Musk Ox for Dinner!

W

walt maslen

Inactive
It is springtime in the arctic, which mean temps above freezing for the first time in many months! Living 33 miles north of the Arctic Circle offers a hunter many species to hunt and Musk Ox is one that tastes about as good any anything out there! My buddy has a Tier II Musk Ox permit which allows him to take a Ox every year and sharing the meat is very common thank goodness! He gave me a rack of ribs, which I quickly processed into just the right size for the BBQ. Nothing is better guys!

As I look into the bottom of my freezer and see the bottom for the first time in many months it is very cool to understand that almost everything we eat that is meat comes from my hard work either with a rod and reel of a .270 in hand! Gods country for sure!

Enjoy boys!

Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
Kotzebue, Ak
www.northwestalaska.com
Your bets bet is camps, rafts and canoe rentals.
 

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Those are some fairly chubby fishes. The eating must be good under the ice for those predatory critters.

Wish I had a few to smoke/fry/grill tonight.
 
We are in full melt right now! I hate mud season with a passion! Everything turns to slop in about 2 days and it is wettttt! We will have good ice for another 2-3 weeks but travel off of the rivers and ocean will be tough damn fast! We have had a monster winter and the 4+ feet of standing snow will not hold up much and the sno-go get stuck all the time!

This is a tough place to live but the benefits are A+! My business was features in March 2009 edition of Flyfisherman Magazine in a article on Char and Dolly Varden fishing. We are home to the State and world record Dolly Varden. I outfitted the author last summer and he bagged a bunch of big Dolly’s with the largest being just over 23 pounds! The record is 27.7 pounds! Talk about a battle to remember! The largest I have ever landed was 15 pounds on 6 wt. Rod, still nice!

Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
Kotzebue, Ak
33 miles north of the Arctic Circle
Your best bet in Rafts, canoes and Camp rentals
www.northwestalaska.com
 
Pics!

I could do this all day guys! I have tons of hunting pics as well. If you want to see hunting ones let me know and I will attach some of those as well.

Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
Kotzebue, Ak
33 miles north of the Arctic Circle
Your best bet in Rafts, canoes and Camp rentals
www.northwestalaska.com
 

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Buddy of mine got one last winter.

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What kind of live weight are the Musk Ox in your area? It would be interesting to see the body size/shape without their Pj's on:rolleyes:

With the name "Musk", is the animal truly a musky smelling thing? As I wonder what the process is for butchering and not tainting the meat.
 
For a real challenge I would use my Ruger .22/45 with 5.5 inch bull barrel... But I do have the adjustable sights...:eek:
Brent
 
Musk Ox is an easy animal to hunt. They are tough to find many times as they live on some nasty ridge tops exposed to the wind so the food source is blown clear. The hide and hair is a monster to get through when you are skinning one out. As far as meat goes a hind ¼ is about 55-75 pounds of useable meat and fronts slightly less. They have lots of meat to bone out and clean up and the rib racks are very nice with a deep brisket attached. Musk Ox are short animals only standing a little over 4 ½ feet at the shoulder. The weather up here favors animals who can conserve body heat thus a short and thick body wins!

The name Musk has nothing to do with any musky taste. I liken Musk Ox meat to a high grade beef with a better tasting fat.

They stand still and it is easy to approach them and a 30 cal will take them down fast. You will usually get a shot in with in 30-50 yards problem.

Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
Kotzebue Alaska
www.northwestalaska.com
your best bet in Camps, rafts and canoe rentals.
 
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