Posted By: TexasTURhunter
Review: Azerbaijan East Caucasian Tur Hunt - Extreme Mountain Hunts - 07/07/18 11:20 PM
1 year ago I left for Azerbaijan. I went with 2 old high school friends via Extreme Mountain Hunts Ltd.
We flew out of Houston to Istanbul, and then to Baku. It was a 5 hr drive from Baku to Sheki, and then we drove a jeep about 1 hr up the mountain to meet the horses. The horses took us most of the way up to about 10k where we made camp. The clouds were usually topped at about 8k, but they would sometimes cover us up and fog us in for a few hours.
The trip was 9 days total. One of our guys got his ram on day 2 in the field. The other 2 of us got our Rams on day 3. The smaller ram in the pic below was a mistake, my buddy shot the wrong one. He should have had the largest ram of the trip.
These things spent the nights at about 13k (above the grass line) and would descend down every morning to feed. They make a ton of noise on the way down and the miniature rock slides would create alot of dust. The grass is thick and they would eat for 1-2 hours and then sit down. At that point we'd hike up the mountain and hunt from the top down. It was brutal. These are the steepest mountains I've ever been in. But it was awesome. If anyone desires to go on one of the most physically demanding mountain hunts out there... I'd highly recommend the outfitter and the guides we had. We had 3 hunters in camp, 5 guides and 2 guy's in camp tending to the horses and cooking.
A good tur is a little larger than a good Aoudad, except the Tur head weighs about 3 times as much due the VERY thick horns. 2 of ours were SCI gold, and one was silver.
I thought I'd share some pics. Enjoy!
camp is 2 ridges over my muzzle right at the grass line. That was a brutal hike for nothing ! When an Azerbaijani mountain guide tells you pack for a 4 hr hike... he means 4 hours in one direction. The language barrier and no jacket made for a miserable afternoon once that storm rolled in. ALWAYS pack a jacket.
We flew out of Houston to Istanbul, and then to Baku. It was a 5 hr drive from Baku to Sheki, and then we drove a jeep about 1 hr up the mountain to meet the horses. The horses took us most of the way up to about 10k where we made camp. The clouds were usually topped at about 8k, but they would sometimes cover us up and fog us in for a few hours.
The trip was 9 days total. One of our guys got his ram on day 2 in the field. The other 2 of us got our Rams on day 3. The smaller ram in the pic below was a mistake, my buddy shot the wrong one. He should have had the largest ram of the trip.
These things spent the nights at about 13k (above the grass line) and would descend down every morning to feed. They make a ton of noise on the way down and the miniature rock slides would create alot of dust. The grass is thick and they would eat for 1-2 hours and then sit down. At that point we'd hike up the mountain and hunt from the top down. It was brutal. These are the steepest mountains I've ever been in. But it was awesome. If anyone desires to go on one of the most physically demanding mountain hunts out there... I'd highly recommend the outfitter and the guides we had. We had 3 hunters in camp, 5 guides and 2 guy's in camp tending to the horses and cooking.
A good tur is a little larger than a good Aoudad, except the Tur head weighs about 3 times as much due the VERY thick horns. 2 of ours were SCI gold, and one was silver.
I thought I'd share some pics. Enjoy!
camp is 2 ridges over my muzzle right at the grass line. That was a brutal hike for nothing ! When an Azerbaijani mountain guide tells you pack for a 4 hr hike... he means 4 hours in one direction. The language barrier and no jacket made for a miserable afternoon once that storm rolled in. ALWAYS pack a jacket.
