Caribou Hunts

[OrionsX0]

I am looking at doing a Caribou hunt and am wondering if anyone has any advice? I guess I am looking for any suggestions on an outfitter, and what to look for before I make a decision on the hunt

[mamohr686]

I booked with safari Nordique several years ago, we hunted the quebec-labrador herd below the ungava bay (sp) in northern quebec. The operation was based out of Fort Chimo. They have several packages depending on what you want. It is cheaper to hunt 3 people per guide but my father and I wanted to spend time together so we didn't want an addition to our group. The guides were not very helpful, except when it came time to pack out and field dress the animals. If I had to do it over again i would get into a drop camp without a guide but with a camp cook. Most of the guides in out camp just wanted to glass, the exact same areas day after day. Caribou are migrating animals, you need to find where the bulls are traveling through and and try to intercept them. Get very good optics (binos), the very best raingear you can afford, 2 pairs of high waterproof boots and get them broken in before you go. My brother has hunted Caribou in Alaska so he could give you some tips about that area. I went the 3rd week in august and saw a lot of animals toward the end of the week. The bulls were just comming out of velvet, and the flies were unlike anthing I've ever seen (bring pure deet in the pump sray bottle and carry it with you). Safari Nordique has a lot of camps and will place you in an area were the caribou are. If they are really booked you might not get put in the best camp but you still will have a good time. Even though they say that they will fly you into an area where there are more animals if your camp is dead- Don't belive in this false advertising. The only way they will fly you into another camp is if there are some hunters departing early from another camp because they filled both tags and want to leave. This rarely happens and all the camps have nearby lakes with the some of the best fishing you will ever expierence (why leave early?). The other possible exception is if there is some kind of flight into another camp for gear or other emergency you might get to tag along. Brook trout, and lake trout are as thick as flies so don't forget your rod. On another note the guide told us that we could kill a bear then buy a tag later if we wanted. This seems to be a regular practice with safari nordique because several other hunters were talking about it at the airport before our guide said anything. Sort of the camp joke was "tundra wardens." I wasn't really interested in hunting brown bear but if you purchase a caribou and bear package they get extremely expensive. Also bring up a carton of Marlboro reds for a tip, Canada has socialized health care and the worlds worst cigaretts. Everyone smokes up there and a carton is a much better tip than $100 bill. Just tell customs that you are a smoker and they're for you so you won't have any problems.

[fishermann222]

If you want info about Alaska bou give me an email at [email protected]

[hookset]

pictures to follow

[Mark Christianson]

Hooksets pics

[hookset]

We had a blast. Shot two caribou this is the better one. hunted on a new hampton island north of hudson bay. Had 5 guys go we all got our 2. Our whole hunt was done from atvs it was one of the most challenging rides I ever was on. One wheeler was totally shot when we where done hunting and had to be towed 80 miles out of the tundra. The animals dont have as nice as racks as if you go to the west or east but the trip was less expensive then those other hunts.

joe\

[bigbucks]

We went self-guided a friend of a friend was our guide. At least at the time (93) you didn't need a licensed guide to hunt caribou, any resident could be your guide.

We camped along the pipeline & hunted 5 miles out on foot. A lot of work, but fun. At least two good pairs of boots & several pairs of good socks are important. Get used to walking miles of bogs & tussocks if you're going on the tundra, it looks pretty, but it sucks for walking. We shot two bou for 3 guys, but could have gotten all three, but one of the guys was young & they didn't all want to work that hard. I got mine, so it was their call on continuing or not.

[fishermann222]

Bigbucks you did the haul road hunt with the 5 mile corridor huh? That is a rough hunt to pack out those bou through those tussak fields. You still do not need a guide for bou, you don't even need a resident. Outfitters are nice though so you don't have to ship all your stuff up here.

[wolfman-k]

Do a search for Canadian Outfitters/Caribou and you will see alot of different sites to check out. I went with the one in Manitoba and had a great time, good people, lots of game, and great food in the camp. We drove up, but you can fly if you want. Good luck.

[bigbucks]

Well we needed the resident to make it cost effective. His rifles, his camping gear, etc. I guess I wasn't sure if we had to have him legally or not. We just had to bring our clothes mostly. It was like having a really cheap (free) outfitter. It was with less knowledge of course too, but he'd hunted them quite a few times. It was fun, we really got to experience the hunt. The 850 mile drive from Anchorage was quite a haul though.