Not that I ever need an excuse to take Renee hunting, but I have to admit that I needed a recharge after a few weeks of being on lockdown, teaching from home and listening to the endless political BS on this forum(honestly all of it has gotten to be a bit over the top).

So Renee and I took the snowmobile, hitched up the sled, grabbed the 30-06 and headed out looking for meat. The weather was beautiful, 17f and clear blue skies.

We covered quite a bit of ground without seeing anything. I had stopped to glass in a spot that offered nearly endless views for about 270 degrees of the compass. With the naked eye the tundra appeared to be completely bare.

I took out my 10x Leicas and stood in one spot and slowly turned to scan the tundra in all directions. I had covered 180 degrees without seeing a single thing, then suddenly there the were. Two caribou were feeding not too far off. I couldn’t understand how I had missed them until I lowered the Bono’s and realized that they were a long, long way off.

I fired up the snow machine and we headed in a direction that would allow us to get a bit closer to the path the caribou seemed to be following.

On we were able to drop into a depression I shut the machine down and we dismounted for the stalk. We got within 350 yards but a stiff wind had picked up and I wasn’t going to chance the shot

Finally we closed to about 250 yards and I settled in for a shot. I had to take a kneeling shot with the wind making it difficult to get settled. Sudden one of the caribou paused broadside and I jerked the trigger. The shot was clean miss and I watched as the caribou ran in a semicircle that left them only a bit further away.

In moving closer I found a spot where I was hidden from the wind and could settle in for the shot. As the crosshairs settled I quickly squeezed the trigger. Immediately the caribou took flight, with the one I had targeted moving a bit faster than the other. I knew my shot was rushed but everything had felt good. Just as the caribou disappeared behind a rise I saw it slow, suddenly change directions and fall.

We went back to the machine and on our way back towards the caribou we found the blood trail. I have never seen anything like it. To the entire 80 yards of the death run there was unbelievable volumes of blood sprayed onto the snow.

The caribou was a calf which are always good eating this time of year.


https://i.postimg.cc/nzwPt510/.....-8980-A6-FE85-.jpg


Renee being Renee she just had to run the blood trail. She is quite the kid...

If you looks closely you can see the blood in the snow all the way back to where Renee is running and it continues on past the left side of the photo. The bullet entered behind the shoulder, clipped the heart and exited behind the offside shoulder. Only a bit of rib meat was lost and a bit of the heart.








We shared the meat with an elderly couple and another elderly neighbor. It’s nice being able to share the meat with people who truly value it.

Today we had tacos for lunch. I diced the meat and browned it then added garlic, onions, El Pato salsa and a bit of rice and beans. I would have gotten a picture but we were too busy eating.

.

It doesn't get any better than that !

Thanks for posting !

.

You guys livin' "THE LIFE"

Great job!!

Enjoyed reading that. Thanks for sharing!

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
You guys livin' "THE LIFE"

I get the Anchorage news feed, they're having the same problems the rest of us are.

Grizz

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams1:
I get the Anchorage news feed, they're having the same problems the rest of us are.

Grizz

??????

Yo, Jason,

Well done, my friend. That is the perfect caribou to shoot this time of year.

Sharing with the elders... perfect. As a bit of an aside: I went to a wedding a few summers ago where the family were Cree. Most of the guests were First Nations and it all was very nicely done. During the reception, it was time to feed all of the guests and it was announced that the young would serve the 'elders' first.

I thought that was a nice touch and a few minutes later a chap came up and handed plates of food to my wife and I.

The interesting part of all this (to me) was that this young man, who did now know me before that moment, looked at me and it was a look of 'respect'.

I probably taught 7,000 kids in my life, junior high age, and I really do not remember that 'cultural look' ever before.

I am glad that you looked after those folks, Jason. Of course, knowing you, I am not surprised.

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams1:
I get the Anchorage news feed, they're having the same problems the rest of us are.

Grizz

??????

Barrow has no cases!

Grizz


& is the kiddo shooting the gun with the youth stock on it yet!!

quote:

Originally posted by tsturm:

Barrow has no cases!

Grizz


& is the kiddo shooting the gun with the youth stock on it yet!!

We have no cases yet but there was one infected worker over in Prudehoe who had just flown in from Anchorage. So far we are safe here in Barrow but it’s just a matter of time.

My girlfriend is an RN at the hospital here and I have three sisters who are RNs in California. This is a stressful time for all of us. So I guess Grizz is correct in that we are all dealing with this pandemic.

As to the rifle. I finally got 50 rounds of ammo loaded this weekend. Getting the components up here has not been easy as they are not sold locally. As soon as we get a break in the weather we are going to head out to do some shooting. Hopefully Renee will get to try it out on a caribou soon.

quote:

Originally posted by scruffy:
Yo, Jason, it was announced that the young would serve the 'elders' first.

There has always been a strong tradition of the community taking care of the elders. Like many traditions that has lost in some respects, although it is still strong here in Barrow.

Last year the village I was in was one that had lost that tradition, but they were trying to build it back into the culture.

Last year I was at a high school basketball game at our school and one of our elders walked up to the bleachers and a group of fans from the visiting village jumped up and ushered her into their seats. The look of sincere joy that that took in helping out this woman whom they didn’t know was something I will always remember.

It’s sad that we don’t have those same traditions in our culture. My 85 year old grandma down in California is still doing her own shopping because she is not used to accepting help.

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
As to the rifle. I finally got 50 rounds of ammo loaded this weekend. Getting the components up here has not been easy as they are not sold locally. As soon as we get a break in the weather we are going to head out to do some shooting. Hopefully Renee will get to try it out on a caribou soon.

If you need brass or bullets (anything I can mail) let me know!

quote:

There has always been a strong tradition of the community taking care of the elders

In the past they left them outside to die when they got to old.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

There has always been a strong tradition of the community taking care of the elders

In the past they left them outside to die when they got to old.

If they were too sick....

And it was the same for the children. In the village I lived in last year there was an old woman who was known to be a bitter old gal. Come to find out when she was young her family left her to die when they headed to a new area. Another family from the same group found her and nursed her back to health.

They ended up settling in the same village but she never had contact with her biological parents again.