Tom Leoni
AH fanatic
I've always had a longing for remote and deserted places. Modern Western Man, living in congested, overcrowded spaces and complacent with all the conveniences that civilization and technology bring, can sometimes envy Natural Man, with his feeling of isolation and awe of nature--a nature that overwhelms him and that can be both a nurturing mother and a merciless enemy. In the Summer of last year, I was feeling this duality in a particularly strong way and decided to do something about it. But where does one go to at least have the illusion of how small we truly are compared to the world we live in? Without breaking the bank, that is.
I've also had a lifelong attraction for the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the Earth. This started when I was a kid, looking at the globe that my parents bought me, and invariably turning it so that I could see those sections that somehow weren't colored like the others, but where all white and sparsely lettered. So one evening I decided to hop on bookyourhunt and find a Greenland outfitter for a muskox hunt, a hunt that I would do in the cold months to get the full effect of what it feels like to be in the Arctic circle. I found Trophy Hunting Greenland. The price was right, they had one spot available for March 2024 and, after getting a reference from a gentleman here on Africa Hunting, I booked.
Northern lights seen from Kangerlussuaq on my first night in Greenland.
Upon researching the conditions, I knew I had to be prepared for some rather low temperatures. In that period, the mercury can hover around zero at night and stay well below freezing during the day. So the fun started when I began assembling my gear. Save for the boots (as I like to say, the ladies love a man with all ten toes), I decided to do this hunt in 100% natural and traditional gear. I settled for merino base layer and long johns, wool breeks, US model 1885 wool shirt, a thick Tyrolean wool vest and a wonderful, truly toasty hooded anorak from Boreal Mountain in Canada. Thin wool goves and a pair of long-cuffed beaver mittens strapped around my neck for easy on/off would take care of my hands, while a visored beaver hat over a merino beanie would keep my noggin nice and toasty. The boots? A pair of Muck Arctic Sport rated for minus 40 and with a nice aggressive sole for hiking on snow and rock.
Which rifle to take was a no-brainer. My Holland & Holland singe shot .375 Flanged is turning 99 this year, and everything I've ever hit with it falls and dies, so I saw no reason to even give it a second thought.
My rifle and backpack as I took a break during a hike in the hills near the fjord.
Importing the rifle to Greenland was not a problem. All I needed was my stamped 4457 form as proof of ownership, which took care of the formalities both in Denmark (the layover country) and Greenland. With me also came 40 rounds of .375 loaded with 270gr Speer boat-tail spitzers atop 68 grains of RL 15--a load that is both mild and deadly and that has given me excellent results on three continents.
PART 1 - TRAVEL AND READYING FOR THE HUNT
Getting there was uneventful. An evening flight from Washington Dulles to Copenhagen landed me in Denmark in the early morning of March 26, and I had a whole day to visit that interesting city and take a boat tour of its historic center.
Copenhagen's picturesque Nyhavn quarter and canals.
The day after, a big, and unexpectedly full plane took me to Kangerlussuaq, in the center-West part of Greenland. Upon arrival, the weather was cold and overcast, giving me a first dramatic impression of the new environment. Empty, frozen spaces as far as the eye can see--just like I had imagined them!
A first-day hike in Kangerlussuaq, shortly after arriving.
I spent a couple pre-hunt days acclimating, hunting for Northern lights and hiking Black Ridge mountain, atop of which I got a good bird's-eye view of the "metropolis" below, which consists mainly of the airport and Denmark's Arctic military commando post.
The town of Kangerlussuaq as seen from the top of Black Ridge mountain. Yep, that's it: that's the whole town.
Finally, on Friday I met my host and the rest of the hunting party. It felt like the beginning of a joke: a German, an Irishman and a guy from Seattle walk into a hunting lodge... As it turned out, Oliver, Brian and Josh were a pleasure to hunt and hang out with and conversation in the remote hunting cabin was interesting and never flagged. Also there were the two guides--Martin (from the Czech Republic) and Rasmus, from Denmark, whom we nicknamed "The Codfather" after the large fish tattooed on his forearm. Naturally, Erik the outfitter was also there, to ensure that the whole experience would be run like a tight ship. We took several sleds to the launching spot, hooked them to ATVs and off we went for a 30-mile ride on the Fjord towards the remote hunting cabin.
The rest of the party (mostly): Martin, Erik, Brian, Rasmus and Josh around the ATVs and sleds that brought us from town to camp.
The 1-hour ATV ride from town to camp, over the frozen Kangerlussuaq Fjord.
The last order of business was to sight in the rifles. I was the only one who brought his own--the other hunters used Erik's Tikka T3 Synthetic rifles in .30-06, loaded with 150gr Hornady Superformance. The targets consisted of two small pieces of plywood with drawn-on crosses, placed on the ice at 200 yards. We shot from a rock, to mimic the most likely conditions we would find on the hunt. As I had expected, my .375 didn't require any adjustments--which is reason number 1,000 why I simply love that rifle.
"The Codfather" after setting up the targets.
Oliver, our German buddy, driving tacks at 200 yards while sighting in the Tikka.
End of part 1--next part, the hunt!
I've also had a lifelong attraction for the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the Earth. This started when I was a kid, looking at the globe that my parents bought me, and invariably turning it so that I could see those sections that somehow weren't colored like the others, but where all white and sparsely lettered. So one evening I decided to hop on bookyourhunt and find a Greenland outfitter for a muskox hunt, a hunt that I would do in the cold months to get the full effect of what it feels like to be in the Arctic circle. I found Trophy Hunting Greenland. The price was right, they had one spot available for March 2024 and, after getting a reference from a gentleman here on Africa Hunting, I booked.
Northern lights seen from Kangerlussuaq on my first night in Greenland.
Upon researching the conditions, I knew I had to be prepared for some rather low temperatures. In that period, the mercury can hover around zero at night and stay well below freezing during the day. So the fun started when I began assembling my gear. Save for the boots (as I like to say, the ladies love a man with all ten toes), I decided to do this hunt in 100% natural and traditional gear. I settled for merino base layer and long johns, wool breeks, US model 1885 wool shirt, a thick Tyrolean wool vest and a wonderful, truly toasty hooded anorak from Boreal Mountain in Canada. Thin wool goves and a pair of long-cuffed beaver mittens strapped around my neck for easy on/off would take care of my hands, while a visored beaver hat over a merino beanie would keep my noggin nice and toasty. The boots? A pair of Muck Arctic Sport rated for minus 40 and with a nice aggressive sole for hiking on snow and rock.
Which rifle to take was a no-brainer. My Holland & Holland singe shot .375 Flanged is turning 99 this year, and everything I've ever hit with it falls and dies, so I saw no reason to even give it a second thought.
My rifle and backpack as I took a break during a hike in the hills near the fjord.
Importing the rifle to Greenland was not a problem. All I needed was my stamped 4457 form as proof of ownership, which took care of the formalities both in Denmark (the layover country) and Greenland. With me also came 40 rounds of .375 loaded with 270gr Speer boat-tail spitzers atop 68 grains of RL 15--a load that is both mild and deadly and that has given me excellent results on three continents.
PART 1 - TRAVEL AND READYING FOR THE HUNT
Getting there was uneventful. An evening flight from Washington Dulles to Copenhagen landed me in Denmark in the early morning of March 26, and I had a whole day to visit that interesting city and take a boat tour of its historic center.
Copenhagen's picturesque Nyhavn quarter and canals.
The day after, a big, and unexpectedly full plane took me to Kangerlussuaq, in the center-West part of Greenland. Upon arrival, the weather was cold and overcast, giving me a first dramatic impression of the new environment. Empty, frozen spaces as far as the eye can see--just like I had imagined them!
A first-day hike in Kangerlussuaq, shortly after arriving.
I spent a couple pre-hunt days acclimating, hunting for Northern lights and hiking Black Ridge mountain, atop of which I got a good bird's-eye view of the "metropolis" below, which consists mainly of the airport and Denmark's Arctic military commando post.
The town of Kangerlussuaq as seen from the top of Black Ridge mountain. Yep, that's it: that's the whole town.
Finally, on Friday I met my host and the rest of the hunting party. It felt like the beginning of a joke: a German, an Irishman and a guy from Seattle walk into a hunting lodge... As it turned out, Oliver, Brian and Josh were a pleasure to hunt and hang out with and conversation in the remote hunting cabin was interesting and never flagged. Also there were the two guides--Martin (from the Czech Republic) and Rasmus, from Denmark, whom we nicknamed "The Codfather" after the large fish tattooed on his forearm. Naturally, Erik the outfitter was also there, to ensure that the whole experience would be run like a tight ship. We took several sleds to the launching spot, hooked them to ATVs and off we went for a 30-mile ride on the Fjord towards the remote hunting cabin.
The rest of the party (mostly): Martin, Erik, Brian, Rasmus and Josh around the ATVs and sleds that brought us from town to camp.
The 1-hour ATV ride from town to camp, over the frozen Kangerlussuaq Fjord.
The last order of business was to sight in the rifles. I was the only one who brought his own--the other hunters used Erik's Tikka T3 Synthetic rifles in .30-06, loaded with 150gr Hornady Superformance. The targets consisted of two small pieces of plywood with drawn-on crosses, placed on the ice at 200 yards. We shot from a rock, to mimic the most likely conditions we would find on the hunt. As I had expected, my .375 didn't require any adjustments--which is reason number 1,000 why I simply love that rifle.
End of part 1--next part, the hunt!
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