<1 club international winner for mid Asian Ibex

TXCO

WKR
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
854
First off Congrats! You'll have a great time and stories to tell.

Second, Wapiti summed it all up pretty good and I think saying its like going on a spike mountain goat hunt is perfect. I went to Kyrgyzstan in 2010 without a clue on what I was getting myself into. I will add on a little to it -

You are not in charge and there will likely be a big language barrier. Its ok, just know going into it. I spent 4 days with a guy who didnt speak English and no interpreter. There was a word I figured out pronounced "bulimna" or "balimna" that I guess translates to "this is called" so like bulimna rifle. It helped pass the time and we taught ourselves some different languages.

The guides will likely try to get you to shoot the first billy they find and even at a distance you may not feel comfortable with. Obviously not every ibex is a world record, but know what is realistic and know your comfortable shooting distance and try to get on the same page while in base camp.

Books/Ipod is spot on. Take lots of pictures, therefore extra camera batteries and charging packs or something like a goal zero.

The food is very bland typically. Bring a camping spice wheel or some pepper or hot sauce or something. Id also bring plenty of power bars and a couple mtn houses.

Assume once you hit base or spike camp they wont have anything you might typically find somewhere else, like electricity, chargers, etc. Really prepare like its a solo mountain trip and know you can always leave things in base or spike camp if they already have it. There are no stores to get something you wish you had. The US outfitters work with local guides who run the show and its fair to never assume they have something you need/want. Heck it may just be because the country is sold out of it.

Time of year will dictate weather but not necessarily how high you hunt. The guides are like sherpas in Nepal and can go anywhere faster than you. October/November can bring blizzards but congregate the animals. It gets real cold in a hurry.

Sunscreen, sunglasses, chapstick.

Spend a day or two in Instanbul if you can because its incredible. I heard you have to get a visa in person these days due to the P*ssing contest between Trump and Erdogan.

Have fun! Feel free to ask me with any questions.Food.jpgView attachment 65969Ibex.jpgKyrg Essen.jpgKyrg Landscape.jpgKyrg Lunch.jpg
 
OP
huntstrong2850
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
348
First off Congrats! You'll have a great time and stories to tell.

Second, Wapiti summed it all up pretty good and I think saying its like going on a spike mountain goat hunt is perfect. I went to Kyrgyzstan in 2010 without a clue on what I was getting myself into. I will add on a little to it -

You are not in charge and there will likely be a big language barrier. Its ok, just know going into it. I spent 4 days with a guy who didnt speak English and no interpreter. There was a word I figured out pronounced "bulimna" or "balimna" that I guess translates to "this is called" so like bulimna rifle. It helped pass the time and we taught ourselves some different languages.

The guides will likely try to get you to shoot the first billy they find and even at a distance you may not feel comfortable with. Obviously not every ibex is a world record, but know what is realistic and know your comfortable shooting distance and try to get on the same page while in base camp.

Books/Ipod is spot on. Take lots of pictures, therefore extra camera batteries and charging packs or something like a goal zero.

The food is very bland typically. Bring a camping spice wheel or some pepper or hot sauce or something. Id also bring plenty of power bars and a couple mtn houses.

Assume once you hit base or spike camp they wont have anything you might typically find somewhere else, like electricity, chargers, etc. Really prepare like its a solo mountain trip and know you can always leave things in base or spike camp if they already have it. There are no stores to get something you wish you had. The US outfitters work with local guides who run the show and its fair to never assume they have something you need/want. Heck it may just be because the country is sold out of it.

Time of year will dictate weather but not necessarily how high you hunt. The guides are like sherpas in Nepal and can go anywhere faster than you. October/November can bring blizzards but congregate the animals. It gets real cold in a hurry.

Sunscreen, sunglasses, chapstick.

Spend a day or two in Instanbul if you can because its incredible. I heard you have to get a visa in person these days due to the P*ssing contest between Trump and Erdogan.

Have fun! Feel free to ask me with any questions.View attachment 65967View attachment 65969View attachment 65970View attachment 65971View attachment 65972View attachment 65973

Thank you so much for taking the time to write that. Sounds as if it’ll definitely be an experience and probably once in a lifetime one at that. Sounds like a really heavy pack traveling with and a large duffel lol


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TXCO

WKR
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
854
Oh something else - you will likely bring your hide & horns home with you. Its a lot easier and cheaper too. So double check with your airlines before you book your flight. I bought 2 water proof duffels from cabelas and put all my gear in one to get there and used the second coming home for my hide/horns. You might be able to get it all in one but some times its cheaper to pay for a 3rd bag versus oversize on 1 or 2. If you talk a friend into going, you could easily make it work on 4 total checked bags by sharing a horn bag and/or gun case.

For gun cases, I like the Tuff paks and you can store extra clothes/gear in them. Travel with your ammo in its original boxes. Most airlines prefer this nowadays.

Carry on to the plane enough clothes/gear to make the hunt a success if you lose your other bags. You will likely have 3, if not 4 flights to get there and its real easy to lose a bag or have it delayed. This way you can still hunt. This happened to me and got me an extra day in the field versus the other people in camp. I.e. hiking boots, binos, electronics, some power bars, and a full change of clothes you can wear into the field (or at least a base layer, socks, insulation and outer layer). This is a great situation for having solid colors of good clothes (Sitka, FL, Kuiu, etc) and use them as your travel clothes in order to save space since you can still hunt in them. I also would try to carry your pack on if you can or at least a reasonable day pack. (Ive used my SG Sky 7400 as a carry on several times when its compressed down but thats pushing the limit). If you wear solid colors and have a backpack, most airlines think youre a hiker or granola traveler and let you get by with a little more in your carry on.

Water - Late season it can freeze easily so hard sided water bottle instead of camelbak/hose. Easiest is a screw on sawyer filter to a smart water or similar bottle. Or whatever has worked for you in the past. I dont think most people remember water purification when they go.

Turkish air is cheap, nice, and treats you in coach better than any domestic airline treats first class. I would try to book all your flights through Turkish air. Plus itll be cheaper to change flights if you need to.

Im sure Ill remember more and will add where I can.
 
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Wapiti1

WKR
Joined
Sep 18, 2017
Messages
3,569
Location
Indiana
Good summary TXCO. I forgot the camera comment. Take lots of batteries, and SD cards to hold at least 1000 photos per card. It is so easy to snap photos while riding in on the horse, just do it. I carried an Oly EM5 with 14-150 lens, and a Sony RX100 that never left my bino pack.

Here are a couple snaps from Azerabijan:
Yes, I scoped the hell out of myself. One of my guides held my feet while I shot, it was that steep.
Sadly, I have no photos from Kyryzstan, they got detroyed. Long story.

AiXawvI.jpg

zzUWVHc.jpg

bPjYHoH.jpg
 
OP
huntstrong2850
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
348
Any info any one has and can easier send it through email than type it all on here is welcome to do so. At [email protected]

I don’t mind sharing that on here as I’ve met in the past years pretty much only good people anyways lol.
Thank you all for the advice thus far though it’s all been written down in my notes so far.


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Joined
Jul 17, 2013
Messages
567
I took my first international trip to hunt midasian last year. Ill reiterate somethings wapiti said.

I didn't book through AMO, but the guides i was with guided Bryan Martin on the best ibex of his life. The biggest midasian come from Kyrgyzstan currently, or that is at least what i was told. We hunted Kyrgyzstan and it is, in my optionion, the best adventure for your buck. If we had ibex roaming the brooks range the hunt would cost 10x as much as it does.

As stated, roll with the punches. This is asia. Shit WILL go wrong. Soak it in. We had a translator at base camp who was with us from the time we landed till the time we went home. She was a ton of help and worth every penny. If this is an option, i highly recommend it. You will have so many questions about the culture, people, traditions, buildings, etc, and they are a valuable resource. They also know the cool places to go in Bishkek.

Travel will be extensive. Our flight to get to bishkek was around 27 hours total. Followed up with an 8 hour drive to the outfitters house to pick up a true off road beast- which came in handy on the 5 hour drive into some of the knarliest mountains i have ever seen. The drive ended at a washed out bridge that the truck wouldn't cross, the guides met us at the river with horses where we spend the next 2 hours getting to base camp. The next morning we went 12 hours on horse back to get to the hunting areas.

As stated, you will be on a horse quite a bit. These horses are unlike anything in the states. One very well accomplished hunter I know who has successfully hunted every thing in north america said that he could shoot any animal in the US off the back of one of these horses, and he wasn't joking.

Bring bike shorts.

Be in shape. out side of my tent at spike camp was i could see 3 peaks over 16,000 feet that didnt even have a name. I thought i was over preparing for this trip physically, but i didn't regret a second of training at elevation. This is a true mountain hunt.

Be prepared to feel like a sissy. The guides are tough, humble, and great hunters. With rubber boots, busted up binos, and a cigarette in their mouth they will hunt circles around you. You need the best equipment just almost keep up.

Bring extra pair of binos for your guides. Their stuff isn't very good, and they will ask to see your glass. I brought an etra pair of mid level Vortex binos and gave it to one of my guides as a tip. You would have thought i handed him the world.

It was one the best experiences of my life. any questions please ask.
 
OP
huntstrong2850
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
348
I took my first international trip to hunt midasian last year. Ill reiterate somethings wapiti said.

I didn't book through AMO, but the guides i was with guided Bryan Martin on the best ibex of his life. The biggest midasian come from Kyrgyzstan currently, or that is at least what i was told. We hunted Kyrgyzstan and it is, in my optionion, the best adventure for your buck. If we had ibex roaming the brooks range the hunt would cost 10x as much as it does.

As stated, roll with the punches. This is asia. Shit WILL go wrong. Soak it in. We had a translator at base camp who was with us from the time we landed till the time we went home. She was a ton of help and worth every penny. If this is an option, i highly recommend it. You will have so many questions about the culture, people, traditions, buildings, etc, and they are a valuable resource. They also know the cool places to go in Bishkek.

Travel will be extensive. Our flight to get to bishkek was around 27 hours total. Followed up with an 8 hour drive to the outfitters house to pick up a true off road beast- which came in handy on the 5 hour drive into some of the knarliest mountains i have ever seen. The drive ended at a washed out bridge that the truck wouldn't cross, the guides met us at the river with horses where we spend the next 2 hours getting to base camp. The next morning we went 12 hours on horse back to get to the hunting areas.

As stated, you will be on a horse quite a bit. These horses are unlike anything in the states. One very well accomplished hunter I know who has successfully hunted every thing in north america said that he could shoot any animal in the US off the back of one of these horses, and he wasn't joking.

Bring bike shorts.

Be in shape. out side of my tent at spike camp was i could see 3 peaks over 16,000 feet that didnt even have a name. I thought i was over preparing for this trip physically, but i didn't regret a second of training at elevation. This is a true mountain hunt.

Be prepared to feel like a sissy. The guides are tough, humble, and great hunters. With rubber boots, busted up binos, and a cigarette in their mouth they will hunt circles around you. You need the best equipment just almost keep up.

Bring extra pair of binos for your guides. Their stuff isn't very good, and they will ask to see your glass. I brought an etra pair of mid level Vortex binos and gave it to one of my guides as a tip. You would have thought i handed him the world.

It was one the best experiences of my life. any questions please ask.

That looks like you had a hell of a trip bud! Thank you for your help.

Anyone can tell me about judging an Ibex not only length but age?


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Joined
Jul 17, 2013
Messages
567
That is a good question. Asian guides have been know to get hunters excited and shoot an animal that is young or smaller than expected. Don't settle because the guide is excited and telling you to shoot. My experience was not this. My guides were great. A 40" ibex is pretty much universally considered a trophy. But the guides think in centimeters, so anything over 100-110 cm is a great billy. Be up front with the outfitter with the guide with what you are after.

they also have age rings like sheep.
 
OP
huntstrong2850
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
348
That is a good question. Asian guides have been know to get hunters excited and shoot an animal that is young or smaller than expected. Don't settle because the guide is excited and telling you to shoot. My experience was not this. My guides were great. A 40" ibex is pretty much universally considered a trophy. But the guides think in centimeters, so anything over 100-110 cm is a great billy. Be up front with the outfitter with the guide with what you are after.

they also have age rings like sheep.

I was wondering about the age rings if they’re horns were like sheep. And good to know about the cm measurements instead of inch.


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OP
huntstrong2850
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
348
I think really I’m just going to be looking for one that has some curl. If he comes up pretty decent and curls back a bit I think they’re gorgeous. Obviously big curl would be great but considering the opportunity any curl with good mass too him would be a hell of a trophy too me


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OP
huntstrong2850
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
348
Another question guys... what about communication to the outside world? Sat phone? Garmin InReach? What would you guys suggest?


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idig4au

WKR
Joined
Jun 1, 2012
Messages
708
Location
On one of the 7 continents….
Another question guys... what about communication to the outside world? Sat phone? Garmin InReach? What would you guys suggest?


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I take my Iridium Sat Phone with global service package for when in the mountains. At Manas airport when you arrive, you can get a Beeline or Megacom Sim card. Have your guides show you a kiosk where you can put 1000 or 1500 soms ($20-$25) on it so you can have access to data. The bigger villages will have 3G coverage. You can use Whatssup or Skype to chat or call back to the States for minimal costs
 
OP
huntstrong2850
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
348
I take my Iridium Sat Phone with global service package for when in the mountains. At Manas airport when you arrive, you can get a Beeline or Megacom Sim card. Have your guides show you a kiosk where you can put 1000 or 1500 soms ($20-$25) on it so you can have access to data. The bigger villages will have 3G coverage. You can use Whatssup or Skype to chat or call back to the States for minimal costs

Awesome thank you for that


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idig4au

WKR
Joined
Jun 1, 2012
Messages
708
Location
On one of the 7 continents….
The only other comments/advise I would add would be the following

-Use Turkish Air from States point of entry via Istanbul and book the tickets yourself so you can easily change. Turkish Air is easy to fly with rifles. You just need to call them after you book your ticket and make a reservation for your rifle. They will ask weight, serial number, rifle caliber, dimensions of case and weight of your ammunition. Don't change airlines in Istanbul or anywhere else and avoid flying through other European hubs. Fly the same airline all the way to Bishkek (Turkish Airlines). If you fly from a smaller domestic airport to the international hub, book your domestic tickets as a separate ticket. You want to pickup your luggage and recheck for your international flights.

-Pack your ammunition in a small separate Pelican Case and have a non TSA lock for it and have a name tag for it. Sometimes they will let you fly with your ammo in this case in your checked luggage. Sometimes they will make you check it in as a separate piece of luggage. I've also had them request me to put my ammo in my gun case. Be ready for all scenarios as it changes depending on who is checking you in! Make sure your ammunition in a solid boxes. I usually only take 40 rounds in two plastic boxes of 20 each.

-I disagree with taking out extra foam from gun case. You want your rifle to fit in snug and tight to maintain zero. You will be surprised how rough the airlines will treat your gun case. I use a Pelican and have had no issues with losing my zero. I cut out holes in foam for my range finder, knife and etc. I also leave space in case they want me to put my ammunition in there.

-Make sure you have your custom form 4457 before you depart USA. I have had to use this as "gun permit" before with foreign airlines and custom officials. Leave color copies of it in your travel documents and inside your rifle case. Sometimes airlines will keep a copy of it as well. I always have 4-5 spare copies of it with me.

-take an extra non TSA pad lock (combination) for your rifle case. On two occasions I have airlines literally treat my case so rough, the pad locks became damaged and wouldn't lock! Use combo locks as you will be opening your gun case repeatedly along the way to your travels.

-Take new USD, Ben Franklins and Grants. Cash is king. Be prepared to tip everyone as that is expected gesture. Your booking agent should give you an approximate tipping range.

-if you have to overnight in Bishkek, recommend staying at the Ambassador hotel. Its a great, well serviced boutique hotel. ATM in lobby. Good restaurants nearby like the Navigator.

-Try to limit your luggage to your gun case and one large rolling duffle. I use a Filson Extra Large and i can pack for 3 week hunt in this bag no problem, but its stuffed. Its a hassle to travel by yourself with more than two bags. If you fly business class, then you can go up to 32kg without paying extra for overweight bags. I usually pack another extra large folding duffle for my trophies. I will put the capes in extra large dry sacks (35L).

-Take a good backpack as your carry on. I use the Kifaru Late Season with 22" stays as its carry on compliant. Optics, sat phone, and several sets of travel clothes go in there. I will usually pack my hunting boots as checked luggage and then wear a lighter pair of hiking boots for travel. More comfortable for traveling.

-If you take your trophies back with you, then pick a point of entry that is favorable. I've found USF&WS at Houston easy to work with. Avoid LAX and JFK. Take all the import paperwork with you, fill out and email to the inspection staff before you fly back to the States along with your time arrival. it will make the process a lot easier! Or you can pay to have a broker like Coppersmith meet you at airport and do this. More often than not, you may have to let the outfitter ship your trophies back to the States. In this case, make advance preparations with a company like Fauna and Flora to receive your trophies. Make sure local outfitter the shipping address.

-Make sure you supervise the caping and salting of your capes as i've found trophy care in Asia hit and miss. Make sure you have name tags for your cape and horns.

-Bring camp slippers

Just a few pointers I have learned from experience traveling for international hunts. I think I finally have a system worked out for these mountain hunts.
 

jwb300

WKR
Joined
Dec 10, 2013
Messages
516
Location
Australia
I went to Kryg in Oct/Nov 2017 and had a great trip. One thing I found really useful was a translation sheet that I made up converting the Kyrgyz and Russian words to English. It covers off a range of things like basic questions, health concerns (like altitude sickness etc) and other concepts I've found hard to communicate with sign language (like the concept of 'tomorrow' - you do not know how hard it is to ask 'what will we do tomorrow?' without words). I also had a convesion of CM - inches on the sheet. The guides will judge in CM's but I found it easier to call them in inches. Most of the guides will not understand Russian so Kyrgyz is the only way. If you want a copy shoot me a PM with your email and I'll send it to you. The Google Translate app is also fantastic but it only has Russian while offline (no Kyrgyz) but watch your battery life in the cold conditions. I think I got maybe 2 hours and my phone was dead and it was on flight mode.

There is an outdoors shop in Bishkek (Red Fox Outdoor Equipment) that you can grab some things like gas canisters for your stove if you are taking one. I found the food we had in camp and in the mountains of a good standard for Asian hunts. In base camp it was excellent and in the mountains it was pretty good also - basic breads, noodles, salami, tins of fish and beef but good enough. A few dehyd's does break it up a little as it is the same food 3 meals per day.

Other random thoughts...
- While in Bishkek grab a few bottles of vodka for your guides - they are about $1-5USD/bottle. Also useful for border check points etc.
- If you suffer from altitude I highly recommend Diamox - really effective but has some side effects like having to pee a lot.
- Ibex are easy to spot and judge - have a look at lots of photos. They get length in the curl. Big wide ones are generally shorter than those that curl back.
- Try and go late October / early November. Best chance of good weather - too hot and they are dispersed and hard to find and too cold and they are pushed into the valleys and your hunt will be over in 1-2 days.
- For reference my outfitter advised that we tip our guides $200 USD. Given that this is their recommendation it is likely to be on the high end but it was fair given the work they put in. Keep in mind that everything there is cheap! A 10min cab ride cost around $1-3USD. Red Fox in Bishkek has some cheap gear if you are in the market - they have top brand boots for half the price you can get them anywhere else I've seen. $15USD = 1000 SOM. Most places do not have change for 1000 SOM.


There are so many more things but as others have said - go with the flow but make your expectations clear to the guides. They want to get you an ibex and get back to camp ASAP. If you want a 46" animal then make it clear, if you want to enjoy your hunt and not have it done on day one then make that clear. if you don't want to shoot past 300m... and so on.

Have fun!
 
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OP
huntstrong2850
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
348
I went to Kryg in Oct/Nov 2017 and had a great trip. One thing I found really useful was a translation sheet that I made up converting the Kyrgyz and Russian words to English. It covers off a range of things like basic questions, health concerns (like altitude sickness etc) and other concepts I've found hard to communicate with sign language (like the concept of 'tomorrow' - you do not know how hard it is to ask 'what will we do tomorrow?' without words). I also had a convesion of CM - inches on the sheet. The guides will judge in CM's but I found it easier to call them in inches. Most of the guides will not understand Russian so Kyrgyz is the only way. If you want a copy shoot me a PM with your email and I'll send it to you. The Google Translate app is also fantastic but it only has Russian while offline (no Kyrgyz) but watch your battery life in the cold conditions. I think I got maybe 2 hours and my phone was dead and it was on flight mode.

There is an outdoors shop in Bishkek (Red Fox Outdoor Equipment) that you can grab some things like gas canisters for your stove if you are taking one. I found the food we had in camp and in the mountains of a good standard for Asian hunts. In base camp it was excellent and in the mountains it was pretty good also - basic breads, noodles, salami, tins of fish and beef but good enough. A few dehyd's does break it up a little as it is the same food 3 meals per day.

Other random thoughts...
- While in Bishkek grab a few bottles of vodka for your guides - they are about $1-5USD/bottle. Also useful for border check points etc.
- If you suffer from altitude I highly recommend Diamox - really effective but has some side effects like having to pee a lot.
- Ibex are easy to spot and judge - have a look at lots of photos. They get length in the curl. Big wide ones are generally shorter than those that curl back.
- Try and go late October / early November. Best chance of good weather - too hot and they are dispersed and hard to find and too cold and they are pushed into the valleys and your hunt will be over in 1-2 days.
- For reference my outfitter advised that we tip our guides $200 USD. Given that this is their recommendation it is likely to be on the high end but it was fair given the work they put in. Keep in mind that everything there is cheap! A 10min cab ride cost around $1-3USD. Red Fox in Bishkek has some cheap gear if you are in the market - they have top brand boots for half the price you can get them anywhere else I've seen. $15USD = 1000 SOM. Most places do not have change for 1000 SOM.


There are so many more things but as others have said - go with the flow but make your expectations clear to the guides. They want to get you an ibex and get back to camp ASAP. If you want a 46" animal then make it clear, if you want to enjoy your hunt and not have it done on day one then make that clear. if you don't want to shoot past 300m... and so on.

Have fun!

That’s some really good advice I appreciate it a lot buddy. Thank you


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AKducks

FNG
Joined
Oct 9, 2017
Messages
18
Location
Fairbanks, AK
Ok,

I have never hunted in Central Asia but I did spend time in Bishkek.

here are some tips:

1) Have a clean passport, I almost got denied entry because there were some folds in my passport (a friend got denied once because she didn't have enough empty pages in her's).

2) Converting money- make sure you have clean bills (most places I went only exchanged 100 bills) people are very careful about counterfit and any crease can set them off, I couldn't exchange one bill because it had a small blue ink stain in the corner.

3) get a photo copy of your passport. Cops will try to take you passport and demand a bribe to get it back. I know people who work there that would just state they lost their passport and get a new one so they could have a throw away passport. but I wouldn't do that.

4) You will probably eat horse at some point. many restaurants will give you horse no mater what you order.


Hope you have a fun trip!
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
8
I know this is an old posting, but I was wondering if the OP ever gave us a summary of his Marco Polo hunt with Asian Mountain Outfitters? I searched for it and could not find it.
 
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