into proceeding and he jerked my feet out from under me at one point. Then he lost his footing and started sliding on his haunches i was just running in front of him trying to get out of the way. We made our way thru and up another basin. We worked out on a prominent point and glassed over two side valleys. There were mixed groups in both but no big billy's. There was some discussion between the guides and they motioned for me to saddle up. The assistant came over and tied a lead rope to more horse and took off. This is bad news as my horse walks much slower than theirs. The next couple of hours were real rough on my back side or front depending on the direction we were going. We dropped off the range about 4000' across the river and up into the other side.


We started on the far side in this pic. Im taking the pic from the head of the high meadow on the way out.

Up and up we go glassing along the way. We spot a couple of mixed groups but no big males. We enter into a long alpine valley and start down it. A short time later we bust out a group that has several big males in it but they run plumb over the top. Im tired, beat up and hungry. Bics asked me 5 times if i want to go back to base camp. i keep saying no. Im getting frustrated. It seems we are just barreling thru with no regard to stealth at all. Just then Bic reigns in his horse and motions us over to a big rock. We get up on top and there is a big group of males feeding on the valley floor across from us. There is one big male, several good size ones and a bunch of "normal" and little billys in the group. We watch them head up into a little side valley until we lose the light. We climb down and big says we are staying right here. There will be no lights no talking and no tent. Theres a ditch sort of depression at the base of the rock. We huddle together and make some tee. We eat what little salami we have left. All the food except for a few pcs. of bread is now gone. All the water is gone two. We roll out the sleeping bags in the ditch and pull the rain fly over us.

Day 5 We were supposed to get up at 4:00. I wake up and daylight is fast approaching. At the same time Bic sit up takes one look at the sky and starts jabbering like crazy. I get the meaning and start getting dressed ASAP. We take off on foot across the valley. We get there with time to spare but im swetting a little. We lay down on a little hump that gives us a good view of the side canyon. It seems to take forever for it to get light enough to see good. Eventually we start picking out bedded Ibex on either side. They are in no hurry to get up. We end up laying in the rocks for over 2 hours. Im strting to shiver. No way i can take a long shot while shivering. I start doing isometric exercises to try and stay warm. I look at Bic and hes shivering. You know its cold when the guides cold. Some billys start working there way down. There are two of the nicer ones in a group of about 15. We make a little move but i cant see over the grass to shoot. We move again but they have gone down in the stream bed. When they come out there walking right at us. Closer ans closer they come. We move again. it becomes apparent thay are going to cross right by us and catch our wind. I pull my feet underneath me and prepare to make an off hand shot. Bic is steadily chanting "shoot black one shoot black one". Twice the two bigger ones separate from the herd but i cant shoot because there bodys are over lapping. The herd kind off splits in two and one of the big dudes walks out. Just as im beginning to squeeze one of the little dudes runs out in front. Buy now im totally wigged out. There down wind and the stop at 50 yards. One separates him self from the rest and i just thru up the rifle and shot him. They run back and front of us and he falls at about 35 yards. Bic says you shot wrong one! My legs are just jello. Bic gets up and walks over too him. He puts his thumb up and says Normal trophy. I dont care!!! He has a nice shape to his horns and his coat is just gorgeous.




I cant get over how thick they are in the chest


The little valley the bedded in


The WTA pose

Heck of an add-on post! I can't imagine doing a hunt like that with none of my own gear.

Everyone makes fun of me because I pack a complete change of clothes in my carry on for every trip (hunting or not).

Quite an adventure that! Thanks for posting.

Steven, No doubt you are the toughest of all of us. You stayed out the most without your gear. I can't imagine going through that hunt with borrowed gear that really didn't fit, and non-insulated low cut hiking boots. You hung in there until the end are absolutely to be commended...

Great reports and beautiful goats!

Tim-

Was all hunting closed in Kazakhstan or just certain area/species?

All hunting is closed except on private land. There isn’t much hunting in private land and I hear they are trying to close that.

WOW. What an adventure. Thanks for sharing.

What an Adventure. Superb Report.
Big Congrats to all involved.
Over the years I heard some Horror Storys about Hunting in Kyrgistan... but it looks like you went with the Right Outfitter and hunted in a very good Area.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
All hunting is closed except on private land. There isn’t much hunting in private land and I hear they are trying to close that.

I know of at least 3 Top Agents from Germany and Austria that had no Problems to do there Ibex and Maral hunts in August and September 2017 in Kazakhstan. Many Outstanding Trophy’s where taken in Tochty and Dschungaria Alatau with Dozens of Clients from all over the World.

Congrats on some great Ibex. Hell of an adventure Guys! I missed out.

Jay would have loved to have had you there. We'll get it done in Dec.!

Just a short update, I ended up with a cracked rib and severely torn muscle in my back from the horse. So just a little R&R will hopefully let me heal. That could have been much worse, and I am glad the real pain didn't set in so much during the hunt as after.

Steven...
You are one tough dude! Congrats on a great Ibex! Great report! Seen you tough out TypeB flu...and this....

Tim..
Rest and heal... Two tough hunts this year. Seen how you kept going with blistered feet! Tough dude!!

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:

Just a short update, I ended up with a cracked rib and severely torn muscle in my back from the horse. So just a little R&R will hopefully let me heal. That could have been much worse, and I am glad the real pain didn't set in so much during the hunt as after.

Great hunt and report, but this is the best news especially when thinking how bad that rodeo could have turned out - grace is a wonderful thing.

Kyrg is an interesting place to hunt. Some of those mtns are a real bitch. Congrats on some great trophies. Glad you had injuries that should heal readily. I remember when hunting there that they took horses into places that I didn't like at all. Sometimes they had me take my feet out of the stirup in case of a horse falling.... I kept telling myself a guy could get killed in a fall here. Great hunt guys!!!
Bruce

Yeah death defying riding is a prospective type of thing.
I remember going over the pass on the first evening. Its snowing side ways and I can barely see. Its like 400' almost straight down. I catch up to Jodi and hes smoking a cigarette. Im like jeez you gotta be kidding me.

A couple of days later were riding on a narrow trail that drops a couple of hundred feet to a boulder strewn stream. I come around a corner and Jodi is waiting on me. Again hes smoking. I just laugh because im eating a snickers bar

I have never seen a this type of hunt on TV. Thank you for sharing.

Tim Herald: Get healed up.

Everyone: Good luck finding your rifles and gear.

The Ibex hunt from hell started Friday before I was leaving when I received an E-Mail from Alaska Air for an Itinerary change? I called them and they Cancelled my last flight from Seattle to Wenatchee. Since I was bringing my Ibex home I told them I would rent a car and drive home.
I leave for the trip and my second flight (Virgin Air out of Seattle)was delayed so I was going to miss my remaining three flights to get to Bishkek. Alaska Air rebooked me on Jet Blue Airlines LAX to JFK to catch Turkish Air out of JFK. I had 50 minutes to catch that flight. I ran through LAX and when I got to Jet Blue they would not let me board the plane because I was not in their computer system. Alaska Air rebooked me on a later Alaskan Air flight to JFK. My baggage did not arrive in JFK. I missed my flight to Istanbul!!! I was in panic mode as I could not contact anyone as it was midnight in New York. I sent a text to Tim Herald and World Wide Trophy Adventures and let them know I missed my flight. I also called Ripcord for my Service Interruption.
It was not until the next afternoon that they found my baggage. Everyone was in Panic mode since NO ONE knew where my rifle was. It finally showed up at Jet Blue baggage in JFK. guess what? Someone cut off one of my private locks on my gun case? No letter from an inspection from TSA was inside. I was told if Airport Security or the Airlines cut the lock I would not receive a letter? I searched the Airport to purchase a private lock but they were all TSA. I took all my luggage including my rifle out of the airport in an Uber car and found a private lock at Wal-Mart. Cost of a lock was $3.00 Uber ride took 58 minutes and cost over 50 bucks!!! It cost me a total of $1200.00 to overnight in New York and rebook my flight's!!!
I rebooked and arrived in Bishkek a day late. I could not believe four other hunters on this hunt did not receive their rifles in Bishkek and they waited a day for them to show up. They never did!!
Loading the Trucks in Bishkek for what took 12 hours to base camp at 9000ft.

The Hunt was awesome. We rode horses 10+ miles back into The Tien Shan Mountain Range. We (Max,Johnny and myself)set up camp at snow line in the dark. I have rode horses a lot on our family ranches as a kid. I have seen some EXCELLENT horsemen but NOTHING like Max!!!
The view from spike camp at snowline.

I woke up with frozen feet and a sore throat!!! It was 10 degrees We rode into Max's hot spot at daylight. Max and Johnny spoke no English and of course I spoke no Kyrg. but it was hunting and it's universal right? After glassing Max says no Ibex? We glassed the krags and found a couple small bands of Ibex 500 feet below the Peak's. I remember thinking how in the hell are we going to get a shot at them and how in the hell are we going to get one out of there? We moved to a different spot and glassed another drainage. After a spot of Tea and some lunch at 13,500 feet we headed back down to camp at 12,500.

Where we glassed at first light.

My horse is the last one. What a smart,sure footed horse.

On top of the world at over 13000ft!!!
[
After some rest we loaded up the horses and headed up the next drainage. Max was glassing the Krags and motioned for us to dismount. We left the horses and began a stalk to get closer. We then spotted some Ibex up the canyon a half mile. We had to hike through two small canyons to get on the far side of the drainage without being seen by the Ibex in the cliffs. I was in fairly good shape but hiking up the steep at 13,000 was taking a toll!!! We belly crawled up to the edge to peek over it. Max is on my left and says shoot,shoot,shoot. I can't even see an Ibex? Max hits my arm and I look at him and he's pointing to my right? I look to my right and an Ibex is staring at me at 40 yards!!! He spins are runs down the hill a heard of Ibex comes out like a flushed covey of Quail!!! Again in my left ear I hear shoot,shoot,shoot.big,big,big I quickly scan the Ibex at 100 yards and see one that is 50 percent heavier than the rest. I looked at enough Ibex pictures before I left to have a good idea of what size they are and estimated him at 42-43 inches in length. I quickly got on him and when they stopped I dropped him. He is beautiful!!! The average Ibex harvested has 8" bases according to two guides that were with us from Shakar Safaris. Mine is thirteen inches around the bases and the long side is 42 inches he had a tip broke on the short side and it measured 40 1/2" He was aged at 9 years old.

My Granddaughter wrote good Luck on two of my cartridges. In case I missed? I used one and Tim used the other one. She was so pleased that both bullets connected!!!

After the shot the remaining Ibex heading for the Krags!!!

After practicing at the range between 300 and 400 yards routinely and out to 600 to check my dial I shot him at 120 yards go figure. Just after I shot him the Blizzard hit. It was Snowing sideways as we caped and loaded the Ibex on horses. We carefully picked our way back down to base camp in the dark. We had a great meal and a celebration with a bottle of Schnapps.
We woke at 5:30 and broke camp for the ride out. I thought it was dangerous going in but after the Blizzard the Creeks were frozen and everything was slick. This Hunt was one of the most Dangerous things I have ever done Period. I remember thinking if I can just get out of here alive I will be the happiest hunter in Kyrgyzstan. What an ADVENTURE!!!
See the mass.
The boiling pot mine is on the right.

A couple pic's at base camp.

Removing the horns from the sheaths.

One of the Patrols sniper rifle. I want one.

On the long 10+ hour drive back to Bishkek we get a flat? Then when I unload my luggage at the Hotel in Bishkek one of my wheels on my new suitcase is broke? On my return flight I get to New York. I get the X on my entry form and wait for 45 minutes. An employee from Turkish Air is there with my rifle to get me through Customs. A Customs officer takes my rifle case into his office but has us wait in the waiting room? Four nicely dressed men walk into the room with my rifle? One of the guys walks out and asks for the keys to the locks on the gun case and my form. I gave him the keys and told him my form is in the rifle case. He looks puzzled? I hear them open the case and then the same guy walks out and asks the lady what flight I was on? She says TK001. He rolls his eyes back in his head and walks back in the office. Three guys walk out and the last guy tells me they had a tip on a Stolen Rifle but this was the wrong flight. I walked into the room with the Customs officer and after he checks it I lock it back up and start leaving. He says where are you going now? I said I have a room reserved and am flying out at 07:15 in the morning. He says do you have a New York Firearms permit? I said of course not I live in Washington State. He say's you cannot take this rifle out of the Airport. Turkish Air will have to lock it up tonight.
The Turkish employee that was there had to go get a supervisor. They filled out a form at Customs and agreed to have it at Alaska Air ticket counter at 04:00 for my flight to Seattle. They also made the Supervisor put a contact number on the form in case It was not there.
I arrive at 04:00 at Alaska Air Ticket counter and guess what? No rifle!!! I give them the form from Customs and they check everywhere and call the contact number. No answer!!! They called it three times and so did I. I go to Turkish Air baggage and they are not open. I went to the Turkish Air Ticket counter and waited until they were open. They trace my gun to Warehouse nine which is out of the Airport. They call and no one answers so I miss my flight!!! The Ticket counter supervisor finally gets a hold of a baggage supervisor and hands me the phone to talk to him. He tells me no one will be there until Monday and no one has a key to unlock the warehouse!!! Now don't forget I called this the Ibex hunt from hell!!! I told the Supervisor I will need to be compted for Hotels, meals and Flights to get home. The baggage Supervisor told me since the rifle was out of the Airport they could ship it as Cargo. They would ship it and I would have it Wednesday. This was on Saturday so in four days. Deer season opened and I wanted to get home so I said okay.
I caught the next Flight on Alaska Air to Seattle. I was supposed to be in Seattle at 10:30 but now it was going to be 5:30pm and I was going to be driving home over two passes in the dark. Remember they canceled my Flight? i arrived in Seattle and picked up a rental car and headed home. On the way home four cars went by in the other lane and a rock hit and broke my rental car windshield!!
The following Monday I put my rental Sat phone in the return box with the return shipping label and drive 4 miles to Fed -Ex to drop it off. Wednesday afternoon the doorbell rings I open the door and there is a Fed-Ex box at the front door. I pick it up and it's the Sat Phone!!! When they made the return label they made it out to me and I didn't notice it!!!
Oh my rifle? After two weeks it arrived in Seattle yesterday. I have to drive 2 1/2 hour tomorrow to get it!!! Did I say this was The Ibex Hunt from HELL? I picked up my rifle in Seattle with no incidents. Now for all the Insurance claims.

A hand loaded Barns TTSX 120gr fired from a .264 Win Mag recovered from Tims Ibex. Mine was a pass through. Max put his finger in the exit hole and felt broken shoulder bone and said 6.5 mm Very Good!!!



Some Video of the area I hunted.
https://youtu.be/K8iJHUZEHwc
https://youtu.be/RKS1fPL8mqs

In closing I would like to thank Tim Herald and the staff at World Wide Trophy Adventures for an Adventure of a life time!!!

Great stuff Mike. Man your ibex has almost 100% more mass than mine. That thing was a beast. I think the only thing good about your trip was the time in Kyrg. That is the worst travel story ever- but Tom’s gun is still MIA.

That's terrible,I thought I was the only one that hadn't received my rifle.Is it lost or he just hasn't received it yet?

Lost. He has put in a claim with Air France but I wouldn’t expect them to pay near what it was worth. Tony’s gun case was basically ripped apart and Delta is buying him a new one- mine and Steven’s rifles were just lying in the floor in atlanta baggage, and Customs was dining AIR France for not following the rules there. Total traveling disaster.

Great report and a truly interesting(?) adventure! But some lifetime stories and trophies and I bet with the retelling of tales the bad stuff will start to soften and add to the the memories when you guys stare up at those ibex mounts...

WOW, that's impressive country. Rugged as any I've ever seen. Great stories and results too.
Glad your back isn't messed up. You don't want that! Mine has been since '85.

Horse's, oh yeah! BTDT too.

Congrats on all the filled tags and surviving it all.

George

I received my mount back. Peters Taxidermy in Graham WA mounted it. Jodeen Peters is Secretary Treasure for S.C.I. in Seattle. They have done most of my African Mounts.