Jeffrey Masters
AH veteran
This report truly started almost 2 years ago. My brother wanted to hunt Caribou, and the Musk ox has always been a bucket list type of hunt for me. Something I never thought I would be able to do. Our search for an outfitter ended with Lings. From every report I read, and every person I talked to personally, there was not one bad experience. That is rare, as there is most always someone who was not happy with an outfitter. We booked almost 18 months out from our hunt date, and started the long wait. Travel arrangements are difficult to Greenland, no way around it, but I have always booked my own, and I saw no reason to do it differently. The direct flight from New York to Nuuk ends in mid September, so that option was out. We booked flights with SAS/Delta to Copenhagen, and were fortunate to get flights from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq because the airport in Kangerlussuaq is no longer the main airport. Most flights go to Nuuk, and then on to the smaller airport. We left the US on September 17th, arrived in Copenhagen on the 18th. Flew on to Kangerlussuaq on the 19th. The original plan was to go straight to camp via helicopter, but because we had expressed interest in fishing, they had us wait and join 3 hunters coming out of camp to fish the next day. We met Karsten's wife, and a family friend, Nunu, who was going to camp to help out, and took off to visit the ice pack about an hour from town. We stayed the first night in a house in town and fished all day the next day. Three of us fished for Cod from the boat, and two hunters fished for Grayling in a river. We left the boat that afternoon with over 50 lbs of cleaned cod, and another 25 of grayling. Mrs. Lings cooked an incredible meal from the fish, and we enjoy a great evening listening to the guys that had finished their hunting. We flew to the3 hunting camp the next day by helicopter which was awesome in itself. We got settled into camp, met all the hunters and guides and tried to get a handle on where we were and how incredible and wild Greenland is. Karsten's daughter spotted a herd of musk ox about 1.5 miles across a lake, so we quickly gathered what we needed and took off. I was first up, and after a brisk stalk, we located the herd and crawled to within 100 yards. I was using a Sako 300 Winmag, was blessed to harvest a really old bull. I have told Karsten that if possible, I wanted a really old bull. Karsten guessed this one at 14-16. I have no idea, but I will trust his experience. The bull had a herd of 15 cows with him, and three calves, so I guess he was still getting the job done. As soon as my bull had dropped, I handed the gun to Nunu, and she took a cow for camp meat.
We had little more than taken a few pictures when we spotted another group of musk ox about a half mile away. My brother and his guide put on a stalk, and my brother was successful as well with a nice old musk ox of his own! The evening was a great one with lots to talk about, and some incredible food. That night, some snow blew in and we rose to a couple of inches on the ground, and a very cold and wet snowfall to hunt in. We walked all day, late into the afternoon, and covered 12 miles or so, according to the guides watch. we saw a few caribou, but were not able to get it done. We were exhausted when we got back and were happy to eat and get some rest. The following day was our last full day of hunting so we worked hard covering a lot of miles to find a caribou. For some reason, all of the caribou had moved and there were few to be found. The hunters that were leaving camp as we arrived told us story after story about the incredible numbers of animals they saw, so it was hard to understand why we were seeing so few. Thankfully, about 7 miles into our hunt, we found a group of three caribou sleeping beside a lake. There was literally nothing to cover us as we stalked in, so we walked around a small hill, and took cover walking almost in the lake to avoid being seen. Made it to 248 meters, got prone, and was blessed to harvest my caribou. I was thrilled to say the least.
We were scheduled to fly out the next day at 2pm, so the rest of the time was spent in good conversation with our fellow hunters, and enjoying more incredible cooking by Karstens Daughter, Vivi. Hunting camp has always proven to be a place to meet some of the best people, and this camp was no exception. From uber-wealthy industrialists, to financial advisors, from lumber barons and professional nuisance trappers, to the GG Grandson of a president, we enjoyed our time with them all. As I mentioned at first, we chose Lings because we had not found anyone who had a bad word to say about them, or the experience they provide. I feel exactly the same. The hunting was great, the camp was comfortable and well constructed. The food was incredible and always plentiful. The guides were all very pleasant to be around, accommodating, and worked extremely hard to give us a great experience, from waking us up to see northern lights, to working long and hard to find us animals that met not just our expectations, but their own. My guide Adam Kjeldsen, seen above, worked as hard as anyone could ask to make sure I had a great experience, and I am grateful! Karsten and all of the staff did whatever it took to give all the guests the same.
We left camp at 2:15PM to get to the airport for a 4:30 flight back to Copenhagen. When we got to the airport, I get a text from Greenland Air, that our flight was cancelled and we would not fly out until 4 days later. Conveniently, there is no Greenland air office at the Kangerlussuaq airport, and they would not answer the phone when we tried to call. We spent the next 4 hours trying to find some way of getting back to Copenhagen, but to no avail. There were not other flights with room, no boat charters, a private helicopter would have been in the thousands. Thankfully, Greenland air provided a room and meal vouchers, but that was it. The hotel had no TV, and the town has 400 people in it. It was a boring 4 days. Mrs. Lings was a gem, as she let us use one of their spare trucks, so we could at least drive around the few miles of roads near the town. She had us over a couple of times for meals because she felt sorry for us, and worke3d very hard to try and find alternative transportation.
To sum it up:
Pro:
Awesome people, From the top down, they are a team, and they appreciated us being there.
Great camp, comfortable, warm, pleasant and convivial.
Great food, from lasagna to spaghetti, fish stew, and crab legs. The food was delicious and plentiful.
Quality animals, The age of the animals made me feel like that do their best to conserve the resource they have, and make sure it is there far years to come.
Con:
I don't know that I can say it is a con, but i really underestimated the terrain. I walked quite a bit prior to going, but walking on a hard surface without much incline just did not prepare me for the elevation change we would have to walk, and the incredibly crappy walking surfaces. You are either walking through heather so thick you have to fight your way through, tundra that you sink 6 inches in every step like one continuous stairmaster, or on tussocks of grass. The tussocks are like walking on softballs spaced about 3 inches apart so you have to watch each step to not roll an ankle.
This was a definite bucket list trip for me. The musk ox is something I have wanted to hunt all my life. I just never dreamed I would get to experience the thrill of taking an animal that has survived since the stone age. I cannot say enough about Lings either. I have had the pleasure of several really good outfitters, and had a few that were really disappointing and made the whole experience a bad one. Lings was the best I have hunted with to date. They are some of the hardest working humans I have ever met, and greeted each job with a smile. I truly feel like I have made several new friendships, and that is saying a lot. I think I covered everything, and I hope I didn't run on or get too boring. I could talk about this trip forever if someone doesn't stop me. Any question, please ask. I will tell you everything I can, and tell you the truth.
We had little more than taken a few pictures when we spotted another group of musk ox about a half mile away. My brother and his guide put on a stalk, and my brother was successful as well with a nice old musk ox of his own! The evening was a great one with lots to talk about, and some incredible food. That night, some snow blew in and we rose to a couple of inches on the ground, and a very cold and wet snowfall to hunt in. We walked all day, late into the afternoon, and covered 12 miles or so, according to the guides watch. we saw a few caribou, but were not able to get it done. We were exhausted when we got back and were happy to eat and get some rest. The following day was our last full day of hunting so we worked hard covering a lot of miles to find a caribou. For some reason, all of the caribou had moved and there were few to be found. The hunters that were leaving camp as we arrived told us story after story about the incredible numbers of animals they saw, so it was hard to understand why we were seeing so few. Thankfully, about 7 miles into our hunt, we found a group of three caribou sleeping beside a lake. There was literally nothing to cover us as we stalked in, so we walked around a small hill, and took cover walking almost in the lake to avoid being seen. Made it to 248 meters, got prone, and was blessed to harvest my caribou. I was thrilled to say the least.
We were scheduled to fly out the next day at 2pm, so the rest of the time was spent in good conversation with our fellow hunters, and enjoying more incredible cooking by Karstens Daughter, Vivi. Hunting camp has always proven to be a place to meet some of the best people, and this camp was no exception. From uber-wealthy industrialists, to financial advisors, from lumber barons and professional nuisance trappers, to the GG Grandson of a president, we enjoyed our time with them all. As I mentioned at first, we chose Lings because we had not found anyone who had a bad word to say about them, or the experience they provide. I feel exactly the same. The hunting was great, the camp was comfortable and well constructed. The food was incredible and always plentiful. The guides were all very pleasant to be around, accommodating, and worked extremely hard to give us a great experience, from waking us up to see northern lights, to working long and hard to find us animals that met not just our expectations, but their own. My guide Adam Kjeldsen, seen above, worked as hard as anyone could ask to make sure I had a great experience, and I am grateful! Karsten and all of the staff did whatever it took to give all the guests the same.
We left camp at 2:15PM to get to the airport for a 4:30 flight back to Copenhagen. When we got to the airport, I get a text from Greenland Air, that our flight was cancelled and we would not fly out until 4 days later. Conveniently, there is no Greenland air office at the Kangerlussuaq airport, and they would not answer the phone when we tried to call. We spent the next 4 hours trying to find some way of getting back to Copenhagen, but to no avail. There were not other flights with room, no boat charters, a private helicopter would have been in the thousands. Thankfully, Greenland air provided a room and meal vouchers, but that was it. The hotel had no TV, and the town has 400 people in it. It was a boring 4 days. Mrs. Lings was a gem, as she let us use one of their spare trucks, so we could at least drive around the few miles of roads near the town. She had us over a couple of times for meals because she felt sorry for us, and worke3d very hard to try and find alternative transportation.
To sum it up:
Pro:
Awesome people, From the top down, they are a team, and they appreciated us being there.
Great camp, comfortable, warm, pleasant and convivial.
Great food, from lasagna to spaghetti, fish stew, and crab legs. The food was delicious and plentiful.
Quality animals, The age of the animals made me feel like that do their best to conserve the resource they have, and make sure it is there far years to come.
Con:
I don't know that I can say it is a con, but i really underestimated the terrain. I walked quite a bit prior to going, but walking on a hard surface without much incline just did not prepare me for the elevation change we would have to walk, and the incredibly crappy walking surfaces. You are either walking through heather so thick you have to fight your way through, tundra that you sink 6 inches in every step like one continuous stairmaster, or on tussocks of grass. The tussocks are like walking on softballs spaced about 3 inches apart so you have to watch each step to not roll an ankle.
This was a definite bucket list trip for me. The musk ox is something I have wanted to hunt all my life. I just never dreamed I would get to experience the thrill of taking an animal that has survived since the stone age. I cannot say enough about Lings either. I have had the pleasure of several really good outfitters, and had a few that were really disappointing and made the whole experience a bad one. Lings was the best I have hunted with to date. They are some of the hardest working humans I have ever met, and greeted each job with a smile. I truly feel like I have made several new friendships, and that is saying a lot. I think I covered everything, and I hope I didn't run on or get too boring. I could talk about this trip forever if someone doesn't stop me. Any question, please ask. I will tell you everything I can, and tell you the truth.
