Self-guided Moose & Caribou Hunting in Alaska: Episode 2 - Two Magnificent Bulls!

It’s the morning of day two in the magnificent Alaskan Wilderness. Ian Harford, Steve Wild and Mark McGuinness are heading out on an epic caribou hunting adventure.
Welcome to Self-Guided Hunting in Alaska on Team Wild TV.
Ian and Steve had a busy day yesterday getting into country and setting up camp. They then spend the rest of their time glassing and getting a lay of the land. Their teams home for the next 14 days is in a spectacular valley with big mountains on both sides and a huge field of view of their area ahead. The plan is to get up onto a nearby ridge and continue glassing. They have already spotted a lot of caribou and moose tracks and are very much excited for the day ahead.
As usual, eagle eyed Steve is the first to spot game. High on the mountainside opposite from camp is a grizzly sow and two cubs meandering across the tundra. At over 1000 yards away, they take a closer look through the Hawke Endurance ED spotting scope and get some great footage of this magnificent apex predator and the next generation that will undoubtedly dominate this area. There are estimated to be around 30,000 grizzly bears roaming Alaska’s interior. These voracious predators have had a significant impact on the moose and caribou populations, prompting the Alaska Fish & Game Department to increase quotas and lengthen the hunting season to bring balance back to the region.
Ian and Steve begin the arduous trek up the ridge behind camp and across the plateau beyond. Today is about exploring and trying to find the best vantage point from which to survey the hunting area. Within five minutes of being at the top of the ridge, Steve spots a caribou. They continue to scan the area and see another caribou bull. The two bulls are around 1200-1300 yards away; Ian and Steve plan their approach. With the possibility of doubling up on the two caribou bulls, there’s a renewed sense of optimism and a purpose in each of their strides. They pause periodically to get our bearings. The ground continually changes shape as progress, with new ridges, knolls and ravines appearing from nowhere.
As the elevation increases, so does the quality of their view. From here they can formulate their approach into the caribou, which have disappeared from view and are evading advances. As Ian and Steve get closer to the mountains, the incline increases dramatically. Whilst the vegetation isn’t providing too problematic, the sheer physical exertion is beginning to take it’s toll. The view from here is simply breathtaking and it’s been well worth the effort. Ian and Steve scan the area ahead in detail; they spot the caribou and plan the optimal approach.
As the tension rises and time runs against, Ian and Steve drop their packs and approach the ridge where they believe the caribou are grazing. They need to be light on their feet and ready to take the shot on a moments notice. Ian spots one of the bulls ahead. It is undoubtedly one of the bulls they spotted earlier in the day, it’s distinctly shaped antlers and beautiful white neck are unmistakable.
The next task is to establish the location of the other bull, which is almost certainly in the immediate vicinity. It isn’t long until the second bull appears just yards away. This is the perfect opportunity. Both are mature bulls and both in safe shooting positions. The first bull is aware of their presence and stands. As Mark loads, Ian waits patiently for the second bull to make his move. Marks first shot connects perfectly, but Ian’s double lung shot didn’t immediately anchor the bull and so he put in a second to bring him down. With both bulls down, they gather their packs and head down to pay respects to the fallen game.
Ian and Mark’s first job is to tag the bulls and complete our harvest tickets. This is an essential part of the management programme here in Alaska, with every animal harvested accounted for including where and when it was taken. It has been another incredible day out in the Alaskan wilderness. However, the hard work isn’t over yet. As tomorrow, Ian and Steve will be packing out the caribou bulls.
Self-Guided Hunting in Alaska is proudly sponsored by
Realtree Global - www.realtree.com/global-hunting
Deerhunter Clothing - www.deerhunter.eu/en
Hawke Optics - www.uk.hawkeoptics.com
Sauer - www.sauer.de/en/
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[@SPASKOVB]

Hi from Serbia.Ian is a very good narrator.Nice,clean voice and good diction.Your stories is at the level of BBC productions.Great.

[@ToreDL87]

They've long since passed BBC, all the BBC does is barely manage to name and introduce an animal then it's climate change, climate change, commercial, climate change, climate change, climate change, orange man bad, climate change, climate change, climate change, climate change, climate change, neutral binary gender 2x4" plank associating safe space bubble climate change, 2x4" plank associating safe space climate change into the damn infinite :P

[@andrewdavies4604]

That is some kind of countryside. I wouldn't mind wandering around that for a few days, with no intention of shooting anything, just to be there. I too, am curious that the bears don't just eat your kills overnight. Excellent stuff, anyhow.

[@TeamWildTV]

Andrew Davies that’s always a possibility, but leaving the guts next to the carcass up offers a more attractive meal for a bear.

[@samuelali3346]

Grate hunting with friends 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

[@andreasschiller5875]

A dream of a landscape, a dream of shot (all three), a dream of a trophy, after all a dream of a hunt

[@kevhunter1]

amazing shooting as always keep it up look forward to see if you bag anything else 👍👍

[@campbellj20]

If you had time for coffee/tea after the hunt, you had time to pack loads out. This is aggravating.

[@clarkansas6590]

Good hunt

[@darrendriscoll443]

Self guided with the guide ! Still good !

[@TeamWildTV]

Darren Driscoll Mark wasn’t guiding us, he was hunting. It’s clear to see that Steve and I made the decisions and lead the hunt. This will become more apparent as the series continues...

[@darrendriscoll443]

Thanks for the reply , I would certainly like to have a PH with me out there as its a wild place to be . I enjoy all you videos and have great respect for you both ! Safe hunting and keep up the good work .

[@alecingram4669]

Guys, how’d u manage to do a self guided hunt? I’m a Brit too and I’d love to do this but Alaskan law prevents me from doing a big game hunt there without a guide, how’d u guys do it?

[@CroHunter001]

Hallo from Croatia. Very nice Animals and shots! Im interested, du you cary any pistols?

[@johnsimonelli9988]

By the looks of your camp you guys are definitely not roughing it. I'm jealous! I have two questions, Why so much weight on your back with camp clearly in sight? Also why not gutless quarter your bulls and bring some back? Seems like a wasted trip back to camp.

[@TeamWildTV]

JOHN SIMONELLI When leaving camp you must plan for all eventualities - you never know where your journey might take you, if the weather will change or one of you gets injured and needs to spend the night on the mountain. Camp may look close, but it’s over an hour on foot from the bulls and 2 hours (at a brisk pace) from our vantage point on the mountain over challenging terrain. Extra food, water, clothing, first aid/trauma kit, knives, head torch and emergency shelter are essentials. Add on your rifle, ammunition, spotting scope, tripod and waterproofs and the weight quickly adds up. Don’t let the beautiful imagery fool you, this place is extremely dangerous and will consume the ill-prepared.

[@TeamWildTV]

JOHN SIMONELLI as regards not bringing meat back from the bull that evening, there were a couple of reasons. Firstly, time was against us as the light was drawing in. It has been a tough day and and we needed to get back and recharge for a big day ahead. We could drop the spotting scope and any other unnecessary equipment, then strip the packs from the pack frames ready to carry the quarters. Secondly, by leaving the skin intact, we avoided the exposed meat becoming flyblown. It’s better to skin, butcher and bag immediately so the meat is all preserved. The animals skin is the perfect protection against flies.

[@thakurnileshprakashsingh]

What caliber you used to hunt these animals ?

[@djevil247]

What shooting sticks are you using?

[@TeamWildTV]

Paul moss Vanguard B62 - I use them for everything

[@huntermcac4643]

GPS coordinates of this place, great area !! please thanks

[@kareemfos3719]

هل انتم تاخذون اللحم ام فقط تقتلونها لاجل الجلد والقرون؟

[@troycrittle9809]

Very enjoyable but I think the narration is overdone, let the images speak for themselves.