Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting

[Tughiller]

Got back from Mirage today after hunting Nov 30-December 3. I was fortunate enough to join a group from Michigan. Our group of 17 took 13 bou. Not a lot of caribou to be found. I sawa guy shoot across his truck hood. Heard of an olderhunter from PA have hisbou stolen. Met some nice people. The 4 of us from NY hunted hard and took 4 caribou, we felt fortunate with this being our first trip. Most of the people I spoke with saw little to no caribou. A few paid $900 each to take the helicopter. Some hired a guide to chase the bou down on sleds. Miragewas a quality outfit. The game wardens checked my license when I was dragging out a caribou. The police had a seatbelt roadblock Monday. 381 checkstop took us 1 1/2 hours,real slow. Saw lots of bou below 381. Wish more were in the non resident hunting area. Good luck to all...

[DARKSIDE55]

Man this is definitely not the way the hunt usually goes up here. The lack of Caribou has caused hunters to forget the rules and just try to fill their tags which has caused some dangerous situations from both resident and non resident hunters. This thread had a lot of people posting that the Caribou were not there including me. Some chose to go anyway knowing there were only a few there if any. I wish all of you stillcoming up the best of luck. I haven't given up going yet but I'll wait till there's some Caribou there if they come back before the season closes.

[got a hunch]

Got back from Mirage last night. Toughest I've seen in seven consecutive years. Our group filled 13of34 tags. We hunted hard for four days. One day we went by snowmobile north to the powerline, about 20 miles, and covered lakes, ridges and just about every other territory. It was not a trip for the faint of heart or the old and fat. The snow in the bush was 2-3 feet deep and animals were sparse. On that day four hunters shot 6 animals. We left before daylight and got back well after dark. I also noticed more disregard for safety this year than in the past. There are always a few idiots but the lack of animals this year seemed to bring out the worst in some people. When we started seeing animals well south of k381 on the way up I knew it was going to be tough and I was right,much worse than 2004. We saw a lot of animals but they were in the wrong place. I could have handled getting skunked, although it wouldn't have made me real happy, because I've had some really great hunts and gotten nice bulls in the past. I felt bad for those who were there for the first time and have been reading here in the forumabout how great a hunt this is. I picked up four hunters from New York this year and was a little aprehensive since I didn't know any of them but it worked out well. Tughiller, you and your group are welcome back with us anytime. It was a tough year but we're back now and it's time to start planning next year's hunt. Yes, I'm going back next year.

[Doug JR.]

I love getting your insite about the hunt up there. Not many are so close to the area. I have not hunted up there as long as you, I'm surebut in the 3 yearsI have I can't remember the hunters being this bad. Not all were this way, but most were out to fill tags no matter what it took. At least when we were up there 11/26/06 - 11/30/06. We decided to leave after being shot at and seeing people with uncased and loaded guns shooting anything they seen including calfs from the road? I hope you get your caribou this year the meat is great! Doug...

[Doug JR.]

Hey were you at the Mirage this year 11/26/06 - 11/30/06? I talked with two guys from Wi. up there? As far as the meatI like butterflying the steaks / chops coating them in seasond bread crumbs and quick frying them in butter crisco with mushrooms and onions. 3 to 4 minutes each sideturn heat off cover and serve. Just a sugestion let me know what you think Doug...

[WI Shedhead]

Doug- that was when we were up thier. My dad and myself were probably the only bowhunters in camp. We got on the list for another 4-8 guys along with our original 4. Probably will make another trip in 2-3 years. I put in for alot of hunts and will draw a few good tags in the next couple of years so will have to wait until then.

[TerryM]

I was planning on going back to bowhunt them next year but am seriously considering passing on it. When I went we had no problems and the yahoos were few and far between but it seems now like its down right dangerous to be up there now. Time to move on to something new.

[jurso]

Has anyone ever done the Bus trip Option to Mirage??
Wife wants to go along and do some ptarmigan shooting whilst we take a few days of bou hunting.
Do women go on these winter bou trips, or is it a tuff crowd up there??
Looks like fun, but I dont know about takin my own truck on that road.

Thanks all!!

[DARKSIDE55]

ORIGINAL: jurso

Has anyone ever done the Bus trip Option to Mirage??
Wife wants to go along and do some ptarmigan shooting whilst we take a few days of bou hunting.
Do women go on these winter bou trips, or is it a tuff crowd up there??
Looks like fun, but I dont know about takin my own truck on that road.

Thanks all!!

I would not do the bus trip. I'm not even sure it's still available. You need a vehicle when you're there, period. My wife and I and several other couples have been going up there for years. I'm sure it's been posted in here before but I'll say it again. All the bathrooms from 381 on are co-ed. By that I mean men and women using the same ones. She's got to be prepared for that. lol. The women in our party have never had a problem. There's also a lot of other women we've seen while hunting.

A couple of my friends rent trucks to go caribou hunting.That's something you might want to consider.

[jurso]

Thanks for the quick comeback..
No, the old lady dont mind squattin wherever the urge overtakes her so thats not a problem..
Can you rent a vehicle there??
Or around Val-dor or something??
Something dependable, that can do the daily driving to the hunting areas??
Just dont wanna beat myself and my own little two wheel driver up.