Summer hunting #2, OX

[caribou]

Weve been on our "Working Vacation" tooling about Kotzebue Sound, working up a load of dryed meats and Hides , as Caribou are prime for clothing now, and the wife has interested folks with $$
The pastor gave me a camera, so Im in the picture taking business again!! Yeeee Hawww. Hell its not quite as good as the fact that gas has dropped to a mear 4.47$ a gallon now. Thats down from 7.85$ a gallon last week!!!
The wife noted that wed save about 44% in $$ savings, and I said "Hell NO!....Its 44% More gas!!"

In this last few weeks, wev'e nailed about a dozen good Caribou, with short shiny black hair, giving away the fresh meat and drying what we couldnt give away ,and in midwhile berry picking, and repairing our outfit.


A couple days befor Ox season started, Wolves jumped the gun and just didnt wait.....~~LOL!!~~




Well today started out kinda gloomy , so we didnt leave untill after lunch, kinda knowing where 50+ were hanging out and after landing the boat and moving up the cliff above them,
we sat and looked 'em over till we figured two that were up to our spec's......then the Ox all turned into the breeze, moving at "Ox Speed", about as fast as they eat, walking along.....
I alsop dressed for the occasion, by wearing my Belgish' Cammo pants...makes almost invisible, ya think?


The Ox in the forground were "doable" but the wife and I settled on a Bull a bit further along the hillside, and Brett wanted a BIG fellow that was walking along the water.



Well, it was time to get our "Ox-on", but Bretts pick was thinking that he'd just mosey out to sea , much to Bretts amusement....untill he'd spent about 10 minutes there, and we started yelling to get 'em moving.

And my pick mixed in with his buddies.....


Bretts pick had made it along the beach, half in the ater, past our little ridge and I was watching the fellow I wanted move up the hill, leading a few other fringe bulls up.
I was suggessting that he wait to shoot untill I reposition up the slope a bit for my shot and he wait for his pick to follow up the herd, OFF the sand and onto grass, where the Ox were moving up in line
Then he answered a bit loud "OK!" and took his shot!!......
W T F ?!?!?!

Ooooooooo Kaaaaaaayyyyyy.......
Well the pack parted, with some streaming off ,"slowly"(that's an understatement) down the beach and the other half picking up pace on the uphill trot, so I took my shot, as he lead the way up.
She got the picture just as he dropped and slid about 10 feet down the slippery slope, turning the Ox below back to the beach.

You know, onew shot, 3rd neckbone back, 40 yards, M-39, czeck LPS dose it as I know it will Total bone blowout and not a second thought for that fellow...

So the camerawoman/wife kept on snapping away, as we did a quick check for life and proceeded to get them taken apart....and this guys ladys didnt want to go, much to Bretts growing concern..~~LOL!!~~

Brett had the cure for all the sand, however...



And in a few short hours, the meat is hung, the neck is strip cut to dry, the hide is streched on the beach, and the head buried to get the flesh to rot off quicker.

The choice innerds and tounge are in our freezer and so will much of this, as the days go by and put them into fdreeze and then we haul our freezer home
All in all a good hunt so far, these last couple weeks, with just the wife and I and still theres the trip home

 

[countertop]

neat post

couple of questions? Why do you want the flesh off the head?? Do you make a mount from the skull? Do you go back to retrieve it?

Do I read you correctly to say you bring your freezer along with you?? Where do you get power?? A generator?? How difficult is it to haul a loaded freezer back onto your truck and then home (and how far???)

I assume you keep the meat and sell the skins. Do you just air dry the meat?? or do you smoke it?

 

[caribou]

Good questions...

I have a freezer at our friends hose in Deering that i bring there in the winter by sled. I fill it in summer, as its close (40miles) to our summer camp, and when we go there for gas, we drop off dryed meats and freash meat, birds and berrys.. We also fill their freezers too, and give them first choice on meats. They are elderly, so its a good exchange.

When the freezers are full, we put it in the big boat and take it to home, on Kobuk River, about a 145 mile boat ride. In winter, we can go straight there, about 60 miles without all the river bends and Kotzebue spit to go around as we go from ocean to river.


We make meat racks and dry our meats, as well as smoke them with Alders.

We flesh of the head and burie it so maggots will clean it and then we get it and put it on the "raw materials pile" as we call it, as my wife makes artwork and museum displays with the hides. She makes customary and traditional clothing and implements to generate $$$ for everyday living.

 

[countertop]

That's awesome!

 

[Grizfire]

excellent post. I don't get to hear about ox hunting much.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Musk ox?

 

[caribou]

Yep, MuskOx.
Since their the only type of "Ox" around, thats what we call 'em.

Seen you about the Alaska outdoors, Jim in Anch, I put some posts there, (and alot I dont), if those guys dont get mean..~~LOL!!~~ That is one crabby forum. I post as Stranger there, as Caribou was taken.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

stranger in a strange land? I don't post much there myself-mostly in the bush flying forum.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Oh how I want to be adoped by your clan. I've have to pack on some weight to survive the winters though - become fat like that ox. This is too awesome of a lifestyle for words!