140 miles, 1/2 with no trail, in the fog, -38 below, 20 mile MPH winds, 5-1/2 hours

[caribou]

140 miles, 1/2 with no trail, in the fog, -38 below, 20 mile MPH winds, 5-1/2 hours in the dark.

Why??

TO HUNT!!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaa, thats what its all about!!


OK,............we arrived last night, cold, frostbit and tired, riding to the Southern end of the Kotzebue sound, staying with th oldest son, his family and hunted Muskox with two other outragously mellow fellows..
Woke up before dawn,(LOL!!) warmed the rides, ate breakfast, gassed up and hit the trail at Noon thirty (15 minutes before sun up), and had Ox in site within 20 minutes.....


And so , with my Mosin M-39, I caught one today, very very Fat

and so did my Friends, Brett

and Vince.

First we hit tracks and looked ahead to the steam rising off so many animals a mile or so away, across a lagoon and meandering channles and islands. We caught them feeding and milling around , as they do at -30, (better than yesterdays -42) out along a river channel that had a high cliff along the end of it and sorta just rode/waltzed/snuck up to the rivers edge, 150 yards across.

After a bit of frustration with our rfile (my firing pin, Vince's aiming apperatus), we sat, fixxed, and carried on. Vince had his choice and the first one was down when the rest had to broadside to us to leave(better target that way) rather than bunch up and stand ground, they didnt like the cliff behind, so they all turned and left lineing up,exiting stage left all a trotting, and I got a nice young bull, then Brett got his as well, but a real 'bulldog' of an OX ----"BEEFCAKE!"---- if I ever seen one ........
If they had been in the open, they would have formed a circle and stood, making it very dificult to shoot them for a quick death and not hit others. Their love of beach grass that grows along the banks and on the little islandsdoomed 3 of them and the other 22 left as fast as Ox trot.


Ill get the rest of the pictures downloaded tomarrow, the wife will get one then. Im sure Illpicyure some blood and lots butchering /skinning pictures. The inter net here isnt much better than home, but well see, I have another day yet.

 

[lowerunit411]

awesome report....i always look forward to your post!! Thank you

 

[ultradoc]

Looks like you all had a blast. Congrats!

 

[sixgunner455]

Wow. That's cold. Neat to see musk ox, but ... wow.

You're a lot harder that I am, Caribou.

 

[Art Eatman]

What's the processing sequence when it's that cold? Gutting, skinning, butchering, all that?

I saw -25ºF in Detroit, winter of '62/'63. That increased my dislike of hard water. But, when it's 100 to 110 in my desert, I'm happy as a lizard on a rock.

 

[nathan]

Great hunting with , Caribou. M 39 did it again. If anyone have doubts of the 7.62 x 54 R capability for big game, let em see these pics.


BTW have you had occasions when your Mosin 39 trigger spring broke due to long use and extreme cold conditions? THe one in my Sako broke three years ago and although its an easy fix, might be wise to have spares in case Mr Murphy comes at the most critical time. A flat screwdriver should always be handy around , too.

 

[Robert]

That is just truly amazing!

 

[caribou]

Today ws the wifes hunt................as soon as light came, We had the Ox in site from the oldest sons front room window .....an hours warm up for the machine, as its -38 below Degrees, thats quite a routiene.

Soooooooooo we drove the two or o miles there, and parked on the hill crests reverse, so's The Muskox couldnt see us, and started our "stalk".....LOL!!!!
Being Muskox, they do not scare easily, but once frighten, will pile up shoulder to shoulder and a clean, one animal catch is pretty hard then, and Muskox wont budge.
Soooooooooooooowe left out whiteouts at the sons house and wore all black. Walking together, they assumed we were just another Ox.......and we got within 50 yards pretty easily before they were thinking twice and as the fringe ones were starting to be moving tward the middle, the wife took her shot.
That set the Oxto tumbling, running ,falling,running and into the group She tore out its throat, but it made the 50 feet into the bunch, and the wife and I stood there while they formed up. Then we walked apart, each going away and they took us for Wolves (I guess LOL!!) and turned left and took off.
By this time(about 1/2 a minute) the Bull having become tippy and stood there alone, his herd moving away at a trot. A second shot sealed the deal and a perfect Bull Muskox was soon at her feet, 400lbs of FAT Meat
Our friend Brett brought my sled and rode Agnes to our ride and she brought it up as I arranged our gear and we gutted right there.
Daylight is breif this timma year , and like yesterday, we brought the whole Ox to the Sons house an skinned inthe yard.
















The TROPHY !!!



4 Ox in the yard.....by the pound or by the ton.....



Now to ride home tomarrow......it'll warm up to -26 below, and that will be very nice compared to this last couple weeks

 

[baronthered]

brrrrrrrrrr!!

 

[critter]

Very near report! Thanks!

You guys have some SERIOUS hunting urges to hunt at those temps!

Really NEAT using a M-N as they are known to have been used in COLD climes! Quite an adequate arm/round indeed.

 

[LeonCarr]

Great shooting, great hunting, and as always excellent pictures providing a great insight into your way of life and the hunt.

Looks like the Mosin works well on the Musk Oxen. I guess all the stories about needing a .375 H&H or a .458 Winchester to hunt them are very untrue .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[cottswald]

That's quite a layer of fat! Guess they need it. Fascinating creatures. Nice pics, and great play-by-play! Congratulations on one heck of a job!

 

[MCgunner]

Suddenly, my motorcycle rides this time of year don't seem so bad. I'm such a wimp, I use an electric vest in 40 degree weather. But, then I'm used to much warmer.

Muskox is an animal that intrigues me. I'd think about hunting 'em, but for the weather they hang out in. Well, that and i ain't got the cash to book such a hunt makes it an easy decision. LOL

I read the title of the thread and thought, "Son, that sounds like my commute to school every morning except that it was up hill both ways."

 

[MCgunner]

Another note, I can see why you'd wanna use a Russian military bolt rifle in that weather. My Remingtons would probably freeze up and refuse to go bang. I don't know that, and hopefully, I'll never have the chance to test the theory. I mean, I'd love the hunt, but my long johns just ain't up to THAT.

 

[303tom]

You Da Man !!!

 

[esheato]

Seriously cool stuff. Man, I love your posts.

 

[EmbarkChief]

Thank you so much for sharing your adventures!

 

[nathan]

What food sources do these muskox eat upon , Caribou? With all that deep snow they surely go hungry looking for food .

 

[_N4Z_]

I can see why you'd wanna use a Russian military bolt rifle in that weather.

The bolt (and receiver) may be Russian, but the rest of that rifle is all Finn baby.

 

[TNboy]

I really do enjoy your write ups, I suppose because they are about completely different kinds of hunting than I've been exposed to, thank you very much for sharing.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Ok what does musk ox taste like?

 

[SimplyChad]

dude your mental Awesome but mental. But then again a 110 degrees with 90 % humidity would prolly seem just as crazy to you.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Damn Caribou I haven't like going outside this last week, let alone spend time outside, I dislike the negatives.

Anywho I guess cold and clear beats warm and blowing snow.
Wow, Do you get substance on the Musk Oxes?

I know that tags can be hard to come by, and getting to the herds isn't the easiest thing (don't the know they should graze by the roads...)

 

[BIGR]

Some great hunting there. I will never complain about being cold in a tree stand after seeing what you have to hunt in. One thing for sure you don't have to worry about the meat spoiling.

 

[caribou]

Theres a price to pay, for sure to live and hunt this way. We try and bring as much back as possible, and often spen several days at this timma year to work a load up. Daylight is only 2-3 hours total with dusk and dawn added, but growing 8 minutes a day now We carry extra guns, extra gas and an extra large sled when covering this much ground in a hunt.

The need to carry spare cloths and camping gear was nagated by the sons village being smack in the middle of the hunting area.

Gas is a flat 6$ a gallon there , as they have a direct barge and less mark up than that that comes from Kotzebue. Finding parts in a village is fairly easy too, and if we dont come back, some one will track us to where we planned to start the hunt....... so we worried not and still had to deal with frost bite.
Often ,during these cold spells, the wife and I look like we beat each other, and people everywhere have burns and bites on faces, wrists and hands from genneral outdoor activity.

While placeing a spring on my ride , I frost bit mmy finger, and the metal stuck to the skin and I had to tear it off, but it dont hurt till its thawed out...Ouuch...as well as my face with a nip from the wind.
We spit on our jhands and warm the frozen skin, and cover it with spit so it wont blister and swell. Thats what will happen if you dont spit on it.
Anyways, like a sunburn a spit on frost bite will just turn brown and peel, an unspit one will too, but with a patch of skin gone from the blistering and raw skin underneath.

If ever you have been frost bitten, that place will not feel a thing the next time and every time it happens afterward.