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MARCO POLO(HUME ARGALI) KIRZIA 2001!!!!!
As a Professional Hunting Consultant with a severe case of Sheep Fever,I knew that I needed to reasearch a quality destination for myself & future clients to hunt the Mighty Marco Polo Sheep. After all, the Mtns are getting no lower, & none of us are getting any younger.
A few years ago I meet Nikoli (Safari & Expeditions) at the national SCI & FNAWS shows.Nikoli speaks excellent English, very important for communication, & they had been in business for many years with a wide variety of species to offer. Due to my busy fall schedules every year, it ended up taking 3 years for me to put this trip of a lifetime together.
Everyone agreed that Oct/Nov would be prime time for the Huge Rams, so an itenery of Oct 23-Nov7 was set-up. I would have 3 other hunters & a cameraman join me.
There are 2 main destinations to hunt Marco Polo rams; Kirgizia has an excellent population of rams as well as some of the largest Ibex in the world,. Lower altitude (10-12 thousand ft) allows horseback travel . Anyone prone to altitude sickness should consider Kirgizia. With bombing going on in Oct of 2001 to our south, Kirgizia was the clear choice for 2001; Avg ram in this area has been 53-55”, however a monster 67” had been taken earlier in the year on the same Mtn side we were to be hunting;
The Pamir Mtns of Tajikistan traditionally produce the largest Marco Polo rams , higher altitude (12-15 thousand ft) prevents the use of horseback however; one must be prepared to climb to his trophy once spotted from the jeeps, Avg ram size in the Pamirs are 55-58”, with multiple studs over 60” each year; All the top scoring rams have been taken from the Pamirs; Recently Grand Slam club classed the Kirgizia sheep as Marco Polo or Hume Argali, guess I will need to travel to the Pamirs in 2005 to hunt the true Marco Polo, Contact me ASAP if you are interested in joining me for 2005.
After lots of reasearch , we as a group decided that NO TERROIST was going to ruin our dreams, Besides, there was a BILLON dollar trophy fee on that Rag-Head, worse case scenario had A 180 grain Nosler with his name on it!!!!!
The flights went smooth,& Nikoli was in Bishkek to pick us up. We arrived in camp just in time to sight in our rifles,get a good meal & get a needed good nights rest. We had all prepared for this trip mentally & physically, along with our diamox altitude medication WE WERE READY !!!
Day one, we paired off with our 1x1 guides, climbed on our horses & proceeded up the Snow covered Mtns. Base camp was at 10,000 ft,well above tree line. All white clothing & polarized sunglasses were a must. Temps ranged from 15-45 degrees. When the sun was out, it was like being in the Colorado Rockies skiing over Easter, Cool air temps,bright,Hot,Sunny,days. Alexis my guide & Nikoli took me to the valley were the 67" record was taken in March. We saw many rams on that first day but choose to wait.
Day 2 was similar to the first, cold morning, with a bright sunny day ahead. We had traveled about 5-7 miles by horse when we spotted a Huge lone Ram skylined.As soon as he feed over the ridge we rode 3/4 up the Mtn on horse & stalked to the peak by foot. When we crested the ridge we were pinned down by 8 Huge Rams staring at us at 400 yds. As soon as they broke for safety, I mounted my Snipe-pod & prepared for a long shot. The next time the became visible they were in single file 426 yds angling up the Mtn. Everyone had a different opinion on which THE BIG GUY was, all I remember was looking thru my Leupold at 10 power, realizing that at least 3 of them were Huge!! There was 2 rams well over 60" however I chose the most massive Ram with the Best mane.
Aiming at a Ram 426 yds away, running up hill, soon to disappear, nose to tail with 7 other Huge rams I did not have much time to fall apart! My shot was true, with a well-placed bullet just behind the left shoulder. Much to my suprise,my trophy did not even stumble, but with an awesome blood trail in the snow, we knew we would catch up with him soon.
Hunting between 10,000-12,000 ft limits how fast one can cover ground in deep snow. Some areas had 1-4 ft of snow, others were bare ground due to the wind. Never under estimate how important it is to be prepared for such a hunt. When I look back on the physical demands I realize that this was no different than any other sheep hunt that I had ever been on, they can all test you!!
It was only after we walked up on my trophy that we KNEW just how Nice he was!!
56” lengths, carried his mass out well, SCI score of 210”
The best part was he has a Huge thick White mane,& he was Mine!! Even to this day, this ram demands attention when anyone enters my trophy room.
The rest of the group was successful as well, all tagged out by the 4th day. We did try to hunt Ibex for a few days, but due to the deep snow,& the fact that they Love the highest peaks on the Mtn,we chose to pull out early & schedule a re-match for the Ibex Billies. I did see 2-4 ibex with 50-55" horns that I would have loved to bring home with me, maybe next time. I have a whole lot more respect for those Ibex, They make Goat hunting in North America look like a walk in the park.
We took lots of professional commercial footage & that section on my 2-hour DVD is still the most popular to watch;
Anyone I have ever spoken to in the sheep hunting fraternity has dreamed of a Marco Polo hunt; Now that I have ironed out any & all bugs; travel, permits, English speaking interpreters, no hidden costs, 100% safety, prime times to hunt when & where, this has become one of the most popular selling sheep hunts anywhere; Consider the value, with a similar cost to Stone or Bighorn sheep, 100% success ratio’s, on rams twice the size; not to mention the fact that we were seeing 200-500 rams per day per person;
In fact my EXPERINCE with international sheep hunting has been awesome, Marco Polo, High Altai Argali, Kamchatka Snow Sheep, all huge trophies, all within the first day or 2 of the hunt;
Please take note that these hunts have been under the micro-scope for many years, A few desk bound bureaucrats seem to think that these sheep need to be on the threatened list when their only enemy is the ever present wolf; Anyone serious about a Marco Polo hunt should do so damn soon, I personally will be hunting the Pamir mtns in 2005 looking for one of those 60” plus rams. With multiple groups going to both the Pamir & Kirgizia Mtns for 2005, the only sheep I see jumping any fences are huge Marco Polo Rams.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFO ON THIS OR ANY OTHER WORLD CLASS ADVENTURE, CONTACT;
Al Kuntz "Al`s Worldwide Adventures"
Website (6500 pages) www.alsadventures.com
Preferred contact; al@alsadventures.com
15261 pilar rd box 38 Scandia Mn 55073
1-888-331-5014 / 651-433-5366 / fax 433-4434
Professional Hunting Consultant over 30 years !!!!
AL KUNTZ 56" NOV 2001 NIKOLI 67" SCOTT CHERSAK HUGE IBEX
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