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Hi everyone. It has been awhile and have been meaning to write this up for a few weeks now and thought I would give the abbreviated version here first. I am writing an entire story of the whole hunt but for now I can give the meaty details.
I had decided almost 10-12 months ago now to go with the Grendel for my Caribou hunt in the Brooks Range of Alaska. I felt there was enough personal experience out there along with reliable data to trust this smaller but efficient round to do the business of caribou killing. After doing a lot of research, Jim from Quality Arms of Idaho and myself "sat down" and contemplated the build. I wanted to build a lightweight gun without a long barrel so it would be manageable out in the tundra. The weight savings would then allow me to mount a Nightforce on top as a finishing touch. I was more than satisfied not only with the quality of the build but also the price.
After much research and trail and error, I actually switched to the Hornady SST 123gr round literally the day we left for the hunt. I had originally bought 200rnds of this to break the barrel in. The groupings were fantastic out of my 18" BHW barrel (.75"-1" at 100yds). I also ordered some of Alexander Arms custom loaded 120gr Barnes TSX as my hunting rounds (60rounds total). I did buy these from a third party through gunbroker. The grouping was horrendous with these rounds (2-4" at 100yds) and eventually I dropped them for the Hornady. To this day I cannot understand why the performance was so poor but I did save some rounds and the box.
The drive from Anchorage was close to 800 miles or so to the fly out camp. We were weather delayed for a day and a half before flying out. Once we touched down in our very remote valley about 40 miles south of Deadhorse Alaska and 40miles east of the Haul Road we set up camp. Hunting would not begin until the next day per Alaskan game rules.
The first day we saw over 125 Caribou. I was amazed. Herds varied greatly in size but one thing that remained true throughout the hunt is that a lot of the time the big bulls seemed to be in smaller herds and usually with other big bulls. The first day one of my hunting partners and myself took two bulls simultaneously. I took a bull which had a double shovel, which can be quite rare. His body was of good size but I would characterize his rack as medium size. The shot was from 275 yards away. The round entered exactly midline right behind the shoulder. It took both lungs out and exited and the bull only took one step before face planting into the tundra. At this point I knew I had made the right choice in my weapon and my round. You can tell from the pic of this bull that blood immediately shot out from his mouth and nose and even from that distance I knew I had made a perfect double lung shot.
The rest of the week progressed with over 500 Caribou seen in our valley along with a few Grizz and one bull moose. One of our hunting partners turned out to be less than ideal and honestly a burden. It was this that cost me a chance at a once in a lifetime Caribou. The details are long but I had butterflies looking at this bull and he got within 300yards before the opportunity was spoiled. I was pretty downtrodden until literally the last day of our trip.
One of our hunting group killed a nice bull about 3.5 miles from camp. He called in and asked for help packing him back in as he had to cross the creek three times and it was a lot of weight for one trip. Coming back into camp with a load in my pack, I spotted a herd of bulls about 12 in number up on a mountain across the creek. I knew it was now or never, so leaving behind all my gear except my revolver, rifle, radio, trekking pole, and water, I took off for the climb. It was about a mile up the mountain through the creek, a 65degree incline of runoff and many many cabbage heads before I peaked the ridge. I stopped a couple times to try and calm my breathing so I could make an accurate shot. As I was climbing the last 10 yards, a set of bulls came into sight to my left into the drop down valley. At this point there were a couple big bulls but none as big as what I could spy down the creek before the climb. I estimated the yardage of the group of 6 bulls to be about 300 yards. I dug my trekking pole into a cabbage head and set my Grendel on top. Then the big man walked into sight. He had a very nice rack and a large front paddle/shovel. He was mostly a three quarter away shot and walking up the mountain. It was at this moment that I and my gun slipped of the trekking pole and into the wet tundra we went. I knew that this would not be an ideal way to make the shot so I found the tightest group of cabbage heads I could find and laid prone on top of them. I deployed my bipod and stuck it hard into the tundra. The big bull was still walking away and mostly showing only his rear, so I began to whistle hoping to get his attention. Eventually he turned broadside and started walking to my left. I estimated that he was now about 375-400 yds away. I adjusted for the distance, took a nice deep breath, and pulled the trigger on the end of my exhale. I literally heard the round hit his side (awesome sound in a freaky quiet mountain side) and down he went. I saw his horns move side to side above the tundra for a few minutes then he was still. I grabbed my gear and headed straight down the mountain.
I got down to the creek and got on the radio to my hunting buddy. He met me and we climbed the mountain again and to the sight of the bull. The distance from where I left my trekking pole to the sight of the bull ended up being approximately 400 yards. My buddy is an excellent caper and we began to skin the beautiful bull. The first thing we noticed which was pretty awesome is his front shovel was so large, that when he bent down to eat, the paddle pressed against his nose and he had developed a scar there. Once we got towards his backside we actually found the Grendel round stuck in his cape! It had gone through and caught in the last half inch of his cape. Upon opening him up, the round decimated two ribs, his left lung, the major vessels of his heart, and exited through the back shoulder (he was still slightly quartered away when I shot).
The hunt was such an amazing experience and I am glad I took my bulls with my newly built Grendel. Thanks to Jim at Quality Arms of Idaho for his help in building the weapon. Hope you guys and gals enjoy the short story and pics!
Ryan
Caribou hunt 2013 Return to Happy Valley 069.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan's big bull 005.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan's big bull 002.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan's big bull 001.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan and Buddy's double 018.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan and Buddy's double 019.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan and Buddy's double 020.jpg
I had decided almost 10-12 months ago now to go with the Grendel for my Caribou hunt in the Brooks Range of Alaska. I felt there was enough personal experience out there along with reliable data to trust this smaller but efficient round to do the business of caribou killing. After doing a lot of research, Jim from Quality Arms of Idaho and myself "sat down" and contemplated the build. I wanted to build a lightweight gun without a long barrel so it would be manageable out in the tundra. The weight savings would then allow me to mount a Nightforce on top as a finishing touch. I was more than satisfied not only with the quality of the build but also the price.
After much research and trail and error, I actually switched to the Hornady SST 123gr round literally the day we left for the hunt. I had originally bought 200rnds of this to break the barrel in. The groupings were fantastic out of my 18" BHW barrel (.75"-1" at 100yds). I also ordered some of Alexander Arms custom loaded 120gr Barnes TSX as my hunting rounds (60rounds total). I did buy these from a third party through gunbroker. The grouping was horrendous with these rounds (2-4" at 100yds) and eventually I dropped them for the Hornady. To this day I cannot understand why the performance was so poor but I did save some rounds and the box.
The drive from Anchorage was close to 800 miles or so to the fly out camp. We were weather delayed for a day and a half before flying out. Once we touched down in our very remote valley about 40 miles south of Deadhorse Alaska and 40miles east of the Haul Road we set up camp. Hunting would not begin until the next day per Alaskan game rules.
The first day we saw over 125 Caribou. I was amazed. Herds varied greatly in size but one thing that remained true throughout the hunt is that a lot of the time the big bulls seemed to be in smaller herds and usually with other big bulls. The first day one of my hunting partners and myself took two bulls simultaneously. I took a bull which had a double shovel, which can be quite rare. His body was of good size but I would characterize his rack as medium size. The shot was from 275 yards away. The round entered exactly midline right behind the shoulder. It took both lungs out and exited and the bull only took one step before face planting into the tundra. At this point I knew I had made the right choice in my weapon and my round. You can tell from the pic of this bull that blood immediately shot out from his mouth and nose and even from that distance I knew I had made a perfect double lung shot.
The rest of the week progressed with over 500 Caribou seen in our valley along with a few Grizz and one bull moose. One of our hunting partners turned out to be less than ideal and honestly a burden. It was this that cost me a chance at a once in a lifetime Caribou. The details are long but I had butterflies looking at this bull and he got within 300yards before the opportunity was spoiled. I was pretty downtrodden until literally the last day of our trip.
One of our hunting group killed a nice bull about 3.5 miles from camp. He called in and asked for help packing him back in as he had to cross the creek three times and it was a lot of weight for one trip. Coming back into camp with a load in my pack, I spotted a herd of bulls about 12 in number up on a mountain across the creek. I knew it was now or never, so leaving behind all my gear except my revolver, rifle, radio, trekking pole, and water, I took off for the climb. It was about a mile up the mountain through the creek, a 65degree incline of runoff and many many cabbage heads before I peaked the ridge. I stopped a couple times to try and calm my breathing so I could make an accurate shot. As I was climbing the last 10 yards, a set of bulls came into sight to my left into the drop down valley. At this point there were a couple big bulls but none as big as what I could spy down the creek before the climb. I estimated the yardage of the group of 6 bulls to be about 300 yards. I dug my trekking pole into a cabbage head and set my Grendel on top. Then the big man walked into sight. He had a very nice rack and a large front paddle/shovel. He was mostly a three quarter away shot and walking up the mountain. It was at this moment that I and my gun slipped of the trekking pole and into the wet tundra we went. I knew that this would not be an ideal way to make the shot so I found the tightest group of cabbage heads I could find and laid prone on top of them. I deployed my bipod and stuck it hard into the tundra. The big bull was still walking away and mostly showing only his rear, so I began to whistle hoping to get his attention. Eventually he turned broadside and started walking to my left. I estimated that he was now about 375-400 yds away. I adjusted for the distance, took a nice deep breath, and pulled the trigger on the end of my exhale. I literally heard the round hit his side (awesome sound in a freaky quiet mountain side) and down he went. I saw his horns move side to side above the tundra for a few minutes then he was still. I grabbed my gear and headed straight down the mountain.
I got down to the creek and got on the radio to my hunting buddy. He met me and we climbed the mountain again and to the sight of the bull. The distance from where I left my trekking pole to the sight of the bull ended up being approximately 400 yards. My buddy is an excellent caper and we began to skin the beautiful bull. The first thing we noticed which was pretty awesome is his front shovel was so large, that when he bent down to eat, the paddle pressed against his nose and he had developed a scar there. Once we got towards his backside we actually found the Grendel round stuck in his cape! It had gone through and caught in the last half inch of his cape. Upon opening him up, the round decimated two ribs, his left lung, the major vessels of his heart, and exited through the back shoulder (he was still slightly quartered away when I shot).
The hunt was such an amazing experience and I am glad I took my bulls with my newly built Grendel. Thanks to Jim at Quality Arms of Idaho for his help in building the weapon. Hope you guys and gals enjoy the short story and pics!
Ryan
Caribou hunt 2013 Return to Happy Valley 069.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan's big bull 005.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan's big bull 002.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan's big bull 001.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan and Buddy's double 018.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan and Buddy's double 019.jpgCaribou hunt 2013 Ryan and Buddy's double 020.jpg
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