I really like this show. If its on, I gotta watch.

I admire people who can be self-sufficient and live off the land.

Not sure I could handle living in the Kavik region.

The 29 year old trapper really impresses me with his skinning skills and animal knowledge.

Still can't get over the couple that dresses their fish, caribou, etc right in the house on cardboard. Agnes is the guys wife. She knows how to make short work of a kill.

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Wake me when it's over...

And she uses a Fin Mosin Nagant to hunt!!! Sweeet! :thumbup:

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

She has made and missed some long difficult shots with that old smokepole. It looks like its hasn't been cleaned since IKE was Prez. The M-N is known to be one of the toughest most accurate rifles in the world but- she really needs a scope! I'm a little embarrassed to tell you that I have several top notch scopes that I haven't used in years. She's up there trying to feed her family with those God awful ancient iron sights.
The other folks on that show all have new looking scoped rifles and handguns. The other lady Sue has a selection hanging on pegs by the slings. Never have quite figured out exactly what her story is. She lives in what seems to be an old comm site, radar site, mining location? She hunts for food but is able to pay extortion rates to have fuel flown in.
I am amazed at the dedication the other couple has to their dogs. It takes a lot of fish to feed that many dogs. And a lot of work to get that fish.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

What does she do in Kavik?

Is that her job?

I never heard why she is there and what she does.

Did you see when talked about a bear crashing through her hut and she shot it with her rifle?

She's tough, I will give her that.

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Here's the story from the shows website:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.co...th-sue-aikens/


"How long have you been living and working at Kavik River Camp? How did you get started there?
This is my 11th year here. I was asked by the owner to come and be a caretaker for the place, since he has known me for a long time and knew I did remote-lifestyle work."

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Wake me when it's over...

Good show !!
I like the young man who is by himself. He knows what he's
doing with traps and a gun. Sue the older lady living way up
there in the encampment is kinda out there. You can tell she's
lived alone for too long. Scared of every little sound she hears
outside and makes it sound like she is always at deaths door.
Those folks all have a harder bark on them than i do, thats
for sure. I hate Indiana winters bad enough. Could'nt do
Alaska.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

Fins tend to have better sights. Im wondering if she's using hunting ammo or standard surplus fmj. Surplus quality and consistency will vary from lot to lot and country to country but it is cheap(er). Roughly $100/440 rounds. Still though, those are far shots she takes ...and that wolf on the run!!!

The other lady lives in a working station used by scientists to study weather and the nearby forest. Its privately funded, sh's just a caretaker. Btw you can rent a room there by the day/week, with shower or without, with food or without

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A little more info from HER site.

http://www.kavikrivercamp.com/

f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

As to the Mosin:

I spent a great deal of time living with the Natives on the West Coast (Seward Penn.) when I was in the Alaska National Guard. I was the XO of A company (St Lawrence Island) and CO of B company (which consisted of Shishmarif, Brevig Mission, Teller, Wales, and Little Diomede).

These people don't have much money, many survive on their Guard Checks, or carving ivory for their income. Substances is the way of life, so buying ammo is a big expense. I would bet the ammo used in the Mosin's is surplus.

Mosin's weren't popular back then but 223 & 308 was because the used guard ammo. When scudelling qualifications and marksmanship training I would order more ammo then needed to give it to them.

Later when I started running sniper schools using M1C/D, '06 got popular again. It kind of dried up after the army switch from the M1s, to the M14s and 308s became popular.

So yes this ammo is fmj stuff for the most part. I leaned that the natives weren't any better then any other group of people when it comes to shooting. They just shoot lots.

I was in Brevig Mission when they brought in a whale. I asked the boat captain how many times he shoot the whale. He said, "box and a half of 458 and 2 1/2 boxes of 223. Take into account he was one of 8 guys in the boat. The whale dies of lead poisoning.

I had an NCO who bought a 458 Win Mag, thinking it would help him with walrus & whales. Only after getting the gun he couldn't find nor afford to shoot it. St Lawrence Island had a lead cable stretched across the island years ago (some sort of commo cable I assume).

I told him to go chop up some lead from the cable and I'd fix him up. So the next time I was in Gambell (largest of the two villages on the island) I brought him a bullet mold, lee reloader, powder, primers and some brass. He was set up for some cheap shooting.

But mostly, the people I knew used guard ammo.

They also aren't the best people in the world for taking care of equipment. They would leave their rifles in the boat over winter, come spring after setting in ice for months, the guns were useless.

I met a guy who went around the villages trading rifles and he'd take them apart, sell what he could. He sold me "6" model 70 actions for $235 for the 6.. I made some great rifles out of these actions.

These guys are great people, I miss my time I had with them. If anyone gets a chance, visit these villages, well worth the trip.

You'll be met at the airstrip and I can guarantee the first two questions you'll get is "Want to buy ivory" and "you got pot"

Anyway, you can bet when Mosin's went to $99 and ammo less then $200 per 880 rounds, these people will be shooting Mosins with their Guard Ammo.

I've experienced life below zero down here on the Gulf Coast -
I refused to buy my wife that Prada purse she wanted from Nieman Marcus and then she found out about the new Beretta Xplor 400 I bought....................................................................................
the "chill" she's creating could reverse global warming.

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Gunner, Sabot Up!

WOW! Av gas is $9.50 a gallon there! Understandable considering the transport costs I know!

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Old paratrooper in NC

That is Chip and Agnes Hailstone. Chip is a regular member on another gun forum and goes by the username of Caribou. He has been posting stories and pictures of their subsistence lifestyle for several years. One of the few reality shows on T.V. I enjoy. I could do without the Sue Aikens drama, but she is an amazing woman that survived a Grizzly attack, by sewing up her own head and arm before crossing a river, tracking down the bear and killing it.

Beat me to it on the Hailstones. I read his threads over on the "other" forum They are cool. See the one with all her guns?I like the show also.

Would not want to deal with 'Sue" she is a little nuts
Guess ya gotta be. I went see the place when the camp is open if they have a fall or one day of summer.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I've been telling my wife how cool it would be to visit Alaska.

She's not into it.

Mainly:
a.) Too cold
b.) Too many Grizzlies

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Wake me when it's over...

Fun "Facts" from the TV Show Wild West Alaska

There are more bears in Alaska than the population of Anchorage.

Per square mile how many people would there be per sq mile if the density was the same as NY City?(or something like that)

4



Where is Sprefix?? He lives out there somewhere??

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Still Running Against the Wind

Brown/Grizzly Bear Hunting Information, Alaska Department of Fish and Game



Alaska has an estimated 30,000 brown bears statewide.

Brown Bears to me = Grizzly

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Wake me when it's over...

A little nuts???? She scares the snot out of me!

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Forum consigliere

I saw the show once. She was playing quickdraw with a Ruger in a hotel room.

I got the feeling that she talks just as much or more when she's alone as she does when the camera crew is there...

I do that too; doesn't everyone? When I answer myself in a diferent voice I get worried a little.

Not me, pal. I'm talking to my dogs, I swear. So far they haven't talked back, which I guess is good.

I know I am bringing up an old thread, but I just "found" this show! I really enjoy watching it. I have only watched the 3 new episodes. I don't think I am tough enough to live this life style for very long.

I bet the kids in the family that lives in a teepee don't expect an Xbox for Christmas. They ALL seem to be very hard workers. I wonder how, or if, they ever take a shower during the "cold" months.

The guy who seems to really be roughing it (no gas powered anything) using a canoe, an ax, and a hand saw is interesting. Sue could probably kick Rhonda Rousey's tail. With that "hogleg" strapped to her side and that .30-30, she seems to be able to take care of herself.

I may get tired of the show soon, but for now I am DVRing the new ones.

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Miss Buddies crsides & fat tom

When my daughter gives me a funny look for talking to myself, I explain to her that sometimes I need expert advice.

I seldom shoot rifles in Ohio's few sub-zero days, but I have done sporting clays a couple times in 10+ mph wind with snow and -10 temps. Just to see if I could hit anything. At the time I was averaging 70-80% in normal/good weather, I still had better than 50% the few times I did the sub zero thing.

As to dressing animals in the home, any place else would be darn cold to have wet meat against your hands (if the meat wasn't rock hard!)

Ivan

The "Alaska Reality" drinking game. Every time you hear "meat for the winter" or "provide for my family" you take a drink.

You'll be hammered...

None of You think much of these shows is scripted or contrived?

I believe a lot of it must be. How does someone get filmed that is supposed to be alone unless they set up cameras to film themselves just in case something happens? Like that scene when Sue crashes her snowmobile and gets all busted up. Did they just happen to be filming or did a stunt woman do a repeat for the camera?
I have no doubt much is real and do admire those people for what they endure as I'm not sure I could even in my younger days.
I do like the show though and have watched it a long time now. I just don't take everything I see as fact as well as many other shows I watch.

My wife likes the cold weather, if they had a Mall at the Arctic Circle that's where we would be living.

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Don

$11 a gal now!

Sue is rightly paranoid. When you go through what she did and you are all alone, you definitely don't want a repeat experience. I personally know three folks who were mauled by brown bear (grizzles to the cheechakos) and all took great pains to avoid fighting bears again. One carried an IWI 44 magnum auto pistol and a 12 gauge whenever he left town. My friend Al was a sergeant with the Alaska Wild Life Protection Troopers. He was scalped by a bear while sleeping in a tent next to his wife on the Kenai. The bear chomped him pretty good but Al hiked three miles out to the road in the dark and got a ride to the hospital. His wife and another Wildlife Trooper hiked back in to the tent site and recovered Al's scalp. The weather was cold enough that they were able to reattach most of the scalp and with a hat on Al looked pretty normal. After the mauling, Al packed hand loaded slugs in a 10 gauge 18 inch double barrel shotgun. This was back in the late 70s and the 10 gauge ammo was not that available. I met Al at an FBI firearms instructor school. We shot the 10 gauge at a police body armor panel backed by a creosoted railroad tie.The slug didn't penetrate the vest but instead pushed the entire vest panel through the railroad tie.

Moral of my long winded story, don't knock somebody unless you know what they have experienced. Bears are scary buggers and you don't want to experience the sharp end of one.

I have studied old timers and woods wanderers for many years. Their tools including guns are of special interest. I think as others do, Sue has spent WAY to much time alone. Most of these reality shows run out of story line after a few years and this show is no better off. The first few years their tools are old and worn. By the third year everything is new and shiny. Everything from guns to axes. Sue must be a gun stores best customer. She gets a new gun about every episode. And that 44 in an open toed holster is proof she has little knowledge. I like and admire Sue but wow. I have seen her packing it around in a low slug Hollywood holster that does not fit the gun. The barrel sticks out below the bottom and have seen her plug the barrel on 2 occasions. These type holsters are sold to greenhorns, people who have never spent much time in everyday outdoors. Single actions are great for hunting and poor for self defense. I have conversed with Chip a few years ago. Agnes is a remarkable lady but an average shot at best. In most cases she SEEMS to be "flock shooting". Chip never touches a gun as he had some legal trouble. Seems he had a fisty cuffs with a state trooper who he accused of being a little too friendly with one of his daughters. Seems like a father doing the right thing to me, but in this world you cant touch anyone in a uniform no matter the reason. The patrolman should have taken it like man and let it pass IMO.