Not Your 'Run of the Mill' Hunts

[longrifle]

Hey folks,

Since the off season is well under way I figured that I would post some pics of some past hunts that definitely aren't your everyday adventures in order to ease the PAIN...PLEASE feel free to add any pictures that you have!! ENJOY!!

My first Ringed Seal, taken near Igloolik, NU back in April of 2004
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/RingedSeal.jpg

My second Ringed Seal, taken in May of 2004
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/2ndRingedSeal.jpg

My good friends Walrus, this was the second Walrus that I had seen in the wild, taken back in early October of 2003.
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Walrus.jpg

My first Walrus, a cow, taken inbetween Hall Beach and Igloolik, on September 25, 2004. Cold and WINDY!!
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/CowWalrus.jpg

My bull, taken on September 5, 2005, near ooglit (inbetween Hall Beach and Igloolik), beauty and the beast, a beautiful day and a beast of an animal!
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/BullWalrus.jpg

[longrifle]

Here's another pic of the bull...
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/BullWalrus2.jpg

Here are a few pics of a booner (not boner) muskox that i got back in late March 2008, west of Baker Lake, NU. 'Twas cold that day, one of the coldest trips I have ever been on, and I've been on a few!!!!
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Muskox2.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Muskox6.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/MX4.jpg

Here is a pic of a nice central barrenground 'bou I managed to whack back in early September of 2008, northwest of Baker Lake, NU.
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/MyBull.jpg

[Tikka270]

Crazy! I didn't know you could hunt walrus. Very cool though!

What did you do with the meat?

[CanuckShooter]

Thanks for posting these pics, talk about different!!! Were up there to hunt? To work?? Or perhaps living there for a bit?? Did you keep a tusk for a trophy? Did you eat them? How did they taste?? So many questions so little time :-)

[lorneparker1]

you are the man!

[TheProvider]

Pretty cool, how much does one of those weigh roughly

[d6dan]

Cool pics, I hope your wearing sun block.:wink:. Were you up there for fun or work?.

[warnniklz]

do you wait until they get on an ice flow before you inject them with lead poisoning? Or will they float to the top of the water if you get them there?

[The Dude]

Aw, man.............................. I know what's next on Big Boar's "Bucket List" now :D
I hope the meat goes to the locals. Do you Euro the skulls? Let's see pics of those!

[coach]

Wow! Very cool - and unusual. I'm sure we'd all like to hear more about the hunt. Thanks for posting.

[BiG Boar]

Have no interest in slaughtering an innocent little walrus.

gniddik tsuj - you just made my bucket list longer

[BCRiverBoater]

Well walrus is a must if going for the North American Slam for big game animals. I know a few locals that laughed at others when they shout a walrus. Now they have all gone and taken one in their quest for all the North American big game species.

[The Dude]

Have no interest in slaughtering an innocent little walrus.

gniddik tsuj - you just made my bucket list longer


!ti wenk I - The OTHER village elder :D

[ramcam]

That is awesome.

[moosinaround]

Have no interest in slaughtering an innocent little walrus.

gniddik tsuj - you just made my bucket list longer
Spear or the "Club?"

[pnbrock]

You want to hunt seals come to the fraser river and kill them by the hundreds!! Alot warmer too

[Blair]

Do you have to be with the locals to hunt walrus? I've never heard of anyone except the Inuit hunting them before. Talk about filling your freezer in one shot!

[Ddog]

answers man we need answers,,,
eat them?
taste?
reason for going there to hunt?
what to do with them after the kill?

[sheephunterab]

Awesome. It's definitely up there on my bucket list!

[longrifle]

A pic of a beautiful wolf I whacked southwest of Baker Lake in early April 2008...
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Wolf-1.jpg

A pic of my wolverine that I got a week after the wolf, west of Baker Lake back in mid April 2008, notice the difference in attire, winter was back that day!!!
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Wolverine.jpg

A pic of some 'bou on the tundra, fall 2007...
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Caribouonthetundra.jpg

[longrifle]

Here are some more pics of my travels in the north...

This poor bugger definitely zigged when he should have zagged, was in amazingly good shape though so not having part of his sniffer didn't seem to hurt him at all. Bear was processed, 'woke' up and tore off down the coastline.
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/PolarBear.jpg

A pic of the Narwhal that were stuck in the ice in Pond Inlet, November 2008. not my photo, wish I could have seen it though...
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Narwhal.jpg

Jet boating the Thelon River, damn it I miss that river!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be back though, nothing beats the Thelon in early September, hunt your face off, and then go stretch lake trout lips until your arms are on fire.
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/JetBoatingtheThelon.jpg

A pic of a monster bull a buddy of mine got back in late August of 2008, north of Baker Lake...We never put a tape on it but I'm pretty sure it would have made the boone book minimum.
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/HugeBull.jpg

[pg83]

Cranker bou in that last pic. Thanks for the pics, makes me miss the North.

[BillyBull]

Very different adventures.... thanks for the pics and that walrus of your buddies is huge.

[BiG Boar]

Man, makes me want to head north! Pretty sweet pics! Crazy that u got a wolverine!

[Gateholio]

Amazing adventure. I'd hunt walrus in a heartbeat, they have cool teeth! :)

[The Dude]

How do you hunt the Walrus? I imagine if you ripped up in the boat, he'd submerge. Do you paddle through the floes, or tie up to a big flow and creep around, hoping to see one on the other side? We need details, man! :D
How does Walrus taste? How do you get a permit to hunt one? Did you keep the skull?

Also: What happened to the Narwhals? I hope they didn't all drown, I hate seeing shit like that. Did anyone enlarge the breathing hole?


http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/zz2ybs/wally_walrus.jpg

[longrifle]

Thanks for all kudos etc folks!!

Glad you are all enjoying the pics, looking through all of my pics has brought a ton of memories flooding back, damn I want to move back up there!!!!!!!!

Now to answer some of the questions.....

I was fortunate enough to have lived up in Nunavut for 5.5 years in two different communities, both on opposite ends of the arctic geographic spectrum...So I got the full arctic experience!

The walrus, you hunt them on the floes, if you shoot them in the water they sink like a stone, way too heavy!! Anchor them on the spot and all is good, butcher, load and go! Generally you cruise the pack ice looking for them, once you locate a herd you either idle up to them or anchor on a nearby ice pan, set up and Kaboom! The meat has quite a strong fishy taste but the taste subsides in the slow cooked stew. I ate some meat from both of my walruses and gave away the rest, brought some down for my family and the inlaws to try as well. I figure the bull I killed was close to the 2000 lb mark, it was 12 feet long...I euro'd both of the skulls, they are on my wall, I took some pics but photobucket is acting up tonight, can't upload, so The Dude, I'll post them as soon as I can upload them!!! In order to hunt them you had to get a Marine Mammal Fishing License from DFO, in order to get that you had to first approach the local Hunters and Trappers Organization and ask them. The fishing license was $5.00!!

The seals, ate some of the meat and gave the rest away, fishy taste but again, good in a stew. The meat is also very rich, don't eat too much at one time or you'll be sitting on the toilet alot more frequently than you like!

The narwhal, they ended up allowing residents of Pond Inlet harvest all of them, rather than see them drown and go to waste...

Big Boar and Sheephunterab, get up there and git 'r done as you never know how long us non-inuit will be allowed to pursue the toothy buggers!!!!!!!!!


'rifle

[Young Gun]

those are really cool pictures, nice caribou in the last pic

[longrifle]

The Dude, here you GO!!!!
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Taxidermy007.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Taxidermy006.jpg

Big Boar, here is the wolverine now...
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg134/longrifle_photos/Taxidermy004.jpg


'rifle

[The Dawg]

Damnit. Those Euro mounts 'sealed it'...Bucket list.

[fearnodeer]

Thats just too sweet, the euro mounts are pretty cool and all the pics were great as well. Thanks so much for sharing.

[kennyj]

Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing your adventures.
kenny

[killer]

Great photos man there have been a few seals around the nanaimo area that i really wanted to inject lead into when they steal a fish or two off the line.

[Peter Pepper]

Very cool to hear about these hunts. Thanks for posting.
Personally I'd have hid the rifle and posed beside the seal with a club...but that's just me

[longrifle]

Personally I'd have hid the rifle and posed beside the seal with a club...but that's just me

lol, I tried to get one with a harpoon but unfortunately the stars never aligned on that endeavour...

[Tikka270]

Longrifle I am jealous! Those euros are awesome. Did you get a mount done with the wolf as well?

[huntermike]

Wow very impressive hunting adventures that not many folks will ever get the chance to experience .
Love those walrus mounts.
CHEERS HUNTERMIKE

[TheProvider]

Pretty cool euro's

[mark]

Very neat experiences you've had, thanks for sharing with us.......A nice refreshing change for this place!

[Pioneerman]

Amazing lifestyle and hunts. Love the mounts, thanks for sharing !!

[pg83]

The meat has quite a strong fishy taste but the taste subsides in the slow cooked stew.


I wish I had tried it in a stew. The only encounter I had with Walrus was raw heart and it was NOT good. :) Thank you again for sharing these pics with us. What was the other community you lived in? Igloolik or Hall Beach was one of them I presume. I was fortunate enough to spend the majority or 4 years in the NWT/Nunavut in the mid 2000's.

[nap]

I have a brother up in Rankin Inlet, all of us brothers (4) did a river trip, we listened to Lou tell of his hunts up in that country, seeing your pictures put an awesome touch to his stories. Thanks bud and bro better start making some plans for up there!!!

[Jack Russell]

What a great experience! Very interesting walrus skulls - I wasn't expecting the skulls to look so heavily armoured or fortified. Excellent pictures throughout!

[weatherby_man]

Thats a awesome post of pics, thanks! Not your everyday hunt for most of us. Very cool.

[longrifle]

I wish I had tried it in a stew. The only encounter I had with Walrus was raw heart and it was NOT good. :) Thank you again for sharing these pics with us. What was the other community you lived in? Igloolik or Hall Beach was one of them I presume. I was fortunate enough to spend the majority or 4 years in the NWT/Nunavut in the mid 2000's.

pg, we were up in igloolik from mid 2003 until early 2007 and then we moved to Baker Lake, came outta the north back in early 2009...what community(s) were you in?


Longrifle I am jealous! Those euros are awesome. Did you get a mount done with the wolf as well?

Yes, I had it rugged out, looks good as well!


What a great experience! Very interesting walrus skulls - I wasn't expecting the skulls to look so heavily armoured or fortified. Excellent pictures throughout!

They are indeed heavy, the mount of the bull weighs just over 45lbs...wouldn't be good if it fell off the wall on ya...


'rifle

[rifleman]

cool pics. what was the muskox like to eat? did you eat any of the others animals?

[pg83]

pg, we were up in igloolik from mid 2003 until early 2007 and then we moved to Baker Lake, came outta the north back in early 2009...what community(s) were you in?




I was living in Yellowknife, but working all over both territories building exploration camps for the most part. I was fortunate enough to visit most of the communities and see all the scenery between them.

[Lillypuff]

Thank you it was nice to see some unique animals

[Elkaholic]

WOW.... Those are some great pics! I think those walrus euro's look just amazing. The wolverine is super nice, it is on my bucket list for sure. Thanks for sharing with all of us.

[TOP_PREDATOR]

Great photos,very interesting hunts thanks for sharing them.

[91Jason91]

nice pics did you eat them at all or just leave them?
what is bag lim can you kill more than 1 a day or what?

[Mr. Dean]

Cool thead.
Cool Critters!

A+ Job there...

[harbinger]

Right on. I had an out of the ordinary hunt experience in March a few years ago up in Yellowknife. I tagged along with my friend on his caribou hunt. We sledded in a few hours along this chain of lakes and found an insane amount of Caribou migrating through. He told me they were part of this huge herd that moves through annually. Sorry can't remember the name.

http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h397/harbinger9/Misc%20Hunting/yellowknife2005084.jpg
A guy I don't even know lent me his snowmobile and all the winter gear over beers one night before we decided to go out. SO friendly up north.

http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h397/harbinger9/Misc%20Hunting/yellowknife2005071.jpg
Camp. He calls it Camp Crusty and portages his canoe out there in the summer and fall. The fishing was dynamite!

http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h397/harbinger9/Misc%20Hunting/yellowknife2005082.jpg
Oh yeah, we were hunting...some of the doomed 'bou.


It was a really cool trip, I had never hunted in the deep of winter like that and we had unbelievable weather. It felt Hella remote and he kept on top of me with the "which was is home" drill. After a couple days the sled tracks had blown away and if a guy was not on top of it you could get turned around real easy.
Cool thread, hopefully we will see some more post from other dudes with different hunts. Thanks for sharing!

[IronNoggin]

Sorry can't remember the name.

Most likely the Bathurst Herd. They often wander fairly close to YK.

Interesting thread!

Spent quite a few years in the Western Arctic, based out of Inuvik. Incredible amounts of animals alright, like Canada's Serengeti at times! Fondly recall watching literally thousands upon thousands of both the Porcupine and Bluenose herds wandering along on their migrations. Excellent Grits btw!

Ate ringed seal (pups OK, adults WAY to fishy!), bearded seal (simply YUCK!) Beluga Whale (meat fishy, muktuk Good!), but only ever saw a few walrus. Imagine they'd be like the seals in flavor...

Muskox are Excellent when you take them young. I did take a couple older bulls, and even the dogs buried them for future reference! Ah, but a yearling (18 month) is pretty well guaranteed to tickle your taste buds and be downright tender!

Lots to choose from up yonder, moose, caribou, Dalls, muskox and of course a whole lot of predators chasing them: 3 kinds of bears, wolves of amazing colors, wolverines, lynx, fox etc etc.

Awesome and Very Special Place! I certainly intend on wandering back one day - in the fall of course! :twisted:

Thanks for sharing. Brought back a lot of very fond memories...

Cheers,
Nog

[Alpine Addict]

Your buddy's bou is a pig! I'd say book for sure.

[yama49]

Great hunting stories, thx for sharing them with us....

[bruin]

Way cool! If you've got more pictures I will gladly look a them! I'd love to even see a muskox one day

[Leaseman]

Way to go Joel.....

You will need to tell me more next time out!!!


Mike
:mrgreen:

[Fella]

Total noob question, but whats with the bloody antlers in the picture of the 'bou? Is that due to velvet being ripped off?

[tuffteddyb]

Them pic's are way cool!!!!!!!!!!
I always wanted to hunt walrus,why?no idea.
The euro's are really neat,would definatley get one of them done if I
ever get a chance.
What caliber did you use?
Thanxs for sharing.

[WaderGator]

Ive worked up in the western arctic and mackenzie river on tugboats the last 5 summers. ive seen tons of different animals and tasted most of them. I never had time to hunt any of them but this thread really makes me want to make it happen. thanks for the awesome pics

[Livewire322]

What caliber of rifle did you take the walrus with? must have been a cannon!
sweet pics! definitely a bucket list item pour moi!

[The Dude]

Total noob question, but whats with the bloody antlers in the picture of the 'bou? Is that due to velvet being ripped off?
7
That's exactly what it is. Velvet on antlers is like a fuzzy greenhouse to promote growth. Blood vessels run under the velvet and supply the magnesium, calcium, and other minerals that are the building blocks of the annual antler build. If you look closely at a set of antlers, you can quite often see patterns that look like veins. That's exactly what they are, the marks left by the veins in the velvet. In a certain time period per area, usually only a day or two, all the mature bulls/bucks will shed their velvet, and the gloves are off!


GREAT EUROS on the walrus. Wow, ever get any Anti's in your house that pee their pants when they see that????? :D

[The Dude]

Oh and 5 bucks for a Walrus permit? Is it still that way? I had no idea we were even ALLOWED to hunt them. Hmmmm...
**Pondering**

[5 spike]

Very cool pics thanks for posting them.

[Moosegetter]

That was a real cool pics and story,loved it thanks. Moosegetter

[Call of the Wild]

very cool hunt and pictures, thanks for sharing