All About A Hunt For Bugling Asian Elk in Kazakhstan

Subscriber Ed Yates has filed a report on hunting Kazakhstan for Asian elk (Tien Shan wapiti) and Siberian roe deer. He hunted in the Akchi area of Jungarsky Alatau with Alexander Rodnov on a hunt he booked through The Hunting Consortium (540-955-0090; www.huntingconsortium.com). Bob Kern of The Hunting Consortium says Rodnov has been hunting the area for more than 20 years. Yates warns this hunt began with a 12-hour car trip from the airport over "the worst paved road I've ever experienced. Sometimes we'd pull off onto parallel dirt roads that were actually nicer than the paved highway." The hunt was based from what Yates describes as a beautiful old forestry camp/sawmill. "No electricity or hot water, but it was nice enough," he says. "The bed was comfortable, and the food was pretty good. Hunting areas for both roe deer and elk were easily accessible from camp, though we occasionally used spike camps." One of the highlights of the hunt, he says, was sleeping in a spike camp with bulls bugling around them all night. Hunting was from horseback, riding more than eight hours a day. Though the mountains in the hunt area are only around 5,000 to 6,000 feet, Yates says they are as steep as they get. "Going up the mountains wasn't that bad," he says, "but coming down was pure misery. I'd have to lean way back on the horse, and it just played havoc on my crotch." For this reason Yates recommends male hunters wear a jock or even a cup. And, yes, he's very serious about this recommendation. Still, Yates says these horses are the best he's ever been on. This is a spot-and-stalk hunt. The wapiti and deer inhabit different areas, with roe deer in very barren country and the elk in more wooded areas. "I would say the concession is decent for roe deer but great for elk," Yates says. "The guides work extremely hard in both areas to put the hunter on game." Both areas held abundant additional game such as ibex, argali and the Asian version of quail. Yates recommends that hunters be in........(continued)