Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting
08-22-2004, 10:19 AM
#91
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,175
RE: Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting
TERRY M - i dont understand your( take) comparison on the sheep hunt. if i arrived at caribou camp with animals in the area but got snowed in i could accept and understand that. i probably would have been out hunting in it though! you tend to talk from the outfitters point of view. have you ever been one? just kidding. i did check references back then(they only gave you sucessful ones which should have been a warning flag!)my first hunt was back a couple years ago 2001 and i wasnt computer savy or seasoned enough to check up on things like i do now. dont know if this board was in existance back then? i got burned caribou hunting and on a hunt out west with money being taken and no permits to be had and no refunds so im just trying to help all the first time caribou hunters by giving the GOOD the BAD and the UGLY. funny thing though northern caribou adventures use to have a statement on there brochure that said something like" you will have enough time to get your animals" and they took that off the brochure the following year
they also had something like 98% success on 2 caribou. they never told me that booking early in the season could be IFFY! so i couldnt even take that into consideration for booking!. maybe thats why they had the dates open[:@] i bet its hard to sell those dates nowadays. i see now that its just a big money making machine and even one of there own hired guides told me that it doesnt matter if a few groups get pissed off because there will always be another bunch of hunters who dont know and are attracted by the low price to hunt up there to replace any hunters that would never go back. NICE WAY TO LOOK AT THINGS! me and my brother only went back the next year because they reduced the price if we booked from december 15 and later. another screwed up thing they did was call a group of hunters(that we became friendly with ) up the next year that got skunked along with us the first year and offered them a hunt last minute because they kept there phone number on file to go for cheap last minute. because they had openings they got to hunt last week of november and all killed monster take your pick bulls.this group was called while the migration was arriving in great numbers and they last minute drove up there. they had no intentions of going back up there but were guaranteed good animals to be hunted so they went. why didnt i get a call to move my dates up.BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAD MY MONEY IN FULL AND WERE LOOKING TO FILL SLOTS AND BECAUSE ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY! thats why i think any outfitter that requires payment in full before you get to camp just isint right! i think 50% down is more than fair. the reason is that if you give them your money in the summer that money is all spent and gone by the time you get to camp and therefore no insentive to cater to a hunters needs. by the way the years i went it was only 150$ more to hunt out of the MIRAGE which is well worth it just for the food you dont have to bring or cook.anyway i think i got my side of the story to the ones considsering planning a trip like this GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE HUNTERS HEADING UP THERE AND HAVE A SAFE TRIP!
they also had something like 98% success on 2 caribou. they never told me that booking early in the season could be IFFY! so i couldnt even take that into consideration for booking!. maybe thats why they had the dates open[:@] i bet its hard to sell those dates nowadays. i see now that its just a big money making machine and even one of there own hired guides told me that it doesnt matter if a few groups get pissed off because there will always be another bunch of hunters who dont know and are attracted by the low price to hunt up there to replace any hunters that would never go back. NICE WAY TO LOOK AT THINGS! me and my brother only went back the next year because they reduced the price if we booked from december 15 and later. another screwed up thing they did was call a group of hunters(that we became friendly with ) up the next year that got skunked along with us the first year and offered them a hunt last minute because they kept there phone number on file to go for cheap last minute. because they had openings they got to hunt last week of november and all killed monster take your pick bulls.this group was called while the migration was arriving in great numbers and they last minute drove up there. they had no intentions of going back up there but were guaranteed good animals to be hunted so they went. why didnt i get a call to move my dates up.BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAD MY MONEY IN FULL AND WERE LOOKING TO FILL SLOTS AND BECAUSE ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY! thats why i think any outfitter that requires payment in full before you get to camp just isint right! i think 50% down is more than fair. the reason is that if you give them your money in the summer that money is all spent and gone by the time you get to camp and therefore no insentive to cater to a hunters needs. by the way the years i went it was only 150$ more to hunt out of the MIRAGE which is well worth it just for the food you dont have to bring or cook.anyway i think i got my side of the story to the ones considsering planning a trip like this GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE HUNTERS HEADING UP THERE AND HAVE A SAFE TRIP!
08-22-2004, 11:06 AM
#92
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Bradford, Ontario
Posts: 2,205
RE: Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting
Liquidorange,
The point you make about outfitters not caring is a good one and should be heeded by all going up there. These camps have no problem at all booking and in fact it is difficult to get a spot. I know Nouchimi gived priority to past customers. In fact the camp we hunt out of has been booked by us and our now extended group for the last 6 years in a row for the last week of November, we always get first right of refusal for those dates. I'll say it again, they take your money hand you a key to the cabin and then you are on your own. And quite frankly I am perfectly OK with that. The big price difference that I mention between our outpost plan vs Mirage is because we do our own cooking. When I last checked Mirage was around $1500.00 CDN which was almost twice the price we paid. Not sure what Nouchimi charges for a lodge hunt which is the same type package as Mirage. So, given that everybody hunts the same territory anyway regardless of who your outfitter is I would rather keep the money difference and put it towards another hunt the following year.
The point you make about outfitters not caring is a good one and should be heeded by all going up there. These camps have no problem at all booking and in fact it is difficult to get a spot. I know Nouchimi gived priority to past customers. In fact the camp we hunt out of has been booked by us and our now extended group for the last 6 years in a row for the last week of November, we always get first right of refusal for those dates. I'll say it again, they take your money hand you a key to the cabin and then you are on your own. And quite frankly I am perfectly OK with that. The big price difference that I mention between our outpost plan vs Mirage is because we do our own cooking. When I last checked Mirage was around $1500.00 CDN which was almost twice the price we paid. Not sure what Nouchimi charges for a lodge hunt which is the same type package as Mirage. So, given that everybody hunts the same territory anyway regardless of who your outfitter is I would rather keep the money difference and put it towards another hunt the following year.
08-22-2004, 07:48 PM
#93
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Monroe, Louisiana
Posts: 83
RE: Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting
ORIGINAL: liquidorange
my guide that year had several vehicles do the same thing. hunters parked there vehicles only to find them slip off the road on there own. this was middle of november but it was still bad when i went in december. i brought 2- 30 foot lengths of chain and a winch just in case. i love being self sufficiant. dont follow any vehicles too close. there were many cracked windshields from rocks and gravel being thrown. my bronco had several areas on it that looked like it was sand blasted when i got home .
[.........]
my guide that year had several vehicles do the same thing. hunters parked there vehicles only to find them slip off the road on there own. this was middle of november but it was still bad when i went in december. i brought 2- 30 foot lengths of chain and a winch just in case. i love being self sufficiant. dont follow any vehicles too close. there were many cracked windshields from rocks and gravel being thrown. my bronco had several areas on it that looked like it was sand blasted when i got home .
[.........]
Kenneth Smith
Monroe, Louisiana, USA
08-22-2004, 09:13 PM
#95
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location:
Posts: 67
RE: Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting
Can anyone provide pictures to this thread with trophies they maybe got mounted? I know from talking to some and from getting pictures from one, that it is possible....but it will really help everyone get excited about the upcoming hunt in Quebec.
Can someone give me an idea of driving distance or time from Sault St. Marie?
Someone was talking about bring Caribou back whole? I didn't think you could, is that not true? What do most of you do, quarter them out? Cheese cloth? Finish them back at home.
The only SPECIAL LAW for clothes is blaze vest and hat right? Can you outer layer be camo? Anything else special we need to know?
THANKS.
I'm booked at Donat this year how much does the Mirage cost?
Can someone give me an idea of driving distance or time from Sault St. Marie?
Someone was talking about bring Caribou back whole? I didn't think you could, is that not true? What do most of you do, quarter them out? Cheese cloth? Finish them back at home.
The only SPECIAL LAW for clothes is blaze vest and hat right? Can you outer layer be camo? Anything else special we need to know?
THANKS.
I'm booked at Donat this year how much does the Mirage cost?
08-22-2004, 09:50 PM
#96
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Bradford, Ontario
Posts: 2,205
RE: Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting
Sorry I don't have a digital camera to post pictures. I would think you would be at least 36 hours from Sault St-Marie, it's about 28 hours from Toronto. Yes you can bring back animals whole, we always do they stay cleaner with hide on. Yes you can wear camo but must still wear a blaze orange vest. I think every thing else has been discussed in great detail over these last 10 pages.
08-23-2004, 01:19 AM
#97
Fork Horn
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Linwood, Michigan
Posts: 168
RE: Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting
It's about 23 hours from Sault Ste. Marie to Mirage depending on the roads. You can bring the whole carcass back minus the head. When you remove the rack the scull cap needs to be washed out with borax. This year the cost at Mirage is $1125 US. That's two to a room, hot meals, sack lunch available to take out hunting, hot shower and being treated like a customer. A member of our group had a stroke last year while hunting out on a lake. The owner at Mirage took him in his personal helicopter to the power company hospital at LG4 and he was later flown to a hospital farther south. The people at Mirage kept track of everything going on and kept us well informed at all times. This will be my fourth time at Mirage and will continue to go there as long as I hunt caribou. They are well worth the extra cost.
08-23-2004, 12:48 PM
#98
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW PA USA
Posts: 7,220
RE: Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting
We are paying $1092 US for the four night three day American plan hunt at the tail end of the prime hunting time (Dec 4-8) with Nouchimi. Mirage is roughly the same price but they were all full till mid December for this season. Nouchimi was sold out on the outpost cabins or we would have gone that way.
Another question guys! Are there opportunities to take a wolf? I would think they might be hangin around the caribou herds.
Wondering about my truck now. It's still fairly new to me (2002) and as of now still looks pretty good. I dont baby my vehicles, I use em but it's definitely not a "beater" yet either!
Another question guys! Are there opportunities to take a wolf? I would think they might be hangin around the caribou herds.
Wondering about my truck now. It's still fairly new to me (2002) and as of now still looks pretty good. I dont baby my vehicles, I use em but it's definitely not a "beater" yet either!
08-23-2004, 03:00 PM
#99
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Bradford, Ontario
Posts: 2,205
RE: Quebec Winter Caribou Hunting
Don't think you can legaly shoot wolves as they are considered a fur bearer and subject to the trapping regulations. This area is trapped by cree indians and in fact you will see several trappers camps up there. Never saw a wolf anyway but the place is crawling with fox because of all the caribou carcases. Your car will be fine just don't tailgate anyone.