After finishing my Capra 30 last year, I decided to go for my Ovis 20 when an offer came up to get two sheep on one hunt. Walking down the escalator at 5 a.m. and seeing Pir Danish’s smiling face at the bottom; I knew this was going to be a good hunt. After customs and a fresh cup of coffee, we headed to his house on the outskirts of Karachi to shower and get all the hunting gear together. His rifle was a .300 Short Mag. with a beautiful Swarovski scope. Since it was so early and his scouts had located a nice sheep not too far away, we decided to go hunting.
We drove about three hours north and west of Karachi and ended up at a small village in the Helli-Talli Mountains. From there, we walked up a long valley then up over the rim to a vantage point. We sat for about an hour and then decided to move to the edge of the rim where the guides had seen six rams. We made our way along the rim and then toward camp where we left the cars. We spotted two rams and tried to get close. After about an hour, we got close enough to see that the two rams we were looking at were small and decided to go back to lunch.
We then drove over to another mountain range and started another stalk. We immediately saw a smaller ram that was very wide and would be a bruiser in a few years, then made our way along a narrow, dry wash to get to the rim. The forward guide waved us up to him and soon we were crouching behind a small ridge. Pir stated one ram was a large one. I eased up over the ridge and both rams were about 135 yards away. The larger was soon in the scope and one shot put him on the ground (# 19). We celebrated and made our way back to the village and then home, after one long, satisfying day.
The next day was a rest day, and then we flew to Islamabad and drove six hours to the Indus River Palace. What a place. Built in the 1800’s, every celebrity head of state had visited there over the past 50 years.
The next morning, we headed for the Salt Range and into the mountains. After a long walk behind a large mountain, we made our way to an opening in the range and moved over the ridge. There, two guides had spotted a large heard of sheep. As we got close, seven rams raced to the right, but after looking them over, the guide thought the older ram was not with them.
We made our way down the slope a little way to find the rest of the rams in a small valley below. They took off, but stopped long enough at 210 yards to anchor the old ram with one shot (# 20). We celebrated a lot and had a great lunch at the base camp, and then headed out to the lower area in search of the Chinkara gazelle. This desert gazelle has the longest horns of the gazelles, and is a very impressive trophy. After a few hours, we settled on a nice male and one shot put him on the ground. We headed back to the Palace for a great dinner and sleep.
The next day, we headed back to Islamabad and a flight to Karachi. There we rested and waited until the animals were skinned and salted. After a day rest, we headed north on the Indus River to Pir’s river camp for a hog deer. Arriving at a safari like camp on a beautiful lake, there was a Indian boar feeding about 200 yards away. One shot put him on the ground and we got started hunting.
That night, we shot another boar and a beautiful Indian hog deer. We rested the next day with an interesting snake charmer, and then we headed back to Karachi to finalize the skinning and getting ready for the trip home. I can only tell you what a wonderful time, people and scenic mountains Pir had arranged for the hunter.–R. Douglas Yajko M.D.
