Caribou

[RugerFan]

I was hunting caribou off the Dalton Hwy in northern Alaska. There is a 5 mile corridor on either side of the road that is archery only. That makes for a long miserable hike across some aggravating tussock and wet spongy muskeg. After failing to find a legal bull moose earlier, I was willing to do the death march to put down a nice bou and get some meat in the freezer.

I was hoping to use my scoped Ruger .41 mag SBHH loaded with cast (240 gn Keith). I needed to get within 100 yds to make a reasonable shot. Failing that distance, I had my .300 Win mag (j-bullets) lashed to my pack as a backup.

After arriving last Saturday afternoon, I glassed the area and spoke with bow hunters I met along the road. I picked a likely location and headed out on foot Sunday morning. As I approached the 5 mile mark, I spotted a so-so bull with about 25 cows. Not exactly what I was looking for, but I wasn’t seeing as many animals as I had hoped and most of those were cows. A bad wind direction kept the stalk from working out anyway.

A bit later, I spied a few cows hanging out below a hump. I had a good wind and could have gotten within 100 yds. I had a plastic take-down pistol rest in my pack to make the shot even easier. However, I wasn’t quite ready to give up on a bull. Still, I needed to make something happen soon because of the long walk back to the road before dark.

After some more walking I glassed 4 decent bulls trailing a group of cows several hundred yds south of me. They were heading behind a rise, so I hustled over to see if I could get within range as they passed below. As luck would have it, the cows made a 90 degree turn just as I was getting position and passed in front of me with the bulls soon to follow. Unfortunately they were at 200 yds and out of range of my .41 mag. It was 2:45 pm and these were the first shooters I saw. I made the decision to go ahead and take one with the .300 Win mag as I needed to head back before long.

The rifle did it’s job convincingly and the bull I selected was on the ground in short order. It took me 3 days to pack that rascal back to the road. And yes, I’m still sore.



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[wlc]

Only one word, besides congratulations.... Tasty!!! I love caribou. Hope to get back up north of the arctic circle next fall.

[waksupi]

You are supposed to wound them and herd them back towards the truck before you give le coup de grace! Good hunt!

[roverboy]

Looks like a good bull. Congratulations. Maybe you can get another one with the .41 later.

[UBER7MM]

Good Hunting!

[smoked turkey]

Nice bull and an excellent hunting story. Good shooting.

[TCLouis]

That ia quite a buffer for the highway and bowhunters.

Long haul with a load of meat.

Congrats and tanks for sharing the story.

Poor Lil 41 Maggie sitting there forlorn, ready to do her duty.

[MT Gianni]

Nice hunt and congratulations are freely given. Is a wheelbarrow or game cart anyway useful in that tundra? I have made use of both on harder ground but do not know if that would be too spongy.

[Thumbcocker]

I will never whine about dragging a white tail to the truck again.

[RugerFan]

Nice hunt and congratulations are freely given. Is a wheelbarrow or game cart anyway useful in that tundra? I have made use of both on harder ground but do not know if that would be too spongy.

Once there is sufficient snow, a plastic sled works well. I have done that before many years ago. Where I was at on this hunt, the tussocks were too high and numerous for a cart to work. Also 3 creek crossings and very spongy muskeg. It was quite an ordeal.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Hullo RugerFan , CONGRATS on the successful hunt...I know how hard you worked
Been there done that,many times..getting to old for that much exercise but I stil manage to get it of meat

I'm just up the road, mile 280, Semper Fi

[sixshot]

The plastic sled was my thoughts as well. One things for sure, you earned that bull, I really enjoy these kinds of hunts, congratulations! 5 miles is a heck of a cushion for the archery boys.

Dick

[waksupi]

I use the plastic sleds, even without snow. They slide over the ground cover a lot easier than dragging a critter without one.

[RugerFan]

I use the plastic sleds, even without snow. They slide over the ground cover a lot easier than dragging a critter without one.

Actually, I tried using a plastic ice fishing sled early on. I had my pack, rifle, spotting scope, etc in it and planned on bringing the caribou out with it. However the afore mentioned tussocks made dragging that thing more of a hassle than it was worth.

[RugerFan]

Hullo RugerFan , CONGRATS on the successful hunt...I know how hard you worked
Been there done that,many times..getting to old for that much exercise but I stil manage to get it of meat

I'm just up the road, mile 280, Semper Fi

How did the moose fare up your way? The bad winter took a toll on the bulls down here it seems.

[lhead71]

Congratulations, that is a fine Boo. I hope to have one on the ground soon.

[Bluehawk]

GOOD JOB Lots of work but I'M sure it was worth it ! GOOD FOR YOU !

[Lloyd Smale]

no better vension on the planet then caribou back straps!!

[NLS1]

Wow, great write up. And congratulations on a fine animal and lots of meat!

Never had caribou, guess I better get up there some day!

Dan

[LAH]

Congrats, great story.