Salad!! Good heavens man! Swear off that stuff immediately. Those lettuce leaves absorb a ridiculous amount of toxins from the atmosphere. The only safe stuff to eat is coffee and cinnamon buns and wild game and wild rice. I suspect the guy in the video is a raving vegetarian.
Seal Hunting calibre choice ...
- Thread starter Otokiak
- Start date
I hate to break it to you my Northern friend but that seal you are eating is pretty toxic.
@8:19
Somebody had his body wastes analyzed, and found that the worst toxin in fish (mercury) went right through if he ate it raw.
Only 2% was excreted when he ate it cooked.
I bet it's the same for seal, so Otokiak is probably OK.
Listen folks. I know that I only read 4 pages of this thread, but up til that point, I still hadn't seen anyone mention the ubiquitous .300 WinMag. As everyone knows that that is the smallest caliber you can use while grouse hunting, so I would try to use nothing smaller than a 577 Tyrannosaur. That way, you can shoot it from shore, through an iceberg, and from behind. You really don't need to worry about shot placement. Yep, that'd be my recommendation. (Or a .223)
Not to hijack the thread, but an interesting Northern Hunting story.
A co-worker's husband went goose hunting just outside of Iqaluit about a month and a half ago when he came across a lone Caribou (for those of you who know Iqaluit, not far from Tarr Inlet - In others words, very close to town). He was using a .17 HMR. After waiting to checking to see if it was healthy (it was) - he took the shot - DRT (neck shot - I did not ask the distance).
While I would never condone using this caliber for caribou, I don't condemn it - this family does not make a lot a money, and believe or a not, many in the North MUST hunt for food.
A co-worker's husband went goose hunting just outside of Iqaluit about a month and a half ago when he came across a lone Caribou (for those of you who know Iqaluit, not far from Tarr Inlet - In others words, very close to town). He was using a .17 HMR. After waiting to checking to see if it was healthy (it was) - he took the shot - DRT (neck shot - I did not ask the distance).
While I would never condone using this caliber for caribou, I don't condemn it - this family does not make a lot a money, and believe or a not, many in the North MUST hunt for food.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Most of the guys around here like small and fast, .22-250s and .243s and if not small and fast then a 12 ga from a boat. I've killed more seals with a .30/06 than with anything else but I only hunt them on the sea ice in the spring. It doesn't matter where you hit them, if its not in the head, they go down the hole and you've lost them. The only exception to this is one I hit in the back from behind. The seal was facing directly away from me and I was shooting prone from about 200 yards. I was patiently waiting for him to raise his head so I could hit him in the back of the head, but he never raised his head above the line of his back. I was starting to feel the cold and realized I wouldn't be able to make a good shot once I started to shiver, so I aimed for the center of his back in line with his chest, the idea being that the bullet would cut his spine and penetrate into his chest. I was shooting my M-17 .30/06 and I had loaded Speer 130 gr hollow points which had proven to be very fast and very accurate from this rifle, and compared to the small bores I thought would be a great choice. As it turned out, the bullet blew up on the spine too far back and didn't penetrate into the chest. The seal immediately went down his hole and I thought it was gone, then it came back up because it couldn't swim. It took several rounds to put the poor thing away because those miserable bullets weren't penetrating. Not really the bullets fault, just the pin head who chose to use them in the wrong application. When we cut the seal up you could see fist sized cavities flecked with bullet metal where the bullet had exploded and pulverized the bone but went no further. A neck shot had finished it. This is the incident that taught me the importance of choosing the correct bullet for the job, and that speed and accuracy alone isn't enough.
Seals on the spring ice is, in a way, similar to varmint hunting. Longer shots, and you have to anchor the critter, or its lost. .243, .25-06 well thought of. As Otokiak pointed out, there are a variety of seals, some rather large.
Knew a chap shot off 3 or 4 boxes of .270 ammunition from a boat at seals before he finally got one, a natsiq, one of the smaller ringed seals. Expensive seal. Same chap hit and lost a polar bear with the .270. Might there be a factor here other than the choice of calibre?
I recall the caribou with a .17HMR story when it happenned. First time I heard of the health checkup. Might not be a bad idea, brucellosis is endemic in S. Baffin caribou. Other folks tried shooting caribou with the .17 rimfires, concensus was that it sucked.
.17HMR did have a following for spring geese. Shoot them in the neck while on the ground.
Knew a chap shot off 3 or 4 boxes of .270 ammunition from a boat at seals before he finally got one, a natsiq, one of the smaller ringed seals. Expensive seal. Same chap hit and lost a polar bear with the .270. Might there be a factor here other than the choice of calibre?
I recall the caribou with a .17HMR story when it happenned. First time I heard of the health checkup. Might not be a bad idea, brucellosis is endemic in S. Baffin caribou. Other folks tried shooting caribou with the .17 rimfires, concensus was that it sucked.
.17HMR did have a following for spring geese. Shoot them in the neck while on the ground.
- Location
- Saskatchewan
I agree accuracy should prevail over power, but then again I believe that with any hunting that I do.
Never hunted but been around a ton of seals so have an idea of their size...
If I ever had a chance to go after seal I would take my XCR-L in 6.8spc loaded with either Barnes 95gr TTSX @ 2825fps or 110gr TSX @ 2650fps...
O thanks for starting this thread it has been fun to read and good luck on your hunt...
If I ever had a chance to go after seal I would take my XCR-L in 6.8spc loaded with either Barnes 95gr TTSX @ 2825fps or 110gr TSX @ 2650fps...
O thanks for starting this thread it has been fun to read and good luck on your hunt...
FOG FOG FOG ... hopefully tomorrow she'll clear up ... and hopefully I'll catch a seal ... then I'll post what calibre's I use ... Keep posting as it's interesting to see others' views, experiences and stories.
Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
Keep posting as it's interesting to see others' views, experiences and stories. Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
I have consulted with my Neufie friend and he tells me 222 is their favorite
I have a .223 (but its restricted) and a 22-250, I guess I would use the 22-250
I have a .223 (but its restricted) and a 22-250, I guess I would use the 22-250
Well it was a beautiful sunny day with no wind ... saw several seals but unfortunately didn't catch any ... we did run one over with my buddy's boat though ... that was hilarious! Here's what we use for seal hunting for choice of calibre ...
Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
Here's what we use for seal hunting for choice of calibre ... Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
Roughneck12
Regular
- Location
- Blackfalds AB
Thats awesome.
I have headshot a lot of swimming beaver with .22mag hollowpoints and they worked well. It looks like my choice wouldn't be out of line with you guys either. Have you tried heavy barreled rifles? They tend to be much more stable when shooting from a boat.
Have you tried heavy barreled rifles? They tend to be much more stable when shooting from a boat. 
