chonk34
AH veteran
Country: Kazakhstan
Dates: 10-18 October 2023
Type of Hunt: Spot and Stalk, Rifle
Method of Hunting: Rifle, 7mm Rem Mag and 7mm PRC
Outfitter: Arcqos Safaris
PH/Interpreter: Assan Abdrasilov
Agent: PWP Travel
Locations Hunted: Kazakhstan
Species Hunted: Maral Stag, Mid-Asian Ibex
Trophy Quality: Excellent
Species Seen, Population and Quality of Game Observed: Spotted a fair number of stag each day hunting for them, several herds of Ibex spotted during that hunt. Plenty of big heads on offer.
Lodging: Individual room in a shared lodge. Meals served in main lodge, sauna available most nights.
Food: Lots of food. So much food. Can’t say enough about how well they fed us. I almost was ashamed to go to some meals because I knew I couldn’t keep up with the courses and would have to leave some things uneaten.
Activities: Hunting, Sauna
Travel Methods: 4x4 to/from airport and lodge, 4x4 to the end of the trail and horseback up the mountains. Hiking on final stalks.
My dad and I planned to go to Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan after Ibex at some point, but had not nailed down all the details until a friend of a friend referred my dad to Adam Olivas at Arcqos Safaris here in Idaho. I was not really prepared to go yet, but my dad offered a loan so that we could go together. After the usual making of acquaintances and discussion about the hunt, we signed up for October 2023. PWP Travel handled my tickets for me, as the price was not much higher than booking for myself, and I had their assistance available if things went pear-shaped during my trip, as they did. So I was glad to have a travel agent. I was flying from Idaho, and my dad was flying from his home in Romania. We planned to meet up in Istanbul and fly the rest of the way together. We decided to hire the offered interpreter, as on previous hunting trips to Romania we’d had some mix-ups and trouble communicating with PH’s who we couldn’t communicate with.
My itinerary had me going Boise – Seattle – Istanbul – Almaty. I had no difficulties flying out of Boise on Alaska Airlines with my rifles. In Seattle I had to switch over to Turkish Airlines, and ran into quite a snag. They weren’t going to let me fly with rifles, as they said my ticket hadn’t been purchased with that qualifier on it. I got bumped over to the service desk where trips go to die, and began to argue my case. I got PWP Travel on the phone, and eventually they were able to resolve the issue. The airline employee found the right reservation and saw that I had booked a ticket with the firearms addendum. I came away a few hundred dollars lighter in baggage and firearm surcharges, but I was on my way. I was so flustered by the encounter and afraid of missing my flight that I forgot to empty my pockets completely and got the full frisking from security due to a receipt that showed up on the scanner.
As I recall, there weren’t any issues going through Istanbul. Our interpreter, Assan, and the paperwork guy, Sergei, met us at the airport. I filled out some documents for my rifles and ammunition. The officials spent a fair amount of time inspecting serial numbers and ammunition boxes and paperwork. I hoped that everything was okay. After a while we were cleared, but Assan told me it is customary to buy liquor for the customs officials at the duty-free store. They handed me their money and walked through the duty-free store pointing out what they wanted, and I paid for it at the counter.
After that we loaded up the truck and headed out for the hunting area. It was about a 5-hour drive, so we stopped to eat at a convenience store/deli. There were a variety of sandwiches on offer and we discussed what types of meat were popular. My dad asked about pork and I reminded him that we were in a Muslim country, so pork was not likely to be on the menu. Eventually we decided to try horse sandwiches, as horse is a popular choice there. It wasn’t particularly to my taste, but it also wasn’t too bad. The drive was relatively uneventful. The terrain and vegetation reminded me of Idaho. We did see some camels by the side of the road, which you don’t get in Idaho, as well as plenty of horses. Eventually the pavement gave way to dirt roads and a track up into the mountains where we would be hunting.
The hunting location was in a pocket of southeast Kazakhstan that juts out between Kyrgyzstan and China, so we were a few miles from both of those countries. The lodge was nice. Close to the main lodge we had wifi for our phones, and we shared the upper floor of a 2-bedroom cabin. One of the other cabins had a sauna in it that they would prepare if we wanted to use it after the evening hunt. I’m not much of a sauna guy, but I think it did my aches and pains some good when I took advantage of it. The main lodge held the dining room, where we were served massive meals. Breakfast was generally a porridge or oatmeal-type dish followed by meat and eggs. Lunch was generally served on the mountain out of containers, lots of meat, bread, cheese, and hot tea. Dinner was typically a soup course followed by meat and vegetables, plus a whole table full of snacks and sides. I was almost in pain from the amount of food I was packing in. We ate stag, lamb, horse, goat, and beef in various preparations. It was delicious.
After arrival we went out to check the rifles. Both rifles were pretty well on, hitting the 350-yard, 550-yard, and the 7mm PRC hit on the long-range target at 800 yards. It was a long shot. I planned to hunt with the 7mm Rem Mag and felt comfortable out to 300 yards, with a 500-yard shot possible if I really needed it.
Dates: 10-18 October 2023
Type of Hunt: Spot and Stalk, Rifle
Method of Hunting: Rifle, 7mm Rem Mag and 7mm PRC
Outfitter: Arcqos Safaris
PH/Interpreter: Assan Abdrasilov
Agent: PWP Travel
Locations Hunted: Kazakhstan
Species Hunted: Maral Stag, Mid-Asian Ibex
Trophy Quality: Excellent
Species Seen, Population and Quality of Game Observed: Spotted a fair number of stag each day hunting for them, several herds of Ibex spotted during that hunt. Plenty of big heads on offer.
Lodging: Individual room in a shared lodge. Meals served in main lodge, sauna available most nights.
Food: Lots of food. So much food. Can’t say enough about how well they fed us. I almost was ashamed to go to some meals because I knew I couldn’t keep up with the courses and would have to leave some things uneaten.
Activities: Hunting, Sauna
Travel Methods: 4x4 to/from airport and lodge, 4x4 to the end of the trail and horseback up the mountains. Hiking on final stalks.
My dad and I planned to go to Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan after Ibex at some point, but had not nailed down all the details until a friend of a friend referred my dad to Adam Olivas at Arcqos Safaris here in Idaho. I was not really prepared to go yet, but my dad offered a loan so that we could go together. After the usual making of acquaintances and discussion about the hunt, we signed up for October 2023. PWP Travel handled my tickets for me, as the price was not much higher than booking for myself, and I had their assistance available if things went pear-shaped during my trip, as they did. So I was glad to have a travel agent. I was flying from Idaho, and my dad was flying from his home in Romania. We planned to meet up in Istanbul and fly the rest of the way together. We decided to hire the offered interpreter, as on previous hunting trips to Romania we’d had some mix-ups and trouble communicating with PH’s who we couldn’t communicate with.
My itinerary had me going Boise – Seattle – Istanbul – Almaty. I had no difficulties flying out of Boise on Alaska Airlines with my rifles. In Seattle I had to switch over to Turkish Airlines, and ran into quite a snag. They weren’t going to let me fly with rifles, as they said my ticket hadn’t been purchased with that qualifier on it. I got bumped over to the service desk where trips go to die, and began to argue my case. I got PWP Travel on the phone, and eventually they were able to resolve the issue. The airline employee found the right reservation and saw that I had booked a ticket with the firearms addendum. I came away a few hundred dollars lighter in baggage and firearm surcharges, but I was on my way. I was so flustered by the encounter and afraid of missing my flight that I forgot to empty my pockets completely and got the full frisking from security due to a receipt that showed up on the scanner.
As I recall, there weren’t any issues going through Istanbul. Our interpreter, Assan, and the paperwork guy, Sergei, met us at the airport. I filled out some documents for my rifles and ammunition. The officials spent a fair amount of time inspecting serial numbers and ammunition boxes and paperwork. I hoped that everything was okay. After a while we were cleared, but Assan told me it is customary to buy liquor for the customs officials at the duty-free store. They handed me their money and walked through the duty-free store pointing out what they wanted, and I paid for it at the counter.
After that we loaded up the truck and headed out for the hunting area. It was about a 5-hour drive, so we stopped to eat at a convenience store/deli. There were a variety of sandwiches on offer and we discussed what types of meat were popular. My dad asked about pork and I reminded him that we were in a Muslim country, so pork was not likely to be on the menu. Eventually we decided to try horse sandwiches, as horse is a popular choice there. It wasn’t particularly to my taste, but it also wasn’t too bad. The drive was relatively uneventful. The terrain and vegetation reminded me of Idaho. We did see some camels by the side of the road, which you don’t get in Idaho, as well as plenty of horses. Eventually the pavement gave way to dirt roads and a track up into the mountains where we would be hunting.
The hunting location was in a pocket of southeast Kazakhstan that juts out between Kyrgyzstan and China, so we were a few miles from both of those countries. The lodge was nice. Close to the main lodge we had wifi for our phones, and we shared the upper floor of a 2-bedroom cabin. One of the other cabins had a sauna in it that they would prepare if we wanted to use it after the evening hunt. I’m not much of a sauna guy, but I think it did my aches and pains some good when I took advantage of it. The main lodge held the dining room, where we were served massive meals. Breakfast was generally a porridge or oatmeal-type dish followed by meat and eggs. Lunch was generally served on the mountain out of containers, lots of meat, bread, cheese, and hot tea. Dinner was typically a soup course followed by meat and vegetables, plus a whole table full of snacks and sides. I was almost in pain from the amount of food I was packing in. We ate stag, lamb, horse, goat, and beef in various preparations. It was delicious.
After arrival we went out to check the rifles. Both rifles were pretty well on, hitting the 350-yard, 550-yard, and the 7mm PRC hit on the long-range target at 800 yards. It was a long shot. I planned to hunt with the 7mm Rem Mag and felt comfortable out to 300 yards, with a 500-yard shot possible if I really needed it.
