Matt_n_Barb
Well-known member
I am in Anchorage waiting for a flight to Juneau to go fishing (Pink, Chum, Silvers) with my daughter and thought I would post this quick.
Day 0 (Sun) -- I get picked up in Fairbanks. Donavon and Brian have been driving up from Juneau (took the ferry to Haines). I spell Donovon and drive from Fairbanks up towards Deadhorse (347 miles). Camp along the road.
Day 1 (Mon) -- Pack in camp 4 miles as the crow flies from the Haul Road/Dalton Hwy. Brian and Donovan hike out after camp is set up and reach the five mile distance from the road to start hunting. To hunt with a rifle you need to be 5 miles as the crow flies from the road, archers can hunt the road. Brian shoots a bull at about 5.1 miles from the road (GPS). They return to camp at 5 am on day two. The darkest it gets is about a nice twilight.
Day 2 (Tues) -- Rain -- Fog -- Drip Drip...Brian and Donovan got back to camp at 5 am..they are sleeping and I am in my tent listening to the drip and dozing off at times. At 1 pm Donovan and I leave camp with the objective of finding a bull. There are not many caribou and we only see a few cows out to the 6 mile mark. Donovan spots the antlers of a bull at about 450 yards on a hillside but you can not see the body. The bull is in a small depression near a ridge. The antlers disappear as we walk towards the ridge, did he leave? I head up the ridge towards where we saw the antlers last as Donovan skirts around towards the "flank" of the ridge. I sneak up to the ridge and peak over, the bull is bedded looking straight at me at less then 40 yards. I stand up. The bull notices me and is staring intently in my direction. As he starts to stand up to get a better view of what I might be, I place the cross hairs on his throat for a shot placement of longitudinal (not broad side). When he reaches a full standing position I squeeze the trigger and he staggers and falls (7:30 pm). A few pictures are taken and then the work of getting the bull out begins, skinning and boning of meat. We find that the bullet went into the neck/throat through the heart/lung area and exited just above the hip bone, very little meat was lost. At about 9 am we start back towards camp and arrive at 1 am (third day).
Day 3 (Wed) -- Brian and I each pack load of meat to the road. My hips are killing me and I decide to sleep in the truck. Brian hikes back. Donovan shoots a cow and packs it to the road; the guy is an animal and does not seem slow down.
Day 4 (Thurs) -- I hike in and get my camp and hike it back out. Donovan shoots a bull and packs it to the road with Brian's help (Donovan is a CRAZY MAN !!!) I set my tent up and sleep at the road.
Day 5 (Fri) --- I hike in and get the last of my meat and hike out. Brian and Donovan pack out their camp. We drive to Fairbanks and arrive at 5:30 am on Sat (Day 6)
Day 6 ----- SLEEP,and recover from a MAD week. The bed at the Marriott in Fairbanks is dry, warm and comfy. Might be a mad dash but I enjoyed the hunt.
Most of the week my feet were wet/damp from walking the tundra. It rained every day at least for an hour so every thing you had was slightly damp. My feet have sore spots from being wet and hiking like crazy and carrying upwards of 65 lbs. Some days the hike was 12-14 miles (maybe more).
The country is gorgeous and I shall return
I will post more pics and write more when I get to Juneau.
Matt
View attachment DOWNLOAD_matts_camera_caribou_aug2010 026 new.jpg
Day 0 (Sun) -- I get picked up in Fairbanks. Donavon and Brian have been driving up from Juneau (took the ferry to Haines). I spell Donovon and drive from Fairbanks up towards Deadhorse (347 miles). Camp along the road.
Day 1 (Mon) -- Pack in camp 4 miles as the crow flies from the Haul Road/Dalton Hwy. Brian and Donovan hike out after camp is set up and reach the five mile distance from the road to start hunting. To hunt with a rifle you need to be 5 miles as the crow flies from the road, archers can hunt the road. Brian shoots a bull at about 5.1 miles from the road (GPS). They return to camp at 5 am on day two. The darkest it gets is about a nice twilight.
Day 2 (Tues) -- Rain -- Fog -- Drip Drip...Brian and Donovan got back to camp at 5 am..they are sleeping and I am in my tent listening to the drip and dozing off at times. At 1 pm Donovan and I leave camp with the objective of finding a bull. There are not many caribou and we only see a few cows out to the 6 mile mark. Donovan spots the antlers of a bull at about 450 yards on a hillside but you can not see the body. The bull is in a small depression near a ridge. The antlers disappear as we walk towards the ridge, did he leave? I head up the ridge towards where we saw the antlers last as Donovan skirts around towards the "flank" of the ridge. I sneak up to the ridge and peak over, the bull is bedded looking straight at me at less then 40 yards. I stand up. The bull notices me and is staring intently in my direction. As he starts to stand up to get a better view of what I might be, I place the cross hairs on his throat for a shot placement of longitudinal (not broad side). When he reaches a full standing position I squeeze the trigger and he staggers and falls (7:30 pm). A few pictures are taken and then the work of getting the bull out begins, skinning and boning of meat. We find that the bullet went into the neck/throat through the heart/lung area and exited just above the hip bone, very little meat was lost. At about 9 am we start back towards camp and arrive at 1 am (third day).
Day 3 (Wed) -- Brian and I each pack load of meat to the road. My hips are killing me and I decide to sleep in the truck. Brian hikes back. Donovan shoots a cow and packs it to the road; the guy is an animal and does not seem slow down.
Day 4 (Thurs) -- I hike in and get my camp and hike it back out. Donovan shoots a bull and packs it to the road with Brian's help (Donovan is a CRAZY MAN !!!) I set my tent up and sleep at the road.
Day 5 (Fri) --- I hike in and get the last of my meat and hike out. Brian and Donovan pack out their camp. We drive to Fairbanks and arrive at 5:30 am on Sat (Day 6)
Day 6 ----- SLEEP,and recover from a MAD week. The bed at the Marriott in Fairbanks is dry, warm and comfy. Might be a mad dash but I enjoyed the hunt.
Most of the week my feet were wet/damp from walking the tundra. It rained every day at least for an hour so every thing you had was slightly damp. My feet have sore spots from being wet and hiking like crazy and carrying upwards of 65 lbs. Some days the hike was 12-14 miles (maybe more).
The country is gorgeous and I shall return
I will post more pics and write more when I get to Juneau.
Matt
View attachment DOWNLOAD_matts_camera_caribou_aug2010 026 new.jpg
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