CANADA: Off To Nunavut For Arctic Island Caribou & Barren Ground Muskox

This started out to be a hunt report but quickly became a shit show.

I checked in with Air Canada in San Antonio for my flight to Edmonton then on to Taloyoak then next day. Everything went smooth and had a nice flight to Toronto.

Once in Toronto I waited at baggage claim of course my rifle made it but not my duffle with clothes, gear and ammo. No where to be found!

The RCMP that did my rifle permit were beyond courteous. They consistently are the best folks I deal with when traveling abroad with a firearm.

One agent spent the better part of a half hour trying to find my bag to no avail.

Next on to Air Canada to recheck my rifle bag for Edmonton. The customer service lady proceeded to tell me I could not travel any further from that point without my bag! She said since I am transporting ammo I must travel with the bag that they lost it.

She called in a supervisor and he came and made some calls then they rebooked me and my rifle on a later flight to Edmonton. I am holding hope the bag went on my original flight and will be in Edmonton when I get there. Otherwise I will delay my hunt by a day and go to Bass Pro and buy ammo and clothes.

While sitting in the Maple Leaf Lounge enjoying a Crown on the rocks, my neighbor texted me and said my boathouse had broken loose and floating out into the lake I live on!

I scrambled to find help,

Fortunately my son lives an hour away but when I finally reached him he was broke down on the side of the road with a trailer full of equipment!

When it rains it pours.

I started running down my call list and found a friend to go pull the boathouse back and tie it off. The only upside is with daytime temps at 100+ a swim in the lake will be refreshing.

More tomorrow, praying for a positive outcome.

Interesting start so far, hopefully it goes better for you once the hunt starts.

Yeah, that’s a heck a start. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Sorry to heat of all these mishaps! Hopefully all will be sorted out!

Btw, your hunt is very interesting.

Question:
Hunting at high north in this time of year: what equipment, gear and clothes did you prepare for the trip?.

Temps should be in the 40’s to 50’s with a daily chance is rain.

I packed wool long underwear, basic pant and shirt with Sitka layers and rain gear.

Mid flight I got a text a bag was unloaded in Edmonton. I’m hoping it’s the missing bag that traveled on my original flight.

Here's hoping. Good luck.

Well things took a change for the better, both my bags made it to Edmonton and I got to the hotel by 11.

Up at 5 this morning to get to the airport and check in for my flight to Taloyoak.
Getting to the Arctic takes two days from Texas and today I will have 7+ hours of travel in and out of airports.

I organized the hunt through Canadian High Arctic Adventures. Gary and Dana Adams were helpful and attentive through the process. Once I arrive in Taloyoak I will be met by their local guide and taken to a hotel for the night.

The hunt will start tomorrow and I am anxious to get out on the tundra! The weather forecast is for daytime temps in the 50’s with rain probable.

Good luck, hopefully you haven't gotten all of the mishaps out of the way!!

Your trip will only be better from now on ! Got the bad out of the way !

Glad it worked out with all your gear being in Edmonton. Hope you have a great hunt. I look forward to reading all about it. Thanks for sharing.

I arrived Yellowknife just after 9 and my next flight leaves at 11. A tiny airport with not much to offer I kicked back and did a bit of reading.

My last time through this airport was 2007 when coming tone from my polar bear hunt on Banks Island. This mount was in the airport 19 years ago.


After two more stops in small villages, we finally arrived in Taloyoak. I was seated next to another hunter on the plane named Paul from Iowa. It turns out we’re hunting with the same Outfitter, so most likely will be teamed up with him for the next week.

I walked out the front door of the airport as people approached and a mid 30s gentleman walked up and asked if I was Paul or John. It was David our Guide and his wife Sheila. We exchanged pleasantries and waited for the luggage. David said we would be headed straight to camp today.

After a short stop at his house to change clothes we got on the ATVs for our 1.5 hour trip to camp. We arrived a couple of hours before sunset, settled in and had a Mountain House freeze dried meal for dinner.


Camp was basic, a big tent for me and Paul and a little cabin on skids David and his wife that he uses on Polar Bear hunts.

I turned in around 9:30 and quickly fell asleep.

You made it!

I looked on Google maps where Taloyoak is located, about 750 miles northeast of Yellowknife. That is remote!

Day 1

We woke up to daylight about 4:30 and started the stove to make coffee. The wind had picked up dramatically overnight and light rain showers started to fall.

Once there was a break in the weather, we loaded up the ATV’s and went in search of caribou.

The trail in the valley was fairly smooth but once we got into the higher country it became more rough and rocky making travel slow.

We made our way to a high hill where we glassed for a while. The wind was howling with gusts up to 30 mph.

I am hooked already!

After a bit we moved on to another hill overlooking a huge valley and glassed again. We repeated this several times throughout the day.

Around one David asked if we wanted lunch so we stopped for a bit and had a light snack of jerky, cheese, crackers and protein bars.

After lunch we carried on deeper into the hills, glassing and glassing. Somewhere later in the day Sheila spotted some Musk Ox across a small river. We rode down and looked over several places but could not find shallow enough water to cross.

Around three David said we should start back towards camp. The wind has slowed down quite a bit but the occasional shower would fall.

We got to the inlet on the lake where David keeps his boat and the water was as smooth as glass. Sheila said “let’s take out the boat”. She went on to camp to fetch more gas while we loaded our gear into the 18’ aluminum boat.


It was about 5:45 and David said we have 3 hours of light left and off we went.

He ran at a pretty good speed for about 45 minutes then turned towards the shore and drove parallel.

Within a few minutes Sheila spotted a caribou on the shoreline and David dropped the throttle on the boat. Before the boat came to a stop Sheila was glassing and said “big bull”.

We were about 800 yards so David turned the boat and headed slowly towards the shore.

He drove about a half mile downwind from the bull that was grazing contently and beached the boat.

We got out and walked along the waters edge using the rise of terrain to shield our approach. The shoreline was slightly undulating and we lost our cover at about 400 yards. The bull was still grazing and hadn’t moved much. I wanted to approach closer for a shot so we moved carefully whenever his head was down.

Once we got to about 250 yards he noticed something was out of place and became more alert.

I deployed the bipod and used my pack to steady the back of the rifle and ranged him at 256. I settled in and squeezed the trigger and the bull dropped.



Handshakes and happiness ensued for our success as we approached the downed bull.

David and Sheila made short time of it, gutting, skinning and cutting the caribou up to pack out in 18 minutes!



It was an easy 100 yard haul to the boat and we were back on our way.

We cruised the shoreline looking for another bull until the sun started to set.

We got back to the ATVs with plenty of light and loaded up and drove to camp.

I was exhausted but elated. After 50+ miles on an ATV, a couple of hours on a boat the 12 hour day seemed all worth it!

Day 2

I slept hard and didn’t wake until I smelled the coffee. It was a little after 6 and David said we would leave in an hour.

The plan today was to take the boat to the other side of the river where he had some ATVs parked and we would hunt a different area.

We spent the day riding and glassing, much like the day before. The sky cleared out and it was a beautiful day with winds down to about 10 mph.

The vastness of the area was impressive. We came across some rocks in a circle and David said they were tent rings from more than a century ago. He said the local people traveled great distances and hunted. They used tents similar to a teepee made from seal skin. It is hard to imagine how they survived in such a harsh environment. Hunting and fishing are still the center of their lives as they harvest caribou, musk ox, ducks, geese and fish for their family all year long to survive.

We carried on through the day and traveled over 50 miles again sighting 21 caribou counting bulls, cows and calves but none mature enough to harvest.

Back to camp about sunset and we had caribou stew for dinner then called it a night.


Tomorrow we will break camp and head to a new area where we will hunt musk ox and caribou.

Day 3

I awoke to a weather change, wind and rain blew in overnight. David fired up the stove and we had coffee. He said we would wait for a break in the weather then head to town. We will be staying in a guest house for the remainder of the hunt since we will be hunting to the Northwest of town.

The rain stopped and we packed up in about an hour and hit the trail. We got to town about 12:30. A nice, comfortable house, I enjoyed sleeping on a bed instead of the ground!

After a shower and lunch I caught up emails then took a nap.

We will head North tomorrow in search of Musk Ox.

Day 4

David picked us up about 7 and off we went. The weather wasn’t great with a low cloud ceiling and gusty winds. It took about 2 hours to get into the property habitat and we started the routine of glassing. We rode to high points, glassed the rocks and ridges in search of Musk Ox.

This method was repeated countless times through the day with no success. We all speculated that with the high wind and light rain the Musk Ox must be tucked in a valley somewhere.

We stopped for lunch about 1 the carried on doing the same.

The weather never improved and by 3 we had covered most of the area. David said we would head back and prepare for a long trek tomorrow. He said there is another area 5 hours to the Northwest where he generally finds Musk Ox.

The constant rocking and bouncing on the ATV wore me out. I had dinner, read a bit then called it a night. Tomorrow is the last day so I’m prepared for it to be a long one.