How About Caribou Reports

[AJ]

There were a few guys going after caribou last month or this month. How was your hunt? I don't recall reading about the outcome.

[Guest Colorado Bob]

Re: How About Caribou Reports

IronBuck & I head up there next month for the winter hunt. Week of Thanksgiving-----Gettin pumped up for it. CB

[njbowhntr]

Re: How About Caribou Reports

I was one of the guys that headed up this past year. It was a very dissappointing hunt. I had a great time with the other huters, but the bou just were not there. We did a fly out, but the closest I got to my bou was @ 900 yards. I set my max at 600 yards. We had 11 hunters, with 3 bou and 1 boo-boo.

I have been watching the Quebec caribou migration from Quebec's website, and spoke to some other guys I know that went a week later than I did. The Georgia River heard actually migrated right out of Quebec, very odd.

Here is the link to monitor the migration. Scroll to the bottom of the site and you will see the varies dates: http://www.fapaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/faune/caribou/

[Rut-Nut]

Re: How About Caribou Reports

Hey Ron,

Tell him about the one that you were watching that fell over dead!

[njbowhntr]

Re: How About Caribou Reports

So my dad, Paul, the guide, and myself come over a ridge. We decide to take a little rest and do some glassing. Paul is the first one to see the bull off in the distance, about 2 miles away. As I am trying to tell my dad where to look so he can see the bou, it falls over. Then a split second later we heard the muzzle blast. About 15 seconds later 3 guys in orange emerge from the timbers below the bou. So I got to watch Perry (Rut-Nut) harvest is bou.

But you should ask him about only having one bullet left to get his bou with.

[Rut-Nut]

Re: How About Caribou Reports

Dang, I knew I should have kept my trap shut!

Well, let's just say some of us just shoot better under pressure! When you only have one shell left, ya gotta make it count!

[Rut-Nut]

Re: How About Caribou Reports

OK- as Paul Harvey would say........here's the rest of the story!

I went up with 2 friends of mine (Rod and Joe) and a guy Rod works with(Rafael). Drove to Montreal, met NJBOWHUNTR and his Dad. Turns out Ron was booked with the same outfitter AND at the same camp! Small world!

Well, as Ron said we had a GREAT time despite never seeing a caribou from our camp! We stayed in 6 man cabins with plywood walls, tin roofs and oil heaters. Had use of a freighter canoe with 15 horse motor. So after 3 days of glassing nothing but trees rocks and tundra, we decided to hunt some fish! Put the guns in the boat and glass as we moved from spot to spot trolling at times. Didn;t take long to find the "honey hole"! About a mile from camp there was a spot with drop-offs where it didn;t matter what time of day, what lure, or what the weather conditions, if you thru the line in, you were gonna catch a fish! Lake trout- big lake trout- fighters!!!!! It was a blast!!!!!! We took turns going out since there was only one boat available. ROd ran the boat and took video of everyone catching fish. We have almost 2 hrs of video and someone has a fish on at all times. Sometimes 2 and even 3 on at once(Rod was taking video and fishing when it was the 3 of us). Paul and Rafael were hooting and hoolaring some much we could hear them from camp! Looked like Ron and his Dad had a blast too. I was lucky enough to catch an 11 lber, and we caught several in the 8-10 lb range.

As for the hunting, on Wed. they started flying us out to another camp. I drew the ACE, so my group went first- Rod, JOe and me. Bad weather in Schefferville kept the plane there til 9, so we didn;t fly out til about 10:30. Got there and were hunting by noon. Tough thing was we had to be back to the plane by 4. Started hoofing back in from the camp and spotted a cow and calf about 15 min out. Tried to circle around down wind of them thru a draw, but when we came up they had disappeared. We moved on and stopped about 2 miles from camp and glassed. Spotted 2 cows off in the distance and started for them. They were on a little ridge looking the other way, but as we approached there was a (very) small bull bedded in the gully between us that we never saw. It stood up and caught us flat footed. Ouit in the open with nothing for a rest, couldn;t even kneel down to steady for a shot. I tried an offhand shot and missed and they ran to my right and Joe was to my left and not clear to shoot. I got 2 more shots off as they ran, but missed. Man, it's a lot different having to shoot offhand after hiking in 2 miles and unprepared for the shot!!!! Well, by rights my hunt should have been over, but I have a very generous friend in Joe! He said we came here to get you a caribou and that's what we're gonna do! Not too many guys would pass up a shot just to get a rookie his first caribou. But that';s Joe- he said he and ROd had gotten Caribou before and they wanted to see me get one- that's what kind of men they are! SO we started off again and that is when the guide spotted "my' small bull off in the distance. It must have been over a mile away when he saw it and it was very exciting stalking into position on that bull. Well, I had planned on doing alot of bowhunting, so I had not taken alot of shells. I was down to one round of 30.06 and my buddy had a full clip of .338 WMag. He offered to let me use his rifle, but I figured I was more comfortable with the 30-06 and if the good lord wanted me to have a caribou, he would give it to me in one shot. You can;t imagine how nervous I was stalking into position! ALl I could think was how bad I would feel if I blew another opportunity after Joe sacrificed his opportunity for ME! Well, let's just say I was praying (hard)all the way in ! I came up over a rise and from behind the pine tree I could see him out int he open facing us. I got down on one knee, settled the cross hairs on his chest and squeezed one off. BOOM, and he dropped like a ROCK!!!! Hit him in the neck and he piled up right there. What a relief! I thanked God for that shot!!!! Not the biggest bull, but man did we work for him! Of course, little did we know that there were 3 other guys watching the same bull.............sorry Ron!

Well, we didn;t even have time to admire the bull- got a few pics and had to hoof it back to the plane that had brought ron and his dad in. We got on the plane and headed back to our camp. UNfortunately, we only got with in 10 min of it and had to turn back due to bad weather. Got back to the (primitive)camp soaking wet from sweat(from the 2 mile hike back to the plane), stinking and now getting cold. had no change of clothes or even a sleeping bag. had to spend the night on a bare mattress using my hunting jacket as a blankett. But you know what? Loved it cause I had a caribou down!!!! Ron';s dad was nice enough to "lend" us a couple budweisers to toast and we got a hot meal in the kitchen. Nest day we hunted(rod and Joe) with the Ron's chasing around a coulple cows a and a calf, but couldn;t connect. We left and later that day the outfitter pulled ROn and his dad off the hill and put 2 of our other guys in their(Ron&ROn) spot and in 15 min they shot a cow and calf- right where the Rons had been! Of course they(Rons) were disappointed, but they were really gentlemen about it and congratulated the guys from Montana.

ALl in all, we had a great time, great food, great comradery and got a few caribou. BY the way, the young bull was the best game meat I ever tasted!!!! WOW!!!! Saw the Northern lights- spectacular!!!!!!

Even had a couple great firecamps!!!!!!!

Great group of guys and memories to last a lifetime!!!