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Shooting a Muskox



Experienced bowhunters who are used to deer, elk, and even african game understand that a low shot is always preferable. We are programmed to shoot tight for the back leg. Well this is a guaranteed wound on a muskox. Besides the illusion of their shaggy coat making them look bigger than they are, the lungs sit far higher on a muskox than any other animal I have hunted. If you book this hunt, understand this fact. These are very tough animals to bring down even with perfectly placed shots.

We were up and out shortly after breakfast but well after the sun was up. Unlike deer, elk or other animals muskox hunting is a daylight activity. No need to get positioned in the dark.

We had drawn numbers back at the hotel and the sequence was like this: 1. Gary Gapp, 2. Neill Summers, 3. Bill Gunther, and 4. Pat Lefemine (me). All of the hunters agreed to let me film them which was very kind of them since I got to enjoy four muskox hunts instead of just my own. I did assure them that if they wanted me to back-off that was no problem.

Our first stop was the canyon that Bill and I glassed yesterday from Teet mountain. Neil tagged along and positioned himself high on a bluff while Frank, Gary and I headed into a creek bottom to stalk a nice mature bull that was feeding on bushes along its bank.

The muskox were warier than I expected. While they are no muleys, they did pay attention to the wind and they showed a modest amount of alarm when they spotted us. Gary's first stalk ended in the herd moving away. The good news is we had three other groups of Muskox and each contained a mature 'shooter' bull.

The second group of Muskox we took a different approach. Frank tried to "nudge" them in our direction. That didn't work at all, they bunched up and ran for the hills.

The third group we did far better with. Gary and Frank belly-crawled within 30 yards but the bull was just not quite big enough and Gary opted to pass per Frank's recommendation. That left our fourth, but not our final herd choice which was up the mountain a bit on the edge of a bluff. We made our way to them as Neil watched from above.

Watch the video of Gary's Kill

The stalk was going to be tricky so we all agreed for me to stay behind and film from 200 yard away. I had an excellent vantage point to both predators and prey and watched Gary make a well executed stalk to less than 30 yards. He waited for a decent angle then delivered a perfect arrow to the bull. The bull ran a short distance before stopping. Gary shot him again with another well placed arrow. The bull ran down the hill then tipped over. We were excited! Gary's muskox hunt lasted maybe 4 hours and ended up with a bull that would, no doubt, make the PY minimum score of 90.

After photos we were joined by Neil, Bill, Knud and some Inuit friends who were happy to take the meat. We packed everything back to the boats then headed for lunch.

We loaded up the boats again and headed to a different area. This time it was Neil Summers' turn. Neil, who is the owner of Bowhunting Safari Consultants has been a friend for many years but this was the first time we've hunted together. He has hunted nearly 30 different countries and has taken tons of trophy animals. This was his second muskox hunt, his first took place in the arctic.

We cruised the shores of the fjord looking over several good bulls. A local group of Inuits told us about a good bull at the head of the fjord but it turned out to be a young bull and not a shooter. It was painfully obvious they wanted Neil to shoot that bull, the young bulls eat far better than the old rutters.

We kept looking and it didn't take very long. We had found a great bull. He had dark horns and was actively rutting. Frank, Neil and I headed up a small hill in the direction of the herd. We could hear the herd bull growling.

We stalked within 30 yards of this herd but it was getting harder to approach undetected so we split up at the last minute. I filmed the action from 70 yards away. Once again I had a front row seat to the action.

Watch the video of Neil's Kill

Neil and Frank worked to within 22 yards of the giant muskox. I could see Neil get to full draw and make a good shot. The arrow looked perfect, but it was a little low and broke the bull's front leg, so it did not penetrate as well as Neil would like. Neil stalked it again and made another good shot. It took a little longer to get this bull down - these animals are tough! He made it convenient for us - his escape route was along the water where he laid down and died within 30' of the shoreline. This made for an easy packing job!

The bull was very big with hard bosses and great hair. After we got him cut up and into the boat it was party time. We had two PY muskox down on the first day of hunting. It was no doubt that tomorrow would be another exciting day. There were big muskox everywhere.

On the boat ride home either Bill or Gary made a brilliant suggestion; we needed to find an iceberg and chip the ice from it for cocktails. It took us no time to find one and Knud used his whale harpoon to break off 10 pounds of ice. Back at the cabin we toasted Neil and Gary on their trophy bulls with Black Velvet Whiskey served over 25,000 year old ice cubes. How cool is that?