Caribou hunting questions
 

My brother and I are thinking about scheduling a guided 1:1 or 1:2 caribou rifle hunt for next year (2004) but have a number of questions for you experts:

1. Where are the best places to go to find the largest herds and/or the biggest bulls? I have heard great things about Ontario, but wanted to be sure

2. How much (U.S.) can you expect to pay for a quality fully-guided hunt - not talking about the absolute top of the line, but a good quality hunting experience (roughin it and hunting hard) with good scoring opportunities, experienced guides, etc.

3. A number of outfitter websites I have checked out say that if you schedule your 2003 hunt before the end of this month, you get the 2002 rates. Do rates generally go up each year like they suggest without being tied to some increase in operating expens

4. finally, any outfitters anyone would recommend?

any other info I am not thinking of right now is also appreciated.

thanks in advance!

RE: Caribou hunting questions
 

I don't know much about Caribou hunting but I do know that Ontario has no open season on the caribou that we do have we only have woodland Caribou and no season yet

RE: Caribou hunting questions
 

The herd in the NW arctic in Alaska is very plentiful and last time I checked, limits were high. Also, alot of people go to NE Canada, Quebec/labrador ,I believe. I am not positive on the price, but I think 3000-3500 bucks is avg.

Plus, you gotta pay to get there and buy all the licenses.

RE: Caribou hunting questions
 

Quebec Canada. largest Caribou. Most outfitters price is FROM Montreal to the hunting camp. I have been twice on the 1x3 outpost. Comfortable tent camps-warm-dry with guide for 1 on 3 & a camp cook. you just hunt & they do the chores-they caped our Caribou & quartered out meet also. You will have over $3000 in your trip figure $4000 with the trip I took. Book as late as possible "usually" in Sept..
Bowhunting North America Videos has a informational video 1-563-243-7877 for $12.50.
I got skunked my 1st trip-saw 1 cow with a calf in a week of hunting. 2nd trip my son took 2 nice bulls with Rifle & I took a P&Y Bull with a bow-could have taken a 2nd with rifle but kept trying to get the 2nd with my bow. "Everything" is included in these trips from Montreal including tags for 2 Caribou. You pay extra to bring out 2nd rack if you have one & they split your smallest.
I won't reccommend anyone as it changes every year-you usually see tons or very few, thats why I say go in late Sept..

always thankful

RE: Caribou hunting questions
 

I'm pretty sure Newfoundland has the only huntable herds of Woodland caribou in Canada(North America?). So if you want a woodland caribou Newfoundland is the place to be. Do a web search for "newfoundland outfitters" or "newfoundland big game hunting" for outfitter names. Being a Newfie myself I never intend to use an outfitter so I am not aware of general prices. Caribou is not your only option in Newfoundland. There are also moose, black bear, small game hunting and fishing. Many outfitters offer combination hunts.

Hope this is of some use to you. Another option to consider anyway.

L8r.

RE: Caribou hunting questions
 

Thanks for all your replies. I have found several outfitters working out of quebec, labrador and newfoundland that seem to offer what I am after. Looks like the prime hunting season for bulls is in early September. Is this true? What about later in the fall? Is it still worth the trip then or does success drop off? Also, I have heard a lot about the number of flies, mosquitoes, etc. being a potential problem. Any truth to this? Never had a problem with flies here in colorado - guess were a bit spoiled

thanks again

RE: Caribou hunting questions
 

I'm a Booking Agent, so am not sure if it's appropriate to "pitch my wares" on this forum. Members feel free to e-mail me. Woodland Caribou in Newfoundland, Quebec/Labrador have Caribou, also Alaska/NWT. The other gent was right - hunts run 3000-4000 USUALLY, but some cheaper hunts are sure available, if you know where to look. Maybe some of the moderators can give me some Guidance in recommending Outfitters on the forum, when I'm a booking agent. Good luck!

RE: Caribou hunting questions
 

I hunted Newfoundland early Oct of 2001. Had a great time and we all tagged out. In fact, I am headed back this year either the last week of Oct or the first week of Nov. No bugs at that time of the year. You tend to see more animals also. The stags (also called bulls in Quebec, NWT, and AK) tend to weigh less because they have gone through the rut in mid Oct. You don't want to shoot a stag in the rut (mid Oct) because they can be so strong that they are not edible. Also, Newfoundland isn't subject to the migration like other areas. Although they do "migrate" from the north to the south side of the island, you WILL get into some animals. Many moose and bear as well.

I believe the Woodland caribou has one of the largest bodies of the sub-species of caribou, but they also have the smallest antlers. Guided hunts for one animal are in the $2,400 to $3,200 range in NF. Licenses are very expensive in NF, but are usually included in the price.

Send me an email if you would like the email address of the outfitter I went through. Here is a picture of my stag taken with a blackpowder TC Encore at 95 yards. I'm sure you would enjoy a caribou hunt.


Good luck . . . Rob

RE: Caribou hunting questions
 

Rob in VT,

I'm glad to hear you had an enjoyable, successful caribou hunt in Newfoundland. I took a stag in 2001 and another in 2002. They were both decent sized animals and they had both dropped their antlers before I ran into them.<img src=icon_smile_angry.gif border=0 align=middle>

To be honest I really don't care about antlers, I'm all about the eats. Infact just today I made a bag of jerky and had a steak for supper. Tomorrow I might have a feed of sausagues. Good stuff!

You are correct about not taking a stag during the rut. They are supposed to be really nasty if killed during this time. I wait until the second week of November to start caribou hunting to give the stags a chance to recover a little.

Good luck in your upcoming hunt. I'm hoping to draw another caribou license this year too.

L8r,
DaNewf.

RE: Caribou hunting questions
 

BILLY, I'm from Colorado also, I hunted with Safari Nordik in 2001 got 2 nice bulls and could have had a booner if I'd have held out. I made a friend with one of the guides and can hook you up with him if you would like.
TODD
email me if you want the info