I don't remember anyone posting a hunt story about Caribou this season....did I miss one? I would love to hunt them someday. Share you story or pics....and tell me about some of the best, most scenic, places to hunt them.
Thanks.
The best I know for that would be Ken Taylor,he's also a guide. I hope he read this.
I would like to hunt them one day too. I have read so much and heard many stories about how much fun they are.
Randy....once we find out....lets BOOK IT!
I hope you guys can contact Ken,he's a great trad bowhunter.He writes in a hunting fishing magazine here in Quebec and he's also a p&y mesurer.
Good luck, guys! From what I've heard the Que/Lab hunts are poor now due to the population decrease - I think Three Rivers has cancelled their hunts last I heard. A buddy and I have been beating the bushes for a good hunt in AK, my buddy's son lives in Eagle River so we have a guy on the ground there, and haven't turned up anything real good on the DIY front in AK - same old story, subsistence hunters, wolves etc. If I had the dough/desire to hunt caribou I'd book a good hunt for Mountain Caribou in BC or the NWT, but those are pretty pricey. I'll be interested to see what turns up here.
I had a blast out of Schefferville in '94...but that info is a "bit" dated now!
Ryan
Thanks ti
QuoteOriginally posted by FerretWYO:
I would like to hunt them one day too. I have read so much and heard many stories about how much fun they are.
It's definitely on my bucket list. If y'all find something good, let me in on it too.
See ya later,
Bisch
Look in to wood land Bou, Newfoundland.. You can also do a Bear hunt and I think Moose. I saw/read about the 3 animal pack.. I have to look for it again.. I would love to do it, But got a DUI back in 1998 so I can't get in to Canada.
I'm with Ryan, would love to book a mountain caribou hunt!!
Cheers,
Joe
IronBound Outfitters (http://www.newfoundlandhunting.com/bow_hunting_newfoundland_canada.htm) Here You go... Check them out I have heard good things about them..
The Woodland caribou are about gone. There are big studies gong on in Newfoundland about this right now. Seems the Quebec outfitters that haven't stolen millions from American hunters are not booking hunts and that population is plummeting. Have not heard much good on the Central BG hunts in the NWT like McKay Lake in years. The big DIY herd in AK, the Mulchatna is 10% of what it was. Not good news for caribou hunters. Must be global warming...
I went to Quebec in '06 with Tuttulik. 9 trad guys got 13 caribou. It was an awesome time.
After the last couple years, I wouldn't recommend any one go to Quebec. Several hundred or more hunters lost all their money and no hunt from the Tuttulik debacle. Now this year some of the hunts were completely cancelled out of Scheferville. More hunters lost money. Bad situation. Quebec government won't help
it is my understanding the George's river herd in Labrador and the woodland Caribou in Newfoundland is in a tremendous downward spiral and the Gov't has eliminated all hunting for them except for the indigenous peoples and citizens of the provinces. All guide operations have had their licenses revoked. Allegedly the herd is less than 20% of what it once was. I hunted last in Labrador in 2005 and NewFoundland in 2004 and we saw next to no Caribou. Actually none at all in Labrador. If I were you I'd look to the NWT to hunt these wonderful beasts
Well, I don't have much of a story, but heck its December right... Last fall('09) was my first fall with a recurve, and spent a few days up off the Haul Rd for caribou. Had a great time, saw lots of animals, learned a lot, but couldn't quite connect. Tough sledding in a lot of it, real open country, heres a couple pics to show you what a lot of it looks like.
(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh271/chinook907/rszdcarboudist2.jpg)
and another
(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh271/chinook907/rszdcarboudist1.jpg)
And yeah those little dots are caribou. Learned to hunt the animals near the spines & ridges, and expect the wind to be different as you turned the corner on the above. Theres also some brushy areas.
Look forward to the next time.
Hope to get a draw permit in a good but not well-known area for next year (don't we all ?).
And just to whet the appetites here's a pic of an ok-sized bull crossing the road where I live but is closed to caribou hunting,
(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh271/chinook907/rszdcarbourd.jpg)
And another I've posted before of an excellent bull in a snowstorm.
(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh271/chinook907/rszdcrboustrm2.jpg)
Hope you enjoy this with a cup of something warm.
i went caribou hunting in manitoba and had a great hunt.I missed a monster when he spotted me drawing at 10 yards and missed as he was running.I shot him with a rifle and would post a pic but it's a rifle kill. Beautiful scenery and having the chance to view a polar bear for a few hours was unique experience. Also got to watch a pack of wolves hunting a group of caribou.There were alot of caribou but the co's stated that there were pockets of caribou rather than a large migration. Numbers are down in the province and talk of cancelling fututre seasons.
aply for permission and or pardon for your DUI and you should have no problem getting in. Do this well ahead of your proposed trip
Yeah hunting Caribou is definately something I want to do before I expire.
Chinook!....
Appreciate those pics so much. Nothing like the interior to get a man's heart pumping.
There is the mainland of Newfoundland and then the island. I am hearing the island herd is fine, but not sure of this. I hunted there about 8 years ago, it was one of the best hunts I've ever done. They don't migrate on the island, so you are constantly hunting for them, not waiting for the herds to run by. A blast. I'll try and load some pics....
Been up to Alaska hunting them twice. Still some amazing areas up there. I'll be heading up again in the fall to an area where stalking up on a great caribou hasn't been too difficult the last couple of years. It's still hunting, but my buddy I'll be going with was passing up great bulls every day.
Good luck to everyone. In my opinion caribou is the BEST eating of all big game animals.
The natives said the rutting bulls were the worst tasting animal on the planet. We got fogged in and had to stay four extra days waiting to get out. Could not see four feet so we were cabin bound. We were the last hunters so we ran out of most food, and therefore cooked up a couple of bulls.
I think the natives are drinking too much firewater...like IndianaBowman said...DEEEELICIOUS!
Have you guys heard what is affecting the populations of caribou? I've only been able to hunt them once, but it is an animal I would gladly hunt every single year if I could.
I've hunted 2 times and got zip. The first time in Quebec and we saw 3 in 7 days. The 9 guys that came to camp the day we left got 18 bulls.. go figure.
second time was the N slope of the brooks range on the haul road. On that trip we saw zillions but just did not close any of the dozens attempts.
Joe
Yes Ryan makes a good point. I also hunted caribou a BUNCH way back - my stuff is dated - early 90's. I have gotten to the point now where I would not hunt in the east. I do not have time for 'goose chases' or 'excuses'. I did have a good friend try as recently as 2008 - a TOTAL disaster. AK for a do it yourself hunt - if you can handle it woodsmanship wise and can do the homework and can trust your airservice. NW Canada if you can handle the cost. It's a real shame too - cause Caribou has great potetntial as a complete adventure experience. Some of my best days fishing and hunting small game have been on Caribou hunts 'after' putting up a couple a bulls.
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I have to say that a caribou hunt is at the top of my list of adventers. Someday I hope to do it but until then I will have to hunt them through everyone's posts here. :campfire:
That along with quite a few other need to go on hunts for me is on my list & as money & time allows in my future I plan to go on em but till then all I can hope for is a good read.
Not saying it's easy...
You can do Alaska yourself, with some very good caribou hunting for less than $5,000. This would be a fly-in drop hunt...interior Alaska...real wilderness. No large camps with 16 hunters; more like 4 guys sharing one campsite. You get the full experience of camping, cooking and hunting for at least 7-10 days...not the usual 5-6 of Canada. The catch? You'd better have some good bushcraft skills...some good gear...and the ability to pack meat.
I really think my days of caribou hunting in Canada are over. Alaska is so much more fun and affordable for me. The entire adventure is worth the cost...killing an animal is just gravy!
I got a call this fall from my outfitter to inform me that the caribou hunt was cancelled this year due to lack of participation, caribou had not showed up on time. Blackstone Outfitters in the Yukon. Last time up there was awesome. They hunt the Porcupine Herd that migrates out of Alaska into their area late Sept, early Oct. The migration patterns change a little bit annually. Nathan Anderson was there in 2009 and killed a good bull. Jim and Adrienne Fink live in Saskatechewan in the off season, good people. Reasonable prices.
Terry
I had a bad experience with Tutulik. Saw no animals in 5 days and would not move us to a camp that had killed out up the lake. Promised free hunt the next year, then went under and closed just as we were getting ready to go. Lots of guys already had plane tickets and lost that money too. Would love to go again, and have heard Safari Nordik is a great outfitter. Kinda pricey though.
Been once with my dad a few years back with Jack Hume Adventures. Both of us took 2 bulls with our recurves. Wrote about it in Trad Bowhunter Mag - Aug/Sept 2010. Had a great time and would be happy to talk about my hunt and the outfitter with anyone interested. It can be hit or miss, is sure getting expensive, but I'd love to go again!
I would love to hunt caribou me too.It is quite a few year that I am searching a good guide.
Been up here twice in the mid 90's.
http://www.truenorthsafaris.com/hunting.php
Awesome place! I was pleasantly surprised at the artic. Beautiful place. Lots of Caribou when we were there. Made for bowhunting. As someone else had said, I wish I could go every year.
Went to Quebec in 1985, my partner and I were the only two bowhunters in a camp of 16. We both got animals. I think back then the hunt cost around 2 Grand.
I plan to do a Alaska DIY hunt up Haul Road in 2012.
I took a trip up the haul road in 06 and got a learning experience. I saw about 500 caribou and just couldn't get close enough. As a resident I had to get a IBEP cert just to be able to hunt with-in the 5 mile corridor along the road. I dont live there any more but am planning another trip up there...
I like a few others here hunted with Tutulik Outfitters in 2007 great camp beautiful scenery, true wilderness. But like others no Caribou to speak of, I will say the guides went out of their way to put us on Caribou. I don't think I would ever go back to Northern Quebec it's too much feast or famine if the animals are there it's great if not, good fishing.
We had 9 hunters in camp 6 archery and 3 rifle, 4 Caribou were killed that week 3 with Trad Archery equipment and one with a Compound.
I would love to hunt the NW Territories or Alaska.
han'nt found an outfitter yet but I was planning on going 2012
A few pictures of Northern Quebec
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa282/Bowhuntater/DSC_0166.jpg)
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa282/Bowhuntater/DSC_0083.jpg)
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa282/Bowhuntater/DSC_0066.jpg)
Went in '92 but the caribou were scarce. Nobody got a shot with a bow. There were some rifle hunters that bagged a few. It was a Quebec hunt. :dunno: :dunno: We missed the migration I guess. The outfitter even moved us to a second camp.
I went to Quebec twice, in `99 & in `06 with Tuttlik. I had great hunt both times. I love the tundra, the place is just spectacular. I was on the hunt in 06 with the owner of an unamed website & after I shot my 2 bou, I had his monster caribou come by me at 5 paces armed with only a video camera. He killed it 2 minutes later. I wish I knew how to post the video. Here is a cropped pic off my camera. After this pic they all walked past me while I hid behind a rock (BIG rock)
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/Hallstead/dsmybull1.jpg)
It was my favorite hunt I have ever been on.It was just awesome.
Having said that, I would not go back up there the way things are today. Outfitters ripping people off & the lack of animals has really ruined the thought of Quebec. That is a real shame. It is an experience I wish all bowhunters could share.
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/Hallstead/image010.jpg)
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/Hallstead/cariboupy061.jpg)
Brian,
I never get tired of seeing that last picture that's a great shot and a great animal. I believe that used to be your avatar?
Thanks yes it used to be. I had it blown up & the pic is so much more vivid, the tundra red is to be seen. I think photobucket washes out the pics a little. Here is the other bou I shot, that red background is unreal.
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/Hallstead/caribou061G-1.jpg)
Hunted caribou in 2004 with mirage outfitters. A very good hunt, all hunters tagged two bulls. I understand that was the last good year of hunting around that area.
Yeah, Brian that photo is spectacular. The dark colors in the animals thick rack with that tundra color....incredible picture.
If you all take me along when you decide to go.......I'll do all the cooking just for the chance to be there!! :campfire: :goldtooth:
Caribou are on my bucket list. Anyone needs an extra guy in the future to tag along, I'm game.
My Father has been guiding Caribou in Alaska for the past 5 years with the exception of last year. every year it gets more and more difficult to get clients on game due to the lack of numbers. The problem is, the migration hasn't started during the season where they have their camp on the arctic circle. Basically they have been hunting resident Caribou for the past 3 years. According to the outfitter, last year they had a lot of angry clients due to the lack of sightings but unfortunately they can only hunt that area within a certain amount of time. Fortunately for my father he took the season off to case elk and scratch that off his bucket list.
They are leaning more toward moose and grizzly hunting now since the caribou migration starts well after the season closes.
Thanks for those pics chinook!
(http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq268/acolobowhunter/MVC-011S.jpg)
Hope this photo works. This is a Mountain Caribou I got in BC. We hunted off horses for 10 days. You can really cover some ground on horses. Saw a lot of caribou - some came right up to us, curious about the horses. I hunted with Indian River Outfitters from Atlin, BC. They are right on the BC/Yukon line. I know the business sold after many years. You could probably check them out online.
jim shockey has tons of hunting ground others just cannot get into and other guides are not allowed into.he's exspensive but gets results and from what i gathered talking to my old neighbor in salem oregon who killed two huge bulls on two hunts jim will pull you off the smaller bulls and youre chances of a trophy bull are very high.not sure of prices but he has a website...jimshockey.com
I have hunted Central Barren Ground Caribou twice with True North Safaris. I shot two Caribou both times. First was 1991 and again in 2004. Great camp and food, long boat ride most days to hunt. You are on McKay Lake, a really big lake. Weather is a big factor and can change daily but I was blown off the lake only once in all my days hunting. Only negative for me was they had bow and gun hunters in camp at the same time, but kept you fairly seperated while out hunting.
Caribou IMO are the most fun spot and stalk animal there is to hunt. We also saw grizzly bears, wolfs, and foxes.
I have heard the tag numbers are down but do not know if that is directly related to animal population or politics. The first week of Sept was prime time for us ....
ok..scratch jim shockey,i went to his website and just about passed out when i saw his prices.over 20k for a moose hunt. :scared:
Have you looked into a hunt on Adak? It was a herd stocked in the 50's. Reeves Aleutin Airlines is the only commercial way in. Bill
That's just plain crazy!
I imagine that's how Jim Shockey gets the money to hunt all over the world....huh?
Caribou just aren't worth a second mortgage, I'll stick with my whitetail, turkey, coyote, rabbit, and squirrel.
Unless I hit the lottery?
Even if I did, I still wouldn't pay 20K to kill any animal in the world....anywhere.....at any time what so ever.
Great pics to all who shared them.
shockey has quite the little racket going i tell ya.if you hit an animal and they find one drop of blood your hunt is over as that is considered a dead animal even if it runs off never to be found.i couldnt find a price on mountain caribou but its 10,900.00 for a reindeer hunt so a mountain bou will be even more one would assume.then there are other fees like fly in,fuel surcharges and lets not forget the tips.i never dreamed it could run that high to hunt a caribou.plain crazy.
I have no words for that.
QuoteOriginally posted by PAPA BEAR:
ok..scratch jim shockey,i went to his website and just about passed out when i saw his prices.over 20k for a moose hunt. :scared:
I was gonna say something but figured people could pass thier own judgement. A lot of places are up to about 7 G's now but you can find cheaper if you put your back into it.
Adak? yes, been there done that but be very aware the logistics!
Mulchatna herd done and gone, Central Canadian caribou done and gone for a while in the NWT.
Central Arctic herd in AK has LOTS of caribou, fly out of Bettles or Kotzebue. Issues with elbow to elbow hunters and possible shady flight services out of Kotz and no meat cooling available in Kotz. Extra time and flights to get to Bettles or Kotz.
Haul Road will dissappoint MOST hunters. Every time I have been up there and came back I felt "dirty" and needed to scrub with soap. Everyone flocks to whatever caribou are there and it is very open and visible for miles over most of this area. LOADS of poor sportsmanship for all to see.
Cha-ching on the Mountain Caribou hunts!
I hunted in the Artic Circle out of a village called Inuvit in 1995. The outfitter is now gone and I know why but their were lots of caribou. Hunt cost was $2400.00 at that time.
doug77
One more thing we hunted Central Barren Ground caribou.
doug77
Dang...after hearing about current hunt prices...and the fact that caribou numbers are apparently way down...I'm sure glad I did it when I did. I could not afford it at the time, but it would be even tougher now. Do it when you can guys. You only get one chance!
Caribou of all species are sensitive to human encroachment and habitat disruption. Our BC Southern Interior Mt. caribou are threatened because of logging, while northern Mt. and Barren Ground herds are pushed by mineral exploration and extraction.
The Eastern Barren Ground herds are the victims of mineral exploration and hydro-electric developments.
The problem? The problem is us. We refuse to acknowledge that we cannot displace large tracts of untouched wilderness without consequences. The Eastern U.S. is a huge consumer of hydroelectric power from Eastern Canada.
Alaska? How much development is it seeing? The oil and gas expo is immense.
Ask yourself where your amenities REALLY come from, and then think about caribou...
Good info Steve H. Thanks. I was thinking about a caribou hunt a few years ago, but sort of let it slide. Started to get the bug again recently. Had no idea the herds in various parts of Alaska (and Canada) are in such bad shape.
Daz: Caribou and our oil pipeline say that isn't really the case, the caribou don't even bat an eye. A couple drill rigs aren't going to crash a caribou herd, not even a few square mile developed mine site like an open pit.
The take home message is that what is reality for any given caribou herd one year may be totally different a year or so later.
Also, very little caribou hunting in Alaska is "migration dependent". Yes caribou move around from area to area BUT don't confuse these movements with some big National Geographic "migration" event.
Steve, so i'll give you a point for the AK argument. Want to tackle the other ones?
Daz: I only have personally witnessed caribou interaction with our oil pipeline which is a couple thousand miles long and can make inferences with how a caribou would interact with a much smaller mineral exloration drill program from my knowledge of that industry. Its mostly pretty small stuff compared to the oil pipeline infrastructure. A quarter square mile for a lode mine to a couple square miles for an open pit is pretty small in terms of caribou habitat. Logging and hydroelectric in caribou country is outside my experience so I can make guesses only.
I'm more concerned about uncontriolled predation than development in some herds but caribou can also outgrow their habitat too like what probably happened in the Mulchatna herd of AK a decade ago.
I appreciate the thoughtful response Steve. One of the beauties of this site is the ability to dialogue.
The resiliency of animals and ungulates in particular is amazing, but at the end of the day, disruption of traditional feeding and breeding areas is just that-disruption. One of the biggest studied non-extraction impacts on Southern Mountain Caribou is from recreational winter use from Heli and Cat ski operations, as well as snowmobile use.
Predation? I thought that AK had a fairly reasonable predator management program, and that it had been shown to work well? Was there not also concern over some form of hoof and mouth disease or some parasite as well in one of the Mulchatna sub-herds a few years back?
Thanks again for being a class act Steve.
"Predation? I thought that AK had a fairly reasonable predator management program, and that it had been shown to work well?"
It is working (bigger deal for moose than caribou) but unfortunately things were really bad by the time we got rid of the liberal weenie governor from the late 90's and started addressed the problem.
"Was there not also concern over some form of hoof and mouth disease or some parasite as well in one of the Mulchatna sub-herds a few years back?"
Yes, and I believe that happened because there were too many caribou on the range.
It would be interesting to map the surrounding exploration/development for the ten years previous of the Mulchatna (prior to it's increase in size) to see if the herd expansion was related to a condensing of available areas for the smaller herds, and a coalescing in the only available area where they could be...devil's advocate and all that...wink-wink/nudge-nudge...you see where i'm going with this...
Lots of drilling in localized areas AFTER but leading up to the collapse of the Mulchatna herd found us with very low metal prices so exploration efforts were low too. Exploration drilling doesn't account for over grazing that I witnessed in 2001!
Thanks for humouring me Steve....my wife says that i've never really progressed past the point of "how comes" and "why nots" that normal people outgrow past age four.
Had some friends go with a (very big)(very reputable outfitter)and if you didn't buy the top two "packages" you didn't get moved to where the animals were! They were very dissapointed and most were forced last day to borrow a rifle and do a longshot or go home emptyhanded with their wheelies!!! Not impressed with the stories about shutting down the season and guys getting sent home without any real hunting and tags not getting refunded.
The central arctic caribou herd around Prudhoe Bay where most of the oil and gas development has occurred has grown by 8.5% a year. Here is a link to an article about the herd.
http://www.anwr.org/features/pdfs/caribou-facts.pdf