Anything More Serious Than Himalayan Snowcock?!
Here's one, Vern! (Cornell U photo)
Part 1
First of all, be reassured that Himalayan snowcock is not something one gets…you know, privately…when spending time at super-high altitudes. Or rather, it is, but only if you’re lucky and a great shot.
In an effort to track down whether any Japanese yamadori have been stocked in the U.S. (or North America), we stumbled across this Himalayan snowcock adventure – in Nevada.
And then we found this Serious account of snowcock hunting that appeared in that formally birdy magazine Sports Illustrated in November 1992. (Incidentally, in Serious Grouse Hunting, Book 1 we have a few quotes about ruffed-grouse hunting from SI, but way before 1992.)
You want to talk about Serious:
> 25,000 vertical feet (up and down) covered in a day.
> 3- to 10-pound birds.
> They fold their wings and rocket down cliffs – try practicing for that shot!
> You’re so high up you might grow hooves or get fried by lightning.
A few excerpts from the SI article:
> “A Russian scientist studying the snowcock noted that the primary component of its flight is ‘the force of gravity.’ Snowcocks hurl themselves off cliffs, give a few furious flaps and then, clamping their wings to their sides, plummet down the mountainside in a free fall, leaving anything that tries to catch them in their wake. Biologists conducting bird and sheep counts from helicopters have tried to pass snowcocks, only to give up after the birds hit 140 mph.”
> “I got a look at the bird just as it turned and walked casually out of sight along a narrow excuse for a ledge: It was a snowcock. I yelped at my hesitation, stripped off my pack and binoculars and went after it. This was no small task. I clambered, slowly but impatiently, over a cliff that merited the use of climbing gear. Raindrops began spattering the rock in front of my face. Immediate family members and monthly mortgage payments came to mind. When I reached the top of the cliff, I peeked over the edge just in time to sec the last of the covey disappear over a cliff. The rain turned to hail, and I turned back.”
– End of part 1 of 2 –
Category: Himalayan Snowcock, NV
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well sir u have said it all it is true to the best of my hunting snowcock in nort india kashmir but to my luck i have got 7 with a 22 lr while they come up to the aussom heights of 13 to 14000 ft wake up before the crack of dawn 3 am reach the spot above there eating places and go get em rgds omar