Greenland hunt

[375 Ruger Fan]

Heck of a shot on the caribou, congratulations. Two animals, two arrows and two days. That was quick!

 

[LimbNoMo]

If you don’t want to go to Denmark and back, you can fly scheduled service with Canadian North to Iqualuit and then charter with them over to Nuuk.

 

[Downandlow]

Had a great hunt with Erik and his crew. Flew into Nuuk from Iqaluit with Canada North and then on to Kangerlusq with Air Greenland. Had to over night 2 nights in Nuuk to make everything work. Nuuk was very interesting and lots to see. Some great places to eat as well.
Once in Kangerlussuaq,Erik met me at the airport and took me to his hostil, An old army barracks. Nice staging area to get to know everyone. I would be hunting with 2 guys from Quebec and 1 from Germany. My hunting partner would be Martin from Germany. The three of them had arrived a day earlier on a flight from Copenhagen. After a couple hours we met out guides. Martin and I were paired up with Rasmus and Markus. There was only room for 2 hunters at a time to transport into camp and after a dramatic game of Rock,Scissors, Paper, Martin and I were first to head in. About an hour or so drive on a gravel road found us at the base of a glacier and a long glacial lake. We unloaded our gear and into a small open boat and struck out across the lake. an hour boat ride and we found our camp, Spartan as it was. Again we unloaded our gear and supplies. Since we were first in to camp and this was the first hunt of the year, we spent some time setting things up and unpacking before deciding it was time to site in my rifle. Martin was renting a nice Blaser 30-06 while I had brought my Fierce Rage 300 WSM. I spent hours of time developing loads and range time so I would be prepared for this particular hunt. First shot was dead on to my delight after so much travel. I cycled the bolt and no case ejected. I check Ed the chamber and case was still in there. Pulled the bolt out and noticed the ejector had broke. Not impressed. My rifle that I had lugged all the way from home was now useless. No other rifle was brought it to camp so it looked like I’d need to share the Blaser with Martin. Anyway no sense grousing about it and just make the best of things. The plan then was to have a rest and wait for the other hunters to make their way in. While we were resting our guide came in And said he had spotted 3 very nice Muskox bulls “Close” to camp. So we quickly packed up and struck out as it was getting to be late in the day. They were around 2.5 miles away by the way the crow flys but because of the wind and terrain I think we walked about 5 miles. We were getting close but there wasn’t much for cover so we needed to crawl the last 100 yards. Now we were 260 yards out and had a good shooting position so it was decided that Martin take the first shot and if there was an opportunity I’d take the second. Rasmus told us that rarely do they go down with the first shot and not to pass the rifle until there’s at least 2 good shots into the bull. At the sound of the shot Martin’s bull collapsed and didn’t move, much to everyone’s delight. The other 2 bulls were confused and milled around, unsure of were the shot had come from. Martin Quickly passed me the rifle and I took aim at another bull. He was slightly quartered to me but Inhad a good shot and the bull dropped. A moment later he stood up again giving me a perfect broadside shot. The second shot hit and broke his shoulder and dropped again but staggered to his feet. A quick reload and I sent a third and probably unnecessary shot and he crumpled. And didn’t try getting up again. Overjoyed, we celebrated and waited for the third bull to clear out. As we started our approach, the third bull became agitated and made a couple of false charges at us, before making a full charge and just veared off at the last moment. Had to check our shorts after that one.
A few pictures and more celebrations and then the work began. It was getting late so we decided that we would need to cache the Muskox and finish packing them out the next day. It was midnight by the time we had finished our work by headlamps and hiked back into camp. I don’t remember having supper or going to bed as we were completely spent. The next day, we slept in a bit before getting up and setting off to finish packing out our trophies. Day 3 would be the beginning of our caribou hunt.

 

[Downandlow]

Had a great hunt with Erik and his crew. Flew into Nuuk from Iqaluit with Canada North and then on to Kangerlusq with Air Greenland. Had to over night 2 nights in Nuuk to make everything work. Nuuk was very interesting and lots to see. Some great places to eat as well.
Once in Kangerlussuaq,Erik met me at the airport and took me to his hostil, An old army barracks. Nice staging area to get to know everyone. I would be hunting with 2 guys from Quebec and 1 from Germany. My hunting partner would be Martin from Germany. The three of them had arrived a day earlier on a flight from Copenhagen. After a couple hours we met out guides. Martin and I were paired up with Rasmus and Markus. There was only room for 2 hunters at a time to transport into camp and after a dramatic game of Rock,Scissors, Paper, Martin and I were first to head in. About an hour or so drive on a gravel road found us at the base of a glacier and a long glacial lake. We unloaded our gear and into a small open boat and struck out across the lake. an hour boat ride and we found our camp, Spartan as it was. Again we unloaded our gear and supplies. Since we were first in to camp and this was the first hunt of the year, we spent some time setting things up and unpacking before deciding it was time to site in my rifle. Martin was renting a nice Blaser 30-06 while I had brought my Fierce Rage 300 WSM. I spent hours of time developing loads and range time so I would be prepared for this particular hunt. First shot was dead on to my delight after so much travel. I cycled the bolt and no case ejected. I check Ed the chamber and case was still in there. Pulled the bolt out and noticed the ejector had broke. Not impressed. My rifle that I had lugged all the way from home was now useless. No other rifle was brought it to camp so it looked like I’d need to share the Blaser with Martin. Anyway no sense grousing about it and just make the best of things. The plan then was to have a rest and wait for the other hunters to make their way in. While we were resting our guide came in And said he had spotted 3 very nice Muskox bulls “Close” to camp. So we quickly packed up and struck out as it was getting to be late in the day. They were around 2.5 miles away by the way the crow flys but because of the wind and terrain I think we walked about 5 miles. We were getting close but there wasn’t much for cover so we needed to crawl the last 100 yards. Now we were 260 yards out and had a good shooting position so it was decided that Martin take the first shot and if there was an opportunity I’d take the second. Rasmus told us that rarely do they go down with the first shot and not to pass the rifle until there’s at least 2 good shots into the bull. At the sound of the shot Martin’s bull collapsed and didn’t move, much to everyone’s delight. The other 2 bulls were confused and milled around, unsure of were the shot had come from. Martin Quickly passed me the rifle and I took aim at another bull. He was slightly quartered to me but Inhad a good shot and the bull dropped. A moment later he stood up again giving me a perfect broadside shot. The second shot hit and broke his shoulder and dropped again but staggered to his feet. A quick reload and I sent a third and probably unnecessary shot and he crumpled. And didn’t try getting up again. Overjoyed, we celebrated and waited for the third bull to clear out. As we started our approach, the third bull became agitated and made a couple of false charges at us, before making a full charge and just veared off at the last moment. Had to check our shorts after that one.
A few pictures and more celebrations and then the work began. It was getting late so we decided that we would need to cache the Muskox and finish packing them out the next day. It was midnight by the time we had finished our work by headlamps and hiked back into camp. I don’t remember having supper or going to bed as we were completely spent. The next day, we slept in a bit before getting up and setting off to finish packing out our trophies. Day 3 would be the beginning of our caribou hunt.

Day 3 we got up early and had a hearty breakfast, packed our lunch and set off in search of caribou. It was dark still when we left camp. It had snowed overnight and everything was wet and cold but it did t take long to get warmed up. After a few miles of hiking I realized how outa shape I was and the Muskox hunt had drained me. But we pushed on through some absolutely beautiful country. We say Artic Hares and Arctic Fox along the way as well as a few scattered Muskox herds in the distance. We would hike along the various creeks and low ground and pop up on some elevated slopes to glass for caribou. The first few caribou were to small but around 11 o clock we spotted a nice bull bedded down across a valley about 2 miles away. We decided to make the stalk on him. It took some time to make our way there and just prayed he was still bedded by the time we got there. Since Martin got the first shot on the Muskox he let me have first crack at a Caribou. We made it across the valley and started our way up to the shelf the caribou had last been seen bedded down on. As we worked our way up, the one landmark we had used as reference point was actually a 25 foot near vertical rock wall. I’m not sure how we made it up that so quickly and easily but the caribou was bedded about 120 yards beyond that. Once up that we stayed on our bellies at it was a flat shelf with little cover. We searched for antlers poking outa the short grass for what seemed forever until he finally stood up directly in front of us. I Center Ed the crosshairs on him but he was looking directly at me. Then he turned to walk away and I let er rip. After the shot I lost him in the scope. I started to panic as we searched around but no sign of him anywhere. Finally Rasmus spotted 1 time sticking up from a small depression right where I shot. He was down right were I’d shot and had fell into a small hollow behind him. Hugs and high fives all around as we made our way to the animal. My hunt was complete!
Can’t say enough about the experience and the people. Rasmus and Markus were awesome. The camp was exactly what you would expect from a spike camp. The food I found to be excellent camp eats. Met some great hunters who I hope to stay in contact with in the future. Cheers!

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Day 3 we got up early and had a hearty breakfast, packed our lunch and set off in search of caribou. It was dark still when we left camp. It had snowed overnight and everything was wet and cold but it did t take long to get warmed up. After a few miles of hiking I realized how outa shape I was and the Muskox hunt had drained me. But we pushed on through some absolutely beautiful country. We say Artic Hares and Arctic Fox along the way as well as a few scattered Muskox herds in the distance. We would hike along the various creeks and low ground and pop up on some elevated slopes to glass for caribou. The first few caribou were to small but around 11 o clock we spotted a nice bull bedded down across a valley about 2 miles away. We decided to make the stalk on him. It took some time to make our way there and just prayed he was still bedded by the time we got there. Since Martin got the first shot on the Muskox he let me have first crack at a Caribou. We made it across the valley and started our way up to the shelf the caribou had last been seen bedded down on. As we worked our way up, the one landmark we had used as reference point was actually a 25 foot near vertical rock wall. I’m not sure how we made it up that so quickly and easily but the caribou was bedded about 120 yards beyond that. Once up that we stayed on our bellies at it was a flat shelf with little cover. We searched for antlers poking outa the short grass for what seemed forever until he finally stood up directly in front of us. I Center Ed the crosshairs on him but he was looking directly at me. Then he turned to walk away and I let er rip. After the shot I lost him in the scope. I started to panic as we searched around but no sign of him anywhere. Finally Rasmus spotted 1 time sticking up from a small depression right where I shot. He was down right were I’d shot and had fell into a small hollow behind him. Hugs and high fives all around as we made our way to the animal. My hunt was complete!
Can’t say enough about the experience and the people. Rasmus and Markus were awesome. The camp was exactly what you would expect from a spike camp. The food I found to be excellent camp eats. Met some great hunters who I hope to stay in contact with in the future. Cheers!

Shame about your rifle, but it sounds like you had a great hunt. Thanks for sharing.

Doug

 

[K-man]

Congrats on a fine hunt! I relived my hunt last September with the same outfit. One hunter got his muskox on the way in, we had spotted it and were making a stalk when we saw the first group in front of us. Rasmus is a great guide. FYI, I just received my trophies this last week from Copenhagen, all in perfect condition.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Congrats on 2 great trophies. This makes me want to do this hunt even more.

 

[ryno111]

Had a great hunt with Erik and his crew. Flew into Nuuk from Iqaluit with Canada North and then on to Kangerlusq with Air Greenland. Had to over night 2 nights in Nuuk to make everything work. Nuuk was very interesting and lots to see. Some great places to eat as well.
Once in Kangerlussuaq,Erik met me at the airport and took me to his hostil, An old army barracks. Nice staging area to get to know everyone. I would be hunting with 2 guys from Quebec and 1 from Germany. My hunting partner would be Martin from Germany. The three of them had arrived a day earlier on a flight from Copenhagen. After a couple hours we met out guides. Martin and I were paired up with Rasmus and Markus. There was only room for 2 hunters at a time to transport into camp and after a dramatic game of Rock,Scissors, Paper, Martin and I were first to head in. About an hour or so drive on a gravel road found us at the base of a glacier and a long glacial lake. We unloaded our gear and into a small open boat and struck out across the lake. an hour boat ride and we found our camp, Spartan as it was. Again we unloaded our gear and supplies. Since we were first in to camp and this was the first hunt of the year, we spent some time setting things up and unpacking before deciding it was time to site in my rifle. Martin was renting a nice Blaser 30-06 while I had brought my Fierce Rage 300 WSM. I spent hours of time developing loads and range time so I would be prepared for this particular hunt. First shot was dead on to my delight after so much travel. I cycled the bolt and no case ejected. I check Ed the chamber and case was still in there. Pulled the bolt out and noticed the ejector had broke. Not impressed. My rifle that I had lugged all the way from home was now useless. No other rifle was brought it to camp so it looked like I’d need to share the Blaser with Martin. Anyway no sense grousing about it and just make the best of things. The plan then was to have a rest and wait for the other hunters to make their way in. While we were resting our guide came in And said he had spotted 3 very nice Muskox bulls “Close” to camp. So we quickly packed up and struck out as it was getting to be late in the day. They were around 2.5 miles away by the way the crow flys but because of the wind and terrain I think we walked about 5 miles. We were getting close but there wasn’t much for cover so we needed to crawl the last 100 yards. Now we were 260 yards out and had a good shooting position so it was decided that Martin take the first shot and if there was an opportunity I’d take the second. Rasmus told us that rarely do they go down with the first shot and not to pass the rifle until there’s at least 2 good shots into the bull. At the sound of the shot Martin’s bull collapsed and didn’t move, much to everyone’s delight. The other 2 bulls were confused and milled around, unsure of were the shot had come from. Martin Quickly passed me the rifle and I took aim at another bull. He was slightly quartered to me but Inhad a good shot and the bull dropped. A moment later he stood up again giving me a perfect broadside shot. The second shot hit and broke his shoulder and dropped again but staggered to his feet. A quick reload and I sent a third and probably unnecessary shot and he crumpled. And didn’t try getting up again. Overjoyed, we celebrated and waited for the third bull to clear out. As we started our approach, the third bull became agitated and made a couple of false charges at us, before making a full charge and just veared off at the last moment. Had to check our shorts after that one.
A few pictures and more celebrations and then the work began. It was getting late so we decided that we would need to cache the Muskox and finish packing them out the next day. It was midnight by the time we had finished our work by headlamps and hiked back into camp. I don’t remember having supper or going to bed as we were completely spent. The next day, we slept in a bit before getting up and setting off to finish packing out our trophies. Day 3 would be the beginning of our caribou hunt.

View attachment 725819

Excellent pics. What time of year did you hunt?

 

[Kalthoff]

I hunted with Erik Lomholt this Autumn, in the Kangerlussuaq area of Greenland.

The hunt took place just west of the inland ice. The camp had a clear view of the Russell Glacier

Erik has wast experience hunting, fishing and dog sledding in the area. His employees are dedicated and skilled in their their chosen craft. They all made very pleasant company.

We were four hunters in camp. Each of us got what we came for, and more.

The caribou rut was in full swing, the bulls were running all the time, trying their very best to lay claim to as many prime females as possible. Often while two bulls were battling, a third bull took possession of their females and lead them to the other side of the valley, only to be chased down by one of the battling bulls, once they realized what was up, then another battle began.

The constant movement and many many many alert animals all around us, combined with the almost barren ground offering little opportunity for concealment, made for challenging stalks.

The guides showed their competence, by planning and executing very successful stalks in these challenging conditions. Without them, we would have returned empty handed.

As a hunter you need to be able to walk all day in a hilly terrain, crawl for long distances on your belly with your rifle and carry your share of the meat, hides and skulls back to camp.

Two caribou required 300 meter shots, the others were closer.

After the caribou were accounted for, we did some small game hunting and went for an excursion to the foot of the Russell Glacier

 

[Wade J VanGinkel]

I was surprised even in the winter with snowmobiles we stalked nearly 2 miles after spotting the muskox. But no having to carry anything after the kill other than sliding them down the hill to the sleds.
All the group was great and Rasmus went above and beyond trying to get me into some ptarmigan but just didn't happen.
But went fishing 2x and a beautiful white fox as well.

 

[Downandlow]

Ryno-we hunted the first week of October. The Caribou were just starting the rut.

Kalthoff- looks like we hunted the place. You must have come in after me. What a great place to hunt. I hope to come back again, this time with my son in tow, and with me in much better shape physically!

 

[Russ16]

What were the temps on this hunt?

 

[Downandlow]

What were the temps on this hunt?

-10 C at night. 0C daytime.

 

[ftothfadd]

Fantastic reports. It whet my appetite for a hunt next year. Can you tell me a little bit more detail about the flight schedules? I will most likely leave from Minneapolis and try to make it with the least amount of layovers at a reasonable cost. Also, all the reports sounds fantastic, but if you could provide a couple outfits and contact information, you had great experience with I would be very thankful

 

[Downandlow]

Fantastic reports. It whet my appetite for a hunt next year. Can you tell me a little bit more detail about the flight schedules? I will most likely leave from Minneapolis and try to make it with the least amount of layovers at a reasonable cost. Also, all the reports sounds fantastic, but if you could provide a couple outfits and contact information, you had great experience with I would be very thankful

Greenland Trophy Hunts. Check out their website
Erik is a very straight forward no non- sense kinda guy. Don’t let that intimidate you. Be prepared for a physical hunt if going in summer or fall. Sounds like the winter hunts on snowmobile are less demanding.

I flew from Canada. The most direct from there or northern states like yourself would be from Ottawa to Iqualuit to Nuuk and then to Kangerlusq. There’s only 1 flight a week so that makes it tricky business. The other
Options are through Iceland( but you can’t take rifles through there) or the most common is through Copenhagen which is expensive and lengthy. There’s a flight outa Newark I beleive to Nuuk as well but it sounds like that one has had lots of issues so not recommended.
My recommendation is just go and make it happen. You never know when life will change and you can’t do those things you always had intended on doing later

 

[ftothfadd]

Greenland Trophy Hunts. Check out their website
Erik is a very straight forward no non- sense kinda guy. Don’t let that intimidate you. Be prepared for a physical hunt if going in summer or fall. Sounds like the winter hunts on snowmobile are less demanding.

I flew from Canada. The most direct from there or northern states like yourself would be from Ottawa to Iqualuit to Nuuk and then to Kangerlusq. There’s only 1 flight a week so that makes it tricky business. The other
Options are through Iceland( but you can’t take rifles through there) or the most common is through Copenhagen which is expensive and lengthy. There’s a flight outa Newark I beleive to Nuuk as well but it sounds like that one has had lots of issues so not recommended.
My recommendation is just go and make it happen. You never know when life will change and you can’t do those things you always had intended on doing later

Thank you for the excellent advice. I’d like to believe that I’m in exquisite physical shape so that should not be a problem. I’m also contemplating doing this hunt with a bow. What are your impressions of the feasibility? Also if it is not too strange to ask, could you tell me in a PM what kind of cost I should expect? Thank you.

 

[K-man]

Thank you for the excellent advice. I’d like to believe that I’m in exquisite physical shape so that should not be a problem. I’m also contemplating doing this hunt with a bow. What are your impressions of the feasibility? Also if it is not too strange to ask, could you tell me in a PM what kind of cost I should expect? Thank you.

Having hunted there with Eric last September, you will have a lot of failed stalks before you would be successful bow hunting muskox. There is simply no cover except for the rolling hills. Simple to get within 100 to 150 yards, but within 40 would be extremely lucky. I shot my caribou for camp meat ( not trophy) at 75 yds, my muskox at 100. I would probably book a couple extra days for a bowhunt.

 

[grand veneur]

Interesting all this posts, because I have also hunted in Greenland several times. It seems that hunting is now only permitted in the Kangerlussuaq area. Some of the game there was introduced, however, as muskox were never there in the past and caribou were near to the extinction in this area in 1984, when I was the only one in a group of four hunters to bag a caribou with a very mediocre trophy. In contrast, the original muskox population in the northeast was well-preserved, but the caribou population of this area was extinct since the beginning of the 20th century. Skeletons of caribou were still lying in the tundra around Mesters Vig.

 

[Kalthoff]

Interesting all this posts, because I have also hunted in Greenland several times. It seems that hunting is now only permitted in the Kangerlussuaq area. Some of the game there was introduced, however, as muskox were never there in the past

The Muskoxen in the Kangerlussuaq area are indeed not native to the area. They were introduced in the 1960'ties, with animals moved from Nort-East Greenland.

In the Kangerlussuaq area the Caribou are of the species "Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus" which has been native to the area since ancient times. The size of the population has fluctuated over time with the weather, disease and overgrazing due to overpopulation.

Commercial trophy hunting for Caribou is also available to foreigners in the Nuuk area. However be aware that the genetics of the wild Caribou in that area have been mixed with Lapland reeindeer "Rangifer tarandus tarandus" imported from Norway as livestock.

 

[Wade J VanGinkel]

I believe you can still hunt the other areas but hunting from kangerlussuaq is far cheaper. I hunted this last March but booked 2 years previously and was fortunate in that i only paid $4,250 for my hunt. Same time frame booking now is closer to 6k.

Also as far as booking extra days, at least with Erik it wasn't possible. I inquired but he said due to the strict schedule with other hunters coming in it wasn't possible.

If you're flying in early make sure you have some DKK cash in your pocket. It's the only way to ride the local bus. And the guides prefer it to Euros for tips. It was easy to get from my bank before the trip.