GREENLAND: Hunting Muskox & Caribou With JKO / Sable Safari

[lwaters]

I just returned from Greenland hunting Muskox and Caribou. I caught a flight out of Kansas City with Icelandair which toke me to Keflavik airport near Reykjavik Iceland. The flight was a little under 7hr. It was a great flight as I was lucky enough to have all three seats and had a good sleep. Ironically we flew right over Greenland but there are no direct flights from the U.S. to Greenland. After a short layover I was on my way to Copenhagen Denmark. It was a short flight and I had to pick up my rifle as I had a room at a hotel near the airport. I pickup my luggage off the carousel and went to the baggage room to pick up my rifle and ammo. They compared barcodes on my rifle and ammo case and said I was good to go. Caught a cab to the hotel where JKO had a room booked for me. The next morning back to the airport to catch my flight with Air Greenland. I had to recheck my rifle with the police. They did complain a little about my 2011 custom form and said I should get a new one if I came back. Also had to remove the bolt and put in my ammo case. Otherwise it all went well and I was on my way to Greenland.
Landed in Greenland close to the same time as I left Copenhagen. It was a five hour flight. Eric the outfitter for Greenland Trophy Hunts was there to greet me and we just picked up my luggage and rifle and headed to his place. We also picked up a hunter and his daughter from Switzerland. Eric introduced everyone to the guides Martin and Steve. There was also a hunter there from Czechoslovakia with his wife and a friend. So there was just us three hunters and three observers. Peter the camp helper fixed a great meal of fresh caught cod. After the meal we went to a room and the guides help us load our backpacks. I then found out that most of the stuff I brought was not going to camp. I basically took one change of hunting clothes toothbrush two pairs of light long johns, three underwear and socks, my meds, rifle and one box of ammo. My wife had packed a ton of candy and protein bars which I said everyone could help themselves to. I don't no how they got there but they did show up in camp. Eric had me and the two guides and the hunter from Czechoslovakia head in first as we all could not fit in the vehicle. It was a 5 kilometer hike so we went in in two groups. I will have to continue this in the morning.

 

[BRICKBURN]

 

[Ridgewalker]

Musk ox, another bucket list dream! Can’t wait for the rest of the report!

 

[lwaters]

As we started into the artic wilderness Steve told me to remember this long slop that we were heading down. In about 2 kilometers we would get to a small lake which we would cross with a boat. At the other side there was a range set up to check our rifles. Everyone rifle shot to their satisfaction and Steve headed back in the boat to pick up the other group. The tundra kind of like walking on a sponge and than you hit hard spots but the weather was great temperature in the 40 degree far. range. We had three more kilometers to go and I was actually sweeting. When we entered the point where it was all down hill to Camp Martin spotted five muskox way off on a mountain. He pulled out the spotting scope and one was a good bull. Martin asked if I wanted to make a stalk on him. I was beat from the hike but said I would make an attempt. The czech hunter was only after a caribou. So they stayed to spot for us. We left our packs and headed down into the valley. When we got to the bottom we went to the right to stay down wind. The muskox had bedded so we were confident they would stay put. So we started the climb up to there level. It was a pretty good climb up the spongy brushy mountain and I had to rest a couple times to catch my breath. We got to the point where we thought we were above them so Martin took a peek over the rise. He said there were three cows a calf and the bull just about fifty yards below use and the bull was the most distant animal with shaggy hump hair. I didn't want to shoot the wrong one so Martin peek over and toke a picture of them with his phone. I moved forward and put my scope on 3x and waited for the bull to move past some brush. When he cleared I put 165gr. gmx into his right shoulder. He stumbled and started up the hill to my left and I give him another round into the lungs he collapsed to the ground and I had my muskox. By that time the whole hunting party had caught up and everyone congratulated me. They were also pleased that we were within a boat ride and a half mile from camp.

 

[lwaters]

Here is a few more photos

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Congrats Lenny, you sure made short work of the muskox!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Congratulations on your bull.

 

[Shootist43]

Iwaters, that was quick work on that Muskox, I hope it takes you a little longer to get your Caribou. If it doesn't you are going to have to find a way to "kill" a couple of days.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Congrats! Nice muskox.
+1 and +1 also on my bucket list. 1 muskox, aahh maybe more than +1 on caribou. I am looking into hunting caribou in Canada so I can bring the meat home.

 

[lwaters]

Well everyone got to camp and needless to say I was tired. I was almost to tired to eat but we had some cold cuts a lot of bread. The head cheese was great. After the I was in my sleeping bag and sound asleep. The next morning Eric and me hunted pretty close to camp and the Czechs and Martin toke the boat and hunted in the other direction. the Swiss went with Frank in another direction. This country didn't bother Caesar and his daughter Rachael one bit. They said in Switzerland the chickens have one leg shorter than the other. That day me and Eric toke it pretty easy and walked some and did a lot of glassing. All we seen were cow caribou and calves. The day was sunny and warm and the sun felt good. It was hard not to take a nap. Erick told me 50 years ago a river ran right behind camp. The glacier caused a land slide and changed the course of the river. All the lakes in the river bottom are full of Artic Char. Early that evening Caesar and his daughter shot a nice caribou and the Czechs and Martin got in at dark and looked very tired. All they had seen were cows calves and young bulls. Peter cooked my muskox tenderloin and it was very tender and tasty. I was beginning to be very happy that I had shot my muskox. Eric said caribou would be easy but I really think the weather was to warm and it may be harder to find them. Next day we made a plan for me and Eric to take the boat glass the shoreline than hike to the next lake and sit and glass that area. The other also made plans on where they would go. Hit the bag early but I did wake up around midnight and watched the northern lights. It was quit a sight. Here is a picture of the old river channel. Things can change fast in Greenland.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Great report so far. I'm at the edge of my seat, readying my glass for more about your hunt.

 

[lwaters]

We were up early the next morning and had a breakfast of cereal and milk along with some bread and jelly. Erick and I headed out to the boat and glassed areas around the lake. We still were only seeing cows and young bulls. we beached the boat and decided to hike up a ridge where we could watch two valleys and an area around another lake. It was another nice delightful fall day but rain was forecast for the afternoon. We spotted more of the same young caribou and a ton of big artic hare. Eric thought we should hunt our way back to camp and have a late lunch and rest up for a long hike tomorrow. We got back in camp and it started pouring rain. Drinking coffee in the cook shack felt pretty nice. Ceaser and his daughter got back and he had shot a nice muskox within a mile of where he shot the caribou the day before. Later Martin and his group came back and had taken two caribou. They had also seen a few groups of muskox. That

night we had a great meal of caribou stew with carrots onions and what ever else was in it. We were teasing Rachael as the thin pretty girl ate three bowls of the stew. I hit the sack early as I was going to have a long walk and the rest would be fishing or shooting rabbits.

 

[Wheels]

Congratulations on a great looking muskox.

Enjoying your story!

 

[Nyati]

@Iwaters, just love that muskox, congrats !

 

[lwaters]

We were up early and Eric, Steve and I were off on the hunt. We walked all the way to were Cesar shot his caribou and muskox and never seen anything but giant rabbits. A short distance later we seen a group of muskox up a valley to our right. It was interesting to watch them for awhile but we had to move on and look for caribou. We arrived at yet another lake with a boat and we check the area around the lake and saw only a cow and calf. After beaching the boat we pulled it up on dry land and Eric wanted to put plastic on the runner to it would slide easier. I asked how many lakes did he have boats on and it was three. He brought them in in the winter on a sled. He is allowed to bring in an ATV or dog sled after the 15 of October. Eric worked on the boat and Steve and I hiked a ridge and glassed the valley below. In the distance we spotted some caribou but they were to far away to identify if there were any good bulls. Eric showed up and he had a good spotting scope and felt there was a bull in the group that needed checking out. After we closed the distance Eric checked him out again and felt he was still a little young but was the best we had seen so we decided to move on. We came up to another valley and it was full of caribou.We spotted a couple of decent bulls but the wind was at our backs and there were cows on the hillside watching us. A stalk seemed impossible so we decided to go up another valley where the wind was at our back and come back to this group later if we needed to. A short distance up the valley Eric spotted a cow on the horizon feeding towards a lake. we moved close to the hill and was going to wait till she went over the rise. We were all standing there awhile and Eric said damn and threw his pack on the ground. There stood a bull caribou standing looking at use at about 75 yards. I toke the prone position and used his pack as a rest and shot. The bull staggered towards us and went down. I had my caribou. Now for the hard work of boning the meat and packing everything out.

 

[cagkt3]

Man, what an awesome trip! Congrats on both animals!

 

[K-man]

Congrats on a couple of nice animals and a great report!

 

[CAustin]

Lenny your living the dream we spoke about at your kitchen table eating apple pie! Great hunt sir!

 

[BRICKBURN]

You worked hard to earn your luck on that Caribou. Congrats.

 

[lwaters]

I was really beat when we got back to camp. Eric said we did over 15 kilometers and I wasn't the only one tired. Eric and Steve packed out the meat and trophy while I toke their personal stuff. The next day I just rested around camp and snacked on some caribou tongue that Peter made. It kind of reminded me of chicken gizzards. Nobody had much luck fishing but Cesar did get a big rabbit for his daughter. The next day was going to be the pack out day so was happy to have the rest.
The next morning was an early and we started packing everything. We were going out in two groups like we came in. Eric and I headed out first because we knew Cesar and his daughter would catch up. On the way out a young caribou bull thought Cesar was another bull and would run up to us look than run away. He did this several times and unfortunately I had my camera on the wrong settings and missed the photos. Back at Eric place it was nice to have a hot shower and Peter cooked a delicious meal of artic char and potatoes that Martin had caught earlier. The next day Peter, Cesar, Rachael and I toke a tour to the ice and seen where an American trainer jet had crashed. America had a military base at Kangerlussuag that was closed in 93. It was an interesting tour. I will post more pictures.