Date: 13-18 March 2011
Outfitter: Inuit Outfitting
PH Buzz: Mattias Ingemann
Location: 2 hrs from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland
Species Taken: Muskox (ovibos moschatus) x2, Ptarmigan

Have recently returned from a great trip with 3 longtime hunting friends to the region Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, where we hunted for Muskox.



The logistics of the trip were a bit more complex than I would have imagined, flying first from London to Paris (to pick up guns there, as they are not on my FAC in the UK due to limited number of rifles… no comment), then from Paris to Copenhagen (with a mandatory overnight), and finally from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq. That’s quite a few clueless customs officers who asked a lot of questions… and times taking off the hiking boots I was wearing (my bad… should have thought that one through more). Anyway, from that point of view, considering its linked to Denmark, a bit of a pain. But, the rest of the trip was amazing!

Upon arrival at the airport of Kangerlussuaq, we donned our seal-skin outfits, which we’d ordered beforehand from the outfitter, and proceeded outside. -30 C is super cold ! The first few minutes I could feel the inside of my nostrils freezing up.



But, we quickly got into our “taxi” (the argocat), and made the short 2 hour drive to the camp. A few words on the camp. There are 2 cabins: one for the hunters, and the other serving the guides as well as acting as the mess. The guest cabin is new, functional, and quite comfortable. There is an oil-burning stove to keep the inside nice and warm all day long (and it did). Only issue for me was the toilet, which while inside the cabin, is not warmed at all… and at those temperatures, didn’t was to stay too long on the bogJ Otherwise, both cabin and food were quite good, and this is not at all a “roughing it” trip.



Day 1: we got out hunting, after a summary briefing, which was basically: dress warm, don’t run or move to quickly, so as not to sweat (which can be quite bad… as the drop in body temperature is not good out there), and have fun. OK, so off we walked out of camp for about an hour, glassing as we went, looking for Muskox. Now, not having a ton of experience in these kind of environments, I had no idea what to look for, and was constantly glassing boulders. But, after seeing my first ones, and getting an idea of how big they are (against the massive backdrop that is the openness of the area), it was quite easy to spot the small groups of muskox.



We did find a good group after about 2 hours. The guides said there was a good bull in the group, and since I had won the coin toss, was up. Well, it was a great start to the trip!





Day 2: was great to know I had a good old bull in the bag and now could concentrate on finding another one that I really liked the look of. We saw about another 25 – 40 more animals on Day 1, which gave me a better idea of what to look for in selecting the animals I wanted to stalk. So, off we went again, this time with me in as the #2 gun. We saw more animals, and my friend made a tremendous shot on a good bull. And, I was up again, and itching to get on a certain bull we saw in the morning, but had run off (and they can cover an amazing amount of ground on those little legs when they want to!!!)

Well, we found him. He was at the top of one of the adjacent “hills”. I had to wait for ~15mins for him to give me a good shot, and waiting exposed to the wind that had kicked up (in addition to the already chilly temperatures) was quite hard. But, it paid off.





Day 3: with everyone in camp tagged out, we were offering to go dog sledding in the morning (which I was very excited about) and then a bit of ptarmigan shooting in the evening.

First we went dog-sledding... which was a blast! And we were extremely lucky, as it was probably the sunniest 4 hours of the entire trip. It’s totally quite once the dogs find their rhythm, just speeding (relatively) across the frozen lakes, surrounded by the stunning scenery.







I was lucky, as was the only person to find a group of ptarmigans, which I got one of. Lovely birds. Had shot some in Sweden during the fall, when they were mottled brown / white, but they are even more beautiful in their all-white phase (IMHO).



The trip was quite short, and with some forethought, would have liked to stay 1 more day to enjoy the location + get on some arctic fox (which, with the help of the carrion birds, can strip a whole Muskox carcass bare almost overnight). But, it was quickly time to head to the airport... which I have to say is very well sign-posted...



It was a great trip. Lovely people, who were super professional and ensured we had a great time. They are truly prehistoric looking animals, and seeing them in this most austere and serene environment was a real plus. I would highly recommend Mathias and Malene Ingemann as outfitters.

Great photos & a super Trip Report.

This hunt really has my interest peaked ..... wonder if I can tolerate the cold?

What rifle & cartridge did you use and w/what optics; bino & scope? Does the cold result in fogged optics that sorta requires the "hold your breath & view routine"?

I hunted one time where it was so cold that simply mounting the rifle caused a fogged ocular lens. Lotsa fumbling, there.


Waidmannsheil!

Fantastic report, sounds like a true adventure!

Gerry: it was a great trip!

Cold: I wondered if I could tolerate it, and to be honest, was not an issue. Yes, -30C is very cold. But, the seal-skin suits, over a good set of thermals, and none of us were cold at any time (on the contrary, needed to be careful not to overheat when walking around). Its a very dry cold, so not biting at all.

Rifle: I took my Remington 700, in 7mm Rem Mag. Leupold 4.5-14x50. Again, its a dry cold, so no fogging at all. Only recommendation would be to have a good soft case, with a sling. For the argocat.

Binos / Optics: did not fog at any point, for anyone.

Cheers
Dugong

Very nice Dugong!

There's a romance about hunting in those frozen expanses, like Gerry I've started wondering.....

Best,

Amir

Great report, I so want to do that one day and even tried bidding on a hunt at the sci show but was outbid. Great trophies, Thanks for sharing.

That looks like a really cool adventure. Nice report.

What an adventure!

Congratulations!

great hunt and wonderful pictures. Greenland is not the same in summer...

Great pics and great report!
I want to do this hunt at some point sooner than later.

Very Interesting Hunt!!

In some of your pictures, the sky has an arched--rippling effect. Was that visible in real-time, or only on the photos?

A Greenland or Iceland hunt is hopefully in my future.

Steve: no, thats a point & choot camera acting up @ -30C... don't know what Canon says in the manual at that temp

Congratulations!

Mere survival at such temperatures would deserve congratulations. But you have again proved that there is no situation that science and skill cannot master.

Amazing, and primitive, beasts.

Congratulations sounds like a great hunt and a unique experience.

Awesome..
Peaks my interest as well. Does anybody know the difficulty, if any, of getting one of these wonderfull animals back in the United States.

That will be one awesome mount!

Woodsie: the trophies are not back yet, but Mathias had the export licenses ready before we arrived (saw them and have copy). Have been assured they will be flying to JFK by mid May.

Mounts: great point. Anyone have suggestions or better yet pictures of theirs (for inspiration)?

quote:

Rifle: I took my Remington 700, in 7mm Rem Mag. Leupold 4.5-14x50. Again, its a dry cold, so no fogging at all. Only recommendation would be to have a good soft case, with a sling. For the argocat.

What a great trip and excellent photos....
Enjoyed that!

Interesting hunt in an interesting part of the world. Thanks for posting!

Great hunt report and pictures. What an adventure!!

what a great trip i love hunting in the snow and mountains ,here you can hunt some species in similar conditions in the far south .

Great report, thanks for sharing with us. I'm going to northern Canada for Muskox in Oct. HOpe my hunt goes as well as yours did!!!!

Great report and terrific pictures, thanks for sharing.

you noted in your report that the foxes and birds cleaned up the animal and am wondering if that meant just the gut pile, or the carcass. Wasn't sure from the way it was worded. Thanks.

Just re-read your post and said they could clean up a whole carcass overnight, and that's why I was wondering if the carcass was left out there, or just the gut pile. Would seem to me muskox meat should be good to eat. Did you actually get to eat any or take any back with you?

Outstanding!

Gratulerer Orvar
Hope you understand the Norwegian

Did you book directly with outfitter or through a European agent ?

Congratulations, amazing hunt!

Way too cool.

Great hunt.

I need to participate in an adventure like this ,so different to my daily hunts ,now this expedition is on my wish list .

Could be an awesome AR boys hunt...