Whitworth375
AH senior member
Hey all, just got back from another trip and figured id give a quick report.
I had spoken with this outfitter in the past about a few of the different hunts they offer but had never hunted with them, i had a mule deer hunt booked in southern Alberta for this coming November with the outfitter I had hunted my pronghorn with a couple years ago. Recieved an email from Dan at Ameri-Cana Expeditions out of Edmonton AB about a cancellation muskox hunt for this April, a couple phone calls and emails and i had switched my mule deer hunt to a muskox!
March 31 found me flying out of Toronto hassle free to Edmonton. April 1 I then flew from Edmonton to Yellowknife where i met up with the other hunter id be sharing camp with, flew then to Cambridge Bay NU then back west to Kugluktuk NU. Kugluktuk is located at the mouth of the Coppermine River where it dumps into the Coronation Gulf, population roughly 1600 residents. This is the same area that the late Fred Webb used to guide out of. We were picked up at the airport by the current owners son Gustin, my gun case showed up but not my large duffle bag that had alot of my bulkier clothes and of course my 375 H&H ammo. I filed a missing baggage claim at the airport and then we went to the house that we were staying in while in town before going out hunting. Accomadations in town was a cozy 2 bed 1 bath home with all the ammenities including wifi and sat tv. We were introduced to our guides Shane and Peter, both locals around age 30. The plan was to pack up and head to the area we wanted to set up camp and hunt but the weather was bad in that area so it was decided to wait until the next morning, there are some large cliffs in the area you dont want to find the hard way by travelling in a blizzard! That night we were fed a great meal of caribou ribs, mixed veg and bannock. April 2 with still no sign of my duffle bag i was able to borrow some clothing from Gustin including snow pants, a parka, a thin jacket and some suitable boots, luckily i had my wool socks, headwear and handwear packed in my carry on luggage and gun case. Right around 10am it was decided that we would leave town and head out on the land, with komatiks loaded up we headed out. The other hunter Mike rode in one komatik pulled by Shane and i rode in the other pulled by Peter. Riding in a komatik across the tundra is a mix of 2 things- first is similar to sitting in your recliner at home watching Nat Geo and all the lovely scenery, the other part is getting the stuffing knocked out of you! After about 15 miles we stopped for a quick coffee and to check that we hadnt lost anything along the way. We stopped a couple more times along the way to where we were to set up camp, around mile 45-50 Shane and Peter unhooked the sleds and said they would be back in a minute, they went up over a hill and within about 5 min came racing back saying they had spotted a group of 4 bulls and that 2 of them were shooters. I hopped on the snowmobile with Peter, Mike hopped on with Shane and off we went. We came over the hill and spotted the 4 bulls and had a quick look then the hunt was on. Mike was able to shoot a great bull with his 7mm model 70, the other 3 bulls took off so Peter and I went after them on the snowmobile, after a few failed attempts the 3 bulls finally stopped long enough for us to determine the best bull and for me to get a shot with Peters 270 since my bag hadnt shown up yet. With both bulls down we drug them back to the komatiks and got some great pictures! We set up our tents quickly then got to skinning and butchering these hairy beasts. The weather got pretty bad just as Peter and I were finishing up butchering my animal and we didnt end up eating supper til almost midnight. We ate some muskox from previous hunters in camp the week before with some instant mashed potatoes and bannock GREAT AND HOT! The next day the weather still wasnt great between Kugluktuk and camp and we were in no hurry to return to camp anyhow so we packed up our meat and just hung around camp enjoying the scenery. We camped right on an inland lake so that we would have fresh water to boil for coffee, tea etc. Accomadations were wall tents covered by a large tarp and heated with a coleman stove, with the stove going you could sit in there comfortably with justva long sleeve shirt on. April 4 we packed up camp around 11am and made tracks back for town again stopping a couple times for a warm drink and snacks. Later that day we pulled into town in time for supper and Gustin and his mother Mavis' house, supper we had ham, turnip, peas, scalloped potatoes and dinner rolls. After supper we went about cutting the skull of my muskox for transport with an electric chainsaw and hatchet, Peter then wrapped the skull plate up in many layers of cardboard and packing tape inside of a large tarp and froze it solid, the hide of my muskox was cut into 2 pieces, front and back, wrapped up,tied and froze solid inside my duffle bag that had arrived while we were out of town. April 5 we went and checked out the local gift shop/museum which was very interesting. Around 1pm Gustin dropped Mike and I off at the airport with our luggage and wished us safe travel. We then flew to Yellowknife where we switched planes and continuted onto Edmonton. Once in Edmonton, Dan from Ameri-Cana met us at the airport and got us checked into the hotel with our bags. My bags got put in the walk in freezer at the hotel to make sure nothing would thaw out overnight. The morning of April 6 i caught my flight back to Toronto, i grab my guncase and duffle bag but my large backpack containing some clothes, the muskox horns and about 25lb of meat is nowhere to be found. After filing another missing baggage claim the lady working the desk says they will find my bag and deliver it to my house when it shows up and put a rush order on it due to the frozen meat in my bag. April 7 my bag shows up around 430pm, meat is just starting to thaw out but is OK, horns are intact and i couldnt be happier. All in all i had a great trip and would highly reccommend this trip to anyone looking for a muskox hunt in Canada, i also had a wolf and wolverine tags but none were seen.
I had spoken with this outfitter in the past about a few of the different hunts they offer but had never hunted with them, i had a mule deer hunt booked in southern Alberta for this coming November with the outfitter I had hunted my pronghorn with a couple years ago. Recieved an email from Dan at Ameri-Cana Expeditions out of Edmonton AB about a cancellation muskox hunt for this April, a couple phone calls and emails and i had switched my mule deer hunt to a muskox!
March 31 found me flying out of Toronto hassle free to Edmonton. April 1 I then flew from Edmonton to Yellowknife where i met up with the other hunter id be sharing camp with, flew then to Cambridge Bay NU then back west to Kugluktuk NU. Kugluktuk is located at the mouth of the Coppermine River where it dumps into the Coronation Gulf, population roughly 1600 residents. This is the same area that the late Fred Webb used to guide out of. We were picked up at the airport by the current owners son Gustin, my gun case showed up but not my large duffle bag that had alot of my bulkier clothes and of course my 375 H&H ammo. I filed a missing baggage claim at the airport and then we went to the house that we were staying in while in town before going out hunting. Accomadations in town was a cozy 2 bed 1 bath home with all the ammenities including wifi and sat tv. We were introduced to our guides Shane and Peter, both locals around age 30. The plan was to pack up and head to the area we wanted to set up camp and hunt but the weather was bad in that area so it was decided to wait until the next morning, there are some large cliffs in the area you dont want to find the hard way by travelling in a blizzard! That night we were fed a great meal of caribou ribs, mixed veg and bannock. April 2 with still no sign of my duffle bag i was able to borrow some clothing from Gustin including snow pants, a parka, a thin jacket and some suitable boots, luckily i had my wool socks, headwear and handwear packed in my carry on luggage and gun case. Right around 10am it was decided that we would leave town and head out on the land, with komatiks loaded up we headed out. The other hunter Mike rode in one komatik pulled by Shane and i rode in the other pulled by Peter. Riding in a komatik across the tundra is a mix of 2 things- first is similar to sitting in your recliner at home watching Nat Geo and all the lovely scenery, the other part is getting the stuffing knocked out of you! After about 15 miles we stopped for a quick coffee and to check that we hadnt lost anything along the way. We stopped a couple more times along the way to where we were to set up camp, around mile 45-50 Shane and Peter unhooked the sleds and said they would be back in a minute, they went up over a hill and within about 5 min came racing back saying they had spotted a group of 4 bulls and that 2 of them were shooters. I hopped on the snowmobile with Peter, Mike hopped on with Shane and off we went. We came over the hill and spotted the 4 bulls and had a quick look then the hunt was on. Mike was able to shoot a great bull with his 7mm model 70, the other 3 bulls took off so Peter and I went after them on the snowmobile, after a few failed attempts the 3 bulls finally stopped long enough for us to determine the best bull and for me to get a shot with Peters 270 since my bag hadnt shown up yet. With both bulls down we drug them back to the komatiks and got some great pictures! We set up our tents quickly then got to skinning and butchering these hairy beasts. The weather got pretty bad just as Peter and I were finishing up butchering my animal and we didnt end up eating supper til almost midnight. We ate some muskox from previous hunters in camp the week before with some instant mashed potatoes and bannock GREAT AND HOT! The next day the weather still wasnt great between Kugluktuk and camp and we were in no hurry to return to camp anyhow so we packed up our meat and just hung around camp enjoying the scenery. We camped right on an inland lake so that we would have fresh water to boil for coffee, tea etc. Accomadations were wall tents covered by a large tarp and heated with a coleman stove, with the stove going you could sit in there comfortably with justva long sleeve shirt on. April 4 we packed up camp around 11am and made tracks back for town again stopping a couple times for a warm drink and snacks. Later that day we pulled into town in time for supper and Gustin and his mother Mavis' house, supper we had ham, turnip, peas, scalloped potatoes and dinner rolls. After supper we went about cutting the skull of my muskox for transport with an electric chainsaw and hatchet, Peter then wrapped the skull plate up in many layers of cardboard and packing tape inside of a large tarp and froze it solid, the hide of my muskox was cut into 2 pieces, front and back, wrapped up,tied and froze solid inside my duffle bag that had arrived while we were out of town. April 5 we went and checked out the local gift shop/museum which was very interesting. Around 1pm Gustin dropped Mike and I off at the airport with our luggage and wished us safe travel. We then flew to Yellowknife where we switched planes and continuted onto Edmonton. Once in Edmonton, Dan from Ameri-Cana met us at the airport and got us checked into the hotel with our bags. My bags got put in the walk in freezer at the hotel to make sure nothing would thaw out overnight. The morning of April 6 i caught my flight back to Toronto, i grab my guncase and duffle bag but my large backpack containing some clothes, the muskox horns and about 25lb of meat is nowhere to be found. After filing another missing baggage claim the lady working the desk says they will find my bag and deliver it to my house when it shows up and put a rush order on it due to the frozen meat in my bag. April 7 my bag shows up around 430pm, meat is just starting to thaw out but is OK, horns are intact and i couldnt be happier. All in all i had a great trip and would highly reccommend this trip to anyone looking for a muskox hunt in Canada, i also had a wolf and wolverine tags but none were seen.
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