Musk ox.


Me and jordan covering many miles with binoculars. Haha. Little smoother than going over to look for sure

Breakup is commencing here at Lake of the Woods, the lake is froze, the Rainy River is open nearly to the lake, and trubutaries are flowing, some ice is intact near the big river. This is about the time I would normally start beaver trapping.....and 100 mile south others are. Pond ice in the forest is floating to the top....

I’ll finish my wolf story when I have some free time.

My Great uncle Robert passed away couple days ago. Knowledgeable elder that will be missed. He’s my grandmas brother from Old Crow Yukon

Ryan , I'm sorry to hear of the passing of your Great Uncle Robert may you all find strength and comfort in the memories of all the good times you all shared .

Nice shot on the caribou too by the way !

Rest in peace Robert . Blessings to your family Ryan

Continued from page 7

I didn’t see any quick route to the caribou so I continued on all the way to the end of the valley to a place i know I could come down the mountain as I have before but I was confident that I could also climb up. I unhooked my sled and made a run at a smooth place. all was going good until I just past the steepest part. That’s where I hit ice. Luckily I had speed and that was just a brief scare. Wish I took a picture of that one. Once I was on top I could see the caribou at attention but not running or anything. I slipped into a runoff ditch and stayed low. When I gained elevation again I was about 250 yards from the herd of 100 or so. I spotted a couple healthy looking young bulls in the lead so I knocked them over and turned the whole herd back in the opposite direction. I could’ve kept shooting and filled my sled right up but I know better than to mess with the steep slippery descent this time of year. Plus I wanted to stay light enough to get into some wolfy areas later on . I pulled the caribou back to above where I left my sled and let them slide down the smooth snowy mountain. Then I went back to where I climbed up and carefully made my way down making sure to stay in my earlier trail for the most possible traction. Sure wouldn’t want to mess up there. I only gutted the caribou this time since I would be putting on more miles and didn’t want to be pulling warm skinned caribou around and getting everything messier than it needs to be. Didn’t take long at all before I had my load securely tied down in the sled. A little fog was rolling back in and I had to seriously think of my next move. I had a fresh trail made in the shortest route back to town possible. With the possibility of bad weather coming back i gave some serious thought to just getting a few more caribou and going home by the main trail. That would be the Smartest safest plan alright but where’s the fun in that? The wolf hunter in me took over and I decided to break trail through a shortcut that would bring me through about 4 areas with a high probability for wolves. I got stuck twice making that trail but that’s to be expected. I was sure happy to get back to my old trail from a couple weeks earlier though. I was content with my two caribou but I always like to push right to the end of the trip. I thought to myself that a couple wolves would be the cherry on top of an already great trip. A lot of times it’s plan b or c that works so always always go check over that next hill, use the daylight until the very last minute, do whatever you can to increase your odds of success.

As I made the final descent to the next major valley I spotted tracks crossing. Fresh tracks. It was just snowing lightly earlier and I could still make out the toenail marks. The Tracks looked to be about 7-8 wolves heading in the direction I just came from. They hadn’t crossed the last valley I travelled through so that could only mean they were still above me on the ridge between the two valleys. Immediately my eyes looked up the ridge but no quick sighting. I knew the next tributary of this river valley would bring me close so I decided not to climb after them but instead try to get ahead of them. I could see the trib in the distance and my level of alertness was climbing fast. I’ve got a good chance so No time for mistakes here I thought. All of a sudden I see two different sets of tracks on my day old skidoo trail travelling from a complete different direction as the pack. These tracks were walking in my direction then they turned and start running in the direction they just came from!! I knew I was close. I sped up and was scanning the hills ahead of me hoping to see something. I looked again to the trib I was headed for and there halfway up the steep but smoothly drifted mountain I seen them. One black and one grey climbing up. I Unhooked my sled and sped towards them as I thought of the terrain on top. I know this area like the back of my hand and I knew if I could quickly get on the south side of them and push them in a northwest direction I had a good chance of getting them into a big smooth flat that would be the perfect place to get them both. I wondered if these were fast runners or average runners?
Was I taking too long to get on them? How much ground had they covered since I last seen them? Lots of variables involved and that why it pays to know the areas you hunt. I wasted no time in getting to exactly where they climbed up and i just aimed for a smooth part and held the throttle. When I topped out I looked right and seen nothing. I looked to my left and there was the black standing broadside at about 600 yards.


Two caribou loaded

I could see animals in the distance as the black started trotting away. With the rocks and steep drops I was solely focused on the black wolf in front of me though and I still don’t know for sure of they were more wolves or caribou. This particular spot is a series of benches. The whole valley side is like strips of rock and smooth snow between. Odds were looking decent for sure. I was gaining ground on the smooth snow and managed to get closer. I thought about trying a shot right away but if I missed it would take time to get back closer again so I decided to just get above the black and turn him north to the big flat. Easier said than done. Wolves know where to lead you and this wolf knew he needed to go south. He stayed on the side hill and I stayed above him until we topped the next small hill. That’s where the flat starts to opens up. I spotted the grey running quite always off to my right in the direction of the flats but the black still wouldn’t turn. At the speed the grey was covering the flat I had to make something happen if i was going to get both so I turned hard and gave the black no choice but to leave the rocks and start down hill. This time it worked. I looked again to the grey and it was about halfway across the flat. I was also scanning for more wolves. I didn’t have much time but once the black committed to the flat I made my move and let off a shot. Was I ever relieved to see the black roll! I gave it one more to be sure and then all my focus switched to the grey. As luck would have it the valley was table top smooth so I gained ground fast. I had recently talked with a biologist friend of mine about retrieving a collar that hadn’t moved in days so I knew the remaining collaredwolves were grey. I was okay with letting the grey go if it was collared (we don’t have to but I’ll avoid shooting collared ones if I can) and as I pulled up closer i could see a black ring around it neck. Alright I thought I guess it’s just the one today. I wasnt complaining at all though as I was more than happy with one black wolf. I got up closer and Could see that it only had a black ring of hair around its neck! Fair game!! By now it was almost getting to a deep rocky creek so I got ahead of it and turned it back to the open. Once again I pulled up within rifle range, took a deep breath and settled in behind the scope. I had to take another big breath to calm my aim and then I squeezed off a shot. GREY WOLF DOWN!!

I quickly shut off the skidoo and let out a couple howls. Sometimes you get an answer and you can keep going but today all was quiet. No complaints from me though. I was happy as I loaded the grey onto my cargo rack and started slowly over to the black spot in the distance.

See the black spot across the flats to the left?

I always love retracing my tracks and picking up wolves.

I had to travel slowly with two wolves on the machine with me. I kept looking to the right at the black wolf feet and the. To the left to the grey wolf feet. Absolute wolf hunting high! Wish I could bottle and sell the stuff. I got back to where I climbed out earlier and I only had to take a quick look to see that it was a bit steep to go back down. I wondered what crazy person had made this trail then I remembered it was me. Haha. Had to go a bit further and make a new trail through the steep creek I mentioned earlier. Soon I was back to my sled and after a couple quick texts on the inreach I loaded the wolves up nice and neat away from the caribou and then I started back towards the cabin with a decent load of meat and fur. Within 20 minutes I crossed a big set of wolverine tracks on a full run. I’m talking bout claws digging in and snow flying behind them. He was headed to a huge flat to the east. I knew I could track this guy too and I was really tempted to but wolverine tend to be losing hair on the legs and rubbing at the base of the tail this time of year. He might’ve still been prime but I had a long ways to go and wasn’t going to risk anything for a wolverine that I figured would be best left alone. At 5am I was finished travelling home and unloading.
I didn’t mind being tired the next day at work. A field work day on top of that. I’m sure the research crew was tired of hearing hunting stories by the end of the day. As much as I wanted to go to sleep after work I fired up the warehouse and clean skinned both wolves . I sure love those mountains. I’ll forever be grateful that my Dad and my Grandpa started taking me out there at a young age. If all goes well I’ll be back out for one more weekend wolf hunt in a few days time.

Good stuff Ryan. Bit of adrenalin going on there. Always said wolves good to mid April. Imagine u got studded track for that stuff. We used to unload our gutted caribou from the komatik on really steep descents of the barren ground hills and tie by the waist backwards. We'd tie them to the komatik again and drag the deer backwards down the hill on either side of the komatik but not on the komatik. Drag against the grain of the hair really helped to control coming down. Load them on again when we got to the flatter ground. Sometimes we would leave the deer on the komatik and tie some long tree tops backwards to the sides of the komatik to slow the descent. Some places there were a few trees we could use for that. Still tricky job though coming down through the steep narrow gulches off the high ground. Brings back memories. Thanks for posting.

BTW good writing too. A lotta guys can't write stuff up too well but you got the gift for that.

What a great story!.
I was right there with ya.

Great story, reminds me of how guys would hunt coyotes west of me in the wheat fields. Some of the guys will ride double with the passenger using a shotgun. The wolves around here like the timber country and they don't live out where it is open enough and gentle enough to hunt them like that.

Great story.

Sorry to hear of your Great Uncles passing Ryan.

Wow talk about a great hunting writeup! Felt like I was right there with you on the chase. Congrats on your harvest!

Good write up

Yes, excellent job!!

Thanks all. Bobbys turn this weekend...

Dang dude, that sounds fun! What are you shooting them with, and how close do you generally get before bailing off and flinging lead?

I prefer 223. Versatile for long range and minimum damage if I’m shooting at close range. I always carry 22 magnum for back up. 9/10 you can get close enough to shoot them with that. Range can be spitting distance to couple hundred yards. Further if they’re getting away and you send a few Hail Mary's. Terrain is in charge of all the shooting variables I’d say. 270 is another one I like for anything but I think you all already know that. I don’t get off the machine though. The way I carry my rifle makes it easy to pull off with my left hand while I’m still driving. Usually I brake and rest in the windshield or just shoot offhand. Sometimes and mostly with the 22 I’ll shoot at close range as my skidoo comes to a rolling stop. Having the back up gun gives me 25 shots total before I have to reload clips or tube.

Last marten to skin this year. I had 8 since we snapped all our traps last month. I’ve got a couple wolverine and 3 wolves on the go right now. Late spring so far but once it starts I think it will go quick. Good time to get everything taken care of before my time off starts. Looking forward to 16 days out at my camp in may.

Finishing up with fur. Geese are here. Not sure if I’ll go look for a bear or just start hauling loads to the geese camp. Tough decision but it should be fun either way. Time off starts tomorrow. Probably have time to get out of town by Monday. We’ll just see what happens

Last decent pile. Still an assortment to get through but I have freezer space and they can wait until July. Got to get out on the land. Best time of year besides September.

First pic maybe a little telling Ryan with all the books and like my place. A little old school now with all the u tube but those books did not hurt your writing skills.