Guides and gamekeepers hunting in Kyrgyzstan. They are excellent hunters who have been engaged in this for a very long time. Often, their experience as guides in hunting tours is 10 years or more. They know the hunting territories extremely well and can find their way to the dugout or base camp even at night in complete darkness.
Guides have a great understanding of animal behavior, both of the ibex and the Marco Polo sheep. This is due to the necessity of bringing the hunter as close as possible, even though they themselves can make shots at extremely long distances of 600 to 800 meters. They can accurately determine the trophy characteristics of animals, the size of the horns within 5 centimeters, as well as the age of the animal. These skills are developed through innate qualities for hunting and constant presence in the mountains.
The guide is excellent at handling the horses used for moving in the mountains. They also carry out the butchering of the hunted animals; creating a quality trophy by a taxidermist requires knowledge of animal anatomy and practical skills in the initial processing of trophies.
Staff serving the hunters.
In Kyrgyzstan, during hunting, a certain number of people serve the hunters.
During radial outings:
• Guide (also a gamekeeper and professional hunter) – one for each hunter.
• There is always a second assistant who acts as a driver (he also has excellent experience in organizing hunts).
At the base camp:
• Cooks and assistants (often the wives or relatives of the guides), they prepare any dishes that have been agreed upon.
• Heaters – they are constantly responsible for one task, monitoring the warmth in the premises day and night.
• Handyman – preparing firewood, delivering water, caring for the horses, guarding the camp at night from wolves, servicing the 220-volt generator.
On average, there are up to 5 service personnel for one hunter, not counting the drivers who bring the hunters and representatives of the hunting organizer or owners of the hunting grounds.
In 80% of cases, all the service personnel in the camp are indigenous Kyrgyz people who have immense experience in conducting hunts in the mountains, endure all the hardships of living in the mountains very well, and are very resilient and hardworking. A distinctive feature is their hospitality; according to national customs, guests will be served all the products and dishes they have. Therefore, their warmth in welcoming you will leave no one indifferent.
Most of them communicate easily in Russian, which can be confirmed during the preparation for the hunt at the base camp. We advise you to communicate more with them before the hunt, to learn about the route, the places you will go, the heights, and the distances you will travel on horseback. They know all this well and will gladly share the necessary knowledge with you. This will help you establish a better connection, which is a very important detail since you will likely have to communicate with them for a long time (from 3 to 7 days).
Text: Administration of the company Extreme Travel