Alaska residents: TV show "Yukon Men", shooting caribou with an AR-15?

canoeguy · Sep 2, 2012

Watching the new reality TV show from Alaska, "Yukon Men", showing the villagers of Tanana, AK out doing thier thing, hunting and trapping, using snowmobiles and dogs. Everyone carrys a rifle of course, but thier choices were surprising.

Town manager has what looks like an old Colt "SP1" AR-15, triangular handgaurds, light weight barrel, etc., with it he shot a wolf that had been hanging around town. A young man has a Bushmaster AR carbine which he used to shoot caribou, another fellow has a Ruger "All Weather" stainless steel rifle which he noted was in .223 caliber, he shot a caribou with that as well. An older gentleman has what looks like a scoped Remington 788 in .308 caliber, which would be my choice.

They were making one shot kills on the caribou, so I guess an AR in .223 was enough rifle for them, but I would think a rifle in .308 or 30/06 would be minimum for daily use in Alaska.

So, Alaska residents, what do you tote around on a daily basis?

Rule3 · Sep 2, 2012

I saw that episode and thought it a bit odd. One of the animals was down and required a 2nd shot. Do not recall if it was the .223.??

Where is Sprefix??

Alpo · Sep 2, 2012

I've read, many times, that the favorite rifle for Eskimo hunters is the Mini 14. They use it both on reindeer and on polar bear.

fat tom · Sep 2, 2012

I also found odd the choice of weapons,but ALL of those guys seem a bit odd to me as well.

f.t.

The Last Standing Knight · Sep 2, 2012

I seemed to remember reading somewhere that the Inuit peoples were enamoured of the S&W .357 Magnum when it first came out and used them quite regularly against bears and walrus with good effect.

While I would never do it, I know people that have gone feral hog hunting with .22 rimfires and were more than successful at it.

It's the person holding the rifle who can call his/her shots that makes the difference in 99.999% of the cases.

Genetically Swiss · Sep 2, 2012

Poachers use AK-47's to kill elephants in Africa too. Will the small calibers work on large animals? Sure, if you put enough rounds downrange or make a lucky shot. Oh, and you don't care about the animals suffering. I don't know about Alaska, but here in Washington State it is illegal to use sub-.25 calibers for big game hunting, last I checked. I think what they are doing is idiotic and irresponsible, but hey, that's just me.

GS

bobf · Sep 2, 2012

When I lived in AK the Mini 14 was the standard rifle of the people I knew from the villages.
Bob

427mach1 · Sep 2, 2012

Alpo said:
I've read, many times, that the favorite rifle for Eskimo hunters is the Mini 14. They use it both on reindeer and on polar bear.

I heard a similar story, except the Eskimo hunter stated they brought out the "big gun" for polar bear - a 257 Roberts!

Sprefix · Sep 2, 2012

Yes, the .223 is a favorite among Alaska natives in the bush. Light recoil and fast follow-upshots with a semi-auto. Seals, sea lions, caribou, moose, wolves, fox, you name it, they kill it with the .223. Alaska doesn't suffer from minimums as do other states. Besides, with the size of Alaska, most do as they please with no-one to monitor them. Troopers and VPSO's(village public safety officers) usually deal with drunks and family disputes. Alaska is largely an "honor system" state. The honor depends on the individual.

bharner · Sep 2, 2012

I remember seeing an episode of that and they talked about liking the .223 because it doesn't ruin much meat. In a culture that values using as much of the animal as is practical I imagine that's quite important.
I was also wondering how many of them were taking head shots.
I've heard many old timers in my area talking about taking whitetail deer with .22LR head shots during lean years.

Tapatalk ate my spelling and grammar.

chud333 · Sep 2, 2012

Up there in Alaska, "The meat" is the thing.
Not too many locals are Trophy hunting or
hunting for horns. Not a thing wrong with
hunting Caribou or any game animal with a
.223 with the right bullet.
It would probably surprise many to know how
much meat has been put on the table with
this cartridge in Alaska and the state of Texas
as well.
Would'nt be my first choice mind you, but it's
far from being irresponsible to hunt with.
As stated previously, it's more important where
the bullet goes.
I've also known/read alot of Northern Moose hunters
in days past used .22 LR for moose. They would stalk
for a very short distance shot when possible. Then take
a good shot in the vitals and then sit and wait.
Let nature take it's course and recover their"Meat"
with little to no meat loss. You have to realize and take
into account the difference in the "Culture" to those
hunting something that could very well get them
through a tough winter with enough meat to survive.

Chuck

Chuck

kraigwy · Sep 2, 2012

I didn't see the show, but I did spend quite a bit of time in Western Alaska. I was in the Alaska National Guard, and did my time with the Eskimo BNs. as XO of A co 1/297th Inf on St Lawerence, and CO of C co, 1/297 Inf.

These people fed their families mostly by hunting, plus there wasn't many jobs. A lot of people's only income was their Guard Checks.

But, we keep ammo in all the village armories, mostly M-193, (55 gr Ball). So they bought what ever guns they could that shot 223 and they hunted what ever animal available with, from polar bear, seals, caribou, moose.........what ever.

Even used them on whales. You'd get 6-8 guys in a boat and they'd shoot the whale until they killed it, then drag it to the village.

I was at Brevic Mission one time when one of my sargents and senior boat captain brougth in a whale.

A ask him how many times he shot it. He says "box and half of 458 and two and half boxes of 2 2 3.

Speaking of 458 WM, I was at Gamble (St Lawence Island) when one of my guys showed me a 458 he traded some ivory for, but couldn't find ammo, nor could he afford it.

On the south side of St Lawrence Island there was an old telegraph lead cable. I told the guy to get some chunks of that cable and I'd fix him up.

The next trip to the Island I bought a 458 bullet mold, and lee 458 size, and Lee loader for the 458 and plus primers and powder and showed him how to cast bullets, use tallow for lube, and load the shells for the 458.

He got a lot of walrus' with that set up.

Anyway the Alaska natives don't use the best gun, they use the gun and ammo that's available. It's the white man that has to have the fancy rifles and super velocity ammo.

Coldshooter · Sep 2, 2012

Anything can get a one shot kill on television just edit out the rest. I have seen .22 center fires used in seal hunting. I may be accused of being non politically correct but there is a lot of game waste out there.

Edmo · Sep 2, 2012

It is legal to hunt deer here in Arkansas with .223 caliber guns.

This past fall I dropped a doe to a heart/lung shot with one of my 60 grain Nosler partition reloads. The shot was less than 50 yards and she was down in a pile with one shot. Although not all hunters use "premium" bullets, the newer hunting rounds available today are outstanding.

The key to successful and humane deer hunting with a 223 is not stretching the range and taking good shots with good bullets.

Edmo

kraigwy · Sep 2, 2012

I figure if you can kill a bull moose with a Model 28 Smith and 150 Grn LSWC 357s you ought to be able to kill a caribou with a 223.

chud333 · Sep 2, 2012

kraigwy said:
I figure if you can kill a bull moose with a Model 28 Smith and 150 Grn LSWC 357s you ought to be able to kill a caribou with a 223.

Kraig,
What was the story on that one?
I take it probably was involved in a vehicular
collision as i can see a uniformed officer in
frame. Bet that big old dude could mess up
a car real quick.

Chuck

mc5aw · Sep 2, 2012

Could some of the folks have been using ARs in .308?

kraigwy · Sep 2, 2012

I am the cop in the picture. The moose was a bit teed after being hit with a van so he started chasing cars into the bar pit. I shot him in the neck just below the head as he started after my patrol car.

Guess he didn't like my over heads.

Vehicle-Moose encounters were quite common in Anchorage. I had to put down several and never used anything but my Model 28.

Shot a buffalo in Wyoming with the same revolver and ammo, but that story really makes me look like an idiot.

Joeygun · Sep 3, 2012

Kraig,

Great pics and great story. That snow is simply beautiful.

I put a small button buck down once with my issued Glock 17 and 147 grain Winchester Silvertips. That was what I had and what I was issued at the time (about 1999 or 2000). It was wounded from a motor vehicle collision and tasted fine later.

Shooting the moose while on duty is much more exciting though. Did you cast your own for those .357 loads and how did that play into department policy?

As far as the original topic goes, and I apologize for the side bar, I know of two deer that were killed with a .223 round. The load was rather light charge of IMR 3031, unknown grains, and a 55 grain Nosler BT. The gentleman that shot both is now a retired Chief of Police here. The one was killed with a shot that entered the head under its chin and the second was an outright heart shot. The rifle was an Interarms Mini-Mauser and I bought a matching rifle because I was so impressed with its accuracy and portability.

I agree with the posters who place emphasis on the cultural differences between meat hunting and trophy hunting, as well as the sport hunter who needs the fancy guns/scopes. In the end, shot placement is key.....

Joeygun

kraigwy · Sep 3, 2012

Shooting the moose while on duty is much more exciting though. Did you cast your own for those .357 loads and how did that play into department policy?

Yes I cast using the lyman 358477 bullet. Still have and use that mold, 4 cavity.

There wasn't a written policy on hand loads. When I first hired on the Anchorage PD issued 158 RN Lead, cast and loaded by prison trustees. Not for me, I had more faith in my loads.

However, at the time we had to carry our ammo in exposed loops. One evening the Capt noticed my ammo and asked if they were reloads. I admitted they were. He said I wasn't suppose to carry reloads and I reminded him there was nothing in the policy about reloads. His face got red and told me I had 30 minutes to get some factory ammo and if I wanted it in writing he'd have it by the time I got back. Not necessary I told him and beat feet to Pennys' (who sold guns and ammo back then) and was back with a reciept for a box of Winchester 158 grn LSWC 357s.

Funny thing, about six months later the captain retired and I saw him at a gun store. He asked if I was back to reloads and I confessed I was. He said "don't blame you" adding that he carried reloads his whole career with APD.

APD did switch to factory Winchester 125 HPs but I stuck with my 150 LSWC. I found they worked better in putting down moose 'n such.

I use the same bullet in my 38s out of my 642, I've put down a horse, finished off deer, and shot lots of snakes with my 150s in 38s. Also use the same bullet for competition using my M-64 & Model 28. That bullet pushed by 14.5 grns of 2400 destroys bowling pins. (The Model 28 was my issued 4" service revolver that the department let me keep when I retired.

Sorry to go off topic, but it is relative to the ideal of shoot whats available and you don't need fancy bullets and guns for shooting critters. Some where I have a picture of an Alaska Native shooting caribou with a M1. It was one of the Guards sniper rifle with the scope removed.

Alaska residents: TV show "Yukon Men", shooting caribou with an AR-15?

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