The typical day was up at 6 and into the cook hut for coffee, the daily discussion of where to go and breakfast. Breakfast was a mix of European, cold meats, cheeses, breads, and American, eggs, bacon or sausage, maybe pancakes, maybe leftovers from last night’s dinner of caribou or muskox. Whatever was on the table got assembled into sandwiches for lunch. Then, by 9, gear up and head out. If walking, we’d walk out 4 hours, have lunch, then walk back 4 hours. The terrain was mostly rolling hills 2-300 feet of elevation, rocks, tundra and low, swampy areas. The tundra was spongy and uneven, so you had to be careful about where you put your feet. Alternatively, we’d pile into a rubber boat with a small outboard and cross one of the many huge lakes in the area. There was a second boat stashed on another lake well out from camp, and it was after crossing the second lake that we got most of our opportunities. Dinner was mostly game meat, caribou which was like filet, muskox more like flank steak, and frozen fish, arctic char, from which Karsten made a great fish stew on a small propane stove. The old muskox bulls provided the meat from which these guys make dog food. They have 20 sled dogs, like giant huskies, and they eat a ton of muskox meat. The food was great, plenty of beer and wine, everyone slept like the dead. Sadly, no northern lights due to the persistent overcast.
About the rifles: Normally on a hunt like this, I’d bring a 300WM and shoot Barnes 180 TTSX. As I said earlier, we had decided to not bring our own rifles. When we got to camp, Karsten got out eight or so rifles to choose from, all scoped and equipped with suppressors. I selected a Steyr 300WM with a Zeiss scope. Zeroed at 200, very accurate. It seemed heavy, but whatever. I had an Eberlestock pack to carry the rifle. After 8 hours of carrying it the first day, however, I was ready for something a lot lighter and shorter. The can was heavy and the barrel 24”, so the whole package didn’t balance well, in or out of the pack. I talked this over with Lukas, and he suggested Ross and I share his rifle, a Tikka T3X in 6.5X55. Ammo was Sellier & Bellot 131 grain JSP, scope a Leupold VX5HD 3-15X44, zeroed at 200. I was skeptical about the cartridge, essentially a 6.5 Creedmoor, but Lukas said it was perfect for this hunt. Even with the can, it fit the pack well, balanced well, was easy to carry and had virtually no recoil. Cans are unrestricted here; everybody hunts with them.
Tikka T3X in 6.5X55; easy to carry and shoot.
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