Full Camo

Some more!

got a hunch

[quote]ORIGINAL: liquidorange

10 more pages to go whos going next year?

Nine pages now.

Have a group of 24 going to Mirage Nov. 30-Dec. 3. We rent snowmobiles from Paul at Mirage and split the cost. We take those black tub sleds to haul gear and animals. The snowmobiles are mostly new and in good condition. That way there is no trailer to haul up there and that's one less thing to possibly have trouble with.

rrules

If you don't mind me asking? What do they charge to rent a snow mobile at Mirage? Wish I had one when I dragged my Bou out of the bush last year.

rrules

Nice to see the Bou are back Full Camo. Where was the lake picture taken? It looks cold up there. What were the Temps like?

Full Camo

I believe the name of the lake was Bulldog. It was situated north west of the northern tip of Laforge 2 reservoir and dam. 200kms east of Mirage and 100kms by sled. The weather was great this year. -30C at night and -17C during the day with nothing but sunshine. The northern lights we're simply incredible during the evening. A trip to remember.

If my memory serves me correct the cost of renting Ski doo Tundras is about 200$ a day.

TerryM

Thats worth it in my opinion just for not having to tow one up there. You can split the cost among the whole group.

Full Camo

Hey Terry, That depends the way you look at it. If you are going to hunt away from the road for any distance you will almost need a sled per hunter. That could mean 600$ each per hunter for the three days or 3600$ for a group of 6 guys. For guys that have their own sleds it might be worth bringing it up. The two problems with that is the trailer is always a hastle. Two blowouts this year, made it to mirage but then we had to rebuild the underneath with new springs and ubolts, fortunately the guys I was with we're mechanically inclinded. The other problem is not everyone has a sled and if you are one of the lucky ones that do, their not all made for 5 feet of snow. Without one in the group that has a Skandic or Tundra or similar to break trail, you might as well bring your snowshoes because you'll need them when you get stuck. I choose to bring my own because of cost but, the option of renting is not a bad one to save you alot of trouble.

TerryM

Ful Camo,
I agree. We always brought 1 only (tundra) and only used it to retreive dead bou at the end of the day. Never hunted off one but then again I always was lucky and had caribou every where. Never had to venture more thab 1/2 mile from the road. My buddy on the other hand left animals in the bush one night and rented a sled 1 day only and spent around 4 hours retreiving dead bou with it. Its a gamble you take that the wolves won't find your animals. They were lucky and had no losses, I guess there are plenty of gut piles and wounded ones to keep the wolves busy. Wasn't planning on returning but now I'm thinking about a bowhunt up there in 2006. Its a disease

got a hunch

One of the guys in our group usually takes care of the snowmobiles. We break into groups and one guy in each group of four or six reserves the sled and takes care of business then he tells everyone what they owe at the end. It has worked well for us so far. It is a problem when we hunt farther back but we usually work it out. If I remember right we paid $140 a day for a sled and trailer.

cps1992

I would like to book a hunt for Caribou Winter '05. We are looking at Nov. 17-21. Is this too dangerous time to go? Is there a way to to track the heard ourselves and not to rely on an outfitter for heard notification?

I understand that if you go later into Nov., or December, you risk antlers coming off. Also on average, how is the temp and snow during Nov.17-21? Is it as nasty as I hear? I'm from Pennsylvania, so I'm used to cold weather hunts. We hunt all day with temps below 20F.

Also, what rifle is recommended? I use 30-06 carbine or 270 to hunt PA. I understand you want a flat shooting rifle.

How plentifull are the caribou really . . . in middle November? Thanks all for your help.