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We were up early and and broke camp down in record time. The weather had turned gray and there was no doubt our long streak of bluebird weather was going to end. By mid day we were back at the cabin and it was raining.

Earlier that morning Neil got me off to the side and told me that he really wanted Bill and Gary each to get a caribou. The caribou opportunities were going to be reduced and being they were BSC clients, he didn't feel right about hunting bou until they were both tagged out. I had already reached the same conclusion as well. I've killed a lot of caribou and I really wanted these two guys to get a bull. After their tags were filled, Neil and I could run around but until then the rest of the hunt was all theirs. I must say that was a classy gesture by Neil. I know lots of agents who wouldn't sacrifice their opportunity and that's why BSC holds a fantastic reputation with the bowhunters who use their service.

One thing was for certain, neither Neil or I wanted to hunt this afternoon in the rain. The weather was nasty and fog was rolling in and out of the mountains. All of a sudden Knud hurried into the cabin and asked us if we wanted to go with him to shoot a porpoise.

A porpoise? Oh hell ya.

All I could think about was getting a kill photo next to Flipper to annoy all the liberals back home in Connecticut. While it wouldn't be as juicy as clubbing a baby seal, it was no doubt a close second. I slid on my Sitka rain gear and grabbed my video camera. Knud pulled out the most ridiculously rusted POS .22 mag I have ever seen. It looked like it had been recovered from the Titanic. That was his weapon of choice for porpoise hunting and I can only imagine the carnage that old rifle has generated. Neil and I jumped into his skiff as Knud put the pedal to the metal and raced out to where he had just seen the porpoises in the bay.

He slowed his boat to a crawl then took aim at something. I didn't notice any porpoises but he was most definitely on to something. Suddenly a seal head pops out of the water and the crack of Knud's .22mag rings out across the bay. The shot was high, just over the seal's head. It dove under at the sound of the shot.

Knud pulled out his pocket knife to eject the shell from the rifle. This old bolt action was so beat up that it could no longer eject a spent round. Knud scanned the water again before resting the rifle on his steering console windshield. It was like he had a 2nd sense where the seal would surface.

Crack! followed by "Holy Molly" as Knud missed again. It was not hard to miss. The boat was rocking and the seals were at least 100 yards off. The gun had open sights and was a total wreck. This process repeated at least twenty times over the course of the next 90 minutes and I couldn't stop giggling. There was one thing for certain, if you were in the line of fire when that seal popped up? You better duck, because that Inuit was focused like a fish eagle on a mackerel.

Off in the distance a boat raced north across the bay and Knud lit up. Minke! A whale surfaced between us and that boat. "Let's go kill that whale" I exclaimed but Knud was far more responsible than me and said "no shoot the minke." Now that would have been a video!

Finally, the moment we had been waiting for. Knud was in the zone as he held the rifle at the ready. The water swirled and a big seal popped up - this time only 30 yards from the boat! Knud bore down on the ridiculously easy target. The goal was to stun him with the .22 then race over and harpoon the seal before he sank. I envisioned showing the footage to all my yuppy neighbors as they winced in horror and disgust. This shot was a slow pitch, I could have taken it with my Mathews Chill at this distance.

'Click.'....followed by an F-bomb from Knud.

The gun never fired. By the time Knud had pulled the dudd with his pocket knife and cycled in a new round the seal had submerged. Laughing, no doubt.

We stayed out a bit longer and he had a few more cracks at distant seals but our window was closing and Knud needed to be back for Bill and Gary's afternoon hunt. He stowed the .22 and we raced back to the cabin. I hope to do that again. It might have been the highlight of the entire trip.

The afternoon hunt turned out well for Bill and Gary. They found some caribou and put a stalk on - but just couldn't seal the deal. They did warn me about the climb, apparently it was rougher than imagined. I had spent zero time getting in shape for this hunt so that wasn't good news.

Tomorrow we'll be splitting into two groups of three again. This time I'll be with Gary and Knud. Neil is going with Bill and Frank. Someone is going to kill a caribou.

Gear Used on this Bowhunt: Bow



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