A real Alaskan subsistence hunt/hunter (Muskox)

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Here's a neat link by an Alaskan subsistence hunter I thought some of you might enjoy. Stranger lives the life most of us only dream of. And you can't live it halfway either.  Enjoy

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/109295-140-miles-1-2-with-no-trail-in-the-fog-38-below-20-mile-MPH-winds-5-1-2-hours

[cohoho]

I put in for the AK draw for 10 years and had a contact (Native) that offered his services to help out.  Friend knew him through the remote Air Force radar sites they would go and fix throughout the year in AK.  Since then he has moved on and I quit putting in for the draw.  My number #1 bucket list animal to get- just cool looking...  Been looking at a Canadian 1st Nations hunting service way up north in Canada.  Maybe in a couple years...  Used to get pictures of them every year in a non-hunting area..  This picture is off the pipeline access road up on the North Slope above the Arctic Circle...

[benhuntin]

I have pics of the ones near Prudoe some where to.  They would be like shootin a cow out of someones pasture

[Sitka_Blacktail]

I put in for the AK draw for 10 years and had a contact (Native) that offered his services to help out. 

It's a tough draw, same as a bison tag for Delta AK.

My neighbor's wife drew a Delta bison tag one year, and a Nunivak Muskox tag the next. I told her she'd better buy a lottery ticket because the odds were about the same to draw those two tags back to back and she was running HOT!

[Sitka_Blacktail]

I have pics of the ones near Prudoe some where to.  They would be like shootin a cow out of someones pasture

Not unless it was 140 miles, 1/2 with no trail, in the fog, -38 below, 20 mile MPH winds, 5-1/2 hours to the farmer's field.

It's not the hunting that's so hard up there, it's the surviving. One small mistake in those conditions can be tragic.

[cohoho]

It's a tough draw, same as a bison tag for Delta AK.
My neighbor's wife drew a Delta bison tag one year, and a Nunivak Muskox tag the next. I told her she'd better buy a lottery ticket because the odds were about the same to draw those two tags back to back and she was running HOT!

I got the Delta bull tag, my son got it the next and my hunting partner the following, but I couldn't draw Muskox...

[cohoho]

I have pics of the ones near Prudoe some where to.  They would be like shootin a cow out of someones pasture

Not unless it was 140 miles, 1/2 with no trail, in the fog, -38 below, 20 mile MPH winds, 5-1/2 hours to the farmer's field.

It's not the hunting that's so hard up there, it's the surviving. One small mistake in those conditions can be tragic.

Yes the part folks do not realize is the time frame- Feb- Mar in the bruttle arctic weather and the toll on equipment, person, etc...  The herd above Happy Valley off the haul road are not on the draw...

[benhuntin]

I have pics of the ones near Prudoe some where to.  They would be like shootin a cow out of someones pasture

Not unless it was 140 miles, 1/2 with no trail, in the fog, -38 below, 20 mile MPH winds, 5-1/2 hours to the farmer's field.

It's not the hunting that's so hard up there, it's the surviving. One small mistake in those conditions can be tragic.

when we were ther hunting caribou it was in the 70's and they were standin on the road.  A mobile farm slaughter truck could have done the job in a t-shirt.  Not all alaska is alll tough all the time.

[GoldTip]

I have pics of the ones near Prudoe some where to.  They would be like shootin a cow out of someones pasture

Not unless it was 140 miles, 1/2 with no trail, in the fog, -38 below, 20 mile MPH winds, 5-1/2 hours to the farmer's field.

It's not the hunting that's so hard up there, it's the surviving. One small mistake in those conditions can be tragic.

Yes the part folks do not realize is the time frame- Feb- Mar in the bruttle arctic weather and the toll on equipment, person, etc...  The herd above Happy Valley off the haul road are not on the draw...

The herd around Nome is not a draw either, it's a registration hunt.

[bearpaw]

I enjoyed reading that story in Alaska.... it made me remember my muskox hunting experience, thanks. 

[Skyvalhunter]

Yea I love that forum, been a member for years. Lots of good information on there. Now if some of the users luck would just rub off on my Alaska permit apps.

[cohoho]

I have pics of the ones near Prudoe some where to.  They would be like shootin a cow out of someones pasture

Not unless it was 140 miles, 1/2 with no trail, in the fog, -38 below, 20 mile MPH winds, 5-1/2 hours to the farmer's field.

It's not the hunting that's so hard up there, it's the surviving. One small mistake in those conditions can be tragic.

when we were ther hunting caribou it was in the 70's and they were standin on the road.  A mobile farm slaughter truck could have done the job in a t-shirt.  Not all alaska is alll tough all the time.

Never stated it was tough all the time...  Except when you can hunt them is not tee-shirt weather...   I still want to hunt these guys for sure.  My bucket animal due to how cool they are....

[MikeWalking]

I've done 5 solo hikes through the Brooks Range.  The only real close call with danger was with a Musk Ox.  I got to a blind corner on the river bank and climbed up for a good long break.  Minutes later a young bull came around that corner. After staring at me a bit he made a big show of tearing up several bushes before walking across the river and doing the same. Looking at me every so often.

got photos around here somewhere.

[cohoho]

Doing those hikes must have been amazing for sure...