The Greenland trip started with a down day: a foggy morning on the shore in Nuuk, boats out on the water, and James itching to get north and start hunting. This vlog follows the hunt day by day, in James's own words from the field. Our full film, Land of Plenty, tells the whole story.
1. A Down Day in Nuuk
James and Jordan flew O'Hare to Newark, then Newark straight to Nuuk. James says that around 2024, flights switched over so Nuuk became the hub, with small airports opening around the country.
He used the day to see the sights in town. People have lived in Greenland for more than 4,000 years, he notes, coming in through the Arctic and hunting. Everyone tells the story of Erik the Red farming the south and calling it green, even though about 80 percent of it is covered in ice. By the end of the trip, he and Jordan had heard that story so many times it became a running joke.
Greenland has been part of the Kingdom of Denmark since the 1700s, he explains, and it has self-rule. About 90 percent of the people are Inuit and speak Greenlandic. The whole country has fewer than 60,000 people, and Nuuk holds about a third of them.
2. Getting to Camp
The next morning they flew to Sisimiut and circled for almost two hours because of wind and bad weather. From there they set out to start hunting. On the way, James pointed out small islands where Greenlandic dogs are left and brought food, which he called the world's greatest dog kennel. They had to drag the boats the last stretch into camp.
3. A Caribou on Day One
Farther up by boat, they spotted a group of muskox with one bull. Above the muskox were a couple of caribou, and one was a really nice bull. The other hunters stayed low while the guides took James up to cut around and get within rifle range. He says he had to work to keep up with the guides on the climb.
James shot his caribou on day one. The crew halved it and carried it out. About half an hour later, another hunter shot a nice muskox down by the water. They ran the boats up river for close to two hours in the half dark, and at 12:30 at night it still was not fully dark.
4. A Muskox Bull Under 100 Yards
The next morning, they watched another hunter stalk a caribou right above camp. Up river, James watched a hunter in his group try for a muskox bull at 150 to 200 yards. With the noise of the water and how low they were, the muskox could not hear them, and the wind was good.
For his own bull, they went a few miles up river and found a group that turned out to be cows. Then they spotted another group across the river, even closer. Closer mattered, because muskox are a bugger to pack out. James crossed the river to make a play, with Jordan filming behind him.
He got under 100 yards from the bull and took a shot. It took a second shot to put him down, because the bull was not going down without a fight. They cut him up and started packing him out, and James stopped to take in the view.
5. Spike Camp and Muskox Wool
On their final day at spike camp, a curious young caribou bull hung around watching them for about 10 minutes while other caribou filtered through. James calls it one of the wilder places he has ever been. His kit that day: the Gunwerks rifle, his Latitude pack, and binoculars.
All week he collected last year's muskox wool, pulling it off brush and off the animals they took. He says it is about eight times warmer than wool and softer than cashmere. He planned to bring it home to his wife, who might make a single sock out of it.
James also noticed how the caribou behave there. They bed in the thick, low brush, the only cover around, then pop up, look at you, and hang around confused. When they run, they tend to stop at least once.
6. Back Down River
The group traveled about 45 miles down river to base camp. One hunter who had not yet taken a caribou got up early on the last morning and shot one. Then they loaded the boats for Sisimiut.
James calls it maybe the best hunt he has ever been on. Not many people hunt this country, so there is game everywhere, and you live out of boats and spike camps in great hunting terrain. The trip home ran through Sisimiut for a few days and Nuuk for one, then Newark and home. If you want a hunt outside the ordinary, he recommends this one.
Watch or Listen
- Watch the Greenland vlog on YouTube
- Listen on Apple Podcasts
- Listen on Spotify
- Watch Land of Plenty, our Greenland film
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