she hunts When their van broke down, the Kyrgyz guides provided strong yet gentle horses to traverse the mountainsides – along with a warning what to do when the steeds inevitably would fall.
trade route. And although the country gained independence as the Iron Curtain fell in 1991, because it was part of the former Soviet Union for so long, cities there still show the signs of Soviet domination. The culture of Kyrgyzstan has remained intact and traditional over the years because the mountains keep the country mostly isolated. Not only did we soak in the culture in a place few Americans have ever been or will likely travel to, we experienced hunting there as well. OFF TO THE HIGH COUNTRY We flew into the capital city of Bishkek and were greeted with VIP signs, then were taken to a nice little lounge where we had coffee with my friend Bryan Martin, who set up the hunt for us. My boyfriend Brad and I landed around 5 a.m. and waited three hours for our cameraman Bill to arrive around 8. After all the gun paperwork was finished we headed off with a translator, a cook, a guide and another hunter who also flew in that morning. 136
American Shooting Journal // June 2018